Silica nanoparticle supported molecularly imprinted polymer layers with varied degrees of crosslinking for lysozyme recognition

Surface imprinting over nanosized support materials is particularly suitable for protein templates, considering the problems with mass transfer limitation and low binding capacity. Previously we have demonstrated a strategy for surface protein imprinting over vinyl-modified silica nanopartiles with lysozyme as a model template by polymerization in high-dilution monomer solution to prevent macrogelation. Herein, the synthesis process was further studied toward enhancement of the imprinting performance by examining the effect of several synthesis conditions. Interestingly, the feed crosslinking degree was found to have a great impact on the thickness of the formed imprinting polymer layers and the recognition properties of the resulting imprinted materials. The imprinted particles with a crosslinking degree up to 50% showed the best imprinting effect. The imprinting factor achieved 2.89 and the specific binding reached 23.3 mg g⁻¹, which are greatly increased compared to those of the lowly crosslinked imprinted materials reported previously. Moreover, the relatively high crosslinking degree led to no significant retarding of the binding kinetics to the imprinted particles, and the saturated adsorption was reached within 10 min. Therefore, this may be a promising method for protein imprinting.     

Electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide using metal nanoparticles: a review

We are reviewing the state of electrochemical sensing of H₂O₂ based on the use of metal nanoparticles. The article is divided into subsections on sensors based on nanoparticles made from Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, bimetallic nanoparticles and other metals. Some sensors display high sensitivity, fast response, and good stability. The review is subdivided into sections on sensors based on heme proteins and on nonenzymatic sensors. We also discussed the challenges of nanoscaled sensors and their future aspects.

A cytotoxic dimeric furanoheliangolide from Piptocoma rufescens

A new sesquiterpene lactone, rufescenolide C (1), the first furanoheliangolide dimer, was isolated from the leaves of Piptocoma rufescens, collected in the Dominican Republic. Its structure was determined by interpretation of its spectroscopic data, with the absolute configuration being established by analysis of the CD spectrum. A plausible biogenesis of this dimer is proposed. This compound showed potent cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ value of 150 nM, when tested against HT-29 human colon cancer cells.     

Electrochemical behavior of uranyl in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride mixture with water

Electrochemical behaviors of U(VI) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C₄MimCl) with various water contents investigated by chronopotentiometry and cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical reduction of U(VI) was identified to follow two processes: a lower valence intermediate U(V) was initially formed at the potential of ca. ?0.2 V(vs. Ag wire). Then, further deposition of UO₂ was followed at around ?0.8 V. Little amount of water (1–4 wt%) in C₄MimCl, however, has an effect on the U(VI) reduction by changing the current density of the redox reaction and the diffusion coefficient of U(VI) in C₄MimCl. The deposited product by potentiostatic electrolysis on the surface of stainless steel electrode was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Although the electrodeposited black film was amorphous, the electrochemical reduced product of U(VI) can be still confirmed to be UO₂ by XRD after the crystallization of the amorphous deposits at 1,073 K in nitrogen atmosphere.     

The effect of cation size (H+, Li+, Na+, and K+) on McLafferty-type rearrangement of even-electron ions in mass spectrometry

Protonation and alkali-metal cation adduction are the most important ionization processes in soft-ionization mass spectrometry.Studies on the fragmentation mechanism of protonated and alkali-metal-cationized compounds in tandem mass spectrometry are essential and helpful for structural analysis.In some cases,it was often observed that a compound attached by different alkali-metal cations(or proton)exhibits similar fragmentation patterns but the relative abundances of product ions are different.This difference was considered to derive from the different electrostatic interactions of alkali-metal cations(or the bonded effect of proton)with the analyte.The alkali-metal cation with a smaller ionic radius shows stronger electrostatic interaction with the molecule because of its higher charge density.In addition,the bonded effect of the proton is stronger than the electrostatic interaction of the alkali-metal cation.In the present study,which used McLafferty-type rearrangements of even-electron ions([M+Cat]+,Cat=H,Li,Na,K)as model reactions,the effect of cation size in mass spectrometric fragmentation reactions is highlighted.These considerations were also successfully applied to interpret the similar but distinct fragmentation behavior of proton and alkali-metal cation adducts of a synthetic compound(2-(acetamido(phenyl)methyl)-3-oxobutanoate)and a drug(entecavir).     

Cu Doping-Induced Transformation from [Ag62S12(SBut)32]2+ to [Ag62−xCuxS12(SBut)32]4+ Nanocluster

The change in the valence state of nanocluster can induce remarkable changes in the properties and structure. However, achieving the valence state changes in nanoclusters is still a challenge. In this work, we use Cu²⁺ as dopant to “oxidize” [Ag₆₂S₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]²⁺ (4 free electrons) to obtain the new nanocluster: [Ag_62−xCu_xS₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]⁴⁺ with 2 free electrons. As revealed by its structure, the [Ag_62−xCu_xS₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]⁴⁺ (x=10∼21) has a similar structure to that of [Ag₆₂S₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]²⁺ precursor and all the Cu atoms occupy the surface site of nanocluster. It′s worth noting that with the Cu atoms doping, the [Ag_62−xCu_xS₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]⁴⁺ nanocluster is more stable than [Ag₆₂S₁₂(SBu^t)₃₂]²⁺ at higher temperature and in electrochemical cycle. This result has laid a foundation for the subsequent application and exploration. Overall, this work reveals crystals structure of a new Ag−Cu nanocluster and offers a new insight into the electron reduction/oxidation of nanocluster.     

