Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of surface sol-gel processes

(3-Mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MTS) forms a unique film on a platinum substrate by self-assembly and sol-gel cross-linking. The gelating and drying states of the self-assembled MTS sol-gel films were probed by use of electrochemical and spectroscopic methods. The thiol moiety was the only active group within the sol-gel network. Gold nanoparticles were employed to detect the availability of the thiol group and their interaction further indicated the physicochemical states of the sol-gel inner structure. It was found that the thiol groups in the open porous MTS aerogel matrix were accessible to the gold nanoparticles while thiol groups in the compact MTS xerogel network were not accessible to the gold nanoparticles. The characteristics of the sol-gel matrix change with time because of its own irreversible gelating and drying process. The present work provides direct evidence of gold nanoparticle binding with thiol groups within the sol-gel structures and explains the different permeability of "aerogel" and "xerogel" films of MTS on the basis of electrochemical and spectroscopic results. Two endogenous species, hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid, were used to test the permeability of the self-assembled sol-gel film in different states. The MTS xerogel film on the platinum electrode was extremely selective against ascorbic acid while maintaining high sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide in contrast to the relatively high permeability of ascorbic acid in the MTS aerogel film. This study showed the potential of the MTS sol-gel film as a nanoporous material in biosensor development.     

微流控芯片技术在生殖研究中的进展

生殖是生物体最基本特征之一，是物种得以延续和进化的保证。近年来，微流控芯片系统得到了迅猛发展，技术也逐渐成熟，具有良好的应用前景。在生殖研究中，微流控技术具有以下优势：微管道的形状和尺寸可以灵活设计，从而更好地模拟生理环境；微流控芯片对样品的消耗量低；微流控技术具有很高的集成性。微流控技术已被应用到精子活力评价与筛选、精子的化学趋向性筛选、卵丘细胞去除、透明带移除、卵细胞定位与筛选、受精过程、早期胚胎培养以及生殖器官模拟等各个方面。该文着重介绍近几年基于微流控技术生殖研究的最新进展，并对其应用前景进行展望。     

高硼含量的SiC陶瓷先驱体的合成和表征

采用经典硼氢化反应, 通过硼烷二级硫醚(BH₃·SMe₂)与二甲基二乙烯基硅烷(DVS)反应, 合成了聚硼碳硅烷(PBCS)陶瓷先驱体, PBCS在氮气中经高温裂解得到了高硼含量的SiC陶瓷.利用红外光谱、核磁共振波谱和热重分析对聚合物的结构和性能进行了表征; 利用元素分析、X射线衍射和扫描电子显微镜对聚合物的裂解产物进行了分析.结果表明, 聚合物的结构中含有B—C, Si—C和C—H键, 在1000℃氮气气氛中, 其陶瓷产率在50%以上.陶瓷产物在1100℃以无定形态存在, 硼含量高达6.46%, 在1300℃时出现明显结晶, 形成B₂O₃, C和β-SiC三相组成的多元复相陶瓷, 在1500℃以下陶瓷产物表面光滑, 结构致密.     

Synthesis and electrochemical capacitive behaviors of Co3O4 nanostructures from a novel biotemplating technique

A novel approach is developed to synthesize Co₃O₄ nanoparticles utilizing sawdust as a bio-template. Sawdust was first infiltrated with cobalt dichloride aqueous solution, and then, in situ precipitation reaction took place when different precipitators (NaOH or H₂C₂O₄) were added. Finally, the precursors, Co(OH)₂ and CoC₂O₄, were calcined to produce the final Co₃O₄ nanoparticles and the template was removed simultaneously. The structure and morphology of the obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The observations revealed the formation of cubic phase Co₃O₄ with the average diameter of about 40 and 60 nm, respectively. Their electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests. The highest specific capacitance of 289.7 F g⁻¹ for the obtained Co₃O₄ electrode was obtained even at a discharge current of 20 mA after the 100th cycle and it increased by about 4% after the 1,000th cycle, demonstrating good electrochemical stability of such electrode materials.     

新型4,6-脱水-α-D-吡喃型半乳糖衍生物的合成

以甲基-2,3,4,6-四-O-苄基-α-D-吡喃型半乳糖为起始原料,通过对1-位和2-位进行结构修饰,6-位选择性脱除苄基后,再引入保护基Ms(或Ts)制得3,4-二-O-苄基-6-磺酰基(或对甲苯基磺酰基)-α-D-吡喃型半乳糖衍生物(2a~2f);在AcOK/DMSO体系中于80℃反应24 h,2发生分子内亲核取代反应合成了一系列新型的4,6-脱水-α-D-吡喃型半乳糖衍生物,产率78%~88%,其结构经1H NMR,13C NMR和ESI-HR-MS表征。     

Fluorescent and colorimetric probes for mercury(II): tunable structures of electron donor and π-conjugated bridge

A new series of intramolecular-charge-transfer (ICT) molecules (compounds 1, 2, and 3) were synthesized by attaching various electron-donating thiophenes groups to a triphenylamine backbone with an aldehyde group as the electron acceptor. Based on the protection reaction between ethanethiol and aldehyde, the corresponding dithioacetals (compounds S1, S2, and S3) were prepared to serve as novel colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensors for Hg(2+) ions. Also, compound S1 was further utilized to construct the chemical-reaction-based conjugated polymer probe (PS1) towards Hg(2+) ions. In the presence of as little as 10 nM Hg(2+), compound PS1 displayed an apparent change in the fluorescent intensity. The sensing processes were revealed to be mediated by ICT, as confirmed by time-dependent DFT calculations. Furthermore, compound S1 was successfully applied to microscopic imaging for the detection of Hg(2+) in HeLa cells with ratiometric fluorescent methods.     

