Notes

Is it time for biocatalysis throughout fragment-based drug discovery?
Using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) methods, it was shown that the nanocolloids of ZnO contain hydrolyzed ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Typically, the nanocrystalline ZnO/Zn(OH)2 core is covered by an amorphous shell of zinc hydroxides, preventing the encapsulated crystal core from dissolving. Similar studies were carried out with TiO2 nanocolloids. It was found that burdening of rats for 30 days with a ZnO aqueous nanocolloid (AN) was accompanied by a narrowing of the amplitude range, a decrease (increase) in the frequency of spontaneous contractions (SCs), and an inhibition of the efficiency indices for smooth muscles (SMs) of the antrum and cecum. Under longer (100 days) burdening of rats with AN of ZnO, there was a tendency toward restoring the above parameters. In terms of the value and the direction of changes in most parameters for SCs of SMs, the effects (30 days) of TiO2 AN differed from those for ZnO AN and were almost the same in the case of their long-term impact. It was found that mostly M2-cholinoreceptor-dependent mechanisms of regulating the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ were sensitive to the effect of ZnO and TiO2 ANs. The molecular docking demonstrated that ZnO and TiO2 NPs did not compete with acetylcholine for the site of binding to M3 and M2 cholinoreceptors but may impact the affinity of orthosteric ligands to M2 cholinoreceptors. The studies showed that burdening rats with ZnO and TiO2 ANs was also accompanied by changes in the activity state of both intracellular enzymes and the ion transport systems for Na+, K+, and Ca2+, related to the processes of bile secretion, via the plasma membrane of hepatocytes.Ultralow oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) has provided an important basis for screening optimum surfactant formulation for improving the oil washing efficiency. Thus, it is of great significance to further investigate the selection method for surfactant systems with ultralow IFT. In this study, a selection of surfactant systems with ultralow IFT was simplified by a method of comparing the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN) of crude oil with the minimum alkane carbon number (n min) of surfactant mixtures. The results show that the ultralow IFT can be achieved when the n min of optimum surfactant formulation is equal to the EACN of crude oil. Meanwhile, the oil washing efficiency experiments show that the oil washing efficiency increases with the decrease of IFT, and the optimum surfactant formulation with ultralow IFT has the highest oil washing efficiency. This study provides a more efficient way for selecting optimum surfactant formulation systems with ultralow IFT for improving the oil washing efficiency.Deepwater gas wells usually have high production rates, which result in high-speed sand movement along with the gas flow and acid components such as CO2 in the gas flow. The erosion and corrosion effect intensifies the damage to sand screens and can further lead to sand control failures, which endanger the safety of production operations. In this paper, using a differential rotation device to simulate erosion, corrosion, and erosion-corrosion, experiments observing the impacts of several factors on sand screens were carried out. The factors include CO2 partial pressure, temperature, flow velocity, sand content, and sand particle size. Their impacts on erosion, corrosion, and erosion-corrosion rate are inspected independently, and the sensitivity of factors to the erosion-corrosion rate of a sand screen was determined using the range method. Traditional erosion models involving flow rate, sand content, and sand grain size and traditional corrosion models involving CO2 partial pressure and temperature are takenens is as follows sand content > flow velocity > temperature > sand particle size > CO2 partial pressure. The error between the predicted results by the proposed model and the experimental results is in the range of 0.44-9.47%. The erosion-corrosion rate of sand screens in each production well of the S gas field is in the range of 0.0111-0.0521 mm/a, while the durability of the screens is 14-68 years. The erosion-corrosion rate model of a sand screen and the prediction method for sand screen failure proposed in this paper provide theoretical support to the durability evaluation of sand screen in deepwater gas wells, which is of great significance for ensuring the safe and efficient development of offshore oil and gas resources.Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) is becoming an important tool in the characterization of polymeric materials. The sensitivity of EELS to changes in the chemical structure of polymeric materials dictates its applicability. In particular, it is important for compositional analysis to have reference spectra of pure components. Here, we report the spectra of the carbon K-edge of six polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene terephthalate, and polylactic acid) including copolymers (styrene acrylonitrile and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), to be used as reference spectra for future EELS studies of polymers. We have successfully decomposed the carbon K-edge of each of the polymers and assigned the observed peaks to bonding transitions. The spectra have been acquired in standard experimental conditions, and electron beam damage has been taken into account during establishment of spectral-structural relationships. We found that the more commonly available low-energy resolution spectrometers are adequate to chemically fingerprint linear saturated hydrocarbons such as PE, PP, and PLA. We have thus moved a step closer toward creating an atlas of polymer EELS spectra, which can be subsequently used for chemical bond mapping of polymeric materials with nanoscale spatial resolution.As a filler to be inserted into poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), low-cost