Two Zinc(II) Coordination Polymers Based on the Ligand 1, 4‐Bis[(2‐methyl‐imidazol‐1‐yl)methyl]benzene: Syntheses,Crystal Structures and Properties

Two coordination polymers (CPs), {[Zn₂(BMB)(5‐AIPA)₂] · 2H₂O}_n( 1 ) and [Zn(BMB)(5‐NIPA)]_n( 2 ) {BMB = 1, 4‐bis[(2‐methyl‐imidazol‐1‐yl)methyl]benzene, 5‐AIPA = 5‐aminoisophthalic acid, 5‐NIPA = 5‐nitroisophthalic acid}, were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Compound 1 displays a 2D double‐layer structure, which is packed into a 3D supramolecule by interlayer hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions. Compound 2 displays a threefold interpenetrating 3D network, which is composed of left‐handed helical chains and two types of meso‐helical chains along different directions.     

Synthesis,Characterization, Crystal Structure,and Biological Activities of Transition Metal Complexes with 1‐Phenyl‐3‐methyl‐5‐hydroxypyrazole‐4‐methylene‐8′‐quinolineimine

The Schiff base ligand, 1‐phenyl‐3‐methyl‐5‐hydroxypyrazole‐4‐methylene‐8′‐quinolineimine, and its Cu^II, Zn^II, and Ni^II complexes were synthesized and characterized. The crystal structure of the Zn^II complex was determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, indicating that the metal ions and Schiff base ligand can form mononuclear six‐coordination complexes with 1:1 metal‐to‐ligand stoichiometry at the metal ions as centers. The binding mechanism and affinity of the ligand and its metal complexes to calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) were investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence titration spectroscopy, EB displacement experiments, and viscosity measurements, indicating that the free ligand and its metal complexes can bind to DNA via an intercalation mode with the binding constants at the order of magnitude of 105–106 M ^–1, and the metal complexes can bind to DNA more strongly than the free ligand alone. In addition, antioxidant activities of the ligand and its metal complexes were investigated through scavenging effects for hydroxyl radical in vitro, indicating that the compounds show stronger antioxidant activities than some standard antioxidants, such as mannitol. The ligand and its metal complexes were subjected to cytotoxic tests, and experimental results indicated that the metal complexes show significant cytotoxic activity against lung cancer A 549 cells.     

Synthesis,Structures, and Luminescent Properties of two 3, 5‐Dimethyl‐1‐H‐1, 2,4‐triazole‐Based Zinc Metal‐Organic Frameworks with Aromatic Carboxylate as Coligand

Two metal‐organic frameworks, [Zn(dmtrz)(btrc)_1/3]_n ( 1 ) and [Zn₂(dmtrz)₂(btec)(H₂O)₂]_n ( 2 ) (dmtrz = 3, 5‐dimethyl‐1‐H‐1, 2,4‐triazole, btrc = 1, 3,5‐benzenetricarboxylate, btec = 1, 2,4, 5‐benzenetetracarboxylate), were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction. The crystal structure analysis reveals that compound 1 is a dense 3D framework with Schläfli symbols of {4³}₂{4⁶ · 6⁶ · 8³}₃, which is a loh1 structure. Compound 2 is a 2D network. In addition, the photoluminescence of two compounds were studied in solid state at room temperature, together with their thermal analysis.     

Effect of partial crosslinking on morphology and properties of the poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(d,l-lactic acid) blends

Poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a bio-based and biodegradable aliphatic polyester, however its application is limited by some disadvantages such as high price, brittleness, poor processability and low melt-strength due to serious thermal degradation. Partial crosslinking initiated by dicumyl peroxide (DCP) was applied in this work to improve the performance of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(d,l-lactic acid) (PHB/PDLLA) blends. The partial crosslinking of the blends and its effect on the properties, morphology, rheology and thermal behavior of the blends were investigated. The tensile strength and impact toughness of the PHB were increased by incorporation of the PDLLA, which were improved further after the partial crosslinking because of an increased compatibility between the PHB and the PDLLA phases. The rheological study revealed that the storage modulus (G′) and complex viscosity (η*) of the blends were increased after addition of the DCP. On the other hand, the crystallization of PHB in the blends was restricted to a certain extent by the formation of partially crosslinked network while its crystal form was not modified.     

TargetATPsite: A template‐free method for ATP‐binding sites prediction with residue evolution image sparse representation and classifier ensemble

Understanding the interactions between proteins and ligands is critical for protein function annotations and drug discovery. We report a new sequence‐based template‐free predictor (TargetATPsite) to identify the Adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate (ATP) binding sites with machine‐learning approaches. Two steps are implemented in TargetATPsite: binding residues and pockets predictions, respectively. To predict the binding residues, a novel image sparse representation technique is proposed to encode residue evolution information treated as the input features. An ensemble classifier constructed based on support vector machines (SVM) from multiple random under‐samplings is used as the prediction model, which is effective for dealing with imbalance phenomenon between the positive and negative training samples. Compared with the existing ATP‐specific sequence‐based predictors, TargetATPsite is featured by the second step of possessing the capability of further identifying the binding pockets from the predicted binding residues through a spatial clustering algorithm. Experimental results on three benchmark datasets demonstrate the efficacy of TargetATPsite. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Release Property of Alginate Beads Coated with Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate)

