Microengineered PEG Hydrogels: 3D Scaffolds for Guided Cell Growth

Designing three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds for selective manipulation of cell growth is of high relevance for applications in regenerative medicine. Especially, scaffolds with oriented morphologies bear high potential to guide the restoration of specific tissues. The fabrication of hydrogel scaffolds that support long‐term survival, proliferation, and unidirectional growth of embedded cells is presented here. Parallel channel structures are introduced into the bulk hydrogels by uniaxial freezing, providing stable, and uniform porosity suitable for cell invasion (pore diameters of 5–15 µm). In vitro assessment of the scaffolds with murine fibroblasts (NIH L929) shows a remarkable unidirectional movement along the channels, with the cells traveling several millimeters through the hydrogel.

     

Response surface optimisation applied to a headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in water matrices

A new method for the simultaneous determination of 12 volatile organic compounds (trans-1,2-dichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, benzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethene, toluene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, ethylbenzene, m-, p-, o-xylene) in water samples by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS–SPME)–gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was described, using a 100?µm PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) coated fibre. The response surface methodology was used to optimise the effect of the extraction time and temperature, as well as the influence of the salt addition in the extraction process. Optimal conditions were extraction time and temperature of 30?min and ?20°C, respectively, and NaCl concentration of 4?mol?L^?1. The detection limits were in the range of 1.1?×?10^?3–2.3?µg?L^?1 for the 12 volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Global uncertainties were in the range of 4–68%, when concentrations decrease from 250?µg?L^?1 down to the limits of quantification. The method proved adequate to detect VOCs in six river samples.     

Structural studies of cyclic ureas: 3. Enthalpy of formation of barbital

A thermochemical and thermophysical study has been carried out for crystalline barbital [5,5′-diethylbarbituric acid]. The thermochemical study was made by static bomb combustion calorimetry, from which the standard () molar enthalpy of formation of the crystalline barbital, at T = 298.15 K, was derived as −(753.0 ± 1.8) kJ · mol⁻¹. The thermophysical study was made by differential scanning calorimetry over the temperature interval (265 to 470) K. A solid–solid phase transition was found at T = 413.3 K. The vapour pressures of the crystalline barbital were measured at several temperatures between T = (355 and 377) K, by the Knudsen mass-loss effusion technique, from which the standard molar enthalpy of sublimation, at T = 298.15 K was derived as (117.3 ± 0.6) kJ · mol⁻¹. The combination of the experimental results yielded the standard molar enthalpy of formation of barbital in the gaseous phase, at T = 298.15 K, as −(635.8 ± 1.9) kJ · mol⁻¹. This value is compared and discussed with our theoretical calculations by several methods (Gaussian-n theories G2 and G3, complete basis set CBS-QB3, density functional B3P86 and B3LYP) by means of atomization and isodesmic reaction schemes.     

Ester-additives as inhibitors of the gelification of soybean oil methyl esters in biodiesel

Biodiesel from soybean oil transesterified with methanol (TSO) becomes viscous and gelifies at low storage temperatures which makes it difficult to pump. To inhibit this behaviour bulky esters were added to reduce the crystallization temperature of TSO and to modify the rate of conversion of crystallized mass. This rate was found to follow a JMAK kinetic model. The Avrami’s parameter n was constant for TSO, while two n values were found for TSO-additive solutions, meaning that the additives first slowed down the rate of nucleation and, later on as enough nuclei had been formed, crystal growth rate dominated and the previous crystallization rate was recovered.     

Validation of a screening method for the simultaneous identification of fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins (A,E, B<Subscript>1</Subscript>, B<Subscript>2</Subscript> and B<Subscript>6</Subscript>) in an aqueous micellar medium of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride

Simultaneous determination of the fat-soluble vitamins A and E and the water-soluble vitamins B₁, B₂ and B₆ has been carried using a screening method from fluorescence contour graphs. These graphs show different colour zones in relation to the fluorescence intensity measured for the pair of excitation/emission wavelengths. The identification of the corresponding excitation/emission wavelength zones allows the detection of different vitamins in an aqueous medium regardless of the fat or water solubility of each vitamin, owing to the presence of a surfactant which forms micelles in water at the used concentration (over the critical micelle concentration). The micelles dissolve very water insoluble compounds, such as fat-soluble vitamins, inside the aggregates. This approach avoids the use of organic solvents in determining these vitamins and offers the possibility of analysing fat- and water-soluble vitamins simultaneously. The method has been validated in terms of detection limit, cut-off limit, sensitivity, number of false positives, number of false negatives and uncertainty range. The detection limit is about g L^–1. The screening method was applied to different samples such as pharmaceuticals, juices and isotonic drinks.     

Thermal analysis and X-ray studies of chiral ferroelectric liquid crystalline materials and their binary mixtures

Summary Thermal properties of a homologous series of ferroelectric liquid crystals S-(-)-[4-(2-n-alkoxy-propionyloxy)]biphenyl-4'-[n-alkoxy-(3,5-dimethyl)]benzoate have been investigated by polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The mesophases were identified and confirmed by X-ray too. Three binary mixtures were prepared from the individual homologues. In one of the mixtures (Mix1), the ferroelectric SmC* phase has broadened and became enantiotropic. This mesophase remained monotropic in the other two mixtures (Mix2, Mix3). The chiral nematic N* phase did not appear in Mix1, but remained monotropic for the other two mixtures. Two molecular parameters, the layer spacing and the average intermolecular distance have been calculated from the X-ray results for the homologues and their mixtures. An intercalated tail-to-tail packing of molecules was found both in the single compounds and their mixtures resulting in the layer spacing about half of the molecular length of the single compounds.     

Arithmetical conditions on the conjugacy vector of a finite group

We get new properties of the numbersr _G(xN) = |{Cl _G (g)|Cl _G (g)∩xN ≠ Ø} (whereG is a finite group andN is a normal subgroup ofG) that are useful in the analysis of the classification of the finite groups according to the number of conjugacy classes.