Synthesis of Small‐Sized,Porous, and Low‐Toxic Magnetite Nanoparticles by Thin POSS Silica Coating

In this communication, we report the synthesis of small‐sized (<10 nm), water‐soluble, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), which contain either polyethylene glycol (PEG) or octa(tetramethylammonium) (OctaTMA) as functional groups. The POSS‐coated MNPs exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with saturation magnetic moments (51–53 emu g^?1) comparable to silica‐coated MNPs. They also provide good colloidal stability at different pH and salt concentrations, and low cytotoxicity to MCF‐7 human breast epithelial cells. The relaxivity data and magnetic resonance (MR) phantom images demonstrate the potential application of these MNPs in bioimaging.     

A New Approach to Develop a Standardized Method for Simultaneous Analysis of Astragaloside IV and Formononetin in Radix Astragali by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A new high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of...     

Numerical simulation and structure optimization of a liquid–vapor separation plate condenser

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Based on innovative design, a liquid–vapor separation plate condenser with excellent heat transfer performance is invented. It takes less time to...     

A post curing strategy toward the feasible covalent adaptable networks in polyacrylate latex films

The implementation of covalent adaptable networks (CANs) in general resin system is becoming attractive. In this work, we propose a simple post-curing strategy based on the core-shell structured acrylate latex for the achievement on both the improved general performance and the CANs characteristics in latex films. The building to the CANs was relied on the introduction of 4,4′-diaminophenyl disulfide as the curing agent, which cured the acetoacetoxy decorated shell polymer through the ketoamine reaction. The metathesis reaction of aromatic disulfides in the crosslinking segments enabled the thermally induced dynamic behavior of the network as revealed in the stress relaxation tests by comparison with other diamine crosslinking agents without the incorporation of disulfide. The synergism of the dynamic crosslinking of the shell polymer and static crosslinking in the core polymer contributed to the improved mechanical strength (15 MPa, strain% = 250%) and the suppressed water adsorption (~1% in 24 h of soaking) of the latex film, which exhibited above 90% of recovery in both strength and strain from a cut-off film damage within 1 h at 80°C. Moreover, the cured latex film could be recycled, and 75% of the mechanical performance was regained after three fragmentation-hot-pressing cycles. These, in addition with the feasible and environmental friendly characteristics, suggest a sustainable paradigm toward the smart thermosetting latex polymers.     

Multi-Interactions in Ionic Liquids for Natural Product Extraction

Natural products with a variety of pharmacological effects are important sources for commercial drugs, and it is very crucial to develop effective techniques to selectively extract and isolate bioactive natural components from the plants against the background of sustainable development. Ionic liquids (ILs) are a kind of designable material with unique physicochemical properties, including good thermal stability, negligible vapor pressure, good solvation ability, etc. ILs have already been used in pharmaceuticals for extraction, purification, drug delivery, etc. It has been reported that multi-interactions, like hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, play important roles in the extraction of bioactive components from the plants. In this review, recent progress in the understanding of scientific essence of hydrogen bonding, the special interaction, in ILs was summarized. The extraction of various natural products, one important area in pharmaceutical, by conventional and functional ILs as well as the specific roles of multi-interactions in this process were also reviewed. Moreover, problems existing in bioactive compound extraction by ILs and the future developing trends of this area are given, which might be helpful for scientists, especially beginners, in this field.     

Syntheses,Characterization, and Luminescence Properties of Three Coordination Complexes with Sulfonate-Phenol Anions and Trivalent Metal Ions

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A dinuclear Tb complex, Tb2(H2L)3(phen)2 (1), and two similar N-donor coordination complexes, Fe(phen)3·HL (2), Fe(bipy)3·HL·5H2O (3) (Na2H2L =...     

A Ru(II)-Based Nanoassembly Exhibiting Theranostic PACT Activity in NIR Region

Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) has appealing merits over traditional chemotherapy as well as photodynamic therapy (PDT) by virtue of its spatial and temporal control on drug activity and oxygen-independent mechanisms of action. However, the short photoactivation wavelengths, e.g., visible light–activated Ru(II)-based PACT agents, limit the clinical application severely. In this work, a facile construction of supramolecular nanoparticles from a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified [Ru(dip)₂(py-SO₃)]⁺ (abbreviated as Ru-PEG, dip = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, py-SO₃ = pyridine-2-sulfonate) and 1,3-phenylenebis(pyren-1-ylmethanone) (BP) is shown. While Ru-PEG may undergo photoinduced ligand dissociation and release anticancer species of [Ru(dip)₂(H₂O)₂]²⁺, BP has extremely large two-photon absorption cross sections (δ₂) in the NIR region and intense fluorescence over the wavelengths where Ru-PEG has strong absorption. Thus, two-photon excitation of BP followed by an efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from BP to Ru-PEG may lead to a potent inactivation against cisplatin-resistant cancer cells and 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs). The residue fluorescence of BP also allows the cellular uptake of the particles to be visualized. This work provides a universal and convenient strategy to realize theranostic PACT in the ideal phototherapeutic window of 650–900 nm.     

Polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene-modified hematite nanoparticles for efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of p-nitrophenol

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and graphene (G)-modified iron oxides (Fe2O3-PVP-G) are prepared by a simple hydrothermal reaction. Their morphology and...