Probing the Catalytic Activity of Reduced Graphene Oxide Decorated with Au Nanoparticles Triggered by Visible Light

Hybrid materials in which reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is decorated with Au nanoparticles (rGO–Au NPs) were obtained by the in situ reduction of GO and AuCl₄^?_(aq) by ascorbic acid. On laser excitation, rGO could be oxidized as a result of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excitation in the Au NPs, which generates activated O₂ through the transfer of SPR‐excited hot electrons to O₂ molecules adsorbed from air. The SPR‐mediated catalytic oxidation of p‐aminothiophenol (PATP) to p,p′‐dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) was then employed as a model reaction to probe the effect of rGO as a support for Au NPs on their SPR‐mediated catalytic activities. The increased conversion of PATP to DMAB relative to individual Au NPs indicated that charge‐transfer processes from rGO to Au took place and contributed to improved SPR‐mediated activity. Since the transfer of electrons from Au to adsorbed O₂ molecules is the crucial step for PATP oxidation, in addition to the SPR‐excited hot electrons of Au NPs, the transfer of electrons from rGO to Au contributed to increasing the electron density of Au above the Fermi level and thus the Au‐to‐O₂ charge‐transfer process.     

Large-scale production of cellulose-binding domains. Adsorption studies using CBD-FITC conjugates

A method for the gram-scale production of cellulose-binding domains (CBD) through the proteolytic digestion of a commercial enzymatic preparation (Celluclast) was developed. The CBD obtained, isolated from Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I, is highly pure and heavily glycosylated. The purified peptide has a molecular weight of 8.43 kDa, comprising the binding module, a part of the linker, and about 30% glycosidic moiety. Its properties may thus be different from recombinant ones expressed in bacteria. CBD-fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugates were used to study the CBD-cellulose interaction. The presence of fluorescent peptides adsorbed on crystalline and amorphous cellulose fibers suggests that amorphous regions have a higher concentration of binding sites. The adsorption is reversible, but desorption is a very slow process.     

Inclusion of molybdenocene dichloride (Cp2MoCl2) in 2-hydroxypropyl- and trimethyl-β-cyclodextrin: Structural and biological properties

Organometallic-cyclodextrin inclusion compounds were obtained by the treatment of molybdenocene dichloride (Cp₂MoCl₂) with the modified cyclodextrins (CDs) heptakis-2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-β-CD (TRIMEB) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HPβCD) in aqueous solution. The products were isolated by liophilisation and characterised in the solid-state by powder XRD, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, and ¹³C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy. The results are consistent with inclusion of Cp₂MoCl₂, rather than hydrolysis products such as [Cp₂Mo(H₂O)X]⁺ (X = Cl, OH) or [Cp₂Mo(H₂O)₂]²⁺. The pure non-included metallocene Cp₂MoCl₂ and its inclusion compounds with unmodified β-CD, TRIMEB and HPβCD were screened for their potential antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity, in both human cancer and healthy cell lines. Inclusion in CD was found to enhance the cytotoxic effect of Cp₂MoCl₂, with the TRIMEB adduct displaying the highest anti-tumour activity, along with the lowest toxicity towards non-neoplastic cells.     

Liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry/nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the anti-hyperglycemic flavonoid extract of Genista tenera. Structure elucidation of a flavonoid-C-glycoside

The anti-hyperglycemic flavonoid extract obtained from Genista tenera was first studied by liquid chromatography (LC)-diode array detection (DAD) which showed the presence of two major compounds. One of them was identified as genistein-7-O-glucoside. Luteolin-7-O-glucoside was detected as a minor constituent, while luteolin-7,3'-di-O-glucoside and rutin were found in trace amounts. LC-DAD-ESI-MS and NMR were used to confirm the structure of these compounds and allowed the elucidation of the structure of the unknown major compound, which is the flavonoid 5,7,4'-trihydroxyisoflavone-8-C-glucoside.     

Micro/nano-fibrillated cellulose (MFC/NFC) fibers as an additive to maximize eucalyptus fibers on tissue paper production

Tissue furnish optimization plays a key role in enhancing tissue properties, making the process cost-effective. Typically, this furnish is composed of a mixture of hardwood eucalyptus fibers (HW) and softwood (SW) fibers, which ensure strength and tissue machine runnability. However, the tissue paper production with the maximization of eucalyptus fibers achieves softer papers at less cost, since SW fibers are often more expensive than HW fibers. From this perspective, this study aims to investigate the effect of micro/nano-fibrillated cellulose (MFC/NFC) as an additive, on structural, softness, strength, and water absorption properties of tissue papers, promoting partial or total removal of SW fibers to produce 100% eucalyptus materials. MFC/NFC was characterized in terms of morphological, chemical, and water interaction properties. The results showed that MFC/NFC presents a high bonding surface area, high carboxyl group content and, when incorporated into tissue furnishes, it promotes strong inter-fiber bonds. This evidence was also supported by SEM image analysis methods and FTIR. Additionally, laboratory tissue handsheets with low basis weight were produced and used in the characterization assays. Overall, the results indicated that MFC/NFC improved strength, at the expense of bulk, porosity, softness, and absorption properties. Compared to typical industrial furnish mixtures (75%HW?+?25%SW), MFC/NFC enhanced the production of bulkier, porous, and softer structures, but with reduced strength and absorption. It was possible to optimize the furnish composition by using fiber modeling to obtain 3D structure computation simulations with predictive capability. The MFC/NFC proved to be a high-quality additive to improve softness and strength properties.

