Antimicrobial nanocomposite films made of poly(lactic acid)-cellulose nanocrystals (PLA-CNC) in food applications: part A—effect of nisin release on the inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes in ham

New bioactive nanocomposite films were prepared by compression molding method for food applications. Film matrix was composed of poly(lactic acid) containing cellulose nanocrystals (PLA-CNC). Nanocomposite films were converted to bioactive films using nisin as an antimicrobial agent by an adsorption coating method. Resulting antimicrobial films were then introduced in packages containing sliced cooked ham as a food model and stored for 14 days at 4 °C to determine their inhibiting capacity against Listeria monocytogenes and their physicochemical and structural properties. The study also focused on the nisin release from the films by using an agar diffusion bioassay. It was observed that mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break and water vapor permeability values of the bioactive films were stable after 14 days of storage. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis allowed characterizing the adsorption of nisin onto PLA-CNC surface. Microbiological analysis of sliced cooked ham inoculated with L. monocytogenes (3 log CFU/g) allowed determining the potentiality of nisin as a strong antimicrobial agent in PLA-CNC-based films. Bioactive PLA-CNC-nisin films showed a significant reduction of L. monocytogenes in ham from day 1 and a total inhibition from day 3. The percentage of nisin release increased continuously from day 0 to day 14, up to 21 % at day 14. These results demonstrated the potential application of PLA-CNC-nisin films on controlling the growth of food pathogens in meat products.     

Dynamics of the local moment induced by nonmagnetic defects in cuprates

We present a study of the spin dynamics of magnetic defects induced by Li substitution of the plane Cu in the normal state of YBa2Cu3O6+x. The fluctuations of the coupled Cu magnetic moments in the vicinity of Li are probed by near-neighbor 89Y and 7Li NMR spin lattice relaxation. The data indicate that the magnetic perturbation fluctuates as a single entity with a correlation time tau which scales with the local static susceptibility. This behavior is reminiscent of the low T Kondo state of magnetic impurities in conventional metals. Surprisingly it extends well above the "Kondo" temperature for the underdoped pseudogapped case.     

Nuclear spin lattice relaxation in the amorphous state: Towards an understanding

Full reports concerning the nuclear relaxation of ¹¹B, ²³Na, ²⁹Si and ⁷⁷Se in the following glasses: B₂O₃, Na₂B₄O₇, (Na₂O)_0.3(SiO₂)_0.7, Se are presented. Extended measurements confirm the existence of an efficient quadrupolar mechanism typical of glasses and show that the two-phonon process, responsible for the quadropolar relaxation in insulating crystals, is always negligible in our whole range of investigation. The relaxation rate T₁^?1, field independent in almost all cases, varies like T^(1+γ) with 0 < γ < 1 between 1.2 K and 100 K but exhibits different behaviour at higher T depending upon the analysed material. Whereas T₁ goes through a minimum at 300 K in B₂O₃, its T-dependence for ²³Na in Na₂B₄O₇ and (Na₂O)_0.3(SiO₂)_0.7 becomes faster than in the low-T regime. Several attempts made to interpret the data within the framework of the tunneling model, commonly invoked to explain the anomalous thermal properties of glasses, are reviewed in detail. It is concluded that the T₁ results are best accounted for by a process consisting of the modulation of the electric field gradient (EFG) at the nuclear site by its nearest neighbour tunneling defect. This EFG fluctuation is shown to be dominated by interactions between defects and an average correlation time of about 10^?9 sec is assigned to it. A complete T₁ calculation requires the previous knowledge of the physical nature of the defects, so far not available. Each defect is then tentatively identified with a bridging oxygen atom tunneling between two potential wells, which gives the correct energy dependence for the EEG matrix element. A defect number of 10²⁷ m^?3 is shown to be consistent with the results.     

