Study on Steady Shear,Morphology and Mechanical Behavior of Nanocomposites based on Polyamide 6

Nanocomposites of two different grades of polyamide 6 (PA6) with organically modified nanoclay were prepared via melt compounding in a twin‐screw extruder. The rheological behavior, morphology and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied using a capillary rheometer, x‐ray diffraction (XRD), tapping‐mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), and tensile and flexural tests. XRD patterns indicate that the organically modified layered silicate was well dispersed in the PA6 matrix. From the AFM images the surface roughness of PA6 slightly increases with addition of organoclay. The rheological studies showed that the prepared nanocomposites have shear thinning behavior, obeying the power law equation. Addition of organoclay increases the shear stress and shear viscosity. At high rate of shear deformation the viscosity of nanocomposites are comparable to those of the pure polyamides. The activation energy of flow decreases with increasing nanoclay content. For most of the prepared nanocomposites the activation energy values increase with increasing shear rate. The tensile strength and flexural modulus and strength of the nanocomposites increase with increase of nanoclay content, but the extension at yield decreases with increasing clay loading.     

Solanopubamine,a rare steroidal alkaloid from Solanum schimperianum: Synthesis of some new alkyl and acyl derivatives,their anticancer and antimicrobial evaluation

Solanopubamine (3β-amino-5α, 22αH, 25βH-solanidan-23β-ol), a steroidal alkaloid was isolated from the alkaloidal fraction of Solanum schimperianum in significant yield. Its structure was established by IR, positive ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR. The presence of -3β-NH₂ and -23β-OH groups was achieved through methylation, acetylation or coupling with octadecanoic and undec-11-enoic acids to produce six derivatives (2–7). Their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses. Solanopubamine and semi-synthetic analogs are investigated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against a panel of human cancer cell lines and anti-microbial activity. Solanopubamine showed good antifungal activity only against Candida albicans and C. tenuis with MIC of 12.5 μg/mL. Semi-synthesized compounds (2–7) have failed to show anti-tumor and anti-microbial activities.     

Molecular monolayer-mediated control over semiconductor surfaces: evidence for molecular depolarization of silane monolayers on Si/SiO(x)

We show that, for molecules with particularly strong dipoles, their organization into a monomolecular layer can lead to depolarization, something that limits the range over which the substrate's work function can be changed. It appears that, with molecules, depolarization is achieved by changes in orientation and conformation, rather than by charge transfer to the substrate as is common for atomic layers.     

Influence of gamma radiation on the colour strength and fastness properties of fabric using turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) as natural dye

The effect of gamma radiation on the dyeing of cotton with extract of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) powder has been investigated. Cotton fabric and turmeric powder were irradiated to absorbed doses of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 kGy using Co-60 gamma irradiator. Dyeing parameters such as temperature, pH and mordant concentration were optimized. Dyeing was performed using un-irradiated and irradiated cotton with the extracts of un-irradiated and irradiated turmeric powder in order to investigate the effect of radiation treatment on the colour strength of dyed fabric. The reported data of un-irradiated and irradiated fabrics dyed with un-irradiated and irradiated dyes were obtained using the spectraflash SF-650. The colourfastness to light, rubbing- and washing-fastness properties showed that gamma irradiation has improved the dyeing characteristics from fair to good.     

Software utilities for the interpretation of mass spectrometric data of glycoconjugates: application to glycosphingolipids of human serum

