Analysis of Solvent Effect on Mechanical Properties of Poly(ether ether ketone) Using Nano-indentation

Poly (ether ether ketone)(PEEK) is a high-performance semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer.Exposure of the polymeric surface to solvents can have a strong effect like softening/swelling of polymeric network or dissolution.In this study, nano-indentation analysis was performed to study the effect of acetone on the surface mechanical properties of PEEK using different exposure time.The experiments were performed with a constant loading rate (10 nm/s) to a maximum indentation displacement (1000 nm).A 30-second hold segment was included at the maximum load to account for any creep effects followed by an unloading segment to 80% unloading.The indentation hardness and the elastic modulus were computed as a continuous function of the penetration displacement in the continuous stiffness mode (CSM) indentation.The experimental data showed that the peak load decreased from ~5.2 mN to ~1.7 mN as exposure time in solvent environment increased from 0 to 18 days.The elastic modulus and the hardness of PEEK samples also displayed a decreasing trend as a function of exposure time in the solvent environment.Two empirical models were used to fit the experimental data of hardness as a function of exposure time which showed a good agreement with the experimental values.     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with re-engineered 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid derivative

Dihydroxybenzoic acid was modified to three analogues (M2, M4 and M6). The analogues exhibited specific properties that resulted in enhancement of analyte signal intensity with or without addition of iodine compared to the underivatized parent. Addition of iodine to M2, an ester of dihydroxybenzoic acid that had a terminal double bond in the alkyl chain, resulted in peak intensities comparable to the parent, indicating that iodine interaction across the double bond resulted in enhancement although the exact mechanism is not fully understood. No enhancement on addition of iodine was observed for M4, which had a long alkyl chain that contained no double bonds. The alkyl chain allowed micelle formation in solution, which in turn allowed more uniform analyte-to-matrix mixing. The final analogue combined the long alkyl chain of M4 with the double bond of M2 and exhibited either similar peak intensities to that of dihydroxybenzoic acid or better. Micelle formation in solution was examined using spectroscopy and in the solid by reflective microscopy. The standard deviation from spot to spot was considerably lower relative to dihydroxybenzoic acid (RSD 3.4%vs. 14.2%). Unlike dihydroxybenzoic acid, the novel matrix M6 was able to yield characteristic peaks for analytes such as ubiquitin.     

Simple,Selective, and Sensitive Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Trace Amounts of Nickel（Ⅱ）, Copper （Ⅱ）, Cobalt （Ⅱ）, and Iron （Ⅲ） with a Novel Reagent 2-Pyridine Carboxaldehyde Isonicotinyl Hydrazone

A selective and sensitive reagent of 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde isonicotinyl hydrazone（2-PYAINH） was synthesized and studied for the spectrophotometric determination of nickel, copper, cobalt, and iron in detail. At a pH value of 7.0, 9,0, 9.0, and 8.0, respectively, which greatly increased the selectivity; nickel, copper, cobalt, and iron reacted with 2-PYAINH to form a 1：2 yellow-orange, 1：2 yellow-green, 1：2 yellow and 1：1 yellow complexes, with absorption peaks at 363, 352, 346, and 359 nm, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, Beer＇s law was obeyed over the ranges of 0.01-1.4, 0.01-1.5, 0.01-2.7, and 0.01-5.4 mg/L respectively. The apparent molar absorptivity and Sandell＇s sensitivities were 8.4×10^4, 5.2×10^4, 7.1×10^4, and 3.9×10^4 L·mol^-l·cm^-1, respectively, and 0.00069, 0.0012, 0.00078, and 0.0014 μg·cm2, respectively. The detection limits were found to be 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, and 0.01 mg/L, respectively. The detailed study of various interfering ions to make the method more sensitive was carried out and selective and several real samples were analyzed with satisfactory results.     

Stretching a Curved Surface in a Viscous Fluid

This work is concerned with the viscous flow due to a curved stretching sheet. The similarity solution of the problem is obtained numerically by a shooting method using the Runge-Kutta algorithm. The physical quantities of interest like the fluid velocity and skin friction coefficient are obtained and discussed under the influence of dimensionless curvature. It is evident from the results that dimensionless curvature causes an increase in boundary layer thickness and a decrease in the skin friction coefficient.     

