A new isoprenyl phenyl ether compound from mangrove fungus

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether, 3-hydroxy-4-(3-methylbut-2-enyloxy)benzoic acid methyl ester (1), together with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (2), 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzoic acid (3), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid (4) were isolated from Mangrove fungus (No. B60) from the South China Sea. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. In the preliminary bioassay, compound 1 exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compound 1 also inhibited cytotoxicity to the hepG2 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 10.0 μg/mL. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 313–314, July–August, 2007.     

ELECTROSPRAYING/ELECTROSPINNING OF POLY(γ-STEARYL-L-GLUTAMATE): FORMATION OF SURFACES WITH SUPERHYDROPHOBICITY

  Electrospraying/electrospinning of poly(γ-stearyl-L-glutamate) (PSLG) was investigated on a series solutions with different concentrations in chloroform. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR/ATR) were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the electrosprayed/electrospun polypeptide mats. It was found that electrospraying of PSLG with concentrations lower than 16 wt% afforded beads, while microfibers could be electrospun at the concentration of 22 wt%. The hydrophobicity of the electrosprayed/electrospun PSLG mats was investigated with static water contact angle (WCA) and tilt angle measurements. It was demonstrated that the superhydrophobic surfaces of PSLG with WCAs and tilt angles in the ranges of 150°-170° and 16.5°-4.2°, respectively, were obtained through electrospraying/electrospinning process.     

Immobilization of glucose oxidase with the blend of regenerated silk fibroin and poly(vinyl alcohol) and its application to a 1,1′- dimethylferrocene-mediating glucose sensor

The structure and properties of the blend of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were investigated. The two polymers in the blend are in the state of phase segregation. Infrared (IR) spectra indicate that the RSF in the blend maintains its intrinsic properties, thus, ethanol treatment can transfer silk I structure of RSF to silk II structure. The water absorption property and mechanical property of the blend are improved in comparison with those of RSF. The blend maintains the major merit of RSF, that is, it can immobilize glucose oxidase on the basis of the conformational transition from silk I structure to silk II structure. The properties of the immobilized enzyme are examined. Moreover, the second generation of glucose sensor based on the immobilized enzyme is fabricated and it has a variety of advantages including easy maintenance of enzyme, simplicity of construction, fast response time and high stability.     

烟酸对酸性硫酸盐体系铜电沉积的影响

对溶液A: 0.8 mol•L－1硫酸铜,0.6 mol•L－1硫酸,5.0×10－5 mol•L－1氯离子,1.0×10－4 mol•L－1聚乙二醇的溶液,溶液B:在溶液A中加入2.0×10－2 mol•L－1烟酸,pH为0.5,运用循环伏安和计时安培法研究玻碳电极上铜的电沉积行为.结果表明,铜的电沉积过程经历了晶核形成过程,其电结晶按瞬时成核和三维生长方式进行.烟酸的加入对铜的电沉积具有阻化作用,但不改变铜的电结晶机理.沉积层的X射线衍射表明Cu为面心立方结构,在烟酸存在下沉积层出现(220)高择优取向,这可能是烟酸在Cu(220)晶面上发生强烈吸附作用的结果.     

Solvent extraction of uranium(VI) with benzyloctadecyldimethylammonium chloride (BODMAC) from highly concentrated chloride solution

The ²²²Rn emanation fraction (EF) released from the technically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TE-NORM) wastes at certain sites of petroleum and gas production was determined. The samples were analyzed by γ-ray spectrometry to determine the activity concentration of the ²²⁶Ra content, of which the ²²²Rn emanation fraction was calculated. The results showed that the ²²²Rn emanation fraction differs in the oil and gas production sites and it is independent of the activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Electric-field-driven deracemization.

We demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, that it is possible to use an electric field to drive the formation of macroscopic chiral (conglomerate) domains from an initially homogeneous fluid racemate. Field-induced segregation is exhibited in a fluid smectic liquid-crystal phase of a racemic mesogen, wherein enantiomerically-enriched domains are readily identifiable by their chiral electro-optical response. The sharp field-generated boundaries that form between opposite-handed domains broaden by diffusion in the absence of field, but reform rapidly if the field is switched on again, providing unambiguous evidence for the field-driven physical separation of enantiomers. A mean-field model successfully describes the steady-state and the dynamic evolution of conglomerate formation.     

Continuous wavelet transform applied to removing the fluctuating background in near-infrared spectra

A novel method based on continuous wavelet transform (CWT) was proposed as a preprocessing tool for the near-infrared (NIR) spectra. Due to the property of the vanishing moments of the wavelet, the fluctuating background of the NIR spectra can be successfully removed through convolution of the spectra with an appropriate wavelet function. The vanishing moments of a wavelet and the scale parameter are two key factors that govern the result of the background elimination. The result of its application to both the simulated spectra and the NIR spectra of tobacco samples demonstrates that CWT is a competitive tool for removing fluctuating background in spectra.     

Combinatorial synthesis of a small-molecule library based on the vinyl sulfone scaffold

[reaction: see text] A 30-member library of small molecules based on the vinyl sulfone scaffold was prepared on rink amide resin, using solid phase-based reactions such as oxidation and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction. The library was designed such that three points of diversity were readily introduced in the library to accommodate the S(1)', S(1), and S(2) binding pockets of different cysteine proteases, making the strategy suitable for high-throughput generation of potential cysteine protease inhibitors.     

Separation of positional isomers by the use of coupled shape-selective stationary phase columns

The successful separation of 2- and 3-methyl-substituted positional isomers of butanol, butyl acetate, and butanoic acid and its ethyl ester, is reported. These compounds are of interest in the study of wine flavour, however the separation of the 2- and 3-methyl isomers may present problems, and more so in the presence of the wine matrix components, when single capillary column gas chromatography (GC) is used. The strategy to achieve separation was based on the use of shape-selective cyclodextrin derivative (CDD) capillary columns (commonly referred to as chiral columns). These columns provide simultaneous resolution of the enantiomeric pairs of the 2-methyl isomers, and at the same time the ability to separate the 3-methyl isomer from the 2-methyl is achieved in all but the case of the ( S)-2- and 3-methylbutanol. The advantages of using shape-selective columns to perform this study is demonstrated, with coupling of two CDD columns giving improved separations of these compounds. Although these compounds are relatively volatile, cryogenic modulated comprehensive two-dimensional GC was shown to provide good pulsed peak profiles with chiral separation in the first dimension when a thicker film trapping column segment was employed. The components of interest were well separated from other wine matrix components.     

Study on the anodic reaction of Ni in an alkaline solution by transient pH detection based on scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)

The anodic reaction of Ni in an alkaline solution was studied by the tip–substrate voltammetry mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). A platinum microdisc electrode was selected as the tip electrode, which functioned as a pH sensor with transient response capability. The pH value of the solution near the Ni electrode surface varied while the Ni substrate oxidation reaction occurred, and the pH variation could be detected by the tip faradic current. The cyclic voltammogram results showed that two types of hydroxides: i.e. α‐Ni(OH)₂ and β‐Ni(OH)₂ were formed during Ni oxidation in the lower potential region. In the proceedings of α‐Ni(OH)₂ → γ‐NiOOH and β‐Ni(OH)₂ → β‐NiOOH, the process of OH^? concentration decrease in the solution was ahead and behind of electron transfer in the solid phase, respectively. These results indicate that the OH^? adsorption process occurs as an elementary step in the former reaction and the H⁺ diffusion process from the inner to the outer layer of the solid phase occurs as a subsequent step in the latter reaction. The results also revealed that the oxide film on the Ni surface has a two‐layer structure. The real potential of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the Ni surface with different cycles is also analyzed in the paper. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.