Pickering emulsions stabilized by nanoparticle surfactants

Amphiphilic gold nanoparticles are demonstrated to effectively stabilize emulsions of hexadecane in water. Nanoparticle surfactants are synthesized using a simple and scalable one-pot method that involves the sequential functionalization of particle surfaces with thiol-terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains and short alkane-thiol molecules. The resulting nanoparticles are shown to be highly effective emulsifying agents due to their strong adsorption at oil-water and air-water interfaces. The original nonfunctionalized gold nanoparticles are unable to effectively stabilize oil-water emulsions due to their small size and low adsorption energy. Small-angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopy are used to demonstrate the formation of nanoparticle-stabilized colloidosomes that are stable against coalescence and show significant shifts in plasmon resonance enhancing the near-infrared optical absorption.     

Is Quantum Tunneling Relevant in Free‐Radical Polymerization?

Quantum tunneling in hydrogen transfer reactions active in FRP is investigated theoretically. Three systems are examined: polyethylene, polystyrene, and poly(vinyl chloride). Kinetic parameters of backbiting reactions are evaluated adopting quantum chemistry. Tunneling corrections are estimated adopting the one‐dimensional Eckart model, which provides a reasonable accuracy along with a limited computational effort. The relevance of quantum tunneling in the investigated systems is highlighted, with focus on the temperature dependence of the tunneling correction in the typical polymerization conditions of the investigated monomers. Obtained results clearly show that tunneling plays an important role in the kinetics estimation of hydrogen abstractions in FRP.

     

Structure and dynamics of dodecaborate clusters in water

We have studied using molecular dynamics simulations the interaction of the dodecaborate anion, B(12)H(12)(2-), and its amino, trimethyl, and triethyl derivatives with water molecules. We found peculiar organization of the water molecules in the first solvation shell with the formation of a dihydrogen bond between the hydrogen atoms of the anions and the hydrogen atoms of the water molecules. The simulations also show that the organization of the hydration shell is strongly influenced by the substituents in the anions. These differences are likely to play an important role in understanding the interaction of the anions with biological systems like membranes and proteins in aqueous environments.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of water near nanostructured hydrophobic surfaces: interfacial energies.

We present results from molecular dynamics simulations of water near structured hydrophobic surfaces. The surface structures reported herein are a planar alkane crystal as a reference and crystals with a hole and a protrusion of approximately 2.5 nm diameter and 0.5 nm depth or height. All indicators show that surface structuring increases the hydrophobicity: The water density is reduced near the structure elements, and the number of residual contacts between water and the surface decreases by about 40 % with respect to the planar surface. Thermodynamic integration shows that the interfacial energy of the structured surfaces is about 7 mJ m(-2) higher for structured surfaces than for the planar surface. The hydrophobicity increases by a similar amount for the hole and the protrusion geometries compared to the planar surface.     

Sulla determinazione polarografica delle impurezze metalliche nello zinco iperpuro

Résumé (W) On précise les conditions expérimentales les plus favorables pour l'exécution d'analyses polarographiques de zine extrêmement pur, en vue d'endéceler les impuretés, soit les éléments Cu, Bi, Pb, Cd, Tl et Fe. La méthode, très sensible, permet le dosage de ces divers métaux quand la concentration, dans le zinc, est de 0,0001% pour Pb, Bi et Tl, et de 0,00005% pour Cd, Cu et Fe.

---

Zusammenfassung Es wurden die günstigsten experimentellen Bedingungen für die polarographische Bestimmung der in äußerst reinem Zink als Verunreinigungen vorkommenden Elemente Cu, Bi, Pb, Cd, Tl und Fe ermittelt.Das sehr empfindliche Verfahren gestattet die Bestimmung dieser Metalle, selbst wenn die betreffenden Konzentrationen im Zink bloß 0,0001% Pb, Bi oder Tl und 0,00005% Cd, Cu oder Fe betragen.

---

Riassuno Vengono precisate le condizioni sperimentali più favorevoli per l'esecuzione dell'analisi polarografica dello zinco iperpuro per la determinazione delle impurezze di Cu, Bi, Pb, Cd, Tl, Fe.Il metodo, molto sensibile, permette il dosaggio dei varii metalli anche quando la concentrazione nello zinco è di 0,0001% per Pb, Bi, Tl e di 0,00005% per Cd, Cu, Fe.

