Polycarbonate particles and dye‐labeled particles by miniemulsion polymerization

We describe the synthesis of several different polycarbonate particles by miniemulsion polymerization. The monomers were allylmethyl carbonate (AlMeC), di(ethylene glycol) bisallylcarbonate (DBAC), and 4‐vinyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one [vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC)]. For these polymerizations, higher monomer conversions were obtained with oil‐soluble initiators (azobisisobutyronitrile and benzoyl peroxide) than with a water‐soluble initiator (potassium persulfate). Benzoyl peroxide was particularly effective in yielding particles with a narrow size distribution. Although increasing amounts of a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) led to smaller particles, the choice of the monomer was the major determinant. For example, in polymerization reactions carried out at 85 °C with benzoyl peroxide as the initiator and with otherwise identical recipes, we obtained particle sizes of 181 nm with AlMeC, 296 nm with VEC, and 203 nm with DBAC. Fluorescent particles were synthesized with comonomers based on the benzothioxanthene nucleus. Because the dyes had poor solubility in the monomers, it was necessary to include typically 20 wt % bromobenzene or dichlorobenzene based on the monomer in the miniemulsion reaction mixture. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1999–2009, 2004     

Interactions of membrane-active peptides with thick, neutral, nonzwitterionic bilayers

Alamethicin is a well-studied channel-forming peptide that has a prototypical amphipathic helix structure. It permeabilizes both microbial and mammalian cell membranes, causing loss of membrane polarization and leakage of endogenous contents. Antimicrobial peptide-lipid systems have been studied quite extensively and have led to significant advancements in membrane biophysics. These studies have been performed on lipid bilayers that are generally charged or zwitterionic and restricted to a thickness range of 3-5 nm. Bilayers of amphiphilic diblock copolymers are a relatively new class of membranes that can have significantly different physicochemical properties compared with those of lipid membranes. In particular, they can be made uncharged, nonzwitterionic, and much thicker than their lipid counterparts. In an effort to extend studies of membrane-protein interactions to these synthetic membranes, we have characterized the interactions of alamethicin and several other membrane-active peptides with diblock copolymer bilayers. We find that although alamethicin is too small to span the bilayer, the peptide interacts with, and ruptures, thick polymer membranes.     

The nature of species adsorbed on platinum from SO2 solutions

The present studies have shown that at θ_S<0.9, the species adsorbed on platinum from SO₂ solutions are virtually identical with those obtained from H₂S solutions. The layer at θ_S>0.9 can be explained by the formation of a partial bilayer on top of the first layer wherein 70% of the sites are covered with S (2-site adsorption) and 30% with S (1-site adsorption). It has also been shown that the ‘difficultly reducible’ oxygen referred to by earlier workers is identical with the species formed by exposure of the electrode to SO₂ at potentials above 0.2 V. Evidence for the presence of two forms of ‘difficultly reducible’ oxygen, corresponding to the two forms of chemisorbed sulfur, is presented.     

Studies in gelation of product obtained in the metathesis of sodium silicate with chlorides of iron or chromium

Summary Like the silica gel the hydrogen ion concentration greatly influences the gelation of the product obtained in the metathesis of the chloride of iron and chromium with sodium silicate. Time of gelation is minimum at a certain p_H which shifts towards the acidic side with lowering in the concentration of the metathetic product. The gelation tendency is ascribed to free silica present in it. At high concentration of the metallic chlorides no gelation is possible due to the high peptising capacity of trivalent iron and chromium.

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Zusammenfassung Wie beim Kiesels?ure-Gel hat die Wasserstoffionenkonzentration gro?en Einflu? auf die Gelatinierung der Reaktionsprodukte von Natriumsilikat mit Eisen- und Chromchlorid. Die Erstarrungszeit besitzt für ein bestimmtes p_H ein Minimum, dessen Lage mit abnehmender Konzentration des Reaktionsproduktes nach der S?ureseite wandert. Die Gelatinierungstendenz wird der anwesenden freien Kiesels?ure zugeschrieben. Bei hohen Konzentrationen von Metallchloriden ist keine Gelatinierung m?glich infolge der hohen Peptisierungskraft von dreiwertigem Eisen und Chrom.

     

Synthesis,characterization and structural assessment of nitrato,chloro, bromo,perchlorato, thiocyanato and sulphato mono-(benzoin thiosemicarbazonato) copper(II) complexes

Summary Some copper(II) complexes of the type Cu(HL)X·nH₂O (where H₂L = benzoin thiosemicarbazone; X=NO₃; Cl, Br, SCN, ClO₄ or 1/2SO₄; n=O–2) have been prepared and characterized. All complexes have tetragonally distorted octahedral stereochemistry except the sulphatocomplex which is square pyramidal. The i.r. spectra reveal that HL acts as a monobasic tridentate ligand coordinating through the azine group nitrogen atom, thiocarbonyl sulphur atom and hydroxylic oxygen atom while NO₃, Cl, Br and ClO₄ act as terminal monodentate ligands and SCN and SO₄ act as bidentate bridging ligands. The polycrystalline e.s.r. spectra suggest tetragonal symmetry for the copper(II) ion, involving a dx ²–y² ground state.     

Prediction and Validation of a Druggable Site on Virulence Factor of Drug Resistant Burkholderia cenocepacia**

Burkholderia cenocepacia is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium that causes infections in patients suffering from chronic granulomatous diseases and cystic fibrosis. It displays significant morbidity and mortality due to extreme resistance to almost all clinically useful antibiotics. The bacterial lectin BC2L-C expressed in B. cenocepacia is an interesting drug target involved in bacterial adhesion and subsequent deadly infection to the host. We solved the first high resolution crystal structure of the apo form of the lectin N-terminal domain (BC2L-C-nt) and compared it with the ones complexed with carbohydrate ligands. Virtual screening of a small fragment library identified potential hits predicted to bind in the vicinity of the fucose binding site. A series of biophysical techniques and X-ray crystallographic screening were employed to validate the interaction of the hits with the protein domain. The X-ray structure of BC2L-C-nt complexed with one of the identified active fragments confirmed the ability of the site computationally identified to host drug-like fragments. The fragment affinity could be determined by titration microcalorimetry. These structure-based strategies further provide an opportunity to elaborate the fragments into high affinity anti-adhesive glycomimetics, as therapeutic agents against B. cenocepacia.     

Correlation between the cross-linking and degradation activation energy of cotton fabric treated with chitosan kinetic study by ‘model-free’ multiple heating rate methods

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The different concentrations of chitosan were applied on cotton fabrics using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. The fabric samples were...