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are major components of the outer leaflet of the cell membrane. These lipids are involved in many cell surface events and show disease‐related expression changes. GSLs could thus serve as useful targets for biomarker discovery. The GSL structure is characterized by two entities: a hydrophilic glycan and a hydrophobic ceramide moiety. Both components exhibit numerous structural variations, the combination of which results in a large diversity of GSL structures that can potentially exist. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful tool for high‐throughput analysis of GSL expression analysis and structural elucidation. Yet, the assignment of GSL structures using MS data is tedious and demands highly specialized expertise. SysBioWare, a software platform developed for MS data evaluation in glycomics, was here applied for the MS analysis of human serum GSLs. The program was tuned to provide automated compositional assignment, supporting a variety of glycan and ceramide structures. Upon in silico fragmentation, the masses of predicted ions arising from cleavages in the glycan as well as the ceramide moiety were calculated, thus enabling structural characterization of both entities. Validation of proposed structures was achieved by matching in silico calculated fragment ions with those of experimental MS/MS data. These results indicate that SysBioWare can facilitate data interpretation and, furthermore, help the user to deal with large sets of data by supporting management of MS and non‐MS data. SysBioWare has the potential to be a powerful tool for high‐throughput glycosphingolipidomics in clinical applications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heavy-atom kinetic isotope effects,cocatalysts, and the propagation transition state for polymerization of 1-hexene using the rac-(C(2)H(4)(1-indenyl)(2))ZrMe(2) catalyst precursor

Using 13C NMR techniques, the 12C/13C kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) for the polymerization of 1-hexene catalyzed by rac-(C2H4(1-indenyl)2)ZrMe2 in the presence of four different cocatalysts (tris(pentfluorophenyl)borane, tris(pentafluorophenyl)alane, anilinium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate, and methylalumoxane) have been determined. All cocatalysts yield similar KIEs within experimental uncertainty, with values of 1.009(1) and 1.017(2) at C1 and C2, respectively. Ab initio DFT computational modeling of the polymerization KIE indicates that alkene binding to the catalyst must be reversible, with the majority of the KIE developing in the subsequent migratory insertion reaction.     

Some spectroscopic aspects of electron transfer in ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes

The metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption and emission properties of several ruthenium(II)-bipyridine am(m)ine complexes are compared. The Gaussian deconvolution of the spectra indicates that: (a) the emission MLCT bandwidths are smaller than the absorption bandwidths for the first components of the apparent vibronic progressions; (b) the emission bands decrease in energy and width when a polypyridyl is replaced by an am(m)ine. The observations can be interpreted in terms of a two state model and the perturbation theory-based treatment of the attenuation of the effective reorganizational energy, λ_r =^~ λ_r ^o(1- 4α² _DA), where λ_r ^o is the reorganizational energy corresponding to no mixing between the two electron transfer states and α_DA = (H_DA/E_DA) is the mixing coefficient. Both the solvent and molecular contributions to λ_r are attenuated. The MLCT excited state lifetimes also decrease with am(m)ine substitution, and the non-radiative decay rate constant at 77 K is roughly proportional to the number of am(m)ine moieties coordinated to the ruthenium center.     

Inside-Needle Extraction Method Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Solid-Phase Dynamic Extraction and Preconcentration of Triazine Herbicides Followed by GC–FID Determination

An inside-needle extraction method was developed through thermal polymerization of atrazine-molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on the internal surface of a stainless steel hollow needle, which was oxidized and silylated. The fabricated coating (MIP layer) for the needle was durable and showed very good chemical and thermal stability. It could be mounted on a glass syringe and be directly coupled with gas chromatographic (GC) systems. The parameters being effective on the coating and extraction processes, namely nature of oxidizing agent, silylation time, nature and amount of porogen, template-to-MIP components ratio, polymerization time and temperature, sample volume, flow rate, pH and ionic strength of the sample were investigated and optimized. The extraction needle showed high selectivity as well as a great extraction capacity for triazines. The extraction of atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, ametryn, prometryn and terbutryn using the fabricated extraction needle and followed by GC analysis resulted in detection limits of 2.6, 21, 24, 32, 38 and 42 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The fabricated needle proved to be applicable to the analysis of real samples by comparing the results obtained for non-spiked and spiked samples of grape juice, tap water and groundwater.

     

Using a Natural Surfactant for Synthesize of NiO and CuO Nanostructures via Simple and Fast Microwave Approach

NiO and CuO nanostructures were synthesized successfully via simple and fast microwave approach. Olive oil was chose as surfactant for stabilizing nanostructures. Different parameters such as microwave time and power and olive oil concentration were investigated on product size and morphology. The products were characterized with X-ray diffraction pattern, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry analysis.