Alginate beads were coated with copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide and dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate (P(NIPAM-co-DMAEMA)s) by taking advantage of electrostatic interaction between alginate and the copolymer. The copolymers, of which DMAEMA contents in the feed for the copolymerization were 5.0% (PND 5) and 15.0% (PND 15), were employed for the coatings of alginate beads. The adsorption curve of PND 5 and PND 15 on the surface of alginate beads seemed to be Langmuir isotherm. The beads were coated in the PND solutions (2%, pH 5.0 or pH 7.0) and the amounts of adsorption (g PND/g alginate) were about 1.3 with PND 5 solution (pH 5.0), 1.2 with PND 15 solution (pH 5.0), and 0.75 with PND 15 (pH 7.0). The release from the beads coated with PNDs were observed at 30°C, 37°C, and 45°C using amaranth or FITC-dextran as a dye. The degrees of release were significantly suppressed due to the coating layers of PNDs. However, the coating layers could hardly act as a controller for the temperature-sensitive release.     

Study of Spontaneous Imbibition of Water by Oil-Wet Sandstone Cores Using Different Surfactants

The mechanism of spontaneous imbibition of water by sandstone cores and the relationship between reservoir wettability and imbibition recovery were studied by investigating factors influencing the spontaneous imbibition of different surfactants by oil-wet sandstone cores. Ultimate oil recovery of cores using the cationic surfactant CTAB was higher than that of the cores using the nonionic surfactant TX-100 and the anionic surfactant POE (1) at the same concentration. For CTAB and TX-100, the ultimate oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition increased with increase in surfactant concentration. In regard to imbibition recovery, TX-100 and POE(1) at high temperatures were superior to those at low temperatures. Ultimate oil recovery of the high-permeability core was higher than that of the low-permeability core at room temperature. According to changes in the driving force during the imbibition process, the imbibition curve could be divided into three regions: (1) mainly capillary force, (2) both capillary and gravity forces, and (3) mainly gravity force. The stronger the hydrophilicity of the rock surface, the higher the spontaneous imbibition recovery.     

Mechanism and Influencing Factors of Wettability Alteration of Water-Wet Sandstone Surface by CTAB

Different experimental methods including ellipsometry, zeta potential measurements, imbibition studies, and contact angle measurements were used to study the mechanism and influencing factors of wettability alteration of water-wet sandstone surface caused by CTAB (hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide). Results show that when the concentration of CTAB reaches a certain level (below CMC), due to the electrostatic attraction between the positively charged head groups of CTAB and the negatively charged sandstone surface, the monolayer of CTAB is formed and hydrophobic chains of CTAB molecules are toward the aqueous phase, making the solid surface oil-wet. When the concentration of CTAB continues to increase (above CMC), due to the hydrophobic interaction, the compact bilayer of CTAB is formed and hydrophilic head groups of CTAB molecules are toward the aqueous phase, rendering the solid surface water-wet. The contact angles between the oil–water interface and the surface treated with CTAB increase with the increase of the concentration of NaCl and CaCl_2. Compared to NaCl, the inorganic salt CaCl₂ has a greater impact on the contact angle. In addition, the contact angles increase with the increase of temperature and decrease with the increase of pH value of the aqueous solution.     

Synthesis and Properties of Aromatic Side Chained N‐Acyltaurate Surfactants

A series of anionic N‐acyltaurate surfactants, side chain containing aromatic nucleus (abbreviated as SAATT), were synthesized via Williamson reaction, hydrolyzation, and acylation. Krafft temperatures and surface properties of these surfactants at 30°C, that is, critical micelle concentration, cmc, surface excess concentration, Γ_max, surface area demand per molecule, A _min, efficiency in surface tension reduction, pC₂₀, effectiveness in surface tension reduction, π_cmc, and cmc/C₂₀ parameter were determined. It was shown that these surfactants exhibit good solubility which was confirmed by measuring Krafft temperature. The cmc of SAATT was much smaller than that of conventional surfactants with similar effective carbon numbers, and shifted to lower concentration with increasing hydrocarbon chain length. In addition, the γ_cmc decreased with decrease in Γ_max. The pC₂₀ and the cmc/C₂₀ got larger with the increase in hydrocarbon chain length. From the fluorescence intensity ratios of I ₁ (373 nm) and I ₃ (384 nm) using pyrene as a probe, it was indicated that the molecules of SAATT formed loose micelles with a broad size distribution.     

After‐Rinsing Hair Growth Promotions of Hinokitiol‐Containing Vesicles and Emulsions

Two kinds of topical dosage forms of hinokitiol (HKL), namely vesicles and oil‐in‐water (O/W) emulsions, were prepared. Behenyl trimethylammonium chloride (BTMAC) and fatty acids were used as bilayer‐forming materials of the vesicles, and oils were employed as oil phases of the emulsions. The substantivity of HKL in the preparations was evaluated in vitro using hairless mouse skins. After applying the preparations onto the skin and rinsing it, the amount of HKL left on the skin was determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was higher when HKL was encapsulated in cationic vesicles rather than in nonionic vehicles, emulsions. An ionic interaction between the cationic vehicle and negatively charged skin is likely to account for the high substantivity. Among the emulsion preparations, an emulsion having octyl salicylate as oil phase exhibited the highest substantivity of HKL. This is probably because that the oil is a good solvent for HKL and it is skin‐retentive. In vivo hair growth‐promotion effect of each dosage form was investigated, where the sample application onto the clipped backs of female mice (C57BL6) and the subsequent rinsing of the backs were done once a day for 30 days. Only HKL in the cationic vesicles had hair growth promotion effect, possibly due to the significant substantivity.