An Efficient and Simple Breast Milk Sample Preparation to Detect Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be extremely hazardous to human health due to their carcinogenicity and toxicity. Following mother exposure, a part of...     

High Blocking Temperature of Magnetization and Giant Coercivity in the Azafullerene Tb2@C79N with a Single‐Electron Terbium–Terbium Bond

The azafullerene Tb₂@C₇₉N is found to be a single‐molecule magnet with a high 100‐s blocking temperature of magnetization of 24 K and large coercivity. Tb magnetic moments with an easy‐axis single‐ion magnetic anisotropy are strongly coupled by the unpaired spin of the single‐electron Tb?Tb bond. Relaxation of magnetization in Tb₂@C₇₉N below 15 K proceeds via quantum tunneling of magnetization with the characteristic time τ_QTM=16 462±1230 s. At higher temperature, relaxation follows the Orbach mechanism with a barrier of 757±4 K, corresponding to the excited states, in which one of the Tb spins is flipped.     

Tandem Use of Optical Sensing and Machine Learning for the Determination of Absolute Configuration,Enantiomeric and Diastereomeric Ratios,and Concentration of Chiral Samples

We have developed an optical method for accurate concentration, er, and dr analysis of amino alcohols based on a simple mix‐and‐measure workflow that is fully adaptable to multiwell plate technology and microscale analysis. The conversion of the four aminoindanol stereoisomers with salicylaldehyde to the corresponding Schiff base allows analysis of the dr based on a change in the UV maximum at 420 nm that is very different for the homo‐ and heterochiral diastereomers and of the concentration of the sample using a hypsochromic shift of another absorption band around 340 nm that is independent of the analyte stereochemistry. Subsequent in situ formation of Cu^II assemblies in the absence and presence of base enables quantification of the er values for each diastereomeric pair by CD analysis. Applying a linear programming method and a parameter sweep algorithm, we determined the concentration and relative amounts of each of the four stereoisomers in 20 samples of vastly different stereoisomeric compositions with an averaged absolute percent error of 1.7 %.     

Free radical polymerization of caffeine‐containing methacrylate monomers

The incorporation of acrylic functionality into caffeine enables the preparation of a vast array of novel thermoplastics and thermosets. A two‐step derivatization provided a novel caffeine‐containing methacrylate monomer capable of free radical polymerization. Copolymers of 2‐ethylhexyl methacrylate and caffeine methacrylate (CMA) allowed for a systematic study of the effect of covalently bound caffeine on polymer properties. ¹H NMR and UV‐vis spectroscopy confirmed caffeine incorporation at 5 and 13 mol %, and SEC revealed the formation of high molecular weight (co)polymers (>40,000 g/mol). CMA incorporation resulted in a multistep degradation profile with initial mass loss closely correlating to caffeine content. Differential scanning calorimetry, rheological, and thermomechanical analysis demonstrated that relatively low levels of CMA increased the glass transition temperature, resulting in higher moduli and elucidating the benefits of incorporating caffeine into polymers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2829–2837     

S‐Nitrosoglutathione‐Based Nitric Oxide‐Releasing Nanofibers Exhibit Dual Antimicrobial and Antithrombotic Activity for Biomedical Applications

The novel use of nanofibers as a physical barrier between blood and medical devices has allowed for modifiable, innovative surface coatings on devices ordinarily plagued by thrombosis, delayed healing, and chronic infection. In this study, the nitric oxide (NO) donor S‐nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) is blended with the biodegradable polymers polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA) for the fabrication of hemocompatible, antibacterial nanofibers tailored for blood‐contacting applications. Stress/strain behavior of different concentrations of PHB and PLA is recorded to optimize the mechanical properties of the nanofibers. Nanofibers incorporated with different concentrations of GSNO (10, 15, 20 wt%) are evaluated based on their NO‐releasing kinetics. PLA/PHB + 20 wt% GSNO nanofibers display the greatest NO release over 72 h (0.4–1.5 × 10^?10 mol mg^?1 min^?1). NO‐releasing fibers successfully reduce viable adhered bacterial counts by ≈80% after 24 h of exposure to Staphylococcus aureus. NO‐releasing nanofibers exposed to porcine plasma reduce platelet adhesion by 64.6% compared to control nanofibers. The nanofibers are found noncytotoxic (>95% viability) toward NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts, and 4′,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole and phalloidin staining shows that fibroblasts cultured on NO‐releasing fibers have improved cellular adhesion and functionality. Therefore, these novel NO‐releasing nanofibers provide a safe antimicrobial and hemocompatible coating for blood‐contacting medical devices.     

