Synthesis of branched polysaccharides by polymerization of 6-O-t-butyldimethylsilyl-D-glucal through stereoregular haloglycosylation

In this letter, we report synthesis of branched polysaccharide 2 by glycosylation of glucal-type monomer 1 with two free hydroxy groups at position 3 and 4. Monomer 1 polymerized with N-halosuccinimide promoter in acetonitrile solvent at room temperature--50 degrees C. The product was isolated as a petroleum ether insoluble fraction. The structure was determined by 1H and 13C NMR spectra as well as elemental analysis to be a polysaccharide consisting of 2-halo-2-deoxy-alpha-D-mannoside units, indicating that the polymerization proceeded via stereoregular glycosylation manner. The molecular weights determined by GPC with DMF were 3,300-4,000. The degree of branching was estimated by the NMR data of the product from the reaction of 2 with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride.     

New Layered Double Hydroxide, Zn–Ti LDH : Preparation and Intercalation Reactions

The layered double hydroxide (LDH) well known for its abilityto intercalate anionic compounds has been prepared conventionallyonly with bivalent and trivalent cations. In this study, Zn–Ti LDH consisting of bivalent and tetravalent cations was prepared, andreacted with organic monocarboxylic, dicarboxylic and aromatic acidsat high or room temperature. XRD patterns of the prepared LDH(Zn–Ti-CO₃) showed that interlayer spacing of the LDH was 0.67 nm. The value was small compared to the usual LDH (Zn–Al–CO₃)of 0.76 nm in the case of carbonate anion as the guest. Also, DTA,TG and DTG analysis indicated that the electrostatic force betweenthe layers and carbonate anions increased where the carbonate anionsin Zn–Ti LDH decomposed at 255 °C while those inZn–Al–CO₃ decomposed at 230–240 °C.     

Detection of interfacial phenomena with osteoblast-like cell adhesion on hydroxyapatite and oxidized polystyrene by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation

The adhesion process of osteoblast-like cells on hydroxyapatite (HAp) and oxidized polystyrene (PSox) was investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and atomic force microscope (AFM) techniques in order to clarify the interfacial phenomena between the surfaces and cells. The interfacial viscoelastic properties (shear viscosity (η(ad)), elastic shear modulus (μ(ad)), and tan δ) of the preadsorbed protein layer and the interface layer between the surfaces and cells were estimated using a Voigt-based viscoelastic model from the measured frequency (Δf) and dissipation shift (ΔD) curves. In the ΔD-Δf plots, the cell adhesion process on HAp was classified as (1) a mass increase only, (2) increases in both mass and ΔD, and (3) slight decreases in mass and ΔD. On PSox, only ΔD increases were observed, indicating that the adhesion behavior depended on the surface properties. The interfacial μ(ad) value between the material surfaces and cells increased with the number of adherent cells, whereas η(ad) and tanδ decreased slightly, irrespective of the surface. Thus, the interfacial layer changed the elasticity to viscosity with an increase in the number. The tan δ values on HAp were higher than those on PSox and exceeded 1.0. Furthermore, the pseudopod-like structures of the cells on HAp had periodic stripe patterns stained with a type I collagen antibody, whereas those on PSox had cell-membrane-like structures unstained with type I collagen. These results indicate that the interfacial layers on PSox and HAp exhibit elasticity and viscosity, respectively, indicating that the rearrangements of the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton changes cause different cell-surface interactions. Therefore, the different cell adhesion process, interfacial viscoelasticity, and morphology depending on the surfaces were successfully monitored in situ and evaluated by the QCM-D technique combined with other techniques.     

Effect of interfacial proteins on osteoblast-like cell adhesion to hydroxyapatite nanocrystals

A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique was employed to detecting the protein adsorption and subsequent osteoblast-like cell adhesion to hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals. The interfacial phenomena with the preadsorption of three proteins (albumin (BSA), fibronectin (Fn), and collagen (Col)), the subsequent adsorption of fetal bovine serum (FBS), and the adhesion of the cells were investigated. The QCM-D measured the frequency shift (Δf) and dissipation energy shift (ΔD), and the viscoelastic properties of the adlayers were evaluated using ΔD-Δf plot and Voigt-based viscoelastic model. The Col adsorption significantly showed higher Δf, ΔD, elasticity, and viscosity values as compared to the BSA and Fn adsorption, and the subsequent FBS adsorption depended on the preadsorbed proteins. The ΔD-Δf plot of the cell adhesion also showed a different behavior depending on the surfaces, and the Fn- and Col-modified surfaces showed the rapid mass and ΔD changes by forming the viscous interfacial layers with cell adhesion, indicating that the processes were affected by the cellular reaction through the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The confocal laser scanning microscope images of adherent cells showed a different morphology and pseudopod on the surfaces. The cells adhered to the surfaces modified with the Fn and Col had significantly uniaxially expanded shapes and fibrous pseudopods, and those modified with the BSA had a round shape. Therefore, the different cell-protein interactions would cause the arrangement of the ECM and the cytoskeleton changes at the interfaces, and these phenomena were successfully detected by the QCM-D and Voigt-based model.     

