Soluble and insoluble ternary complexes of serum proteins with polyanions in the presence of Cu2+ in water

Complex formation between polyacrylic acid (PAA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA), hemoglobin (Hb), globin (Gl), and, respectively, transferrin (Tr), were studied in neutral water. Water-soluble and insoluble complexes are formed upon addition of divalent copper ions to the solution. The contacts between proteins and PAA are achieved via chelate unit formation in which the copper ions are located at the center. The solubility of the polycomplexes depends on the nature of proteins and correlates with their isoelectric points (pI). In the mixtures of Hb–Cu²⁺–PAA and Gl–Cu²⁺–PAA, insoluble complexes are formed at pH = pI starting with very low concentrations of Cu²⁺ (n_cu/n_AA ≤ 0.01). On the other hand, these polycomplexes remain soluble at pH > pI. BSA, HSA, and Tr form soluble ternary polycomplexes at neutral water (pH 7). The formation of the polycomplexes in the mixture BSA&–Cu²⁺–PAA was intensively studied by titration, HPLC, electrophoretic, and spectrophotometric methods. The solubility, composition, and stability of these polycomplexes depend on metal/polymer and protein/polymer ratio. Insoluble polycomplexes are formed when concentration of Cu²⁺ reaches a critical value (n_Cu/n_AA ≥ 0.25). At this concentration of Cu²⁺, phase separation takes place, starting with very low concentration of protein in the system. Over the critical ratio of the protein/polymer, the mixture again exhibits water-soluble character. The pattern of distribution of Cu²⁺ between PAA coils and of protein globules between polymer-metal complex particules appeared to follow the self-assembly principle. A hypothetical structural scheme for the formation of soluble and insoluble ternary polycomplexes is proposed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of operation conditions on direct borohydride fuel cell performance

In this study, the influences of different operational conditions such as cell temperature, sodium hydroxide concentration, oxidant conditions and catalyst loading on the performance of direct borohydride fuel cell which consisted of Pd/C anode, Pt/C cathode and Na⁺ form Nafion membrane as the electrolyte were investigated. The experimental results showed that the power density increased by increasing the temperature and increasing the flow rate of oxidant. Furthermore, it was found that 20 wt.% of NaOH concentration was optimum for DBFC operation. When oxygen was used as oxidant instead of air, better performance was observed. Experiments also showed that electrochemical performance was not considerably affected by humidification levels. An enhanced power density was found by increasing the loading of anodic catalyst. In the present study, a maximum power density of 27.6 mW cm⁻² at a cell voltage of 0.85 V was achieved at 55 mA cm⁻² at 60 °C when humidified air was used.     

Characterization of polyacrylonitrile,poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate), and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) based activated carbon nanofibers

In this study, three different acrylonitrile (AN)‐based polymers, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) [P(AN‐co‐VAc)], and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) [P(AN‐co‐IA)], were used as precursors to synthesize activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs). An electrospinning method was used to produce nanofibers. Oxidative stabilization, carbonization, and finally, activation through a specific heating regimen were applied to the electrospun fibers to produce ACNFs. Stabilization, carbonization, and activation were carried out at 230, 600, and 750 °C, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and porosimetry were used to characterize the fibers in each step. According to the fiber diameter variation measurements, the pore extension procedure overcame the shrinkage of the fibers with copolymer precursors. However, the shrinkage process dominated the scene for the PAN homopolymer, and this led to an increase in the fiber diameter. The 328 m²/g Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area for ACNFs with PAN precursor were augmented to 614 and 564 m²/g for P(AN‐co‐VAc) and P(AN‐co‐IA), respectively. The TGA results show that the P(AN‐co‐IA)‐based ACNFs exhibited a higher thermal durability in comparison to the fibers of PAN and P(AN‐co‐VAc). The application of these copolymers instead of AN homopolymer enhanced the thermal stability and increased the surface area of the ACNFs even in low‐temperature carbonization and activation processes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44381.     

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of poly(N-methyl pyrrole) on carbon fiber microelectrodes and morphology

This work reports the supercapacitive properties of electrochemically grown homopolymer films on carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) via poly(N-methyl pyrrole) (P(NMPy)) which is characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), Fourier transform infrared reflectance (attenuated total reflection) spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Microporosity of P(NMPy) electrocoated carbon fiber microelectrodes facilitated improved capacitance and redox behaviours by applying different DC potentials in electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements. The capacitance values of P(NMPy)/CFME is obtained (0.059 F) which is in the range of manufactured values.     

