Amphiphilic thermoset elastomers from metal‐free,click crosslinking of PEG‐grafted silicone surfactants

The hydrophobicity of silicone elastomers can compromise their utility in some biomaterials applications. Few effective processes exist to introduce hydrophilic groups onto a polysiloxane backbone and subsequently crosslink the material into elastomers. This problem can be overcome through the utilization of metal‐free click reactions between azidoalkylsilicones and alkynyl‐modified silicones and/or PEGs to both functionalize and crosslink silicone elastomers. Alkynyl‐functional PEG was clicked onto a fraction of the available azido groups of a functional polysiloxane, yielding azido reactive PDMS‐g‐PEG rake surfactants. The reactive polymers were then used to crosslink alkynyl‐terminated PDMS of different molecular weights. Using simple starting materials, this generic yet versatile method permits the preparation and characterization of a library of amphiphilic thermoset elastomers that vary in their composition, crosslink density, elasticity, hydrogel formation, and wettability. An appropriate balance of PEG length and crosslink density leads to a permanently highly wettable silicone elastomer that demonstrated very low levels of protein adsorption. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1082–1093     

Autour du théorème de Ferrand–Obata (Concerning the Theorem of Ferrand–Obata)

The aim of this article is to give a new dynamical proof of the Ferrand–Obata theorem when the manifold is compact. This will give us a generalisation of this theorem to transversally conformal foliations ofcodimension greater than three and constant basic functions.     

Applications of array biosensor for detection of food allergens

Although food is a necessity, compounds within food products can be dangerous and life-threatening for people with food allergies. These allergy-causing compounds, such as proteins from eggs and milk, must be identified on the labels of commercial products. Unintentional contamination of food with these compounds occurs as a result of storage, manufacturing procedures, or cleaning procedures. A sensitive, specific, and rapid method to identify foods containing allergens is required by the food industry. The array biosensor, a rapid detection system, may provide a solution to this need. The array biosensor performs fluorescent immunoassays on the surface of a planar waveguide by first running samples, then fluorescently labeled antibodies, over a surface patterned with capture antibodies. An optical image is captured by a charged-coupled device camera and converted into fluorescence values. Signal intensity and spot location provide information on the compound and its concentration. The array biosensor has been successfully demonstrated for toxin, bacteria, and virus detection at low levels in under 20 min in food, clinical samples, and environmental matrixes. An assay for detection of ovalbumin as an indicator of egg contamination has been developed with limits of detection of 25 pg/mL in buffer and 1.3 ng/mL (13 ng/g) in non-egg pasta extract (buffer:pasta 10:1, v/w).     

15N,(1)H Heteronuclear correlation NMR of gramicidin A in DMPC-d(67)

We have studied gramicidin A, an environmentally sensitive polymorphic pentadecapeptide, fully 15N-labelled and dispersed in a highly deuterated phospholipid bilayer system. By submitting the sample to fast magic angle spinning, we were able to reduce the polypeptide amide hydrogen linewidths to 160 Hz, and hence to partially resolve them. By correlating these resonances with the 40 Hz wide dipolar coupled 15N in a 2D-CROPSY (cross-polarization spectroscopy) experiment, it was possible to observe the 20 partially overlapping 1H-15N signal pairs from the polypeptide backbone and sidechains. Both chemical shift distributions closely match those of the same peptide in SDS micelles, but only poorly match those of conformationally different gramicidin A in trifluoroethanol, dimethylsulfoxide, or methanol/chloroform mixture. Our results are indicative of the N-to-N right-handed beta6.3-helix conformation of gramicidin A and offer sufficient resolution to encourage development of experiments to measure orientational or distance restraints using through-space dipolar couplings.     

Molybdenum-phosphorus triple bond stabilization by ancillary alkoxide ligation: synthesis and structure of a terminal phosphide tris-1-methylcyclohexanoxide complex

Using alcoholysis, we converted terminal phosphide PMo(N[i-Pr]Ar)3 into a new, monomeric terminal phosphide PMo(OR)3, where R = 1-methylcyclohexyl or 1-adamantyl. Dimerization of the PMo unit was observed upon alcoholysis with 2,6-dimethylphenol, and the dimer [PMo(N[i-Pr]Ar)(O-2,6-C6H3Me2)2]2 was isolated and characterized by X-ray crystallography.     

