Insight into Prolonged Cycling Life of 4 V All-Solid-State Polymer Batteries by a High-Voltage Stable Binder

Polyethylene oxide (PEO) based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are incompatible with the 4 V class cathodes such as LiCoO₂ due to the limited electrochemical oxidation window of PEO. Herein, a number of binders including commonly used binders PEO, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and carboxyl-rich polymer (CRP) binders such as sodium alginate (Na-alginate) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, are studied for application in the 4 V class all-solid-state polymer batteries (ASSPBs). The results show ASSPBs with CRP binders exhibit superior cycling performance up to 1000 cycles (60% capacity retention, almost 10 times higher than those with PEO and PVDF binders). Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), morphology studies and density functional theory studies indicate that, with their carboxyl groups, CRPs can strongly bind the electrode materials together, and work as coating materials to protect the cathode/SPE interface. Cyclic voltammetry studies indicate that CRP binders are more stable at high voltage compared to PEO and PVDF. The stability under high voltage and the coating property of CRP binders contribute to stable cathode/SPE interfaces as disclosed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Co L-edge XAS results, enabling long cycling life, high performance 4 V class ASSPBs.     

Liquid–liquid extraction of antimicrobial peptide P34 by aqueous two-phase and micellar systems

Antimicrobial peptide P34 is a promising biopreservative for utilization in the food industry. In this work, aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) and aqueous biphasic micellar systems (ABMS) were studied as prestep for purification of peptide P34. The ABS was prepared with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and inorganic salts and the ABMS with Triton X-114 was chosen as the phase-forming surfactant. Results indicate that peptide P34 partitions preferentially to PEG-rich phase and extraction with ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄], yielding a 75% recovery of the antimicrobial activity, specific activity of 1,530 antimicrobial units per mg of protein, and purification fold of 2.48. Protein partition coefficient and partition coefficient for the biological activity with (NH₄)₂SO₄ system were 0.48 and 64, respectively. Addition of sodium chloride did not affect recovery, but decreased protein amount in the PEG-rich phase, indicating a higher partition of biomolecules. ABMS did not yield good recovery of antimicrobial activity. Purification fold using PEG–(NH₄)₂SO₄ and 1.0?mol l^?1 sodium chloride was twice higher than that obtained by conventional protocol, indicating a successful utilization of ABS as a step for purification of peptide P34.     

Solvent interaction analysis as a proteomic approach to structure-based biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics

Proteins have several measurable features in biological fluids that may change under pathological conditions. The current disease biomarker discovery is mostly based on protein concentration in the sample as the measurable feature. Changes in protein structures, such as post-translational modifications and in protein–partner interactions are known to accompany pathological processes. Changes in glycosylation profiles are well-established for many plasma proteins in various types of cancer and other diseases. The solvent interaction analysis method is based on protein partitioning in aqueous two-phase systems and is highly sensitive to changes in protein structure and protein–protein- and protein–partner interactions while independent of the protein concentration in the biological sample. It provides quantitative index: partition coefficient representing changes in protein structure and interactions with partners. The fundamentals of the method are presented with multiple examples of applications of the method to discover and monitor structural protein biomarkers as disease-specific diagnostic indicators.     

小蓬草水浸液对2种花卉种子萌发及幼苗生长的化感作用北大核心CSCD

为揭示入侵杂草与草本花卉之间的竞争关系,以入侵植物小蓬草为供体材料,常用的花卉波斯菊、观赏油菜为受体材料,研究了小蓬草根、叶水浸提液对受体植物种子萌发、幼苗生长、抗氧化酶活性(SOD、POD和CAT)以及丙二醛(MDA)含量的化感效应差异。结果表明,(1)小蓬草浸提液对受体植物的种子萌发均具有显著化感效应,基本表现为“低促高抑”的趋势,且波斯菊、观赏油菜的种子萌发率在根、叶浸提液浓度为25 g/L时最高,在浸提液浓度为100 g/L时最低。(2)小蓬草浸提液对受体植物幼苗上下胚轴生长具有“低促高抑”的浓度效应,且浓度越大抑制作用越显著。(3)在小蓬草根、叶浸提液处理下,观赏油菜的SOD和POD活性大多显著高于对照,波斯菊SOD和POD活性则大多显著低于对照;波斯菊、观赏油菜CAT活性整体呈先缓慢升高后降低的趋势。(4)波斯菊幼苗MDA含量随小蓬草根、叶浸提液浓度的增加均呈现逐渐升高的趋势,并大多高于对照水平,而观赏油菜幼苗MDA含量随着根浸提液浓度增加而逐渐升高,却随着叶浸提液浓度的增加而降低,但大多显著低于对照水平。研究发现,小蓬草浸提液对2种花卉种子萌发和幼苗生长均表现出“低促高抑”化感作用,且综合效应强弱表现为观赏油菜大于波斯菊,根浸提液处理大于叶浸提液。     

