The effects of fluorescent probes on model membrane organization: photo-induced lipid sorting and soft structure formation

Liquid crystalline phase behaviour in model cell membranes prepared in-vitro has generated an enormous amount of interest in recent years and the phase diagrams of various bio-mimetic mixtures explored. Most recently photo-induced oxidation in fluorescently labelled membranes has been shown to influence these phase diagrams and can be used to generate interesting membrane-based geometries based on differences in membrane composition. In this article the different phases observed in model membranes will be discussed. Methods used to study these systems and recent developments in photo-stimulated phase changes are described along with areas for future investigation.     

Expression of Cholera Toxin B–Lumbrokinase Fusion Protein in Pichia pastoris—The Use of Transmucosal Carriers in the Delivery of Therapeutic Proteins to Protect Rats Against Thrombosis

Cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) has been widely used to facilitate antigen delivery by serving as an effective mucosal carrier molecule for the induction of oral tolerance. However, whether CTB can be used as a transmucosal carrier in the delivery of not only vaccines but also therapeutic proteins has not been widely studied. Thus, we investigate here the concept of receptor-mediated oral delivery of lumbrokinase (LK) proteins which is an important fibrinolytic enzyme derived from earthworm. CTB and LK, separated by a furin cleavage site, was expressed via Pichia pastoris. The activity and proper folding of recombinant protein in yeast were confirmed by Western blot analysis, fibrin plate assays, and G_M1-ganglioside ELISA. Following oral administration of recombinant protein, the thrombosis model of rats and mice revealed that the oral treatment of rCTB–LK has a more significant anti-thrombotic effect on animals compared with rLK. It is possible to conclude that CTB can successfully enhance its fusion protein LK to be absorbed. The use of CTB as a transmucosal carrier in the delivery of not only vaccines but also therapeutic proteins was supported.     

Microfluidic-directed assembly of uniform fluorescent supraballs from CdTe nanocrystals-loaded acrylosilane microemulsion

We report herein a facile approach of fabricating fluorescent supraballs from CdTe nanocrystals (NCs)-loaded acrylosilane microemulsion by a simple microfluidic strategy. Initially, core–shell acrylosilane microemulsion with poly(methylmethacrylate-co-butylacrylate-co-vinyltri(isopropoxy)silane) (poly (MMA-co-BA-co-VPS)) as the core and poly(methylmethacrylate-co-butylacrylate-co-vinyltri(isopropoxy)silane-co-acrylamide) (poly(MMA-co-BA-co-VPS-co-AM)) as the shell were synthesized by differential microemulsion polymerization. Subsequently, CdTe NCs were assembled with these acrylosilane microemulsion particles in the presence of N′-(ethylcarbonimidoyl)-N, N-dimethylpropane-1, 3-diaminemonohydrochloride. Eventually, we fabricated uniformly distributed fluorescent supraballs using the as-prepared CdTe-loaded acrylosilane microemulsion as the discontinuous phase, and methylsilicone oil as the continuous phase by means of a microfluidic device. These fluorescent supraballs display unique colors and favorable fluorescence, which might be useful in optoelectronic applications, such as fluorescent switches, light-emitting diode displays, and illuminations.     

Enhanced orientation of PEO polymer chains induced by nanoclays in electrospun PEO/clay composite nanofibers

Polymer fibers composed of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and nanoclay were fabricated by electrospinning. The morphology of the composite nanofibers was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), which showed aligned nanoclays in the fibers. Polarized Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed that the PEO chains in the composite fibers exhibit a higher degree of orientation than that in PEO nanofibers containing no nanoclay. It is believed that spatial confinement is present in the electrospun nanofibers, which results in the enforcement of the mutual restriction. The anisotropic hierarchical nanostructure may have potential applications in optics, mechanical materials, and biomedical materials for cell culture.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of three carbamate pesticides in water samples

