Water-dispersible non-aqueous emulsions stabilized by a poly(butadiene)-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) block copolymer

Submicron non-aqueous emulsions, of interest for biomedical and cosmetic formulations, were developed for the system comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 400 and Miglyol 812, an enzymatic degradable liquid glycerine ester. These emulsions, with PEG 400 as continuous phase and Miglyol 812 droplets, in the size range of 200 nm, were stabilized by a poly(butadiene)-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PBut-b-P2VP) block copolymer with a composition close to 50/50 wt%. The droplet size, stability and the rheological characteristics were examined as a function of the copolymer concentration. An original aspect of these anhydrous emulsions, with a water miscible continuous phase, is their water dispersibility without additional surfactant. In fact, the initial anhydrous emulsion is sterically stabilized and after water addition at low pH, the protonated P2VP sequence of the copolymer provides the electro-steric stabilization. This oil-in-water emulsion is characterized by sub micron sized Miglyol 812 droplets in an aqueous phase of PEG 400 and water at pH 1.     

Simultaneous effect of carbon and water on NOx adsorption on a stabilized Pt–Ba/Al2O3 catalyst

The influence of the presence of H₂O on the contact between carbon, used as model soot, and a model four-way catalyst (1% Pt–10% BaO/Al₂O₃) was investigated. NO_x adsorption/TPD cycles at 300 °C together with XRD, XPS and DRIFTS characterizations showed that only surface nitrate species are destabilized by the carbon present in the catalytic bed, leading to a decrease of the NO_x storage capacity and carbonate species formation. In another way, injection of water in the reactive gas flow decreases also the NO_x storage capacity of the catalyst, but promotes the formation of stable nitrate species. A non-cumulative effect of carbon and water was observed. It was proposed that a competition between the destabilization, by carbon, of weakly bonded surface nitrate species and the enhancement of bulk nitrate species formation in the presence of water occurs.     

Eco friendly synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots for the sensitive detection of ferric ions and cell imaging

This study established a ferric ion (Fe³⁺) detection method as a result of the fluorescence quenching effect of Fe³⁺ on carbon dots (CDs). Specifically, we proposed, a green microwave synthesis route towards fluorescent CDs that requires only the brewer’s spent grain as starting materials. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were performed to investigate the CDs characteristic: morphology, size distribution, functional groups, and composition, respectively. The experimental results, which were run under optimal experimental conditions, indicated that the fluorescence intensity and concentration of Fe³⁺ were within the desired linear range (0.3–7 μM). The detection limit of this assay towards Fe³⁺ was 95 nM. The proposed method showed significant selectivity with respect to interfering ions. We evaluated the potential application of this method with tap water, lake water and fetal bovine serum as real samples. Additionally, the CDs could be served as superior bioimaging probes in Hela cells as a result of their excellent optical stability and good biocompatibility. In a word, the present study provides a new idea for CDs derived from the waste of agricultural products for detecting food or environmental contaminants and cell imaging.     

Surface characteristics and electrochemical behaviour of sputter-deposited NiTi thin film

Thin nanocrystalline amorphous NiTi film was deposited on Si substrate using DC magnetron sputtering. The as-deposited NiTi thin film was crystallized by heat treatment at 500 °C for 1 h. The crystal structure, surface morphology, microstructure and surface chemistry of the deposited films were studied using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Corrosion behaviour was assessed in Ringer’s solution at 37 °C by open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as a function of exposure time. OCP values indicate that the tendency for the formation of a spontaneous oxide film is greater for the NiTi thin films than the bulk NiTi. Long time exposure to Ringer’s solution was found to have a great effect on the corrosion behaviour of the samples. Significantly low corrosion current density was obtained for the annealed NiTi film from the potentiodynamic polarization curves indicating a typical passive behaviour, but as-deposited film and bulk NiTi alloy exhibited breakdown of passivity at potentials approximately +1.4 V (vs. SCE). XPS showed that the oxide film formed on the annealed NiTi thin film mainly composed of Ti oxides, and no evidence of Ni was found up to 8.2 nm beneath the top surface, suggesting the excellent corrosion resistance of this sample in Ringer’s solution.     

