The Adsorption of Polyvinylpyrrolidone on Kaolinite Saturated with Sodium Chloride

The adsorption of two different molecular weights of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (M(w)=44,000 and M(w)=360,000 g mol(-1)) from water on kaolinite saturated with sodium chloride has been studied. The adsorption of PVP increases slowly as temperature increases. The adsorption of PVP on the kaolinite was studied by considering Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray diffraction patterns, and dielectric constants. During the adsorption process, PVP interacts with saturating sodium cations and possibly forces some of them onto the edges of the kaolinite; thus, the dielectric constant of saturated kaolinite is reduced after PVP adsorption. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

核磁方法研究离子液体与丙酮的相互作用

运用核磁共振手段, 研究了室温离子液体1-辛基-3-甲基咪唑四氟硼酸盐([C8mim][BF4])在不同比例的离子液体／丙酮混合体系中1H和13C的化学位移及13C的自旋-晶格弛豫时间(T1). 结果表明, 离子液体[C8mim][BF4]的阳离子芳环上的氢原子, 以及与氮原子直接相连的甲基和亚甲基上的氢原子都与丙酮羰基上的氧原子有相互作用, 从而减弱了离子液体阴阳离子间的强相互作用, 使离子液体的运动加快, 黏度降低.     

Black fungus derived aerogel with double faced properties

Black fungus aerogel (BFA) exhibited interesting double-faced properties. Weexplored the diverse properties of each side of the black fungus in three aspects:water contact angle measurements, liquid selective absorption capacity and air pollutant adsorption abilities.     

Determination of several sugars in serum by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

In this paper, a sensitive, simple and direct method for simultaneous determination of glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose in serum sample by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with integrated pulsed amperometric detection was developed. The four target analytes were easily and completely separated on an anion-exchange column at a flow-rate of 0.25 mL/min by binary step gradient elution in about 16 min and the two eluents were deionized water and 500 mM sodium hydroxide, respectively. The separated four analytes were detected directly by using a gold electrode and quadruple-potential waveform integrated pulsed amperometry without derivatization. Under the optimized conditions, when the injection volume was 25 microL, the detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio equal to 3) for glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose were 0.92, 7.50, 12.9 and 10.3 ng/mL, respectively. The calibration graphs of peak area for the four analytes were linear over two to three orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients greater than 0.998. R.S.D. of peak areas of the four analytes for five determinations were no more than 5.6%. The analytical method had been applied to the determination of glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose in real serum samples and good results with low relative standard deviation not more than 5.3% were obtained. The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by recovery measurements on spiked samples and good recovery results (98.1-107.9%) were obtained.     

Regiospecific photoisomerization of fluorinated (E,E)-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadienes

Photoisomerization of five fluorinated E,E-1-(R-phenyl)-4-phenyl-1,3-butadienes in solution (R = 1: p-monofluoro, 2: m,m′-difluoro, 3: m,m′,p-trifluoro, 4: o,o′,m,m′-tetrafluoro, 5: o,o′,m,m′,p-pentafluoro) was investigated via direct irradiation. Our results indicated that cis-trans photoisomerization of the fluorinated 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadienes in the excited singlet state took place exclusively at the CC bonds closer to the fluorine substituents.     

Ultrasensitive small molecule fluorogenic probe for human heparanase

Heparanase (HPA) is a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and its elevated expression has been linked with diseases such as various types of cancer and inflammation. The detection of heparanase enzymatic activity holds tremendous value in the study of the cellular microenvironment, and search of molecular therapeutics targeting heparanase, however, no structurally defined probes are available for the detection of heparanase activity. Here we present the development of the first ultrasensitive fluorogenic small-molecule probe for heparanase enzymatic activity via tuning the electronic effect of the substrate. The probe exhibits a 756-fold fluorescence turn-on response in the presence of human heparanase, allowing one-step detection of heparanase activity in real-time with a picomolar detection limit. The high sensitivity and robustness of the probe are exemplified in a high-throughput screening assay for heparanase inhibitors.

Heparanase, a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix, activates a disaccharide probe HADP to give a strong fluorescence signal.     

Structure and microporous formation of cellulose/silk fibroin blend membranes: Part II. Effect of post-treatment by alkali

Blend membranes (RCF1) were prepared from mixture solution of cellulose and silk fibroin (SF) in cuoxam by coagulating with acetone–acetic acid (4:1 by volume). The blend membranes were subjected to post-treatment with 10% NaOH aqueous solution, and their structure and properties were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, DSC, SEM and DMTA. In previous work, cellulose/SF blend membranes (RCF2) prepared by coagulating with 10% NaOH aqueous solution formed a microporous structure, in which the SF as a pore former was almost completely removed from the membrane. However, when the blend membranes RCF1 were immersed in 10% NaOH aqueous solution for post-treatment, a strong hydrogen bonding between cellulose and SF inhibited the removal of SF. Although alkali is a good solvent for SF, the blend membranes RCF1 such obtained from cellulose and SF were alkali resistant. The crystallinity and the mean pore size of the blend membranes slightly decreased with increasing post-treatment time. This work provided a cellulose/silk blend membrane, which can be used under alkaline medium.     