A simple, rapid and efficient method, dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), has been developed for the determination of three carbamate pesticides (methomyl, carbofuran and carbaryl) in water samples. In this extraction process, a mixture of 35 µL chlorobenzene (extraction solvent) and 1.0 mL acetonitrile (disperser solvent) was rapidly injected into the 5.0 mL aqueous sample containing the analytes. After centrifuging (5 min at 4000 rpm), the fine droplets of chlorobenzene were sedimented in the bottom of the conical test tube. Sedimented phase (20 µL) was injected into the HPLC for analysis. Some important parameters, such as kind and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, extraction time and salt addition were investigated and optimised. Under the optimum extraction condition, the enrichment factors and extraction recoveries ranged from 148% to 189% and 74.2% to 94.4%, respectively. The methods yielded a linear range in the concentration from 1 to 1000 µg L^?1 for carbofuran and carbaryl, 5 to 1000 µg L^?1 for methomyl, and the limits of detection were 0.5, 0.9 and 0.1 µg L^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSD) for the extraction of 500 µg L^?1 carbamate pesticides were in the range of 1.8–4.6% (n = 6). This method could be successfully applied for the determination of carbamate pesticides in tap water, river water and rain water.     

纸张物证的分析检验方法

纸张是犯罪现场经常出现的物证。对纸张物证的分析检验在案件侦破中有着重要作用,因此,法庭科学工作者一直对纸张物证的检验方法进行深入研究。随着法庭科学实验室的发展,纸张的检验技术得到了长足的进步,由传统的单一仪器分析方法发展到现在多种分析技术的联合应用,从而建立了快速、有效、灵敏的检验方法,为涉及纸张物证的案件侦破做出了显著的贡献。本文对纸张物证的分析检验方法进行了介绍和讨论。     

Preparation of aluminum nitride fibers from alumina gel fibers by nitridation in ammonia

Aluminum nitride (AlN) fibers were prepared from alumina gel fibers and by heat-treatment in ammonia. The influence of silica on the formation of AlN was investigated. It was shown that phase transformation of alumina (γ-Al₂O₃ to α-Al₂O₃) and nitridation reaction took place above 1,100 °C for pure alumina fiber. The addition of a small amount of silica (3 wt%) suppressed the formation of α-Al₂O₃ and preserved the highly reactive metastable alumina, and nitridation rate was enhanced. Fine grain (~20 nm) AlN fibers were obtained for pyrolysis at 1,150–1,250 °C for 3 h in ammonia, and AlN was identified as the sole crystalline phase.     

Validity of Inorganic Nanosheets as an Efficient Planar Substituent To Enhance the Enantioselectivity of Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis

Effectively enhancing the enantioselectivity is a persistent challenge in heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis. Here, the validity of a layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanosheet as an efficient planar substituent to enhance the enantioselectivity has been investigated theoretically; first in vanadium‐catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols, and then in zinc‐catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol addition. The computational predication is further confirmed experimentally in zinc‐catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol addition by controlling the location of catalytic sites.     

Rational Design of an “OFF–ON” Phosphorescent Chemodosimeter Based on an Iridium(III) Complex and Its Application for Time‐Resolved Luminescent Detection and Bioimaging of Cysteine and Homocysteine

Biothiols, such as cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy), play very crucial roles in biological systems. Abnormal levels of these biothiols are often associated with many types of diseases. Therefore, the detection of Cys (or Hcy) is of great importance. In this work, we have synthesized an excellent “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent chemodosimeter 1 for sensing Cys and Hcy with high selectivity and naked‐eye detection based on an Ir^III complex containing a 2,4‐dinitrobenzenesulfonyl (DNBS) group within its ligand. The “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent response can be assigned to the electron‐transfer process from Ir^III center and C^N ligands to the DNBS group as the strong electron‐acceptor, which can quench the phosphorescence of probe 1 completely. The DNBS group can be cleaved by thiols of Cys or Hcy, and both the ³M LCT and ³LC states are responsible for the excited‐state properties of the reaction product of probe 1 and Cys (or Hcy). Thus, the phosphorescence is switched on. Based on these results, a general principle for designing “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent chemodosimeters based on heavy‐metal complexes has been provided. Importantly, utilizing the long emission‐lifetime of phosphorescence signal, the time‐resolved luminescent assay of 1 in sensing Cys was realized successfully, which can eliminate the interference from the short‐lived background fluorescence and improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio. As far as we know, this is the first report about the time‐resolved luminescent detection of biothiols. Finally, probe 1 has been used successfully for bioimaging the changes of Cys/Hcy concentration in living cells.