Compositions of the seed oil of the Borago officinalis from Iran

In order to investigate the composition of borage (Borago officinalis L.) seed oil, this research was performed under the field conditions at Shahriyar and Garmsar zones, Iran during the 2012 planting year. The oil yield of borage was 31.46% and 33.7% at Shahriyar and Garmsar zone, respectively, and nine and eight fatty acids were identified in the seed oil of borage at Shahriyar and Garmsar, respectively – palmitic, linoleic, stearic and γ-linolenic acids were dominant in the seed oil of borage from both zones. Unsaturated fatty acid content was more than the saturated fatty acids in both zones. The ratio of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid in the borage cultivated at Shahriyar and Garmsar zones was 2.13 and 2.29. The fatty acid profile of Garmsar borage, oleic and oleic/linoleic acid ratio, increased. Locations with different ecological conditions resulted in changes in both seed oil content and fatty acid profile of borage.     

Controlling the Structure and Length of Self‐Synthesizing Supramolecular Polymers through Nucleated Growth and Disassembly

Directing self‐assembly processes out‐of‐equilibrium to yield kinetically trapped materials with well‐defined dimensions remains a considerable challenge. Kinetically controlled assembly of self‐synthesizing peptide‐functionalized macrocycles through a nucleation–growth mechanism is reported. Spontaneous fiber formation in this system is effectively shut down as most of the material is diverted into metastable non‐assembling trimeric and tetrameric macrocycles. However, upon adding seeds to this mixture, well‐defined fibers with controllable lengths and narrow polydispersities are obtained. This seeded growth strategy also allows access to supramolecular triblock copolymers. The resulting noncovalent assemblies can be further stabilized through covalent capture. Taken together, these results show that self‐synthesizing materials, through their interplay between dynamic covalent bonds and noncovalent interactions, are uniquely suited for out‐of‐equilibrium self‐assembly.     

Polymeric membrane and coated graphite samarium(III)-selective electrodes based on isopropyl 2-[(isopropoxycarbothioyl)disulfanyl]ethanethioate

New polymeric membrane (PME) and coated graphite (CGE) samarium(III)-selective electrodes were prepared based on isopropyl 2-[(isopropoxycarbothioyl) disulfanyl]ethanethioate as a suitable neutral ionophore. The electrodes exhibit Nernstian slopes for Sm³⁺ ions over wide concentration ranges (1.0×10⁻⁵ to 1.0×10⁻¹ M for PME and 1.0×10⁻⁶ to 1.0×10⁻¹ M for CGE). The PME and CGE have limits of detection of 3.1×10⁻⁶ and 5.0×10⁻⁷ M, respectively, and response times of about 20 s. The potentiometric responses are independent of the pH of the test solution in the pH range 4.0-7.0. The proposed electrodes revealed good selectivities over a wide variety of other cations including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The electrodes were successfully applied to the recovery of Sm³⁺ ion from tap water samples and also, as an indicator electrode, in potentiometric titration of samarium(III) ions.     

Synthesis and dynamic 1H NMR study around the carbon–carbon double bond in the new stable phosphorus ylides derived from the reaction between hexamethyl phosphorous triamide and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate in the presence of NH‐heterocyclic compounds

New and stable phosphorous ylides are obtained from a simple and efficient one‐pot three‐component reaction between hexamethyl phosphorous triamide and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate in the presence of NH‐heterocyclic compounds in excellent yields at an ambient temperature. These stable ylides exist in solution as a mixture of two geometrical isomers as a result of the restricted rotation around the carbon–carbon partial double bond resulting from the conjugation of the ylide moiety with the adjacent carbonyl group. Dynamic effects are observed in the ¹H NMR spectra that are attributed to the restricted rotation around the carbon–carbon double bond. The experimental rotational energy barrier (Δ G^#) and other activation parameters on the basis of the ¹H NMR study for the rotational interchangeable process of major and minor isomers in ylides 4a–d are reported. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 23:131–137, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20761     

Investigation of a Biosensor Based on Phenylalanine Dehydrogenase Immobilized on a Polymer‐Blend Film for Phenylketonuria Diagnosis