Thermodynamics and dynamics of metallic glass formers: their correlation for the investigation on potential energy landscape

Great progress has been made in basic features of the potential energy landscape (PEL) theoretically. The present work, however, attempts to cast new light on it from experimental aspects. By a survey of experimental data related to thermodynamics or dynamics of metallic glass-forming liquids, it is found that the increased rate of excitation of vibrational entropy at glass transition tends to increase the rate of generation of configurational part. Although for the type of metallic materials a generally positive relationship exists between the density of the energy minima at glass transition and the liquid fragility strength, just as expected, our main attention is paid to the phenomenon of the scattering of the slopes. Analysis shows that the phenomenon results from the different average height of energy barriers between minima near glass transition. Investigation on the PdNiP metallic system indicates that the mismatch entropy is a dominant factor in the barrier height: a large value of it results in low energy barriers. Our previous work on the AlNiCe system gives the support to this finding.     

Bifunctional activation of amine-boranes by the W/Pd bimetallic analogs of “frustrated Lewis pairs”

The reaction between basic [(PCP)Pd(H)] (PCP = 2,6-(CH₂P(t-C₄H₉)₂)₂C₆H₄) and acidic [LWH(CO)₃] (L = Cp (1a), Tp (1b); Cp = η⁵-cyclopentadienyl, Tp = κ³-hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate) leads to the formation of bimolecular complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] (4a, 4b), which catalyze amine-borane (Me₂NHBH₃, ^tBuNH₂BH₃) dehydrogenation. The combination of variable-temperature (¹H, ³¹P{¹H}, ¹¹B NMR and IR) spectroscopies and computational (ωB97XD/def2-TZVP) studies reveal the formation of an η¹-borane complex [(PCP)Pd(Me₂NHBH₃)]⁺[LW(CO₃)]⁻ (5) in the first step, where a BH bond strongly binds palladium and an amine group is hydrogen-bonded to tungsten. The subsequent intracomplex proton transfer is the rate-determining step, followed by an almost barrierless hydride transfer. Bimetallic species 4 are easily regenerated through hydrogen evolution in the reaction between two hydrides.

Bimetallic complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] cooperatively activate amine-boranes for their dehydrogenation via N–H proton tunneling at RDS and H₂ evolution from two neutral hydrides.     

First investigation of non-classical dihydrogen bonding between an early transition-metal hydride and alcohols: IR, NMR, and DFT approach

The interaction of [NbCp(2)H(3)] with fluorinated alcohols to give dihydrogen-bonded complexes was studied by a combination of IR, NMR and DFT methods. IR spectra were examined in the range from 200-295 K, affording a clear picture of dihydrogen-bond formation when [NbCp(2)H(3)]/HOR(f) mixtures (HOR(f) = hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) or perfluoro-tert-butanol (PFTB)) were quickly cooled to 200 K. Through examination of the OH region, the dihydrogen-bond energetics were determined to be 4.5+/-0.3 kcal mol(-1) for TFE (TFE = trifluoroethanol) and 5.7+/-0.3 kcal mol(-1) for HFIP. (1)H NMR studies of solutions of [NbCp(2)H(2)(B)H(A)] and HFIP in [D(8)]toluene revealed high-field shifts of the hydrides H(A) and H(B), characteristic of dihydrogen-bond formation, upon addition of alcohol. The magnitude of signal shifts and T(1) relaxation time measurements show preferential coordination of the alcohol to the central hydride H(A), but are also consistent with a bifurcated character of the dihydrogen bonding. Estimations of hydride-proton distances based on T(1) data are in good accord with the results of DFT calculations. DFT calculations for the interaction of [NbCp(2)H(3)] with a series of non-fluorinated (MeOH, CH(3)COOH) and fluorinated (CF(3)OH, TFE, HFIP, PFTB and CF(3)COOH) proton donors of different strengths showed dihydrogen-bond formation, with binding energies ranging from -5.7 to -12.3 kcal mol(-1), depending on the proton donor strength. Coordination of proton donors occurs both to the central and to the lateral hydrides of [NbCp(2)H(3)], the former interaction being of bifurcated type and energetically slightly more favourable. In the case of the strong acid H(3)O(+), the proton transfer occurs without any barrier, and no dihydrogen-bonded intermediates are found. Proton transfer to [NbCp(2)H(3)] gives bis(dihydrogen) [NbCp(2)(eta(2)-H(2))(2)](+) and dihydride(dihydrogen) complexes [NbCp(2)(H)(2)(eta(2)-H(2))](+) (with lateral hydrides and central dihydrogen), the former product being slightly more stable. When two molecules of TFA were included in the calculations, in addition to the dihydrogen-bonded adduct, an ionic pair formed by the cationic bis(dihydrogen) complex [NbCp(2)(eta(2)-H(2))(2)](+) and the homoconjugated anion pair (CF(3)COO...H...OOCCF(3))(-) was found as a minimum. It is very likely that these ionic pairs may be intermediates in the H/D exchange between the hydride ligands and the OD group observed with the more acidic alcohols in the NMR studies.