The Impacts of Crystalline Structure and Different Surface Functional Groups on Drug Release and the Osseointegration Process of Nanostructured TiO2

In implantable materials, surface topography and chemistry are the most important in the effective osseointegration and interaction with drug molecules. Therefore, structural and surface modifications of nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO₂) layers are reported in the present work. In particular, the modification of annealed TiO₂ samples with —OH groups and silane derivatives, confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, is shown. Moreover, the ibuprofen release process was studied regarding the desorption-desorption-diffusion (DDD) kinetic model. The results proved that the most significant impact on the release profile is annealing, and further surface modifications did not change its kinetics. Additionally, the cell adhesion and proliferation were examined based on the MTS test and immunofluorescent staining. The obtained data showed that the proposed changes in the surface chemistry enhance the samples’ hydrophilicity. Moreover, improvements in the adhesion and proliferation of the MG-63 cells were observed.     

Lignin and Lignin-Derived Compounds for Wood Applications—A Review

Improving the environmental performance of resins in wood treatment by using renewable chemicals has been a topic of interest for a long time. At the same time, lignin, the second most abundant biomass on earth, is produced in large scale as a side product and mainly used energetically. The use of lignin in wood adhesives or for wood modification has received a lot of scientific attention. Despite this, there are only few lignin-derived wood products commercially available. This review provides a summary of the research on lignin application in wood adhesives, as well as for wood modification. The research on the use of uncleaved lignin and of cleavage products of lignin is reviewed. Finally, the current state of the art of commercialization of lignin-derived wood products is presented.     

Iron-Catalyzed Halogen Exchange of Trifluoromethyl Arenes**

The facile production of ArCF₂X and ArCX₃ from ArCF₃ using catalytic iron(III)halides is reported, which constitutes the first iron-catalyzed halogen exchange for non-aromatic C−F bonds. Theoretical calculations suggest direct activation of C−F bonds by iron coordination. ArCX₃ and ArCF₂X products of the reaction are synthetically valuable due to their diversification potential. In particular, chloro- and bromodifluoromethyl arenes (ArCF₂Cl, ArCF₂Br respectively) provide access to a myriad of difluoromethyl arene derivatives (ArCF₂R). To optimize for mono-halogen exchange, a statistical method called Design of Experiments was used. Optimized parameters were successfully applied to electron rich and electron deficient aromatic substrates, and to the late stage diversification of flufenoxuron, a commercial insecticide. These methods are highly practical, being run at convenient temperatures and using inexpensive common reagents.     

Combined Chemical Modification and Collision Induced Unfolding Using Native Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Provides Insights into Protein Gas-Phase Structure

Native mass spectrometry is now an important tool in structural biology. Thus, the nature of higher protein structure in the vacuum of the mass spectrometer is an area of significant interest. One of the major goals in the study of gas-phase protein structure is to elucidate the stabilising role of interactions at the level of individual amino acid residues. A strategy combining protein chemical modification together with collision induced unfolding (CIU) was developed and employed to probe the structure of compact protein ions produced by native electrospray ionisation. Tractable chemical modification was used to alter the properties of amino acid residues, and ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) utilised to monitor the extent of unfolding as a function of modification. From these data the importance of specific intramolecular interactions for the stability of compact gas-phase protein structure can be inferred. Using this approach, and aided by molecular dynamics simulations, an important stabilising interaction between K6 and H68 in the protein ubiquitin was identified, as was a contact between the N-terminus and E22 in a ubiquitin binding protein UBA2.     

Acyclovir release from its composites with silica as a function of the silica matrix modification and the drug loading

Acyclovir release from its composites with unmodified silica at pH 1.6 and 7.4 follows zero order kinetics for two days. Modification of the silica matrix with phenyl groups leads to dramatic decrease in the drug release level at pH 7.4 compared with pH 1.6 as well as to heterogeneous phase state of acyclovir in the phenyl modified composite with high loading of the drug.     

Conventional processes and membrane technology for carbon dioxide removal from natural gas:A review

Membrane technology is becoming more important for CO 2 separation from natural gas in the new era due to its process simplicity,relative ease of operation and control,compact,and easy to scale up as compared with conventional processes.Conventional processes such as absorption and adsorption for CO 2 separation from natural gas are generally more energy demanding and costly for both operation and maintenance.Polymeric membranes are the current commercial membranes used for CO 2 separation from natural gas.However,polymeric membranes possess drawbacks such as low permeability and selectivity,plasticization at high temperatures,as well as insufficient thermal and chemical stability.The shortcomings of commercial polymeric membranes have motivated researchers to opt for other alternatives,especially inorganic membranes due to their higher thermal stability,good chemical resistance to solvents,high mechanical strength and long lifetime.Surface modifications can be utilized in inorganic membranes to further enhance the selectivity,permeability or catalytic activities of the membrane.This paper is to provide a comprehensive review on gas separation,comparing membrane technology with other conventional methods of recovering CO 2 from natural gas,challenges of current commercial polymeric membranes and inorganic membranes for CO 2 removal and membrane surface modification for improved selectivity.     

Influence of the e-beam irradiation and photo-oxidation aging on the structure and properties of LDPE-OMMT nanocomposite films

In this paper two systems, polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene/commercial organo-modified montmorillonite (LDPE/OMMT) nanocomposite, were subjected to e-beam irradiation at different doses and both the molecular modifications and mechanical properties have been investigated through solubility, FT-IR, calorimetric and tensile tests. Moreover, in some of the irradiated systems photo-oxidation aging was performed and its effects were studied. The results show an enhancement with irradiation of the positive effect of the nano-filler loading, related to the increase of the mechanical properties, due to the increase of the nano-filler polymer interaction.Nevertheless calorimetric and FT-IR data indicate that the well known reduction of LDPE/OMMT nanocomposite resistance to photo-oxidation ageing, with respect to LDPE, is amplified by ionizing radiation.     

Preparation of sinapinaldehyde modified mesoporous silica materials and their application in selective extraction of trace Pb(II)

A new solid phase extractant, sinapinaldehyde (SA) modified SBA-15 mesoporous silica, was developed for selective extraction and preconcentration of trace Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. The successful immobilization of SA on SBA-15 and the strong interaction between SA-SBA-15 and Pb(II) were characterized and confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Parameters such as solution pH, shaking time, eluent condition and sample volume were optimized so that the maximum removal of Pb(II) from solution could be achieved. At pH 4.0, the maximum adsorption capacity of the sorbent for Pb(II) was found to be 33.6?mg?g^?1 and the adsorbed Pb(II) could be completely eluted using a mixed solution of 2?M HCl and 5% CS(NH₂)₂. Some common metal ions such as K(I), Na(I), Mg(II), Ca(II), Cr(III), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) did not interfere with the adsorption of trace Pb(II). The detection limit of the present method was found to be 1.3?ng?mL^?1 and the relative standard deviation was less than 2.0% (n?=?8). These results suggested that this new sorbent is very efficient and selective for the removal of trace Pb(II) in water samples.