Tuning the porosity of triangular supramolecular adsorbents for superior haloalkane isomer separations

Distillation-free separations of haloalkane isomers represents a persistent challenge for the chemical industry. Several classic molecular sorbents show high selectivity in the context of such separations; however, most suffer from limited tunability or poor stability. Herein, we report the results of a comparative study involving three trianglamine and trianglimine macrocycles as supramolecular adsorbents for the selective separation of halobutane isomers. Methylene-bridged trianglamine, TA, was found to capture preferentially 1-chlorobutane (1-CBU) from a mixture of 1-CBU and 2-chlorobutane (2-CBU) with a purity of 98.1%. It also separates 1-bromobutane (1-BBU) from a mixture of 1-BBU and 2-bromobutane (2-BBU) with a purity of 96.4%. The observed selectivity is ascribed to the thermodynamic stability of the TA-based host–guest complexes. Based on single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, a [3]pseudorotaxane structure (2TA⊃1-CBU) is formed between TA and 1-CBU that is characterized by an increased level of noncovalent interactions compared to the corresponding [2]pseudorotaxane structure seen for TA⊃2-CBU. We believe that molecular sorbents that rely on specific molecular recognition events, such as the triangular pores detailed here, will prove useful as next generation sorbents in energy-efficient separations.

The methylene-bridged trianglamine (TA) can selectively capture 1-chlorobutane from a mixture of 1-chlorobutane and 2-chlorobutane due to the greater thermodynamic stability of the TA-based host–guest complex formed with 1-chlorobutane.     

Influence of Cyclic Stretch on Mechanical Properties of Endothelial Cells

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of cyclic stretch on the mechanical properties of Endothelial cells (ECs). Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells were cultured and exposed to uniaxial cyclic stretch with two amplitude (10 % and 20 %) and different time duration (2, 4, 6 and 8 h). Micropipette aspiration technique coupled with the generalized Maxwell model was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the ECs. Effects of cyclic stretch on the cell cytoskeleton were analyzed by actin filament staining. Results confirmed viscoelastic behavior of ECs in the micropipette aspiration experiment. The present results confirmed that increased stretch amplitude and duration led to lower deformation and further stiffening of ECs. Actin fibers were shown to align and bundle in response to the cyclic stretch. The results were compared statistically among test and control groups and it was concluded that cyclic loading causes significant alteration in mechanical properties of ECs due to remodeling of cell cytoskeleton.     

Limits of locally–globally convergent graph sequences

The colored neighborhood metric for sparse graphs was introduced by Bollobás and Riordan [BR11]. The corresponding convergence notion refines a convergence notion introduced by Benjamini and Schramm [BS01]. We prove that even in this refined sense, the limit of a convergent graph sequence (with uniformly bounded degree) can be represented by a graphing. We study various topics related to this convergence notion such as: Bernoulli graphings, factor of i.i.d. processes and hyperfiniteness.     

Hollow-Fiber-Based LPME as a Reliable Sampling Method for Gas-Chromatographic Determination of Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Valproic Acid in Rat Plasma

A sensitive and simple method based on two-phase liquid-phase microextraction in porous hollow fiber followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection was developed for quantification and pharmacokinetic study of valproic acid (VPA, an antiepileptic drug) in rat plasma after oral administration of pure sodium valproate (25 mg kg^?1). Some parameters such as type of organic solvent, pH of sample solution, stirring speed, salt addition, extraction time, and volume of sample that affected extraction efficiency of VPA were optimized. Under optimized microextraction conditions, VPA was extracted with 10 μL 1-octanol from 0.5 mL rat plasma previously diluted with 4.5 mL acidified and salinated water (pH 2) using 1-octanoic acid as internal standard. The limit of detection was 17 ng mL^?1 with linear response over the concentration range of 50–10,000 ng mL^?1 with correlation coefficient higher than 0.998. The developed method was successfully applied to determination of pharmacokinetic parameters such as t _max (peak time in concentration–time profile), C _max (peak concentration in concentration–time profile), t _1/2 (elimination half-life), AUC_0–t (area under the curve for concentration versus time), clearance, and apparent distribution volume in rats following oral administration of VPA.     

Hollow-Fiber-Based LPME as a Reliable Sampling Method for Gas-Chromatographic Determination of Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Valproic Acid in Rat Plasma

A sensitive and simple method based on two-phase liquid-phase microextraction in porous hollow fiber followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection was developed for quantification and pharmacokinetic study of valproic acid (VPA, an antiepileptic drug) in rat plasma after oral administration of pure sodium valproate (25 mg kg⁻¹). Some parameters such as type of organic solvent, pH of sample solution, stirring speed, salt addition, extraction time, and volume of sample that affected extraction efficiency of VPA were optimized. Under optimized microextraction conditions, VPA was extracted with 10 μL 1-octanol from 0.5 mL rat plasma previously diluted with 4.5 mL acidified and salinated water (pH 2) using 1-octanoic acid as internal standard. The limit of detection was 17 ng mL⁻¹ with linear response over the concentration range of 50–10,000 ng mL⁻¹ with correlation coefficient higher than 0.998. The developed method was successfully applied to determination of pharmacokinetic parameters such as t _max (peak time in concentration–time profile), C _max (peak concentration in concentration–time profile), t _1/2 (elimination half-life), AUC_0–t (area under the curve for concentration versus time), clearance, and apparent distribution volume in rats following oral administration of VPA.

     

Optically active poly(amide-imide)/zinc oxide hybrid nanocomposites based on hydroxyphenyl benzamide segments: Compatibility by using 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane coupling agent

In this study, a new series of optically active poly(amide-imide)/zinc oxide hybrid nanocomposites were fabricated by the sonication-assisted method. The compatibility of the organic and inorganic parts was effectively improved by reducing in aggregation of nanoparticles by surface modification using the coupling agent. The coupling agent 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane was selected to improve the compatibility between the polymer matrix and ZnO nanoparticles. Characterizations with FTIR spectroscopy, FE-SEM, X-ray diffraction and AFM confirm the success in synthesis of nanocomposites.     

New cohort of optically active nanostructure poly(amideimide)s: Production and properties

Novel aromatic-aliphatic poly(amide-imide)s containing chiral units in the main chain and hydroxyl benzamide units in the side chain have been obtained from the step-growth polymerization of 3,5-diamino-N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) benzamide(2) with different chiral diacid chlorides(1a-1e).Theoretical calculations were done by means of computational chemistry methods to narrate the stable conformation and orientation of each diacid chloride monomers under reaction conditions.These polymers were characterized by conventional techniques.The resulting polymers show good thermal stability.Other physical properties of polymers including crystallinity,inherent viscosity and morphological characteristics were also studied.     

Exact Solutions of the Dirac Equation for an Electron in a Magnetic Field with Shape Invariant Method

Based on the shape invariance property we obtain exact solutions oI the Dirac equation for an electron moving in the presence of a certain varying magnetic field, then we also show its non-relativistic limit.