Synthesis of a Novel Chitosan/Basil Oil Blend and Development of Novel Low Density Poly Ethylene/Chitosan/Basil Oil Active Packaging Films Following a Melt-Extrusion Process for Enhancing Chicken Breast Fillets Shelf-Life

An innovative process for the adsorption of the hydrophobic Basil-Oil (BO) into the hydrophilic food byproduct chitosan (CS) and the development of an advanced low-density polyethylene/chitosan/basil-oil (LDPE/CS_BO) active packaging film was investigated in this work. The idea of this study was the use of the BO as both a bioactive agent and a compatibilizer. The CS was modified to a CS_BO hydrophobic blend via a green evaporation/adsorption process. This blend was incorporated directly in the LDPE to produce films with advanced properties. All the obtained composite films exhibited improved packaging properties. The film with 10% CS_BO content exhibited the best packaging properties, i.e., 33.0% higher tensile stress, 31.0% higher water barrier, 54.3% higher oxygen barrier, and 12.3% higher antioxidant activity values compared to the corresponding values of the LDPE films. The lipid oxidation values of chicken breast fillets which were packaged under vacuum using this film were measured after seven and after fourteen days of storage. These values were found to be lower by around 41% and 45%, respectively, compared with the corresponding lipid oxidation values of pure LDPE film.     

A novel nanoscale fin field effect transistor by amended channel: Investigation and fundamental physics

The present paper proposes a new Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) with an amended Channel (AC). The fin region consists of two sections; the lower part which has a rounded shape and the upper part of fin as conventional FinFETs, is cubic. The AC-FinFET devices are proven to have a lower threshold voltage roll-off, reduced DIBL, better subthreshold slope characteristics, and a better gate capacitance in comparison with the C-FinFET. Moreover, the simulation result with three-dimensional and two-carrier device simulator demonstrates an improved output characteristic of the proposed structure due to reduction of self-heating effect. Due to the rounded shape of the lower fin region and decreasing corner effects there, the heat can flow easily, and the device temperature will decrease. Also the gate control over the channel increases due to the narrow upper part of the fin. The paper, thus, attempts to show the advantages of higher performance AC-FinFET device over the conventional one, and its effect on the operation of nanoscale devices.     

Dielectric properties of tetragonal tungsten bronze films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

Tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) films have been synthesised on Pt(111)/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates from Ba₂LnFeNb₄O₁₅ ceramics (Ln = La, Nd, Eu) by RF magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction measurements evidenced the multi-oriented nature of films with some degrees of preferential orientation along (111). The dependence of the dielectric properties on temperature and frequency has been investigated. The dielectric properties of the films are similar to those of the bulk, i.e., ε ∼150 and σ ∼10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 1 MHz and room temperature. The films exhibit two dielectric anomalies which are attributed to Maxwell Wagner polarization mechanism and relaxor behaviour. Both anomalies are sensitive to post-annealing under oxygen atmosphere and their activation energies are similar E_a ∼0.30 eV. They are explained in terms of electrically heterogeneous contributions in the films.     

Probing the Rotational Dynamics of meso‐(2‐Substituted)aryl Substituents in A2B‐Type Subporphyrins

A₂B‐type B‐methoxy subporphyrins 3 a – g and B‐phenyl subporphyrins 7 a – c , e , g bearing meso‐(2‐substituted)aryl substituents are synthesized, and their rotational dynamics are examined through variable‐temperature (VT) ¹H NMR spectroscopy. In these subporphyrins, the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents is hindered by a rationally installed 2‐substituent. The rotational barriers determined are considerably smaller than those reported previously for porphyrins. Comparison of the rotation activation parameters reveals a variable contribution of ΔH^≠ and ΔS^≠ in ΔG^≠. 2‐Methyl and 2‐ethyl groups of the meso‐aryl substituents in subporphyrins 3 e , 3 f , and 7 e induce larger rotational barriers than 2‐alkoxyl substituents. The rotational barriers of 3 g and 7 g are reduced by the presence of the 4‐dibenzylamino group owing to its ability to stabilize the coplanar rotation transition state electronically. The smaller rotational barriers found for B‐phenyl subporphyrins than for B‐methoxy subporphyrins indicate a negligible contribution of S_N1‐type heterolysis in the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents.     

