Electrostatic interactions between amphoteric latex particles and proteins

The electrostatic interactions between amphoteric polymethyl methacrylate latex particles and proteins with different pI values were investigated. These latex particles possess a net positive charge at low pH, but they become negatively charged at high pH. The nature and degree of interactions between these polymer particles and proteins are primarily controlled by the electrostatic characteristics of the particles and proteins under the experimental conditions. The self-promoting adsorption process from the charge neutralization of latex particles by the proteins, which have the opposite net charge to that of the particles, leads to a rapid reduction in the zeta potential of the particles (in other words colloidal stability), and so strong flocculation occurs. On the other hand, the electrostatic repulsion forces between similarly charged latex particles and the proteins retard the adsorption of protein molecules onto the surfaces of the particles. Therefore, latex particles exhibit excellent colloidal stability over a wide range of protein concentrations. A transition from net negative charge to net positive charge, and vice versa (charge reversal), was observed when the particle surface charge density was not high enough to be predominant in the protein adsorption process.     

Characterization of a pectic polysaccharide from the fruit of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ziziphus jujuba</Emphasis>

A pectic polysaccharide was isolated from the fruits of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. jinsixiaozao Hort. and its structure was characterized by acid hydrolysis, methylation, and NMR spectroscopies. The purified fraction Ju-B-7 had a molecular mass of over 2000 kDa. Chemical and spectroscopic analyses indicated that Ju-B-7 is composed mainly of α-1,4-linked D-galactopyranosyluronic acid and 1,2-linked L-rhamnose with a molar ratio of 8.1:1. It can significantly stimulate spleen cell proliferation in vitro (P<0.01, 10 μmg/mL). Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 311–312, July–August, 2007.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(amide–imide)s containing a N-methylcarbazole group

A new dicarboxylic acid monomer containing the N-methylcarbazole and imide structures, 3,6-bis(trimellitimido)-N-methylcarbazole (I), was prepared from the condensation of 3,6-diamino-N-methylcarbazole (c) and trimellitic anhydride. The diamine c was synthesized in three steps starting from the methylation of carbazole, followed by nitration and catalytic hydrazine reduction. A series of N-methylcarbazole-containing poly(amide–imide)s were synthesized by direct polycondensation from the diimide–diacid I with various aromatic diamines. These poly(amide–imide)s had inherent viscosities of 0.66–1.47 dl/g and were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Transparent, flexible, and tough films of these polymers could be cast from DMAc solutions, and these films exhibited excellent mechanical strength. The glass-transition temperatures of these poly(amide–imide)s were in the range 317–362 °C. All the poly (amide–imide) did not degrade noticeably below 480 °C in nitrogen, and the 10% weight loss temperatures and char yields at 800 °C were above 520 °C and 60% in nitrogen, respectively, indicating high thermal stability. Received: 8 February 2000/Accepted: 23 March 2000     

Studies on Micellization of a Polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) Copolymer in Aqueous Media by Pyrene Fluorescence

The aggregation of amphiphilic block copolymers is a crucial phenomenon that controls various applications, and has been extensively treated in the literature1-3. Pyrene is a widely used fluorescence probe for the relative intensities of the vibrational fine structure (five bands) of its fluorescence spectra have been found to be sensitive to the polarity of its environment, the so-called Ham effect4. We report the studies of the aggregation properties of a PS-b-PAA copolymer using pyrene …     

The James constant for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">l</Emphasis><Subscript>3</Subscript> − <Emphasis Type="Italic">l</Emphasis><Subscript>1</Subscript> space

In this note, the exact value of the James constant for the l₃-l₁ space is obtained, J(l₃-l₁)=1.5573…. This result improves the known inequality, J(l₃-l₁)≤4/³√10, which was given by Dhompongsa, Piraisangjun and Saejung.     

新核素278113的基态特性及其α衰变链的研究

用形变的相对论平均场模型,Skyrme-Hartree-Fock模型及宏观-微观模型研究了新核素²⁷⁸113及其α衰变链的α衰变能和半衰期.计算的α衰变能同实验数据比较符合,相应的半衰期也在合理的范围内.计算进一步表明形变对超重核的基态性质有重要影响.     

基于BPLT模型的小麦叶片背景扣除方法的研究

为准确且无损测定小麦叶片的反射光谱,研究了不同背景对叶片表面反射光谱的影响,在400～1 000 nm波段范围测定了小麦叶片8种背景下的反射光谱以及叶绿素含量。以PLATE模型为基础,首次提出了BPLT(background plate)模型,扣除由不同背景导致的叶片反射光谱的变化。模型以背景下叶片的反射率R₀,不同背景反射率σ为输入,空气和致密叶片的界面反射比R₁₂,致密叶片和空气的界面反射比R₂₁,致密叶片的透射系数τ三参数中间变量,得到最终无背景时叶片反射率R值的2-3-1模型。采用方差分析法(analysis of variance, ANOVA)进行了BPLT模型验证,对比分析了背景扣除前后10种叶绿素指数值的变化。结果表明,当反演的确定系数DC(determination coefficients)>0.90且残差平方和SSE<1时,反演的灵敏度较高,对小麦叶片不同叶绿素浓度的背景扣除有着较好的效果;采用BPLT模型背景扣除后,背景因素所占的百分比低于5%;优选了NDI&MCARI的函数关系,NDI&MCARI的斜率和叶绿素浓度的R2由背景扣除前的0.847 4提高到背景扣除后的0.977 8。为真实测定不同背景下小麦叶片的反射光谱提供了依据。     

水对锂交换低硅铝比八面沸石吸附性能的影响

研究了变压吸附空气分离制氧吸附剂——锂交换低硅铝比八面沸石LiLSX中残留水及从外部引入的水对吸附性能的影响.研究表明，在水合LiLSX经脱附后，当残留的水分子数目为0～32（个分子/晶胞）时， N2或O2的吸附量下降显著.原因是N2和O2的吸附主要依赖于处在SIII位置的32个锂离子.当水分子与SIII位置的Li＋结合时，就会阻碍N2或O2的吸附.而从外部引入的水分子与脱附残留的水分子相比，在相同水含量时对吸附量的影响较小，这是由于吸附位置的不均匀性以及水分子在沸石中的扩散行为所引起.在水扩散进入LiLSX内部的过程中，一部分水分子可以吸附在能量较低的位置上而不是吸附到最强的SIII位置上.     

A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data     

Rapid and sensitive determination of protein by light-scattering technique with Eriochrome Blue Black R

Based on the interaction between Eriochrome Blue Black R (EBBR) and proteins, which causes a strong light-scattering signal with the maximum scattering peak located at 398 nm, a simple, rapid, sensitive and selective method is developed for the determination of proteins by the light-scattering technique using a common spectrofluoremeter. Under proper experimental conditions, the protein determination can be performed in the range of 0.1-25, 0.1-20 and 0.25-25 μg ml⁻¹ for bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA) and human immunoglobulin G (IgG), respectively. The detection limit, calculated as 3 times the S.D. of nine blank measurements, are 33 μg l⁻¹ for BSA, 25 μg l⁻¹ for HSA and 38 μg l⁻¹ for IgG. Moreover, there is no significant difference among the scattering signals yielded by HSA, IgG and BSA, and almost no interference of many amino acids and metal ions. The method has been satisfactorily applied to the direct determination of the total protein in human serum, saliva and urine samples. The results obtained from the studies on the binding characteristics of EBBR to BSA indicated that an electrostatic force existed in the binding system, and the binding constant (K) and the number of the binding sites (n) at 25 °C are 1.69×10⁵ l mol⁻¹ and 0.946, respectively.