Effective conversion of cellobiose and glucose to sorbitol using non-noble bimetallic NiCo/HZSM-5 catalyst

The tandem hydrolysis and hydrogenation of saccharides into sorbitol is an especially attractive reaction in the conversion of biomass. Here, an economical and efficient bimetallic catalyst for the transformation of glucose and cellobiose into sorbitol is reported. Non-precious metal based catalysts such as NiCo, Ni, and Co, were prepared via modified impregnation method, and NiCo/HZSM-5 showed superior performance for the synthesis of sorbitol (86.9% from cellobiose, 98.6% from D-glucose). Various characterizations, such as Brunner-Emmet-Teler (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confirmed that NiCo alloy formed and highly dispersed in NiCo/HZSM-5 catalyst. The high performance of fabricated catalyst would be attributed to the formation of nickel-cobalt alloy over HZSM-5 zeolite surface. High temperature and H₂ pressure were favorable for the tandem hydrolysis and hydrogenation reaction. Besides, the reaction pathway was also proposed based on the kinetics study. Cellobitol was detected as the intermediate in the reaction mixture. Furthermore, in the catalytic stability study, it was found that active metal species of NiCo/HZSM-5 were stable. The deactivation of catalyst would be due to the covering of acidic sites over NiCo/HZSM-5.     

Absorption,transportation and distribution of imidacloprid in maize

The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is a very important insecticide in maize cultivation in China. A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate its absorption, transportation and distribution in maize plants. Plants were exposed to an aqueous solution of imidacloprid at five concentrations (10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL). The residues of imidacloprid in different plant parts were determined by using a quick and effective method of high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the average recoveries ranged from 85.16% to 102.23%, with relative standard deviations of 1.82–4.40% at three different spiking levels in each different matrix. The half-lives of imidacloprid in hydroponic maize water were from 5.33 to 11.55 days. The concentrations in roots, stems and leaves were from 5.61 to 7.48, 1.03 to 4.03 and 0 to 30.57 μg/mL after 6 h–7 days exposed in 10 μg/mL imidacloprid aqueous solutions, respectively. Our study showed that imidacloprid was strongly absorbed by roots and mainly accumulated in leaves. Quantity ratio and bioconcentration factors (BCFs) were also used to estimate the distribution and accumulation in maize. The values of quantity ratios were the highest in the leaves while lowest in the root after 7 days treatments, with the ranking of leaves > stem > root. The BCFs were 0.63–1.66, 0.52–0.92 and 3.20–6.78 in root, stem and leaves, respectively. These results demonstrated that the exposed time and imidacloprid application concentrations were also the main factors influencing the absorption. This study enhances our understandings of the uptake and distribution of imidacloprid in maize plants.     

基于一维[H_2Mo_4O_(14)]_n~(2n-)链和双吡啶双酰胺配体的三维锌配合物的合成、结构与性能

选择柔性的双吡啶双酰胺配体N,N'-双(3-吡啶甲酰胺基)-1,2-乙烷(3-bpye)、钼酸铵和氯化锌在水热条件下自组装制备了一个基于一维[H_2Mo_4O_(14)]_n~(2n-)链的三维锌配合物[Zn(3-bpye)(H_2Mo_4O_(14))(H_2O)_2],并通过元素分析、红外光谱、热重分析等技术手段研究了配合物的结构,并利用X射线单晶衍射分析进行了晶体结构表征。结构解析揭示标题配合物是三斜晶系,P-1空间群,晶胞参数a=0.61310(3)nm,b=1.04750(6)nm,c=1.06540(6)nm,α=78.5540(10)°,β=77.5350(10)°,γ=89.9050(10)°,V=0.65420(6)nm~3,M_r=981.47,D_c=2.491 g/cm~3,Z=1,F(000)=468,R_1=0.0290,ωR_2=0.1068。标题配合物中,金属锌离子连接一维[H_2Mo_4O_(14)]_n~(2n-)链形成一种二维无机双金属层[Zn(H_2Mo_4O_(14))]_n,相邻的层间又通过双齿配体3-bpye连接形成三维CdSO_4拓扑的骨架结构。配合物表现出强的荧光发射特性,而且其在紫外光照下对亚甲基蓝和罗丹明B均有明显的催化降解活性。     

An RNA polymerase I-driven human respiratory syncytial virus minigenome as a tool for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drug

Human respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) is an important pediatric pathogen of lower respiratory tract worldwide. No vaccines and antiviral drugs are available. Herein the use of an RNA polymerase I-driven RSV minigenome for analyzing RSV replication and screening anti-RSV drugs was investigated. The RNA polymerase I(Pol I) was used to transcribe RSV minigenome from the constructed plasmid, designated p HM-RSV-Gluc, of minigenome c DNA which comprised trailer region, gene start sequence(GS), reverse complementary copy of Gaussia luciferase(Gluc) gene, gene end sequence(GE), and leader region in the direction of 5'–3'end and was flanked by promoter and terminator of Pol I. The expression of Gluc was confirmed in p HM-RSV-Gluc transfected HEp-2 cells following RSV infection and had the characteristics of dose-dependent, which provided a rapid, sensitive, and quantitative method for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drugs.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of some novel <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-arylpyrazole derivatives bearing the sulfonamide moiety as cytotoxic agents

