Synergetic effect of ozone and ultrasonic radiation on degradation of chitosan

Under conditions of continuous ozone gas application and constant ultrasonic radiation (UR), chitosan was effectively degraded. The existence of a synergetic effect of ozone and ultrasonic radiation on the degradation of chitosan was demonstrated by means of determination of viscosity-average molecular weight. The efficiency of the ozone and ultrasonic radiation treatment compared with acid hydrolysis on degradation of chitosan was investigated. In addition, the structure of the degraded chitosan was characterized by FT-IR and ¹³C NMR spectral analyses. The whole initial chitosan's monomer structure still existed in the resulting degraded chitosan with different low molecular weight. The pilot study of the chemical stability of the degraded chitosan was carried out. There was no significant change of the total degree of deacetylation (DD) of degraded chitosan compared with the initial chitosan. The combined O₃/UR technique is promisingly suitable for scale-up manufacture of low-molecular-weight chitosan.     

Quantitative assessment of human serum high-abundance protein depletion

The aim of this study is to quantify the effectivity of the depletion of human high-abundance serum and plasma proteins for improved protein identification and disease marker candidate discovery and to assess the risk of concomitant removal of relevant marker proteins. 2-DE and bottom-up shotgun MS combining 2-D capillary chromatography with MS/MS were applied in parallel for the analysis of fractions resulting from the depletion procedure. For many proteins the factors of enrichment by the depletion were obvious allowing their enhanced detection and identification upon high-abundance protein depletion. Nano-liquid chromatography linked MS allowed the efficient identification of several low-abundant proteins that were not identified on the 2-DE gels. Resolving the fractions that were eluted from the matrix upon depletion indicated unspecific binding of disease relevant proteins in plasma samples from acute myocardial infarction patients. The unspecific binding to the depletion matrix of inflammatory markers spiked into the serum was found to depend on the type of capturing agent used. Polyclonal avian antibodies (IgY) displayed the least unspecific binding due to the high immunogenicity of mammalian proteins in avian hosts.     

Construction of symmetric and asymmetric Mo/S/Cu clusters from a cluster precursor [Et4N]2[(edt)2Mo2S2(mu-S)2] (edt = ethanedithiolate)

Treatment of [Et 4N] 2[(edt) 2Mo 2S 2(mu-S) 2] ( 1) (edt = ethanedithiolate) with equimolar CuBr afforded an anionic hexanuclear cluster [Et 4N] 2[(edt) 2Mo 2(mu-S) 3(mu 3-S)Cu] 2.2CH 2Cl 2 ( 2.2CH 2Cl 2). On the other hand, reactions of 1 with 2 equiv of CuBr in the presence of 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)methane (dppm) and pyridine (Py) ligands gave rise to two neutral tetranuclear clusters [(edt) 2Mo 2O 2(mu-S) 2Cu 2(dppm) 2] ( 3) and [(edt) 2Mo 2O(mu 3-S)(mu-S) 2Cu 2(Py) 4] ( 4), respectively. The reaction of 1 with 2 equiv of CuBr followed by the addition of a mixture of dppm and Py (molar ratio = 1:2) yielded another neutral tetranuclear cluster [(edt) 2Mo 2(mu-S) 2(mu 3-S) 2Cu 2(dppm)(Py)].Py ( 5.Py). Compounds 2- 5 have been characterized by elemental analysis, UV-vis spectra, IR spectra, (1)H NMR, and X-ray analysis. The structure of the dianion of 2 can be viewed as having a [Mo 4S 8Cu 2] core in which two chemically equivalent [Mo 2(mu-S) 3(mu 3-S)(edt) 2Cu] (-) anions are linked by two extra Cu-S edt bonds. The molecular structure of 3 may be visualized as being built of one [(edt) 2Mo 2X 2(mu-S) 2] (2-) dianion and one [Cu 2(dppm) 2] (2+) dication that are connected by a pair of M-mu-S edt bonds. Compound 4 is formed by the affiliation of two Cu(I) atoms only at one end of the [(edt) 2Mo 2S 2(mu-S) 2] moiety, connecting with the S t atoms and the S edt atom. Cluster 5.Py can be viewed as being constructed from the addition of one Cu atom onto the incomplete cubanelike [Mo 2S 4Cu] framework through one terminal sulfur and one edt sulfur. Among the four clusters, 3 and 4 have internal mirror symmetry or pseudo mirror symmetry, respectively, while 2 and 5 are asymmetric clusters with racemic formation.     

基于C=O…HN分子间氢键的超分子液晶研究进展

基于C=O…HN的分子间氢键能够自组装形成具有精确分子排列和很好稳定性的有序结构,在设计构造液晶功能材料方面具有重要的不可替代的地位.分子形状是设计小分子热致液晶的一个主要考虑因素,它对液晶态的结构有至关重要的影响.以分子形状与液晶态相互关系为主线,重点介绍了目前文献报道的基于C=O…HN分子间氢键的盘状和楔形分子形成液晶的研究进展,以期为新型液晶材料的分子设计提供一些借鉴.     

