Production of CaCO3/hyperbranched polyglycidol hybrid films using spray-coating technique

Biomineralizing organisms employ macromolecules and cellular processing strategies in order to produce highly complex composite materials such as nacre. Bionic approaches translating this knowledge into viable technical production schemes for a large-scale production of biomimetic hybrid materials have met with limited success so far. Investigations presented here thus focus on the production of CaCO(3)/polymer hybrid coatings that can be applied to huge surface areas via reactive spray-coating. Technical requirements for simplicity and cost efficiency include a straightforward one-pot synthesis of low molecular weight hyperbranched polyglycidols (polyethers of 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol) as a simple mimic of biological macromolecules. Polymers functionalized with phosphate monoester, sulfate or carboxylate groups provide a means of controlling CaCO(3) particle density and morphology in the final coatings. We employ reactive spray-coating techniques to generate CaCO(3)/hybrid coatings among which vaterite composites can be prepared in the presence of sulfate-containing hyperbranched polyglycidol. These coatings show high stability and remained unchanged for periods longer than 9 months. By employing carboxylate-based hyperbranched polyglycidol, it is possible to deposit vaterite-calcite composites, whereas phosphate-ester-based hyperbranched polyglycidol leads to calcite composites. Nanoindentation was used to study mechanical properties, showing that coatings thus obtained are slightly harder than pure calcite.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> bioactivity of 70 wt.% SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> — 30 wt.% CaO sol-gel glass,doped with 1, 3 and 5 wt.% NbF<Subscript>5</Subscript>

The 70SiO₂-30CaO (wt.%) sol-gel glasses doped with 1, 3 and 5 NbF₅ (wt.%) were prepared via polystep sol-gel route. The synthesized glasses were characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. Changes in 1.5 SBF solutions were measured by ICP-AES. XRD of the glasses stabilized at 700°C for 6 hours proved the presence of niocalite. FTIR was consistent with XRD data. The in vitro bioactivity study of all glasses prepared were carried out by soaking in 1.5 simulated body fluid (1.5 SBF) at 37°C for 6 and 12 days in static conditions. The FTIR reveals the formation of A-type and B-type carbonate containing hydroxyapatite (CO₃HA) layer. Changes in 1.5 SBF solutions, after 6 days of soaking, show that the Ca concentration increased significantly, compared to the initial Ca content in the 1.5 SBF solution before in vitro test. After 12 days of immersion, the Ca concentration decreased, i.e., the formation of HA phase consumed Ca from 1.5 SBF solution. For all soaking times, the concentration of P is much lower than that the used 1.5 SBF. Based on these results we suggest that Ca and P play an active role in the future of the glasses. SEM depicts that the different morphology of hydroxyapatite can be formed as a function of soaking time.     

Intercomparison measurements of Rn concentration in water samples in Poland

The paper presents the results of intercalibration measurements of ²²²Rn concentration in water samples. The aim of the experiments was to evaluate the different measurement methods of radon determination in water samples performed by eleven laboratories in Poland and to test these methods in field work. In the years 2001-2003 three national intercomparison experiments were organized. The results allowed the participating laboratories to improve their measurement methodologies and to achieve better, i.e. more convergent results of determining radon concentration in water samples. The results show that the use of liquid-scintillation technique seems to be the best measurement method. It should be emphasized that comparative experiments are essential for all laboratories and they should be carried out as often as possible, based both on prepared samples with known concentration values of ²²²Rn and natural water samples, the most commonly used in laboratory practice.     

Tuning Single‐Molecule Dynamics in Functionalized Mesoporous Silica

Diffusion of single molecules of a substituted terrylene diimide dye in functionalized mesoporous silica films was monitored by single‐molecule fluorescence microscopy. By varying the chemical nature and density of the functional groups, the diffusion dynamics of the dye molecules can be controlled precisely. The picture shows a sketch of a dye molecule in a pore, diffusion data for different phenyl functionalization densities, and the trajectory of one molecule in a cyanopropyl‐functionalized film.