A novel EDOT–nonylbithiazole–EDOT based comonomer as an active electrode material for supercapacitor applications

A novel EDOT–nonylbithiazole–EDOT based bis(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)-(4,4′-dinonyl-2,2′-bithiazole) comonomer was synthesized and was electrochemically deposited onto carbon fiber electrode as an active electrode material. An electrochemical impedance study on the prepared electrodes is reported in this paper. Capacitive behavior of the carbon fiber microelectrode/poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)-(4,4′-dinonyl-2,2′-bithiazole) system was investigated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Variation of capacitance values by scan rate and specific capacitance values at different potentials are presented. Specific capacitance value for a galvanostatically prepared polymer film with a charge of 5 C cm⁻² was obtained about 340 mF cm⁻². Effect of the solvent and the deposition charge on the capacitive behavior of the film was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. An equivalent circuit model was proposed and the electrochemical impedance data were fitted to find out numerical values of the proposed components. The galvanostatic charge/discharge characteristic of a film was investigated by chronopotentiometry and the morphology of the films electrodeposited at different deposition charges were monitored using FE-SEM.     

Investigation of Ni Foam Effect for Direct Borohydride Fuel Cell

Ni foam has been used as a substrate for the anode electrocatalyst in our previous works. In this study, the effect of nickel foam as an anode electrode in direct borohydride cells has been investigated under steady state/steady‐flow and uniform state/uniform‐flow systems, since nickel has catalytic property. Cathode catalyst used has been 0.3 mg cm^–2 on PTFE‐treated Toray carbon paper. The results have showed that power densities have increased by increasing the temperature. Peak power densities of 5.01 and 9.55 mW cm^–2 have been achieved at 25 and 60 °C, respectively, for 1.5 mol dm^–3 NaBH₄. On the other hand, the electrochemical performance has not been significantly different by the sodium borohydride concentration; only a small increase of power density has been observed in steady state/steady‐flow system, and only a small decrease of fuel utilization ratio has been obtained in uniform state/uniform‐flow systems.     

Deposition potential dependence of composition, microstructure, and surface morphology of electrodeposited Ni–Cu alloy films

Composition, microstructure, and surface morphology of Ni–Cu alloy films electrodeposited at different deposition potentials have been investigated. The microstructural analysis carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that all Ni–Cu films are polycrystalline in nature and possess face-centered cubic structure. XRD analysis also revealed that the (111) peak of the Ni–Cu alloy films splits into two as Cu-rich and Ni-rich peaks and the peak intensities change depending on the deposition potential and hence the film composition. Compositional analysis of Ni–Cu films carried out by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that Ni content within the films increases as the deposition potential becomes more negative. The morphological analysis performed by using a scanning electron microscopy and an atomic force microscopy revealed that the surface morphology changes significantly with applied deposition potential. Furthermore, a direct correlation is observed between the surface roughness and lattice strain.     

Honeycomb Structures of Bulk Metallic Glasses

A combination of lithography and thermoplastic forming allows us to fabricate honeycombs from bulk metallic glass (BMG) precisely and to manipulate its structure selectively. Characteristics of the honeycomb such as the ligament length, thickness, and radius of curvature at the joints of the cells are varied to determine how changes in these characteristics affect properties under uniaxial in‐plane compression testing. It is found that the deformation behavior of BMG honeycombs can be controlled through microstructural design, from brittle to ductile, by changing the length to thickness ratio of the ligaments. The ability to absorb energy of BMG honeycombs exceeds honeycombs of most other materials due to the utilization of a size effect, which result in plasticity. Besides the usage for BMG honeycombs, the technique provides a general method to effectively characterize complex microstructural architectures and tailoring these architectures to the specifications of the material used.     

Warfarin improves the outcome of infrainguinal vein bypass grafting at high risk for failure

An economic evaluation of energy-absorbing flooring designed to prevent hip fractures revealed a payback period of 10 1/2 years if only direct costs avoided were evaluated and just over 11 months when direct and indirect costs were included. Cost-effectiveness ratios of less than $0 per hip fracture prevented and life year saved were also estimated.