Graphic abstract

     

New designs for inhibitors of the NF-κB: DNA binding

We present a series of new inhibitors of the association between nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B) and the corresponding B site in DNA. They were designed using the lead compound 15-deoxy-^12,14 -prostaglandin J₂ (PGJ2), which is a natural product with demonstrated inhibitory efficiency for this system. First, the binding mode of PGJ2 to NF-B was unraveled by GOLD docking calculation. Subsequently, substitutions were made to PGJ2 to optimize its association with NF-B. Care was taken not to strongly increase the reactivity of the new compounds, and to keep the overall shape, size and hydrophilicity of the lead compound, which should render them a similar bioavailability. Molecular mechanics calculations were performed to decide on the suitability of the substitutions, and to evaluate the energies of association with NF-B. Density functional theory calculations were performed also to study the overall reactivity of the substituted drugs towards NF-B. Important general conclusions were obtained, concerning the improvement of these natural inhibitors; namely, a set of rational methodologies were deduced to improve the association between the PGJ2 derivatives and NF-B, and their efficiency demonstrated by generating a set of substituted complexes, some of them with a very much increased affinity for NF-B, opening new doors to enlarge the therapeutic capabilities of this class of drugs.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of cularine alkaloids via enium ions and an easy entry to isoquinolines by aza-Wittig electrocyclic ring closure

In preliminary communications, we reported the diastereoselective synthesis of cularine and sarcocapnine via the intramolecular ring closure of nitrenium and oxenium ions, a new highly diastereoselective reductive methylation with (+)-8-phenylmenthyl chloroacetate followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, and a facile entry to the isoquinoline precursors by aza-Wittig electrocyclic ring closure. We now report the full details of the syntheses of (+)-O-demethylcularine, (+)-cularine, (+)-sarcocapnidine, (+)-sarcocapnine, and (+)-crassifoline and describe different methods of synthesis of their precursors.     

Two-player simultaneous location game: Preferential rights and overbidding

Competitive location problems can be characterized by the fact that the decisions made by others will affect our own payoffs. In this paper, we address a discrete competitive location game in which two decision-makers have to decide simultaneously where to locate their services without knowing the decisions of one another. This problem arises in a franchising environment in which the decision-makers are the franchisees and the franchiser defines the potential sites for locating services and the rules of the game. At most one service can be located at each site, and one of the franchisees has preferential rights over the other. This means that if both franchisees are interested in opening the service in the same site, only the one that has preferential rights will open it. We consider that both franchisees have budget constraints, but the franchisee without preferential rights is allowed to show interest in more sites than the ones she can afford. We are interested in studying the influence of the existence of preferential rights and overbidding on the outcomes for both franchisees and franchiser. A model is presented and an algorithmic approach is developed for the calculation of Nash equilibria. Several computational experiments are defined and their results are analysed, showing that preferential rights give its holder a relative advantage over the other competitor. The possibility of overbidding seems to be advantageous for the franchiser, as well as the inclusion of some level of asymmetry between the two decision-makers.     

On-off scheduling schemes for power-constrained electric vehicle charging

In this paper, we study the problem of establishing a dynamic charging schedule of electric vehicles (EVs) at a charging station, assuming that limited power implies that only a limited number of EVs can charge simultaneously. The only control we assume to be available to the charging station is the ability to (at any given time) turn on or off the power supply to any EV, with this tool we want to develop a charging schedule that will satisfy the energy demands of the EVs in their intended deadlines. We propose two distinct approaches to this problem: a discretized time version, based on a greedy-like algorithm, and a continuous time version, based on linear programming. We compare these two approaches and numerically study the improvement they yield in the efficiency of the charging procedure, when applied to simulated data based on real parking data. Finally, we illustrate the flexibility of the models by sketching several possible extensions.     

Cleansing contaminated seawaters using marine cyanobacteria: evaluation of trace metal removal from the medium

The use of microbial biomass in biosorption is already being studied as a potential alternative to (or combined with) conventional processes, where several algae and microorganisms have already shown promising ability to uptake metals. Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are widespread organisms, with specific properties, such as high nutrient removal capacity and tolerance to highly variable conditions which make them well-suited for wastewater and remediation purposes. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the use of a marine cyanobacterium LEANCYA 21 (Synechocystis sp.), collected from the Portuguese southern border, for the removal of selected trace metals when in natural seawater culture medium. It was observed, for the first time, that this particular strain is capable of uptaking Pb, Ni and Zn (at nM levels) from seawater solutions using small amounts of biomass. Uptake values for Pb were up to 90% (0.75 mg g^?1 biomass) in 6 h. The specific biosorption curves of Ni and Zn showed that these metals follow a first order kinetics biosorption in batch conditions. Solutions containing multimetals have revealed that Ni uptake is affected by the presence of Pb and Zn. The calculated specific absorption values were high enough to predict a possible application in aquaculture where such low levels of metals may inhibit microalgae growth.