Synthesis of water-soluble hyperbranched polymer and its application in acrylic latex

A water-soluble hyperbranched polymer (WHBP), obtained from a second generation of hyperbranched polyester and maleic anhydride, was studied. Its effects on the properties of acrylic latexes, which were based on emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), acrylic acid (AA) and WHBP, and latex film were discussed. The characteristics of WHBP were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Particle size and morphology of latex particles were confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The investigation showed that WHBP could be used in emulsion polymerization, and that latex of poly(BA-MMA-WHBP) was more stable than that of poly(BA-MMA-AA). The hardness of latex film increased from 2B to HB when WHBP was used.     

Injectable Graphene Oxide/Graphene Composite Supramolecular Hydrogel for Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs

Injectable hydrogels have attracted a lot of attention in drug delivery, however, their capacity to deliver water-insoluble or hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs is limited. Here, we developed injectable graphene oxide/graphene composite supramolecular hydrogels to deliver anti-cancer drugs. Pluronic F-127 was used to stabilize graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in solution, which was mixed with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) solution to form hydrogels. Native hydrogel was used as control. GO or RGO slightly shortened gelation time. The storage and loss moduli of the hydrogels were tracked by dynamic force measurement. The storage modulus of GO or RGO composite hydrogels was larger than that of the native hydrogel. Hydrogels were unstable in solution and eroded gradually. GO or RGO in Pluronic F-127 solution could potentially improve the solubility of the water-insoluble anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT), especially with large drug-loaded CPT amount. Drug release behaviors from solutions and hydrogels were characterized. The nanocomponents (GO or RGO) were able to bind more drug molecules either for CPT or for doxorubicin hydrochloride (DXR) in solution. Therefore, GO or RGO composite hydrogel could potentially enable better controlled and gentler drug release (for both CPT and DXR) than native hydrogel.     

Investigation of formation mechanism of Ti3SiC2 by high pressure and high-temperature synthesis

ABSTRACT

In this paper, synthesis of titanium silicon carbide (Ti₃SiC₂) under high pressure and high-temperature condition has been investigated by using the reactant systems Ti/Si/C, Ti/SiC/TiC, Ti/SiC/C and Ti/TiC/Si. Results reveal that Ti/TiC/Si is unsuited to the synthesis of Ti₃SiC₂ under a high pressure of 2.0?GPa, while an elemental mixture of Ti/Si/C is applicable. By the addition of Al, Ti₃SiC₂ with 95.8?wt% purity was obtained from elemental mixture with a large excess of silicon. The optimum experimental parameters were determined as Ti/Si/Al/C having the molar ratio of 3:1.5:0.5:1.9, holding at 2.0?GPa and 1300?°C for 60?min.     

Multifunctional Fluorinated Lubricant-Infused Poly(4-Hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB) Membranes for Full-Thickness Abdominal Wall Defect Repair

Abdominal wall defect caused by surgical trauma, congenital rupture, or tumor resection may result in hernia formation or even death. Tension-free abdominal wall defect repair by using patches is the gold standard to solve such problems. However, adhesions following patch implantation remain one of the most challenging issues in surgical practice. The development of new kinds of barriers is key to addressing peritoneal adhesions and repairing abdominal wall defects. It is already well recognized that ideal barrier materials need to have good resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption, cell adhesion, and bacterial colonization for preventing the initial development of adhesion. Herein, electrospun poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB) membranes infused with perfluorocarbon oil are used as physical barriers. The oil-infused P4HB membranes can greatly prevent protein attachment and reduce blood cell adhesion in vitro. It is further shown that the perfluorocarbon oil-infused P4HB membranes can reduce bacterial colonization. The in vivo study reveals that perfluoro(decahydronaphthalene)-infused P4HB membranes can significantly prevent peritoneal adhesions in the classic abdominal wall defects’ model and accelerate defect repair, as evidenced by gross examination and histological evaluation. This work provides a safe fluorinated lubricant-impregnated P4HB physical barrier to inhibit the formation of postoperative peritoneal adhesions and efficiently repair soft-tissue defects.     

