Polymer track membranes as a trap support for reagent in fiber optic sensors

The article presents a new idea of the application of polymer track membranes (PTM) for immobilization of a reagent in fiber optic chemical sensors. PTM was made of a poly(ethylene terephthalate) foil (10 μm in thickness, pores of 0.2 μm in diameter). The usefulness of membranes additionally covered by poly(vinyl chloride) was tested in a fiber optic redox titrator. The titrator utilized N,N′-diphenylbenzidine as a reagent which changes its absorbance in dependence on the redox potential. The measuring system is based on a lightemitting diode and a silicon photodiode connected to a bifurcated fiber optic bundle. The gain is in price and availability of the membrane. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Polyphosphazene membranes. I. Solid-state photocrosslinking of poly[(4-ethylphenoxy)-(phenoxy)phosphazene]

Dense films of poly[(4-ethylphenoxy)(phenoxy)phosphazene] (PEPP), a potentially attractive ion-exchange membrane material, were crosslinked to varying degrees using UV light and a photoinitiator. This polymer contained two kinds of substituents: phenoxy groups to be used for possible functionalization (e.g., sulfonation) and ethylphenoxy side-chains for photocrosslinking, where hydrogens at the benzylic carbons could be abstracted by a photoinitiator-leaving macroradicals that after recombination formed covalent bonds. The polyphosphazene polymer was synthesized, mixed with a photoinitiator, shaped into a thin film by solvent casting, and irradiated with UV light for a specified period of time. Benzophenone (BP), was selected as the photoinitiator because it was miscible with poly-phosphazene, had the highest rate of hydrogen abstraction, and absorbed UV light of 365 nm wavelength. The half-life of benzophenone in 50 μm-thick irradiated films was determined to be 20 min. When the BP–PEPP molar ratio was increased from 0 to 0.5, the glass transition temperature increased after irradiation from −8.8 to 53.5°C. At the same time, the equilibrium swelling in dimethylacetamide, at 25°C, decreased from infinity to 0.31. Tensile strength tests of the crosslinked films revealed a nonlinear dependence on BP–PEPP molar ratio. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quantification of Se-Methylselenocysteine and Its γ-Glutamyl Derivative from Naturally Se-Enriched Green Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris vulgaris) After HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS and Orbitrap MS n -Based Identification

Orthogonal liquid chromatographic (ion exchange, reversed phase, and ion pairing) and mass spectrometric [electrospray ionization (ESI)-TOF-MS, ESI-Orbitrap MS, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)] methods were addressed to identify and quantify selenium species from a naturally Se-enriched green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris vulgaris) sample after proteolytic digestion. While selenomethionine (10.1 mg/kg as Se) and selenate (9.5 mg/kg as Se) could be quantified in a straightforward way by anion exchange LC-ICP-MS technique, a multistep purification protocol was required to identify Se-methylselenocysteine and γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine in an unambiguous way prior to quantification by using either in-source fragmentation (LC-ESI-TOF-MS) or collision-induced dissociation (LC-ESI-Orbitrap MS). Finally, Se-methylselenocysteine (2.6 mg/kg as Se) and γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine (1.2 mg/kg as Se) could contribute to the overall selenium recovery of 72 %. This sample is the first of the Faboideae subfamily and Phaseolus ssp. to be speciated to such an extent for selenium including γ-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine, a highly potential selenium species, which makes this bean material an ideal candidate for functional food purposes.     

Polyurethane/Polylactide-Based Electrospun Nonwovens as Carriers for Human Adipose-Derived Stromal Stem Cells and Chondrogenic Progenitor Cells

Articular cartilage dysfunctions are major cause of pain and disability and lead to serious health complications. Cell-based therapies are proposed as treatment methods for cartilage regeneration. In this study, we proposed polyurethane/poly(L-lactide-co-D, L-lactide)-based electrospun nonwovens as carriers for the delivery of human adipose-derived stromal stem cells. We found that 6:4 and 8:2 polyurethane/poly(L-lactide-co-D, L-lactide) initially enhance proliferative rate of human adipose-derived stromal stem cells, shorten their population doubling time, promote creation of functional chondrogenic nodules during chondrogenic differentiation, improve the collagen-2-to-collagen-1 protein ratio, and upregulate the expression of collagen-2 and aggrecan genes.     