Elemental analysis of a single-wall carbon nanotube candidate reference material

A material containing single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with other carbon species, catalyst residues, and trace element contaminants has been prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for characterization and distribution as Standard Reference Material SRM 2483 Carbon Nanotube Soot. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) were selected to characterize the elemental composition. Catalyst residues at percentage mass fraction level were determined with independent NAA procedures and a number of trace elements, including selected rare earth elements, were determined with NAA and ICP–MS procedures. The results of the investigated materials agreed well among the NAA and ICP–MS procedures and good agreement of measured values with certified values was found in selected SRMs included in the analyses. Based on this work mass fraction values for catalyst and trace elements were assigned to the candidate SRM.     

3,8-双乙酰基次卟啉二甲酯的合成

以氯化血红素(Ⅰ)为原料,经过溴化氢-冰醋酸加成反应、羟基亲核取代反应和无水氯化氢催化酯化反应制得3,8-双-(1-羟基乙基)次卟啉二甲酯(Ⅲ),然后通过琼斯试剂氧化反应制备了3,8-双乙酰基次卟啉二甲酯(Ⅳ)。 考察了血红素与溴化氢-冰醋酸饱和溶液反应过程中温度和时间对3,8-双-(1-羟基乙基)次卟啉二甲酯(Ⅲ)产率的影响;改进了酯化反应的实验条件;选用了廉价易得、选择性较好的羟基选择性氧化剂。 实验结果表明,当反应温度为35 ℃、反应时间为25 h时,血卟啉(Ⅱ)的产率最高,为98.5%;当催化剂为无水氯化氢时产物(Ⅲ)的产率最高,为72.1%;使用琼斯试剂做氧化剂使实验成本大大降低。 通过1H NMR、MS和IR测试技术对产物结构进行了表征。     

Isoconversional kinetics of degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone used as a matrix for ammonium nitrate stabilization

Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) has been applied to measure the kinetics of the thermal degradation of virgin polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and a phase stabilized PVP–ammonium nitrate (AN) material. The PVP–AN samples have been prepared by using 20 wt.% of AN and PVP of three different molecular weights. Virgin PVP undergoes a major mass loss in the region 380–550 °C leaving a small amount of nonvolatile residue. The application of an advanced isoconversional method to the respective degradation process demonstrates that its effective activation energy increases from 70 kJ mol⁻¹ to a plateau value at 250–300 kJ mol⁻¹, which is independent of the molecular weight. The PVP–AN materials lose spontaneously 20% of their mass on heating above the glass transition temperature of the PVP matrix (160–180 °C). After the escape of AN, the remaining PVP matrix degrades in the same temperature region as virgin PVP, however, the effective activation energy of this degradation is 150–200 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Layered zinc hydroxide salts: delamination, preferred orientation of hydroxide lamellae, and formation of ZnO nanodiscs

Herein, we report our analysis of the surface modification of polystyrene (PS) when treated under ambient conditions with a common biological buffer such as phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or aqueous solutions of the ionic constituents of PBS. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used for the analysis because the resultant spectra are very sensitive to minor changes in the chemical and structural properties of PS films. In addition, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy was applied to characterize the surface modifications of PS. Treatment with PBS resulted in the most significant chemical and structural surface modifications of the PS films, as compared with each of the solutions of the constituents of PBS, which were tested separately. A multistep mechanism for the wet modification of PS is discussed. We postulate that the observed surface modifications are the result of photo-oxidation/reduction, swelling, and conformational changes and re-arrangement of the polymer chain. The resultant surface modifications could be similar to those produced by commonly used dry processes such as plasma treatments and electron, ion or ultraviolet irradiation. We found that the modifications that occurred in PBS were more stable than those initiated by dry processes. The formation of active groups on the surface of PS can be controlled by adsorption of bovine serum albumin or thermal annealing of PS before PBS treatment. This approach provides a simple and efficient method for the surface modification of PS for biomedical applications.     

In vivo degradation behavior of Ca-deficient hydroxyapatite coated Mg-Zn-Ca alloy for bone implant application

In present paper, an in vivo study was carried out on uncoated and calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (Ca-def HA) coated Mg-Zn-Ca alloy to investigate the effect of Ca-def HA coating on the degradation behavior and bone response of magnesium substrate. Magnesium alloy rods were implanted into rabbit femora and evaluated during 24 weeks implantation. The characterization of both implants indicates that in vivo degradation of the Ca-def HA coating and magnesium substrate occurs almost simultaneously, and in vivo valid life of the coating is about 8 weeks, after that the degradation rate of the coated implants increases obviously. The main reasons for the Ca-def HA coating degradation can be attributed to its reaction with body fluid and the substitution of Mg²⁺ ions in Ca-def HA. Histopathological examinations show that the Ca-def HA coating has good osteoconductivity and is in favor of the formation of more new bone on the surface of magnesium alloy. So the Ca-def HA coating could not only slow down in vivo degradation of magnesium alloy but also improve its bone response.     

Preparation of poly(methyl methacrylate) grafted hydroxyapatite nanoparticles via reverse ATRP

Surface-initiated reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (reverse ATRP) technical was successfully employed to modify hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The peroxide initiator moiety for reverse ATRP was covalently attached to the HAP surface through the surface hydroxyl groups. Reverse ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) from the initiator-functionalized HAP was carried out, and the end bromide groups of grafted PMMA initiated ATRP of MMA subsequently. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to confirm the grafting and to characterize the nanoparticle structure. The grafted PMMA gave HAP nanoparticles excellent dispersibility in MMA monomer. As the amount of grafted PMMA increased, the dispersibility of surface-grafted HAP and the compressive strength of HAP/PMMA composites were improved.