An Update on Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Design through a Computational Approach to Produce Molecular Recognition Material with Enhanced Analytical Performance

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) computational design is expected to become a routine technique prior to synthesis to produce polymers with high affinity and selectivity towards target molecules. Furthermore, using these simulations reduces the cost of optimizing polymerization composition. There are several computational methods used in MIP fabrication and each requires a comprehensive study in order to select a process with results that are most similar to properties exhibited by polymers synthesized through laboratory experiments. Until now, no review has linked computational strategies with experimental results, which are needed to determine the method that is most appropriate for use in designing MIP with high molecular recognition. This review will present an update of the computational approaches started from 2016 until now on quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics that have been widely used. It will also discuss the linear correlation between computational results and the polymer performance tests through laboratory experiments to examine to what extent these methods can be relied upon to obtain polymers with high molecular recognition. Based on the literature search, density functional theory (DFT) with various hybrid functions and basis sets is most often used as a theoretical method to provide a shorter MIP manufacturing process as well as good analytical performance as recognition material.     

Erratum: Synthesis and characterization of diorganotin(IV) complexes of Schiff bases with ONO‐type donors and crystal structure of [N‐(2‐hydroxy‐4‐nitrophenyl)‐3‐ethoxysalicylideneiminato]diphenyltin(IV)

The article referenced above was first published online on 30 August 2007 with incorrect pagination; the pagination has now been corrected online and in print. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization in miniemulsion: Bimolecular termination in monomer‐free model systems

Bimolecular termination in nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization in miniemulsion has been investigated through the heating of a polystyrene–2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy macroinitiator and its 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy analogue in an aqueous toluene dispersion with sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate as a surfactant at 125 °C. The level of bimolecular termination by combination, evaluated from the high‐molecular‐weight shoulder, was higher in miniemulsion than in solution and increased with decreasing particle size. Quantitative analysis revealed that these results cannot be rationalized solely by nitroxide partitioning to the aqueous phase. The results are explained by an interface effect, by which nitroxide is adsorbed or located at the aqueous–organic interface. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4995–5004, 2007     

Radiation pasteurised oil palm empty fruit bunch fermented with Pleurotus sajor-caju as feed supplement to ruminants

In solid state fermentation, Pleurotus sajor-caju has been found to be able to degrade at least 30% oil palm empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) fibre leaving 70 % useful materials. Conditions under which fermentation carried out were investigated. It was found that, in the temperature range between 25– 28 °C, relative ph between 6–8, moisture between 60–70 % and medium composition of CaCO₃: rice bran 2 %: 5 % were the optimum conditions. The results showed in fermented products that, there were substantial reduction in cellulosic component such as Crude Fiber (CF, 18 %); Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF, 45 %), Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF, 61 %) and Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL, 14 %). However, Crude Protein (CP, 10%) increased resulted from single cell protein enrichment of mycelial microbial mass. The mass reductions of substrate in fermentation process corresponds to the CO₂ released during fermentation. Hence, attributable to the decreased in content of CF, ADF, NDF, and ADL. The digestibility study has also been carried out to determine the useful level of this product to ruminant. Aflatoxin content was detected low in both the initial substrates and products. Based on nutritional value and low content of aflatoxin, the product is useful as a source of roughage to ruminant.     

FT-IR spectroscopic detection of pesticide after sorption onto modified pumice

Organoclays can be prepared by modification of the surface with a cationic surface active compound and used for the immobilisation or separation of non-polar contaminants from polluted waters. In this work pumice is used instead of clay material. Batch system experiments were performed for the modification of pumice surface with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide. Modification of pumice and then the sorption of pesticide, Fenvalerate, from water have been traced by FT-IR spectroscopy.     

Single-site mutation and secondary structure stability: an isodesmic reaction approach. The case of unnatural amino acid mutagenesis Ala-->Lac