A method of concentration estimation of trienes,tetraenes, and pentaenes in evening primrose oil

There is no simple method available to estimate the concentration of conjugated fatty acids (CFA) with more than two double bonds in plant oils, because there are no commercially available complete sets of CFAs standards needed for such analysis. This paper presents such a method based on the absorption and fluorescence spectra of available CFAs standards and a computer program calculation. Using this method, the concentrations of the α‐eleostearic acid (conjugated trienoic acid (ELA) 8.8 × 10^?4 mol/L) and cis‐parinaric acid (conjugated tetraenoic acid (PnA) 3.5 × 10^?5 mol/L) in evening primrose oil were estimated. The accuracy of the calculation method is around 10%. Practical applications: This is the first report about the existence of CFAs in evening primrose oil. The described method estimates the total concentration of trienes, tetraenes, and pentaenes in evening primrose oils without using HPLC or other analytical methods. These CFAs are important from a health point of view. They are not synthesized by the human body. Therefore, plant oils containing these fatty acids (FA) are very valuable. Knowledge about the concentrations can be utilized to prepare a mixture of the plant oils with a favourable n‐3 to n‐6 FAs ratio and in addition containing CFAs.     

Electrostrictive properties of ceramics obtained on the basis of ferroelectrk relaxors

We present the results for search of the best ceramic materials for electrostrictive transducers. We performed the following investigations: (1) investigation of different types of ferroelectric, antiferroelectric and non-polar complex oxides with perovskite (OPS) and tetragonal tungsten bronze (TBS) structures; (2) the investigations of the OPS with different degrees of the cations ordering; (3) the measurements of the electrostrictive coefficient Q, Curie-Weiss constant C_W, coefficient of linear thermal expansion λ, polarization P and dielectric permittivity ^σ_r; (4) the X-ray analysis of the structure. The electrostrictive deformation may be very high and the relative strain can be of the order 10^-3 in such materials.     

Mechanism of MxOy nanoparticles/CNTs for catalytic carbonization of polyethylene and application to flame retardancy

Three kinds of metal oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄, Co₃O₄, and Ni₂O₃) are produced on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The synergistic effects rendered by the CNTs and metal oxide nanoparticles on carbonization of polyethylene (PE) are studied and applications to flame retardancy of PE are investigated systematically. The CNT‐Ni₂O₃ delivers the best performance and the mechanism pertaining to the enhanced flame retardancy is proposed and discussed. It is found that under the same conditions, the carbonization rate can be a factor to influence the flame retardancy performance. Among Fe, Co, and Ni, Ni has the fastest carbonation rate, which leads to the best flame retardancy performance. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45233.     

Antioxidant activity and free radical‐scavenging capacity of ethanolic extracts of thyme,oregano, and marjoram

Phenolic compounds were extracted from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) with 95% ethanol. A number of antioxidant and radical‐scavenging capacity tests were performed on the prepared extracts using colorimetric assays and model system studies. Specifically, these included determining the content of total phenolics, antioxidant efficacy in a linoleic acid‐ferric thiocyanate model system, reducing power, scavenging effect on 2,2'‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical, and hydroxyl radical‐scavenging activity by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Moreover, the efficacies of the prepared herb extracts were investigated in a real‐life food product: the stabilization of butter against oxidation.     

Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Properties of Seeds of Unconventional Oil Plants

The lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants were evaluated in eight plants: safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare), quince (Cydonia vulgaris), evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), rose mosqueta (Rosa affinis rubiginosa), black seed (Nigella sativa), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) and borage (Borago officinales). The highest amounts of tocopherols were contained in seeds of borage and sea buckthorn (66.9 mg/100 g and 45.9 mg/100 g, respectively). The sea buckthorn seed lipids had the highest amount of total sterols (10.4 mg/g of lipids). The predominant form was campesterol. Sitosterol was the major sterol in the lipids of other tested seeds. The content of phenolic compounds ranged from 736.5 mg/100 g dry matter (d.m.) (evening primrose) to 74.8 mg/100 g d.m. (safflower). The highest antioxidant activity, expressed in % scavenged DPPH· free radicals, was observed for evening primrose (91.2%), while the lowest for safflower (36.2%). The correlation coefficient between the level of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity was 0.53.