Selective pervaporation of water through a nonselective microporous titania membrane by a dynamically induced molecular sieving mechanism

Pervaporation experiments were performed on microporous titania membranes using several binary liquids containing 2-20 wt % water. The membrane was nonselective in the separation of water from alcohols and p-dioxane but showed a remarkably high selectivity in the separation of water from ethylene glycol/water mixtures with < or =15 mol % water. The absence of selectivity under most conditions is explained by the large pore size (0.9 nm) of microporous titania. The high selectivity for water in the separation from ethylene glycol can be explained by the formation of a hydrogen-bonded network of ethylene glycol in the micropores, which blocks transport of ethylene glycol, while water can still permeate through. These networks are disrupted by water at higher concentrations, leading to full loss of membrane selectivity.     

Observation of ligand binding to cytochrome P450 BM-3 by means of solid-state NMR spectroscopy

A broad understanding of the binding modes of ligands and inhibitors to cytochrome P450 is vital for the development of new drugs. We investigated ligand binding in a site-specific fashion on cytochrome P450 BM-3 from Bacillus megaterium, a 119 kDa paramagnetic enzyme, using solid-state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance methods. Selective labeling and longitudinal relaxation effects were utilized to identify the peaks in a site-specific fashion and to provide evidence for binding. Well-resolved one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectra of cytochrome P450 BM-3 reveal shifts upon binding of its substrate, N-palmitoylglycine. These data are consistent with the crystallographic result that a biochemically important amino acid residue, Phe87, moves upon ligation. This experimental scheme provides a tool for probing ligand binding for complex systems.     

Study of flame-retardant finishing of cellulose fibres: Organic–inorganic hybrid versus conventional organophosphonate

The aim of this study was to introduce a non-formaldehyde inorganic–organic hybrid sol–gel flame-retardant precursor (SiOP) containing phosphorous, nitrogen, and silicon and to compare its functional properties with those of the conventional formaldehyde-containing organic flame-retardant agent, organophosphonate (OP). SiOP was used at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 8%, and OP was used at a concentration of 200 g/dm³. Both agents were applied to 100% cotton (CO) woven fabric by the pad-dry-cure method under the appropriate conditions. The presence of the SiOP and OP coatings on the CO fabric was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of the vertical tests of flammability and the thermogravimetric analyses showed that the presence of the SiOP coating changed the thermal degradation pathway of the CO fabric and resulted in an increase in the thermo-oxidative stability of the cellulose fibres. The thermo-oxidative stability was enhanced by the addition of higher amount of dry solids. At comparable dry solids contents, OP preserved significantly greater flame retardancy and thermo-oxidative stability than did SiOP. These results indicated that the SiOP precursor could not act as an effective alternative to the OP agent in the flame-retardant protection of CO fabric.     

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of two-sided lid-driven flow in a staggered cavity

In this article, the lattice Boltzmann method is employed in order to explore incompressible fluid flow inside a two-sided lid-driven staggered cavity. Results of the lattice Boltzmann simulation for antiparallel motion of lids are compared with the data from existing literature. For parallel motion of lids, the characteristics of flow pattern for a variety of Re numbers (50–3200) are presented. An asymmetric steady-state flow pattern for parallel motion of lids is obtained.     

Degradation of azithromycin using Ti/RuO<Subscript>2</Subscript> anode as catalyst followed by DPV,HPLC–UV and MS analysis

The electrodegradation of azithromycin was studied by its indirect oxidation using dimensionally stable Ti/RuO₂ anode as catalyst in the electrolyte containing methanol, 0.05 M NaHCO₃, sodium chloride and deionized water. The optimal conditions for galvanostatic electrodegradation for the azithromycin concentration of 0.472 mg cm^?3 were found to be NaCl concentration of 7 mg cm^?3 and the applied current of 300 mA. The differential pulse voltammetry using glassy carbon electrode was performed for the first time in the above-mentioned content of electrolyte for the nine concentration of azithromycin (0.075–0.675 mg cm^?3) giving the limits of azithromycin detection and of quantification as: LOD 0.044 mg cm^?3 and LOQ 0.145 mg cm^?3. The calibration curve was constructed enabling the electrolyte analysis during its electrodegradation process. The electrolyte was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The electrooxidation products were identified and after 180 min there was no azithromycin in the electrolyte while TOC analysis showed that 79% of azithromycin was mineralized. The proposed degradation scheme is presented.     

The conformation of epinephrine in polar solvents: an NMR study

Structural Chemistry - Epinephrine (Epi) is a physiologically important catecholamine. Molecular conformation of Epi controls the interactions with other molecules and its biological effects. There...     

Optimization of cubic GaN/AlGaN quantum cascade structures for negative refraction in the THz spectral range

In this work we theoretically investigate a possibility to use cubic nitride based multi-layer periodic nanostructure as a semiconductor metamaterial. The structure design is based on an active region of a quantum cascade laser optimized to achieve optical gain in the Terahertz (THz) spectral range. In particular, we test the GaN/AlGaN quantum well configurations, which should exhibit important advantages compared to GaAs-based structures, namely room temperature operation without the assistance of magnetic field and lower doping densities. Our numerical rate-equations model is solved self-consistently and it takes into account electron-longitudinal optical phonon scattering between all the relevant states among the adjacent periods of the structure. A global optimization routine, specifically genetic algorithm is then used to generate new gain-optimized structures. This work confirms the advantages of cubic GaN designs over GaAs ones, namely feasibility of negative refraction at room temperature without the assistance of magnetic field while keeping the doping densities of the same order of magnitude.     

Parallel Interactions at Large Horizontal Displacement in Pyridine–Pyridine and Benzene–Pyridine Dimers

A study of crystal structures from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and DFT calculations reveals that parallel pyridine–pyridine and benzene–pyridine interactions at large horizontal displacements (offsets) can be important, similar to parallel benzene–benzene interactions. In the crystal structures from the CSD preferred parallel pyridine–pyridine interactions were observed at a large horizontal displacement (4.0–6.0 Å) and not at an offset of 1.5 Å with the lowest calculated energy. The calculated interaction energies for pyridine–pyridine and benzene–pyridine dimers at a large offset (4.5 Å) are about 2.2 and 2.1 kcal mol^?1, respectively. Substantial attraction at large offset values is a consequence of the balance between repulsion and dispersion. That is, dispersion at large offsets is reduced, however, repulsion is also reduced at large offsets, resulting in attractive interactions.