Matrices based on meso antibacterial framework

In this paper, the synthesis of three types of porous materials (PMs) (porous Fe₃O₄, MIL-101 metal-organic framework (MOF), and MCM-41 mesoporous silica) by hydrothermal method was performed. The incorporation of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was carried out after the synthesis reaction of supports in MCM-41 and MIL-101 MOF. Ag core@ porous Fe₃O₄ core–shell system was prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal method. Ag-MIL-101 was obtained using Urtica dioica leaf extract as the green solvent and reducing agent. The antibacterial activity of Ag-PM nanocomposites (NCs) was investigated on both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The size of the silver NPs was determined to be 12 and 30 nm in MCM-41 and MIL-101 MOF, respectively. The diameter of Ag core in Ag@Fe₃O₄ shell was ~135 nm. The antibacterial activity of Ag-PMs was in the order Ag-MCM-41 > Ag-MIL-101 > Ag core@Fe₃O₄ shell. The loading percent of Ag NPs in MCM-41 (84%) was more than that in MIL-101 (53%) and Fe₃O₄ (31%). The release of Ag⁺ ions from Ag-MCM-41, Ag-MIL-101, and Ag@Fe₃O₄ NCs was 46, 2, and 1 ppm, respectively. The release of the Ag⁺ ions and, consequently, the antibacterial activity of NCs depend on the uniform distribution, particles size, and the absence of aggregation of Ag NPs in PMs.     

Synthesis of functional polyethylene graft copolymers by nitroxide‐mediated living radical polymerization

This paper describes a new method to prepare graft copolymers, such as polyethylene‐g‐polystyrene (PE‐g‐PS), with a relatively well‐controlled reaction mechanism. The chemistry involves a transformation process from the metallocene copolymerization of ethylene and m,p‐methylstyrene (m,p‐MS) to nitroxide‐mediated “living” free radical polymerization (LRFP) of styrene. The metallocene catalysis produces ethylene‐co‐m,p‐methylstyrene (EMS) random copolymers. Next, 1‐hydroxyl‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine (HO‐TEMPO) was synthesized by the reduction of TEMPO with sodium ascorbate. The macroinitiator (EMS‐TEMPO) was synthesized with the bromination reaction of EMS, and the following nucleofilic reaction with this functional nitroxyl compound. The resulting macroinitiator (EMS‐TEMPO) for LRFP was then heated in the presence of styrene to form graft copolymer. DSC, ¹H‐NMR, FTIR spectroscopy were employed to investigate the structure of the polymers. The results of Molau test showed that PE‐g‐PS could be a potential good compatilizer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pathways for Oral and Rectal Delivery of Gold Nanoparticles (1.7 nm) and Gold Nanoclusters into the Colon: Enteric-Coated Capsules and Suppositories

Two ways to deliver ultrasmall gold nanoparticles and gold-bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoclusters to the colon were developed. First, oral administration is possible by incorporation into gelatin capsules that were coated with an enteric polymer. These permit the transfer across the stomach whose acidic environment damages many drugs. The enteric coating dissolves due to the neutral pH of the colon and releases the capsule’s cargo. Second, rectal administration is possible by incorporation into hard-fat suppositories that melt in the colon and then release the nanocarriers. The feasibility of the two concepts was demonstrated by in-vitro release studies and cell culture studies that showed the easy redispersibility after dissolution of the respective transport system. This clears a pathway for therapeutic applications of drug-loaded nanoparticles to address colon diseases, such as chronic inflammation and cancer.     

Preparation of Silica Supported Tin Chloride: As a Recyclable Catalyst for the Silylation of Hydroxyl Groups with HMDS

Silica‐supported tin chloride [SiO₂‐Sn(Cl)_4‐n] has been prepared by mixing tin chloride with activated silica gel in toluene under refluxing conditions for one day. A range of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols as well as phenolic hydroxyl groups were converted into their corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers with hexamethyldisilazane in the presence of catalytic amounts of silica‐supported tin chloride at room temperature. An excellent chemoselective silylation of hydroxyl groups in the presence of other functional groups was also observed. This catalyst could be recycled and reused fifteen times without loss of efficiency.     