Immobilization of folic acid on Eu3+-doped nanoporous silica spheres

Folic acid (FA) was immobilized on Eu(3+)-doped nanoporous silica spheres (Eu:NPSs) through mediation of the 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane adlayer. The ordered nanopores of Eu:NPS were preserved by the immobilization. The FA-immobilized Eu:NPSs showed the characteristic photoluminescence peak due to interactions between the FA molecules and Eu(3+) ions, and highly dispersed stability in phosphate buffered saline.     

Compensation of the photoelastic birefringence of a polymer by doping with an anisotropic molecule

We report on a method to compensate the photoelastic birefringence of a polymer. In this method, a rod-like molecule that has a polarizability anisotropy was chosen and doped in a polymer. We demonstrated this method by compensating the negative photoelastic birefringence of poly(methylmethacrylate) at a wavelength of 633 nm. Homogeneous doping with 2.2 wt. % of trans-stilbene almost eliminated the photoelastic birefringence of the polymer. The photoelastic coefficient of the synthesized zero-photoelastic birefringence polymer was 0.057×10^-12 Pa^-1. We found that the photoelastic birefringence of poly(methylmethacrylate) was compensated by the motion of trans-stilbene in the polymer by the analysis of the infrared absorption spectrum. PACS 42.70.-a; 42.70.Jk; 78.30.Jw     

A green process for coupling manganese oxides with titanium(IV) dioxide

MnO(2) nanoparticle-loaded TiO(2) prepared by a green process capable of removing harmful MnO(4)(-) ions from water exhibits catalytic activity for a test reaction, H(2)O(2) decomposition, in the dark with its activity enhanced by UV light irradiation.     

Improvement of the physical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) by copolymerization with N-pentafluorophenyl maleimide; zero-orientational and photoelastic birefringence polymers with high glass transition temperatures

Copolymers of N-pentafluorophenyl maleimide (PFPMI) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) were synthesized by a free radical initiator, such as AIBN. The refractive indexes of the copolymers remained nearly constant (1.4970 at 532 nm) regardless of the polymer composition. These copolymers also showed high thermal stability. The orientational and photoelastic birefringence of the copolymers obtained were measured. Since both of the orientational and photoelastic birefringences of PMMA are negative whereas poly(PFPMI) exhibits positive, thus we have obtained nearly zero orientational and photoelastic birefringence polymers when the ratios of MMA/PFPMI were 91.8/8.2 and 97.0/3.0 mol%, respectively. Based on the experimental data, the ratios of MMA/PFPMI for zero birefringence were determined to be 88.9/11.1 and 93.8/6.2 mol% for orientational and photoelastic birefringence, respectively. The Tgs of corresponding copolymers were estimated to be 128 and 122 ℃.     

Third-order optical nonlinearity in regioregular head-to-tail coupled poly(3-Hexylthiophene)

We measured the third-order optical nonlinearity of regioregular head-to-tail coupled poly (3-hexylthiophene) (HT-PHT) and regiorandom poly (3-hexylthiophene) (R-PHT) around exciton resonance using degenerate four wave mixing. The observed value of ∣χ⁽³⁾∣ at the exciton resonance peak of HT-PHT is in the order of 10^-9 esu which is approximately three-fold larger than that of R-PHT. We observed for the first time the enhancement in optical nonlinearity that occurs through the control of regularity of the polymeric structure. Response time of the nonlinearity was also measured using the transient grating method. The decay time of the transient grating in R-PHT and HT-PHT was less than 2 ps.     

Spontaneous proton-transfer copolymerization of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline with itaconic acid

Copolymerization of two monomers, 2-methyl-2-oxazoline (1) and itaconic acid (2) was carried out. The copolymerization proceeded spontaneously in 1:1 monomer feed ratio to give 2:1 copolymer 3. The mechanism for the production of such a 2:1 copolymer was explained by the in situ formation of monomer 5 from 1 and 2. Then, the propagation proceeded between 5 and 1 via zwitterionic intermediates. When the ratio of 1 in the feed was higher, the homopropagation of 1 took place.