Preparation of antimicrobial poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles were prepared by electrospinning PVA/silver nitrate (AgNO₃) aqueous solutions, followed by short heat treatment, and their antimicrobial activity was investigated for wound dressing applications. Since PVA is a water soluble and biocompatible polymer, it is one of the best materials for the preparation of wound dressing nanofibers. After heat treatment at 155 °C for 3 min, the PVA/AgNO₃ nanofibers became insoluble, while the Ag⁺ ions therein were reduced so as to produce a large number of Ag nanoparticles situated preferentially on their surface. The residual Ag⁺ ions were reduced by subsequent UV irradiation for 3 h. The average diameter of the Ag nanoparticles after the heat treatment was 5.9 nm and this value increased slightly to 6.3 nm after UV irradiation. It was found that most of the Ag⁺ ions were reduced by the simple heat treatment. The PVA nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles showed very strong antimicrobial activity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2468–2474, 2006     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐[poly(D,L‐lactide)/poly(D,L‐lactide‐co‐glycolide)] hydrogels

Poly(D ,L ‐lactide) and poly(D ,L ‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) with various composition and with one methacrylate and one carboxylate end group were synthesized and grafted onto poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) via the carboxylate group. The graft copolymers were crosslinked via the methacrylate groups using a free radical initiator. The polymer networks were characterized by means of NMR and studied qualitatively by means of IR spectroscopy. The influence of the glycolide content in the polyester grafts and of the number of ester units in the grafts on thermal properties and swellability were studied as well. The high swellability in water is characteristic of all hydrogels. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed a single glass transition temperature that occurs in the range between 51 and 69 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the networks showed the main loss in weight in the temperature range between 290 and 370 °C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4536–4544, 2007     

Bifunctional pyridyl alcohols with the bicyclo[3.3.0]octane scaffold in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

Some new pyridyl alcohols with the cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane scaffold were synthesized and used as chiral ligands for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. Ligands 4 were found to be far superior to the C₂-symmetric ligands 2 in terms of enantioselectivities. Quantitative yields and enantiomeric excesses of up to 92% were obtained when the ligand 4 was used. The carbonyl function in 4 proved to be beneficial for the high enantioselectivities in the addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. Conversion of the carbonyl group into oxime or oxime ether group led to a sort of more active ligands, which catalyzed the same reaction with rate acceleration.     

过氧化氢与N—甲基苯胺盐酸盐引发体系的研究

在水介质中,研究了新型的过氧化氢/N-甲基苯胺盐酸盐引发体系对 AM 与 PVA 的接枝共聚。产物经紫外光谱、红外光谱和 ~1H-核磁共振进行表征,并提出了引发机理。     

OH-Induced shift from carbon to oxygen acidity in the side-chain deprotonation of 2-, 3- and 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol radical cations in aqueous solution: results from pulse radiolysis and DFT calculations

DFT calculations have been carried out for 2-, 3- and 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol radical cations (1⁺, 3⁺ and 4⁺, respectively) and the α-methyl derivatives 2⁺ and 5⁺ using the UB3LYP/6-31G(d) method. The theoretical results have been compared with the experimental rate constants for deprotonation of 1⁺-5⁺ under acidic and basic conditions. In acidic solution, the decay of 1⁺-5⁺ proceeds by cleavage of the C-H bond, while in the presence of ⁻OH all the radical cations undergo deprotonation from the α-OH group. This pH-dependent change in mechanism has been interpreted qualitatively in terms of simple frontier molecular orbital theory. The ⁻OH induced α-O-H deprotonation is consistent with a charge controlled reaction, whereas the C-H deprotonation, observed when the base is H₂O, appears to be affected by frontier orbital interactions.     

On the self-association of the normal alcohols and the glass transition in alcohol-alcohol solutions

The glass-transition temperature (T_g) in mutual binary mixtures of the primary alkanols from methanol throughn-octanol has been measured as a function of composition. For mixtures of the alkanols heavier than ethanol,T _g is found to be a linear function of the number-average molecular length. Methanol and ethanol mixtures show higherT _g values than indicated by this relation. These results are found to be consistent with association of the heavier alkanols into chains of very great length in the supercooled liquid, while ethanol and methanol must form networks with a moderate degree of crosslinking between chains.     

Ligand creation via linking—a rapid and convenient method for construction of novel supported PyOX-ligands

A novel supported amino alcohol linker was synthesized and utilized for attachment of picolinic acid derivatives onto different supports. When the resin bound molecule was further activated, the PyOX-moiety could be constructed reliably in enantiopure form. Furthermore, an efficient Pd-catalyzed modification of a picolinic acid derivative is presented.     

Conditions to Control Furan Ring Opening during Furfuryl Alcohol Polymerization

The chemistry of biomass-derived furans is particularly sensitive to ring openings. These side reactions occur during furfuryl alcohol polymerization. In this work, the furan ring-opening was controlled by changing polymerization conditions, such as varying the type of acidic initiator or the water content. The degree of open structures (DOS) was determined by quantifying the formed carbonyl species by means of quantitative ¹⁹F NMR and potentiometric titration. The progress of polymerization and ring opening were monitored by DSC and FT-IR spectroscopy. The presence of additional water is more determining on ring opening than the nature of the acidic initiator. Qualitative structural assessment by means of ¹³C NMR and FT-IR shows that, depending on the employed conditions, poly(furfuryl alcohol) samples can be classified in two groups. Indeed, either more ester or more ketone side groups are formed as a result of side ring opening reactions. The absence of additional water during FA polymerization preferentially leads to opened structures in the PFA bearing more ester moieties.     

Oxonitrogenated Derivatives of Eremophilans and Eudesmans: Antiproliferative and Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Activity

Cancer is one of the most important causes of death worldwide. Solid tumors represent the vast majority of cancers (>90%), and the chemotherapeutic agents used for their treatment are still characterized by variable efficacy and toxicity. Sesquiterpenes are a group of natural compounds that have shown a wide range of biological activities, including cytotoxic and antiparasitic activity, among others. The antiproliferative activity of natural sesquiterpenes, tessaric acid, ilicic acid, and ilicic alcohol and their semisynthetic derivatives against HeLa, T-47D, WiDr, A549, HBL-100, and SW1573 cell lines were evaluated. The effect of the compounds on Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes was also assessed. The selectivity index was calculated using murine splenocytes. Derivatives 13 and 15 were the most antiproliferative compounds, with GI₅₀ values ranging between 5.3 (±0.32) and 14 (±0.90) μM, in all cell lines tested. The presence of 1,2,3-triazole groups in derivatives 15–19 led to improvements in activity compared to those corresponding to the starting natural product (3), with GI₅₀ values ranging between 12 (±1.5) and 17 (±1.1) μM and 16 being the most active compound. In relation to the anti-T. cruzi activity, derivatives 7 and 16 obtained from tessaric acid and ilicic acid were among the most active and selective compounds with IC₅₀ values of 9.3 and 8.8 µM (SI = 8.0 and 9.4), respectively.