The growth of the flower-like ZnO structure using a continuous flow microreactor

ZnO is a valuable material for display devices, for catalytic chemical reactors, and as sorbents for desulfurizaton because of its excellent chemical and thermal stability. In this work, we report the synthesis of flower-like ZnO structures using a continuous flow microreactor over an oxidized silicon substrate. A chemical solution that employed zinc acetate [Zn(CH₃COO)₂ · 2H₂O] and sodium hydroxide [NaOH] was used as precursors. The effects of water bath temperature, impinging time and concentration of NaOH on the growth of the flower-like structure have been investigated in this study. It was confirmed that the size of the fabricated flower-like structure was increased as the impinging time and the water bath temperature were increased. Various flower-like morphologies were observed according to the different concentration of NaOH. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the morphologies of the synthesized flower-like ZnO structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the crystal structures of the ZnO crystallites as a function of the concentration of sodium hydroxide.     

Hydrogel‐Immobilized Coacervate Droplets as Modular Microreactor Assemblies

Immobilization of compartmentalized microscale objects in 3D hydrogels provides a step towards the modular assembly of soft functional materials with tunable architectures and distributed functionalities. Herein, we report the use of a combination of micro‐compartmentalization, immobilization, and modularization to fabricate and assemble hydrogel‐based microreactor assemblies comprising millions of functionalized polysaccharide–polynucleotide coacervate droplets. The heterogeneous hydrogels can be structurally fused by interfacial crosslinking and coupled as input and output modules to implement a UV‐induced photocatalytic/peroxidation nanoparticle/DNAzyme reaction cascade that generates a spatiotemporal fluorescence read‐out depending on the droplet number density, intensity of photoenergization, and chemical flux. Our approach offers a route to heterogeneous hydrogels with endogenous reactivity and reconfigurable architecture, and provides a step towards the development of soft modular materials with programmable functionality.     

Evaluation inhibitory activity of catechins on trypsin by capillary electrophoresis–based immobilized enzyme microreactor with chromogenic substrate

In this study, a capillary electrophoresis‐based online immobilized enzyme microreactor was developed for evaluating the inhibitory activity of green tea catechins and tea polyphenol extracts on trypsin. The immobilized trypsin activity and other kinetic parameters were evaluated by measuring the peak area of the hydrolyzate of chromogenic substrate S‐2765. The results indicated that the activity of the immobilized trypsin remained approximately 90.0% of the initial immobilized enzyme activity after 30 runs. The value of Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m) was (0.47 ± 0.08) mM, and the half‐maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) and inhibition constant (K_i) of benzamidine were measured as 3.34 and 3.00 mM, respectively. Then, the inhibitory activity of four main catechins (epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate) and three tea polyphenol extracts (green tea, white tea, and black tea) on trypsin were investigated. The results showed that four catechins and three tea polyphenol extracts had potential trypsin inhibitory activity. In addition, molecular docking results illustrated that epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, epicatechin, and epigallocatechin were all located not only in the catalytic cavity, but also in the substrate‐binding pocket of trypsin. These results indicated that the developed method is an effective tool for evaluating inhibitory activity of catechins on trypsin.     

Capillary electrophoresis-integrated immobilized enzyme microreactor with graphene oxide as support: Immobilization of negatively charged L-lactate dehydrogenase via hydrophobic interactions

We report the first application of hydrophobic interaction between graphene oxide (GO) and negatively charged enzymes to fabricate CE-integrated immobilized enzyme microreactors (IMERs) by a simple and reliable immobilization procedure based on layer by layer assembly. L -lactate dehydrogenase (L -LDH), which is negatively charged during the enzymatic reaction, is selected as the model enzyme. Various spectroscopic techniques, including SEM, FTIR, and UV-vis are used to characterize the fabricated CE-IMERs, demonstrating the successful immobilization of enzymes on the negatively charged GO layer in the capillary surface. The IMER exhibits excellent repeatability with RSDs of inter-day and batch-to-batch less than 3.49 and 6.37%, respectively, and the activity of immobilized enzymes remains about 90% after five-day usage. The measured K_m values of pyruvate and NADH of the immobilized L -LDH are in good agreement with those obtained by free enzymes. The results demonstrate that the hydrophobic interactions and/or π-π stacking is significant between the GO backbone and the aromatic residues of L -LDH and favorable to fabrication of CE-integrated IMERs. Finally, the method is successfully applied to the determination of pyruvate in beer samples.     