Scaling properties of azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au and Cu+Cu Collisions at sqrt[s NN]=200 GeV

Differential measurements of elliptic flow (v2) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV are used to test and validate predictions from perfect fluid hydrodynamics for scaling of v2 with eccentricity, system size, and transverse kinetic energy (KE T). For KE T identical with mT-m up to approximately 1 GeV the scaling is compatible with hydrodynamic expansion of a thermalized fluid. For large values of KE T mesons and baryons scale separately. Quark number scaling reveals a universal scaling of v2 for both mesons and baryons over the full KE T range for Au+Au. For Au+Au and Cu+Cu the scaling is more pronounced in terms of KE T, rather than transverse momentum.     

A realization of digital wireless transmission for MRI signals based on 802.11b

In this paper, a digital wireless transmission system based on 802.11b standard for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) application is designed and built for the first time to eliminate the interference aroused by coil array cables. The analysis shows that the wireless receiver has a very high sensitivity to detect MRI signals. The modulation technique of differential quadrature phase shift keyed (DQPSK) can be applied to MRI data transmission with rate of 2 Mbps and bandwidth of 2 MHz. The bench test verifies that this wireless link has a dynamic range over 86 dB supporting up to 3 T MRI system data transmission. The 2D spin echo imaging of phantom is performed and the SNR of the image obtained by the wireless transmission can be comparable with that got by the coaxial cables.     

Nb掺杂调控CoSeS多级纳米结构用于增强析氢反应

电催化析氢(HER)是清洁制氢的一种有效途径,对于氢经济和氢能产业的发展具有重要意义.金属掺杂是提高电催化剂本征活性的有效方法,导电基底的采用也有利于电荷传输和催化性能的整体提高.尽管已有关于硒化物作为HER催化剂的相关报道,但是合成条件有限、导电性、本征活性的影响,其电催化性能仍有提升的空间.此外,在酸性电解液中的腐蚀和氧化极大限制了催化剂性能的发挥.基于此,本文以氮掺杂碳球为载体,采用金属Nb掺杂、非金属硫硒化物协同以及表面碳包覆的三重策略,将掺杂元素Nb和活性位中心元素Co封装到氮掺杂碳纳米球内并进行连续的硫硒化反应,成功构筑多级纳米结构(Nb-CoSeS@NC)以提高其电催化析氢性能.碳球可为活性位的生长和分散提供足够的空间,同时有效防止活性金属的腐蚀和分解,并阻止金属纳米颗粒的团聚.硫化过程实现了非金属硫元素的掺杂,对于提高硒化物的催化活性和导电性都有重要作用.通过扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、拉曼光谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)及电催化性能测试,详细研究了Nb-CoSeS@NC独特的纳米结构和电催化制氢性能,并分析了构效关系.XRD结果发现,引入Nb后Co9Se8和CoSe的特征峰移向更高的角度,表明其晶格体积的减小,有助于电荷传输.同时,氮掺杂碳球(NC)在26°可以观察到无定型碳的峰,而石墨碳的D带和G带强度比约为1.05,均表明NC中缺陷的存在,这可以进一步提高碳材料的导电性.SEM和TEM表征显示,催化剂为直径120 nm的均匀的纳米核壳结构,壳层约为30 nm,无明显的团聚和破碎,这是催化剂具有高稳定性的重要原因.表面的褶皱保证了大的活性比表面积,可以大大增加活性位点的数量.同时,催化剂与NC之间的紧密结合可以降低电子传输的阻抗进而改善其稳定性和析氢性能.分析高分辨率的TEM结果发现,Nb掺杂后,Nb-CoSeS@NC中Co₉Se₈的(222)晶面由0.301 nm减小至0.184 nm,与XRD结果相符.XPS表征揭示了引入Nb之后的电子效应.与CoSeS@NC相比,Nb的掺杂使Co 2p向更低的结合能移动,而Se 3d则移向高结合能移动,这是由于Nb导致了更强的电子相互作用.在0.5 M的H₂SO₄中测试催化剂的析氢性能,Nb-CoSeS@NC仅需115 mV的过电位便可以实现10 mA cm^-2的电流密度,Tafel斜率为43 mV dec^-1,优于CoSeS@NC等其他对比样品,且优于大多数掺杂型硒化物电催化剂.经过12 h稳定性测试,电流密度未见明显降低,表明该多级结构催化剂的优异稳定性.Nb-CoSeS@NC提高活性可归因为Nb的掺杂增强了催化剂的电子相互作用,有助于提高的其本征导电性.Nb、Co正离子可以形成氢化物-受体中心,可能会削弱S-H键和Se-H键,并促进H-H键的形成,因此,多元掺杂产生的协同效应可以有效促进HER过程.此外,坚固的氮掺杂纳米碳壳为活性位点的分散提供了足够的空间和优异的电荷传输性能,同时降低了金属活性位腐蚀的可能性.