A Novel Thin-Film Nanocomposite Nanofiltration Membrane by Incorporating 3D Hyperbranched Polymer Functionalized 2D Graphene Oxide.

In order to develop a high-performance thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration (NF) membrane, the functionalized graphene-based nanomaterial (GO-HBE-COOH) was synthesized by combining two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) with a three-dimensional hyperbranched polymer, which was used as the novel nanofiller and successfully embedded into the polypiperazine-amide (PPA) active layers on polysulfone (PSU) substrates via interfacial polymerization (IP) process. The resultant NF membranes were characterized using ATR-FTIR, SEM, and AFM, while their performance was evaluated in terms of water flux, salt rejection, antifouling ability, and chlorine resistance. The influence of GO-HBE-COOH concentration on the morphologies, properties, and performance of TFN NF membranes was investigated.

Electrodialysis Extraction of Pufferfish Skin (): A Promising Source of Collagen.

Collagen is widely used in drugs, biomaterials, foods, and cosmetics. By-products of the fishing industry are rich sources of collagen, which can be used as an alternative to collagen traditionally harvested from land mammals. However, commercial applications of fish-based collagen are limited by the low efficiency, low productivity, and low sustainability of the extraction process.

A rapid and scalable integrated membrane separation process for purification of polysaccharides from .

An integrated membrane separation process combining the tubular ceramic microfiltration (MF) membrane and the flat-sheet ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was developed to purify polysaccharides from . The effects of membrane pore size, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), transmembrane pressure (TMP) and adding-water multiples on membrane performance were in-depth studied. The results indicated that the optimal membrane pore size and TMP of the tubular ceramic MF process were found to be 1.

Processing Optimization and Characterization of Angiotensin-Ι-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from Lizardfish () Scale Gelatin.

Hypertension can cause coronary heart disease. Synthetic angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are effective antihypertensive drugs but often cause side effects. The aim of this study was to prepare potential ACE inhibitors from scales.

A novel method for simultaneous purification and immobilization of a xylanase-lichenase chimera via SpyTag/SpyCatcher spontaneous reaction.

We generated a bifunctional enzyme chimera containing the xylanase and lichenase coupled with SpyTag between them. Meanwhile, we generated another chimera containing SpyCatcher and elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). As ELPs could bond to the xylanase-lichenase chimera through SpyTag/SpyCatcher spontaneous reaction in mild condition, which would lead to the formation of a 3-arm star multifunctional chimera.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of AV6 derivatives as novel dual reactivators of latent HIV-1.

The "shock and kill" strategy might be a promising therapeutic approach for HIV/AIDS due to the existence of latent viral reservoirs. A major challenge of the "shock and kill" strategy arises from the general lack of clinically effective latency-reversing agents (LRAs). The 2-methylquinoline derivative, antiviral 6 (AV6) has been reported to induce latent HIV-1 expression and act synergistically with a HDAC inhibitor VA to reverse HIV latency.

Covalent tethering of photo-responsive superficial layers on hydrogel surfaces for photo-controlled release.

The diffusion and transport of substances between a hydrogel and its environment have received tremendous research interest, due to the wide range of applications of hydrogel materials in fields related to drug carriers and drug delivery vehicles. To date, much research has been done to tailor the diffusion and transport of substances through hydrogels, where most efforts were focused on tuning the 3D network properties of the hydrogel including loop size, hydrophobicity of building blocks and the stimuli-responsive properties of backbones. These conventional strategies, however, usually suffer from complicated fabrication procedures and result in a homogeneous increase in hydrophobicity of the hydrogel network, leading to low efficiency control over the diffusion of substances through the hydrogel.

Designing Bioinspired Anti-Biofouling Surfaces based on a Superwettability Strategy.

Anti-biofouling surfaces are of high importance owing to their crucial roles in biosensors, biomedical devices, food processing, the marine industry, etc. However, traditional anti-biofouling surfaces based on either the release of biocidal compounds or surface chemical/physical design cannot satisfy the practical demands when meeting real-world complex conditions. The outstanding performances of natural anti-biofouling surfaces motivate the development of new bioinspired anti-biofouling surfaces.

Oleoylethanolamide, an endogenous PPAR-α ligand, attenuates liver fibrosis targeting hepatic stellate cells.

Oleoylethanolamide (OEA), an endocannabinoid-like molecule, was revealed to modulate lipid metabolism through a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) mediated mechanism. In present study, we further investigated the activities and mechanisms of OEA in ameliorating hepatic fibrosis in Sv/129 mice induced by a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet or thioacetamide (TAA) treatment. Liver fibrosis development was assessed by Hematoxylin-eosin and Sirius red staining.

Using positive-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and H/D exchange study phosphoryl group transfer reactions involved in amino acid ester isopropyl phosphoramidates of Brefeldin A.

As mini-chemical models, amino acid ester isopropyl phosphoramidates of Brefeldin A (compounds 2a-2d) were synthesized and investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in combination with H/D exchange. To further confirm the fragments's structures, off-line Fourier transform resonance tandem mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS/MS) was also performed. The fragmentation rules of compounds 2a-2d have been summarized and the plausible schemes for the fragmentation pathways were proposed.

Diethyl [(4-nitrobenzamido)(phen-yl)meth-yl]phospho-nate.

In the title compound, C18H21N2O6P, the dihedral angle between the benzene and phenyl rings is 85.1 (2)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via pairs of N-H⋯O(=P) hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers with graph-set notation R 2 (2)(10).

Diisopropyl [(4-meth-oxy-benzamido)(p-tol-yl)meth-yl]phospho-nate.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C22H30NO5P, contains two independent mol-ecules in which the dihedral angles between the benzene rings are 82.0 (2) and 78.4 (2)°.

Topographical binding to mucosa-exposed cancer cells: pollen-mimetic porous microspheres with tunable pore sizes.

Mucoadhesives have been perceived as an effective approach for targeting the mucosa-associated diseases, which relied on the adhesive molecules to enhance the specificity. Here, topographical binding is proposed based on the fabrication of surface pore size tunable pollen-mimetic microspheres with phase separation and electrospray technology. We proved that microspheres with large-pores (pore size of 1005 ± 448 nm) were the excellent potential candidate for the mucoadhesives, as they not only possessed better adhesion ability, but also could topographically bind cervical cancer cells.

Characterization of terpenoids from the root of Ceriops tagal with antifouling activity.

One new dimeric diterpenoid, 8(14)-enyl-pimar-2'(3')-en-4'(18')-en-15'(16')-endolabr- 16,15,2',3'-oxoan-16-one (1) and five known terpenoids: Tagalsin C (2), Tagalsin I (3), lup-20(29)-ene-3β,28-diol (4), 3-oxolup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (5) and 28-hydroxylup- 20(29)-en-3-one (6) were isolated from the roots of the mangrove plant Ceriops tagal. Their structures and relative stereochemistry were elucidated by means of extensive NMR, IR and MS analysis. The antifouling activity against larval settlement of the barnacle Balanus albicostatus were evaluated using capsaicin as a positive control.