Investigations of the supramolecular host properties of a fluorescent bistren cage compound

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 448-452
Author(s):  
Patricia G. Boland ◽  
Sara J. Accardi ◽  
Carrie A. Snow ◽  
Brian D. Wagner

The host properties of a bistren cage compound, previously reported to be an efficient anion sensor, are shown to include encapsulation of small aromatic guest molecules. It is also shown that the intrinsic fluorescence of this cage compound, arising from the anthracenyl moiety in its structure, is sensitive to the encapsulation of aromatic guests in aqueous solution and can be used to measure the binding constants for any such guest. This makes this bistren cage a rare example of a fluorescent host for aromatic guests, and suggests potential applications of this compound as a versatile fluorescent sensor for a variety of guests of interest. The binding of a number of benzene derivatives was studied; these were all found to form 1:2 host–guest inclusion complexes with a wide range in total binding constants (K1K2), from 6.4 × 103 to 3.5 × 107 (mol/L)–2, indicating a significant degree of selectivity for different benzene derivatives. The binding strength was found to depend on both the guest polarity and aqueous solubility.

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1903
Author(s):  
Toshikazu Ono ◽  
Yoshio Hisaeda

Vapochromic materials, which change color and luminescence when exposed to specific vapors and gases, have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their potential applications in a wide range of fields such as chemical sensors and environmental monitors. Although the mechanism of vapochromism is still unclear, several studies have elucidated it from the viewpoint of crystal engineering. In this mini-review, we investigate recent advances in the vapochromism of organic crystals. Among them, macrocyclic molecules and inclusion complexes, which have apparent host–guest interactions with analyte molecules (specific vapors and gases), are described. When the host compound is properly designed, its cavity size and symmetry change in response to guest molecules, influencing the optical properties by changing the molecular inclusion and recognition abilities. This information highlights the importance of structure–property relationships resulting from the molecular recognition at the solid–vapor interface.


Author(s):  
Petros Bouras-Vallianatos

Byzantine medicine is still a little-known and misrepresented field not only in the wider arena of debates on medieval medicine but also among Byzantinists. Byzantine medical literature is often viewed as ‘stagnant’ and mainly preserving ancient ideas; and our knowledge of it continues to be based to a great extent on the comments of earlier authorities, which are often repeated uncritically. This book presents the first comprehensive examination of the medical corpus of, arguably, the most important late Byzantine physician John Zacharias Aktouarios (c.1275–c.1330). The main thesis is that John’s medical works show an astonishing degree of openness to knowledge from outside Byzantium combined with a significant degree of originality, in particular, in the fields of uroscopy, pharmacology, and human physiology. The analysis of John’s edited (On Urines and On Psychic Pneuma) and unedited (Medical Epitome) works is supported for the first time by the consultation of a large number of manuscripts. The study is also informed by evidence from a wide range of medical sources, including previously unpublished ones, and texts from other genres, such as epistolography and merchants’ accounts. The contextualization of John’s works sheds new light on the development of Byzantine medical thought and practice, and enhances our understanding of the late Byzantine social and intellectual landscape. Finally, John’s medical observations are also examined in the light of examples from the medieval Latin and Islamic worlds, placing his medical theories in the wider Mediterranean milieu and highlighting the cultural exchange between Byzantium and its neighbours.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-429
Author(s):  
Haleemathul Zahadiya ◽  
Ruwan P. Wijesundera ◽  
Champika V. Hettiarachchi ◽  
Ishanie R. Perera

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1566
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Pemble ◽  
Maria Bardosova ◽  
Ian M. Povey ◽  
Martyn E. Pemble

Chitosan-based films have a diverse range of potential applications but are currently limited in terms of commercial use due to a lack of methods specifically designed to produce thin films in high volumes. To address this limitation directly, hydrogels prepared from chitosan, chitosan-tetraethoxy silane, also known as tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and chitosan-glutaraldehyde have been used to prepare continuous thin films using a slot-die technique which is described in detail. By way of preliminary analysis of the resulting films for comparison purposes with films made by other methods, the mechanical strength of the films produced was assessed. It was found that as expected, the hybrid films made with TEOS and glutaraldehyde both show a higher yield strength than the films made with chitosan alone. In all cases, the mechanical properties of the films were found to compare very favorably with similar measurements reported in the literature. In order to assess the possible influence of the direction in which the hydrogel passes through the slot-die on the mechanical properties of the films, testing was performed on plain chitosan samples cut in a direction parallel to the direction of travel and perpendicular to this direction. It was found that there was no evidence of any mechanical anisotropy induced by the slot die process. The examples presented here serve to illustrate how the slot-die approach may be used to create high-volume, high-area chitosan-based films cheaply and rapidly. It is suggested that an approach of the type described here may facilitate the use of chitosan-based films for a wide range of important applications.