A series of novel N-arylpyrazole derivatives (4a–4l) bearing the sulfonamide moiety were synthesized by the condensation reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with 4-hydrazinylbenzenesulfonamide. The structures of the obtained compounds were established on the basis of elemental (C, H, and N) and spectral analysis (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ESIMS, and FT-IR). These compounds were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against three human tumor cell lines: MCF-7, Hela, and A549. The results showed that most of the obtained compounds exhibited promising cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines with low IC₅₀ values. The pyrazole derivative 4k, bearing two methoxy groups on the 3-position and 4-position of the phenyl ring, was the most effective one. Its inhibition of cell growth of MCF-7 cells was better than that of celecoxib and cisplatin.     

Ion association in lithium metaborate solution: a Raman and ab initio insight

Ion association and hydration clusters in aqueous lithium borate solution are extremely important to understand some extraordinary properties of lithium borates. In the present work, polyborate distribution in aqueous LiBO₂ solution was investigated through Raman and thermodynamics equilibrium analysis. Geometry and stability of hydrated clusters LiB(OH)₄(H₂O)_n up to n = 8 were calculated at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Three different types of ion association, namely, contact ion pairs (CIP), solvent-shared ion pairs (SIP) and solvent separated ion pairs (SSIP) were obtained; characteristics of all of these stable configurations were determined, and the most stable hydrated clusters were chosen. Then the mechanisms of ion aggregation and crystal nuclei formation in the LiB(OH)₄ solution were proposed. The tight four-hydrated sphere of Li⁺ makes it difficult for the dehydrated form of its first hydration sphere to from a CIP, which is the passible reason that lithium borate always has a large super-saturation degree.     

Comparison of hydrothermal,hydrotropic and organosolv pretreatment for improving the enzymatic digestibility of bamboo

Pretreatment is the crucial step to disrupt the recalcitrant structure of lignocellulosic biomass for improving the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency. Typically, hydrothermal, organosolv and hydrotropic pretreatments are environmentally benign and effective methods. In this work, effects of hydrothermal, organosolv and hydrotropic pretreatments on improving enzymatic hydrolysis of bamboo were comprehensively compared. Hydrotropic pretreatment was more effective in removal lignin and xylose from bamboo fiber cell wall. However, the surface coverage by lignin and extractives were dramatically displaced during organosolv pretreatment as investigation by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. After pretreatments, the crystallinity of cellulose in pretreated substrates has a significant reduction, and pores were exposed on fiber surface. The residual content of acetyl and phenolic groups in hydrotropic pretreated substrates is lower than organosolv pretreated substrates. In order to deeply assess the delignification of pretreatments, the isolated lignins obtaining from pretreatments process were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy also. It was revealed that hydrotropic lignin contained more phenolic hydroxyl group and syringyl units than organosolv lignin. Compared to hydrothermal and organosolv pretreatment, cellulase adsorption capacity of pretreated substrates was notably improved by hydrotropic pretreatment, which indicating the better enzyme accessibility of cellulose. Eventually, the maximum glucose yield was obtained from hydrotropic pretreated substrates.     

Effective transformation of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural catalyzed by fluorine anion-containing ionic liquid modified biochar sulfonic acids in water

This article first discloses that the fluorine anion-containing ionic liquids-functionalized biochar sulfonic acids (BCSA-IL-F_1–3s), which were simply synthesized by an ionic exchange of 1-trimethoxysilylpropyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (IL-Cl) grafted on the BCSA with CF₃SO₃H (HF₁), HBF₄ (HF₂), HPF₆ (HF₃), respectively, can efficiently catalyze cellulose hydrolysis into reducing sugars (RSs) and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in water under microwave irradiation. This process provides a very high catalysis efficiency (turnover numbers, 4.03–4.89) at mild temperature (80 °C) for 3 h, but also possesses an excellent repeatability. More outstandingly, they can achieve much higher HMF yields (12.70–27.94%) compared to the IL-Cl-functionalized BCSA catalyst (HMF yields are lower than 0.1%) under the same reaction conditions. This is likely because the introduction of IL-F_1–3s groups can significantly improve the accessibility, acidity and thermal stability of BCSA’s SO₃H sites, as supported by evidence from a solid ³¹P NMR spectrum and thermogravimetric analysis. It is proposed that the good selectivity for HMF perhaps originates from a co-catalysis action of the IL-F_1–3s and SO₃H groups on BCSA-IL-F_1–3s in the further conversion of RSs to HMF.     

平菇多糖稀溶液行为的研究

平菇多糖属生物高分子, 文章对平菇多糖稀溶液性质进行了研究。实验系采用Elias浊点滴定法测定平菇多糖溶液的θ组成, 用快速动态膜渗透计和粘度法测定平菇多糖的数均分子量、维利系数与分子链的构型参数。探讨其在θ条件下的分子形态及用Tung函数法等处理分级数据, 从而获得平菇多糖的分子量分布。