A novel three-dimensional pillared-layer hybrid zinc phosphite featuring double-helical channels

A new zinc phosphite (C₂H₈N₂)_0.5(HPO₃)Zn has been hydrothermally synthesized from a mixture of ZnO, H₃PO₃, 4,4’-bipyridine, ethylenediamine, and H₂O. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Zn ions are first interconnected by HPO₃ ²- ligands to produce a neutrally infinite two-dimensional inorganic layer with four- and eight-membered rings, which is further used as the second building units and helically pillared by bridging ethylenediamine molecules to form the scarcely reported three-dimensional pillared-layer hybrid zinc phosphite with double-helical channels due to the flexibility of the ethylenediamine ligands.     

Synthesis,Structure and Magnetic Properties of dimeric Nickel(II) Benzoate with Pyridyl‐substituted Nitronyl Nitroxides

The novel heterospin complex [Ni₂(PhCOO)₄(NITpPy)₂]·2CH₃CN ( 1 ) was synthesized by the reaction of nickel benzoate and 2‐(4‐pyridyl)‐4,4,5,5‐tetramethylimidazoline‐1‐oxyl‐3‐oxide (NITpPy) in acetonitrile and dichloromethane solutions. The X‐ray structure determination shows that complex 1 consists of a symmetrical dimeric Ni^II benzoate paddle‐wheel core and pyridyl nitrogen atoms of radical ligands at the apical position, in addition, the temperature (2–300K) dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that 1 has antiferromagnetic behavior.     

A scheme for rapid prediction of cooperativity in hydrogen bond chains of formamides,acetamides, and N‐methylformamides

A scheme is proposed in this article to predict the cooperativity in hydrogen bond chains of formamides, acetamides, and N‐methylformamides. The parameters needed in the scheme are derived from fitting to the hydrogen bonding energies of MP2/6‐31+G** with basis set superposition error (BSSE) correction of the hydrogen bond chains of formamides containing from two to eight monomeric units. The scheme is then used to calculate the individual hydrogen bonding energies in the chains of formamides containing 9 and 12 monomeric units, in the chains of acetamides containing from two to seven monomeric units, in the chains of N‐methylformamides containing from two to seven monomeric units. The calculation results show that the cooperativity predicted by the scheme proposed in this paper is in good agreement with those obtained from MP2/6‐31+G** calculations by including the BSSE correction, demonstrating that the scheme proposed in this article is reasonable. Based on our scheme, a cooperativity effect of almost 240% of the dimer hydrogen bonding energy in long hydrogen bond formamide chains, a cooperativity effect of almost 190% of the dimer hydrogen bonding energy in long hydrogen bond acetamide chains, and a cooperativity effect of almost 210% of the dimer hydrogen bonding energy in long hydrogen bond N‐methylformamide chains are predicted. The scheme is further applied to some heterogeneous chains containing formamide, acetamide, and N‐methylformamide. The individual hydrogen bonding energies in these heterogeneous chains predicted by our scheme are also in good agreement with those obtained from Møller‐Plesset calculations including BSSE correction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Mechanistic and kinetic investigations of N2H4 + OH reaction

The reaction of N₂H₄ with OH has been investigated by quantum chemical methods. The results show that hydrogen abstraction mechanism is more feasible than substitution mechanism thermodynamically. The calculated rate constants agree with the available experimental data. The calculated results show that the variational effect is small at lower temperature region, while it becomes significant at higher temperature region. On the other hand, the small‐curvature tunneling effect may play an important role in the temperature range 220?3000 K. Moreover, the calculated rate constants show negative temperature dependence at the temperatures below 500 K, which is in accordance with Vaghjiani's report that slightly negative temperature dependence is found over the temperature range of 258?637 K. The mechanism of the major product (N₂H₃) with OH has also been investigated theoretically to understand the title reaction thoroughly. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

The minimum heat consumption for heat-driven binary separation processes with linear phenomenological heat transfer law

The optimal performance of heat-driven binary separation processes with linear phenomenological heat transfer law(q∝△(T-1)) is analyzed by taking the processes as heat engines which work between high-and low-temperature reservoirs and produce enthalpy and energy flows out of the system,and the temperatures of the heat reservoirs are assumed to be time-and space-variables.A numerical method is employed to solve convex optimization problem and Lagrangian function is employed to solve the average optimal contr...     