A method is described to evaluate backbone interactions in proteins via computational unnatural amino acid mutagenesis. Several N-acetyl polyalanyl amides (AcA(n)NH(2)) were optimized in the representative helical (3(10)-, 4(13)-, and a "hybrid" kappa-helix, n = 7, 9, 10, 14) and hairpin (two- and three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheets with type I turns betaalphaalphaepsilon, n = 6, 9, 10) conformations, and extended conformers of N-acetyl polyalanyl methylamides (n = 2, 3) were used to derive multistranded beta-sheet fragments. Subsequently, each residue of every model structure was substituted, one at a time, with l-lactic acid. The resulting mutant structures were again optimized, and group-transfer energies DeltaE(GT) were obtained as heats of the isodesmic reactions: AcA(n)NHR + AcOMe --> AcA(x)LacA(y)NHR + AcNHMe (R = H, CH(3)). These group-transfer energies correlate with the degree of charge polarization of the substituted peptide linkages as measured by the difference Deltae in H and O Mulliken populations in HN-C=O and with the H-bond distances in the "wild-type" structures. A good correlation obtains for the HF/3-21G and B3LYP/6-31G* group-transfer energies. The destabilization effects are interpreted in terms of loss of interstrand and intrastrand H-bonds, decrease in Lewis basicity of the C=O group, and O...O repulsion. On the basis of several comparisons of Ala --> Lac DeltaE(GT)'s with heats of the NH --> CH(2) substitutions, the latter contribution is estimated (B3LYP/6-31G*) to range between 1.5 and 2.4 kcal mol(-1), a figure close to the recent experimental DeltaDeltaG(o) value of 2.6 kcal mol(-1) (McComas, C. C.; Crowley, B. M.; Boger, D. L. J. Am.Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 9314). The partitioning yields the following maximum values of the electronic association energy of H-bonds in the examined sample of model structures (B3LYP/6-31G* estimates): 3(10)-helix D(e) = -1.7 kcal mol(-1), alpha-helix D(e) = -3.8 kcal mol(-1), beta-sheet D(e) = -6.1 kcal mol(-1). The premise of experimental evaluations of the backbone-backbone H-bonding that Ala --> Lac substitution in proteins is isosteric (e.g., Koh, J. T.; Cornish, V. W.; Schultz, P. G. Biochemistry 1997, 36, 11314) is often but not always corroborated. Examination of the integrity of H-bonding pattern and phi(i), psi(i) distribution identified several mutants with significant distortions of the "wild-type" structure resulting inter alia from the transitions between i, i + 3 and i, i + 4 H-bonding in helices, observed previously in the crystallographic studies of depsipeptides (Ohyama, T.; Oku, H.; Hiroki, A.; Maekawa, Y.; Yoshida, M.; Katakai, R. Biopolymers 2000, 54, 375; Karle, I. L.; Das, C.; Balaram, P. Biopolymers 2001, 59, 276). Thus, the isodesmic reaction approach provides a simple way to gauge how conformation of the polypeptide chain and dimensions of the H-bonding network affect the strength of backbone-backbone C=O...HN bonds. The results indicate that the stabilization provided by such interactions increases on going from 3(10)-helix to alpha-helix to beta-sheet.     

A modulated dsc study on the in situ polymerization of cyclic butylene terephthalate oligomers

The polymerization of a cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT) oligomer was studied as a function of temperature (T=200 and 260°C, respectively) by modulated DSC (MDSC). The first heating was followed by cooling after various holding times (5, 15 and 30 min) prior to the second heating which ended always at T=260°C. This allowed us to study the crystallization and melting behavior of the resulting polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), as well. In contrary to the usual belief, the CBT polymerization is exothermic and the related process is superimposed to that of the CBT melting. The melting behavior of the PBT was affected by the polymerization mode (performed below or above the melting temperature of the PBT product) of the CBT. Annealing above the melting temperature of PBT yielded a product featuring double melting. This was attributed to the presence of crystallites with different degrees of perfection. The crystals perfection which occurred via recrystallization/remelting was manifested by a pronounced exothermic peak in the non-reversing trace.     

Inter-element interferences in the determination of arsenic and antimony by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with a quartz tube atomizer

The interferences between arsenic and antimony on each other during the hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) determination of arsenic and antimony using a quartz tube atomizer (QTA) were examined. In order to eliminate or reduce such interferences by selective heat decomposition of arsine and stibine, a Pyrex adsorption U-tube trap containing glass wool was placed between the drying tube and the quartz tube atomizer. Although at 250 °C stibine decomposes and is held almost completely by the trap, arsine is also decomposed to an extent of 24% and, therefore, thermal decomposition is not useful to eliminate antimony interference on arsenic determination. The effect of coating the glass wool in the U-tube with antimony on the arsenic suppression of the antimony signal was studied. The results showed that the antimony coating in the U-tube could not hold arsenic effectively and its interference on the antimony signal could not be eliminated by this means. In the second part of the study, oxygen was supplied to the quartz tube atomizer during atomization in order to study the effect of supplying oxygen on the antimony signal and on the interference of arsenic in the antimony determination. Sensitivity was increased in the presence of oxygen and interferences of arsenic on antimony determination was decreased by about 10% when oxygen was supplied. It was also observed that the extent of interferences depended mainly on the interferent concentration rather than the analyte concentration.     

A new flavone from Malaysia Borneo Marsdenia tinctoria

Marsdenia tinctoria is an indigo producing plant commonly found in Borneo, Malaysia. In this present study, one new flavone kapitone (1) and three known compounds, that is 3,2’-dihydroxyflavone (2), 1-methylcyclobutene (3) and dimethyl isatoate (4) were isolated from the Malaysia Borneo M. tinctoria R. Br. (Apocynaceae). These compounds were isolated and characterised using extensive chromatographic and spectroscopic methods.