Synthesis of NaxMoO3 crystals through high pressure solid-state reaction

We report growth of high-purity single crystals of the sodium molybdenum bronzes Na_xMoO₃ through high pressure solid-state reaction routes. Our results demonstrate that the crystallite sizes of Na_xMoO₃ can rapidly grow to ～25?μm under a moderate pressure of 4.0?GPa in just 10?min. This discovery provides a starting point for the growth of large single crystals of alkali metal molybdenum bronzes under high pressure.     

Further results on memory control of nonlinear discrete-time networked control systems with random input delay

This paper is concerned with the problem of memory state feedback stabilization for a class of nonlinear discrete-time networked control systems with partly known probability distribution of input delay. Different from the common assumptions on the delay in the existing literatures, it is assumed that the probabilities of the delay taking values in a finite set are partly known or fully known in advance. In terms of the information about the occurrence probabilities of the delay taking values in the two finite sets, a new stochastic delay model is proposed, where the probability information of the delay is included in the parameter matrices of the transformed system. Based on the new model, a delay-dependent stabilization criterion is derived using a combination of the Lyapunov functional method, convexity of matrix inequalities, and linear matrix inequality technique. Finally, three illustrative examples are provided to show the effectiveness and applicability of the developed theoretical results.     

强酸性大孔树脂催化合成肉桂酸苄酯

以肉桂酸和苄醇为原料,用强酸性大孔树脂NKC-9作催化剂合成肉桂酸苄酯,确定了最佳的合成工艺为：0．01mol肉桂酸,0．08mol苄醇,酸醇比为1：8,催化剂用量1．52g,反应时间7h,肉桂酸的转化率为70．7％。大孔树脂作为清洁、环保的绿色酯合成催化剂,具有广阔的应用前景。     

A competitive immunoassay for sensitive detection of small molecules chloramphenicol based on luminol functionalized silver nanoprobe

Chloramphenicol (CHL) as a broad-spectrum antibiotic has a broad action spectrum against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as anaerobes. The use of CHL is strictly restricted in poultry because of its toxic effect. However, CHL is still illegally used in animal farming because of its accessibility and low cost. Therefore, sensitive methods are highly desired for the determination of CHL in foodstuffs. The immunoassays based on labeling as an important tool have been reported for the detection of CHL residues in food-producing animals. However, most of the labeling procedures require multi-step reactions and purifications and thus they are complicated and time-consuming. Recently, in our previous work, luminol functionalized silver nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized, which exhibits higher CL efficiency than luminol functionalized gold nanoparticles. In this work, the new luminol functionalized silver nanoparticles have been used for the labeling of small molecules CHL for the first time and a competitive chemiluminescent immunoassay has been developed for the detection of CHL. Owing to the amplification of silver nanoparticles, high sensitivity for CHL could be achieved with a low detection limit of 7.6 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹ and a wide linear dynamic range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸–1.0 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹. This method has also been successfully applied to determine CHL in milk and honey samples with a good recoveries (92% and 102%, 99% and 107% respectively), indicating that the method is feasible for the determination of CHL in real milk and honey samples. The labeling procedure is simple, convenient and fast, superior to previously reported labeling procedures. The immunoassay is also simple, fast, sensitive and selective. It is of application potential for the determination of CHL in foodstuffs.     

Atomic structure, energetics, and dynamics of topological solitons in indium chains on Si(111) surfaces

Based on scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles theoretical studies, we characterize the precise atomic structure of a topological soliton in In chains grown on Si(111) surfaces. Variable-temperature measurements of the soliton population allow us to determine the soliton formation energy to be ～60 meV, smaller than one-half of the band gap of ～200 meV. Once created, these solitons have very low mobility, even though the activation energy is only about 20 meV; the sluggish nature is attributed to the exceptionally low attempt frequency for soliton migration. We further demonstrate local electric field-enhanced soliton dynamics.