Submicellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection improves the analysis of naproxen in plasma and brain tissue

Rapid, simple, and sensitive submicellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed and validated to quantify naproxen in plasma and brain samples after oral administration of Naproxen formulations. The method used tramadol as an internal standard. Different submicellar mobile phases with organic phases ranging from 40 to 60% were studied to improve the native fluorescence of the Naproxen and decrease retention times. Separation was done in a Zorbax SB C8 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a mobile phase containing acidic 0.007 M sodium dodecyl sulfate/acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Detection was performed with an excitation wavelength of 280 nm and emission of 310 nm and 360 nm for internal standard and Naproxen, respectively. The method was validated by International Conference of Harmonization standards. The method is specific, accurate, and precise (relative standard deviation <3%). Limits of detection and quantification were 0.08 and 0.25 μg/mL, respectively, for biological samples. This method was applied to analyze brain/plasma ratios in mice that had received oral administrations of Naproxen micellar formulations containing 10% w/w of sodium dodecyl sulfate, Cremophor RH 40, or Tween 80. The sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles were faster and more widely distributed in the mouse brains.     

An Injectable,Bifunctional Hydrogel with Photothermal Effects for Tumor Therapy and Bone Regeneration

Significant attention has been focused on bone tumor therapy recently. At present, the treatment in clinic typically requires surgical intervention. However, a few tumor cells remain around bone defects after surgery and subsequently proliferate within several days. Thus, fabrication of biomaterials with dual functions of tumor therapy and bone regeneration is significant. Herein, the injectable hydrogel containing cisplatin (DDP) and polydopamine‐decorated nano‐hydroxyapatite is prepared via Schiff base reaction between the aldehyde groups on oxidized sodium alginate and amino groups on chitosan. The hydrogel exhibits sustained release properties for DDP due to the immobilization of DDP via abundant functional groups on polydopamine (PDA). Additionally, given the intense absorption of PDA in the near‐infrared region, the hydrogel exhibits excellent photothermal effects when exposed to the NIR laser (808 nm). Based on the properties, the hydrogel effectively ablates tumor cells (4T1 cells) in vitro and suppresses tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, the hydrogel promotes the adhesion and proliferation of bone mesenchymal stem cells in vitro due to the abundant functional groups on PDA and further induces bone regeneration in vivo. Therefore, the study extends research on novel biomaterials with dual functions of tumor therapy and bone regeneration.     

o-C8 Carbon: a New Allotrope of Superhard Carbon

An orthonormal crystal of carbon with PMMA space group (o-C₈) was found to be a stable superhard carbon allotrope by particle swarm optimization algorithm and density functional calculations. The phonon spectrum calculations demonstrate that the o-C₈ carbon phase is dynamically stable. The volume compression calculations show that it is highly incompressible, with bulk modulus of 298.6 GPa. The calculations demonstrate that it is a low-density superhard material with density of 2.993 g/cm³ and Vickers hardness of 82.4 GPa.     

In situ-preparation and characterization of silver-HEMA/PEGDA hydrogel matrix nanocomposites: Silver inclusion studies into hydrogel matrix

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) of different molecular weights (Mn = 575 and 700) was used as crosslinking agent for the photopolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in order to obtain HEMA/PEGDA-based hydrogels. Composites were synthesized in situ employing a new methodology that implies the addition of different quantities of silver nitrate aqueous solution to the monomer mixture with the finality to obtain hydrogels with different silver nanoparticles’ spatial density and distribution. Samples were characterized by thermal, optical, spectroscopic and structural/morphological methods. Thermal studies showed that the increase of PEGDA molecular weight and the AgNO₃ concentration in the reaction mixture enhance the glass transition temperature and the thermal stability of the composites. This behavior could be related to the silver coordination with the polymer network. Infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform and Raman analyses were realized in order to corroborate the sample chemical structure by the identification of specific functional groups. Surface hydrogel morphology was visualized with scanning electron microscopy analysis, detecting a homogeneous micro-porous surface for the samples obtained from high molecular weight PEGDA. Presence of silver nanoparticles was established by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and UV/Vis methods. In this last case, the characteristic silver nanoparticle plasmon was observed. Using Transmission Electron Microscopy it was possible to visualize a homogeneous spatial distribution of spherical silver nanoparticles with very narrow diameter distribution that rounds about 14–21 ± 5 nm. In general, the silver nanoparticle presence in the compounds enhances considerably their thermal/morphological characteristics.     