Titanium superoxide: a heterogeneous catalyst for anti-Markovnikov aminobromination of olefins

A new facile procedure for the aminobromination of olefins in high yields has been described using p-toluene sulfonamide (p-TsNH₂) and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as nitrogen and bromine sources, respectively, and titanium superoxide as a truly heterogeneous catalyst. The formation of anti-Markovnikov product exclusively in all the cases studied possibly proceeding through a free radical reaction pathway is remarkable.     

MHD stagnation-point flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid over a stretching surface

The present analysis comprises the steady two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid near a stagnation-point over a stretching surface. The governing non-linear partial differential equation for the flow are reduced to an ordinary differential equation by using similarity transformations. The analytic solution of nonlinear system is constructed in the series form using Homotopy analysis method. Convergence of the obtained series is discussed explicitly. The effects of the sundry parameters on the velocity profile is shown through graphs. The values of skin-friction coefficient for different parameters is tabulated.     

Analytic solution for MHD Transient rotating flow of a second grade fluid in a porous space

This article looks into the unsteady rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an incompressible second grade fluid in a porous half space. The flow is induced by a suddenly moved plate in its own plane. Both the fluid and plate rotate in unison with the same angular velocity. Analytic solution of the governing flow problem is obtained by using Fourier sine transform. Based on the modified Darcy's law, expression for velocity is obtained. The influence of pertinent parameters on the flow is delineated and appropriate conclusions are drawn. Several existing solutions of Newtonian fluid have been also deduced as limiting cases.     

A comparative study of interaction of ibuprofen with biocompatible polymers

In this paper we are reporting the interaction of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen (IBF) with various biocompatible polymers. Being amphiphilic, the drug interacts with the polymers similar to the interaction of surfactants and polymers. Therefore, we have considered the polymer-amphiphile interaction approach using conductimetry. The polymers of different charges (cationic, anionic, and nonionic) have been taken for the study. It was found that the critical aggregation concentration (cac) decreases on increasing the polymer concentrations of cationic as well as nonionic polymers whereas it increases for anionic polymers. The results imply that anionic IBF interacts with cationic and nonionic polymers more strongly as compared to the anionic polymers. A possible anionic-anionic repulsion is responsible for the weak interaction of IBF with anionic polymers. On the other side, the critical micelle concentration (cmc) increases for all polymers which is a usual indication of the interaction between amphiphiles and polymers. Free energies of aggregation (ΔG_agg) and micellization (ΔG_mic) were also computed with the help of degrees of micelle ionization obtained from the specific conductivity - [IBF] isotherms.     

Interaction of Carrier Protein with Potential Metallic Drug Candidate N-Glycoside ‘GATPT’: Validation by Multi-Spectroscopic and Molecular Docking Approaches

Lysozyme is often used as a model protein to study interaction with drug molecules and to understand biological processes which help in illuminating the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug. In the present work, in vitro interaction studies of 1-{(2-hydroxyethyl)amino}-2-amino-1,2-dideoxy-d-glucose triphenyl tin (IV) (GATPT) complex with lysozyme were carried out by employing various biophysical methods such as absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. The experimental results revealed efficient binding affinity of GATPT with lysozyme with intrinsic binding (K_b) and binding constant (K) values in the order of 10⁵ M⁻¹. The number of binding sites and thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS at four different temperatures were also calculated and the interaction of GATPT with lysozyme was found to be enthalpy and entropy driven. The CD spectra revealed alterations in the population of α–helical content within the secondary structure of lysozyme in presence of GATPT complex. The morphological analysis of the complex with lysozyme and lysozyme-DNA condensates was carried out by employing confocal and SEM studies. Furthermore, the molecular docking studies confirmed the interaction of GATPT within the larger hydrophobic pocket of the lysozyme via several non-covalent interactions.     

Reversed‐Phase High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Separation and Determination of 4‐Amino‐azobenzene‐4′,5‐disulfonic Acid and Related Products in Industrial Wastewater Effluents

A simple and rapid reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation and determination of 4‐amino‐azobenzene‐4′,5‐disulfonic acid (AABDS) and its process‐related impurities was developed. The separation was achieved on a μ‐Bondapak C₁₈ column using 0.15 M ammonium sulfate‐acetonitrile (55:45) (v/v) as eluent. A UV‐visible spectrophotometric detector fixed at 386 nm was used both for detection and quantitation. The method was used not only for quality assurance but also for process development and wastewater management of AABDS.