Direct detection of isoprene photooxidation products by using synchrotron radiation photoionization mass spectrometry

We report the combination of a vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometer, operating on the basis of synchrotron radiation, with an environmental reaction smog chamber for the first time. The gas- and pseudo-particle-phase products of OH-initiated isoprene photooxidation reactions were measured on-line and off-line, respectively, by mass spectrometry. It was observed that aldehydes, methacrolein, methyl vinyl ketone, methelglyoxal, formic acid, and similar compounds are the predominant gas-phase photooxidation products, whereas some multifunctional carbonyls and acids mainly exist in the particle phase. This finding is reasonably consistent with results of studies conducted in other laboratories using different methods. The results indicate that synchrotron radiation photoionization mass spectrometry coupled with a smog chamber is a potentially powerful tool for the study of the mechanism of atmospheric oxidations and the formation of secondary organic aerosols.     

Comprehensive characterization of the N-glycosylation status of CD44s by use of multiple mass spectrometry-based techniques

The CD44 family are type-1 transmembrane glycoproteins which are important in mediating the response of cells to their microenvironment, including regulation of growth, survival, differentiation, and motility. All these important functions have been reported to be regulated by N-glycosylation; however, little is known about this process. In the CD44 family, the most prolific isoform is CD44 standard type (CD44s). In this work, an integrated strategy combining stable isotope labeling, chemical derivatization, hydrophilic-interaction liquid chromatographic (HILIC) separation, and mass spectrometric (MS) identification was used to perform a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative survey of the N-glycosylation of recombinant CD44s. Specifically, the occupation ratios of the N-glycosites were first determined by MS with (18)O labeling; the results revealed five glycosites with different occupation ratios. Next, N-glycans were profiled by chemical derivatization and exoglycosidase digestion, followed by MALDI-TOF-MS and HILIC-ESI-MS-MS analysis. Interestingly, the quantitative analysis showed that non-sialylated, fucosylated complex-type glycans dominated the N-glycans of CD44s. Furthermore, the site-specific N-glycan distributions profiled by LC-ESI-MS(E) indicated that most glycosites bore complex-type glycans, except for glycosite N100, which was occupied by high-mannose-type N-glycans. This is the first comprehensive report of the N-glycosylation of CD44s. Figure Strategies for characterization of the N-glycosylation status of CD44s.     

Simultaneous quantitation of seven alkaloids in processed Fuzi decoction by rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid analytical method based on rapid resolution LC coupled with MS/MS was first established to quantify seven alkaloids in processed Fuzi decoction. The chromatographic method was optimized to allow simultaneous analysis of all analytes in 5 min and demonstrated good linearity (r > 0.9995), repeatability (RSD < 4.36%), intra‐ and interday precisions (RSD < 5.07%) with good accuracies (97.76–105.08%) and good recovery (95.0–107.5%) of seven alkaloids, namely higenamine, benzoylhypaconine, benzoylmesaconine, benzoylaconine, aconitine, hypaconitine, and mesaconitine. The LODs for these markers were in the range of 2.30–17.00 pg/mL. Quantitative analysis of the seven alkaloids in Baifupian decoction and Heishunpian decoction showed that the content of the seven marker chemicals varied significantly and concluded that the quality of Fuzi was greatly affected by different processed methods. The developed method could be used as a rapid, sensitive, and reliable approach for assessment of the quality of processed Fuzi and related decoction.     

γ-Fe2O3/Ag/TiO2的制备与抗菌性能

采用两步法合成了γ-Fe₂O₃/Ag/TiO₂复合光催化剂, 以大肠埃希氏菌(E. coli)为目标菌, 对数去除率为评价指标评价了催化剂的抗菌性能, 优化了催化剂的最佳制备参数. 通过X射线衍射、 扫描电子显微镜、 X射线光电子能谱和紫外-可见漫反射光谱等手段对催化剂进行了表征. 结果表明, 当Ti/Ag摩尔比为1:0.05, 煅烧时间为3 h, 煅烧温度为350 ℃时, γ-Fe₂O₃/Ag/TiO₂表现出最佳抗菌活性. 复合催化剂具有介孔结构, 比表面积为89.1 m²/g; 光吸收边界达690 nm, 有良好的可见光响应能力; 磁性较强, 在水处理应用中可有效分离和重复使用. 反应条件不受光源限制, 在有/无光照下均具有良好的抗菌活性, 且太阳光辐照下对E. coli的对数去除率可达6.28.