Moving boundary truncated grid method: Multidimensional quantum dynamics

The moving boundary truncated grid (TG) method is used to study wave packet dynamics of multidimensional quantum systems. As time evolves, appropriate Eulerian grid points required for propagating a wave packet are activated and deactivated with no advance information about the dynamics. This method is applied to the Henon-Heiles potential and wave packet barrier scattering in two, three, and four dimensions. Computational results demonstrate that the TG method not only leads to a great reduction in the number of grid points needed to perform accurate calculations but also is computationally more efficient than the full grid calculations.     

Polycaprolactone solution–based ink for designing microfluidic channels on paper via 3D printing platform for biosensing application

This work reports a novel fabrication technique for development of channels on paper‐based microfluidic devices using the syringe module of a 3D printing syringe–based system. In this study, printing using polycaprolactone (PCL)‐based ink (Mw 70 000‐90 000) was employed for the generation of functional hydrophobic barriers on Whatman qualitative filter paper grade 1 (approximate thickness of 180 μm and pore diameter of 11 μm), which would effectively channelize fluid flow to multiple assay zones dedicated for different analyte detection on a microfluidic paper‐based analytical device (μPAD). The standardization studies reveal that a functional hydrophilic channel for sample conduction fabricated using the reported technique can be as narrow as 460.7 ± 20 μm and a functional hydrophobic barrier can be of any width with a lower limit of about 982.2 ± 142.75 μm when a minimum number of two layers of the ink is extruded onto paper. A comparison with the hydrodynamic model established for writing with ink is used to explain the width of the line printed by this system. A fluid flow analysis through a single channel system was also carried out to establish its conformity with the Washburn model, which governs the fluid flow in two‐dimensional μPAD. The presented fabrication technique proves to be a robust strategy that effectively taps the advantages of this 3D printing technique in the production of μPADs with enhanced speed and reproducibility.     

Poly(propylene carbonate)/poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐based bionanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanocrystal for potential application as a packaging material

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is an aliphatic polycarbonate synthesized from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a type of thermoplastic polyester produced by biological fermentation. The blending of PHB with PPC can effectively enhance the mechanical properties and barrier properties of PPC. Bionanocomposites of PPC/PHB enhanced by cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) are prepared via a two‐step process using polyethylene glycol as a carrier. Results show that the oxygen barrier properties of the composites increased with the increase of the CNC content. When the CNC content is 1 wt%, the oxygen barrier performance increases nearly 18 times. The assumed model can predict the barrier performance of composites with the combined influence of morphology and CNC distribution. This will make PPC/PHB/CNC nanocomposites a very promising degradable material for food packaging application.     

Organic Spherical Nucleic Acids for the Transport of a NIR‐II‐Emitting Dye Across the Blood–Brain Barrier

DNA nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in the biomedical field; however, its application in the design of organic nanomaterials is underexplored. Herein, we report the use of DNA nanotechnology to transport a NIR‐II‐emitting nanofluorophore across the blood–brain barrier (BBB), facilitating non‐invasive imaging of brain tumors. Specifically, the DNA block copolymer, PS‐b‐DNA, is synthesized through a solid‐phase click reaction. We demonstrate that its self‐assembled structure shows exceptional cluster effects, among which BBB‐crossing is the most notable. Therefore, PS‐b‐DNA is utilized as an amphiphilic matrix to fabricate a NIR‐II nanofluorephore, which is applied in in vivo bioimaging. Accordingly, the NIR‐II fluorescence signal of the DNA‐based nanofluorophore localized at a glioblastoma is 3.8‐fold higher than the NIR‐II fluorescence signal of the PEG‐based counterpart. The notably increased imaging resolution will significantly benefit the further diagnosis and therapy of brain tumors.     

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.