Effect of concentration on surfactant micelle shapes —A molecular dynamics study

Many aspects of the behavior of surfactants have not been well understood due to the coupling of many different mechanisms. Computer simulation is, therefore, attractive in the sense that it can explore the effect of different mechanisms separately. In this paper, the shapes, structures and sizes of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) micelles under different concentrations in an oil/water mixture were studied via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using a simplified atomistic model which basically maintains the hydrophile and lipophile properties of the surfactant molecules. Above the critical micellar concentration (cmc), surfactant molecules aggregate spontaneously to form a wide variety of assemblies, from spherical to rodlike, wormlike and bilayer micelles. Changes in their ratios of the principle moments of inertia (g₁/g₃, g₂/g₃) indicated the transition of micelle shapes at different concentrations. The aggregation number of micelle is found to have a power-law dependence on surfactant concentration.     

The melt elastic behavior of polypropylene/glass bead composites in capillary flow

The melt extrudate swell and entry pressure losses are important characteristics of elastic properties during die extrusion of polymeric fluids. They are usually expressed with die-swell ratio (B) and entry pressure drop (ΔP_o). In the present paper, the die-swell behavior and entrance pressure drop of a polypropylene (PP) filled with A-glass beads were investigated by using a Rosand capillary rheometer to identify the effects of the filler contents and extrusion rate on the elastic behavior of the sample melts. The experiments were carried out under the conditions with an apparent shear rate range of 50–10⁴ s⁻¹ and a temperature of 190 °C. The results showed that B increased nonlinearly with increasing shear rate at the wall (γ_w), and increased linearly with the increase of shear stress at the wall (τ_w). With the increase of the volume fraction of the fillers B decreased nonlinearly. Similarly, the entry pressure drop increased linearly with the increase of τ_w, whereas the influence of the filler concentration on ΔP_o was insignificant in this case. Furthermore, B increased as a linear function of ΔP_o, and extension stress (σ_e) increased nonlinearly with increasing γ_w.     

含Schiff碱基双分子膜聚集态的pH依存性

合成双分子膜是近年来出现的一类重要的超分子化学体系,它具有多方面模拟生物膜功能的性质,是目前国际上极引人注目的研究领域.含有Schiff碱基的双亲性分子(1)的稀水溶液在超声波作用下,可形成其壁为双分子膜结构的球形囊泡。示差扫描量热分析(DSC)表明,该双分子膜从凝胶相到液晶相的相变温度T_c为32℃.由于Schiff碱基在膜内的质子化行为与视网膜中视色素的光化学过程密切相关,所以研究上述合成双分子膜的质子化过程有着重要的膜模拟化学意义.本文简要报导双分子膜(1)在不     

A three‐dimensional lead(II) coordination polymer: poly[aqua‐μ‐imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxyl­ato‐lead(II)]

In the title coordination polymer, [Pb(C₅H₂N₂O₄)(H₂O)]_n, the Pb^II atom is seven‐coordinated by one N atom and five O atoms from four individual imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxyl­ate (HIDC²⁻) groups and one water mol­ecule. It is inter­esting to note that the HIDC²⁻ group serves as a bridging ligand to link the Pb^II atoms into a three‐dimensional microporous open‐framework.     

A near-infrared Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy of epidermal keratinocytes: changes in the protein-DNA structure following malignant transformation

We report here the use of near-infrared (NIR) Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy to analyze normal human epidermal keratinocytes prior to and following malignant transformation. Our analysis indicates specific Raman spectral differences between immortalized (HPK1A) and malignant ras transformed (HPK1A-ras) cells. In addition, striking spectral differences are seen in the DNA isolated from these cells and particularly in the 843/810 cm(-1) ratio with values of 1.6 +/- 0.13 in HPK1A cells and 0.68 +/- 0.09 in HPK1A-ras cells (mean +/- S.D., n = 12, P < 0.001) indicating specific alterations in the backbone conformation markers following malignant transformation. Subsequently, we analysed the effect of a strong inhibitor of keratinocyte growth, the Vitamin D analog EB1089, on the Raman spectra of intact cells and on the 843/810 cm(-1) ratio in the DNA isolated from both cell lines. Specific changes were observed in intact cells in the 1300-750 cm(-1) region. Furthermore, the 843/810 cm(-1) ratio of isolated DNA from HPK1A cells was not affected by EB1089 but significantly increased in DNA isolated from HPK1A-ras cells so much that it became closer to the value observed for HPK1A cells (1.07 +/- 0.10). Our data suggest that Raman analysis of DNA and in particular the 843/810 cm(-1) ratio can provide useful indices of malignant transformation and efficacy of anticancer agents.     

Formation of hydroxyl radical from the photolysis of frozen hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) in ice and snow is an important chemical tracer for the oxidative capacities of past atmospheres. However, photolysis in ice and snow will destroy HOOH and form the hydroxyl radical (*OH), which can react with snowpack trace species. Reactions of *OH in snow and ice will affect the composition of both the overlying atmosphere (e.g., by the release of volatile species such as formaldehyde to the boundary layer) and the snow and ice (e.g., by the *OH-mediated destruction of trace organics). To help understand these impacts, we have measured the quantum yield of *OH from the photolysis of HOOH on ice. Our measured quantum yields (Phi(HOOH --> *OH)) are independent of ionic strength, pH, and wavelength, but are dependent upon temperature. This temperature dependence for both solution and ice data is best described by the relationship ln(Phi(HOOH --> *OH)) = -(684 +/- 17)(1/T) + (2.27 +/- 0.064) (where errors represent 1 standard error). The corresponding activation energy (Ea) for HOOH (5.7 kJ mol(-1)) is much smaller than that for nitrate photolysis, indicating that the photochemistry of HOOH is less affected by changes in temperature. Using our measured quantum yields, we calculate that the photolytic lifetimes of HOOH in surface snow grains under midday, summer solstice sunlight are approximately 140 h at representative sites on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. In addition, our calculations reveal that the majority of *OH radicals formed on polar snow grains are from HOOH photolysis, while nitrate photolysis is only a minor contributor. Similarly, HOOH appears to be much more important than nitrate as a photochemical source of *OH on cirrus ice clouds, where reactions of the photochemically formed hydroxyl radical could lead to the release of oxygenated volatile organic compounds to the upper troposphere.     

