Modeling the nanoscratching of self-healing materials

We use computational modeling to determine the mechanical response of crosslinked nanogels to an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip that is moved through the sample. We focus on two-dimensional systems where the nanogels are interconnected by both strong and labile bonds. To simulate this system, we modify the lattice spring model (LSM) to extend the applicability of this method to a broader range of elastic materials. Via this modified LSM, we model each nanogel as a deformable particle. We utilize the Bell model to describe the bonds between these nanogel particles, and subsequently, simulate the rupturing of bonds due to the force exerted by the moving indenter. The ruptured labile bonds can readily reform and thus can effectively mend the cavities formed by the moving AFM tip. We determine how the fraction of labile bonds, the nanogel stiffness, and the size and velocity of the moving tip affect the self-healing behavior of the material. We find that samples containing just 10% of labile bonds can heal to approximately 90% of their original, undeformed morphology. Our results provide guidelines for creating reconfigurable materials that can undergo self-repair and thereby withstand greater mechanical stress under everyday use.     

Development of a 3-body:many-body integrated fragmentation method for weakly bound clusters and application to water clusters (H2O)(n = 3-10, 16, 17)

A 3-body:many-body integrated quantum mechanical (QM) fragmentation method for non-covalent clusters is introduced within the ONIOM formalism. The technique captures all 1-, 2-, and 3-body interactions with a high-level electronic structure method, while a less demanding low-level method is employed to recover 4-body and higher-order interactions. When systematically applied to 40 low-lying (H(2)O)(n) isomers ranging in size from n = 3 to 10, the CCSD(T):MP2 3-body:many-body fragmentation scheme deviates from the full CCSD(T) interaction energy by no more than 0.07 kcal mol(-1) (or <0.01 kcal mol(-1) per water). The errors for this QM:QM method increase only slightly for various low-lying isomers of (H(2)O)(16) and (H(2)O)(17) (always within 0.13 kcal mol(-1) of the recently reported canonical CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ energies). The 3-body:many-body CCSD(T):MP2 procedure is also very efficient because the CCSD(T) computations only need to be performed on subsets of the cluster containing 1, 2, or 3 monomers, which in the current context means the largest CCSD(T) calculations are for 3 water molecules, regardless of the cluster size.     

Efficient syntheses of 3-phosphorylquinolin-4-ones and 3-phosphoryl-1,8-naphthyridin-4-ones

A series of 3-diethoxyphosphorylquinolin-4-ones and 3-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,8-naphthyridin-4-ones containing various substituents at N-1 and C-7 was synthesized in a four-step reaction sequence starting from readily available ethyl 2-chlorobenzoates or ethyl 2-chloronicotinates and diethyl methylphosphonate. Selected quinolinone and naphthyridinone products were transformed into free mono and diacids.     

Application of different modes of thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry for the separation and detection of large and small biomolecules

Biomolecules are widespread throughout the world. A biomolecule is any organic molecule produced by a living organism, including large polymeric molecules such as proteins, polysaccharides and nucleic acids. Many sample preparation techniques are used in biomolecule analysis; the method selected depends on the complexity of the sample, the nature of the matrix and the analytes, and the analytical technique available. This review covers the current state of knowledge on thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry for qualitative analysis of biomolecules. In the first part of the paper the reader will gain useful information to avoid some problems about performing various modes of thin-layer chromatography combined with mass spectrometry experiments and in the second part he will find useful information for application of these techniques for separation, detection, and qualitative investigation of structures and quantitative determination of biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, amino acids, DNA, RNA, and lipids.     

Application of ultra-performance columns in high-performance liquid chromatography for determination of albendazole and its metabolites in turkeys

Methods for determination of albendazole (ALB), albendazole sulfoxide (SOX) and albendazole sulfone (SON) in turkey blood plasma, using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection, were developed. Moreover, comparison of HPLC columns with ultra‐performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) columns was performed. Albendazol was administered orally in 5‐week‐old birds (n = 18) at a dose of 25 mg/kg b.w. Accuracy and precision of the developed method were satisfactory and stability studies showed acceptable variation (below 15%) in ALB, SOX and SON concentrations when the samples were stored at –75°C for 15 days. UPLC® columns gave higher peaks from typical HPLC columns retaining high quality of analysis. Pharmacokinetic analysis indicated quick elimination of ALB from turkey blood plasma. The mean residence time of SON was at least two times longer than that of SOX and four times longer than that of ALB. The elimination half‐lives for ALB, SOX and SON were 0.7 ± 0.27, 5.37 ± 6.03, 9.17 ± 5.12 h, respectively. The obtained results indicate that the described method allows for precise determination of albendazole and its metabolites in turkey plasma. Moreover, using UPLC columns in HPLC apparatus results in higher sensitivity as compared with the classical HPLC columns. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of volatile organic compounds in human breath for Helicobacter pylori detection by SPME-GC/MS