Sesquiterpenoids—27: X-ray crystallographic analysis of istanbulin-B,A 1-oxo-eremophilenolide

The stereochemistry of istanbulin-B has been defined by X-ray crystal-structure analysis. Rings A and B are transfused, with the Me groups at C(4) and C(5) cis. The α,β-unsaturated,γ -lactone ring is essentially planar. Crystals of istanbulin-B are orthorhombic, space group P2₁2₁,2₁, with a = 6.729(2), b = 13.447(3), c = 14.721(3)Â,and Z = 4. The crystal structure was determined by direct phasing and the atomic parameters were subsequently adjusted by least-squares calculations that converged at R 38% over 1179 diffractometer |F_a| values     

Design and evaluation of a Dean vortex-based micromixer

A mixer, based on the Dean vortex, is fabricated and tested in an on-chip format. When fluid is directed around a curve under pressure driven flow, the high velocity streams in the center of the channel experience a greater centripetal force and so are deflected outward. This creates a pair of counter-rotating vortices moving fluid toward the inner wall at the top and bottom of the channel and toward the outer wall in the center. For the geometries studied, the vortices were first seen at Reynolds numbers between 1 and 10 and became stronger as the flow velocity is increased. Vortex formation was monitored in channels with depth/width ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0. The lowest aspect ratio strongly suppressed vortex formation. Increasing the aspect ratio above 1 appeared to provide improved mixing. This design has the advantages of easy fabrication and low surface area.     

Simultaneous determination of inulin and p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

Inulin and p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) clearances are used for the estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF). A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection is described for the simultaneous determination of inulin and PAH in the same chromatogram in the plasma and urine of humans. Plasma and urine samples were hydrolyzed with perchloric acid (0.7%) in boiling water. The mobile phase consisted of 0.01 M potassium dihydrogenphosphate with 0.02 M tetramethylammonium chloride and o-phosphoric acid (pH 3)-acetonitrile (94:6, v/v), pumped at a rate of 1.2 ml min-1 on a C8 reversed-phase column. Tannic acid was used as the internal standard and UV detection at 285 nm was employed. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 12.5-100 mg l-1 for inulin and 6.25-50 mg l-1 for PAH with determination coefficients greater than 0.997. The method is accurate (bias < 13%) and reproducible (intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation less than 11%), with a limit of quantitation of 12.5 mg l-1 and 6.25 mg l-1 for inulin and PAH, respectively. Analytical recoveries from urine and plasma were ranged from 81 to 108% for both compounds. This fully validated method, which allows the simultaneous determination of inulin and PAH clearances, is simple, rapid (total run time < 10 min) and requires only a 200 microliters plasma or urine sample.     

Adaptive response by an electrolyte: resilience to electron losses in a dye-sensitized porous photoanode

Photovoltage and photocurrents below theoretical limits in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion systems are usually attributed to electron loss processes such as dye–electron and electrolyte–electron recombination reactions within the porous photoanode. Whether recombination is a major loss mechanism is examined here, using a multiscale reaction–diffusion computational model to evaluate system characteristics. The dye-sensitized solar cell with an I⁻/I₃⁻ redox couple is chosen as a simple, representative model system because of the extensive information available for it. Two photoanode architectures with dye excitation frequencies spanning 1–25 s⁻¹ are examined, assuming two distinct recombination mechanisms. The simulation results show that although electrolyte–electron reactions are very efficient, they do not significantly impact photoanode performance within the system as defined. This is because the solution-phase electrolyte chemistry plays a key role in mitigating electron losses through coupled reactions that produce I⁻ within the photoanode pores, thereby cycling the electrolyte species without requiring that all electrolyte reduction reactions take place at the more distantly located cathode. This is a functionally adaptive response of the chemistry that may be partly responsible for the great success of this redox couple for dye-sensitized solar cells. The simulation results provide predictions that can be tested experimentally.

Interfacial electrolyte reactions in the pores of a photoanode consume electrons. The losses are offset by compensating solution-phase reactions that generate I⁻ locally, and promote efficient dye cycling and photocurrent generation.     

Stereoselective hydroxylation of an achiral cyclopentanecarboxylic acid derivative using engineered P450s BM-3

Substrate engineered, achiral carboxylic acid derivative was biohydroxylated with various mutants of cytochrome P450 BM-3 to give two out of the four possible diastereoisomers in high de and ee. The BM-3 mutants exhibit up to 9200 total turnovers for hydroxylation of the engineered substrate, which without the protecting group is not transformed by this enzyme.