Effects of ball-to-powder diameter ratio and powder particle shape on EDEM simulation in a planetary ball mill

The effects of the ball-to-powder diameter ratio (BPDR) and the shape of the powder particles on EDEM simulation results and time in the planetary ball mill was investigated. BPDR was varied from 1 to 40/3 by changing the powder particle diameter from 8 to 0.6 ?mm. The size and shape of the powder particles do not give a significant change in both the ball motion pattern and simulation results when BPDR is over 20/3. It can be assumed that the kinetic energy of the ball has nothing to do with the size and shape of the powder particle. The simulation time and data size increase exponentially as BPDR increases. The effect of change of the powder particle shape on the calculated data size is not significant, but the more complicated its shape, the longer the simulation time, which is linearly related to the number of spheres composing a particle.     

Saffron Pre-Treatment Promotes Reduction in Tissue Inflammatory Profiles and Alters Microbiome Composition in Experimental Colitis Mice

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Long-standing colitis is associated with increased risk of colon cancer. Despite the availability of various anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory drugs, many patients fail to respond to pharmacologic therapy and some experience drug-induced adverse events. Dietary supplements, particularly saffron (Crocus sativus), have recently gained an appreciable attention in alleviating some symptoms of digestive diseases. In our study, we investigated whether saffron may have a prophylactic effect in a murine colitis model. Saffron pre-treatment improved the gross and histopathological characteristics of the colonic mucosa in murine experimental colitis. Treatment with saffron showed a significant amelioration of colitis when compared to the vehicle-treated mice group. Saffron treatment significantly decreased secretion of serotonin and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, in the colon tissues by suppressing the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. The gut microbiome analysis revealed distinct clusters in the saffron-treated and untreated mice in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis by visualization of the Bray–Curtis diversity by principal coordinates analysis (PCoA). Furthermore, we observed that, at the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) level, Cyanobacteria were depleted, while short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as isobutyric acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid, were increased in saffron-treated mice. Our data suggest that pre-treatment with saffron inhibits DSS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, modulates gut microbiota composition, prevents the depletion of SCFAs, and reduces the susceptibility to colitis.     

Simultaneous Detection of Single Attoliter Droplet Collisions by Electrochemical and Electrogenerated Chemiluminescent Responses

We provide evidence of single attoliter oil droplet collisions at the surface of an ultra‐microelectrode (UME) by the observation of simultaneous electrochemical current transients (i–t curves) and electrogenerated chemiluminescent (ECL) transients in an oil/water emulsion. An emulsion system based on droplets of toluene and tri‐n‐propylamine (2:1 v/v) emulsified with an ionic liquid and suspended in an aqueous continuous phase was formed by ultrasonification. When an ECL luminophore, such as rubrene, is added to the emulsion droplet, stochastic events can be tracked by observing both the current blips from oxidation at the electrode surface and the ECL blips from the follow‐up ECL reaction, which produces light. This report provides a means of studying fundamental aspects of electrochemistry using the attoliter oil droplet and offers complementary analytical techniques for analyzing discrete collision events, size distribution of emulsion systems, and individual droplet electroactivity.     

Surface-Plasmonic-Field-Induced Photoredox Catalysis and Mediated Electron Transfer for Washing-Free DNA Detection

Distance-dependent electromagnetic radiation and electron transfer have been commonly employed in washing-free fluorescence and electrochemical bioassays, respectively. In this study, we combined the two distance-dependent phenomena for sensitive washing-free DNA detection. A distance-dependent surface plasmonic field induces rapid photoredox catalysis of surface-bound catalytic labels, and distance-dependent mediated electron transfer allows for rapid electron transfer from the surface-bound labels to the electrode. An optimal system consists of a chemically reversible acceptor (Ru(NH₃)₆³⁺), a chemically reversible photoredox catalyst (eosin Y), and a chemically irreversible donor (triethanolamine). Side reactions with O₂ do not significantly decrease the efficiency of photoredox catalysis. Energy transfer quenching between the electrode and the label can be lowered by increasing the distance between them. Washing-free DNA detection had a detection limit of approximately 0.3 nm in buffer and 0.4 nm in serum without a washing step.     

Whole-Cell Photoenzymatic Cascades to Synthesize Long-Chain Aliphatic Amines and Esters from Renewable Fatty Acids

Long-chain aliphatic amines such as (S,Z)-heptadec-9-en-7-amine and 9-aminoheptadecane were synthesized from ricinoleic acid and oleic acid, respectively, by whole-cell cascade reactions using the combination of an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Micrococcus luteus, an engineered amine transaminase from Vibrio fluvialis (Vf-ATA), and a photoactivated decarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (Cv-FAP) in a one-pot process. In addition, long chain aliphatic esters such as 10-(heptanoyloxy)dec-8-ene and octylnonanoate were prepared from ricinoleic acid and oleic acid, respectively, by using the combination of the ADH, a Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase variant from Pseudomonas putida KT2440, and the Cv-FAP. The target compounds were produced at rates of up to 37 U g⁻¹ dry cells with conversions up to 90 %. Therefore, this study contributes to the preparation of industrially relevant long-chain aliphatic chiral amines and esters from renewable fatty acid resources.     

Nanocatalosomes as Plasmonic Bilayer Shells with Interlayer Catalytic Nanospaces for Solar‐Light‐Induced Reactions

Interest and challenges remain in designing and synthesizing catalysts with nature‐like complexity at few‐nm scale to harness unprecedented functionalities by using sustainable solar light. We introduce “nanocatalosomes”—a bio‐inspired bilayer‐vesicular design of nanoreactor with metallic bilayer shell‐in‐shell structure, having numerous controllable confined cavities within few‐nm interlayer space, customizable with different noble metals. The intershell‐confined plasmonically coupled hot‐nanospaces within the few‐nm cavities play a pivotal role in harnessing catalytic effects for various organic transformations, as demonstrated by “acceptorless dehydrogenation”, “Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling” and “alkynyl annulation” affording clean conversions and turnover frequencies (TOFs) at least one order of magnitude higher than state‐of‐the‐art Au‐nanorod‐based plasmonic catalysts. This work paves the way towards next‐generation nanoreactors for chemical transformations with solar energy.     

Supramolecular Phthalocyanine Assemblies for Improved Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy

Phototheranostic nanoplatforms are of particular interest for cancer diagnosis and imaging‐guided therapy. Herein, we develop a supramolecular approach to fabricate a nanostructured phototheranostic agent through the direct self‐assembly of two water‐soluble phthalocyanine derivatives, PcS4 and PcN4. The nature of the molecular recognition between PcS4 and PcN4 facilitates the formation of nanostructure (PcS4‐PcN4) and consequently enables the fabrication of PcS4‐PcN4 with completely quenched fluorescence and reduced singlet oxygen generation, leading to the high photoacoustic and photothermal activity of PcS4‐PcN4. In vivo evaluations suggest that PcS4‐PcN4 could not only efficiently visualize a tumor with high contrast through whole‐body photoacoustic imaging but also enable excellent photothermal therapy for cancer.