Helicobacter pylori living in the human stomach release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be detected in expired air. The aim of the study was the application of breath analysis for bacteria detection. It was accomplished by determination of VOCs characteristic for patients with H. pylori and the analysis of gases released by bacteria in suspension. Solid-phase microextraction was applied as a selective technique for preconcentration and isolation of analytes. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used for the separation and identification of volatile analytes in breath samples and bacterial headspace. For data calculation and processing, discriminant and factor analyses were used. Endogenous substances such as isobutane, 2-butanone and ethyl acetate were detected in the breath of persons with H. pylori in the stomach and in the gaseous mixture released by the bacteria strain but they were not identified in the breath of healthy volunteers. The canonical analysis of discrimination functions showed a strong difference between the three examined groups. Knowledge of substances emitted by H. pylori with the application of an optimized breath analysis method might become a very useful tool for noninvasive detection of this bacterium.     

Modern chromatographic and electrophoretic measurements of antidepressants and their metabolites in biofluids

Depression is one of the most frequently occurring psychiatric conditions affecting the economic and social functioning of people all over the world. There are a few classes of drugs commonly used to treat patients with depression disorders. Therapeutic drug monitoring of antidepressants provides the possibility to reduce side effects and optimize the treatment of patients with depression. Hence, there is a need to develop reliable analytical methods for the determination of these agents in biological fluids. Moreover, an important part of understanding the mechanisms of action of these medicines is also associated with the recognition of the metabolites' function because of their potential influence on therapeutic benefits and/or adverse effects. Some of them possess the same primary activity as their parent compounds and may contribute to the therapeutic efficacy whereas the biochemical actions of other metabolites may be different from that of the parent drug. In this review, several validated high-performance liquid chromatographic, gas chromatographic and capillary electrophoretic methods for quantification of antidepressants and their metabolites in biofluids are compared. In addition, the review covers areas such as mechanism of actions, structure-activity relationships and metabolism of the cited antidepressants.     

Synthesis and photochemical characteristics of novel tribenzoporphyrazines possessing peripherally annulated tetrahydrodiazepine and diazepine rings

Novel tribenzoporphyrazines possessing peripherally annulated tetrahydrodiazepine and diazepine rings were synthesized and characterized, and the substituent effects on their absorption spectra in various solvents and on singlet oxygen generation were studied. Solvatochromic effects of tribenzoporphyrazines dissolved in a range of protic and aprotic solvents were evaluated by monitoring the changes in the UV-Vis spectra. The correlation between the Q-band shift towards longer wavelengths and the refractive index of the solvent indicated that the solvatochromic effects are mainly a result of solvation rather than coordination processes. The potential photosensitizing activity of novel tribenzoporphyrazines was evaluated by measuring the ability of singlet oxygen production, which is the result of the interaction between an activated photosensitizer and oxygen. This experiment proves promising photosensitizing activity of novel styryldiazepinotribenzoporphyrazine, which is an efficient singlet oxygen generator with a Φ_Δ value of 0.44, although this value is a little lower than that of zinc phthalocyanine.     

On the homeomorphism groups of manifolds and their universal coverings

Let H _c (M) stand for the path connected identity component of the group of all compactly supported homeomorphisms of a manifold M. It is shown that H _c (M) is perfect and simple under mild assumptions on M. Next, conjugation-invariant norms on H _c (M) are considered and the boundedness of H _c (M) and its subgroups is investigated. Finally, the structure of the universal covering group of H _c (M) is studied.     

Strong Central Limit Theorem for isotropic random walks in {\mathbb{R}^d}

We prove an optimal Gaussian upper bound for the densities of isotropic random walks on ${\mathbb{R}^d}$ in spherical case (d ?? 2) and ball case (d ?? 1). We deduce the strongest possible version of the Central Limit Theorem for the isotropic random walks: if ${\tilde S_n}$ denotes the normalized random walk and Y the limiting Gaussian vector, then ${\mathbb{E} f(\tilde S_{n}) \rightarrow \mathbb{E} f(Y)}$ for all functions f integrable with respect to the law of Y. We call such result a ??Strong CLT??. We apply our results to get strong hypercontractivity inequalities and strong Log-Sobolev inequalities.