Morphological and separation performance study of polysulfone/titanium dioxide (PSF/TiO2) ultrafiltration membranes for humic acid removal

In this study, polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membranes with enhanced performance for humic acid removal were prepared from a dope solution containing PSF/DMAc/PVP/TiO₂. The main reason for adding titanium oxide during dope solution preparation was to enhance the antifouling properties of membranes prepared. In the spinning process, air gap distance was varied in order to produce different properties of the hollow fiber membranes. Characterizations were conducted to determine membrane properties such as pure water flux, molecular weight cut off (MWCO), humic acid (HA) rejection and resistance to fouling tendency. The results indicated that the pure water flux and MWCO of membranes increased with an increase in air gap distance while HA retention decreased significantly with increasing air gap. Due to this, it is found that the PSF/TiO₂ membrane spun at zero air gap was the best amongst the membranes produced and demonstrated > 90% HA rejection. Analytical results from FESEM and AFM also provided supporting evidence to the experimental results obtained. Based on the anti-fouling performance investigation, it was found that membranes with the addition of TiO₂ were excellent in mitigating fouling particularly in reducing the fouling resistances due to concentration polarization, cake layer formation and absorption.     

PERFORMANCE OF AN ANNULAR CATALYTIC THREE-PHASE REACTOR FOR A SECOND ORDER REACTION

A novel annular catalytic three-phase reactor is theoretically investigated for a second order hydrogenation reaction. The results indicate that the ratio of the gaseous reactant to the liquid reactant within the reaction zone of the annular reactor can be adjusted by changing the reactor dimensions and the concentration of the gaseous reactant in the feed. As a consequence, the annular reactor may have a significant advantage over the trickle-bed reactor with respect to the selectivities that may be achieved in the reactor.     

Improvement of the production of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) terpolyester by manipulating the culture condition

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work is to enhance the production of terpolyester poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB)) produced by a locally isolated bacterium, Cupriavidus sp. USMAA2‐4. The monomer composition was varied by supplementing different carbon precursors and by manipulating the culture condition through one‐stage cultivation. The effect of C/N ratio and different concentrations of carbon source and precursors were investigated in order to produce higher content of this terpolyester. Although research on this biodegradable polyester is abundant, studies on terpolyester P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) are still limited. RESULTS: Supplementation of oleic acid in accumulation medium increased the bacterial growth and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation. It was also shown that medium consisting of assorted carbon precursors at C/N 20 gave relatively high dry cell weight and P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) content. Various compositions of terpolyester were obtained when the concentration of oleic acid and 4HB precursors were manipulated. The combination of oleic acid with γ‐butyrolactone and 1‐pentanol was found to be the best combination to produce high PHA content (81 wt%). The composition of monomer in P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) was produced in the range 8–13 mol% for 3HV and 9–24 mol% for 4HB, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The production of P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) in shake‐flasks successfully produced 81 wt% of PHA content. This manipulated culture condition can be used at larger scale to provide modeling for the production of terpolyester in a bioreactor. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF CELLULAR FOOD MATERIALS UNDERGOING FREEZE-DRYING

The samples of sliced and mashed apples were freeze-dried by controlling their surface temperatures over the usual pressure range of commercial operations. The surface of sliced samples could not be maintained at above 10°C in order to prevent the frozen layer from melting, while that of mashed samples was allowed to heat up to 70°C.

Thermal conductivities and permeabilities were determined by applying the uniformly-retreating-ice front model to the dried layer of the samples undergoing freeze-drying. The values of permeability for the mashed samples were found to depend on the ice-crystallization time during freezing. The results indicated that the drying rate of sliced samples was limited by the transfer rate of water vapor flowing through the dried layer. A cellular structural model is proposed for predicting the permeability of the dried layer, based on the resistance of the cell membrane to molecular transfer of water vapor.     