Hooked to vitamin B12 since 1955: A historical perspective

In our pioneering work in 1956, two binders of vitamin B₁₂ (B₁₂) alias cobalamin (Cbl) were identified in gastric juice, S with slow electrophoretic mobility, a 70 kD protein with intrinsic factor (IF) activity and another rapid (R), not IF active but probable digestion product. Numerous sources contained a protein immunologically identical to R (haptocorrin, Hc). Another IF-active component (I) was found. Isoelectric focusing showed that S, I and R were assemblies of “isoproteins” with different pI's due to varying glycosidation. Isolation of S, I and R in microquantities was achieved in 1962 using a series of ion exchange chromatographies and gel filtration. Ponderable products were obtained in 1965–1966. The B₁₂-IF complex was a dimer, contained 13% carbohydrate and showed a different absorption spectrum than B₁₂. Using the Schilling test, B₁₂ absorption was shown to require Ca⁺⁺, bound in vitro to the ileal receptor and IF, but most of Ca⁺⁺ could be removed with sialidase. The receptor–substrate complex contained Ca⁺⁺ and carbohydrate. The purified receptor was shown to contain two main subunits. The Imerslund–Gräsbeck syndrome was discovered 1958–1960; it is caused by mutations in either of two genes, cubilin or amnionless, which form the multiligand receptor cubam. Testicular biopsies during and after B₁₂-treated deficiency showed remarkable improvement after therapy. Studies of the turnover of radioactive B₁₂ revealed biliary and fecal excretion, enterohepatic circulation and allowed calculation of biological half-life and daily need. The B₁₂ coenzymes largely behaved like B₁₂. To study whether radiocobalt in B₁₂ was representative of the rest of the B₁₂ molecule, ³²P and ⁵⁷Co labeled hydroxocobalamins were biosynthesized and shown to behave identically when given simultaneously to rats. The complex metabolism of B₁₂ explains the pathogenesis of B₁₂ deficiencies. Some of its mechanisms are not restricted to B₁₂, e.g. the endocytosis of B₁₂-IF also applies to other macromolecules.     

Fluorescence Detection of Carbon-Centered Radicals in Aqueous Solution

A simple, highly sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of arrays of carbon-centered radicals in aqueous systems is described. Radicals are efficiently trapped by an amino-nitroxide to form stable products which are then reacted with fluorescamine to produce highly fluorescent adducts. The adducts are easily separated by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The detection limit for individual radical adducts (0.5 to 2nM) is two to three orders of magnitude lower than those of current methods employing electron paramagnetic resonance detection. Results on the photolysis of ketones and z-keto acids demonstrate the potential of this technique. This approach should be widely applicable to the study of radical processes in biological and chemical systems.     

Association with HeLa cells of LPS mutants ofSalmonella typhimurium andSalmonella minnesota in relation to their physicochemical surface properties

Different LPS mutants ofSalmonella typhimurium andSalmonella minnesota have been investigated with respect to (1) their tendency to associate, with HeLa cell monolayers, and (2) their physicochemical surface properties. Aqueous biphasic partitioning, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and ion exchange chromatography have been used to characterize the bacterial cell surface properties with respect to charge and hydrophobicity. Liability to hydrophobic interaction was defined either by the change of partition in a dextran-polyethylene-glycol (PEG) system by the addition of PEG-palmitate (P-PEG), or by the elution pattern from Octyl-Sepharose. Accordingly, charge was assessed by the effect of positively charged trimethylamino-PEG (TMA-PEG) on the partition, and by the elution from DEAE-Sephacel. Bacterial being negatively charged and liable to hydrophobic interaction had the highest tendency to associate with HeLa cells. In some cases the methods for surface analysis gave conflicting results on charge and/or liability to hydrophobic interaction of the same LPS mutant. Possible reasons for these differences and the role of bacterial cell surface structures contributing to physicochemical character are discussed.     

On the stiffness of chitosan hydrochloride in acid-free aqueous solutions

Chitosan hydrochlorides (F_A=0.226, i.e. DA=22.6%) were randomly degraded by ultrasonication and characterized by viscosity measurements in aqueous acid-free solutions. It is shown that acid-free aqueous solutions of chitosan hydrochloride of variable ionic strengths (0.06 M≤μ≤0.3 M) are free of aggregation as evaluated by the values of the Huggins constants (0.31≤k≤0.63). These solutions were employed to study the solution properties of chitosan hydrochloride at different ionic strengths, which allowed the determination of its salt tolerance as well as its characteristic stiffness parameter. Following Smidsrod's approach chitosan hydrochloride gave a stiffness parameter B=0.06, in agreement with the value reported by Rinaudo et al. It is suggested that the higher values of B reported for chitosan in the literature may be attributed to aggregation.