Harnessing fluid-driven vesicles to pick up and drop off Janus particles.

Using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations, we model the interaction between nanoscopic lipid vesicles and Janus nanoparticles in the presence of an imposed flow. Both the vesicle and Janus nanoparticles are localized on a hydrophilic substrate and immersed in a hydrophilic solution. The fluid-driven vesicle successfully picks up Janus particles on the substrate and transports these particles as cargo along the surface.

Fibers with integrated mechanochemical switches: minimalistic design principles derived from fibronectin.

Inspired by molecular mechanisms that cells exploit to sense mechanical forces and convert them into biochemical signals, chemists dream of designing mechanochemical switches integrated into materials. Using the adhesion protein fibronectin, whose multiple repeats essentially display distinct molecular recognition motifs, we derived a computational model to explain how minimalistic designs of repeats translate into the mechanical characteristics of their fibrillar assemblies. The hierarchy of repeat-unfolding within fibrils is controlled not only by their relative mechanical stabilities, as found for single molecules, but also by the strength of cryptic interactions between adjacent molecules that become activated by stretching.

Effect of phosphorous on the properties of titania produced from Ti-salt flocculated sludge in water treatment.

In this study, the removal of phosphorous (P) using Ti-salt flocculation of biologically treated sewage effluent (BTSE) was investigated for a year. The pH, alkalinity and concentration of P, before and after Ti-salt flocculation, were measured and compared. The sludge of Ti-salt flocculation was incinerated at 600 degrees C to produce titania nanoparticles which found to be doped with P Titania nanoparticles were characterised and their photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation were also tested.

Using mesoscopic models to design strong and tough biomimetic polymer networks.

Using computational modeling, we investigate the mechanical properties of polymeric materials composed of coiled chains, or "globules", which encompass a folded secondary structure and are cross-linked by labile bonds to form a macroscopic network. In the presence of an applied force, the globules can unfold into linear chains and thereby dissipate energy as the network is deformed; the latter attribute can contribute to the toughness of the material. Our goal is to determine how to tailor the labile intra- and intermolecular bonds within the network to produce material exhibiting both toughness and strength.

Role of parallel reformable bonds in the self-healing of cross-linked nanogel particles.

We develop a hybrid computational approach to examine the mechanical properties and self-healing behavior of nanogel particles that are cross-linked by both stable and labile bonds. The individual nanogels are modeled via the lattice spring model (LSM), which is an effective method for probing the response of materials to mechanical deformation. The cross-links between the nanogels are simulated via the hierarchical Bell model (HBM), which allows us to capture the rupturing of multiple parallel bonds as the result of an applied force.

A preliminary study of patients on repeat prescriptions of opioid and non-opioid analgesics.

Background: Available literature suggests that problems due to dependence do not result from the use of low doses of low-potency opioids used for short periods of time, but no studies looked at the effect of their long-term use.

Objectives: The main objective of the study was to discover whether those patients on long-term low-potency opioids, and those on non-opioid analgesics, could suffer the problems of tolerance and dependence. The study also explored the validity of applying DCR-10 criteria to a non-problematic population of analgesic users in identifying drug-dependent patients in primary care.

[Determination of bifonazole using HPLC in pharmacokinetic studies].

A sensitive method for HPLC quantification of bifonazole, an antimycotic drug, in the skin and plasma was developed. The skin samples were homogenized with the use of a physiological solution (1:5) and then centrifuged at 2000 r.p.