Application of complexation high-speed counter-current chromatography in the separation of 5-hydroxyisoflavone isomers from Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC

A novel separation technique of complexation high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using copper ion as a complexation agent was first developed to isolate 5-hydroxyisoflavone isomers from Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. According to the partition coefficient and separation factor, the two-phase solvent system composed of light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:5:3:5, v/v) and copper nitrate (0.10mol/L in the lower phase) was selected. 9.2mg isoirigenin (1), 46.4mg irigenin (2) and 1.2mg 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-6,3',5'-trimethoxyisoflavone (3) were simultaneously purified from 100mg crude extract by HSCCC with the purity of 95.06%, 96.98% and 93.69%, respectively. As evidenced by the results of UV-Vis spectroscopy, the stoichiometries of the copper ion with the three 5-hydroxyisoflavones were all 1:1 and their chelating power was 3>2>1. Those explained the complexation HSCCC behavior. It is the first report that includes the practical application of complexation HSCCC and explanation of its chromatographic behavior.     

Porous cobalt hydroxide film electrodeposited on nickel foam with excellent electrochemical capacitive behavior

A new porous cobalt hydroxide film has been successfully electrodeposited on nickel foam from 0.1?M cobalt nitrate electrolyte at ?1.0?V vs. SCE without adding any surfactant. The microstructure and surface morphology of prepared cobalt hydroxide films were physically characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that an interlaced network structure was obtained. The effects of electrodeposition time, deposition potential, and different substrates on the specific capacitance and microstructure of prepared porous ??-Co(OH)₂ thin film were systematically studied. The results indicate that the film deposited on nickel foam at ?1.0?V has excellent electrochemical properties. A maximum specific capacitance of 1473?F?g^?1 could be achieved at a current density of 2?A?g^?1.     

Binary optical encoding strategy for multiplex assay

A binary optical encoding strategy is proposed to meet the increasing requirements of multiplex bioassays. As illustrated in fluorescence immunodetection of multiplex antigen molecules, photonic crystal beads (PCBs) and quantum dots (QDs) can be used as biomolecular microcarriers and fluorescence labels, respectively. The categories of antigens were deciphered by the binary combination of optical spectra of PCBs and QDs as independent encoding elements. The number of categories that could be detected was theoretically m × n, where m and n represent the number of encoding PCBs and QDs, respectively. In addition, the concentrations of the antigens were determined by the fluorescence signals of the QDs. Results of sensitivity analysis indicate that a low-level detection of 58 pg/mL was achieved. Because of the special nanostructures of these two encoding elements, the binary encoding strategy demonstrated its superiority and practicability when compared with single PCB or QD encoding. This supports potential application in multiplex bioassays.     

Characterization of porcine skin as a model for human skin studies using infrared spectroscopic imaging

Porcine skin is often considered a substitute for human skin based on morphological and functional data, for example, for transdermal drug diffusion studies. A chemical, structural and temporal characterization of porcine skin in comparison to human skin is not available but will likely improve our understanding of this porcine skin model. Here, we employ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic imaging to holistically measure chemical species as well as spatial structure as a function of time to characterize porcine skin as a model for human skin. Porcine skin was found to resemble human skin spectroscopically and differences are elucidated. Cryo-prepared fresh porcine skin samples for spectroscopic imaging were found to be stable over time and small variations are observed. Hence, we extended characterization to the use of this model for dynamic processes. In particular, the capacity and stability of this model in transdermal diffusion is examined. The results indicate that porcine skin is likely to be an attractive tool for studying diffusion dynamics of materials in human skin.     

Bacterial adhesion inhibition of the quaternary ammonium functionalized silica nanoparticles

Quaternary ammonium compounds have been considered as excellent antibacterial agents due to their effective biocidal activity, long term durability and environmentally friendly performance. In this work, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyldimethyloctadecylammonium chloride as a quaternary ammonium silane was applied for the surface modification of silica nanoparticles. The quaternary ammonium silane provided silica surface with hydrophobicity and antibacterial properties. In addition, the glass surface which was coated with the surface modified silica nanoparticles presented bacterial growth inhibition activity. For comparison of bacterial growth resistance, hydrophobic silane (alkyl functionalized silane) modified silica nanoparticles and pristine silica nanoparticles were prepared. As a result of bacterial adhesion test, the quaternary ammonium functionalized silica nanoparticles exhibited the enhanced inhibition performance against growth of Gram-negative Escherichia coli (96.6%), Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (98.5%) and Deinococcus geothermalis (99.6%) compared to pristine silica nanoparticles. These bacteria resistances also were stronger than that of hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles. It could be explained that the improved bacteria inhibition performance originated from the synergistic effect of hydrophobicity and antibacterial property of quaternary ammonium silane. Additionally, the antimicrobial efficacy of the fabricated nanoparticles increased with decreasing size of the nanoparticles.     

