Crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide) containing siloxanes fabricated through thiol‐ene photochemistry

Homogenous amphiphilic crosslinked polymer films comprising of poly(ethylene oxide) and polysiloxane were synthesized utilizing thiol‐ene “ click ” photochemistry. A systematic variation in polymer composition was Carried out to obtain high quality films with varied amount of siloxane and poly(ethylene oxide). These films showed improved gas separation performance with high gas permeabilities with good CO₂/N₂ selectivity. Furthermore, the resulting films were also tested for its biocompatibility, as a carrier media which allow human adult mesenchymal stem cells to retain their capacity for osteoblastic differentiation after transplantation. The obtained crosslinked films were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR, Raman‐IR , and small angle X‐ray scattering. The synthesis ease and commercial availability of the starting materials suggests that these new crosslinked polymer networks could find applications in wide range of applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1548–1557     

Synthesis of 8-substituted naphtho[2,1-b]thiophenes with cationic side chains at position 4

A series of five 8-substituted α-[bis(2-hydroxyethyi)aminoethyl]naphtho[2,1-b]thiophenes 7 and a series of seven N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-8-substituted naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene-4-carboxamides 8 have been synthesized. The naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene-4-carboxylic acids 4 were prepared by photooxidative cyclization of α-(2-thienyi)-β-arylacrylic acids 3. The carboxylic acids 4 were converted by a conventional five step route involving α-bromoketone intermediates to the a-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)aminomethyl]-8-substituted naphtho-[2,1-6]thiophene-4-methanols 7 and by a standard two-step amide preparation to the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-8-substituted naphtho[2,1-6]thiophene-4-carboxamides 8 .     

Piper betle (L): Recent Review of Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties,Safety Profiles,and Commercial Applications

Piper betle (L) is a popular medicinal plant in Asia. Plant leaves have been used as a traditional medicine to treat various health conditions. It is highly abundant and inexpensive, therefore promoting further research and industrialization development, including in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed in detail to show recent updates on the antibacterial and antifungal properties of betel leaves. This current review showed that betel leaves extract, essential oil, preparations, and isolates could inhibit microbial growth and kill various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as fungal species, including those that are multidrug-resistant and cause serious infectious diseases. P. betle leaves displayed high efficiency on Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The ratio of MBC/MIC indicated bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects of P. betle leaves, while MFC/MIC values showed fungicidal and fungistatic effects. This review also provides a list of phytochemical compounds in betel leaves extracts and essential oils, safety profiles, and value-added products of betel leaves. Some studies also showed that the combination of betel leaves extract and essential oil with antibiotics (streptomycin, chloramphenicol and gentamicin) could provide potentiating antibacterial properties. Moreover, this review delivers a scientific resume for researchers in respected areas and manufacturers who want to develop betel leaves-based products.     

Gas transport in TiO2 nanoparticle-filled poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne)

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles were dispersed via solution processing in poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) (PTMSP) to form nanocomposite films. Nanoparticle dispersion was investigated using atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. At low-particle loadings, nanoparticles were dispersed individually and in nanoscale aggregates. At high-particle loadings, some nanoparticles formed micron-sized aggregates. The gas transport and density exhibited a strong dependence on nanoparticle loading. At low-TiO₂ loadings, the composite density was similar to or slightly higher than that predicted by a two-phase additive model. However, at particle loadings exceeding approximately 7 nominal vol.%, the density was markedly lower than predicted, suggesting that the particles induced the creation of void space within the nanocomposite. For example, when the TiO₂ nominal volume fraction was 0.35, the polymer/particle composite density was 40% lower than expected based on a two-phase additive model for density. At low-nanoparticle loading, light gas permeability was lower than that of the unfilled polymer. At higher nanoparticle loadings, light gas permeability (i.e., CO₂, N₂, and CH₄) increased to more than four times higher than in unfilled PTMSP. At most, selectivity changed only slightly with particle loading.     

