Recent Advances on Bismuth-based 2223 and 2212 Superconductors: Synthesis,Chemical Properties,and Principal Applications

This article is focused on principal Bi-containing superconductors. Recent results obtained on Bi-2212, Bi-2223, and related composite materials are discussed. Special attention is paid to various advanced methods of synthesis. Optimization of the superconducting properties by the chemical modifications is considered in terms of most important practical applications.     

Monasnicotinic acid,a novel pyridine alkaloid of the fungus Aspergillus cavernicola: isolation and structure elucidation

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Metal-free,PTSA catalyzed facile synthesis of β-ketoacetal from β-chlorocinnamaldehyde

A toluene solution of β-chlorocinnamaldehyde and dihydroxy alcohols in the catalytic presence of para-toluenesulphonic acid (PTSA) yield the β-ketoacetal in good to outstanding amount. The catalyst (PTSA), first selectively protect the aldehydic group to form the β-chloroacetal and the subsequent dechlorination by H₂O result the β-ketoacetal. Significant transformation was achieved with electron donating substituent attached at the para-position of cinnamaldehyde. The selective formation of β-keto-1,3-acetal was also obtained with a mixture of 1, 2- and 1, 3- diol. The present reaction consists of a metal-free, economical, robustly feasible, sizeable functional group tolerance and high yield properties. Moreover, the use of different dihydroxy alcohols made this process more benign and valuable towards the metal-free development of ketones. First, of its kind, a rare and unusual multitasking nature of PTSA is observed.     

Metal oxide nanoparticles in electrochemical sensing and biosensing: a review

This review (with (318) refs) describes progress made in the design and synthesis of morphologically different metal oxide nanoparticles made from iron, manganese, titanium, copper, zinc, zirconium, cobalt, nickel, tungsten, silver, and vanadium. It also covers respective composites and their function and application in the field of electrochemical and photoelectrochemical sensing of chemical and biochemical species. The proper incorporation of chemical functionalities into these nanomaterials warrants effective detection of target molecules including DNA hybridization and sensing of DNA or the formation of antigen/antibody complexes. Significant data are summarized in tables. The review concludes with a discussion or current challenge and future perspectives.

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HTMoL: full-stack solution for remote access,visualization, and analysis of molecular dynamics trajectory data

Research on biology has seen significant advances with the use of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The MD methodology enables explanation and discovery of molecular mechanisms in a wide range of natural processes and biological systems. The need to readily share the ever-increasing amount of MD data has been hindered by the lack of specialized bioinformatic tools. The difficulty lies in the efficient management of the data, i.e., in sending and processing 3D information for its visualization. In this work, we present HTMoL, a plug-in-free, secure GPU-accelerated web application specifically designed to stream and visualize MD trajectory data on a web browser. Now, individual research labs can publish MD data on the Internet, or use HTMoL to profoundly improve scientific reports by including supplemental MD data in a journal publication. HTMoL can also be used as a visualization interface to access MD trajectories generated on a high-performance computer center directly. Furthermore, the HTMoL architecture can be leveraged with educational efforts to improve learning in the fields of biology, chemistry, and physics.     

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan–polyvinylpyrrolidone–bovine serum albumin-coated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as potential carrier for delivery of tamoxifen

The proposed study examined the preparation of chitosan (CS)–polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)–bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated magnetic iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄–CS–PVP–BSA) to use as potential drug delivery carriers for delivery of tamoxifen drug (TAM) . The anticancer drug selected in this study was tamoxifen which can be used for the human breast cancer treatment. These prepared nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, AFM, TEM, CD and VSM techniques. The swelling studies have been measured at different (10, 20, 30, 40, 50%) drug loading. The mean particle size of the tamoxifen-loaded nanoparticles system (Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM, Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM–PVP and Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM–PVP–BSA) as measured by Malvern Zetasizer ranged between 350 ± 2.3 and 601 ± 1.7 nm. As well as these drug-loaded nanoparticles were positively charged. The zeta potential was in the range of 28.9 ± 3.5 and 50.8 ± 3.9 mV. The encapsulation efficiency was between 63.60 ± 2.11 and 96.45 ± 2.12%. Furthermore, in vitro release and drug loading efficiency from the nanoparticles were investigated. The cytotoxicity of prepared nanoparticles was verified by MTT assay. In vitro release studies were executed in 4.0 and 7.4 pH media to simulate the intestinal and gastric conditions and different temperature (37 and 42 °C). Hence, the prepared tamoxifen-loaded nanoparticles system (Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM, Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM–PVP and Fe₃O₄–CS–TAM–PVP–BSA) could be a promising candidate in cancer therapy.     

Turning on Solid‐State Fluorescence with Light

A bioinspired fluorophore that is analogous to the substrate in the bioluminescence of fireflies was prepared and reacts when exposed to weak blue LED light. Upon excitation, this material is photodecarboxylated with a nearly 81‐fold enhancement of the solid‐state emission, the fluorescence quantum yield of the product in solution is approximately 90 %, and violent disintegrative effects occur as a result of the release of carbon dioxide. Crystallographic and computational results, together with global spectral analysis of the kinetics, confirmed that most of the emission observed in the decay‐associated spectra is intrinsic to the product molecule, with only a minor contribution from an excimer through π–π stacking of the molecules in the crystal.     

MaxSynBio: Avenues Towards Creating Cells from the Bottom Up

A large German research consortium mainly within the Max Planck Society (“MaxSynBio”) was formed to investigate living systems from a fundamental perspective. The research program of MaxSynBio relies solely on the bottom‐up approach to synthetic biology. MaxSynBio focuses on the detailed analysis and understanding of essential processes of life through modular reconstitution in minimal synthetic systems. The ultimate goal is to construct a basic living unit entirely from non‐living components. The fundamental insights gained from the activities in MaxSynBio could eventually be utilized for establishing a new generation of biotechnological processes, which would be based on synthetic cell constructs that replace the natural cells currently used in conventional biotechnology.     

Ethylethanolammonium 4-nitrobenzoate

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present studies, the thermal behaviour of NaUO2BO3 has been investigated. This compound is a potential product of interaction between the...