Ionic absorption of polypropylene functionalized by surface grafting and reactions

Plasma-induced surface graft copolymerization of acrylic acid on polypropylene fibers and the subsequent reactions of the grafted carboxylic groups are reported. The extents of grafting was controlled by the plasma conditions. Reactions of the carboxylic acid with selected amines resulted in ion-exchanging and chelating functionalities. In general, ion adsorption is enhanced by higher levels of grafting and by raising temperature during adsorption. The adsorption level and preferences among ions of these functionalized fibers depend on the structure of the functional groups, i.e., the structure of the spacer and terminal groups. The carboxylic acid groups of the PP-g-AA fibers which behave like weakly acidic ion-exchangers are attributed to the low metal ion adsorption and the lack of ion preference. The F1 fibers with flexible  CH₂CH₂ spacer and small terminal  OH in the functional group exhibits highest ion adsorption among all functionalized fibers studied here. With benzene spacers, metal adsorption can be enchanced by the electron-donating nature of the terminal group. With the same ester end group in the functional structure, F3 fibers which contain benzene ring spacers show higher ion adsorption than F4 and F5 which have CH₂ and NH spacers, respectively. The ion preference and adsorption ability of the functionalized fibers, i.e., equilibrium binding constants (K_b) and saturation constants (K_s) derived from adsorption isotherms, also depend on the functional group structures. K_b increases with increasing grafting yield, increasing the electron donor atom in either terminal bonds or spacer, and reducing the steric hindrance of spacer. The K_s values are affected by the accessibility of functional groups, the size of spacer, and the terminal group structure. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Oxaaza macrocycles constructed on poly(ethylenimine) through Ni(II)-template cyclization and their metal binding

Polymeric oxaaza macrocycles (PEI-OAM) are constructed on poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) by Ni(II)-template alkylation of PEI with diethyleneglycol ditosylate. The K_f values for Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) complexes of PEI–OAM are measured at pH 3.5–10 at 25°C. At pH 7, log K_f values for these complexes are 9–15, indicating that the polymeric oxaaza macrocycles can readily reduce concentrations of these metal ions below ppb level. Metal binding ability of nonpolymeric oxaaza macrocyclic compounds reported in the literature decreases rapidly as pH is lowered below 7, whereas that of PEI–OAM decreases to lesser extents. This is attributed to the electrostatic effects exerted by the ammonium ions of PEI backbone. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 527–532, 1997.     

A comparison of polymerization characteristics and mechanisms of ε-caprolactone and trimethylene-carbonate with rare earth halides

Characteristics and mechanisms of the ring opening-polymerizations of ε-caprolactone (CL) and trimethylene carbonate (TMC) with rare earth halides have been compared for the first time. It has been found that rare earth halides show high catalytic activities for the polymerization of TMC, but very low activities for that of CL polymerization. The copolymerization of CL and TMC can proceed only in the presence of high contents of TMC in the comonomer feed. The copolymerization rate decreases rapidly with increasing molar fraction of CL in the feed. The mechanism study by IR, ¹H-, ¹³C-, and ³¹P-NMR spectra shows that the first step reaction of the polymerization of TMC or CL with rare earth halide is the complexation of monomer to the rare earth ion. The strong coordination of TMC to rare earth ion induces the ring-cleavage of TMC and generation of the cationic species, which initiate the polymerization of TMC via a cationic process. However, the polymerization of CL with rare earth halide is an “activated-hydrolysis” process, in which rare earth catalyst does not initiate the polymerization but serves as an activator of CL. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 1339–1352, 1997     

Molecular Docking and Dynamics Investigations for Identifying Potential Inhibitors of the 3-Chymotrypsin-like Protease of SARS-CoV-2: Repurposing of Approved Pyrimidonic Pharmaceuticals for COVID-19 Treatment

