Designing Crystal Morphology by a Simple Approach

In separation processes containing solids, mostly crystals, the interest in shape modifications of the solids has increased. The idea in it is the necessity to save energy, to achieve specific product requirements, e.g. purities, or to provide downstream processes with better feed material. For an organic crystal a simple way to select a growth inhibitor is presented here, in contrast to the concept of “tailor-made additives”. The additive selected is structurally different from the host molecule and modifies the habit in a desired manner. The procedure of additive selection involves the analysis of the molecular structure of the crystal to be modified and the orientation of the molecules at the surfaces of the morphological most important faces. Furthermore the problem is discussed if the chosen additive is incorporated into the crystal or not. Results are shown for the system caprolactam/ethanol.     

Australian Honeypot Ant (Camponotus inflatus) Honey—A Comprehensive Analysis of the Physiochemical Characteristics,Bioactivity, and HPTLC Profile of a Traditional Indigenous Australian Food

Despite its cultural and nutritional importance for local Aboriginal people, the unusual insect honey produced by Western Australian honeypot ant (Camponotus inflatus) has to date been rarely investigated. This study reports on the honey’s physicochemical properties, its total phenolic, major sugars and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural contents, and its antioxidant activities. The honey’s color value is 467.63 mAU/63.39 mm Pfund, it has a pH of 3.85, and its electric conductivity is 449.71 µSiemens/cm. Its Brix value is 67.00, corresponding to a 33% moisture content. The total phenolics content is 19.62 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g honey. Its antioxidant activity measured using the DPPH* (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (ferric reducing–antioxidant power) assays is 1367.67 µmol Trolox/kg and 3.52 mmol Fe⁺²/kg honey, respectively. Major sugars in the honey are glucose and fructose, with a fructose-to-glucose ratio of 0.85. Additionally, unidentified sugar was found in minor quantities.     

Apoptolidin: induction of apoptosis by a natural product

Apoptolidin is a natural product that selectively induces apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is a biological key pathway for regulating homeostasis and morphogenesis. Apoptotic misregulations are connected with several diseases, in particular cancer. The extrinsic way to apoptosis leads through death ligands and death receptors to the activiation of the caspase cascade, which results in proteolytic degradation of the cell architecture. The intrinsic pathway transmits signals of internal cellular damage to the mitochondrion, which loses its structural integrity, and forms an apoptosome that initiates the caspase cascade. Compounds which regulate apoptosis are of high medical significance. Many natural products regulate apoptotic pathways, and apoptolidin is one of them. The known synthetic routes to apoptolidin are described and compared in this Review. Selected further natural products which regulate apoptosis are introduced briefly.     

FUNDAMENTALS OF TRANSMISSION FLUCTUATION SPECTROMETRY WITH VARIABLE SPATIAL AVERAGING

Transmission signal of radiation in suspension of particles performed with a high spatial and temporal resolution shows significant fluctuations,which are related to the physical properties of the particles and the process of spatial and temporal averaging.Exploiting this connection,it is possible to calculate the particle size distribution (PSD) and particle concentration.This paper provides an approach of transmission fluctuation spectrometry (TFS) with variable spatial averaging,The transmission fluctuations are expressed in terms of the expectancy of transmission square (ETS) and are obtained as a spectrum,which is a function of the variable beam diameter.The reversal point and the depth of the spectrum contain the information of particle size and particle concentration,respectively.