Facile Tailoring of Structures for Controlled Release of Paracetamol from Sustainable Lignin Derived Platforms

Nowadays, sustainable materials are receiving significant attention due to the fact that they will be crucial for the development of the next generation of products and devices. In the present work, hydrogels have been successfully synthesized using lignin which is non-valorized biopolymer from the paper industry. Hydrogels were prepared via crosslinking with Poly(ethylene) glycol diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE). Different crosslinker ratios were used to determine their influence on the structural and chemical properties of the resulting hydrogels. It has been found that pore size was reduced by increasing crosslinker amount. The greater crosslinking density increased the swelling capacity of the hydrogels due to the presence of more hydrophilic groups in the hydrogel network. Paracetamol release test showed higher drug diffusion for hydrogels produced with a ratio lignin:PEGDGE 1:1. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed approach is a promising route to utilize lignocellulose waste for producing porous materials for advanced biomedical applications in the pharmacy industry.     

An Ultra-Microporous Metal–Organic Framework with Exceptional Xe Capacity

Molecular confinement plays a significant effect on trapped gas and solvent molecules. A fundamental understanding of gas adsorption within the porous confinement provides information necessary to design a material with improved selectivity. In this regard, metal–organic framework (MOF) adsorbents are ideal candidate materials to study confinement effects for weakly interacting gas molecules, such as noble gases. Among the noble gases, xenon (Xe) has practical applications in the medical, automotive and aerospace industries. In this Communication, we report an ultra-microporous nickel-isonicotinate MOF with exceptional Xe uptake and selectivity compared to all benchmark MOF and porous organic cage materials. The selectivity arises because of the near perfect fit of the atomic Xe inside the porous confinement. Notably, at low partial pressure, the Ni–MOF interacts very strongly with Xe compared to the closely related Krypton gas (Kr) and more polarizable CO₂. Further ¹²⁹Xe NMR suggests a broad isotropic chemical shift due to the reduced motion as a result of confinement.     

Regular/abnormal variation in the strength and nature of the halogen bond between H2Te and the dihalogens: Prominent effect of methyl substituents

The halogen-bonded complexes between H₂Te/Me₂Te and the dihalogen molecules XY (XY = F₂, Cl₂, Br₂, I₂, ClF, ClBr, BrF, BrCl, BrI, IF, ICl, IBr) have been studied to investigate the dependence of its strength and nature on the halogen donor X and its adjoining atom Y, as well as the methyl groups in the electron donor. The interaction energy varies between −1.7 and − 43.5 kcal/mol, indicating that the Te atom in H₂Te/Me₂Te has a strong affinity for the dihalogen molecules. For the H₂Te-XY complex, the halogen bond is stronger for the heavier halogen donor X atom and the strong electron-withdrawing group Y. However, for Me₂Te-XY, the halogen bond is stronger for the lighter halogen donor X atom. The H₂Te/Me₂Te-F₂ complex has the largest interaction energy, although the σ-hole on F₂ is the smallest in magnitude. In most of the complexes, the electrostatic and polarization contributions to the binding strength are similar in magnitude. However, for H₂Te/Me₂Te-F₂, the polarization contribution is much larger than the electrostatic contribution, with a significant contribution from charge transfer.