Encapsulation of Quantum Dots Inside Liposomal Hybrid Cerasome Using a One-Pot Procedure

A one-pot strategy for the fabrication of the quantum dots loaded cerasome has been successfully developed based on the condensation of dihexadecylamine and 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, followed by spontaneous encapsulation and solubilization of hydrophobic quantum dots into the hybrid liposomal cerasomes in combination of self-assembly and sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectra prove the formation of the intermediate organoalkoxysilane with a lipid-like structure, which forms cerasome vesicles. After encapsulation into cerasome, quantum dots become well dispersed in aqueous solution. Such water-soluble QD cerasomes exhibit a better photostability and retain the luminescence property of the original hydrophobic quantum dots.     

Chitosan‐Based Glucose Oxidase Electrodes Enhanced by Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles enhanced glucose oxidase electrodes were prepared on the basis of chitosan matrix. The enzyme electrodes exhibited high sensitivity and excellent response performance to glucose with a linear range from 1×10^?6 to 8×10^?3 mol · L^?1. And the time reaching the steady‐state amperometric response was less than 5 seconds. The inhibition percentage of this enzyme electrode against copper ions concentration was linear ranging from 1.2×10^?6 to 5×10^?5 mol · L^?1. These properties of enzyme electrodes are probably due to the excellent electron transfer of silver nanoparticles and the orientation of glucose oxidase molecule.     

Formula Optimization of Emulsifiers for Preparation of Multiple Emulsions Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Formulation optimization of emulsifiers for preparing multiple emulsions was performed in respect of stability by using artificial neural network (ANN) technique. Stability of multiple emulsions was expressed by the percentage of reserved emulsion volume of freshly prepared sample after centrifugation. Individual properties of multiple emulsions such as droplet size, δ, viscosity of the primary and the multiple emulsions were also considered. A back‐propagation (BP) network was well trained with experimental data pairs and then used as an interpolating function to estimate the stability of emulsions of different formulations. It is found that using mixtures of Span 80 and Tween 80 with different mass ratio as both lipophilic and hydrophilic emulsifiers, multiple W/O/W emulsions can be prepared and the stability is sensitive to the mixed HLB numbers and concentration of the emulsifiers. By feeding ANN with 39 pairs of experimental data, the ANN is well trained and can predict the influences of several formulation variables to the immediate emulsions stability. The validation examination indicated that the immediate stability of the emulsions predicted by the ANN is in good agreement with measured values. ANN therefore could be a powerful tool for rapid screening emulsifier formulation. However, the long‐term stability of the emulsions is not good, possibly due to the variation of the HLB number of the mixed monolayers by diffusion of emulsifier molecules, but can be greatly improved by using a polymer surfactant Arlacel P135 to replace the lipophilic emulsifier.     

微米及纳米丝光沸石分子筛上二甲醚羰基化反应的积碳分析

对比研究了在传统微米尺寸和新结构纳米丝光沸石催化剂上二甲醚羰基化合成乙酸甲酯的反应行为.结果表明,通过减小分子筛的尺寸到纳米水平,可以有效提高反应物和产物到达或者脱离反应活性位的效率,从而提高了二甲醚的转化率;更重要的是,抑制了硬积碳的生成,使催化剂保持了更高的稳定性.     

仿生制备有机-无机复合微囊固定化葡萄糖氧化酶

将层层自组装技术与仿生矿化技术相结合,由聚苯乙烯磺酸钠、聚二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵和二氧化硅成功制备(聚苯乙烯磺酸钠-聚二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵)₂-二氧化硅复合微囊.采用扫描电子显微镜、红外光谱和热重对微囊的形貌和化学结构进行了表征.以该复合微囊作为理想载体固定化葡萄糖氧化酶.结果表明,固定于复合微囊中的葡萄糖氧化酶的热稳定性、pH稳定性、操作稳定性得到了提高;在最适条件下,复合微囊固定化葡萄糖氧化酶的酶活回收率为72.85%,米氏常数是游离葡萄糖氧化酶的2.21倍.复合微囊在化学/生物催化、药物/基因传递系统和生物传感器应用方面具有一定的潜能.     

Liquid crystalline behaviour of hydrazide derivatives containing alkoxyazobenzene

Two series of dissymmetric hydrazide derivatives containing alkoxyazobenzene with nitro terminal group and octyloxy terminal group, N-4-alkoxyphenyl-N′-4-((4-nitrophenyl)azophenyl) benzohydrazide (Bn-NO₂, n indicates the number of carbon atoms) and N-4-octyloxyphenyl-N′-4-((4-octyloxyphenyl)azophenyl) benzohydrazide (B8-B8), were designed and synthesised, and their liquid crystalline properties were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, polarised optical microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. It was found that B8-B8 with octyloxy terminal chains displayed monolayer smectic C phase, whereas Bn-NO₂ with nitro terminal group displayed SmA_d phase, and intermolecular hydrogen bonding was confirmed as the driving force. In addition, the effect of hydrogen bonding, dipole–dipole interactions and steric hindrance effect on the liquid crystalline structures were also discussed.     

