High accuracy photopyroelectric investigation of dynamic thermal parameters of Fe3O4 and CoFe2O4 magnetic nanofluids

The suitability of the photopyroelectric (PPE) calorimetry in measuring the thermal parameters of nanofluids was demonstrated. The main advantages of the method (concerning nanofluids) as compared to classical calorimetric techniques are: high sensitivity and small amount of sample required. The thermal diffusivity and effusivity of some nanofluids based on Fe₃O₄ and CoFe₂O₄ type of nanoparticles (mean diameter 6.5 nm) were investigated by using two PPE detection configurations (back and front). In both cases, the information is contained in the phase of the PPE signal. Due to the high accuracy of the results (within ±0.5%) thermal diffusivity was found to be particularly sensitive to changes in relevant parameters of the nanofluid as carrier liquid, type and concentration of nanoparticles.     

Freeze-drying assisted sol–gel-derived silica-based particles embedding iron: synthesis and characterization

New silica-based particles embedding iron were synthesized following a freeze-drying-assisted sol–gel route. The samples were preliminary characterized in view of potential applications as theranostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents and for hyperthermia treatment. The structural changes induced by iron addition were studied by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies. The addition of Fe₂O₃ impedes the SiO₂ crystallization denoting that iron plays, in this case, the role of a glass network stabilizer. The composition on surface and nearby was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy both before and after samples immersion in simulated body fluid. The results suggest the nominal composition with 5?mol% Fe₂O₃ added to 0.7SiO₂?0.3Na₂O matrix of interest for further investigations as potential MRI contrast agent and hyperthermia vector.

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Evaluation of kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition of polyethylene-vinyl acetate graft copolymers

The thermal decomposition of the polyethylene-vinyl acetate graft copolymers was studied by thermogravimetry (nonisothermal conditions, constant heating rate of 4?/min). Between 275 and 350? the thermal decomposition is due to the splitting of the acetoxy groups of the grafted chains and the elimination of acetic acid. The reaction order, activation energy and frequency factor were computed by means of the Coats-Redfern and Fuoss methods. The activation energy and frequency factor valuesobtained with the two methods agree well and they do not depend on the grafted vinyl acetate content (2.6–17.6%).     

Radioimmunoanalysis of the immune response and tissue lipoperoxidation of rats for low doses contaminated with tritiated water

The paper presents the evaluation of the humoral immune response and liver and kidney lipoperoxidation on rats acutely and chronically contaminated with low doses of tritiated water (HTO). The contamination doses for both situations were 0.5 cSv, 5 cSv and 10 cSv. By humoral immune response analysis we mean the measurement, through a radioimmunoanalysis (RIA) method, of the two intrinsic parameters of an antiserum, that is, the mean antibodies concentration and the mean antibodies affinity constant. We followed the liver and kidney lipidic peroxidation through malondialdehyde (MDA) formation assayed by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reaction. The humoral immune response and lipoperoxidation have been compared with the response of an uncontaminated group by the Studentt test.     

A study of the compounds which are induced on the metallic target surface under the action of a pulsed laser plasmatron

The compounds induced on the surface of titanium and copper targets by a breakdown plasma produced by focused TEA-CO₂ high-repetition frequency laser pulses was studied by transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction in correlation with absorptivity data determined before and after laser irradiation. The possibility of using TEA-CO₂ lasers to produce complex thermal treatments was demonstrated for metallic surfaces by the modification of the physico-chemical properties at the sites of plasma action on these surfaces.     

