Formulation of Cannabidiol in Colloidal Lipid Carriers

In this study, the general processability of cannabidiol (CBD) in colloidal lipid carriers was investigated. Due to its many pharmacological effects, the pharmaceutical use of this poorly water-soluble drug is currently under intensive research and colloidal lipid emulsions are a well-established formulation option for such lipophilic substances. To obtain a better understanding of the formulability of CBD in lipid emulsions, different aspects of CBD loading and its interaction with the emulsion droplets were investigated. Very high drug loads (>40% related to lipid content) could be achieved in emulsions of medium chain triglycerides, rapeseed oil, soybean oil and trimyristin. The maximum CBD load depended on the type of lipid matrix. CBD loading increased the particle size and the density of the lipid matrix. The loading capacity of a trimyristin emulsion for CBD was superior to that of a suspension of solid lipid nanoparticles based on trimyristin (69% vs. 30% related to the lipid matrix). In addition to its localization within the lipid core of the emulsion droplets, cannabidiol was associated with the droplet interface to a remarkable extent. According to a stress test, CBD destabilized the emulsions, with phospholipid-stabilized emulsions being more stable than poloxamer-stabilized ones. Furthermore, it was possible to produce emulsions with pure CBD as the dispersed phase, since CBD demonstrated such a pronounced supercooling tendency that it did not recrystallize, even if cooled to −60 °C.     

A Porous Sulfonated 2D Zirconium Metal–Organic Framework as a Robust Platform for Proton Conduction

By using the strategy of pre-assembly chlorosulfonation applied to a linker precursor, the first sulfonated zirconium metal–organic framework ( JUK-14 ) with two-dimensional (2D) structure, was synthesized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the material is built of Zr₆O₄(OH)₄(COO)₈ oxoclusters, doubly 4-connected by angular dicarboxylates, and stacked in layers spaced 1.5 nm apart by the presence of sulfonic groups. JUK-14 exhibits excellent hydrothermal stability, permanent porosity confirmed by gas adsorption studies, and shows high (>10⁻⁴ S/cm) and low (<10⁻⁸ S/cm) proton conductivity under humidified and anhydrous conditions, respectively. Post-synthesis inclusion of imidazole improves the overall conductivity increasing it to 1.7×10⁻³ S/cm at 60 °C and 90 % relative humidity, and by 3 orders of magnitude at 160 °C. The combination of 2D porous nature with robustness of zirconium MOFs offers new opportunities for exploration of the material towards energy and environmental applications.     

Liquid crystalline properties of 4‐hexyloxybenzylidene‐4′‐alkyloxyanilines

The liquid‐crystalline polymorphism of the homologous series of 4‐hexyloxybenzylidene‐4′‐alkyloxyanilines is investigated. Basing on the polarization microscopy (POM, TOA), the DSC calorimetry and miscibility studies the following mesophases were detected: nematic, smectic A, smectic C and smectic I. The phase diagrams of the compounds of these series with 4‐hexyloxybenylidene‐4′‐pentylaniline (as the standard of mesophases) show induction of the smectic F mesophases. Their dependence on the alkyl chain length and mole fraction is shown.     

Orbital order in NaTiO2: A first principles study

The debate over the orbital order in the layered triangular lattice system NaTiO₂ has been rekindled by the recent experiments of McQueen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 (2008) 166402] on NaVO₂. In view of this, the nature of orbital ordering, in both high and low temperature phases, is studied using an ab-initio electronic structure calculation. The orbital order observed in our calculations in the low temperature structure of NaTiO₂ is consistent with the predictions of McQueen et al. An LDA plus dynamical mean-field calculation shows considerable transfer of spectral weight from the Fermi level but no metal–insulator transition, confirming the poor metallic behavior observed in transport measurements.     

A mathematical and physical Study of multiscale deconvolution models of turbulence

This work presents a rigorous analysis of mathematical and physical properties for solutions of multiscale deconvolution turbulence models. We show that solutions of these models exactly conserve model quantities for the integral invariants of fundamental physical importance: kinetic energy, helicity, and (in two dimensions) enstrophy. The kinetic energy conservation is the key that allows us to next apply the phenomenology of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence to establish the existence of a model energy cascade and, in particular, that the cascade exhibits enhanced energy dissipation in a secondary accelerated cascade, which ends at the model's microscale (which we establish is larger than the Kolmogorov microscale). We also prove that the model dissipates energy at the same rate as true turbulent flow, ～ O(U³ ∕ L), independent of Reynolds number. Lastly, we prove the existence of global attractors for the model solutions; the proof of which also shows that solutions are actually one degree of regularity higher than previously known. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regioselective formation of β‐(E)‐ and α‐alkenylsilane moiety attached to silsesquioxane core via Pt‐ and Ru‐based hydrosilylation

The first attempts to use ethynylsiloxysilsesquioxanes as reagents for hydrosilylation in the presence of Pt‐ and Ru‐based catalysts are reported. The results obtained strongly depend on the catalytic system used. The catalysts are proved to promote regioselective introduction of β‐(E)‐ and α‐fragments of the alkenylsilane group to the silsesquioxane core. The favourable features of these catalytic systems are their high selectivity and the requirement for relatively mild conditions. This methodology was also successfully applied to dihydro‐substituted organosilicon compounds to obtain a new class of silsesquioxane‐based compounds.     

A new class of stereoregular vinylene‐arylene copolymers with double‐decker silsesquioxane in the main chain

A synthesis of a new macromolecular class of vinylene‐arylene copolymers with double‐decker silsesquioxane in the main chain is presented. Two transition‐metal‐catalyzed processes, which is silylative‐coupling copolycondensation (SCC) and ADMET copolymerization of divinyl‐substituted double‐decker silsesquioxanes (DDSQ‐2SiVi) with selected diolefins, are reported to be highly efficient tools for the formation of stereoregular copolymers containing DDSQ‐silylene‐vinylene‐arylene units. The copolymeric products are studied in terms of their structural, thermal, and mechanical properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1044–1055