The behaviour of micro-bitumen drops in aqueous clay environments

This study summarises the rheological behaviour of emulsion bitumen drops in the presence of aqueous solutions of de-ionised or process water (DIW or PW) containing montmorillonite clays (M) and/or calcium ions (Ca++). The presence of calcium ions and montmorillonite clays resulted in the plastic behaviour of bitumen drops. In a DIW+M+Ca++ system, increasing temperature and calcium ion concentration resulted in an increase in the number and degree of plastic bitumen drops. In the presence of considerable amounts of Ca++ ions and/or at higher experimental temperature, bitumen drops in a PW+M system exhibited no significant overall plasticity of their surfaces. Both calcium and sodium ions contained in process water compete with each other to occupy the montmorillonite clay surface. At the pH value of process water (pH congruent with8), increasing the temperature did not change the value of bitumen droplet zeta potential. Stability of bitumen-in-water emulsions at 22 degrees C showed that bitumen droplets coalesced upon contact in the DIW+M system. The addition of calcium ions (Ca++) led to the inhibition of coagulation and coalescence of bitumen droplets, which may indicate the formation of CaM aggregates at the bitumen-water interface.     

Radioactivity contents in building materials used in Hong Kong

The radioactivity contents in building materials used in Hong Kong were measured to determine the sources of the high indoor radon concentrations observed in local buildings. The radium contents and the radon emanation coefficients of different building materials were measured by high resolution γ-ray spectroscopy using germanium detectors. The radon exhalation rates were measured using scintillation cells by circulating the exhaled radon from building materials and obtaining the initial growth rates. The radium content and the radon exhalation rates of concrete and bricks used in Hong Kong were found to be higher than those in some other countries, resulting in high indoor radon concentrations probably due to the high radioactivity contents in the aggregates, granitic in nature, used in building materials.     

Cationic Lanthanide Luminescent Copolymer: Design,Synthesis and Interaction with DNA

Polymerizable rare earth complex Eu(AA)₃Phen was synthesized by complexion of europium ion, acrylic acid (AA), and 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen). The structure and fluorescence properties of the complex were studied by elemental analysis, ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Eu-containing copolymer poly(PEGMA-co-MMA-co-METAC-co-Eu(AA)₃Phen) (PPMMEu) was then synthesized by free radical copolymerization of Eu(AA)₃Phen and other functional monomers including poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and [2-(Methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride (METAC). ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to characterize the copolymer and the interactions between the copolymer and DNA was investigated by TEM, fluorescence spectroscopy, and agarose gel electrophoresis. The desired luminescent cationic copolymer was successfully obtained. The copolymer can form micelles in water solution and can efficiently bind to DNA molecules through electrostatic interaction. The results suggest the potential use of PPMMEu in bioprobes and gene vectors.     

Radiation Damage and Racemic Protein Crystallography Reveal the Unique Structure of the GASA/Snakin Protein Superfamily

Proteins from the GASA/snakin superfamily are common in plant proteomes and have diverse functions, including hormonal crosstalk, development, and defense. One 63‐residue member of this family, snakin‐1, an antimicrobial protein from potatoes, has previously been chemically synthesized in a fully active form. Herein the 1.5 Å structure of snakin‐1, determined by a novel combination of racemic protein crystallization and radiation‐damage‐induced phasing (RIP), is reported. Racemic crystals of snakin‐1 and quasi‐racemic crystals incorporating an unnatural 4‐iodophenylalanine residue were prepared from chemically synthesized d ‐ and l ‐proteins. Breakage of the C?I bonds in the quasi‐racemic crystals facilitated structure determination by RIP. The crystal structure reveals a unique protein fold with six disulfide crosslinks, presenting a distinct electrostatic surface that may target the protein to microbial cell surfaces.     

Enantioselective Generation of Adjacent Stereocenters in a Copper‐Catalyzed Three‐Component Coupling of Imines,Allenes, and Diboranes

A highly enantio‐ and diastereoselective copper‐catalyzed three‐component coupling affords the first general synthesis of homoallylic amines bearing adjacent stereocenters from achiral starting materials. The method utilizes a commercially available NHC ligand and copper source, operates at ambient temperature, couples readily available simple imines, allenes, and diboranes, and yields high‐value homoallylic amines that exhibit versatile amino, alkenyl, and boryl units.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of Sequence‐Defined Synthetic Nucleic Acid Polymers with Diverse Functional Groups

The development and in‐depth analysis of T4 DNA ligase‐catalyzed DNA templated oligonucleotide polymerization toward the generation of diversely functionalized nucleic acid polymers is described. The NNNNT codon set enables low codon bias, high fidelity, and high efficiency for the polymerization of ANNNN libraries comprising various functional groups. The robustness of the method was highlighted in the copolymerization of a 256‐membered ANNNN library comprising 16 sub‐libraries modified with different functional groups. This enabled the generation of diversely functionalized synthetic nucleic acid polymer libraries with 93.8 % fidelity. This process should find ready application in DNA nanotechnology, DNA computing, and in vitro evolution of functional nucleic acid polymers.     

One-step synthesis of large-aspect-ratio single-crystalline gold nanorods by using CTPAB and CTBAB surfactants

Gold nanorods were prepared in high yields by using a one-step seed-mediated process in aqueous cetyltripropylammonium bromide (CTPAB) and cetyltributylammonium bromide (CTBAB) solutions in the presence of silver nitrate. The diameters of the nanorods range from 3 to 11 nm, their lengths are in the range of 15 to 350 nm, and their aspect ratios are in the range of 2 to 70. The diameters of the Au nanorods obtained from one growth batch in CTPAB solutions decrease as their lengths increase, and their volumes decrease as the aspect ratios increase. The diameters of the Au nanorods obtained from one growth batch in CTBAB solutions first decrease and then slightly increase as their lengths increase, and their volumes increase as the aspect ratios increase. These Au nanorods are single-crystalline and are seen to be oriented in either the [100] or [110] direction under transmission electron microscopy imaging, irrespective of their sizes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the preparation by using wet-chemistry methods of single-crystalline Au nanorods with aspect ratios larger than 15.     

Elucidating Factors Manipulated the Formation of Multiply Charged Protein Homomultimeric Complexes by Electrospray Ionization

Native non‐covalently bonded protein‐protein and protein‐substrate complexes are of great interest and have been extensively studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). Multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes are shown to form by ESI‐MS. This study addresses factors that can artificially induce the formation of multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes. Cytochrome c (Cyt c) and ubiquitin, which are monomers in solution, were found to generate (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ by electrospray ionization (ESI). The homomultimeric complexes were not limited to dimeric complexes but include also multiply charged trimers, tetramers, and pentamers. The observation of these homomultimeric complexes has never been revealed from a Cyt c solution at the concentration as low as 10 μM. Increasing the concentration of Cyt c enhanced the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ as expected; however, the protein concentration does not affect the relative intensities of monomeric and dimeric complexes. Additionally the enrichment of NH₄OH also promotes the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺. Notably, source collision‐induced dissociations (source‐CID) of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ alter the charge state distribution (CSD) and may lead to an incorrect interpretation of Cyt c conformations. Hence, extra care should be taken when using CSD to interpret the conformation of a protein derived from ESI‐MS.