Separate evolution of H2 and O2 from H2O on visible light-responsive TiO2 thin film photocatalysts prepared by an RF magnetron sputtering method

Visible light-responsive TiO₂ thin film photocatalysts (Vis-TiO₂) have been prepared on Ti metal foil (Vis-TiO₂/Ti) or ITO glass (Vis-TiO₂/ITO) substrates by a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RF-MS) method. The UV–Vis spectra as well as photoelectrochemical performance of Vis-TiO₂ were affected by various calcination treatments such as calcination in air or NH₃. Calcination treatment in NH₃ (1.0 × 10⁴ Pa, 673 K) was particularly effective in increasing the visible light absorption of Vis-TiO₂ as well as in enhancing its photoelectrochemical performance and photocatalytic activity. A novel Vis-TiO₂ thin film photocatalyst (Vis-TiO₂/Ti/Pt) was prepared by an RF-MS method where Vis-TiO₂ was deposited on one side of a Ti metal foil substrate and nanoparticles of Pt were deposited on the other side. The separate evolution of H₂ and O₂ from H₂O could be successfully achieved by using an H-type glass cell consisting of two aqueous phases separated by Vis-TiO₂/Ti/Pt and a proton-exchange membrane. It was found that the rate of the separate evolution of H₂ and O₂ was also dramatically enhanced by calcination treatment of Vis-TiO₂ in NH₃.     

Dispersion Properties of High- and Low-Frequency Electrostatic Oscillations of Plasma Spheres: Application to the Metallic Nanoparticles

The dispersion properties of high- and low-frequency electrostatic oscillations of a spherical metallic plasma consisting of hot electrons and cold ions are investigated. The main interest and the key first applications of this system are the spherical metal nanoparticles. General expressions of dispersion relations are obtained for the so-called surface and bulk plasmon waves, and surface and bulk ion-acoustic waves in spherical geometry, using hydrodynamic equations and Poisson equation with appropriate boundary conditions. Numerical results show that dispersion effects become large for metallic particles of small radii, particularly in the range of few nanometers.     

Structure–activity relationship of polyamine conjugates for uptake via polyamine transport system

Structural Chemistry - High toxicity of anticancer drugs led to development of targeted drug delivery directly to the specific organs. Polyamine transport system (PTS) of mammalian cells is one of...     

Targeted Therapy of B7 Family Checkpoints as an Innovative Approach to Overcome Cancer Therapy Resistance: A Review from Chemotherapy to Immunotherapy

It is estimated that there were 18.1 million cancer cases worldwide in 2018, with about 9 million deaths. Proper diagnosis of cancer is essential for its effective treatment because each type of cancer requires a specific treatment procedure. Cancer therapy includes one or more approaches such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. In recent years, immunotherapy has received much attention and immune checkpoint molecules have been used to treat several cancers. These molecules are involved in regulating the activity of T lymphocytes. Accumulated evidence shows that targeting immune checkpoint regulators like PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are significantly useful in treating cancers. According to studies, these molecules also have pivotal roles in the chemoresistance of cancer cells. Considering these findings, the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy can help to treat cancer with a more efficient approach. Among immune checkpoint molecules, the B7 family checkpoints have been studied in various cancer types such as breast cancer, myeloma, and lymphoma. In these cancers, they cause the cells to become resistant to the chemotherapeutic agents. Discovering the exact signaling pathways and selective targeting of these checkpoint molecules may provide a promising avenue to overcome cancer development and therapy resistance. Highlights: (1) The development of resistance to cancer chemotherapy or immunotherapy is the main obstacle to improving the outcome of these anti-cancer therapies. (2) Recent investigations have described the involvement of immune checkpoint molecules in the development of cancer therapy resistance. (3) In the present study, the molecular participation of the B7 immune checkpoint family in anticancer therapies has been highlighted. (4) Targeting these immune checkpoint molecules may be considered an efficient approach to overcoming this obstacle.     

