Increase of both order and disorder in the first hydration shell with increasing solute polarity

Monte?Carlo simulations of a small model solute in an aqueous solution are used to examine the effects of solute polarity on hydration structure. A judicious definition of the orientational order parameter leads to reinterpretation of the conventional picture of hydration. As the solute varies from hydrophobic to hydrophilic the ordered first shell water simultaneously fractionates into a more highly ordered and a more disordered component. The hydrogen-bond network rearranges such that the more ordered component relaxes to configurations of optimal intermolecular angles, the other fraction being released from the network.     

A Note on a Matrix Version of the Farkas Lemma

A linear polyomial non-negative on the non-negativity domain of finitely many linear polynomials can be expressed as their non-negative linear combination. Recently, under several additional assumptions, Helton, Klep, and McCullough extended this result to matrix polynomials. The aim of this article is to study which of these additional assumptions are really necessary.     

Haloalkane dehalogenase catalysed desymmetrisation and tandem kinetic resolution for the preparation of chiral haloalcohols

Six different bacterial haloalkane dehalogenases were recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli, purified, and used to catalyse the conversion of prochiral short-chain dihaloalkanes and a meso dihaloalkane, yielding enantioenriched haloalcohols. A two-reaction one-enzyme process was established in which the desymmetrisation of a dihaloalkane is followed by kinetic resolution of the chiral haloalcohol that is produced in the first step. In case of 1,3-dibromo-2-methylpropane and 1,3-dibromo-2-phenylpropane, an increase of the enantiomeric excess of the respective haloalcohol was observed in time, leading to ee values of >97%, with analytical yields of 24 and 52%, respectively. The results show that haloalkane dehalogenases can be used for the production of highly enantioenriched haloalcohols and that in some cases product enantiopurity can be improved by allowing a two-step one-enzyme tandem reaction.     

Hydrolysis and Solvolysis of Methyltriethoxysilane Catalyzed with HCl or Trifluoroacetic Acid: IR Spectroscopic and Surface Energy Studies

The aim of this study was, at first, to re-consider the IR spectra of methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) catalysed with HCl (hydrolysis) and to compare them with IR spectra of MTEOS catalysed with trifluoroacetic acid (TFAcOH). TFAcOH as a strong carboxylic acid performs non-hydrolytic sol-gel process based on the condensation between the alkoxide and the acid function, liberating ester molecules (solvolysis). We assessed from the time-dependent IR attenuated reflection spectroscopic (IR ATR) measurements the solvolysis and hydrolysis reactions, formation of the oligomeric species and final condensation products. Additional evidence for the formation of these species was obtained from the spectra of films dip-coated from sols aged to different extent. The results of the IR spectral analysis showed that the structure of both xerogels consisted of irregular T_n (n = 8, 10, 12) cube-like species bridged via the ladder-like oligomers (in the case of MTEOS/TFAcOH) and open-chain trisiloxane species (for MTEOS/HCl). ²⁹Si NMR spectra of MTEOS/TFAcOH showed only signals of T³ while MTEOS/HCl spectra showed beside T³ also T² signals, in agreement with IR spectra results. From the XRD peaks at low Bragg angles (∼ 9–10°) we inferred that both xerogels consisted of nanocrystalline CH₃-SiO_3/2 species. In addition, the surface energy values of the films deposited from the corresponding sols were measured and the dispersive and polar portions correlated with the spectral features noted in the films.     

Characterization of incipient cavitation in axial valve by hydrophone and visualization

As the effects of cavitation in valves are devastating, the choice of the correct valve for a given operating range is crucial. For this, the valve characteristic is needed, whereby one side of the operating range depends on the determination of the incipient cavitation.In this paper, the visualization method for incipient cavitation detection is presented. For the purpose of comparison, pressure oscillations inside the pipeline were simultaneously measured with a hydrophone. The effect of operating pressure was studied for two different openings of the valve.For each operating point of incipient cavitation, corresponding points were measured for developed cavitation and no-cavitation state, based on a constant-portion change of volumetric flow rate with regard to the incipient cavitation volumetric flow rate. The visualization and hydrophone signals were compared.The visualization method proved efficiency over hydrophone measurements because it is more sensitive to cavitation and the signal is independent of the operating pressure. The main drawback is the preparation of the observation window.     

