Chemical profiling and characterization of phenolic acids,flavonoids, terpene glycosides from Vangueria agrestis using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and metabolomics approach

Vangueria agrestis is a shrub indigenous to tropical Africa, belonging to family Rubiaceae and is traditionally used as a decoction for treatment of fever, pain, and malaria. This study was undertaken to investigate the chemical constituents based on precursor exact mass and fragment ion information. The chemical profiling and structural characteristics of chemical constituents from methanolic extracts of dried aerial parts and roots of V. agrestis and dietary supplements were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with UNIFI platform and multivariate analysis in both negative and positive ion modes. A non-targeted ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis was carried out to profile the chemical constituents of crude extracts of V. agrestis, and 73 compounds, including reference compounds, were identified. The fragments of flavonoids, monoterpene, and triterpene glycosides revealed the characteristic cleavage of glycosidic linkages, and the fragmentation pattern provided the identity of the sugars. This analytical method provides a quick method for quality assessment of dietary supplements. Finally, a chemometrics approach with multivariate statistical tools was used to visualize the differences between root and aerial parts of plant samples and to find the potential chemical markers that differentiate among these parts of V. agrestis samples and dietary supplements.     

A green and simple method for the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted-1H-imidazole derivatives using acidic ionic liquid as an effective and recyclable catalyst under ultrasound

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In the current work, an acidic ionic liquid ([{(IMC)-4-OMBH}BIM][HSO4]3) has been utilized as an effective and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of...     

Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of discontinuous Sturm--Liouville problems with eigenparameter-dependent boundary conditions

We extend some fundamental spectral properties of classic regular Sturm--Liouville problems to discontinuous boundary-value problems with eigenvalue-dependent boundary conditions. We suggest a new approach for investigation of such type discontinuous problems.     

Asymmetric Membranes from Two Chemically Distinct Triblock Terpolymers Blended during Standard Membrane Fabrication

Deviating from the traditional formation of block copolymer derived isoporous membranes from one block copolymer chemistry, here asymmetric membranes with isoporous surface structure are derived from two chemically distinct block copolymers blended during standard membrane fabrication. As a first proof of principle, the fabrication of asymmetric membranes is reported, which are blended from two chemically distinct triblock terpolymers, poly(isoprene‐b‐styrene‐b‐(4‐vinyl)pyridine) (ISV) and poly(isoprene‐b‐styrene‐b‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (ISA), differing in the pH‐responsive hydrophilic segment. Using block copolymer self‐assembly and nonsolvent induced phase separation process, pure and blended membranes are prepared by varying weight ratios of ISV to ISA. Pure and blended membranes exhibit a thin, selective layer of pores above a macroporous substructure. Observed permeabilities at varying pH values of blended membranes depend on relative triblock terpolymer composition. These results open a new direction for membrane fabrication through the use of mixtures of chemically distinct block copolymers enabling the tailoring of membrane surface chemistries and functionalities.

     

Oligolysine‐Conjugated Zinc(II) Phthalocyanines as Efficient Photosensitizers for Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy

A series of zinc(II) phthalocyanines conjugated with an oligolysine chain (n=2, 4, and 8) were synthesized and characterized by using various spectroscopic methods. As shown by using UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopic methods, these compounds were nonaggregated in N,N‐dimethylformamide, and gave a weak fluorescence emission and high singlet oxygen quantum yield (Φ_Δ=0.86–0.89) as a result of their di‐α‐substitution. They became slightly aggregated in water with 0.05 % Cremophor EL, but they could still generate singlet oxygen effectively. The antimicrobial photodynamic activities of these compounds were then examined against various bacterial strains, including the Gram‐positive methicillin‐sensitive Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA‐43, and the Gram‐negative Escherichia coli ATCC 35218 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Generally, the dyes were much more potent toward the Gram‐positive bacteria. Only 15 to 90 nM of these photosensitizers was required to induce a 4 log reduction in the cell viability of the strains. For Escherichia coli, the photocytotoxicity increased with the length of the oligolysine chain. The octalysine derivative showed the highest potency with a 4 log reduction concentration of 0.8 μM . Pseudomonas aeruginosa was most resistant to the photodynamic treatment. The potency of the tetralysine derivative toward a series of clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus was also examined and found to be comparable with that toward the nonclinical counterparts. Moreover, the efficacy of these compounds in photodynamic inactivation of viruses was also examined. They were highly photocytotoxic against the enveloped viruses influenza A virus (H1N1) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), but exhibited no significant cytotoxicity against the nonenveloped viruses adenovirus type 3 (Ad3) or coxsackievirus (Cox B1). The octalysine derivative also showed the highest potency with an IC₅₀ value of 0.05 nM for the two enveloped viruses.     

Effect of Al mole fraction on structural and electrical properties of AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructures grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

The effect of Al mole fractions on the structural and electrical properties of Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN thin films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) on Si (1 1 1) substrates has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and current-voltage (I-V) measurements. X-ray results revealed that the AlGaN/GaN/AlN was epitaxially grown on Si substrate. By applying Vegard's law, the Al mole fractions of Al_xGa_1−xN samples were found to be 0.11, 0.24, 0.30 and 0.43, respectively. The structural and morphology results indicated that there is a relatively larger tensile strain for the sample with the smallest Al mole fraction; while a smaller compressive strain and larger grain size appear with Al mole fraction equal to 0.30. The strain gets relaxed with the highest Al mole fraction sample. Finally, the linear relationship between the barrier height and Al mole fraction was obtained.     

〈331〉晶向ZnTe单晶的太赫兹辐射-探测性能理论研究

根据光整流效应辐射太赫兹理论,计算了〈331〉晶向ZnTe单晶的太赫兹辐射性能.通过与〈110〉、〈111〉晶向对比,当晶体方位角为0°或180°时,利用〈331〉晶向ZnTe单晶辐射太赫兹信号可以与〈111〉晶向相当,强于〈110〉晶向.利用电光取样原理,计算了〈331〉晶向ZnTe单晶的太赫兹探测性能,通过理论计算为〈331〉晶向ZnTe 晶体有效辐射太赫兹波提供理论依据.