Search results for "modification"
showing 10 items of 853 documents
TiO2/Ag2O immobilized on cellulose paper: A new floating system for enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial activities
2021
Paper-TiO2-Ag2O floating photocatalysts were produced under mild condition and their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of aromatic amine under sunlight stimulant was investigated. Characterizations by Raman, XRD, XPS, DRS and PL confirmed the presence of TiO2 and Ag2O, and the morphology of the appended TiO2/Ag2O layer was probed by FE-SEM. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was investigated by the degradation of aniline (AN) in water under simulated sun-light illumination and constrained conditions, i.e. non-stirring and non-oxygenation. The presence of Ag2O combined with TiO2 was shown to improve the resistance of paper to bacteria attack, thus increasing the du…
Microbial community structure in soils with decomposing residues from plants with genetic modifications to lignin biosynthesis
2006
Lignin is a major determinant of the decomposition of plant materials in soils. Advances in transgenic technology have led to the possibility of modifying lignin to improve the pulping properties of plant materials for papermaking. Previous studies have shown that lignin modifications also affect the rate of plant material decay in soil. The aim of this work was to investigate short-term changes in soil microbial community structures when tobacco residues with reduced activity of enzymes in the monolignol pathway decompose. The residues from lignin-modified plants all decomposed faster than unmodified plant materials. The relative proportions of some of the structural groups of microbial ph…
Grafting of hyperbranched polymers: From unusual complex polymer topologies to multivalent surface functionalization
2013
Abstract In this feature article, the grafting of hyperbranched polymers to different substrates is reviewed. Both grafting onto macromolecules with different topologies (homogeneous grafting) and the resulting complex polymer architectures containing highly branched segments as well as their applications are discussed. In the second part grafting of hyperbranched polymers on surfaces, i.e., planar surfaces and spherical particles (heterogeneous grafting), with respect to specific applications, such as bio-repellent surfaces or soluble carbon nanotubes is described. In all cases, the one-step synthesis and the resulting highly branched topology of the hyperbranched building blocks is benefi…
“Super p53” Mice Display Retinal Astroglial Changes
2013
Tumour-suppressor genes, such as the p53 gene, produce proteins that inhibit cell division under adverse conditions, as in the case of DNA damage, radiation, hypoxia, or oxidative stress (OS). The p53 gene can arrest proliferation and trigger death by apoptosis subsequent to several factors. In astrocytes, p53 promotes cell-cycle arrest and is involved in oxidative stress-mediated astrocyte cell death. Increasingly, astrocytic p53 is proving fundamental in orchestrating neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. In terms of ocular disease, p53 may play a role in hypoxia due to ischaemia and may be involved in the retinal response to oxidative stress (OS). We studied the influence of the p53 ge…
Half-width plots, a simple tool to predict peak shape, reveal column kinetics and characterise chromatographic columns in liquid chromatography: Stat…
2013
Peak profiles in chromatography are characterised by their height, position, width and asymmetry; the two latter depend on the values of the left and right peak half-widths. Simple correlations have been found between the peak half-widths and the retention times. The representation of such correlations has been called half-width plots. For isocratic elution, the plots are parabolic, although often, the parabolas can be approximated to straight-lines. The plots can be obtained with the half-widths/retention time data for a set of solutes experiencing the same kinetics, eluted with a mobile phase at fixed or varying composition. When the analysed solutes experience different resistance to mas…
Nanocarrier based on halloysite and fluorescent probe for intracellular delivery of peptide nucleic acids
2022
The development of systems able to deliver genetic material into a target site is a challenge for modern medicine. Single-stranded peptide nucleic acids have attracted attention as promising therapeutic molecules for diagnostic and gene therapy. However, their poor cell membrane permeability represents a drawback for biomedical applications. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are emerging materials in drug delivery applications both for their ability to penetrate cell membranes and for enhancing the solubility of drugs in biological media. Herein, we report the first example of the use of a nanocarrier based on halloysite labelled with fluorescent switchable halochromic oxazine molecules, to deliv…
Opportunities and Challenges of Fluorescent Carbon Dots in Translational Optical Imaging
2015
The fluorescent carbon dot (C-dot) is a new class of carbon nanomaterials. It has a discrete or quasispherical structure, typically measures less than 10 nm and contains sp(2)/sp(3) carbon, oxygen/nitrogen-based groups and surface-modified functional groups. Compared with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), C-dots offer much lower toxicity and a better biocompatibility profile. Their other favorable features include easy and inexpensive synthesis and surface modification potential. C-dots can be morphologically classified into graphene-based quantum dots (GQDs) and amorphous carbon nanodots (ACNDs). Numerous methods have been developed to synthesize C-dots, and are mainly divided into 'top-do…
Molecular Fingerprints of Thyroid Cancer Cells by Using Library of Molecular Receptors Formed by N-Lipidated Peptides Immobilized on Cellulose
2018
This paper presents a novel diagnostic method using a library of molecular receptors to assess the composition of healthy and tumorous tissue samples. Molecular receptors were formed by self-organization of N-lipidated peptides attached in the regular fashion via aminophenylamino-1,3,5-triazine linkers to the surface of a cellulose plate. The library was cloned into multiple, identical copies. A new clone was used in each test. The binding process was monitored by staining the discs with Brilliant Black and quantitative color measure- ment was performed in 256-grade grayscale. Substantial differences in the composition of healthy and tumor samples were observed in most cases. The sharp diff…
A modified guanosine phosphoramidite for click functionalization of RNA on the sugar edge
2012
A propargyl containing guanosine phosphoramidite was synthesized and incorporated into siRNA, enabling click-ligation with an azido fluorophore onto the nucleobase sugar edge. Duplex stability was not affected by labeling at this new site, which allowed deconvolution of the effects of label, structure and attachment site on RNAi activity.
Pathogen-Mimicking MnO Nanoparticles for Selective Activation of the TLR9 Pathway and Imaging of Cancer Cells
2009
Here, design of the first pathogen-mimicking metal oxide nanoparticles with the ability to enter cancer cells and to selectively target and activate the TLR9 pathway, and with optical and MR imaging capabilities, is reported. The immobilization of ssDNA (CpG ODN 2006) on MnO nanoparticles is performed via the phosphoramidite route using a multifunctional polymer. The multifunctional polymer used for the nanoparticle surface modification not only affords a protective organic biocompatible shell but also provides an efficient and convenient means for loading immunostimulatory oligonucleotides. Since fluorescent molecules are amenable to photodetection, a chromophore (Rhodamine) is introduced …