Sodium Phytate-Incorporated Gelatin-Silicate Nanoplatelet Composites for Enhanced Cohesion and Hemostatic Function of Shear-Thinning Biomaterials

Shear-thinning biomaterials (STBs) based on gelatin-silicate nanoplatelets (SNs) are emerging as an alternative to conventional coiling and clipping techniques in the treatment of vascular anomalies. Improvements in the cohesion of STB hydrogels pave the way toward their translational application in minimally invasive therapies such as endovascular embolization repair. In the present study, sodium phytate (Phyt) additives are used to tune the electrostatic network of SNs-gelatin STBs, thereby promoting their mechanical integrity and facilitating injectability through standard catheters. We show that an optimized amount of Phyt enhances storage modulus by approximately one order of magnitude and reduces injection force by ≈58% without compromising biocompatibility and hydrogel wet stability. The Phyt additives are found to decrease the immune responses induced by SNs. In vitro embolization experiments suggest a significantly lower rate of failure in Phyt-incorporated STBs than in control groups. Furthermore, the addition of Phyt leads to accelerated blood coagulation (reduces clotting time by ≈45% compared to controls) due to the contributions of negatively charged phosphate groups, which aid in the prolonged durability of STB in coagulopathic patients. Therefore, the proposed approach is an effective method for the design of robust and injectable STBs for minimally invasive treatment of vascular malformations.     

Praseodymium Doped Dysprosium Oxide-carbon Nanofibers Based Voltammetric Platform for the Simultaneous Determination of Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine

A platform based on praseodymium doped dysprosium oxide-carbon nanofibers modified electrode was constructed for the simultaneous determination of SY and TAR. SEM, EDX and XRD techniques were utilized for characterizing the proposed material. The voltammetric behaviour and properties of SY and TAR were gradually improved at materials in order from CNFs to Dy₂O₃−CNFs and Pr₆O₁₁@Dy₂O₃−CNFs. The working range was found to be 1.0×10⁻⁹–3.5×10⁻⁸ M and 1.5×10⁻⁹–4.0×10⁻⁸ M for SY and TAR, respectively. The value of LOD was 3.12×10⁻¹⁰ M and 5.35×10⁻¹⁰ M for SY and TAR, respectively. The platform (Pr₆O₁₁@Dy₂O₃−CNFs/GCE) was successfully applied to the electroanalysis of samples.     

New functional chiral P-based ligands and application in ruthenium-catalyzed enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones

Metal-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation is a powerful and practical method for the reduction of ketones to produce the corresponding secondary alcohols, which are valuable building blocks in the pharmaceutical, perfume, and agrochemical industries. Hence, a series of novel chiral β-amino alcohols were synthesized by chiral amines with regioselective ring opening of (S)-propylene oxide or reaction with (S)-(+)-2-hydroxypropyl p-toluenesulfonate by a straightforward method. The chiral ruthenium catalytic systems generated from [Ru(arene)(μ-Cl)Cl]₂ complexes and chiral phosphinite ligands based on amino alcohol derivatives were employed in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones to give the corresponding optically active alcohols; (2S)-1-{[(2S)-2-[(diphenylphosphanyl)oxy]propyl][(1R)-1-phenylethyl]amino}propan-2-yldiphenylphosphinitobis[dichol-oro(η⁶-benzene)ruthenium(II)] acts an excellent catalyst in the reduction of α-naphthyl methyl ketone, giving the corresponding alcohol with up to 99% ee. The substituents on the backbone of the ligands were found to have a remarkable effect on both the conversion and enantioselectivity of the catalysts. Furthermore, this transfer hydrogenation is characterized by low reversibility under these conditions.     

Microencapsulated oleic–capric acid/hexadecane mixture as phase change material for thermal energy storage

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Thermal energy storage systems provide efficiency in order to have better utilization of energy sources while protecting the environment. Thermal...     

Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Microwave and Conventional Heated Almond Shells Using Phosphoric Acid Activation

Activated carbon production from almond shells using phosphoric acid activation agent was achieved by applying both conventional heating and microwave heating in succession. The morphology and surface properties of activated carbon were studied using thermogravimetric and differential gravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. A surface area of 1128 m²/g was achieved by optimizing the microwave power (500?W), microwave application time (15?minutes), conventional heating time (45?minutes), conventional heating temperature (500?°C), and the phosphoric acid:sample ratio (0.7:1). An adsorption capacity of methylene blue of 148?mg/g and an iodine value of 791?mg/g was obtained for the prepared activated carbon.     