用于荧光光谱测定的微量固体粉末样品制样优化*

为满足微量固体粉末荧光检测要求,采用薄层制样法,改变黏结剂种类、黏结剂的用量、涂层厚度以及后处理方法来进行其制样工艺优化。 结果表明:以聚乙烯醇做黏结剂、1∶5的固液比、在50 ℃烘干30 min、涂片次数3层的薄层制样优化工艺可满足荧光固体测样的要求。采用t检验比较固体样品池装样和薄层制样法的荧光检测结果发现两者无显著性差异,薄层制样优化工艺的需样量较样品池减少90%。     

β-secretase 1 inhibitory activity and AMP-activated protein kinase activation of Callyspongia samarensis extracts

Abstract

The methanolic extract of Callyspongia samarensis (MCS) significantly inhibited β-secretase 1 (IC₅₀ 99.82?µg/mL) in a dose-dependent manner and demonstrated a noncompetitive type of inhibition. Furthermore, it exhibited the highest AMPK activation (EC₅₀ 14.47?μg/mL) as compared with the standard, Aspirin (EC₅₀ >100?μg/mL). HPLC/ESI-MS analysis of MCS extract revealed 15 peaks, in which nine peaks demonstrated similar fragmentation pattern with the known compounds in literature and in database library: 5-aminopentanoic acid (1), 4-aminobutanoic acid (3), Luotonin A (4), (E)-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl) prop-2-enoic acid (8), Galactosphingosine (10), D-sphingosine (11), 5,7,4′-trihydroxy-3′,5′-dimethoxyflavone (12), hydroxydihydrovolide (13), and 3,5-dibromo-4-methoxyphenylpyruvic acid (14); and 6 peaks are not identified (2, 5–7, 9, and 15). Acute oral toxicity test of MCS extract revealed that it is nontoxic, with an LD₅₀ of >2000?mg/kg. Assessment of BBB permeability of MCS extract showed that compound 15 was able to cross the BBB making it a suitable candidate for developing CNS drugs.     

Toonapolyynes A–D,new polyynes from Toona ciliata

Abstract

Phytochemical investigation on the leaves and twigs of Toona ciliata has led to the isolation of four new polyynes (1–4) and two knowns (5 and 6). Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis (MS, UV, IR, and NMR) and Mosher’s method. All compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activities against HepG2 human tumor cell line but were inactive.     

近红外光谱分析技术在茶叶鉴别中的应用研究

茶叶快速准确鉴别方法研究是当前茶叶行业亟待解决的一个重要课题。该研究采用近红外光谱结合主成分-马氏距离模式识别方法鉴别了龙井、碧螺春、毛峰和铁观音4种中国名茶。研究结果表明,在6 500～5 300 cm-1波数范围内的光谱,通过MSC预处理方法,用8个主成分建立的模型最好,模型对校正集样本和预测集样本的鉴别率分别达到98.75%和95%。该研究为快速准确鉴别茶叶提供了一种新思路。     

Acoustoelastic effect simulation by time–space finite element formulation based on quadratic interpolation of the acceleration

Acoustoelastic effect describes the change of ultrasound velocity due to the initial stress. Its simulation involves a numerical analysis of nonlinear elastodynamics and requires high accuracy in the time domain. A time–space finite element formulation, derived from the quadratic interpolation of the acceleration within a time segment, is proposed for an accurate simulation of the acoustoelastic effect in the present study. Ten different integration schemes are generated based on this formulation and nine of them are found to be conditionally stable. Among the nine stable schemes, one is found to obtain a spectral radius of one when the normalized step ratio is less than 5.477, indicating no numerical dissipation or numerical divergence. Compared with integration schemes from previous studies, this integration scheme demonstrates better performance in calculation accuracy and energy conservation. A two-stage approach, namely the static stage and the dynamic stage, has been employed in the simulation of the acoustoelastic effect. The former stage is adopted to obtain the initial stress and the latter stage, where the proposed integration scheme is implemented, is adopted to simulate the ultrasound propagation in an initial stress state. The simulation results of the dynamic stage show that the ultrasound velocity increases in a compression stress state and decreases in a tension stress state for aluminum alloy, which is in good agreement with previous experimental studies. Together with the simulation result of the static stage, it is conjectured that the acoustoelastic effect results from the stress-dependent elastic modulus.