A gold-based nanobeacon probe for fluorescence sensing of organophosphorus pesticides

A nanomaterials-based novel molecular beacon has attracted growing attentions in fluorescent assays as many nanomaterials possess excellent quenching efficiency. In this work, a gold-based nanobeacon probe was established to detect organophosphorus pesticides for the first time. The constructed gold-based nanobeacon acted as a signal indicator and could display the decreasing of the intensity in the presence of targets, which competitively bound to single strand DNA. To achieve a high sensitive probe, some parameters including solution pH, temperature and reaction time were investigated and optimized. The gold-based nanobeacon probe assay was proved to be rapid and sensitive to achieve a detection limit of 0.035 μM for isocarbophos, 0.134 μM for profenofos, 0.384 μM for phorate and 2.35 μM for omethoate, respectively. The prepared nanobeacon effectively reduced the background and improved the detection sensitivity and selectivity. The probe is stable, easy to operate and does not need sophisticated instruments. These features makes the probe feasible for screening trace organophosphorus pesticides in real samples.     

Thermal stability and flame-retardancy mechanism of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/boehmite nanocomposites

The thermal stability and flame-retardancy properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/nano-boehmite composites (PET/AlOOH) were investigated using composites prepared in situ. Combustion behaviour and flammability were assessed using the limiting oxygen index (LOI) and cone calorimetry. The incorporation of nano-boehmite increased the LOI of PET from 18 to greater than 25. Cone calorimetry showed that the heat release rates and total smoke production values of PET/AlOOH composites were significantly less than those of pure PET. It also showed that PET/AlOOH combustion produced greater quantities of char residues than did PET combustion. These results showed that nano-boehmite is an effective flame-retardant for PET. Combustion residues were examined using scanning electron microscopy, indicating that nano-boehmite addition produced consistent, thick char crusts. Thermal stability and pyrolysis were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, showing that thermal stability of PET/AlOOH was superior to that of pure PET, fewer cracking products were produced in nanocomposite combustion than in pure PET combustion, and pyrolysis of the flame-retardant polyester was incomplete. We propose a condensed phase mechanism for the PET/AlOOH flame-retardancy effect.     

Ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction of rutin from Chinese medicinal plants

An ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction (ILMAE) method has been developed for the effective extraction of rutin from Chinese medicinal plants including Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Bail. (S. chinensis) and Flos Sophorae. A series of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different anions were investigated. The results indicated that the characteristics of anions have remarkable effects on the extraction efficiency of rutin and among the investigated ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([bmim]Br) aqueous solution was the best. In addition, the ILMAE procedures for the two kinds of medicinal herbs were also optimized by means of a series of single factor experiments and an L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal design. Compared with the optimal ionic liquid-based heating extraction (ILHE), marinated extraction (ILME), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (ILUAE), the optimized approach of ILMAE gained higher extraction efficiency which is 4.879 mg/g in S. chinensis with RSD 1.33% and 171.82 mg/g in Flos Sophorae with RSD 1.47% within the shortest extraction time. Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with ultraviolet detection was employed for the analysis of rutin in Chinese medicinal plants. Under the optimum conditions, the average recoveries of rutin from S. chinensis and Flos Sophorae were 101.23% and 99.62% with RSD lower than 3%, respectively. The developed approach is linear at concentrations from 42 to 252 mg L⁻¹ of rutin solution, with the regression coefficient (r) at 0.99917. Moreover, the extraction mechanism of ILMAE and the microstructures and chemical structures of the two researched samples before and after extraction were also investigated. With the help of LC-MS, it was future demonstrated that the two researched herbs do contain active ingredient of rutin and ionic liquids would not influence the structure of rutin.