Sensitive Flow-Injection Electrochemical Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide at a Palladium Nanoparticle-Modified Pencil Graphite Electrode

A novel flow-injection amperometric method was proposed for the sensitive and enzymeless determination of hydrogen peroxide based on its electrocatalytic reduction at a palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode in a laboratory-constructed electrochemical flow cell. Cyclic voltammograms of the unmodified and modified electrodes were recorded in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer containing 0.10 M KCl at a scan rate of 50?mV s^?1 for the investigation of electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide at the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode. Cyclic voltammograms of the pretreated pencil graphite electrode revealed an irreversible oxidation peak and a weak reduction peak of hydrogen peroxide at +1100?mV and –450?mV vs. an Ag/AgCl/KCl saturated reference electrode. However, the reduction of hydrogen peroxide was observed at –100?mV with an increase in current in the cyclic voltammograms of the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode compared to the unmodified electrode. These results indicate that the palladium nanoparticle-modified pretreated pencil graphite electrode exhibits efficient electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. A linear concentration range was obtained between .01 and 10.0?mM hydrogen peroxide with a detection limit of 3.0 µM from flow injection amperometric current–time curves recorded in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer at –100?mV and a 2.0?mL min^?1 flow rate. The novelty of this work relies on its use of a laboratory-constructed flow cell constructed for the pencil graphite electrode using these inexpensive, disposable, and electrochemically reactive modified electrodes for the amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide in a flow injection analysis system.     

Effect of reactive and nonreactive surface modifications and compatibilizer use on mechanical and flame-retardant properties of linear low-density polyethylene filled with huntite and hydromagnesite mineral

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the current study, huntite and hydromagnesite (HH) was used as flame-retardant additive in linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The effect of HH...     

Ru(III), Cr(III), Fe(III) complexes of Schiff base ligands bearing phenoxy Groups: Application as catalysts in the synthesis of vitamin K3

Two polydentade Schiff base ligands and their Ru(III), Cr(III) and Fe(III) complexes were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis (C, H, N), UV/Vis, FT IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, LC–MS/MS, molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility techniques. The absorption bands in the electronic spectra and magnetic moment measurements verified an octahedral environment around the metal ions in the complexes. The thermal stabilities were investigated using TGA. The synthesized complexes were used in the catalytic oxidation of 2-methyl naphthalene (2MN) to 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone; vitamin K₃, menadione, 2MNQ; using hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid and sulfuric acid. L₁-Fe(III) complex showed very efficient catalytic activity with 58.54% selectivity in the conversions of 79.11%.     

Electrochemical DNA biosensor for the determination of benzo[a]pyrene–DNA adducts

The metabolites of the environmental pollutant, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are carcinogenic and mutagenic agents. Thus, the determination of additional products (adducts) of the interaction between DNA and BaP, attracts great interest in cancer research.

In this study, the determination of interaction between BaP and calf thymus double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was performed by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and constant current chronopotentiometric stripping analysis (PSA) in connection with carbon paste electrode (CPE) or glassy carbon electrode (GCE). As a result of interaction of BaP with dsDNA, the signal obtained from the oxidation of guanine decreased and a new adduct signal at a more positive potential appeared. This new peak is attributed to the formation of an adduct from the interaction of guanine with BaP. The chemically prepared anti-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE) adduct by using iodine oxidation was analyzed and the electrochemical signal of the adduct was observed. When the dsDNA modified GCE was immersed into various concentrations of BaP solution, the oxidation peak of guanine decreased and the adduct peak increased with the increasing BaP concentration. The partition coefficient was also obtained from the peak of BaP with dsDNA. The results revealed that the formation of adducts could be determined by using electrochemical DNA biosensors, which are fast, simple and cost-effective devices. Furthermore, this study promises that the analysis of other important adducts would benefit from the introduction of electrochemical methods.     

In vitro study on the competitive reactions between arsenite and selenite with glutathione

Exposure to arsenic can cause various biological effects by increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Selenium acts as a beneficial element by regulating ROS and limiting heavy metal uptake and translocation. There are studies on the interactive effects of As and Se in plants, but the antagonistic and synergistic effects of these elements based on their binding to glutathione (GSH) molecules have not been studied yet. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antagonistic or synergistic effects of As and Se on the binding mechanism of Se and As with GSH at pH 3.0, 5.0, or 6.5. The interaction of As and Se in Se(SG)₂ + As(III) or As(SG)₃ + Se(IV) binary systems and As(III) + Se(IV) + GSH ternary system were examined depending on their ratios via liquid chromatography diode array detector/electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-DAD/MS) and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The results showed that the formation of As(GS)₃ was not detected in the As(III) + Se(SG)₂ binary system, indicating that As(III) did not affect the stability of Se(SG)₂ complex antagonistically. However, in the Se(IV) + As(SG)₃ binary system, the addition of Se(IV) to As(SG)₃ affected the stability of As(SG)₃ antagonistically. Se(IV) reacted with GSH, disrupting the As(SG)₃ complex, and consequently, Se(SG)₂ formation was measured using LC-MS/DAD. In the Se(IV) + GSH + As(III) ternary system, Se(SG)₂ formation was detected upon mixing As(III), Se(IV), and GSH. The increase in the concentration of As(III) did not influence the stability of the Se(SG)₂ complex. Additionally, Se(IV) has a higher affinity than As(III) to the GSH, regardless of the pH of the solution. In both binary and ternary systems, the formation of the by-product glutathione trisulfide (GSSSG) was detected using LC-ESI-MS/MS.