Evaluation of xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of flavonoids by an online capillary electrophoresis-based immobilized enzyme microreactor

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) is a key enzyme in the human body to produce uric acid, and its inhibitor can be used for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout. In this study, an online CE-based XOD immobilized enzyme microreactor (IMER) was developed for the enzyme kinetics assays and inhibitor screening. After 30 consecutive runs, the XOD activity remained about 95.6% of the initial immobilized activity. The Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m) of the immobilized XOD was determined as 0.39 mM using xanthine as substrate. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration and inhibition constant of the known inhibitor 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine on XOD were determined as 11.9 and 5.2 μM, respectively. Then, the developed method was applied to evaluate the XOD inhibitory activity of 10 flavonoids, which indicated that dihydroquercetin, quercetin, biochanin A, and epicatechin had significant inhibitory effect on XOD. In addition, molecular docking results verified that the binding energy of the flavonoids with enzyme were in line with their inhibitory activity determined by XOD–IMER. Therefore, the developed XOD–IMER is a potential tool for the primary screening of XOD inhibitors from natural products.     

基于DNA定向固定化技术构建毛细管固定化酶微反应器的研究进展

生物酶影响着物质代谢和质能转换等生命活动,生物体内某些酶的活性变化会导致疾病的发生。发展新型的酶分析方法对深刻理解生物代谢过程、疾病诊断和药物研发等具有重要意义。毛细管电泳（CE）具有分离效率高、分析速度快、操作简单和样品消耗少以及可与多种检测手段联用等优点,在酶分析研究中越来越受到关注。CE酶分析主要包括离线和在线两种模式,其中,固定化酶微反应器与毛细管电泳联用（CE-IMER）的在线酶分析已经成为主要的酶分析方法之一。CE-IMER充分结合了固定化酶和CE的优势,将游离酶固定在毛细管内,不仅可以显著提高酶的稳定性和重复使用性,而且可以实现纳升规模溶液的自动化酶分析,进而显著降低酶分析成本。目前已有大量方法制备IMER用于CE酶分析,然而如何构建性能良好、可再生使用、酶固载量大、自动化程度高的CE-IMER一直是该领域重点研究的问题。DNA定向固定化技术（DDI）可以充分利用DNA分子的碱基互补配对（A-T,C-G）,在温和的生理条件下特异性固定生物大分子。由于短链双螺旋DNA分子具有较强的机械刚性和物理化学稳定性,通过DDI将酶固定在载体表面,有利于降低传质阻力,提高酶与底物的接触能力,进而促进酶促分析过程。该文主要综述了利用DDI构建新型IMER在CE酶分析中的应用现状,并对其未来发展进行了展望。     

Preparation of a dual‐enzyme co‐immobilized capillary microreactor and simultaneous screening of multiple enzyme inhibitors by capillary electrophoresis

A CE method based on a dual‐enzyme co‐immobilized capillary microreactor was developed for the simultaneous screening of multiple enzyme inhibitors. The capillary microreactor was prepared by co‐immobilizing adenosine deaminase and xanthine oxidase on the inner wall at the inlet end of the separation capillary. The enzymes were first immobilized on gold nanoparticles, and the functionalized gold nanoparticles were then assembled on the inner wall at the inlet end of the separation capillary treated with polyethyleneimine. With the developed CE method, the substrates and products were baseline separated within 3 min. The activity of the immobilized enzyme can be directly detected by measuring the peak height of the products. A statistical parameter Z′ factor was recommended for evaluation of the accuracy of a drug screening system. In the present study, it was calculated to be larger than 0.5, implying a good accuracy. Finally, screening a small compound library containing two known enzyme inhibitors and 20 natural extracts by the proposed method was demonstrated. The known inhibitors were identified, and some natural extracts were found to be positive for two‐enzyme inhibition by the present method.     

基于MCM-41微反应器的微波辅助合成新方法研究

采用微波辐射合成法合成了纳米介孔分子筛MCM-41作为微反应器.以苯并呋喃-2(3H)-酮的合成为实例,在甲苯介质中将邻羟基苯乙酸组装到MCM-41微反应器中,研究了溶液体系及微反应器中反应温度、反应时间及微波辐射时间对反应的影响.结果显示,在施加微波与不施加微波情况下,MCM-41微反应器中进行的反应较溶液体系中进行的反应产率提高了2～33与2～12倍.对于MCM-41微反应器中的反应,施加微波辐射后反应产率可进一步提高20%～100%.     

Rate Acceleration of the Baylis‐Hillman Reaction within Microreactors

Based on microreactors, the representative Baylis‐Hillman reaction of cyclopent‐2‐enone coupled with 4‐nitrobenzaldehyde in the presence of imidazole could be accelerated by manipulating the temperature and electric field. Furthermore, the electric field was used in promoting Baylis‐Hillman reaction for the first time with the rate acceleration approximately 5.2‐fold higher than that carried out in conventional vessels as well as 4.0‐fold under control of temperature. Meanwhile, the products of Baylis‐Hillman reaction at every time point could be collected and then determined by capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography.