Anion Exchange Membranes Based on Chloromethylation of Fluorinated Poly(arylene ether)s

This report details the properties of fluorine-containing anion exchange membranes(AEMs) synthesized by chloromethylation and quaternization of fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s(FPAEs) based on decafluorobiphenyl and bisphenol A. Meanwhile, we compared their properties with those of their non-fluorinated counterparts, Udel-based AEMs. The reactivity of the chloromethylation of fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s was lowered by the strong electron-withdrawing group, per-fluorinated biphenyl residue. Therefore higher temperature, more chloromethylation reagent, and longer reaction time were needed in the chloromethylation of FPAEs. Because of the hydrophobicity of fluorine, the swelling of FPAEs was depressed. In the FPAE-based AEMs, the water uptake of FPAE-1 membrane(F-1) was just 30%. There is a strong correlation between water uptake and conductivity for both Udel- and FPAE-based AEMs. Among all the membranes, the water uptake and the conductivity of FPAE-3 membrane(F-3) could reach up to 100% and 13.47 mS/cm respectively at 30 ℃. The mechanical properties of FPAE-based AEMs at room temperature were worse than those of Udel-based ones because of the weak intermolecular interaction caused by the low polarizability of fluorine. However, their high temperature mechanical properties are better, which can be explained in terms of low swelling.     

通过载体提高燃料电池催化剂的稳定性

Pt/C是目前质子交换膜燃料电池使用最广泛的一种催化剂,制约其实际应用的关键技术之一是稳定性,增强燃料电池催化剂稳定性研究一直是该领域的热点. 本文结合作者课题组的研究工作,综述了通过改进载体材料来提高Pt基催化剂稳定性的一些方法,指出采用更稳定的载体材料以及发展与金属催化剂纳米颗粒有强相互作用的载体材料,是增强催化剂稳定性的努力方向.     

Influence of Water Vapor on Silica Membrane: Adsorption Properties and Percolation Effect

The influence of water vapor on silica membrane with pore size of 4 ? has been investigated in terms of adsorption properties and percolation effect at 50 and 90 oC. Two methods are employed: spectroscopic ellipsometry for water vapor adsorption and gas permeation of binary mixture of helium and H₂O. The adsorption behaviors on the silica membrane comply with the first-order Langmuir isotherm. The investigation demonstrates that helium flux through the silica membrane decreases dramatically in presence of H₂O molecules. The transport of gas molecules through such small pores is believed not to be continuous any more, whereas it is reasonably assumed that the gas molecules hop from one occupied site to another unoccupied one under the potential gradient. When the coverage of H₂O molecules on the silica surface increases, the dramatic decrease of helium flux could be related to percolation effect, where the adsorbed H₂O molecules on the silica surface block the hopping of helium molecules.     

Synthesis of Crosslinked Sulfonated Poly(phenylene sulfide sulfone nitrile) for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications

With a view towards direct methanol fuel cell applications, novel sulfonated poly(phenylene sulfide sulfone nitrile) (sPPSSfN) has been prepared and subsequently crosslinked by a Friedel‐Craft reaction using 4,4′‐oxybis(benzoic acid) as a crosslinker to achieve lower water swelling and lower methanol permeability. The dimensional change of SPPSSfN40 is 43.7% in 90 °C liquid water but that of the crosslinked membrane, XsPPSSfN40, is 23.3% while maintaining proton conductivity at 0.22 S · cm⁻¹. These results show that the Friedel‐Craft crosslinking of the novel sPPSSfN membrane effectively reduces water uptake and the degree of swelling while improving the dimensional stability and maintaining high proton conductivity.

     

Cancer Cell Membrane-Coated Nanosuspensions for Enhanced Chemotherapeutic Treatment of Glioma

Effective intracerebral delivery is key for glioma treatment. However, the drug delivery system within the brain is largely limited by its own adverse physical and chemical properties, low targeting efficiency, the blood–brain barrier and the blood–brain tumor barrier. Herein, we developed a simple, safe and efficient biomimetic nanosuspension. The C6 cell membrane (CCM) was utilized to camouflaged the 10-hydroxycamptothecin nanosuspension (HCPT-NS) in order to obtain HCPT-NS/CCM. Through the use of immune escape and homotypic binding of the cancer cell membrane, HCPT-NS/CCM was able to penetrate the blood–brain barrier and target tumors. The HCPT-NS is only comprised of drugs, as well as a small amount of stabilizers that are characterized by a simple preparation method and high drug loading. Similarly, the HCPT-NS/CCM is able to achieve targeted treatment of glioma without any ligand modification, which leads it to be stable and efficient. Cellular uptake and in vivo imaging experiments demonstrated that HCPT-NS/CCM is able to effectively cross the blood–brain barrier and was concentrated at the glioma site due to the natural homing pathway. Our results reveal that the glioma cancer cell membrane is able to promote drug transport into the brain and enter the tumor via a homologous targeting mechanism.     

Effect of signal intensity normalization on the multivariate analysis of spectral data in complex ‘real‐world’ datasets

Spectral signal intensities, especially in ‘real‐world’ applications with nonstandardized sample presentation due to uncontrolled variables/factors, commonly require additional spectral processing to normalize signal intensity in an effective way. In this study, we have demonstrated the complexity of choosing a normalization routine in the presence of multiple spectrally distinct constituents by probing a dataset of Raman spectra. Variation in absolute signal intensity (90.1% of total variance) of the Raman spectra of these complex biological samples swamps the variation in useful signals (9.4% of total variance), degrading its diagnostic and evaluative potential. Using traditional spectral band choices, it is shown that normalization results are more complex than generally encountered in traditionally designed sample sets investigating limited chemical species. We demonstrate that no choice of a single band proves to be appropriate for predicting all the reference parameters, instead requiring a tailored normalization routine for each parameter. Of the reference parameters studied in the chosen system, signals from pathogenic adducts in ocular tissues called advanced glycation endproducts were most prominent when normalizing about the 1550–1690 cm⁻¹ region of the spectrum (17.5% of total variance, compared with 0.3% for unnormalized), while prediction of pentosidine and gender were optimized by normalization about the 1570 (R² = 0.97 vs 0.57 for unnormalized) and 1003 cm⁻¹ (p < 0.0000001 vs p < 0.01 for unnormalized) bands, respectively. The data obtained point to the extreme sensitivity of multivariate analysis to signal intensity normalization. Some general guidelines for making appropriate band choices are given, including the use of peak‐finding routines. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy of a β‐sheet peptide: a model for membrane protein folding

The partitioning of a hydrophobic hexapeptide, N‐acetyl‐tryptophan‐pentaleucine (AcWL5), into self‐associated β‐sheets within a vesicle membrane was studied as a model for integral membrane protein folding and insertion via vibrational and electronic spectroscopy. Ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy allows selective examination of the structures of amino acid side chains and the peptide backbone and provides information about local environment and molecular conformation. The secondary structure of AcWL5 within a vesicle membrane was investigated using 207.5‐nm excitation and found to consist of β‐sheets, in agreement with previous studies. The β‐sheet peptide shows enhanced Raman scattering cross‐sections for all amide modes as well as extensive hydrogen‐bonding networks. Tryptophan vibrational structure was probed using 230‐nm excitation. Increases in Raman cross‐sections of tryptophan modes W1, W3, W7, W10, W16, W17, and W18 of membrane‐incorporated AcWL5 are primarily attributed to greater resonance enhancement with the B_b electronic transition. The W17 mode, however, undergoes a much greater enhancement than is expected for a simple resonance effect, and this observation is discussed in terms of hydrogen bonding of the indole ring in a hydrophobic environment. The observed tryptophan mode frequencies and intensities overall support a hydrophobic environment for the indole ring within a vesicle, and these results have implications for the location of tryptophan in membrane protein systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stabilization of Liposomes by Polyelectrolytes: Mechanism of Interaction and Role of Experimental Conditions

ζ-potential measurements on LUVs allow to evidence the influence of pH, ionic salt concentration, and polyelectrolyte charge on the interaction between polyelectrolyte (chitosan and hyaluronan) and zwitterionic lipid membrane. First, chitosan adsorption is studied: adsorption is independent on the chitosan molecular weight and corresponds to a maximum degree of decoration of 40% in surface coverage. From the dependence with pH and independence with MW, it is concluded that electrostatic interactions are responsible of chitosan adsorption which occurs flat on the external surface of the liposomes. The vesicles become positively charged in the presence of around two repeat units of chitosan added per lipid accessible polar head in acid medium down to pH = 7.2. Direct optical microscopy observations of GUVs shows a stabilization of the composite liposomes under different external stresses (pH and salt shocks) which confirms the strong electrostatic interaction between the chitosan and the lipid membrane. It is also demonstrated that the liposomes are stabilized by chitosan adsorption in a very wide range of pH (2.0 < pH < 12.0). Then, hyaluronan (HA), a negatively charged polyelectrolyte, is added to vesicles; the vesicles turn rapidly negatively charged in presence of adsorbed HA Finally, we demonstrated that hyaluronan adsorbs on positively charged chitosan-decorated liposomes at pH < 7.0 leading to charge inversion in the liposome decorated by the chitosan-hyaluronan bilayer. Our results demonstrate the adsorption of positive and/or negative polyelectrolyte at the surface of lipidic vesicles as well as their role on vesicle stabilization and charge control.     

基于双层类脂膜的去甲肾上腺素传感器

报道了去甲肾上腺素 (NE)在月桂酸 -双层类脂膜修饰的玻碳电极上的电化学行为 ,在 +0.6～ -0.2V(vs.Ag/AgCl)电位范围内 ,于pH7.0的0.01mol/L的KH2PO4-Na2HPO4 底液中 ,去甲肾上腺素产生很灵敏的氧化峰电流。氧化峰电流与去甲肾上腺素浓度在1.7×10 -5～5.9×10 -4mol/L范围内呈良好线性关系。该电极可作为检测去甲肾上腺素的新型高灵敏度电化学生物传感器     

计入膜力塑性耗散效应的矩形板塑性动力响应

从能量的观点在小挠度理论中引入表征膜力塑性耗散效应的修正因子,基于刚性板块的总体平衡给出矩形板大挠度塑性动力响应的完全运动方程组,分析了理想刚塑性简支和固支矩形板在矩形脉冲和冲击载荷下包括移行塑性铰相的完全大挠度响应过程。解决了当矩形板的挠度达到厚度量级时弯矩、膜力的联合作用问题,理论预报的结果在板的挠度为10倍板厚的量级与实验结果符合良好,改进了只考虑弯矩作用的小挠度理论结果和模态近似估计。