Size prediction of recombinant human growth hormone nanoparticles produced by supercritical fluid precipitation

Solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids (SEDS) was applied to produce nano-sized recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) particles. Ethanol was used to help the supercritical carbon dioxide to extract water from the aqueous protein solution. Various sizes of hGH nanoparticles were successfully prepared with a narrow particle size distribution from aqueous ethanol solution without using any additive. The theoretical particle sizes were deduced from the calculated droplet sizes based on a modified Jasuja’s equation. The calculated mean particle sizes and the experimentally obtained ones were compared and the results showed an excellent correlation coefficient (R ²) of 0.995. Figure Distribution of hGH Nano-particles     

Quick quantification of proteins by MALDI

Previously, we reported that the matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization spectrum of a peptide became reproducible when an effective temperature was held constant. Using a calibration curve drawn by plotting the peptide‐to‐matrix ion abundance ratio versus the peptide concentration in a solid sample, a peptide could be quantified without the use of any internal standard. In this work, we quantified proteins by quantifying their tryptic peptides with the aforementioned method. We modified the digestion process; e.g. disulfide bonds were not cleaved, so that hardly any reagent other than trypsin remained after the digestion process. This allowed the preparation of a sample by the direct mixing of a digestion mixture with a matrix solution. We also observed that the efficiency of the matrix‐to‐peptide proton transfer, as measured by its reaction quotient, was similar for peptides with arginine at the C‐terminus. With the reaction quotient averaged over many such peptides, we could rapidly quantify proteins. Most importantly, no peptide standard, not to mention its isotopically labeled analog, was needed in this method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of the C1-C20 and C15-C27 segments of aplyronine A

The synthesis of C1-C20 and C15-C27 segments of Aplyronine A is described. Oxidative cleavage of cyclic vinyl sulfones has been used to prepare key fragments of Aplyronine A. Key precursors are united by Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons and Julia-Kociensky olefination for the respective elaboration of the C1-C20 and C15-C27 segments.     

New complete embedded minimal surfaces in $${{\mathbb {H} ^2\times \mathbb {R}}}$$

We construct three kinds of complete embedded minimal surfaces in \({\mathbb {H}^2\times \mathbb {R}}\) . The first is a simply connected, singly periodic, infinite total curvature surface. The second is an annular finite total curvature surface. These two are conjugate surfaces just as the helicoid and the catenoid are in \({\mathbb {R}^3}\) . The third one is a finite total curvature surface which is conformal to \({\mathbb {S}^2\setminus\{p_1,\ldots,p_k\}, k\geq3.}\)     

Silicate glass coated microchannels through a phase conversion process for glass-like electrokinetic performance

The surface modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels show a much more inferior performance to the durable and reproducible glass chip. In this paper, a facile approach to preparing a silicate glass modified PDMS microchannel for glass-like performance is presented. This glass-like performance is made possible by a phase conversion of a preceramic polymer--allylhydridopolycarbosilane (AHPCS). The, several hundred nanometer thick, polymer that coats the PDMS channel is hydrolyzed to form hydrophilic silicate glass via phase conversion under an aqueous alkali condition. It is characterized by XPS, FTIR-ATR, AFM, and contact angle measurements. The silicate glass coated PDMS channel from AHPCS has an excellent solvent resistance, delivers a high electroosmotic flow (EOF) that is stable in the long-term (4.9±0.1×10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) and a reliable capillary electrophoresis (CE), which are comparable to those of native glass channels. Moreover, the silicate glass PDMS channel allows easy regeneration of the electrokinetic behavior, just as in a glass channel, by a simple treatment with alkali solution. This coating approach can be applied to other polymer substrates such as polyimide (PI).     

Synthesis of monodisperse mesoporous TiO2 spheres with tunable sizes between 0.6 and 3.1 μm and effects of reaction temperature, Ti source purity, and type of alkylamine on size and monodispersity

We report a novel method for synthesizing monodisperse mesoporous TiO(2) spheres (sizes = 0.6-3.1 μm) by hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide (TIP) in a mixture of C(8)-C(16)n-alkylamine, water, and ethanol. The size increases with decreasing temperature, TIP concentration, and water concentration, and upon purifying TIP. n-Dodecylamine gives the highest monodispersity.     

Chemical Control of Yeast Cell Division by Cross‐Linked Shells of Catechol‐Grafted Polyelectrolyte Multilayers

The chemical control of cell division has attracted much attention in the areas of single cell‐based biology and high‐throughput screening platforms. A mussel‐inspired cytocompatible encapsulation method for achieving a “cell‐division control” with cross‐linked layer‐by‐layer (LbL) shells is developed. Catechol‐grafted polyethyleneimine and hyaluronic acid are chosen as polyelectrolytes for the LbL process, and the cross‐linking of polyelectrolytes is performed at pH 8.5. Cell division is controlled by the number of the LbL nanolayers and cross‐linking reaction. We also suggest a new measuring unit, , for quantifying “cell‐division timing” based on microbial growth kinetics.

     

Thickness-dependent tunable characteristics of (Ba0.5Sr0.5)0.925K0.075TiO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The thickness-dependent dielectric properties and tunability of pulsed laser deposited (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5)_0.925K_0.075TiO₃ (BSKT) thin films with different thickness ranging from 80 to 300 nm has been investigated. Dielectric properties of the BSKT thin films are substantially improved as the BSKT film thickness increases, which can be explained by the model of a low-permittivity dead layer that is connected in series with the bulk region of the film. The estimated values of thickness and the average dielectric constant for the dead layer are 2.4 nm and 23.5, respectively, in a Pt/BSKT/Pt capacitor structure. The tunability and figure of merit increased with increasing film thickness, which are attributed to the change in lattice parameter and the dead layer effect.     

Elastic and inelastic scattering components in the angular intensity distribution of He scattered from graphite

The angular intensity distribution of thermal energy He beam scattered from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface has been measured by means of supersonic molecular beam scattering technique in the wide surface temperature range. To separate the elastic and inelastic scattering components, simple analysis method has been developed by applying the classical binary collision theory of the hard cube model (HCM). From the extracted elastic scattering component in the scattering distribution, the Debye temperature of the HOPG surface has been derived as 590 ± 30 K. On the basis of the HCM analysis for the extracted inelastic scattering components of He beam, the effective mass for the HOPG surface has been found to be 72 u (six carbon atoms).     

Effect of surface property of polyimide substrate on the formation of pentacene thin-film

We investigated the effect of surface property of polyimide substrate on the formation of pentacene thin-film by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and diffuse scattering (XDS). Two types of polymer films were prepared: (1) polyimide (PAA-PI) from poly(amic acid) (PAA) (2) polyimide hybrid (PAA-PI-H) prepared by hybridizing the PAA and soluble polyimide (PI) with a octadecyl side chain. The hybridization ratio of PI to PAA was 2/98 in wt%. The water contact angle for PAA-PI-H and PAA-PI were around 80° and 64°, respectively. Morphology of pentacene with a ropelike structure and (1 1 0) peak around 1.4 Å in q_z was found when it was deposited on PAA-PI thin-film. Different pentacene morphology was observed when it was deposited on PAA-PI-H thin-film. The different morphology might be due to a 5-6 nm thick additional layer (∼0.95 ρ_film) at the interface between pentacene and PAA-PI-H thin-film caused by a long alkyl side chain introduced to the polymer main chain.