PEGylation of porous silicon using click chemistry

Porous silicon has received considerable interest in recent years in a range of biomedical applications, with its performance determined by surface chemistry. In this work, we investigate the PEGylation of porous silicon wafers using click chemistry. The porous silicon wafer surface chemistry was monitored at each stage of the reaction via photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, whereas sessile drop contact angle and model protein adsorption measurements were used to characterize the final PEGylated surface. This work highlights the simplicity of click-chemistry-based functionalization in tailoring the porous silicon surface chemistry and controlling protein-porous silicon interactions.     

Thermogravimetric Analysis of γ-Aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane Adsorbed on Silica Support

When ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, EVA, is heated, a two-stage thermal degradation occurs following its melting. The vinyl acetate content of the copolymer was determined to be 43.8% by using TA 2950 and TA 2050 thermogravimetric instruments. TG/FTIR was used to detect the evolved gas. Acetic acid and trans-1-R-4-R'-cyclohexane were the main products evolved from EVA in the first and second stage, respectively. The apparent activation energies were determined for both stages by differential methods. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

微囊藻毒素-LR的特征红外光谱

利用傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱仪研究了微囊藻毒素-LR在扫描范围4 000～600 cm-1的红外吸收光谱图,微囊藻毒素-LR分子构成中的主要官能团,如带有单一取代基的苯环、胍基、γ-羧基等特征红外吸收带在谱图上均得到了确认。     

The application of fourier-transformed near-infrared spectra to quantitative analysis by comparison of similarity indices (CARNAC)

A new technique for utilising near-infrared spectroscopic data for quantitative analysis is proposed. The method uses a database of spectra stored in the form of the Fourier transform together with the associated chemical analysis. The spectrum of an unknown sample is compared to each member of the database and a small subset of very similar samples is isolated. The analyte value for the unknown is calculated from the analytical values of the subset. Results are given for the application of the method to the analysis of nicotine in tobacco.     

Solvent-induced porosity in ultrathin amine plasma polymer coatings

Plasma polymers deposited from n-heptylamine onto silicon wafers have been found to form a porous microstructure when immersed in water and other solvents, with pores of dimensions and densities that vary considerably between coatings deposited under different plasma conditions. This solvent-induced pore formation was found to correlate with the observed percentage of extractable material. With low radio frequency (rf) power inputs, the resultant softer coatings possess considerably more extractable material than coatings deposited at higher applied power levels. The porosity is thus proposed to result from the formation of voids created by the extraction of soluble low-molecular-weight polymeric material, which produces shrinkage stress that the coating, firmly attached to the substrate, cannot relieve by macroscopic contraction. The microscopic contraction of plasma polymer volume creates voids that appear to span the entire film thickness. The effect of aging plasma polymers in air was also investigated. For films deposited at low power it led to reduced extraction of soluble material and different pore morphology, whereas for films deposited at higher rf power levels, the extracted amounts and pore formation were the same for aged coatings. It was also found that the density of surface amine groups was lower for films deposited under the two lowest power settings, in contrast to the commonly held belief that the use of minimal applied rf power aids retention of functional groups. These porous plasma polymer coatings with surface groups suitable for further interfacial chemical immobilization reactions may be useful for various membrane and biotechnology applications.     

XPS characterization of the surface immobilization of antibacterial furanones

Brominated furanones have attracted recent interest as antibacterial compounds. To utilize them as protective coatings in biomedical device applications, they must be covalently immobilized onto solid surfaces; however, interfacial coupling protocols developed for other biomolecules are not applicable to furanones. An azide reaction scheme has enabled covalent immobilization onto fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer but its chemistry is less predictable, requiring detailed characterization by XPS and tapping mode AFM after each step of the immobilization sequence. XPS curve fitting resolved components in the C 1s, N 1s and Br 3d regions. Angle dependent XPS was used to assess the depth distributions and layer thicknesses. The results indicated successful covalent immobilization of furanones; however, side reactions occurred. In addition to the expected CBr, a contribution from bromine ion (Br⁻) was detected, indicating that photo-degradation of furanones took place during UV illumination, and this reaction was found to increase with illumination time. The Br⁻ was removed by washing with water, whereas the CBr signal from immobilized furanone remained. Spectroscopic characterization will assist in elucidating the structure of furanone coatings, understanding their mode of action when covalently immobilized on surfaces, and rationally designing and optimizing an effective antibacterial coating for biomedical applications.     

An Elementary Method on a Minimization Problem

一、ＴｈｅＰｒｏｂｌｅｍ .Ｌｅｔｆ(ｘ) =ａｘ2 ｂｘ ｃ ａｘ2 ｐｘ ｑ,ｗｈｅｒｅａ >0 ,ｂ2 - 4ａｃ≤ 0ａｎｄｐ2 - 4ａｑ≤ 0 .ＯｕｒＰｒｏｂｌｅｍｉｓ“Ｗｈｅｔｈｅｒｄｏｅｓｍｉｎｘ∈Ｒｆ(ｘ)ｅｘｉｓ?Ｍｏｒｅｏｖｅｒ ,,ｉｆｍｉｎｘ∈Ｒｆ(ｘ)ｅｘｉｓｔｓ,ｔｈｅｎｍｉｎｘ∈Ｒｆ(ｘ)=?ａｎｄｉｎｔｈｉｓｃａｓｅｘ =?” .Ｎａｔｕｒａｌｌｙ ,ｗｅｋｎｏｗｔｈａｔｍｉｎｘ∈Ｒｆ(ｘ)ｅｘｉｓｔｓｆｒｏｍｔｈｅｋｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅｏｆｍａｔｈｅｍａｔｉｃａｌａｎａｌｙｓｉｓ.Ａｌｓｏ,ｗｅｃａｎｇｉｖｅｔｈｅ…     

Sodium stearate adsorption onto titania pigment

The interaction of sodium stearate with titania pigment particles from aqueous suspension has been investigated using thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy combined with electrochemical studies. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used both to determine the adsorption isotherm and to investigate the interaction behavior. Monolayer coverage is determined to be 0.95 mg/m(2); however, unlike the case with organic solvents, multilayer adsorption occurs. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy, combined with TGA, revealed that the surface monolayer is chemically bound. DRIFT spectroscopic data also indicated that the stearate bridged across two aluminum atoms. Subsequent stearate layers were physisorbed to the stearate monolayer and were readily removed with acetone washing.     

The effect of silane concentration on the adsorption of poly(vinyl acetate-co-maleate) and γ -methacryloxypropyl- trimethoxysilane onto E-glass fibers

The adsorption of a poly(vinyl acetate-co-maleate) (PVAM) emulsion onto E-glass fibers was investigated along with sizing formulations prepared by mixing the PVAM with varying concentrations of -methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS). The sized E-glass fibers were then characterized using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Loss on Ignition (LOI) along with the DRIFT spectra indicated that the addition of silane to the PVAM emulsion caused a decrease in the amount of size on the fiber. The decrease in amount of size on the E-glass fibers did not coincide with a decrease in surface coverage, instead the XPS results indicated surface coverage had increased with silane addition. These results showed that small increases in the silane concentration appear to affect the amount of size adsorbed to the E-glass fibers