Studies of sodium humate/polyacrylamide/clay hybrid hydrogels. I. Swelling and rheological properties of hydrogels

A type of novel hybrid hydrogels from sodium humate (SH), polyacrylamide (PAM), and hydrophilic Laponite clay were prepared using potassium persulfate (KPS) as the initiator and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as the cross-linker. The structures of the hydrogels were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope and FTIR. Their swelling properties, swelling mechanism and rheological properties were also investigated. Experiments show that the composite is heterogeneous in the PAM/SH hydrogel system, while the clay collaborates with SH and improves the network structure of PAM/SH/clay hydrogel. High water-absorbing capability is shown for both hydrogel systems. Han plot proves that clay and SH are compatible with PAM for PAM/SH/clay hydrogels.     

Structure and stability of endohedral X@Si20H20 complexes (X = Li, Na, K, Be, Mg, Ca)

The structure and stability of endohedral X@Si₂₀H₂₀ complexes (X = Li^0/+, Na^0/+, K^0/+, Be^0/2+, Mg^0/2+, Ca^0/2+) have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of density functional theory. It is found that complexes with X = Na^0/+, K^0/+, Mg and Ca^0/2+ are energy minimum structures with X at the cage center in I_h symmetry, while those with X = Li^0/+, Be^0/2+, Mg²⁺ have off-centered structures with X towards one pentagon face in C_5v symmetry. Large electron or charge transfer between the Si₂₀H₂₀ cage and the encapsulated X has been observed.     

Fabrication of beta-Ni(OH)2 and NiO hollow spheres by a facile template-free process

Ni(OH)2 hollow microspheres with beta-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets as the in situ formed building units were fabricated via a novel template-free approach in a strong alkaline solution of glycine, and can be converted into NiO hollow microspheres by a thermal decomposition process.     

Ferrocenyl and permethylferrocenyl cyclic and polyhedral siloxane polymers as mediators in amperometric biosensors

Cyclosiloxane and silsesquioxane-based ferrocenyl and permethylferrocenyl polymers have been used as mediators in amperometric enzyme electrodes for the detection of glucose. Biosensors have been prepared by electrostatically immobilizing the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) on electrodes modified with the polymers. The steady-state amperometric response of the sensors is investigated as a function of the applied potential and substrate concentration. The dependence of the sensors response on the structure of the siloxane-framework and on the presence or not of methyl groups on the ferrocenyl units is discussed.     

Self-assembly and characterization of paclitaxel-loaded N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system

N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system loaded paclitaxel was prepared by using dialysis method. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the modified chitosan was found to be 0.45 mg/ml. Compared with the amount of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan, the paclitaxel loading amount in the system was up to 25% (w/w), depending on both of the solvents used in dialysis and the feed weight ratio of paclitaxel to the derivative. The polymeric micelles forming and loading occurred simultaneously in the dialysis process when ethanol and water were utilized as the solvents for paclitaxel and the polymer, respectively. Paclitaxel-loaded micellar system of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan was characterized by DSC, WXRD and TEM. TEM photograph revealed that paclitaxel existed as the colloid particulates in ethanol before loading and in the cores of the spherical polymeric micelles after loading. The results of DSC and WXRD indicated that paclitaxel was transferred from the crystalline state to amorphous state after loading. The lyophilized powder of micellar system (25% (w/w) loading) could be reconstituted easily in aqueous media even after 2 months storage at 4 degrees C without the change of paclitaxel entrapment and micelle size. The reconstituted solution (2.1 mg paclitaxel/ml) also showed good stability. The dilution with saline may decrease the loading and physical stability based on the dilution times which was related with CMC of the polymer. In vitro tests showed that paclitaxel was slowly released from micellar solution and the release lasted up to 220 h by means of the dialysis method.     

Sorption of 241Am by Aspergillus nigerspore and hyphae

Biosorption of ²⁴¹Am by a fungus A. niger, including the spore and hyphae, was investigated. The preliminary results showed that the adsorption of ²⁴¹Am by the microorganism was efficient. More than 96% of the total ²⁴¹Am could be removed from ²⁴¹Am solutions of 5.6-111 MBq/l (C _o) by spore and hyphaeof A. niger, with adsorbed ²⁴¹Am metal (Q) of 7.2-142.4 MBq/g biomass, and 5.2-106.5 MBq/g, respectively. The biosorption equilibrium was achieved within 1 hour and the optimum pH range was pH 1-3. No obvious effects on ²⁴¹Am adsorption by the fungus were observed at 10-45 °C, or in solutions containing Au³⁺ or Ag⁺, even 2000 times above the ²⁴¹Am concentration. The ²⁴¹Am biosorption by the fungus obeys the Freundlich adsorption equation. There was no significant difference between the adsorption behavior of A. nigerspore and hyphae. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reversible formation of DNA G-quadruplex hairpin dimers from stilbenediether conjugates

Rapid and reversible G-quadruplex hairpin dimer formation is observed for bis(oligonucleotide) conjugates possessing stilbenediether (Sd) linkers connecting two short poly(G) sequences.     

The Enhancement of Efficiency of High-order Harmonic in Intense Laser Field Based on Asymptotic Boundary Conditions and Symplectic Algorithm

Asymptotic boundary condition (ABC) of laser-atom interaction presented recently is applied to transform the initial value problem of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) in infinite space into the initial and boundary value problem in the finite space, and then the TDSE is discretized into linear canonical equations by substituting the symmetry difference quotient for the 2-order partial derivative. The canonical equation is solved by symplectic algorithm. The ground state and the equal weight coherent superposition of the ground state and the first excited state have been taken as the initial conditions, respectively, while we calculate the population of bound states, the evolution of average distance and the high-order harmonic generation (HHG). The conversion efficiency of HHG can be enhanced by initial coherent superposition state and moderate laser intensities     

Synthesis, Characterization and Crystal Structure of a One-dimensional Diamagnetic Metal-radical Complex: [Zn(NIT4py)2(DTB)2(H2O)2]

A novel one-dimensional complex [Zn(NIT4py)₂(DTB)₂(H₂O)₂] (1), with mixed ligands [where NIT4py is 2-(4′-pyridyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide and DTB is 3,5-dinitrobenzoate] has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, i.r., u.v.–vis spectra, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray single crystal diffraction and magnetic measurements. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system and space group Pî. The Zn ^II ion is in a distorted octahedral environment: two nitrogen atoms from two NIT4py entities, two oxygen atoms from two DTB units in the basal plane; and two oxygen atoms from the two water molecules in the axial position. The [Zn(NIT4py)₂(DTB)₂(H₂O)₂] units are connected as a one dimension chain by the intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The complex exhibits intramolecular antiferromagnetic interactions between the two radicals.     

A zwitterion of 1,5‐bis­(2‐hydroxy­benzamido)‐3‐aza­pentane: a two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonding network involving dimers

The title compound, 2‐{N‐[2‐(2‐hydroxy­benzamido)ethyl­ammonio­ethyl]amino­carbon­yl}phenolate, C₁₈H₂₁N₃O₄, crystallizes in a zwitterionic form as a result of inter­molecular proton transfer and possesses a negatively charged phenolate group and a protonated amino group. The 2‐hydroxy­benzamide and 2‐(amino­carbonyl)­phenolate moieties attached to the two ends of the C—C—N—C—C backbone adopt a cis conformation in relation to this backbone. All N‐ and O‐bound H atoms are involved in hydrogen‐bond formation; the zwitterions are first linked into head‐to‐tail dimers, which are further organized into a two‐dimensional network parallel to the crystallographic bc plane.