Nitrocatecholic copolymers - synthesis and their remarkable binding affinity.

Nitrocatecholic random copolymers were obtained from nitration of protected catechol-N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers. Incorporation of 5% nitrocatecholic counits can lead to remarkable enhancement of the binding affinity toward FeO nanoparticles and an organic boronic acid by a factor of 40 and 20, respectively.

Effect of Relative Arrangement of Cationic and Lipophilic Moieties on Hemolytic and Antibacterial Activities of PEGylated Polyacrylates.

Synthetic amphiphilic polymers have been established as potentially efficient agents to combat widespread deadly infections involving antibiotic resistant superbugs. Incorporation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains into amphiphilic copolymers can reduce their hemolytic activity while maintaining high antibacterial activity. Our study found that the incorporation of PEG has substantially different effects on the hemolytic and antibacterial activities of copolymers depending on structural variations in the positions of cationic centers relative to hydrophobic groups.

Nonhemolytic and Antibacterial Acrylic Copolymers with Hexamethyleneamine and Poly(ethylene glycol) Side Chains.

Amphiphilic acrylic copolymers with hexamethyleneamine and poly(ethylene glycol) side chains can show >100-fold selectivity toward over red blood cells. Homopolymer with cationic pendant amine groups is highly hemolytic and antibacterial. Incorporation of approximately 33 mol % of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) led to 1300 times reduction in hemolytic activity, while maintaining high levels of antibacterial activity.

Cationic amphiphilic non-hemolytic polyacrylates with superior antibacterial activity.

Acrylic copolymers with appropriate compositions of counits having cationic charge with 2-carbon and 6-carbon spacer arms can show superior antibacterial activities with concomitant very low hemolytic effect. These amphiphilic copolymers represent one of the most promising synthetic polymer antibacterial systems reported.

Liquid/Liquid interfacial polymerization to grow single crystalline nanoneedles of various conducting polymers.

Single crystalline nanoneedles of polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) were synthesized using an interfacial polymerization for the first time. The interfacial crystallization of conductive polymers at the liquid/liquid interface allowed PANI and PPY polymers to form single crystalline nanocrystals in a rice-like shape in the dimensions of 63 nm x 12 nm for PANI and 70 nm x 20 nm for PPY. Those crystalline nanoneedles displayed a fast conductance switching in the time scale of milliseconds.

Open-Bench Method for the Preparation of BaTiO3, SrTiO3, and BaxSr1-xTiO3 nanocrystals at 80 degrees C.

In this letter, we report the first facile open-bench synthesis of BaTiO3, SrTiO3 nanocrystals, and their nanosolid solutions BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST) at 80 degrees C. The size of the BST nanoparticles was readily tuned from approximately 50 to approximately 10 nm with achievable giant dielectric constants. The process yielded these important perovskite mixed-metal oxide crystals of high quality on the nanometer scale without a history of thermal stress.

Microwave absorption by nanostructural ferric oxide encapsulated within MCM-41.

A new functional material with nonzero microwave absorption ability at zero applied magnetic field results from loading MCM-41 to a high percentage by weight with ferric oxide.

A new route to alumoxane gel: a versatile precursor to gamma-alumina and alumina-based ceramic oxides.

We present a new route for the preparation of gamma-alumina and YAG nanoparticles. Metal salts of ethylhexanoic acids provide good solubility in hydrocarbon solvents and allow efficient ultrasonication. The sonication product is an alumioxane gel, which can reversibly collapse and reform, depending on the solvent used.

Fibronectin fibrillogenesis on sulfonated polystyrene surfaces.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) protein adsorption and organization serves as a critical first step in the development and organization of tissues. Advances in tissue engineering, therefore, will depend on the ability to control the rate and pattern of ECM formation. Fibronectin is a prominent component of the ECM, which undergoes fibrillogenesis in the presence of cells.