NMR study of the magnetic properties of the polymerized phase of Cs1C60

\chem{Cs_{1}C_{60}} . The NMR spectrum allows, when the Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) technique is used, to get information about the electronic structure of this phase, which points out that the spin density is not uniformly distributed on the ball. An estimation of the strength of the quadrupolar effects on is then given, which shows that it is possible to analyse the spin-lattice relaxation time in terms of magnetic effects. A comparison with the of is then justified and allows us to point out the importance of low dimensional antiferromagnetic fluctuations in this compound. We also investigate the nature of the magnetic ground state in : the broadening of the spectra states unambiguously its magnetic nature and a detailed analysis of their shape gives further indications on the antiferromagnetic nature of the magnetic order, which seems characterized by a large amount of disorder. Received: 19 November 1996/Accepted: 19 December 1996     

Fullerene local order in Na2CsC60 by23Na NMR

We have investigated the alkali metal fulleride Na₂CsC₆₀ by²³Na nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), The NMR line of the tetrahedral site is split below 170 K (T and T′ lines) similarly to the A₃C₆₀ compounds with A=Rb or K. The intensity fraction of the T′ line follows the same temperature dependence as the¹³C NMR line width. We have also found that the spectrum is independent of the cooling rate. Spin-echo double resonance measurements show that T and T′ sites are mingled on a microscopic scale. We propose that the different²³Na NMR lines correspond to different fullerene orientational environments of the tetrahedral alkaline site.     

NMR study of the magnetic and metal-insulator transitions in Na0.5CoO2: a nesting scenario

Co and Na NMR are used to probe the local susceptibility and charge state of the two Co sites of the Na-ordered orthorhombic Na(0.5)CoO(2). Above T(N) = 86 K, both sites display a similar T dependence of the spin shift, suggesting that there is no charge segregation into Co(3+) and Co(4+) sites. Below T(N), the magnetic long range commensurate order found is only slightly affected by the metal-insulator transition at T(MIT) = 51 K. Furthermore, the electric field gradient at the Co site does not change at these transitions, indicating the absence of charge ordering. All these observations can be explained by successive spin-density wave induced by two nestings of the Fermi surface specific to the x = 0.5 Na ordering.     

Phase segregation in Na<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>CoO<Subscript>2</Subscript> for large Na contents

We have investigated a set of sodium cobaltates (Na _x CoO₂) samples with various sodium content (0.67 ≤ x ≤ 0.75) using Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR). The four different stable phases and an intermediate one have been recognized. The NQR spectra of ⁵⁹Co allowed us to clearly differentiate the pure phase samples which could be easily distinguished from multi-phase samples. Moreover, we have found that keeping samples at room temperature in contact with humid air leads to destruction of the phase purity and loss of sodium content. The high sodium content sample evolves progressively into a mixture of the detected stable phases until it reaches the x = 2/3 composition which appears to be the most stable phase in this part of phase diagram.     

Ruthenium(II) 2,2′-bipyridine complexes incorporating substituted phenylazo-(2-(phenylthio))phenylmethine ancillary ligands. Synthesis,crystal structure,spectroscopic and redox properties

Abstract  

Five ruthenium complexes bearing phenylazo-(2-(phenylthio))phenylmethine ligands of the general type trans-[Ru^II(bpy)(L)(Cl)₂] (C1–C5) {L = YC₆H₄N=NC(COCH₃)=NC₆H₄(2-SC₆H₅), H (L1), Cl (L2), OCH₃ (L3), Br (L4), or NO₂ (L5)} have been synthesized. The crystal structure of trans-[Ru(bpy)(L1)(Cl)₂] (C1) is reported and shows no direct metal–S interaction. The complexes have been characterized through spectroscopic (IR, UV/vis and NMR) and electrochemical (CV) techniques. The electrochemical parameters (E _L(L)) of the azoimine ligands are reported.     

Nernst effect and disorder in the normal state of high-T(c) cuprates

We have studied the influence of disorder induced by electron irradiation on the Nernst effect in optimally and underdoped YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) single crystals. The fluctuation regime above T(c) expands significantly with disorder, indicating that the T(c) decrease is partly due to the induced loss of phase coherence. In pure crystals the temperature extension of the Nernst signal is found to be narrow whatever the hole doping, contrary to data reported in the low-T(c) cuprate families. Our results show that the presence of intrinsic disorder can explain the enhanced range of the Nernst signal found in the pseudogap phase of the latter compounds.