Switchable phase transition behavior of thermoresponsive substrates for cell sheet engineering

Recently, there are significant interests in the development of biomaterials with nonlinear response to an external stimulus. Thermoresponsive polymers as a well-known class of stimuli-responsive materials represent reversible hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity characteristics around a critical temperature. This switchable behavior applies for nondestructive cellular detachment from cultivation substrates. In this study, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-grafted dishes were made up to harvest retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) and periodontal ligament cell (PDLC) sheets. Wettability assessments verified that all functionalized surfaces were inverted from hydrophilic to hydrophobic state when the temperature rises from lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at 37 °C. Other physicochemical characteristics such as chemical composition, grafting thickness, and surface topography were investigated through attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). ATR-FTIR results showed typical peaks of amide group corresponding to successful PNIPAAm polymerization. AFM microscopy results also proved creating a rough PNIPAAm layer with thickness of 29.2 nm after grafting process in the mixture of methanol and water. Cell culture experiments showed an irreversible cellular attachment/detachment from modified surfaces upon temperature changes. These results introduced thermoresponsive TCPS to noninvasively harvest RPE and PDLCs sheets especially for application in scaffold-free tissue engineering decorations. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1567–1576     

Two spectral QSPR models of porphyrin macromolecules for chelating heavy metals and different ligands released from industrial solvents: CH2Cl2, CHCl3 and toluene

ABSTRACT

Two simple and reliable correlations are introduced for the prediction of emission and absorption of porphyrins and their derivatives, i.e. metalloporphyrins and ligand coordinated metalloporphyrins. They can be used to sense the extracted precious metals. The proposed models require only simple structural parameters such as the number of carbon, metal and metal-free molecular fragments of desirable porphyrins or their derivatives. Since the proposed models depend on molecular structures of the desired compounds, they can be easily applied for complex molecular structures. Experimental data of 272 porphyrin derivatives were used to derive and test the novel models for the assessment of their emission (Em.) and absorption (Abs.) values in three solvents namely dichloromethane, toluene and chloroform. The values of the coefficients of determination (r ²) for the training set (183 compounds) in dichloromethane and three different test sets, corresponding to the three mentioned solvents, for the emission and absorption correlations were greater than 0.70. The calculated values of the root-mean-square error (RMSE) for the training sets of Em. and Abs. correlations were equal to 7.56 and 4.86 nm, respectively. Further statistical parameters also confirm the high reliability of the new models.     

A high selective ion‐imprinted polymer grafted on a novel nanoporous material for efficient gold extraction

In this work, for the first time, an ion‐imprinted polymer was developed for selective extraction and determination of gold ions. To increase the sorbent efficiency, this polymer was coated on a novel nanoporous carbon‐based material, carbohydrate‐derived Max‐Planck Gesellschaft 1, which is also the first example of grafting imprinted polymer on nanoporous‐carbon material. These particles were applied successfully for preconcentration of ultratrace amount of gold ions, following determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Some effective factors on the efficiency of gold ions extraction, such as concentration and volume of eluent, sample and eluent flow rates, and also effect of interfering ions especially palladium and platinum ions, were investigated. The LOD was determined to be 0.27 ng/mL. Furthermore, the precision of the method was calculated to be 2.14% under optimal conditions with recovery more than 97.3%. The technique was also used to determine the concentration of gold ions in mine stone samples with satisfactory results. The accuracy of this method was investigated by determination of gold ions concentrations in several reference materials with certified gold content.     

Solvent-Free Conditions as an Eco-Friendly Strategy for Synthesis of Organophosphorus Compounds

A series of diverse NH- and CH-acids are used for a one-pot synthesis of stable phosphorus ylides and 1,4-diionic organophosphorus compounds by trapping of the zwitterionic intermediate from the reaction between triphenylphosphine and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates under solvent-free conditions. The structural geometry for one of the products was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Silica-supported 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin(DCH) as a useful reagent for microwave-assisted aromatization of 1,3,5-trisubstituted pyrazolines under solvent-free conditions

1,3,5-Trisubstituted pyrazolines are rapidly and conveniently oxidized to their corresponding pyrazoles by 1,3-dichloro-5,5- dimethylhydantoin(DCH) in solution and solvent-free conditions under microwave irradiation.The presence of silica gel as a supporting agent is shown to be effective in reducing the reaction times and increasing the yields.     

Synthesis and characterization of hydrolysable poly(ether-urethane-urea)s derived from l-leucine anhydride cyclopeptide; a green synthetic method for monomer

l-leucine anhydride cyclodipeptide (LAC) was prepared through a green method under microwave irradiation with good yield. Then a new class of hydrolysable poly(ether-urethane-urea)s (PEUUs) was synthesized via two-step polymerization method. In the first step, 4,4′-methylene-bis-(4-phenylisocyanate) (MDI) was reacted with LAC to produce isocyanate-terminated poly(imide-urea) oligomers (hard segment). Reaction of the resulting pre-polymer with different molecular weights (MW) of polyethyleneglycols (PEG)s such as PEG-400, PEG-600, PEG-1000 and PEG-2000 was the second step to furnish a series of new PEUUs. The resulting multiblock copolymers have inherent viscosities in the range of 0.4-1.8 dL/g. These multiblock copolymers are hydrolysable, thermally stable and soluble in amide-type solvents. Polymers containing different molecular weights of PEGs soft segments show different thermal stability, phase separation, hard segment cohesiveness and hydrolysis rate. Some structural characterization and physical properties of these PEUUs are reported.     

Design,synthesis, in vivo and in vitro studies of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-carbazole derivatives,highly selective and potent butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors

Molecular Diversity - Inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) might be a useful therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A new series of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-carbazole derivatives...