Modifying the physicochemical properties,solubility and foaming capacity of milk proteins by ultrasound-assisted alkaline pH-shifting treatment

This study investigated the effects of different treatment of alkaline pH-shifting on milk protein concentrate (MPC), micellar casein concentrate (MCC) and whey protein isolate (WPI) assisted by the same ultrasound conditions, including changes in the physicochemical properties, solubility and foaming capacity. The solubility of milk proteins had a significant increase with gradual enhancement of ultrasound-assisted alkaline pH-shifting (p < 0.05), especially for MCC up to 99.50 %. Also, treatment made a significant decline in the particle size of MPC and MCC, as well as the turbidity of the proteins (p < 0.05). The foaming capacity of MPC, MCC, and WPI was all improved, especially at pH 11, and at this pH, the milk protein also showed the highest surface hydrophobicity. The best foaming capacity at pH 11 was the result of the combined effect of particle size, potential, protein conformation, solubility, and surface hydrophobicity. In conclusion, ultrasound-assisted pH-shifting treatment was found to be effective in improving the physicochemical properties and solubility and foaming capacity of milk proteins, especially MCC, with promising application prospect in food industry.     

烷基苯磺酸盐表面活性剂对水合硅酸钙形貌和结构的影响

利用十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)为模板剂, 研究了SDBS的浓度、 Ca ²⁺和Si {\mathrm{O}}_3^{2-} 离子的浓度、 是否搅拌和反应时间等条件对水合硅酸钙(CSH)形貌特征和分散性能的影响, 并提出了不同CSH球壳形貌特征的形成机理. 结果显示, 溶液中Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O浓度增大、 SDBS浓度增大及反应时间延长均会使CSH的结晶度变好, 聚合度增大, Q ²结构的相对含量增加, 其中Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O和SDBS浓度是主要控制因素. SDBS在溶液中形成的球形胶束具有极强的模板作用, 能有效改变CSH的结晶生长方式; 通过调节SDBS浓度和钙硅比例, 并适当延长CSH的生长时间, 能够获得球壳完整、 分散性好且稳定性强的CSH.     

高碱煤含钠矿物沉积层的高温熔融及多相反应过程分析

采用纯矿物试剂模拟燃用高碱煤时炉内受热面典型的灰沉积层化学组成，利用热机械分析（TMA）、TG-DSC分析、高温煅烧实验结合XRD、SEM-EDS表征方法研究了不同Na₂SO₄含量灰沉积层的高温熔融过程及矿物间的多相反应机理。结果表明，掺混Na₂SO₄后沉积层熔化特征温度显著降低，Na₂SO₄的主要反应途径与掺混比例有关，当掺混比低于20%时，Na₂SO₄与SiO₂、CaO、Al₂O₃反应主要转变为CaSO₄和钠的硅铝酸盐；掺混比大于40%时则主要与CaSO₄生成低熔点的钠钙复合硫酸盐。富Na₂SO₄沉积层颗粒在800℃时开始黏结；900-950℃时，霞石、钠长石等钠的硅铝酸盐发生低温共熔，同时Na₂SO₄和CaSO₄生成的复合硫酸盐开始熔融，逐渐形成液相；1200-1250℃时，镁黄长石与含钙矿物发生强烈共熔，温度超过1300℃后矿物完全熔融成为自由液相。     

Thermodynamic study of transthyretin association (wild‐type and senile forms) with heparan sulfate proteoglycan: pH effect and implication of the reactive histidine residue

The tetramer destabilization of transthyretin into monomers and its fibrillation are phenomena leading to amyloid deposition. Heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) has been found in all amyloid deposits. A chromatographic approach was developed to compare binding parameters between wild‐type transthyretin (wtTTR) and an amyloidogenic transthyretin (sTTR). Results showed a greater affinity of sTTR for HSPG at pH 7.4 compared with wtTTR owing to the monomeric form of sTTR. Analysis of the thermodynamic parameters showed that van der Waals interactions were involved at the complex interface for both transthyretin forms. For sTTR, results from the plot representing the number of protons exchanged vs pH showed that the binding mechanism was pH‐dependent with a critical value at a pH 6.5. This observation was due to the protonation of a histidine residue as an imidazolium cation, which was not accessible when TTR was in its tetrameric structure. At pH >6.5, dehydration at the binding interface and several contacts between nonpolar groups of sTTR and HSPG were also coupled to binding for an optimal hydrogen‐bond network. At pH <6.5, the protonation of the His residue from sTTR monomer when pH decreased broke the hydrogen‐bond network, leading to its destabilization and thus producing slight conformational changes in the sTTR monomer structure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of salt and acetonitrile on the capillary zone electrophoresis analysis of imatinib in plasma samples

A simple, sensitive, specific, and cost‐effective analytical methodology was developed for the analysis of human plasma samples spiked with imatinib by CZE with on‐line UV detection in the context of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Several analytical conditions such as the ionic strength (I) and the pH of the BGE composed of citric acid and ε‐amino caproic acid were studied in regards of the presence of sodium chloride (NaCl) in plasma samples (1% m/v). Computer simulations (Simul software) were used to confirm the experimental results and to understand imatinib electrophoretic behavior in the presence of NaCl. Furthermore, the advantages of adding ACN to the sample containing NaCl to combine efficient protein precipitation and on‐line CZE stacking of imatinib were demonstrated. LOD and LOQ values of 48 and 191 ng/mL were obtained from plasma sample supernatant after protein precipitation with ACN, which is much lower than mean imatinib plasma level observed for patients treated by imatinib mesylate (about 1000 ng/mL). Good linearity was obtained in the concentration range 191–5000 ng/mL (R² > 0.997). RSD of less than 1.68% and 2.60% (n = 6) for migration times and corrected peak areas, respectively, were observed at the LOQ.     