Effect of bioengineering lacticin 3147 lanthionine bridges on specific activity and resistance to heat and proteases

Lacticin 3147 is a lantibiotic with seven lanthionine bridges across its two component peptides, Ltnα and Ltnβ. Although it has been proposed that the eponymous lanthionine and (β-methyl)lanthionine (Lan and meLan) bridges present in lantibiotics make an important contribution to protecting the peptides from thermal or proteolytic degradation, few studies have investigated this link. We have generated a bank of bioengineered derivatives of lacticin 3147, in which selected bridges were removed or converted between Lan and meLan, which were exposed to high temperature or proteolytic enzymes. Although switching Lan and meLan bridges has variable consequences, it was consistently observed that an intact N-terminal lanthionine bridge (Ring A) confers Ltnα with enhanced resistance to thermal and proteolytic degradation.     

Sol–gel coating of cellulose fibres with antimicrobial and repellent properties

Multifunctional, water and oil repellent and antimicrobial finishes for cotton fibres were prepared from a commercially available fluoroalkylfunctional water-born siloxane (FAS) (Degussa), nanosized silver (Ag) (CHT) and a reactive organic–inorganic binder (RB) (CHT). Two different application procedures were used: firstly, one stage treatment of cotton fabric samples by FAS sol (i), as well as by a sol mixture constituted from all three precursors (Ag–RB–FAS, procedure 1S) (ii), and secondly, two stage treatment of cotton by Ag–RB sol and than by FAS sol (Ag–RB + FAS, procedure 2S) (iii). The hydrophobic and oleophobic properties of cotton fabrics treated by procedures (i)–(iii) before and after consecutive (up to 10) washings were established from contact angle measurements (water, diiodomethane and n-hexadecane) and correlated with infrared and XPS spectroscopic measurements. The results revealed that even after 10 washing cycles cotton treated with Ag–RB + FAS (2S) retained an oleophobicity similar to that of the FAS treated cotton, while the Ag–RB–FAS (1S) cotton fibres exhibited a loss of oleophobicity already after the second washing, even though fluorine and C–F vibrational bands were detected in the corresponding XPS and IR spectra. The antibacterial activity of cotton treated by procedures (i)–(iii) was tested by its reduction of the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus following the AATCC 100-1999 standard method and EN ISO 20743:2007 transfer method. The reduction in growth of both bacteria was nearly complete for the unwashed Ag–RB and Ag–RB–FAS (S1), but for the unwashed Ag–RB + FAS (S2) treated cotton no reduction of S. aureus and 43.5 ± 6.9% reduction of E. coli was noted. After the first washing, the latter two finishes exhibited nearly a complete reduction of E. coli but for the Ag–RB treated cotton the reduction dropped to 88.9 ± 3.4. None of the finishes retained antibacterial properties after 10 repetitive washings. The beneficial and long-lasting low surface energy effect of FAS finishes in the absence of Ag nanoparticles, which led to the “passive” antibacterial properties of FAS treated cotton fabrics, was established by applying the EN ISO 20743:2007 transfer method. The results revealed a reduction in bacteria of about 21.9 ± 5.7% (FAS), 13.1 ± 4.8% (Ag–RB–FAS (S1)) and 41.5 ± 3.7% (Ag–Rb + FAS (S2)), while no reduction of the growth of bacteria was observed for cotton treated with Ag nanoparticles after 10 repetitive washings. The physical properties (bending rigidity, breaking strength, air permeability) of finished cotton samples were determined, and showed increased fabric softness and flexibility as compared to the Ag–RB treated cotton, but a slight decrease of breaking strength in the warp and weft directions, while air permeability decreased for all type of finishes.