Synthesis of Fe‐MCM‐41 from silatrane and FeCl3 via sol–gel process and its epoxidation acivity

An iron‐containing mesoporous molecular sieve, or Fe‐MCM‐41, was successfully synthesized the via sol–gel technique using silatrane and FeCl₃ as the silicon and iron sources, and was characterized using various techniques. Many factors were investigated, namely, reaction temperature and time, calcination rate, and iron amount in the reaction mixture. It was found that the optimum conditions in which to synthesize Fe‐MCM‐41 was to carry out the reaction at 60 °C for 7 h using a 1 °C min^?1 calcination rate and a 550 °C calcination temperature. The catalytic activity and selectivity of styrene epoxidation using hydrogen peroxide showed that the selectivity of the styrene oxide reached 65% at a styrene conversion of 22% over the 1%wt catalyst. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Equilibrium Fluctuations in Lysozyme and Myoglobin

Hyperfine Interactions - The angular dependencies of inelastic intensities of Rayleigh scattering of Mössbauer radiation were measured for lysozyme and myoglobin (for different degrees of...     

High density peptide microarrays. In situ synthesis and applications

The technologies enabling the creation of large scale, miniaturized peptide or protein microarrays are emerging. The focuses of this review are the synthesis and applications of peptide and peptidomimetic microarrays, especially the light directed parallel synthesis of individually addressable high density peptide microarrays using a novel photogenerated reagent chemistry and digital photolithography (Gao et al., 1998, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120, 12698; Pellois et al. 2002, Nat. Biotechnol. 20, 922). Concepts related to the synthesis are discussed, such as the reactions of photogenerated acids in the deprotection step of peptide synthesis or oligonucleotide synthesis, and the applications of high density peptide chips in antibody binding assays are discussed. Peptide chips provide versatile tools for probing antigen-antibody, protein-protein, peptide-ligand interactions and are basic components for miniaturization, automation, and system integration in research and clinical diagnosis applications.     

Synthesis of methacrylate-containing oligosilsesquioxanes via acidic hydrolytic polycondensation in the medium of methacrylate monomers

Methacrylate-containing oligosilsesquioxanes with a molecular mass of 700–4000 are synthesized via the acidic hydrolytic polycondensation of γ-methacryloxy-propyltrimethoxysilane (A-174) in the medium of methyl methacrylate or in a mixture of bis(methacrylates). The structure of the oligomers is studied by ¹Н and ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.     

Immobilization of Invertase in Copolymer of 2,5-Di(thiophen-2-yl)-1-p-Tolyl-1H-Pyrrole with Pyrrole

Immobilization of invertase in conducting copolymer matrix of 2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1-p-tolyl-1H-pyrrole with pyrrole (poly(DDTP-co-Py)) was achieved via electrochemical polymerization. Kinetic parameters, Michaelis-Menten constant, K_m and the maximum reaction rate, V_max were investigated. Operational stability and temperature optimization of the enzyme electrodes were also examined.

Immobilized invertase reveals maximum activity at 50°C and; pH 8 and pH 4 for two copolymer matrices. Although the same two monomers are utilized for the copolymer synthesis, the way the copolymer is produced results in quite different responses in terms of enzyme activity, optimum pH and kinetic parameters. Excellent operational stability of the enzyme electrodes enables their repetitive use in the determination of invert sugar.     

Gene-Z: a device for point of care genetic testing using a smartphone

By 2012, point of care (POC) testing will constitute roughly one third of the $59 billion in vitro diagnostics market. The ability to carry out multiplexed genetic testing and wireless connectivity are emerging as key attributes of future POC devices. In this study, an inexpensive, user-friendly and compact device (termed Gene-Z) is presented for rapid quantitative detection of multiple genetic markers with high sensitivity and specificity. Using a disposable valve-less polymer microfluidic chip containing four arrays of 15 reaction wells each with dehydrated primers for isothermal amplification, the Gene-Z enables simultaneous analysis of four samples, each for multiple genetic markers in parallel, requiring only a single pipetting step per sample for dispensing. To drastically reduce the cost and size of the real-time detector necessary for quantification, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was performed with a high concentration of SYTO-81, a non-inhibiting fluorescent DNA binding dye. The Gene-Z is operated using an iPod Touch, which also receives data and carries out automated analysis and reporting via a WiFi interface. This study presents data pertaining to performance of the device including sensitivity and reproducibility using genomic DNA from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, the Gene-Z represents a significant step toward truly inexpensive and compact tools for POC genetic testing.     

Sol-gel thin films with anti-reflective and self-cleaning properties

Self-cleaning photocatalytic TiO₂ films are beneficial since they reduce the maintenance cost and enhance the efficiency of various optical systems, especially thermal and photovoltaic solar systems. However, the presence of a TiO₂ layer on glass reduces the transmission of incident light, which leads to a decrease in efficiency. This drawback can be overcome by applying a layer of anti-reflective coating beneath the TiO₂ layer. Generally, the anti-reflective layer is porous silica. The presence of the anti-reflective layer compensates for the loss of light transmittance caused by the photocatalytic TiO₂ top layer. This paper reviews some of the previous and the latest fundamental studies in the literature on anti-reflective, self-cleaning and multi-functional films.