Higher-dimensional black holes with Dirac–Born–Infeld (DBI) global defects

It is well-known that the exact solution of non-linear \(\sigma \) model coupled to gravity can be perceived as an exterior gravitational field of a global monopole. Here we study Einstein’s equations coupled to a non-linear \(\sigma \) model with Dirac–Born–Infeld (DBI) kinetic term in D dimensions. The solution describes a metric around a DBI global defects. When the core is smaller than its Schwarzschild radius it can be interpreted as a black hole having DBI scalar hair with deficit conical angle. The solutions exist for all D, but they can be expressed as polynomial functions in r only when D is even. We give conditions for the mass M and the scalar charge \(\eta \) in the extremal case. We also investigate the thermodynamic properties of the black holes in canonical ensemble. The monopole alter the stability differently in each dimensions. As the charge increases the black hole radiates more, in contrast to its counterpart with ordinary global defects where the Hawking temperature is minimum for critical \(\eta \). This behavior can also be observed for variation of DBI coupling, \(\beta \). As it gets stronger (\(\beta \ll 1\)) the temperature increases. By studying the heat capacity we can infer that there is no phase transition in asymptotically-flat spacetime. The AdS black holes, on the other hand, undergo a first-ordered phase transition in the Hawking–Page type. The increase of the DBI coupling renders the phase transition happen for larger radius.     

Revisiting the structure and dynamics of hydrated Cd2+ in aqueous solutions: Insights from the RI-SCS-MP2/MM molecular dynamics simulation

The spin component scale MP2/molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulation investigated the hydration shell formation and hydrated Cd²⁺ dynamics in the water environment. At the first hydration shell, six water molecules with 2.27 Å for the average distance between water and Cd²⁺. Dynamical properties were analyzed by computing the water molecule's mean residence time (MRT) in its first and second hydration shells. The MRT of each shell was determined to be 31.8 and 1.92 ps, suggesting the strong influence of Cd²⁺ in the first hydration shell. The second shell was labile, with an average number of water molecules being 18. Despite the strong interaction between Cd²⁺ and water molecules in the first shell, the influence of ions in the second hydration shell remained weak.     

Studying Systematic Errors on Estimation Decision, Detection, and Quantification Limit on Micro-TLC

The decision limit (CCα), capability of detection (CCβ) and quantification limit (QL) are importance performance characteristics in method validation. The TLC-Scanner 3 from Camag provides the possibility to choose the slit dimension of light to determine the peak chromatogram of a substance. The influence of the slit dimension for determination of CCα, CCβ and QL of paracetamol has been carried out. Paracetamol was spotted onto plates of AL-TLC Si G 60 F254 by linomat 4 in the range of 50–400 ng/spot and 10–400 ng/band, then on twin chambers eluted with TAEA (toluene:acetone-ethanol:conc.ammonia, 45 + 45 + 7 + 3 v/v) for 45 mm. Eluted spots were scanned in different slit dimensions at 248 nm. The CCα, CCβ and QL of paracetamol were estimated through the linear regression (LRM) and signal-to-noise (S/N) methods. Slit lengths between 50 and 133 % of the band width of the spots, and with the noise factor of the slit under 2.6, produced good precision measurements of TLC-densitometry between plates, while slit lengths between 50 and 83 % of the band width of the spots introduced a higher sensitivity response of the detector. The estimated CCα, CCβ and QL were determined by how the data were collected, the analytical optical setting, and the usage method for the estimation of both validation parameters.     

$$\mathbb {Z}_{4}$$-codes and their Gray map images as orthogonal arrays

A classic result of Delsarte connects the strength (as orthogonal array) of a linear code with the minimum weight of its dual: the former is one less than the latter. Since the paper of Hammons et al., there is a lot of interest in codes over rings, especially in codes over \(\mathbb {Z}_{4}\) and their (usually non-linear) binary Gray map images. We show that Delsarte’s observation extends to codes over arbitrary finite commutative rings with identity. Also, we show that the strength of the Gray map image of a \(\mathbb {Z}_{4}\) code is one less than the minimum Lee weight of its Gray map image.