A New Potent and Selective Monoamine Oxidase-B Inhibitor with Extended Conjugation in a Chalcone Framework: 1-[4-(Morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]-5-phenylpenta-2,4-dien-1-one

The general blueprint for the design of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitors has been based on two phenyl or heteronuclei linked via a spacer of appropriate length. In this study, 1-[4-(morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]-5-phenylpenta-2,4-dien-1-one (MO10) was prepared by the condensation of 4′-morpholinoacetophenone and cinnamaldehyde in basic alcoholic medium. MO10 was assessed for inhibitory activity against two human MAO isoforms, MAO-A and MAO-B. Interestingly, MO10 showed a remarkable inhibition against MAO-B with an IC₅₀ value of 0.044 μM along with a selectivity index of 366.13. The IC₅₀ value was better than that of lazabemide (IC₅₀ value of 0.063 μM), which was used as a reference. Kinetics studies revealed that MO10 acted as a competitive inhibitor of MAO-B, with a K_i value of 0.0080 μM. The observation of recovery of MAO-B inhibition, compared to reference levels showed MO10 to be a reversible inhibitor. MTT assays showed that MO10 was nontoxic to normal VERO cells with an IC₅₀ value of 195.44 μg/mL. SwissADME predicted that MO10 provided advantageous pharmacokinetics profiles for developing agents acting on the central nervous system, that is, high passive human gastrointestinal absorption and blood–brain barrier permeability. Molecular docking simulations showed that MO10 properly entered the aromatic cage formed by Y435, Y398, and FAD of the active site of MAO-B. On the basis of these results, MO10 can be considered a promising starting compound in development of agents for the treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders.     

Gold-Nanoparticle-Decorated Metal-Organic Frameworks for Anticancer Therapy

Confinement of Au nanoparticles (NPs) within the porous materials with few nanometers (2-3 nm) has been a well established research area in the past decades in heterogeneous catalysis mainly due to the unique behaviour of Au NPs than its bulk counterpart. In this aspect, Au NPs encapsulated within the pore volumes of metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have been intensively explored as heterogeneous solid catalysts for wide range of reactions. In recent years, Au NPs confined within the porous MOFs along with the photosensitizer or drug have been effectively used for the treatment of tumor cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species via cascade reactions. This work highlights the benefits of MOFs pores in the preparation of nanomedicine with high efficiency by assembling Au NPs, photosensitizer/drug with the combination of laser either for imaging or treatment of tumor cells. Further, the existing literature is grouped based on the nature of porous materials employed in the preparation of nanomedicine. The final section comments on our view on future developments in the field.     

Investigation of structural,optical, electrical,and magnetic properties of Fe-doped La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganites

In this work, the physical properties of nanocrystalline samples of La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) perovskite manganites synthesized by the reverse micelle (RM) technique were explored in detail. The phase purity, crystal structure, and crystallite size of the samples were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. All the samples had rhombohedral crystal structure and crystallite size increased with increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃. The scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) exhibited smooth surface morphology and nonuniform shape of the particles. The optical properties studied using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the absorbance and optical band gap with an increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ compound. The temperature-dependent resistivity measurements revealed semiconducting nature of x = 0 and 0.1 samples up to the studied temperature range, while a metal-to-insulator transition was observed at higher Fe doping. Magnetic studies revealed weak ferromagnetism in all the samples and a reduction in the maximum magnetization with an increase in Fe content. A close correlation between electrical transport and magnetic properties was observed with the doping of Fe ion in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ at Mn site. These results advocate strong interactions associated with the double exchange mechanism among Fe³⁺ and Mn³⁺ ions.     

Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L1: Biochemical and Cellular Characterization of a Covalent Cyanopyrrolidine-Based Inhibitor

The deubiquitinase (DUB) ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is expressed primarily in the central nervous system under normal physiological conditions. However, UCHL1 is overexpressed in various aggressive forms of cancer with strong evidence supporting UCHL1 as an oncogene in lung, glioma, and blood cancers. In particular, the level of UCHL1 expression in these cancers correlates with increased invasiveness and metastatic behavior, as well as poor patient prognosis. Although UCHL1 is considered an oncogene with potential as a therapeutic target, there remains a significant lack of useful small-molecule probes to pharmacologically validate in vivo targeting of the enzyme. Herein, we describe the characterization of a new covalent cyanopyrrolidine-based UCHL1 inhibitory scaffold in biochemical and cellular studies to better understand the utility of this inhibitor in elucidating the role of UCHL1 in cancer biology.     

Easy access to pharmaceutically relevant heterocycles by catalytic reactions involving α-imino gold carbene intermediates

This review summarizes recent advances in the field of gold-catalyzed synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant aza-heterocycles via in situ generated α-imino gold carbene complexes as intermediates.