Fabrication of a high-strength hydrogel with an interpenetrating network structure

Hydrogels have potential applications in many fields, but the poor mechanical strength has limited their further development. In this article, we designed a high-strength hydrogel with an interpenetrating network (IPN) structure from polyacrylamide (PAM) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Synthesis parameters, such as PVA/AM mass ratio, crosslinker dosage and elongation time were carried out for high tensile strength and elongation. The results showed that chemical crosslinking, physical entanglement and PVA precipitates were the dominant parameters for the improvement of mechanical properties. The PVA structure transferred from crystal to amorphous due to intermolecular and intramolecular interactions (such as hydrogen bond and self-crosslinking). PVA precipitates scatterred in the brittle PAM matrix homogeneously which dispersed the applied stress and improved the hydrogel toughness. The tensile strength and elongation were extremely high, they were 2.4 MPa and 3100%, respectively. The simple method is versatile in synthesizing high-strength IPN hydrogels using many kinds of polymer species.     

Tetraphenylpyrazine-based AIEgens: facile preparation and tunable light emission

Research on aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has been a hot topic. Due to enthusiastic efforts by many researchers, hundreds of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) have been generated which were mainly based on archetypal silole, tetraphenylethene, distyrylanthracene, triphenylethene, and tetraphenyl-1,4-butadiene, etc. To enlarge the family of AIEgens and to enrich their functions, new AIEgens are in high demand. In this work, we report a new kind of AIEgen based on tetraphenylpyrazine (TPP), which could be readily prepared under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, we show that the TPP derivatives possess a good thermal stability and their emission could be fine-tuned by varying the substituents on their phenyl rings. It is anticipated that TPP derivatives could serve as a new type of widely utilized AIEgen, based on their facile preparation, good thermo-, photo- and chemostabilities, and efficient emission.     

Bioelectrochemical response of a choline biosensor fabricated by using polyaniline

On the basis of the isoelectric point of an enzyme and the doping principle of conducting polymers, choline oxidase was doped in a polyaniline film to form a biosensor. The amperometric detection of choline is based on the oxidation of the H₂O₂ enzymatically produced on the choline biosensor. The response current of the biosensor as a function of temperature was determined from 3 to 40°C. An apparent activation energy of 22.8 kJ·mol⁻¹ was obtained. The biosensor had a wide linear response range from 5 × 10⁻⁷ to 1 × 10⁻⁴ M choline with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and a detection limit of 0.2 μM, and had a high sensitivity of 61.9 mA·M⁻¹·cm⁻² at 0.50 V and at pH 8.0. The apparent Michaelis constant and the optimum pH for the immobilized enzyme are 1.4 mM choline and 8.4, respectively, which are very close to those of choline oxidase in solution. The effect of selected organic compounds on the response of the choline biosensor was studied.     

Synthesis of macrocyclic ligands incorporating sulfur and furan subunits

Abstract

Polyammonium macrocycles containing sulfur and furan units in the macrocyclic ring have been synthesized and studied for ATPase activity. The synthetic methodology involved using tosyl protection for the amines and the formation of macrocyclic Lactams, followed by reduction using borane in THF. Deprotection of the tosylated forms of the macrocycle was accomplished using sodium in butanol for the furan macrocycles, and HBr in HOAc for the sulfur containing macrocycle. The macrocycles were found to be poor catalysts for ATP hydrolysis compared to other similar polyammonium macrocycles.     

Salvianolic acid A inhibits PDGF-BB induced vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation while does not constrain endothelial cell proliferation and nitric oxide biosynthesis

Proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are critical events in the initiation and development of restenosis upon percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Polyphenols have been suggested to ameliorate post-angioplasty restenosis. Salvianolic A (SalA) is one of the most abundant polyphenols extracted from salvia. In this study, we investigated the effect of salvianolic A (SalA) on the migration and proliferation of VSMCs. We found a preferential interaction of SalA with cellular systems that rely on the PDGF signal, but not on the EGF and bFGF signal. SalA inhibits PDGF-BB induced VSMC proliferation and migration in the concentration range from 0.01 to 0.1 μM. The inhibition of SalA on VSMC proliferation is associated with cell cycle arrest. We also found that SalA inhibits the PDGFRβ-ERK1/2 signaling cascade activated by PDGF-BB in VSMCs. In addition, SalA does not influence the proliferation of endothelial cells, the synthesis of NO and eNOS protein expression. Our results suggest that SalA inhibits migration and proliferation of VSMCs induced by PDGF-BB via the inhibition of the PDGFRβ-ERK1/2 cascade, but that it does not constrain endothelial cell proliferation and nitric oxide biosynthesis. Thus, the present study suggests a novel adjunct pharmacological strategy to prevent angioplasty-related restenosis.