Poly(methyl vinyl ether‐alt‐maleic acid)‐Functionalized Porous Silicon Nanoparticles for Enhanced Stability and Cellular Internalization

Currently, developing a stable nanocarrier with high cellular internalization and low toxicity is a key bottleneck in nanomedicine. Here, we have developed a successful method to covalently conjugate poly(methyl vinyl ether‐co‐maleic acid) (PMVE‐MA) copolymer on the surface of (3‐aminopropyl)triethoxysilane‐functionalized thermally carbonized porous silicon nanoparticles (APSTCPSi NPs), forming a surface negatively charged nanovehicle with unique properties. This polymer conjugated NPs could modify surface smoothness, charge, and hydrophilicity of the developed NPs, leading to considerable improvement in the colloidal and plasma stabilities via enhanced suspensibility and charge repulsion. Furthermore, despite the surface negative charge of the polymer‐conjugated NPs, the cellular internalization was increased in both MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 breast cancer cells. These results provide a proof‐of‐concept evidence that such polymer‐based PSi nanocomposite can be extensively used as a promising candidate for intracellular drug delivery.

     

Composition and in vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils from four Satureja species growing in Iran

The composition and in?vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils from four Satureja species (S. bachtiarica, S. khuzistanica, S. mutica and S. rechingeri) growing in Iran were determined. According to the results of GC-FID and GC-MS analysis, all oil samples were principally composed of phenolic constituents (carvacrol and/or thymol) with the percentages ranging from 41.2% (S. bachtiarica) to 77.7% (S. rechingeri). Determining antibacterial activities by the disc diffusion method against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria revealed the maximum activity against Bacillus cereus with a range of minimum inhibitory concentration values from 0.25 to 1?mg?mL(-1) and minimum bactericidal concentration values from 0.5 to 1?mg?mL(-1). The oils of S. khuzistanica and S. rechingeri appeared to be more active in general than those of other species. In conclusion, the essential oils of studied Satureja species have the potential to be considered as alternatives for synthetic food preservatives.     

Transformations of diphenylphosphinothioic acid tertiary amides mediated by directed ortho metallation

ortho-Lithiation of N,N-diisopropyl-P,P-diphenylphosphinothioic amide using n-BuLi in the presence of TMEDA in diethyl ether followed by electrophilic trapping is described as an efficient method for the synthesis of ortho-functionalised derivatives in high yields. The structural modification of the phosphinothioic amide includes C-X (X = P, S, Si, Sn, I) and C-C bond forming reactions with a large variety of electrophiles. Additional applications based on functional group transformations are also reported. They include imine formation, desulfurization and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions on selected compounds.     

Catalyst-free one-pot synthesis of a new class of 2H-furo[3,2-c]chromene-2,4(3H)-dione and arylamino-bis(coumarin)methane derivatives on water

A catalyst-free, environmentally benign, and simple procedure has been developed for the efficient synthesis of novel 2H-furo[3,2-c]chromene-2,4(3H)-dione and 3,3′-((arylamino)methylene)bis(4-hydroxycoumarin) derivatives from one-pot three-component condensation of 4-hydroxycoumarin, glyoxalic acid monohydrate and various amines in water under reflux condition. In this green synthetic protocol, the solvent water itself catalyzed the reaction via hydrogen bonding. One-pot, high yields, short reaction times, simple operation, environmental friendly and easy workup procedure are highlights. This is the first report for the synthesis of 2H-furo[3,2-c]chromene-2,4(3H)-dione and arylamino-bis(coumarin)methane derivatives.     

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.     

Pool boiling heat transfer characteristics of graphene-based aqueous nanofluids

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present study, experiments on pool boiling heat transfer of graphene nanofluids on a flat heater surface (40 mm diameter) were...     

Lactic acid production from cheese whey by immobilized bacteria

The performance of immobilized Bifidobacterium longum in sodium alginate beads and on a spiral-sheet bioreactor for the production of lactic acid from cheese whey was evaluated. Lactose utilization and lactic acid yield of B. longum were compared with those of Lactobacillus helveticus. B. longum immobilized in sodium alginate beads showed better performance in lactose utilization and lactic acid yield than L. helveticus. In the spiral-sheet bioreactor, a lactose conversion ratio of 79% and lactic acid yield of 0.84 g of lactic acid/g of lactose utilized were obtained during the first run with the immobilized L. helveticus. A lactose conversion ratio of 69% and lactic acid yield of 0.51 g of lactic acid/g of lactose utilized were obtained during the first run with immobilized B. longum in the spiral-sheet bioreactor. In producing lactic acid L. helveticus performed better when using the Spiral Sheet Bioreactor and B. longum showed better performance with gel bead immobilization. Because B. longum is a very promising new bacterium for lactic acid production from cheese whey, its optimum fermentation conditions such as pH and metabolic pathway need to be studied further. The ultrafiltration tests have shown that 94% of the cell and cheese whey proteins were retained by membranes with a mol wt cutoff of 5 and 20 KDa.     

Synthesis of 1H-thieno[3,4-c]pyrazoles,thieno[3,4-b]furans,selenolo[3,4-b]furans and pyrrolo[3,4-d]thiazoles

Starting from the readily available aryl 2-methyl-5-phenyl-3-furyl ketones, 5-methyl-1H-1-phenylpyrazole-4-yl ketones and 4-methyl-2-phenyl-5-thiazolylcarboxaldehyde, a series of 2-phenyl-4-arylthieno[3,4-b]-furan, 2-phenyl-4-(p-methoxyphenyl)selenolo[3,4-b]furan, 4-aryl-1H-1-phenylthieno[3,4-c]pyrazole and 5-benzyl-2-phenylpyrrolo[3,4-d]thiazole were prepared in high yield.     

Availability of crop residues as sustainable feedstock for bioethanol production in North Carolina

The amount of corn stover and wheat straw that can be sustainably collected in North Carolina was estimated to be 0.64 and 0.16 million dry t/yr, respectively. More than 80% of these crop residues are located in the coastal area. The bioethanol potential from corn stover and wheat straw was estimated to be about 238 million L (63 million gal/yr) in North Carolina. The future location of ethanol plant in North Carolina was estimated based on feedstock demand and collection radius. It is possible to have four ethanol plants with feedstock demand of 400, 450, 500, and 640 dry t/d. The collection radii for these four ethanol plants are 46, 60, 42, and 67 km (28, 37, 26, and 42 miles), respectively. The best location for a bioethanol plant includes four counties (Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington) with feedstock demand of 500 t/d and collection radius about 26 mile.