First application of an X-ray imaging plate system for the accurate evaluation of the crystallite modulus of polymers

An X-ray imaging plate system has been applied for the first time to evaluate the crystallite modulus E_c of orthorhombic polyethylene along the chain axis. The E_c evaluated by using the 002 reflection was 234.9 ± 12.6 GPa and that for the 004 reflection was 236.7 ± 3.4 GPa. The dispersion of the data was smaller for the 004 reflection than that for the 002 reflection. The so evaluated modulus has been found to be in good agreement with that reported by previous researchers.     

Synthesis and reaction of selenocarbamic acid sodium and potassium salts and organo-germanium, -tin,and -lead esters

Sodium 2 and potassium selenocarbamates 3 were found to be synthesized in moderate to good yields by the reaction of carbamoyl chlorides with sodium and potassium selenides. The salts 2 and 3 reacted with alkyl halides and organo-germanium, -tin, and -lead chlorides to give the corresponding esters 7–9 in good yields.     

Selective adsorption of phosphate from seawater and wastewater by amorphous zirconium hydroxide

Phosphate adsorption from single electrolyte (NaH2PO4), phosphate-enriched seawater, and model wastewater was studied using amorphous zirconium hydroxide, ZrO(OH)2(Na2O)0.05 1.5H2O, as an adsorbent. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorption of phosphate. The effect of pH on phosphate adsorption from seawater showed that the uptake of phosphate increased with an increase in pH up to 6, and then decreased sharply with a further increase in pH of the solution. The equilibrium data of phosphate adsorption were followed with a Freundlich isotherm. The uptake of phosphate at the adsorbent/solution ratio 0.05 g/2 L was 10 and 17 mg-P/g for the phosphate-enriched seawater and the model wastewater, respectively. A much higher adsorptivity toward phosphate ions in seawater was observed on ZrO(OH)2(Na2O)0.05 1.5H(2)O than on other representative adsorbents based on layered double hydroxides of Mg(II)-Al(III), Mg(II)-Fe(III), and Ni(II)-Fe(III). The effective desorption of phosphate ions on ZrO(OH)2(Na2O)0.05 1.5H2O could be achieved using a 0.1 M NaOH solution. The usefulness of experimental data for practical applications in removing phosphate in seawater and wastewater is discussed.     

Controlled synthesis of hydrophilic concentrated polymer brushes and their friction/lubrication properties in aqueous solutions

Polymer brushes of water‐soluble polymers, poly(2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) and poly(poly(oxyethyleneglycol)methylether acrylate) (PPEGA), were synthesized on a silicon wafer and a silica particle by applying photo‐induced organotellurium‐mediated radical polymerization to surface‐initiated graft polymerization. High graft densities were obtained, corresponding to reduced graft densities of about 0.32 and 0.42 for the PHEA and PPEGA brushes, respectively. These values were high enough to be categorized in the regime of “concentrated” polymer brushes (CPBs). Atomic force microscopic (AFM) study revealed that the CPB of PPEGA was allowed to be highly swollen in water but the CPB of PHEA did not. This means that water is reasonably good for PPEGA but not for PHEA. The AFM microtribological study between swollen brushes revealed two lubrication regimes, namely, boundary‐ and hydrodynamic‐lubrication regimes, with different shear‐velocity dependencies. Reflecting insufficient quality of water as a solvent, the CPB of PHEA showed adhesive interaction and thereby a higher frictional coefficient μ in the boundary lubrication. More interestingly, super lubrication was achieved for the CPB of PPEGA with a μ value in the order of 10^?4 in water and in 0.1 M aqueous NaCl solution (without the help of electrostatic repulsion). Super lubrication was concluded to be a characteristic feature of the CPB, even in an aqueous system. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Synthesis of oligodeoxynucleotides using fully protected deoxynucleoside 3'-phosphoramidite building blocks and base recognition of oligodeoxynucleotides incorporating N3-cyano-ethylthymine

Oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) synthesis, which avoids the formation of side products, is of great importance to biochemistry-based technology development. One side reaction of ODN synthesis is the cyanoethylation of the nucleobases. We suppressed this reaction by synthesizing ODNs using fully protected deoxynucleoside 3'-phosphoramidite building blocks, where the remaining reactive nucleobase residues were completely protected with acyl-, diacyl-, and acyl-oxyethylene-type groups. The detailed analysis of cyanoethylation at the nucleobase site showed that N3-protection of the thymine base efficiently suppressed the Michael addition of acrylonitrile. An ODN incorporating N3-cyanoethylthymine was synthesized using the phosphoramidite method, and primer extension reactions involving this ODN template were examined. As a result, the modified thymine produced has been proven to serve as a chain terminator.     