The structure of small penta-twinned gold particles

The structural feathers of penta-twinned gold particles (size between 2 and 6 nm) generated by gas evaporation have been investigated by high resolution TEM. The structural characteristic of penta-twinned particles is different from that of quasi-crystals that the five coherent or incoherent twin boundaries separating the twin oriented segments do not join up along a common edge. The lattice parameter is reduced by 4–5% in comparison to that of bulk gold. The formation of the penta-twinned particles is proposed to occur by particle collision. The particles were observed to be crystalline at ambient temperature.     

Poly[[diaquamanganese(II)]‐μ3‐4‐oxido‐2‐oxo‐1,2‐dihydropyrimidine‐5‐carboxylato‐κ4O4,O5:O2:O2]

In the title compound, [Mn(C₅H₂N₂O₄)(H₂O)₂]_n, the Mn^II ion has a distorted octahedral geometry and the 4‐oxido‐2‐oxo‐1,2‐dihydropyrimidine‐5‐carboxylate (Hiso²⁻) anion acts as a μ₃:η⁴‐bridging ligand. Two oxo O atoms from different Hiso²⁻ ligands bridge two Mn^II ions, forming centrosymmetric dinuclear building blocks. Each dinuclear building block interacts with another four by the coordination of the oxide groups and carboxylate O atoms, producing a two‐dimensional framework in the ab plane. Hydrogen bonds further extend the two‐dimensional sheets into a three‐dimensional supramolecular framework.     

Microfluidic three-dimensional biomimetic tumor model for studying breast cancer cell migration and invasion in the presence of interstitial flow

Cell migration and invasion are critical steps in cancer metastasis, which are the major cause of death in cancer patients. Tumor-associated macrophages(TAMs) and interstitial flow(IF) are two important biochemical and biomechanical cues in tumor microenvironment, play essential roles in tumor progression. However, their combined effects on tumor cell migration and invasion as well as molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. In this work, we developed a microfluidic-based 3 D breast cancer model by co-culturing tumor aggregates, macrophages, monocytes and endothelial cells within 3 D extracellular matrix in the presence of IF to study tumor cell migration and invasion. On the established platform, we can precisely control the parameters related to tumor microenvironment and observe cellular responses and interactions in real-time. When co-culture of U937 with human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) or MDA-MB-231 cells and tri-culture of U937 with HUVECs and MDA-MB-231 cells, we found that mesenchymal-like MDA-MB-231 aggregates activated the monocytes to TAM-like phenotype macrophages. MDA-MB-231 cells and IF simultaneously enhanced the macrophages activation by the stimulation of colony-stimulating factor 1(CSF-1). The activated macrophages and IF further promoted vascular sprouting via vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGFα) signal and tumor cell invasion. This is the first attempt to study the interaction between macrophages and breast cancer cells under IF condition. Taken together, our results provide a new insight to reveal the important physiological and pathological processes of macrophages-tumor communication. Moreover, our established platform with a more mimetic 3 D breast cancer model has the potential for drug screening with more accurate results.     

Thermochemistry of the ternary solid complex Gd(C5H8NS2)3(C12H8N2)

The novel ternary solid complex Gd(C₅H₈NS₂)₃(C₁₂H₈N₂) has been obtained from the reaction of hydrous gadolinium chloride, ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC), and 1,10-phenanthroline (o-phen · H₂O) in absolute ethanol. The complex was described by an elemental analysis, TG-DTG, and an IR spectrum. The enthalpy change of the complex formation reaction from a solution of the reagents, Δ_r H _m ^ϑ (sol), and the molar heat capacity of the complex, c _m , were determined as being − 15.174 ± 0.053 kJ/mol and 72.377 ± 0.636 J/(mol K) at 298.15 K by using an RD496-III heat conduction microcalorimeter. The enthalpy change of a complex formation from the reaction of the reagents in a solid phase, Δ_r H _m ^ϑ (s), was calculated as being 52.703 ± 0.304 kJ/mol on the basis of an appropriate thermochemical cycle and other auxiliary thermodynamic data. The thermodynamics of the formation reaction of the complex was investigated by the reaction in solution. Fundamental parameters, the activation enthalpy (ΔH _≠ ^ϑ ), the activation entropy (ΔS _≠ ^ϑ ), the activation free energy (ΔG _≠ ^ϑ ), the apparent reaction rate constant (k), the apparent activation energy (E), the preexponential constant (A), and the reaction order (n), were obtained by the combination of the thermochemical data of the reaction and kinetic equations, with the data of thermokinetic experiments. The constant-volume combustion energy of the complex, Δ_c U, was determined as being −17588.79 ± 8.62 kJ/mol by an RBC-II type rotatingbomb calorimeter at 298.15 K. Its standard enthalpy of combustion, Δ_c H _m ^ϑ , and standard enthalpy of formation, Δ_f H _m ^ϑ , were calculated to be −17604.28 ± 8.62 and −282.43 ± 9.58 kJ/mol, respectively. The text was submitted by the authors in English.