---

---

A 3 figure     

Raman microspectrometric investigation of wall paintings in S. Giovanni Evangelista Abbey in Parma: a comparison between two artists of the 16th century

Micro-Raman spectroscopy, combined with gas chromatography and ultra-violet fluorescence photography, was used to study some wall paintings in the S. Giovanni Evangelista Abbey in Parma, Italy. The restoration of some painted chapels enabled a comparison between two painters of the 16th century: Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, 1503-1540) and Michelangelo Anselmi (1492?-1556?). Micro-Raman spectroscopy determined the palette used by the artists, leading to the identification of different white, yellow, red, brown, green, blue and black pigments. Some pigments are evidence of later restorations. Gas chromatography combined with mass spectroscopy revealed the presence of organic binding media and enabled to distinguish between fresco and secco paintings.     

Essential oils of Daucus carota subsp. carota of Tunisia obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

The essential oils and supercritical CO2 extracts of wild Daucus carota L. subsp. carota from two different sites in Tunisia were investigated. The main components of the essential oil of the flowering and mature umbels with seeds from Sejnane were eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol (8.2 - 8.5%), carotol (3.5 - 5.2%), sabinene (12.0 -14.5%), a-selinene (7.4 - 8.6) and 11-alpha-(H)-himachal-4-en-1-beta-ol (12.7 - 17.4%), whereas the oils from Tunis were predominantly composed of elemicin (31.5 - 35.3%) and carotol (48.0 - 55.7%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils were assayed by using the broth dilution method on Escherichia coli ATCC 35218 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300, and clinical strains of Candida albicans and C. tropicalis 1011 RM. The MIC values obtained were all > 2.5% (v/v).     

Ferroelectricity of pyridinium perchlorate, a molecular level point of view

The behavior of ferroelectric and thermodynamic parameters of pyridinium perchlorate (PyClO(4)) was simulated based on experimental NMR data and properties of the individual constituting ions. Dynamic (2)H NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the order-disorder character of ferroelectricity in PyClO(4). Quadrupole echo and inversion recovery experiments were performed in the range from 140 to 300 K. The spectra can be simulated by a rotational jump motion of the pyridinium cations about their pseudo-C(6) axis. This confirms that the ferroelectricity of this compound below a first-order phase transition at 248 K is primarily due to the ordering of cations along a ferroelectric axis. In an intermediate phase between 248 and 233 K, the cation-anion sublattice displacement mechanism also gives a small positive contribution to ferroelectricity. In the family of the ferroelectric pyridinium salts, the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition temperature increases with the size and polarizability of the constituting anions, suggesting that the main interaction for ferroelectric ordering occurs via an indirect superexchange mechanism, whereas in compounds with small anions of low polarizability the direct dipole-dipole interaction dominates and leads to antiferroelectric order.     

Distance distributions of short polypeptides recovered by fluorescence resonance energy transfer in the 10 A domain

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between tryptophan (Trp) as donor and 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene (Dbo) as acceptor was studied by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The unique feature of this FRET pair is its exceptionally short F?rster radius (10 A), which allows one to recover distance distributions in very short structureless peptides. The technique was applied to Trp-(GlySer)n-Dbo-NH2 peptides with n = 0-10, for which the average probe/quencher distance ranged between 8.7 and 13.7 A experimentally (in propylene glycol, analysis according to wormlike chain model) and 8.6-10.2 A theoretically (for n = 0-6, GROMOS96 molecular dynamics simulations). The larger FRET efficiency in steady-state compared to time-resolved fluorescence experiments was attributed to a static quenching component, suggesting that a small but significant part (ca. 10%) of the conformations are already in van der Waals contact when excitation occurs.     

Thermally Responsive Hydrogel Blends: A General Drug Carrier Model for Controlled Drug Release

Thermally responsive hydrogels have drawn significant research attention recently because of their simple use as drug carrier at human body temperature. Here we design a hybrid hydrogel that incorporates a hydrophilic polymer, polyethyleneimine (PEI), into the thermally responsive hydrogel poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm), as a general drug carrier model for controlled drug release. In this work, on one hand, PEI modifies the structure and the size of the pores in the PNIPAm hydrogel. On the other hand, PEI plays an important role in tuning the water content in the hydrogel and controls the water release rate of the hydrogel below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), resulting in a tunable release rate of the drugs at human body temperature (37 °C). Different release rates are shown as different amounts of PEI are incorporated. PEI controls the release rate, dependent on the charge characteristics of the drugs. The hydrogel blends described in this work extend the concept of a general drug carrier for loading both positively and negatively charged drugs, as well as the controlled release effect.