Measurement of xanthine oxidase inhibition activity of phenolics and flavonoids with a modified cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) method

Various dietary polyphenolics have been found to show an inhibitory effect on xanthine oxidase (XO) which mediates oxidative stress-originated diseases because of its ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide anion radical (O₂⁻) and hydrogen peroxide. XO activity has usually been determined by following the rate of uric acid formation from xanthine-xanthine oxidase (X-XO) system using the classical XO activity assay (UV-method) at 295 nm. Since some polyphenolics have strong absorption from the UV to visible region, XO-inhibitory activity of polyphenolics was alternatively determined without interference by directly measuring the formation of uric acid and hydrogen peroxide using the modified CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity) spectrophotometric method at 450 nm. The CUPRAC absorbance of the incubation solution due to the reduction of Cu(II)-neocuproine reagent by the products of the X-XO system decreased in the presence of polyphenolics, the difference being proportional to the XO inhibition ability of the tested compound. The structure-activity relationship revealed that the flavones and flavonols with a 7-hydroxyl group such as apigenin, luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin inhibited XO-inhibitory activity at low concentrations (IC₅₀ values from 1.46 to 1.90 μM), while the flavan-3-ols and naringin were less inhibitory. The findings of the developed method for quercetin and catechin in the presence of catalase were statistically alike with those of HPLC. In addition to polyphenolics, five kinds of herbs were evaluated for their XO-inhibitory activity using the developed method. The proposed spectrophotometric method was practical, low-cost, rapid, and could reliably assay uric acid and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of polyphenols (flavonoids, simple phenolic acids and hydroxycinnamic acids), and less open to interferences by UV-absorbing substances.     

Electrochemical and optical bioassays of nerve agents based on the organophosphorus-hydrolase mediated growth of cupric ferrocyanide nanoparticles

A new biometallization route for detecting low levels of organophosphorus nerve agents based on organophosphorus-hydrolase (OPH)-stimulated formation of cupric-ferrocyanide (CuFeCN) nanoparticles is described. The growth and accumulation of these nanoparticles onto the surface of carbon paste electrodes, coupled with their favorable redox activity, allow the amplified electrochemical detection of nerve agents. The results clearly demonstrate the applicability of the biocatalytic formation and surface preconcentration of CuFeCN nanoparticles as a new and attractive bioamplification route and its potential for monitoring of a wide range of biocatalytic transformations.     

黄铜矿生产硫酸铜的工艺研究

本文研究了以黄铜矿为原料生产硫酸铜的主要工艺条件，给出了工业生产的最佳工艺参数，并对该工艺的关键进行了讨论。生产结果表明，采用该工艺，可使矿石中铜的回收率大于９５％，产品质量达到国标ＧＢ４３７－８０一级品标准。     

Cellulose alkyl ester/vinyl polymer blends: effects of butyryl substitution and intramolecular copolymer composition on the miscibility

The blend miscibility of cellulose alkyl esters, mainly butyrate (CB) and acetate butyrate (CAB), with synthetic homo- and copolymers comprising N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) and/or vinyl acetate (VAc) units, i.e., PVP, PVAc, and P(VP-co-VAc), was examined by differential scanning calorimetry. A miscibility map for the CB/vinyl polymer systems was constructed as a function of the degree of substitution (DS) of CB and the VP fraction of the mixing component. CBs were immiscible with PVAc regardless of the DS used (2.11–2.94), but miscible or immiscible with PVP depending on whether the butyryl DS was <2.5 or >2.5. The critical value of DS≈2.5 is lower than the corresponding one (DS≈2.8) evaluated formally for cellulose acetate (CA)/PVP blend series. This lowering is ascribable to an effect of steric hindrance of the bulky butyryl substituents, leading to suppression of the hydrogen-bonding interactions, as a driving factor for miscibility attainment, between residual hydroxyls of CB and carbonyl groups of PVP. The CB/vinyl copolymer system imparted a ‘miscibility window’ in which the VP/VAc composition participated; viz., CBs of DS≈2.54–2.94 were miscible with some P(VP-co-VAc)s of 30–70Â mol% VP fractions, in spite of the immiscibility with both PVP and PVAc homopolymers. The result was interpreted in terms of another inter-component attraction derived from repulsion between the monomer ingredients constituting the vinyl copolymer component. For CAB/P(VP-co-VAc) blends, it was observed that the VP/VAc range forming such a miscibility window became further expanded, compared with the corresponding series of CB blends. Fourier transform infrared and solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy revealed not only the presence or absence of the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding formation, determined according to the lower or higher DS of the cellulose ester component in the blends considered, but also a difference in the mixing scale between the polymer pairs regarded as miscible by the thermal analysis.     