Ultra fast melting process in femtosecond laser crystallization of thin a-Si layer

In this paper, we investigated the mechanism of crystallization induced by femtosecond laser irradiation for an amorphous Si (a-Si) thin layer on a crystalline Si (c-Si) substrate. The fundamental, SHG, THG wavelength of a Ti:Sapphire laser was used for the crystallization process. To investigate the processed areas we performed Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Imaging Pump-Probe measurements. Except for 267 nm femtosecond laser irradiation, the crystallization occurred well. The threshold fluences for the crystallization using 800 nm and 400 nm femtosecond laser irradiations were 100 mJ/cm² and 30 mJ/cm², respectively. TEM observation revealed that the crystallization occurred by epitaxial growth from the boundary surface between the a-Si layer and c-Si substrate. The melting depths estimated by Imaging Pump-Probe measurements became shallower when the shorter wavelength was used.     

Generation of Monoclonal Antibody for 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-Prostaglandin J2 and Development of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Its Quantification in Culture Medium of Adipocytes

15-deoxy-??^12,14-Prostaglandin J₂ (15d-PGJ₂) is a biologically active molecule serving as a pro-adipogenic factor or an anti-inflammatory regulator. This compound is one of naturally occurring derivatives formed by the non-enzymatic dehydration of PGD₂. To determine the endogenous synthesis of 15d-PGJ₂, a convenient immunological approach is useful. At first, we established a cloned hybridoma cell line to secrete a monoclonal antibody specific for 15d-PGJ₂. For the development of a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the immobilized antigen using a protein conjugate of 15d-PGJ₂ was allowed to react competitively with a monoclonal antibody in the presence of free 15d-PGJ₂. Under the optimized conditions, a sensitive calibration curve was generated able to determine the amount of 15d-PGJ₂ from 0.5?pg to 9.7?ng with 71?pg of 50% displacement in one assay. Our monoclonal antibody did not recognize other related prostanoids except PGJ₂ with cross-reaction of 4%. Our ELISA was demonstrated to be reliable for the quantification of 15d-PGJ₂ in the maturation medium of cultured adipocytes by confirming the accuracy and specificity of its determination. The application of our assay revealed that the non-enzymatic formation of 15d-PGJ₂ became more evident after several hours of incubation with authentic PGD₂ at 37?°C. The results indicate the usefulness of our developed solid-phase ELISA with the monoclonal antibody for further studies on the endogenous synthesis of 15d-PGJ₂ and its roles in various cells and tissues.     

Assessment of peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Purpose

To assess peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats by using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI).

Materials and Methods

A rat diabetes model was produced by intravenous injection of STZ. Diabetic rats were sustainably treated with either saline or insulin using an Alzet osmotic pump. Hind paw tissue perfusion was measured by signal intensity (SI) enhancement after gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid injection in DCE-MRI study and quantified using the initial area under the SI-time curve (IAUC). Peripheral tissue uptake of [¹⁴C]iodoantipyrine (IAP) was also determined as a marker of tissue blood flow for comparison with the IAUC value indicating tissue perfusion.

Results

STZ caused hyperglycemia at 1 and 2 weeks after injection. Treatment with insulin significantly alleviated hyperglycemia. At 2 weeks after STZ injection, peripheral tissue perfusion was clearly reduced in the diabetic rats and its reduction was significantly improved in the insulin-treated diabetic rats. Tissue perfusion evaluated by DCE-MRI was similar to the tissue blood flow measured by [¹⁴C]IAP uptake.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated that DCE-MRI can assess peripheral tissue perfusion disorder in diabetes. DCE-MRI could be suitable for noninvasive evaluation of peripheral tissue perfusion in both preclinical and clinical studies. It may also be useful for developing novel drugs to protect against diabetic vascular complications.     

Prediction of the stability of modified RNA duplexes based on deformability analysis: oligoribonucleotide derivatives modified with 2'-O-cyanoethyl-5-propynyl-2-thiouridine as a promising component

We describe a method to predict the stability of a modified RNA duplex. Ten unique modified RNA duplexes showed a linear relationship between the calculated and experimentally determined duplex stabilities.     

Phosphate adsorption on synthetic goethite and akaganeite

Low crystalline iron hydroxides such as goethite (alpha-FeOOH) and akaganeite (beta-FeOOH) were synthesized, and the selective adsorption of phosphate ions from phosphate-enriched seawater was examined. The results of the distribution coefficients (K(d)) of oxoanions in mixed anion solutions at pH 8 follow the selectivity order Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-) < CO3(2-), HPO4(2-) for goethite, and Cl-, CO3(2-) < NO3- < SO4(2) < HPO4(2-) for akaganeite. In seawater, both adsorbents show high selectivity for phosphate ions despite the presence of large amounts of major cations and anions in seawater. The adsorption isotherms fitted better with the Freundlich equation and the maximum uptake of phosphate from phosphate-enriched seawater was 10 mg P/g at an equilibrium phosphate concentration of 0.3 mg P/L on both adsorbents. The phosphate adsorption/desorption cycles show that akaganeite is an excellent adsorbent even after 10 cycles and its chemical stability is good.