Electrospraying: an in-situ polymerisation route for fabricating high macroporous scaffolds

This paper reports a direct jet-based polymerisation by polycondensation approach to forming a self-supporting scaffold structure. The processing technique is electrospraying, which is also known as electrohydrodynamic atomization. A specially formulated ethanolic siloxane sol derived from alkoxysilanes was synthesised and electrosprayed using a ring-shaped ground electrode configuration. The medium was seen to electrospray in the stable cone-jet mode, which later gave rise to the growing or forming of “fir-tree” like structures. The materials were characterised using microscopy, solid state NMR, FTIR, XRD and DSC. Hence this paper explains the direct controlled polycondensation from the siloxane sol and further presents the basis by which these scaffolds take shape.     

AN INEXPENSIVE STIRRING DEVICE FOR THE 'MERRY-GO-ROUND' PHOTOREACTOR FOR THE DETERMINATION OF REACTION QUANTUM YIELDS

A simple bar magnet is employed to effect stirring of the contents of reaction cells in a'merry-go-round'photoreactor.     

Ion solvation in water clusters

We describe here molecular dynamics computer simulations performed to study the solvation of ions (Cl^? and Na⁺) in water clusters. Our simulations show that the calculated structure and dynamics of the clusters is very sensitive to the potential model which is used to describe the interactions. From the comparison with thermodynamic data and data from the photoelectron spectra we conclude that in Cl^?(H₂O)_n (n≤20) clusters the ion is located on the surface of the cluster.     

Iso-N-formyl-5-en-chonemorphine, a steroidal alkaloid from Sarcococca zeylanica

Chemical investigation of the non-quaternary alkaloidal fraction of the aerial parts of Sarcococca zeylanica of the family Buxaceae furnished a steroidal alkaloid iso-N-formyl-5-en-chonemorphine, which has not been previously reported as a natural product. The structure of this alkaloid was established on the basis of spectroscopic evidence.     

Preparation of lead zirconate titanate nano-powder by electrohydrodynamic atomization

A lead zirconate titanate (PZT) sol was subjected to electrohydrodynamic atomization in the stable cone-jet mode. The droplets generated were sized by laser diffraction before deposition and heating to 600 °C. The droplets were 20–35 m in size and transmission electron microscopy showed that their relics consisted of PZT powder particles, <10 nm in size. Thus, a novel method of preparing nano-powders of functional advanced materials, such as PZT, has been pioneered. PACS 81.20.Ev; 81.20.Rg; 77.84.-s; 81.07.Bc     

Glycosides from Grewia damine and Filicium decipiens

Chemical investigation of n-butanol extract from the methanol extract of leaves of Grewia damine furnished lupeol, sitosterol beta-D-glucoside, flavone C-glycosides vitexin, isovitexin where as the same extracts from the leaves of Filicium decipiens furnished sitosterol beta-D-glucoside, 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl kaempferol, 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylquercetin and 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1--> 2)-beta-D-glucopyranosylkaempferol.     

Stilbene derivatives with antifungal and radical scavenging properties from the stem bark of Artocarpus nobilis

Antifungal activity-guided fractionation of the n-butanol extract from the methanol extract of the stem bark of Artocarpus nobilis furnished two stilbene derivatives (E)-4-isopentenyl-3,5,2',4'-tetrahydroxystilbene and (E)-4-(3-methyl-E-but-1-enyl)-3,5,2',4'-tetrahydroxystilbene. Both compounds showed strong antifungal activity against Cladosporium cladosporioides and high radical scavenging activity towards the DPPH radical in TLC bio-autography method.     

Antifeedant activity of some Sri Lankan plants

Twenty nine solvent extracts from twenty Sri Lankan plants were examined for antifeedant activity against the fourth instar larvae of Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Muls., Coccinellidae. Extracts of Sarcococca brevifolia (Buxaceae), Strychnus nux vomica (Loganiaceae), Diploclisia glaucescens, Coscinium fenestratum (Menispermaceae), Syzygium caryophyllatum (Myrtaceae), Pittosporium zeylanicum (Pittosporaceae), Lasianthus gardneri (Rubiaceae), Ferronia limonia (Rutaceae) and Allophylus cobbe (Sapindaceae) have shown strong antifeedant activity.     

Atomic forces for geometry‐dependent point multipole and Gaussian multipole models

In standard treatments of atomic multipole models, interaction energies, total molecular forces, and total molecular torques are given for multipolar interactions between rigid molecules. However, if the molecules are assumed to be flexible, two additional multipolar atomic forces arise because of (1) the transfer of torque between neighboring atoms and (2) the dependence of multipole moment on internal geometry (bond lengths, bond angles, etc.) for geometry‐dependent multipole models. In this study, atomic force expressions for geometry‐dependent multipoles are presented for use in simulations of flexible molecules. The atomic forces are derived by first proposing a new general expression for Wigner function derivatives . The force equations can be applied to electrostatic models based on atomic point multipoles or Gaussian multipole charge density. Hydrogen‐bonded dimers are used to test the intermolecular electrostatic energies and atomic forces calculated by geometry‐dependent multipoles fit to the ab initio electrostatic potential. The electrostatic energies and forces are compared with their reference ab initio values. It is shown that both static and geometry‐dependent multipole models are able to reproduce total molecular forces and torques with respect to ab initio, whereas geometry‐dependent multipoles are needed to reproduce ab initio atomic forces. The expressions for atomic force can be used in simulations of flexible molecules with atomic multipoles. In addition, the results presented in this work should lead to further development of next generation force fields composed of geometry‐dependent multipole models. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010