Preparation of nano-hydroxyapatite/poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactide) biocomposite microspheres

Nano-hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) composite microspheres with relatively uniform size distribution were prepared by a solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w) emusion solvent evaporation method. The encapsulation of the HA nanopaticles in microshperes was significantly improved by grafting PLLA on the surface of the HA nanoparticles (p-HA) during emulsion process. This procedure gave a possibility to obtain p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with uniform morphology and the encapsulated p-HA nanoparticle loading reached up to 40 wt% (33 wt% of pure HA) in the p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres. The microstructure of composite microspheres from core-shell to single phase changed with the variation of p-HA to PLLA ratios. p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with the diameter range of 2–3 μm were obtained. The entrapment efficiency of p-HA in microspheres could high up to 90 wt% and that of HA was only 13 wt%. Surface and bulk characterizations of the composite microspheres were performed by measurements such as wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).     

Effect of graft polymer prepared by living radical polymerisation on electro-optical properties of polymer dispersed liquid crystal

In this study, a graft polymer matrix prepared by living radical polymerisation had been incorporated into polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs). The electro-optical properties of the PDLCs were investigated. The results showed that the length and density of graft chain had a great influence on the memory effect of the PDLCs. Low-driving-voltage and weak-memory-effect PDLCs could easily be obtained with a graft polymer matrix.     

Ways of formulating wind speed in heat convection significantly influencing pavement temperature prediction

This paper investigates the influences of wind speed and of heat-convection coefficient on the temperature prediction of a slab. Numerical calculation of a slab temperature found that wind speed varies the slab temperature in a degree of 2–10 °C. More varying degrees occur at midday and in sunny day but less, at midnight and in a cloud day. These degrees also depend on the used heat-convection coefficients, which have different values in different models. Special emphases are paid to unearth the correlation between different heat convection coefficients and find the best alternative in the slab-temperature prediction.     

An extensive review of studies on mycobacterium cell wall polysaccharide-related oligosaccharides – part II: Synthetic studies on complex arabinofuranosyl oligosaccharides carrying other functional motifs and related derivatives and analogs

Abstract

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM), mannosyl LAM (ManLAM), and mycolyl-arabinogalactan (mAG) are unique and ubiquitous cell wall constituents of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the bacterium causing tuberculosis (TB). It has been well documented that LAM, ManLAM, and mAG play an important role in mycobacterial infections and in the elicitation of specific immune responses against M. tb in the host. Therefore, LAM, ManLAM, mAG, and related molecules are attractive targets for the development of novel TB diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Accordingly, numerous research groups have spent great effort on the chemical synthesis and biological studies of mycobacterium-related arabinofuranosyl oligosaccharides and their mimetics and conjugates. This article provides an extensive review about the progresses in this area. Due to the page limit of this journal, the review is published in three parts separately. This part (Part II) is focused on the synthesis of various ManLAM and mAG analogs containing mannose, galactose or galactosamine units and other natural structural motifs, as well as arabinofuranosyl oligosaccharide C-analogs and other derivatives.     

Synthesis and characterization of polythiophene block copolymer and fullerene derivative capable of “three‐point” complementary hydrogen bonding interactions and their application in bulk‐heterojunction solar cells

We report the synthesis and characterization of a polythiophene block copolymer (P4) selectively functionalized with diaminopyrimidine moieties and a thymine tethered fullerene derivative (F1). Self‐assembly between P4 and F1 through “three‐point” complementary hydrogen bonding is studied by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. A large Stern‐Volmer constant (K_SV) of 1.2 × 10⁵ M^?1 is observed from fluorescence quenching experiments, revealing strong complexation between these two components. Solar cells employing P4 and F1 at different weight ratios as active layers are fabricated and tested; corresponding thin film morphologies are studied in detail by optical imaging and atomic force microscopy. Correlations between polymer complex structures, film morphologies, and device performance are discussed. Thermal stability of benchmark poly(3‐hexylthiophene) bulk heterojunction solar cells is found to be improved by the addition of a few weight percent of P4/F1 complexes as compatibilizers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3339–3350     

A simple and efficient method for the allylation of heteroarenes catalyzed by PdCl2

The PdCl₂-catalyzed allylation of heteroarenes is presented. Various heteroarenes including O-, N-, and S-based ones were allylated efficiently with a rich range of allylic acetates in the presence of only 2 mol % of PdCl₂, without the need of bases/acids, additives, and external supporting ligands. In addition, the reactions were carried out under mild and simple conditions just by stirring the two reactants and catalyst in CH₂Cl₂ at 60 °C. Moreover, the by-product produced was non-toxic acetic acid. Thus, the method presented in this work provides a general, clean, and operationally simple approach for the functionalization of heteroarenes. Finally, a preliminary mechanistic study suggested that the Pd(II) may be reduced in situ by the heteroarenes to Pd(0), which serves as the active metal center to catalyze the following allylations of heteroarenes via a Tsuji–Trost pathway.