olive pits flour (OPF) and precipitated bio-calcium carbonate (PBCC)-produced PVC/OPF/PBCC composites have been used with high stability and rigidity compared to PVC. Hydrogen bonding is generated between OH cellulose in OPF and H in PVC. Composite tensile modulus increased in PVC grid in the presence of PBCC and OPF, possibly because of a filler restriction effect on the polymer chains. The hardness also increased as both OPF and PBCC increased. The mechanical tendency of the PVC/OPF composite was improved by adding a low content of PBCC particles with the PVC network, resulting in a smart distribution in the range of 10% by weight, and it was reduced by adding more than that percentage. The successful distribution of PBCC in PVC/OPF composite strengthened the mechanical path. The morphology and possible interface adhesion of components in the composite were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The PVC SEM images showed a homogeneous, smart, and consistent surface, while the PVC/60 wt % OPF SEM images showed a large number of voids that suggested weak PVC/OPF interactions. The SEM images showed outstanding PBCC distribution in the PVC/OPF matrix for the PVC/50 wt % OPF/10 wt % PBCC composite. Due to the accumulation of PBCC particles producing cavities, the distribution of particles became nonhomogeneous at percentages above 10 wt %. At a low filler material, better spread of PBCC particles in the PVC grid was achieved. Owing to the polarity of OPF, the H2O absorption and thickness swelling of PVC/OPF/PBCC composites showed higher amounts than PVC. PBCC improved the thermal stabilization and the neutralization of Cl- negative ions as an acid acceptor of secondary PVC stabilization.Elemental mercury (Hg0) removal from a hot gas is still challenging since high temperature influences the Hg0 removal and regenerable performance of the sorbent. In this work, a facile yet innovative sonochemical method was developed to synthesize a thermally stable magnetic tea biochar to capture the Hg0 from syngas. A sonochemically synthesized magnetic sorbent (TUF0.46) exhibited a more prodigious surface area with developed pore structures, ultra-paramagnetic properties, and high dispersion of Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3 particles than a simply synthesized magnetic sorbent (TF0.46). The results showed that TUF0.46 demonstrated strong thermostability and attained a high Hg0 removal performance (∼98.6%) at 200 °C. After the 10th adsorption/regeneration cycle, the Hg0 removal efficiency of TUF0.46 was 19% higher than that of TF0.46. Besides, at 23.1% Hg0 breakthrough, TUF0.46 achieved an average Hg0 adsorption capacity of 16.58 mg/g within 24 h under complex syngas (20% CO, 20% H2, 5% H2O, and 400 ppm H2S). In addition, XPS results revealed that surface-active components (Fe+, O2-, O*, C=O) were the key factor for high Hg0 removal performance over TUF0.46 from syngas. Hence, sonochemistry is a promising practical tool for improving the surface morphology, thermal resistance, renewability, and Hg0 removal efficiency of a sorbent.In the present study, Mo-BiVO4-loaded and metal oxide (MO Ag2Ox, CoOx, and CuOx)-loaded Mo-BiVO4 photocatalysts were synthesized using a wet impregnation method and applied for microbial inactivation (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and orange II dye degradation under visible-light (VL) conditions (λ ≥ 420 nm). The amount of MO cocatalysts loaded onto the surface of the Mo-BiVO4 photocatalysts was effectively controlled by varying their weight percentages (i.e., 1-3 wt %). Among the pure Mo-BiVO4, Ag2Ox-, CoOx-, and CuOx-loaded Mo-BiVO4 photocatalysts used in bacterial E. coli and S. aureus inactivation under VL irradiation, the 2 wt % CuOx-loaded Mo-BiVO4 photocatalyst showed the highest degradation efficiency of E. coli (97%) and S. aureus (99%). Additionally, the maximum orange II dye degradation efficiency (80.2%) was achieved over the CuOx (2 wt %)-loaded Mo-BiVO4 photocatalysts after 5 h of radiation. The bacterial inactivation results also suggested that the CuO x -loaded Mo-BiVO4 nanostructure has significantly improved antimicrobial ability as compared to CuOx/BiVO4. The enhancement of the inactivation performance of CuOx-loaded Mo-BiVO4 can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Mo doping and Cu2+ ions in CuOx, which further acted as an electron trap on the surface of Mo-BiVO4 and promoted fast transfer and separation of the photoelectron (e-)/hole (h+) pairs for growth of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, during the bacterial inactivation process, the ROS can disrupt the plasma membrane and destroy metabolic pathways, leading to bacterial cell death. Sodium palmitate concentration Therefore, we provide a novel idea for visible-light-activated photocatalytic antibacterial approach for future disinfection applications.Crystallization experiments performed with highly supercooled solutions produced highly pure (>99 wt %) and highly crystalline mesocrystals of curcumin from impure solutions (∼22% of two structurally similar impurities) in one step. These mesocrystals exhibited a crystallographic hierarchy and were composed of perfectly or imperfectly aligned nanometer-thick crystallites. X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the spherulites are a new solid form of curcumin. A theoretical hypothesis based on particle aggregation, double nucleation, and repeated secondary nucleation is proposed to explain the spherulite formation mechanism. The experimental results provide, for the first time, evidence for an organic molecule to naturally form spherulites without the presence of any stabilizing agents. Control experiments performed with highly supercooled pure solutions produced spherulites, confirming that the formation of spherulites is attributed to the high degree of supercooling and not due to the presence of impurities.
Read More: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/sodium-palmitate.html