The Preparation of Enantiopure [6]‐ and [7]Helicenes from Binaphthanol

A general and efficient synthetic methodology for the preparation of enantio‐ and diastereopure [6]‐, and [7]helicenes is developed. Commercially available chiral binaphthanols are utilized to generate the arylene‐vinylene precursors, which undergo helical folding via photocyclization to give enantio‐ and diastereopure [6]‐, and [7]helicenes. These optically pure helicenes could be easily obtained via silica gel column chromatography without the use of expensive HPLC or chiral resolution reagents. The configurations and structures of these helicenes are confirmed by CD spectra and X‐ray crystallographic analysis. This work provides a new method for preparation of enantiopure helicenes.     

Multielemental analyses of Lonomia obliqua (Lepidoptera,Saturniidae) caterpillar using EDXRF and INAA techniques

In this study, multielemental analysis of Lonomia obliqua (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae) caterpillar was performed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and instrumental neutron activation analysis techniques. This caterpillar is poisonous and has the ability to cause fatal hemorrhagic effects in humans after contact. The need of this study is related to morphological changes (mainly size and color) observed in some caterpillars used for preparation of antilonomic serum (antivenom). The samples were classified as healthy (caterpillars of control) and unhealthy (caterpillars visibly modified). The XRF measurements were performed in an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and the instrumental neutron activation analysis using the IEA-R1 nuclear reactor at IPEN. The results show significant differences for several elements (mainly, P, Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Zn) in unhealthy caterpillars that can affect the development of this species as well as the quality and yield of the antivenom. Furthermore, its elemental characterization contributes for the understanding the potential pharmacological (procoagulant and antithrombotic) in the prevention of life-threatening blood clots.     

Temperature Dependence of In-plane Resistivity and Inverse Hall Angle in NLED Holographic Model

In the strange metal phase of the high-Tc cuprates, it is challenging to explain the linear temperature dependence of the in-plane resistivity and the quadratic temperature dependence of the inverse Hall angle. In this paper, we investigate the temperature dependence of the in-plane resistivity and inverse Hall angle in the nonlinear electrodynamics holographic model developed in our recent work. Maxwell electrodynamics and Born-Infeld electrodynamics are considered. Both cases support a wide spectrum of temperature scalings in parameter space. For Maxwell electrodynamics, the T-linear in-plane resistivity generally dominates at low temperatures and survives into higher temperatures in a narrow strip-like manner. Meanwhile, the T-quadratic inverse Hall angle dominates at high temperatures and extends down to lower temperatures. The overlap between the T-linear in-plane resistivity and the T-quadratic inverse Hall angle, if occurs, would generally present in the intermediate temperate regime. The Born-Infeld case with a 0 is quite similar to the Maxwell case. For the Born-Infeld case with a 0, there can be a constraint on the charge density and magnetic field. Moreover, the overlap can occur for strong charge density.     

Strong entanglement criterion involving momentum weak values

In recent years weak values have been used to explore interesting quantum features in novel ways. In particular, the real part of the weak value of the momentum operator has been widely studied, mainly in connection with Bohmian trajectories. Here we focus on the imaginary part and its role in relation with the entanglement of a bipartite system. We establish an entanglement criterion based on weak momentum correlations, that allows to discern whether the entanglement is encoded in the amplitude and/or in the phase of the wave function. Our results throw light on the physical role of the real and imaginary parts of the weak values, and stress the relevance of the latter in the multi-particle scenario.     

Relativistic effects in the 3N continuum and the A y puzzle

The three-nucleon (3N) Faddeev equation is solved in a Poincaré-invariant model of the three-nucleon system. Two-body interactions are generated so that when they are added to the two-nucleon invariant mass operator (rest energy) the two-nucleon S-matrix is identical to the non-relativistic S-matrix with a CD Bonn interaction. Cluster properties of the three-nucleon S-matrix determine how these two-nucleon interactions are embedded in the three-nucleon mass operator. Differences in the predictions of the relativistic and corresponding non-relativistic models for elastic and breakup processes are investigated. Of special interest are the lowering of the A _y maximum in elastic nucleon-deuteron (Nd) scattering below ≈25?MeV caused by the Wigner spin rotations and the significant changes of the breakup cross sections in certain regions of the phase space.     

电子束蒸发沉积Ir膜真空紫外反射特性

Ir是一种重要的真空紫外反射材料,在太阳物理、宇宙物理、生命科学、大气物理、同步辐射等方面有着十分重要的应用.对电子束蒸发沉积Ir膜在真空紫外波段的反射特性进行了系统的理论和实验研究.根据吸收材料基底上单层金属膜数学计算模型,对不同基片上各种厚度的Ir膜真空紫外反射率进行了优化计算.根据计算和前期实验结果,采用电子束蒸发方法,在石英、K9玻璃基片上沉积了不同厚度的Ir膜,在入射波长120 nm处获得了近30%正入射反射率,对应的Ir膜厚度为12 nm.过厚或过薄均不利于Ir膜反射率的提高.经退火处理后,Ir膜中张应力有所释放但并未消除,同时晶粒平均尺寸显著增大,反射率下降.