Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanomaterials: Synthesis,Characteristics and Applications

Nonmetallic carbon‐based nanomaterials (CNMs) are important in various potential applications, especially after the emergence of graphene and carbon nanotubes, which demonstrate outstanding properties arising from their unique nanostructures. The pristine graphitic structure of CNMs consists of sp² hybrid C?C bonds and is considered to be neutral in nature with low wettability and poor reactivity. To improve its compatibility with other materials and, hence, for greater applicability, CNMs are generally required to be functionalized effectively and/or doped with heteroatoms in their graphitic frameworks for feasible interfacial interactions. Among the various possible functional/doping elements, nitrogen (N) atoms have received much attention given their potential to fine tune the intrinsic properties, such as the work‐function, charge carrier concentration, surface energy, and polarization, of CNMs. N‐doping improves the surface energy and reactivity with enhanced charge polarization and minimal damage to carbon frameworks. The modified surface energy and chemical activity of N‐doped carbon nanomaterials (NCNMs) can be useful for a broad range of applications, including fuel cells, solar cells, Li‐ion batteries, supercapacitors, chemical catalysts, catalyst supports, and so forth.     

Rhamnogalacturonan II is a Toll-like receptor 4 agonist that inhibits tumor growth by activating dendritic cell-mediated CD8+ T cells

We evaluated the effectiveness of rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II)-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) vaccination on the induction of antitumor immunity in a mouse lymphoma model using EG7-lymphoma cells expressing ovalbumin (OVA). BMDCs treated with RG-II had an activated phenotype. RG-II induced interleukin (IL)-12, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production during dendritic cell (DC) maturation. BMDCs stimulated with RG-II facilitate the proliferation of CD8⁺ T cells. Using BMDCs from the mice deficient in Toll-like receptors (TLRs), we revealed that RG-II activity is dependent on TLR4. RG-II showed a preventive effect of immunization with OVA-pulsed BMDCs against EG7 lymphoma. These results suggested that RG-II expedites the DC-based immune response through the TLR4 signaling pathway.     

Management of carbon dioxide released from spent nuclear fuel through voloxidation

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The management of radioactive carbon (C-14) from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in a voloxidation process is vital to prevent radioactive contamination...     

Isolation of Industrial Important Bioactive Compounds from Microalgae

Microalgae are known as a rich source of bioactive compounds which exhibit different biological activities. Increased demand for sustainable biomass for production of important bioactive components with various potential especially therapeutic applications has resulted in noticeable interest in algae. Utilisation of microalgae in multiple scopes has been growing in various industries ranging from harnessing renewable energy to exploitation of high-value products. The focuses of this review are on production and the use of value-added components obtained from microalgae with current and potential application in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, energy and agri-food industries, as well as for bioremediation. Moreover, this work discusses the advantage, potential new beneficial strains, applications, limitations, research gaps and future prospect of microalgae in industry.     

Proteomic Evaluation of Biomarkers to Determine the Postmortem Interval

Proteomics separates and analyzes proteins for investigation at the cellular level in regard to disease processing by analyzing the proteins’ expression, function, structure, post-translational modification, and protein–protein interaction. In general forensic investigations, the postmortem interval was evaluated by measuring changes in body temperature after death, along with forensic entomological knowledge. These investigations may be restrictive and subjective because of external factors. The objectives of this study are to sort biomarker candidates and develop a direct postmortem-interval characterization method using proteomics through analyzing and tracking down proteins in the deceased that change in accordance with the postmortem interval. The liver and heart tissues of rats were collected for protein extraction in the 24-h interval following death, and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis was conducted based on the isoelectric point and the molecular weight for separation. To validate protein spot changes on the gel, the stained electrophoresis gels were scanned and converted to digital images. Through image analysis, 14 liver proteins and 12 heart proteins were sorted and classified into four groups based on pattern changes. These proteins containing spots were extracted from the gel and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Finally, 26 protein postmortem-interval relevant biomarker candidates were identified using software. Some of the proteins were muscle proteins while others were oxidation-related proteins. This study presents a new approach to the postmortem-interval research using proteomics and could be substituted for postmortem-interval evaluation.     

Magnetic domain wall motion by current injection in CoPt nanowires consisting of notches

Magnetic domain wall behaviors in CoPt nanowires consisting of multiple pairs of notches were investigated by experimental measurements as well as by micromagnetic modeling. The nanowires were fabricated by ion-beam sputter deposition and e-beam lithography where one to three triangular shaped notches were installed at an interval of 1 μm. Based on the evaluated I–V characteristics, we observed that differential resistance curves showed two peaks with a local minimum at around zero current; the domain wall was trapped between the current ranges within these two peaks. As the number of notch was increased, the resistance of the nanowire became larger.     

Quantitative determination of sparfloxacin in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Sparfloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is used for the treatment of bacterial infection. A quantification method using mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of sparfloxacin in rat plasma. After simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile, the analytes were chromatographed on a reversed‐phase C₁₈ column and detected by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. The accuracy and precision of the assay were in accordance with FDA regulations for validation of bioanalytical methods. This method was applied to measure the plasma sparfloxacin concentrations after a single oral administration of sparfloxacin in rats. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.