Effect of surface morphology on membrane fouling by humic acid with the use of cellulose acetate butyrate hollow fiber membranes

A serious problem faced during the application of membrane filtration in water treatment is membrane fouling by natural organic matter (NOM). The hydrophilicity, zeta potential and morphology of membrane surface mainly influence membrane fouling. The aim of the present study is to reveal the correlation between membrane surface morphology and membrane fouling by use of humic acid solution and to investigate the efficiency of backwashing by water, which is applied to restore membrane flux. Cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) hollow fiber membranes were used in the present study. To obtain the membranes with various surface structures, membranes were prepared via both thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) and nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) by changing the preparation conditions such as polymer concentration, air gap distance and coagulation bath composition. Since the membrane material is the same, the effects of hydrophilicity and zeta potential on membrane fouling can be ignored. More significant flux decline was observed in the membrane with lower humic acid rejection. For the membranes with similar water permeability, the lower the porosity at the outer surface, the more serious the membrane fouling. Furthermore, the effect of the membrane morphology on backwashing performance was discussed.     

稀土固体超强酸SO42-/TiO2/La3+催化合成丁酸异戊酯

丁酸异戊酯是无色至淡黄色透明油状液体,有近似生梨和香蕉香甜气。天然品存在于椰子油、可可豆、苹果、香蕉、葡萄、草莓等中,是我国ＧＢ２７６０－８６规定允许使用的食用香料,主要用以配制香蕉、菠萝、杏、樱桃和杂锦水果等型香精;也可用作提取天然香料的溶剂、乙酸纤维素的溶剂及增塑剂。通常它是在硫酸催化下由丁酸和异戊醉酯化反应而得［１,２］,反应时间长,副反应多,对设备腐蚀严重,废水排放量大,后处理工艺复杂。为此,本实验选用稀土固体超强酸ＳＯ４２－／ＴｉＯ２／Ｌａ３＋作为催化剂进行某些酸与异戊醇的酯化反应。 …     

Copper-catalyzed synthesis of 2-imidazolines and their N-hydroxyethyl derivatives under various conditions

A rapid and efficient method for the synthesis of 2-imidazolines and their N-hydroxyethyl derivatives from the reaction of aromatic nitriles with ethylenediamine (EDA) or N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine (AEEA) using cupric indole-3-acetate (Cu(II)-(IAA)₂) as a reusable catalyst under reflux and microwave conditions is reported. And seven new N-hydroxyethyl-imidazolines were reported for the first time.     

Fabrication of Cellulose Aerogels Using a Green/Clean Procedure

Developing biodegradable and biocompatible products to replace non-biodegradable petrochemical products is of great importance for supplementing rapidly diminishing oil resources and reducing environmental pollution. Based on this belief, the goal of this research was to introduce a green/clean procedure to prepare an aerogel using biodegradable cellulose as feedstock and renewable choline butyrate as solvent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to investigate the morphology, chemical structure and thermostability. The results indicated that the cellulose aerogel possessed a porous structure which was composed of randomly oriented cellulose sheets. The cellulose aerogel had an amorphous structure compared to the original cellulose (cellulose I), and displayed good thermal stability.     

An Efficient General Synthesis of Squarate Esters

An efficient and general method for the synthesis of alkyl squarates is presented. This involves the reactions of squaric acid with the desired alcohol in the presence of an orthoformate. This was applicable for the synthesis of dimethyl-, diethyl-, diisopropyl, di-n-butyl and di-t-butyl squarates in yields ranging from 77–97%. It is a convenient and safe method that can be accomplished on a multigram scale.     

Phase behavior and crystallization of a poly(ethylene oxide)/cellulose acetate butyrate blend

The phase behavior of a partially miscible blend of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and the crystalline microstructure of PEO in the blend were studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy, and synchrotron small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) methods. PEO/CAB showed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 168 °C at the critical composition of PEO of 60 wt %. All blend compositions showed a single glass‐transition temperature (T_g) when they were prepared at temperatures lower than the LCST. However, with increasing CAB content, T_g of the blend changed abruptly at 70 wt % CAB; that is, a cusp existed. Below 70 wt % CAB, the change in T_g with blend composition was predicted by the Brau–Kovacs equation, whereas this change was predicted by the Fox equation at higher CAB contents. A gradual but small depression of the melting point of PEO in the blend with an increasing amount of CAB suggested that the PEO/CAB blends exhibited a weak intermolecular interaction. From DSC and SAXS experiments, it was found that amorphous CAB was incorporated into the interlamellar region of PEO for blends with less than 20 wt % CAB, whereas it was segregated to exist in the interfibrillar region in PEO for other blends with larger amounts of CAB. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1673–1681, 2002