Analysis of the Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Activity of Natural Compounds and Their Analogues against Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

(1) Background: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most frequent causes of biofilm-associated infections. With the emergence of antibiotic-resistant, especially methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), there is an urgent need to discover novel inhibitory compounds against this clinically important pathogen. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of 11 compounds, including phenyl propenes and phenolic aldehydes, eugenol, ferulic acid, sinapic acid, salicylaldehyde, vanillin, cinnamoyl acid, and aldehydes, against drug-resistant S. aureus isolates. (2) Methods: Thirty-two clinical S. aureus isolates were obtained from Alkhidmat Diagnostic Center and Blood Bank, Karachi, Pakistan, and screened for biofilm-forming potential, and susceptibility/resistance against ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, amikacin, cephalothin, clindamycin, streptomycin, and gentamicin using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Subsequently, 5 representative clinical isolates were selected and used to test the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm potential of 11 compounds using both qualitative and quantitative assays, followed by qPCR analysis to examine the differences in the expression levels of biofilm-forming genes (ica-A, fnb-B, clf-A and cna) in treated (with natural compounds and their derivatives) and untreated isolates. (3) Results: All isolates were found to be multi-drug resistant and dominant biofilm formers. The individual Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of natural compounds and their analogues ranged from 0.75–160 mg/mL. Furthermore, the compounds, Salicylaldehyde (SALI), Vanillin (VAN), α-methyl-trans-cinnamaldehyde (A-MT), and trans-4-nitrocinnamic acid (T4N) exhibited significant (15–92%) biofilm inhibition/reduction percentage capacity at the concentration of 1–10 mg/mL. Gene expression analysis showed that salicylaldehyde, α-methyl-trans-cinnamaldehyde, and α-bromo-trans-cinnamaldehyde resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) downregulation of the expression of ica-A, clf-A, and fnb-A genes compared to the untreated resistant isolate. (4) Conclusions: The natural compounds and their analogues used in this study exhibited significant antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity against S. aureus. Biofilms persist as the main concern in clinical settings. These compounds may serve as potential candidate drug molecules against biofilm forming S. aureus.     

Thermomechanical cyclic behavior modeling of Cu-Al-Be SMA materials and structures

This paper concerns the behavior of Cu-Al-Be polycrystalline shape memory alloys under cyclic thermomechanical loadings. Sometimes, as shown by many experimental observations, a permanent inelastic strain occurs and increases with the number of cycles. A series of cyclic thermomechanical tests has been carried out and the origin of the residual strain has been identified as residual martensite. These observations have been used to develop a 3D macroscopic model for the superelasticity and stress assisted memory effect of SMAs able to describe the evolution of permanent inelastic strain during cycles. The model has been implemented in a finite elements code and used to simulate the behavior of antagonistic actuators based on SMA springs under cyclic thermomechanical loading with a residual displacement appearance.     

Locating and capacity planning for retailers of a new supply chain to compete on the plane

This paper investigates the network design problem of a two-level supply chain (SC), which is applicable for industries such as automotive, fuel and tyre manufacturing. Models presented in this paper aim at locating retail facilities of an SC and identifying their required capacities in the presence of existing competing retailers of a rival SC. We consider feasible locating space of the retail facilities on the continuous plane with bounded constraints and static competition among the rivals of the markets with deterministic demands. The problem is used for both essential and luxury product cases; hence, we consider elastic and inelastic demands, both. The models discussed in this paper are non-linear and non-convex which are difficult to solve. We use interval branch-and-bound as optimization algorithm for small size single-retailer problems, but for large-scale, multi-retailer problems we need to have more efficient methods. Therefore, we apply a heuristic algorithm (H1), a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, an interior point (IP) algorithm, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a pattern search algorithm for solving multi-retailer problem with elastic and inelastic demands. Computational results obtained from performing different solution approaches for both elastic and inelastic show that mostly IP, PS, and H1 methods outperform the other approaches. The computational results on a real-life case are also promising. Several extended mathematical models and an example of a typical case with details are presented in the appendices of the paper.     

Low-cost,high-throughput and rapid-prototyped 3D-integrated dielectrophoretic channels for continuous cell enrichment and separation

Microfluidic devices for dielectrophoretic cell separation are typically designed and constructed using microfabrication methods in a clean room, requiring time and expense. In this paper, we describe a novel alternative approach to microfluidic device manufacture, using chips cut from conductor–insulator laminates using a cutter plotter. This allows the manufacture of microchannel devices with micron-scale electrodes along every wall. Fabrication uses a conventional desktop cutter plotter, and requires no chemicals, masks or clean-room access; functional fluidic devices can be designed and constructed within a couple of hours at negligible cost. As an example, we demonstrate the construction of a continuous dielectrophoretic cell separator capable of enriching yeast cells to 80% purity at 10 000 cells/s.     

Ruthenium/dendrimer complex immobilized on silica-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles catalyzed oxidation of stilbenes to benzil derivatives at room temperature

A new ruthenium/dendrimer complex stabilized on the surface of silica-functionalized nano-magnetite was fabricated and well characterized. The nano-catalyst showed good activity in the synthesis of benzil derivatives via the oxidation of stilbenes with high turnover frequency (TOF) at room temperature. Moreover, the catalyst could also be reused up to fifteen times without any loss of its activity.