We investigated a L ‐phenylalanine (L ‐phe) biosensor, functionalized through enzyme immobilization on a polymer‐blend film. The electron mediator 3,4‐dihydroxybenzaldehyde (3,4‐DHB) was employed at the electrode surface to improve direct oxidation of NADH to NAD⁺ and no additional reagents is required to be added to the sample solution. The bioactivated electrode was coated with a semi‐permeable cellulose acetate membrane in order to prevent dissolution of biofunctionalized polymer‐blend film. This constructed enzyme electrode is the first selective biosensor for phenylketonuria (PKU) detection. The sensitivity of the enzyme electrode was determined as 12.014 mA/M cm². The Michaelis–Menten and current responses as well as sensitivity of the electrode showed improved values than those of previous works. This selective biosensor presented an excellent electroanalytical response for L ‐phe, with a high steady‐state current being obtained after 20 s. The sensitivity of our biodevice is quite sufficient for the purpose of PKU detection because the reference range of clinical concern for L ‐phenylalanine concentration is C_{L ‐phe}>0.5 mM. This surface‐bioactivated enzyme electrode retained more than 80 % of its electrocatalytic activity after 16 days.     

Synthesis of a New Class of Highly Functionalized Phosphorus Ylides Containing Heterocyclic Compounds

The zwitterionic intermediate generated from the reaction of triphenylphosphine with electron deficient acetylenic compounds was trapped by various NH acids. The synthesis resulted in a new class of highly functionalized heterocyclic compounds. Some of the reactions produced E and Z isomers. And the stability and transformation of them were studied by dynamic ¹H NMR and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

Fabrication of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes-Based Poly(vinyl butyral) Nanocomposites with Enhanced Mechanical and Thermal Properties

In this research, poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB)/single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) composites were prepared via solution blending method. Dispersion degree of SWCNT in the composites was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and mechanical properties were measured with tensile testing. Thermal degradation of composites was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SEM analysis confirmed good dispersion of the nanotubes in the PVB. The tensile tests showed significant increases in mechanical properties such as exceptional improvement in tensile strength, Young's modulus and flexibility for the composites compared to PVB at low SWCNT content.The TGA curves indicated that adding SWCNT improved the thermal stability of the PVB significantly and the degradation of the polymer matrix shifted to the higher temperatures. For the sample containing 0.6 wt%, an increase of 171% in modulus and a 258.4% enhancement of tensile strength were achieved. Also, elongation at break increased 28.7% at this loading. In fact, intrinsic properties of nanotubes caused enhancement of strength and flexibility simultaneously. Also, for this composite, T_onset and T_max enhanced remarkably and weight loss reduced greatly and residue at 600°C increased to high values. These results are promising for application of the PVB in industry.     

Monitoring liposome-mediated delivery and fate of an antisense drug in cell extracts and in single cells by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence

Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) detection was used for evaluation of the effectiveness of delivery and fate of a model 25-mer DNA-based phosphorothiate antisense drug in cells. The antisense molecule was delivered to the cells through a simple incubation and by using a cationic liposome (Cytofectin GS 3815). The cationic lipid interacted with the negatively charged antisense to form a more positively charged complex. It was observed that uptake of the liposome-antisense complex by the cell was dependent on concentration of lipid, duration of transfection, and the cell type. The antisense drug interacted with intracellular components such as proteins and additional steps were needed to quantify the free antisense. Proteinase-K was able to release antisense from proteins. However, the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to the sample or running buffer was more effective than Proteinase-K to release both naked and liposome-bound antisense from the cellular materials. Analysis of single HeLa cells for uptake of the unbound and liposome-complexed antisense revealed averages of 8.9x10(-19) moles and 4.9x10(-18) moles, respectively. The amount of uptake, however, varied greatly among individual cells and depended on the delivery method. With liposome-mediated delivery, the relative standard deviation (RSD) for the amount of antisense in individual cells was 130%, while the variation was much smaller (RSD = 45%) when the cells were incubated with the unbound antisense. These uptake variations agreed with those obtained from flow cytometry analysis.     

On magnetophoretic separation of blood cells using Halbach array of magnets

Meccanica - Magnetophoretic separation has gained much attention in recent years due to its easy application and low-cost fabrication compared to other active particle separation techniques. Due to...