Application of hydrophilic ionic liquids as co-solvents in chloroperoxidase catalyzed oxidations

The effect of hydrophilic ionic liquids (ILs) on the activity of chloroperoxidase (CPO) was checked through kinetic and stereochemical studies. The possibility to employ this enzyme in synthesis has been demonstrated investigating the chemo- and stereoselectivity of oxidation of phenyl methylsulfide in several citrate buffer-IL mixtures.     

Magnetic poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) microspheres by dispersion and inverse emulsion polymerization

The aim of this study was to develop novel thermally responsive polymer microspheres with magnetic properties. Dispersion and inverse emulsion copolymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) was investigated in the presence of γ‐Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. The resulting microspheres were characterized in terms of morphology, size, polydispersity, iron content, and temperature‐dependent swelling using optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, QELS, and AAS. The effects of several variables, such as the concentration of γ‐Fe₂O₃, MBAAm crosslinking agent, Span 80 surfactant, 2,2′‐azobis(2‐methyloctanenitrile) (AMON) initiator, and polymerization temperature on the properties of the microspheres were studied. Swelling and thermoresponsive behavior of the microspheres containing γ‐Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were also investigated. The microspheres contained about 8 wt % of iron. The presence of magnetic nanoparticles and their concentration changes did not have any significant effect on the temperature sensitivity of the composites. The particles gradually shrink into an increasingly collapsed state when the temperature is raised to 40 °C since the increase in temperature weakens the hydration and PNIPAAm chains gradually become more hydrophobic, which leads to the collapse of the particles. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5884–5898, 2007     

Normal human dermal fibroblasts: proteomic analysis of cell layer and culture medium.

Proteins present within the cell layer and those released in the cell medium from in vitro cultured normal human dermal fibroblasts were separated and characterized in terms of their isoelectric point and molecular weight, by two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis. All spots in the synthetic gel were firstly analyzed by the Melanie 3 software and compared with those of breast cancer cells, colorectal epithelial cells, HL60, lymphoma cells, and platelets, already available on-line. From the identification of 144 spots from both the cell layer and the medium, we were able to recognize 89 different proteins, since a certain number of spots represented different isoforms of the same molecule. Identifications were performed by matching with on-line 2-D databases, and by matrix assisted laser-desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), in order to confirm the identification by matching, or to identify new proteins. The procedure we used allows (i) to design a highly reproducible reference map of the proteome of adult human normal fibroblasts in culture, (ii) to evaluate protein species produced in the cell layer as well as those released in the culture medium, and (iii) to compare data from gel matching with those obtained by MS. This work represents an essential step for a better knowledge of mesenchymal cells, given the widespread use of this cell type in both clinical and experimental investigations.     

On Genuine Bernstein–Durrmeyer Operators

We continue the studies on the so–called genuine Bernstein–Durrmeyer operators U _n by establishing a recurrence formula for the moments and by investigating the semigroup T(t) approximated by U _n . Moreover, for sufficiently smooth functions the degree of this convergence is estimated. We also determine the eigenstructure of U _n , compute the moments of T(t) and establish asymptotic formulas. Received: January 26, 2007.     

Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of CoFeCrSiB amorphous ribbons

In this paper we investigate the surface magnetic properties of as-quenched (AQ) CoFeCrBSi ribbons prepared by planar flow casting method with using magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). Measured hysteresis loops in longitudinal and transversal configurations enable us to obtain the information of ribbons surface magnetic properties. Moreover, we suggest new magneto-optic method, which is based on measurements of magneto-optical effects depending on DC current flowing through the ribbon. Experimental data of AQ ribbons are then compared with the model, which describes the influence of incidence angle on magneto-optical angles.