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Modeling of Aqueous Two-Phase System Containing Polypropylene Glycol and NaClO<Subscript>4</Subscript> at <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis> = (288.15 and 298.15) K

In this work the phase equilibrium of an aqueous two phase system (ATPS) containing polypropylene glycol (PPG, molecular weight = 425 kg·mol^?1) and NaClO₄ was investigated at atmospheric pressure and at 288.15 and 298.15 K. Two phase regions and composition of phases were determined. Our results show that as the temperature increases, the two-phase region expands. Also, the extended UNIQUAC (E-UNIQUAC) equation was used to correlate the equilibrium data. To reduce the number of adjustable parameters, ATPSs composed of PEG and PPG were collected from the literature and simultaneously correlated using the E-UNIQUAC model. Also, the effect of temperature on the liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) was considered by using temperature-dependent parameters. In the modeling, two different scenarios were supposed. In the first, polymer and salt were treated as solutes (Case A), while in the second, the pseudo-solvent approach was considered (Case B). The results showed good agreement with experimental data in both cases. The average absolute deviation of the model using Case B was about 0.2% and that for Case A was about 2% in the ATPS composed of PEG. Meanwhile, the reported errors in the ATPS containing PPG for Case A and Case B were almost equal.     

A Novel All-Optical Analog-to-Digital Converter

An all-optical analog-to-digital converter capable of sampling at 50GS/s is described. The ADC works in the frequency domain. The RF signal is sampled by electro-optically steerable gratings and quantized by a set of detectors with scalable apertures.     

DNA electrophoresis in agarose gels: effects of field and gel concentration on the exponential dependence of reciprocal mobility on DNA length

Electrophoretic mobilities of DNA molecules ranging in length from 200 to 48 502 base pairs (bp) were measured in agarose gels with concentrations T = 0.5% to 1.3% at electric fields from E = 0.71 to 5.0 V/cm. This broad data set determines a range of conditions over which the new interpolation equation nu(L) = (beta+alpha(1+exp(-L/gamma))(-1) can be used to relate mobility to length with high accuracy. Mobility data were fit with chi(2) > 0.999 for all gel concentrations and fields ranging from 2.5 to 5 V/cm, and for lower fields at low gel concentrations. Analyses using so-called reptation plots (Rousseau, J., Drouin, G., Slater, G. W., Phys. Rev. Lett. 1997, 79, 1945-1948) indicate that this simple exponential relation is obeyed well when there is a smooth transition from the Ogston sieving regime to the reptation regime with increasing DNA length. Deviations from this equation occur when DNA migration is hindered, apparently by entropic-trapping, which is favored at low fields and high gel concentrations in the ranges examined.     

Three-Component Synthesis of Ninhydrin Derived α-Acyloxycarboxamides

A series of ninhydrin derived α-acyloxycarboxamide derivatives were synthesized in good yields in a Passerini three-component reaction by condensation of ninhydrin, carboxylic acids, and isocyanides.     

Analysis of anticancer platinum(II)-complexes by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography: separation of diastereomers and estimation of octanol-water partition coefficients

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was applied for the separation and lipophilicity estimation of oxaliplatin and eight novel anticancer oxaliplatin derivatives. Solubility and permeability have to be balanced in modern drug development, and the octanol-water partition coefficient (log P) still represents one of the most useful quantifiable parameters providing a reasonable estimation of a drug's lipophilicity. Therefore, the capacity factors from MEEKC were correlated to log P values derived by the traditional shake flask method. The MEEKC method was accomplished using a microemulsion of heptane/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/butanol in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C with all analytes being in a neutral state during the run. This experimental setup allowed a baseline separation of all platinum complexes within 11 min. Remarkably, beside the very good resolution and precision of the measurements, separation of diastereomers of the complexes and quantification of the diastereomeric ratios could be achieved. Correlating the capacity factors with the corresponding log P values resulted in a linear dependency with a correlation factor of r = 0.9935. Consequently, the applied MEEKC method was found to be a highly valuable technique not only for the separation of platinum complexes but as well for the estimation of the octanol-water partition coefficient with many advantages in comparison to other methods.