Ion pair assisted micro matrix solid phase dispersion extraction of alkaloids from medical plant

A novel micro matrix solid phase dispersion method was successfully used for the extraction of quaternary alkaloids in Phellodendri chinensis cortex. The elution of target compounds was accomplished with sodium hexanesulfonate as the eluent solvent. A neutral ion pair was formed between ion-pairing reagent and positively charged alkaloids in this process, which was beneficial for selectively extraction of polar alkaloids. Several parameters were optimized and the optimal conditions were listed as follows: silica gel as the sorbent, silica to sample mass ratio of 1:1, the grinding time of 1 min. The exhaustive elution of targets was achieved by 200 µL methanol/water (9:1) containing 150 mM sodium hexane sulfonate at pH 4.5. The method validation covered linearity, recovery, precision of intraday and interday, limits of detection, limits of quantitation, and repeatability. This established method was rapid, simple, environmentally friendly, and highly sensitive.     

Effectively promoted catalytic activity by adjusting calcination temperature of Ce-Fe-Ox catalyst for NH3-SCR

A series of Ce-Fe-O_x catalysts prepared by the different calcination temperatures (marked as CF-X, where X represented calcination temperature) were used to the selectivity catalytic reduction of NO_x by NH₃. The results explained the relationship between calcination temperature and the sulfate species over Ce-Fe-O_x, and then investigated the surface acidity and catalytic performance. The large amounts of sulfate species were formed over CF-450 and CF-550 while it was decomposed with further the increasing of calcination temperature, which resulted in the loss of surface acidity, causing a decrease in the catalytic activity over Ce-Fe-O_x. Thereby, the CF-450 catalyst showed the best catalytic activity and over 90% NO_x conversion was obtained at 244–450 °C. Besides, the favored pore structure, more Fe³⁺ active species, higher Ce³⁺ concentration and the abundance of chemical adsorbed oxygen species, as well as the surface acid sites, would together contribute to the excellent catalytic activity of CF-450 catalyst.     

NiCo_2S_4六角片作为钠离子电池负极材料的电化学性能及储钠动力学

通过共沉淀以及后续的气相硫化成功制备了横向边长约为2μm,纵向厚度约为30 nm的NiCo_2S_4六角片,并研究了其作为钠离子电池负极材料的电化学性能。电化学性能测试结果显示在1000 mA·g~(-1)的电流密度下,NiCo_2S_4电极循环60次后仍然可保持约387mAh·g~(-1)的可逆比容量。此外,NiCo_2S_4电极还具有良好的倍率性能,在200、400、800、1000和2000mA·g~(-1)的电流密度下,容量分别为542、398、347、300和217mAh·g~(-1)。通过进一步动力学机制分析发现,NiCo_2S_4电极的良好的倍率性能得益于其二维片层状结构诱导产生的赝电容。上述结果表明,NiCo_2S_4纳米六角片是一种极具潜力的钠离子电池负极材料。     

Enhancement of Photocatalytic Activity of Sodium Bismuth Titanate by Doping with Copper,Silver, and Tin Ions

Perovskite type oxides, sodium bismuth titanate (Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃), and Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Sn²⁺ doped Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ were prepared by pechini and ion exchange methods, respectively. Photocatalytic activities of these catalysts were tested by decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. Results showed that the photocatalytic activity of metal ion doped Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ was higher than undoped Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃. Relatively high photocatalytic performance of Ag⁺‐doped Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ is mainly ascribed to the efficient separation of electron‐hole (e^–, h⁺) pairs, lower bandgap energy and the creation of active hydroxyl radicals ( ^? OH). Further, the Ag⁺‐doped Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ catalyst showed good reusability up to four cycles. A possible mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic performance was proposed. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, FT‐IR, and UV/Vis DRS techniques.     

A facile approach to fabricate and embed multifunctional nano ZnO into soap matrix and liquid cleansing products for enhanced antibacterial and photostability for health and hygiene applications

This research demonstrates, a facile approach to fabricate the nano ZnO system in an unique combination of surfactant-polyol-assembly (SPA) acting as a caging agent restricting the ZnO crystallite size in nano-regime. This SPA is suitable for health and hygiene products and such optimized technique is among the very few researches exploring the impact of embedding low concentrations of nano ZnO system into the matrix of sodium salt of long chain fatty acids (soap bar) and liquid cleansing personal care products. The fabricated nano ZnO in SPA and infused products were systematically characterized using various advanced and appropriate techniques. The hexagonal wurtzite structure of nano ZnO-SPA is evaluated based on XRD pattern which also exhibit an average crystallite size as 20.18 nm and high specific surface area as 52.99 m²/g. The SEM-supported morphological assessment confirms the formation of agglomerates of ultrafine ZnO rods and spherical particles. Novel nano ZnO having wideband gap energy (3.66 eV) embedded in soap bar act as a UV-blocker preventing the oxidation of unsaturated long chain fatty acids. Soap bar without ZnO experienced degradation and reduction in whiteness to 17.85% whereas 2.5 mg/g nano ZnO infused soap shows the reduction to 7.9% which clearly reflects the increased photostability of soap bar. The antibacterial efficacy of nano ZnO-SPA and infused products are investigated against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) by Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) and European standard EN:1276. Infused products exhibited high antibacterial efficacy up to 4.43 log reduction equivalent to >99.99% germ kill.