Short-range order changes induced by heat treatment in yttrium-aluminosilicate glasses

Short-range order and local atomic configuration in yttrium-aluminosilicate glasses doped with gadolinium were studied by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, ²⁷Al magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) and Gd³⁺ electron spin resonance (EPR) on as-prepared and heat-treated samples.A small amount of yttrium was replaced by gadolinium in the host glass because Y³⁺ and Gd³⁺ cations are quite similar and gadolinium ions can be used as structural sensor in electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. The results evidence weak changes in the structure of as-prepared glasses with respect to the coordination of aluminium atoms produced by gadolinium doping (0.2 and 0.5 mol%). New IR bands recorded from heat-treated samples are associated with stretching modes of hexacoordinated aluminium in AlO₆ octahedra. The effect of the heat treatment on aluminium environment is estimated by analysing the relative intensity of the component lines of simulated ²⁷Al MAS-NMR spectra. High-coordinated AlO_n species were identified in all samples. EPR results evidence the increase of the number of gadolinium sites with weak crystal field as effect of the structural relaxation.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and studies on the interaction with albumin of a new silver(I) complex based on 2‐(4‐nitrobenzenesulfonamido)benzoic acid

In the present work, the two‐dimensional (2D) polymer poly[[μ₄‐2‐(4‐nitrobenzenesulfonamido)benzoato‐κ⁴O¹:O¹:O^1′:N⁶]silver(I)] (AgL), [Ag(C₁₃H₉N₂O₆S)]_n, was obtained from 2‐(4‐nitrobenzenesulfonamido)benzoic acid (HL), C₁₃H₁₀N₂O₆S. FT–IR, ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopic analyses were used to characterize both compounds. The crystal structures of HL and AgL were determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. In the structure of HL, O—H…O hydrogen bonds between neighbouring molecules result in the formation of dimers, while the silver(I) complex shows polymerization associated with the O atoms of three distinct deprotonated ligands (L^?). Thus, the structure of the Ag complex can be considered as a coordination polymer consisting of a one‐dimensional linear chain, constructed by carboxylate bridging groups, running parallel to the b axis. Neighbouring polymeric chains are further bridged by Ag—C monohapto contacts, resulting in a 2D framework. Fingerprint analysis of the Hirshfeld surfaces show that O…H/H…O hydrogen bonds are responsible for the most significant contacts in the crystal packing of HL and AgL, followed by the H…H and O…C/C…O interactions. The Ag…Ag, Ag…O/O…Ag and Ag…C/C…Ag interactions in the Hirshfeld surface represent 12.1% of the total interactions in the crystal packing. Studies of the interactions of the compounds with human serum albumin (HSA) indicated that both HL and AgL interact with HSA.     

A new access to polypyrrole‐based functionalized magnetic core‐shell nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles (NP) have found various important applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicine, because they can be manipulated by external magnetic field and can be functionalized on their surface. Although a variety of magnetic core shell NP are known present research focuses on new NP with better properties (reduced toxicity, high colloidal and chemical stability, wide scope of application) and more straightforward and reproducible syntheses. In this work, we report the synthesis of azido‐functionalized polypyrrole (PPy)‐based superparamagnetic core shell NP by surface initiated polymerization wherein miniemulsion technique have been applied in this field for the first time. The new NP are attractive for biomedical applications because the PPy is biocompatible, the shell can easily be functionalized by Cu‐catalyzed click‐reaction as shown by the introduction of biotin and the material exhibits superparamagnetic behavior. The surface initiated polymerization is carried out at new magnetite NP, which are stabilized by pyrrol‐containing fatty acids. Although these starting NP lack a polymer shell, they show a remarkable stability and thus have the potential for further functionalization. The magnetic NP are characterized by various methods such as FTIR, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, thermal gravimetric analysis, and dynamic light scattering. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Chemoenzymatic method for the preparation of γ-amino alcohols from phenylfuran-based aldehydes; lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of β-hydroxy nitriles

The chemoenzymatic preparation of novel enantiopure phenylfuran-based γ-amino alcohols with N-Boc-protection starting from the corresponding aldehydes is described. Enantiopurity (ee 98–99%) is introduced using Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase as the IMMTLL-T1-1500 preparation with β-hydroxy nitriles in an acylation/alcoholysis sequence in tert-butylmethyl ether.