     

Imaging forster resonance energy transfer measurements of transmembrane helix interactions in lipid bilayers on a solid support

We utilize supported lipid/protein bilayers to probe the dimerization of transmembrane (TM) helices in a membrane environment. The bilayers are formed by incubating substrates with liposomes containing the proteins, and are characterized using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and imaging Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET). We show that the FRET signal, as a measure of TM helix dimerization, is the same in suspended liposomes and in surface-supported bilayers. This work is the first step toward the development of a new tool for probing the association of TM helices in lipid bilayers.     

GC-MS studies of the chemical composition of two inedible mushrooms of the genus Agaricus

Background  

Mushrooms in the genus Agaricus have worldwide distribution and include the economically important species A. bisporus. Some Agaricus species are inedible, including A. placomyces and A. pseudopratensis, which are similar in appearance to certain edible species, yet are known to possess unpleasant odours and induce gastrointestinal problems if consumed. We have studied the chemical composition of these mushrooms using GC-MS.     

Thermal analysis for identification of E-Beam nanosize ammonium sulfate

Summary Thermal decomposition of nanosize ammonium sulfate obtained as a by-product in a new electron-beam technology cleaning up waste gases from thermal power stations was studied. DTA-TG-DTG curves were used to characterize thermal properties of the new products obtained under different technological conditions. High quality of ammonium sulfate from Merck was used as a reference material. Ammonium sulfate was the main component in all the products and their thermal behavior was similar to that of the reference. Only the solid product obtained with the highest norm of ammonia contained about 3.2% ammonium nitrate. Thermoanalytical methods can successfully be applied for control the quality of the by-products from E-beam desulfurization technology. It was found that the thermal stability of the nanosize ammonium sulfate was the same as that of the reference ammonium sulfate.     

Biochemical properties of Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase from fungal strain Aspergillus niger 26

The fungal strain Aspergillus niger produces two superoxide dismutases, Cu/Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD. The primary structure of the Cu/Zn-SOD has been determined by Edman degradation of peptide fragments derived from proteolytic digests. A single chain of the protein, consisting of 153 amino acid residues, reveals a very high degree of structural homology with the amino acid sequences of other Aspergillus Cu/Zn-SODs. The molecular mass of ANSOD, measured by MALDI-MS and ESI-MS, and calculated by its amino acid sequence, was determined to be 15821 Da. Only one Trp residue, at position 32, and one disulfide bridge were identified. However, neither a Tyr residue nor a carbohydrate chain occupying an N-linkage site (-Asn-Ile-Thr-) were found. Studies on the temperature and pH dependence of fluorescence, and on the temperature dependence of CD spectroscopic properties, confirmed that the enzyme is very stable, which can be explained by the stabilising effect of the disulfide bridge. The enzyme retains about 53% of its activity after incubation for a period of 30 min at 60 degrees C, and 15% at 85 degrees C.     

Structure and energetics of equiatomic K-Cs and Rb-Cs binary clusters

The basin-hopping algorithm combined with the Gupta many-body potential is used to study the structural and energetic properties of (KCs)(n) and (RbCs)(n) bimetallic clusters with N=2n up to 50 atoms. Each binary structure is compared to those of the pure clusters of the same size. For the cluster size N=28 and for the size range of N=34-50, the introduction of K and Rb atoms in the Cs alkali metal cluster results in new ground state structures different from those of the pure elements. In the size range N>/=38 the binary and pure clusters show not only structural differences, but they also display different magic numbers. Most of the magic Rb-Cs and K-Cs clusters possess highly symmetric structures. They belong to a family of pIh structures, where a fivefold pancake is a dominant structural motif. Such geometries have not been reported for alkali binary clusters so far, but have been found for series of binary transition metal clusters with large size mismatch. Moreover, tendency to phase separation (shell-like segregation) is predicted for both K-Cs and Rb-Cs clusters with up to 1000 atoms. Our finding of a surface segregation in Rb-Cs clusters is different from that of theoretical and experimental studies on bulk Rb-Cs alloys where phase separation does not occur.