Publications by authors named "Marlon T Conato"

The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of sea cucumber, with its ability to rapidly change its stiffness and extensibility in response to different environmental stress conditions, serves as inspiration for the design of new smart functional biomaterials. Collagen, extracted from the body wall of cf. , a species commonly found in the Philippines, was characterized for its suitability as stimuli-responsive films.

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Rotenone is a naturally occurring compound shown to exhibit antiproliferative activity against various cancer cell lines, indicating its potential as a lead anticancer agent. However, its toxicity against normal cells has prompted further investigation and chemical modifications. In this study, a library of carbonyl group-modified rotenone derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, A549 human lung carcinoma cells, and HCT116 human colorectal cancer cells using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.

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We report the most siliceous FAU-type zeolite, HOU-3, prepared via a one-step organic-free synthesis route. Computational studies indicate that it is thermodynamically feasible to synthesize FAU with SAR=2-7, though kinetic factors seemingly impose a more restricted upper limit for HOU-3 (SAR≈3). Our findings suggest that a slow rate of crystallization and/or low concentration of Na ions in HOU-3 growth mixtures facilitate Si incorporation into the framework.

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Designing zeolites with tunable physicochemical properties can substantially impact their performance in commercial applications, such as adsorption, separations, catalysis, and drug delivery. Zeolite synthesis typically requires an organic structure-directing agent to produce crystals with specific pore topology. Attempts to remove organics from syntheses to achieve commercially viable methods of preparing zeolites often lead to the formation of impurities.

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Zeolite HOU-2 (LTA type) is prepared with the highest silica content (Si/Al = 2.1) reported for Na-LTA zeolites without the use of an organic structure-directing agent. The rational design of Si-rich zeolites has the potential to improve their thermal stability for applications in catalysis, gas storage, and selective separations.

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