1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-61
Author(s):  
O. I. Kalchenko ◽  
A. V. Solovyov ◽  
J. Lipkowski ◽  
V. I. Kalchenko

Stability constants of the host–guest complexes of 5,17-bis( N-tolyliminomethyl)-25,27-dipropoxycalix[4]arene with benzene derivatives were determined by reversed-phase HPLC in acetonitrile–water solution.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Paula García Milla ◽  
Rocío Peñalver ◽  
Gema Nieto

Moringa oleifera belongs to the Moringaceae family and is the best known of the native Moringa oleifera genus. For centuries, it has been used as a system of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine and has a wide range of nutritional and bioactive compounds, including proteins, essential amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, fibre, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, phytosterols and others. These characteristics allow it to have pharmacological properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antimicrobial and hepatoprotective properties. The entire Moringa oleifera plant is edible, including its flowers, however, it is not entirely safe, because of compounds that have been found mainly in the root and bark, so the leaf was identified as the safest. Moringa oleifera is recognised as an excellent source of phytochemicals, with potential applications in functional and medicinal food preparations due to its nutritional and medicinal properties; many authors have experimented with incorporating it mainly in biscuits, cakes, brownies, meats, juices and sandwiches. The results are fascinating, as the products increase their nutritional value; however, the concentrations cannot be high, as this affects the organoleptic characteristics of the supplemented products. The aim of this study is to review the application of Moringa oleifera in bakery products, which will allow the creation of new products that improve their nutritional and functional value.


Author(s):  
Mamou Diallo ◽  
Servé W. M. Kengen ◽  
Ana M. López-Contreras

AbstractThe Clostridium genus harbors compelling organisms for biotechnological production processes; while acetogenic clostridia can fix C1-compounds to produce acetate and ethanol, solventogenic clostridia can utilize a wide range of carbon sources to produce commercially valuable carboxylic acids, alcohols, and ketones by fermentation. Despite their potential, the conversion by these bacteria of carbohydrates or C1 compounds to alcohols is not cost-effective enough to result in economically viable processes. Engineering solventogenic clostridia by impairing sporulation is one of the investigated approaches to improve solvent productivity. Sporulation is a cell differentiation process triggered in bacteria in response to exposure to environmental stressors. The generated spores are metabolically inactive but resistant to harsh conditions (UV, chemicals, heat, oxygen). In Firmicutes, sporulation has been mainly studied in bacilli and pathogenic clostridia, and our knowledge of sporulation in solvent-producing or acetogenic clostridia is limited. Still, sporulation is an integral part of the cellular physiology of clostridia; thus, understanding the regulation of sporulation and its connection to solvent production may give clues to improve the performance of solventogenic clostridia. This review aims to provide an overview of the triggers, characteristics, and regulatory mechanism of sporulation in solventogenic clostridia. Those are further compared to the current knowledge on sporulation in the industrially relevant acetogenic clostridia. Finally, the potential applications of spores for process improvement are discussed.Key Points• The regulatory network governing sporulation initiation varies in solventogenic clostridia.• Media composition and cell density are the main triggers of sporulation.• Spores can be used to improve the fermentation process.


Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Hu Li ◽  
Raffaello Papadakis

Graphene is a material with outstanding properties and numerous potential applications in a wide range of research and technology areas, spanning from electronics, energy materials, sensors, and actuators to life-science and many more. However, the insolubility and poor dispersibility of graphene are two major problems hampering its use in certain applications. Tethering mono-, di-, or even poly-saccharides on graphene through click-chemistry is gaining more and more attention as a key modification approach leading to new graphene-based materials (GBM) with improved hydrophilicity and substantial dispersibility in polar solvents, e.g., water. The attachment of (poly)saccharides on graphene further renders the final GBMs biocompatible and could open new routes to novel biomedical and environmental applications. In this review, recent modifications of graphene and other carbon rich materials (CRMs) through click chemistry are reviewed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Vallet-Regí

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are receiving growing attention by the scientific biomedical community. Among the different types of inorganic nanomaterials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles have emerged as promising multifunctional platforms for nanomedicine. Since their introduction in the drug delivery landscape in 2001, mesoporous materials for drug delivery are receiving growing scientific interest for their potential applications in the biotechnology and nanomedicine fields. The ceramic matrix efficiently protects entrapped guest molecules against enzymatic degradation or denaturation induced by pH and temperature as no swelling or porosity changes take place as a response to variations in the surrounding medium. It is possible to load huge amounts of cargo into the mesopore voids and capping the pore entrances with different nanogates. The application of a stimulus provokes the nanocap removal and triggers the departure of the cargo. This strategy permits the design of stimuli-responsive drug delivery nanodevices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D Freeman ◽  
Lori M Rosman ◽  
Jeremy D Ratcliff ◽  
Paul T Strickland ◽  
David R Graham ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Advancements in the quality and availability of highly sensitive analytical instrumentation and methodologies have led to increased interest in the use of microsamples. Among microsamples, dried blood spots (DBS) are the most well-known. Although there have been a variety of review papers published on DBS, there has been no attempt at describing the full range of analytes measurable in DBS, or any systematic approach published for characterizing the strengths and weaknesses associated with adoption of DBS analyses. CONTENT A scoping review of reviews methodology was used for characterizing the state of the science in DBS. We identified 2018 analytes measured in DBS and found every common analytic method applied to traditional liquid samples had been applied to DBS samples. Analytes covered a broad range of biomarkers that included genes, transcripts, proteins, and metabolites. Strengths of DBS enable its application in most clinical and laboratory settings, and the removal of phlebotomy and the need for refrigeration have expanded biosampling to hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations. Weaknesses may limit adoption in the near term because DBS is a nontraditional sample often requiring conversion of measurements to plasma or serum values. Opportunities presented by novel methodologies may obviate many of the current limitations, but threats around the ethical use of residual samples must be considered by potential adopters. SUMMARY DBS provide a wide range of potential applications that extend beyond the reach of traditional samples. Current limitations are serious but not intractable. Technological advancements will likely continue to minimize constraints around DBS adoption.


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