Dynamic Changes in Xylanases and β-1,4-Endoglucanases Secreted by Aspergillus niger An-76 in Response to Hydrolysates of Lignocellulose Polysaccharide

Aspergillus niger is an effective secretor of glycoside hydrolases that facilitate the saprophytic lifestyle of the fungus by degrading plant cell wall polysaccharides. In the present study, a series of dynamic zymography assays were applied to quantify the secreted glycoside hydrolases of A. niger cultured in media containing different carbon sources. Differences in the diversity and concentrations of polysaccharide hydrolysates dynamically regulated the secretion of glycoside hydrolases. The secretion of β-1,4-endoglucanase isozymes was observed to lag at least 24 h behind, rather than coincide with, the secretion of xylanase isozymes. Low concentrations of xylose could induce many endoxylanases (such as Xyn1/XynA, Xyn2, and Xyn3/XynB). High concentrations of xylose could sustain the induction of Xyn2 and Xyn3/XynB but repress Xyn1/XynA (GH10 endoxylanase), which has a broad substrate specificity, and also triggers the low-level secretion of Egl3/EglA, which also has a broad substrate specificity. Mixed polysaccharide hydrolysates sustained the induction of Egl1, whereas the other β-1,4-endoglucanases were sustainably induced by the specific polysaccharide hydrolysates released during the hydrolysis process (such as Egl2 and Egl4). These results indicate that the secretion of glycoside hydrolases may be specifically regulated by the production of polysaccharide hydrolysates released during the process of biomass degradation.     

Double emulsion-templated microspheres with flow-through pores at micrometer scale

Two different polymers, poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) and poly(methyl methecrylate-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), were respectively employed as the major component of the particle material and amphiphilic polymer methoxy poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (D, L-lactide) was employed as an essential additive. Gigaporous microspheres which possess flow-through pores which range from submicron to micron scale were prepared by two-step emulsification, emulsion ripening, and solvent extraction. Parameters on the final morphology were particularly investigated, including the polymer component, emulsion ripening time, and osmotic gradient. The formation mechanism of gigapores was also discussed with consideration of evolution behavior of the double emulsion system. The evolution process was proved crucial to control the final pore structure. Such kind of gigaporous microspheres could be further exploited as a promising chromatographic media for the purification of bioproducts.     

Simultaneous extraction and determination of fluoroquinolones,tetracyclines and sulfonamides antibiotics in soils using optimised solid phase extraction chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method was developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of 18 fluoroquinolones (FQs), tetracyclines (TCs) and sulfonamides (SAs) antibiotics from soils using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The soils were extracted by different solvents with the help of mechanical shaking and ultrasonic treatment at 59?kHz, followed by a strong anion exchange (SAX) cartridge to clean up soil samples and a hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge as enrichment. The method was evaluated by testing the following variables: extraction solvents, the type of SPE cartridges, solvent volumes, initial spiking levels and soil types (silty clay loam and clay loam soils). The soil extraction method was validated using these two types of soils, representing two typical agricultural soils in northern China. For 2?g soil, the extraction steps with the mixture of potassium phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (ACN) (1/1, v/v, pH 3.2) provided satisfactory recoveries. In the clay loam soil, the recoveries of all the compounds were from 56% to 89% at the spiking level of 50?µg?kg^?1 soil, and from 69% to 97% at the spiking level of 200?µg?kg^?1 soil, respectively. Recoveries in silty clay loam soil were similar to that in clay loam. The method was successfully employed using soil samples collected from a farmland and afforestion area irrigated with sewage in northern China. The result indicates that trace antibiotics in sewage may accumulate in soil irrigated by river water containing sewage.     

Determination of trace amounts of chromium (VI) by flow injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection

A new sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method combined with continuous flow injection analysis is described for the determination of Cr(VI). Strong CL signals were generated by Cr(VI)-catalysed oxidation of gallic acid in the presence of potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide. Effects of reagent concentrations, temperature, pH, flow rates, mixing coil length and mixing flow sequences on the chemiluminescence intensity were studied. Under the optimised experimental conditions, the relationship between the logarithm of concentration (log?C) of Cr(VI) and the logarithm of intensity (log?I) is linear over the range of 2?×?10^?11 – 5?×?10^?4?mol?L^?1, with the detection limit (3σ) of 4?×?10^?12?mol?L^?1. Relative standard deviation of ten measurements of 1?×?10^?9?mol?L^?1 Cr(VI) is 1.7%. This flow injection analysis (FIA) system proved to be able to analyse up to 40 samples h^?1. Effects of various interferences possibly present in the water samples were investigated. Most cations and anions, as well as organic compounds, did not interfere with the determination of Cr(VI) in water samples. The experimental results obtained for chromium in reference materials were also in good agreement with the certified values.