Preparation of asymmetrically nanoparticle-supported, monodisperse composite dumbbells by protruding a smooth polymer bulge from rugged spheres

A novel method is proposed to create asymmetrically nanoparticle-supported, monodisperse composite dumbbells. The method consists of the three steps of double soap-free emulsion polymerizations before and after a heterocoagulation. In the first step, soap-free emulsion polymerization was conducted to cover silica cores with cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shells. Then, positively or negatively charged silica nanoparticles were heterocoagulated with the silica-PMMA core-shell particles. In the heterocoagulations, the nanoparticles surface-modified with a cationic silane coupling agent, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, were used as the positively charged ones, and silica nanoparticles without any treatment were used as the negatively charged ones. In the third step, soap-free polymerizations at different pH values were performed to protrude a polystyrene (PSt) bulge from the core-shell particles supporting the charged silica nanoparticles. In the polymerization, the core-shell particles heterocoagulated with the positively charged silica nanoparticles were aggregated in an acidic condition whereas the silica nanoparticles supported on the core-shell particles were dissolved in a basic condition. For the negatively charged silica nanoparticle, a PSt bulge was successfully protruded from the core-shell particle in acidic and neutral conditions without aggregation of the core-shell particles. The protrusion of the PSt bulge became distinctive when the number of heterocoagulated silica nanoparticles per core-shell particle was increased. Additional heterocoagulation experiments, in which positively or negatively charged magnetite nanoparticles were mixed with the asymmetrically nanoparticle-supported composite dumbbells, confirmed direct exposure of silica nanoparticles to the outer solvent phase.     

Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of dibenzophosphole oxides via intramolecular dehydrogenative cyclization

Dibenzophosphole oxides were obtained from secondary hydrophosphine oxides with a biphenyl group by dehydrogenation via phosphine-hydrogen and carbon-hydrogen bond cleavage in the presence of a catalytic amount of palladium(II) acetate, Pd(OAc)(2). By using this reaction, a ladder-type dibenzophosphole oxide could also be synthesized by double intramolecular dehydrogenative cyclization.     

Study of the Optical Properties of CdZnSe/ZnS-Quantum Dot–Au-Nanoparticle Complexes

The interaction of gold nanoparticles (NPs) and semiconductor alloyed CdZnSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) in colloidal solutions is studied. It is shown that the photoluminescence intensity of QDs in a mixture decreases compared to that in the initial QD solution, which is caused by resonance nonradiative energy transfer from QDs to Au NPs in spontaneously formed aggregates. To control the formation of pairs of interacting QDs and Au NPs, we proposed have a method for creating QD–Au NP complexes bound by special molecules—ligands. It is shown that the morphology and optical properties of the samples obtained depend on the method of their preparation, in particular, on the chemical environment of QDs. It is found that the complexes form in the case of addition of hydrophilic Au NPs to hydrophobic QDs and that this almost does not change the optical properties of the latter compared to those of quasi-isolated QDs in colloidal solution.     

Pectinases Secretion by Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Optimization in Solid-State Fermentation and Identification by a Shotgun Proteomics Approach

A sequential design strategy was applied to optimize the secretion of pectinases by a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, from Brazilian sugarcane liquor vat, on passion fruit residue flour (PFRF), through solid-state fermentation (SSF). A factorial design was performed to determine the influence variables and two rotational central composite designs were executed. The validated experimental result was of 7.1 U mL⁻¹ using 50% PFRF (w/w), pH 5, 30 °C for 24 h, under static SSF. Polygalacturonase, pectin methyl esterase, pectin–lyase and pectate–lyase activities were 3.5; 0.08; 3.1 and 0.8 U mL⁻¹, respectively. Shotgun proteomics analysis of the crude extract enabled the identification of two pectin–lyases, one pectate–lyase and a glucosidase. The crude enzymatic extract maintained at least 80% of its original activity at pH values and temperatures ranging from 2 to 8 and 30 to 80 °C, respectively, over 60 min incubation. Results revealed that PFRF might be a cost-effective and eco-friendly substrate to produce pectinases. Statistical optimization led to fermentation conditions wherein pectin active proteins predominated. To the extent of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the synthesis of pectate lyase by S. cerevisiae.