This study demonstrates the inhibitory effect of 42 pyrimidonic pharmaceuticals (PPs) on the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease of SARS-CoV-2 (3CL^pro) through molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and free binding energies by means of molecular mechanics–Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) and molecular mechanics–generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA). Of these tested PPs, 11 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration showed an excellent binding affinity to the catalytic residues of 3CL^pro of His41 and Cys145: uracil mustard, cytarabine, floxuridine, trifluridine, stavudine, lamivudine, zalcitabine, telbivudine, tipiracil, citicoline, and uridine triacetate. Their percentage of residues involved in binding at the active sites ranged from 56 to 100, and their binding affinities were in the range from −4.6 ± 0.14 to −7.0 ± 0.19 kcal/mol. The molecular dynamics as determined by a 200 ns simulation run of solvated docked complexes confirmed the stability of PP conformations that bound to the catalytic dyad and the active sites of 3CL^pro. The free energy of binding also demonstrates the stability of the PP–3CL^pro complexes. Citicoline and uridine triacetate showed free binding energies of −25.53 and −7.07 kcal/mol, respectively. Therefore, I recommend that they be repurposed for the fight against COVID-19, following proper experimental and clinical validation.     

高速公路封道施工路段交通流特性及通行能力分析——以杭州湾大桥内侧两条车道封道情形为例

基于交通流实测数据,针对三车道高速公路杭州湾大桥路段内侧两条车道因施工而封闭时的情形,建立元胞自动机交通流模型.根据公路养护安全作业规程和车辆行驶特点,细致划分了施工路段各区域,采用不同的换道规则来模拟不同区域中车辆的换道行为,区分车型和司机性格差异,模拟结果与实测数据吻合良好,验证了模型的有效性.通过数值模拟,研究发现封道时流量和速度随着进车率增加均有不同程度的下降,并且流量还会因施工区域长度的增加而下降.此外,通过分析封道时的道路服务水平评价指标与交通流特征值之间的关系,得出在三级服务水平以上时,道路通行能力能得到基本的保证,以此推荐了极限流量值,可为高速公路封道时的交通管理提供理论依据.     

碳量子点的荧光发射机制

碳量子点(CQDs)一般是指粒径小于10 nm的零维碳材料,因其具有优良的光学特性而在生物成像、光学器件、生物复合材料和生物传感等领域得到广泛应用,并有望成为未来应用最广泛的一种碳材料。CQDs的光学特性受粒径、表面官能团及合成的条件(如温度、溶剂的种类和pH等)的影响,为了精准调控其光学性能以及进一步扩大其应用范围,需对其光致发光(Photoluminescence,PL)机制进行详细研究。然而,CQDs的PL机制尚不完全明确,目前,已提出的PL机制有量子限域效应、表面态发射、碳核和荧光分子、多环芳烃分子发射、自陷激子模型、表面偶极子发射中心、聚集发射中心、多发射中心、缓慢的溶剂弛豫和溶剂化效应等。但这些发光机制都只能在一定程度上解释CQDs的部分PL现象,还没有一种机制能解释CQDs的所有PL现象,严重制约了对CQDs光学特性的调控。本文对CQDs不同的PL机制进行分类和总结,希望为进一步阐明其PL机制及实现CQDs 光学特性的可控调节提供参考。     

模拟胃肠道消化液中小球藻类金属硫蛋白对镉离子的结合作用研究

利用锌诱导小球藻,通过提取分离和纯化,获得锌结合类金属硫蛋白(MT-like蛋白)。通过透析过程,研究模拟胃、肠道消化液中MT-like蛋白对Cd²⁺的结合作用。结果表明,在模拟胃液中MT-like蛋白处于脱金属状态,与Cd²⁺的结合能力弱。而在肠消化液中,MT-like蛋白能与Cd²⁺结合,20 mg·L^-1 MT-like蛋白与100μg·L^-1 Cd²⁺的结合率可达46.0%。研究发现,在模拟胃、肠液中胃蛋白酶和胰蛋白酶都会降低MT-like蛋白对Cd^2+的结合能力。研究结果对进一步开发MT-like蛋白作为Cd²⁺的生物解毒剂具有重要意义。     

钴(Ⅱ)、镍(Ⅱ)-二甲酚橙多元络合物的光谱特性研究

研究了Co(Ⅱ)、Ni(Ⅱ)-NH3-XO混配络合物和Co(Ⅱ)、Ni(Ⅱ)-NH3-XO-CTMAB多元络合物的形成条件及吸收光谱特性,结果表明,在pH 9.5的氨性缓冲溶液中,[NH3]/[XO]值在100~400范围内所形成的钴、镍多元络合物的最大吸收波长分别为530和590 nm,钴的多元络合物在0~2.0 mg.L-1、镍的多元络合物在0~2.6 mg.L-1范围内符合比耳定律,相对标准偏差分别为2.1%和1.9%。