Defensive and Sensory Chemical Ecology of Brown Algae

The ecological interaction of brown algae are important as these macroalgae are common and often keystone members in many benthic marine communities.This review highlights their chemical interactions,particularly with potential herbivores,but also with fouling oranganisms,with potential pathogens,with each other as gametes,and with their microenvironments when they are spores.Phlorotannins,which are phenolic compounds unique to brown algae,have been studied hesvily in many of these respects and sre highlightes here.This includes recent controversy about their roles as defences against herbivory,as well as new understanding of their roles in primary cellular functions that may,in many instances,be more important than ,and which at least have to be considered in convert with,any possible ecological functions.Brown algae have also been useful models for testing theoties about the evolution of and ecological constraints on chemical defence.Furthermore,their mocroscopic motile gametes and spores have the ability to react to their chemical environments behavirourally.

Explanation for Micromorphologies Around Broken Fibers in Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Experimental observations on micromorphologies around broken fibers in glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composites reveal different kinds of highly oriented patches at the circumambience of broken fibers, whereas the bulk of the matrix has been observed to be largely isotropic. These patches are interpreted to correlated areas where the stress gradients of the matrix are formed after fiber breaking, but the underlying cause for the orientation is still unknown. The authors have modified an embedded cell model to explain the experimental phenomena. The finite element simulation indicates that the surfaces around broken fibers display a change from an extension micromorphology to a mixed tension and shear micromorphology with the increase of applied strain.

Hollow fibers of yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) prepared by calcination of electrospun composite fibers

8YSZ fibers were synthesized by calcination of PVP/zirconium oxychloride/yttrium nitrate composite fibers (PVP-Precursor) obtained by electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the 8YSZ fibers are hollow and the gas released during organic binder decomposition resulted in the formation of hollow center in fibers

The immobilization of proteins on biodegradable polymer fibers via click chemistry

A facile and efficient method to immobilize bioactive proteins onto polymeric substrate was established. Testis-specific protease 50 (TSP50) was immobilized on ultrafine biodegradable polymer fibers, i.e., (1) to prepare a propargyl-containing polymer P(LA90-co-MPCIO) by introducing propargyl group into a cyclic carbonate monomer (5-methyl-5-propargyloxycarbonyl-1,3-dioxan2-one, MPC) and copolymerizing it with L-lactide; (2) to electrospin the functionalized polymer into ultrafine fibers; (3) to azidize the TSP50, and (4) to perform the click reaction between the propargyl groups on the fibers and the azido groups on the protein.

The release behavior of doxorubicin hydrochloride from medicated fibers prepared by emulsion-electrospinning

The release behavior of a water-soluble small molecule drug from the drug-loaded nanofibers prepared by emulsion-electrospinning was investigated. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox), a water-soluble anticancer agent, was used as the model drug. The laser scanning confocal microscopic images indicated that the drug was well incorporated into amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactic acid) (PEG-PLA) diblock copolymer nanofibers, forming "core-sheath" structured drug-loaded nanofibers.

Sintering-resistant hollow fibers of LaMgAl11O19 prepared by electrospinning

Lanthanum magnesium hexaaluminate (LMA) is very important ceramic material for catalytic combustion of natural gas. The sintering-resistant hollow fibers of LMA with diameters ranging from 1 to 3 mu m were fabricated from alcoholic solutions containing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and aqueous solution of lanthanum, magnesium and aluminum nitrates. The interaction between PVP and nitrates were studied by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transmission-infrared spectroscopy. The forming mechanism of hollow fibers and the sintering ability of hollow LaMgAl11O19 fibers were discussed.

Preparation of Hollow Carbon and Silicon Carbide Fibers with Different Cross-Sections by using Electrospun Fibers as Templates

Hollow carbon nanofibers with circular and rectangular opening were prepared by using electrospun silica fibers as templates. Silica fibers were synthesized by electrospinning, and they were coated with a carbon layer formed by thermal decomposition and carbonization of polystyrene under a nitrogen atmosphere. Hollow carbon nanofibers with circular and rectangular openings were then obtained after the silica core was etched by hydrofluoric acid. The carbon nanofibers with different morphologies also could be used as templates to fabricate silicon carbide fibers. The silicon carbide fibers with circular and rectangular openings could be obtained by using hollow carbon nanofibers and carbon belts as templates, respectively.

In Situ Observation of Tensile Deformation Processes of Soft Colloidal Crystalline Latex Fibers

The deformation mechanism or styrene/n-butyl acrylate copolymer latex films with fiber symmetric crystalline structure subjected to uniaxial stretching was studied using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering technique. The fibers were drawn at angles or 0, 35, and 55 degrees with respect to the Fiber axis. In all cases, the microscopic deformation within the crystallites was Found to deviate from affine deformation behavior with respect to the macroscopic deformation ratio. Moreover, the extent of this deviation is different in the three cases. This peculiar behavior can be attributed to the relative orientation of the (111) plane of the crystals, the plane of densest packing, with respect to the stretching direction in each case. When the stretching direction coincides with the crystallographic (111) plane, which is the case for stretching directions of 0 and 55 degrees with respect to the fiber axis, the microscopic deformation deviates less from affine behavior than when the stretching direction is arbitrarily oriented with respect to the crystallographic (111) plan.

Ultrafine PEG-PLA fibers loaded with both paclitaxel and doxorubicin hydrochloride and their in vitro cytotoxicity

By means of "emulsion-electrospinning", both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, paclitaxel (PTX) and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), were successfully loaded into PEG-PLA nanofiber mats to realize multi-drug delivery. The release behaviors of both the drugs from the same fiber mats were ascribed to their solubility properties and distribution status in the fibers. Due to its high hydrophilicity, DOX was easy to diffuse out from the fibers, and its release rate was always faster than that of hydrophobic PTX. Moreover, the release rate of PTX was accelerated by DOX's release from the same drug-loaded fibers. In vitro cytotoxicity against rat Glioma C6 cells indicated that the dual drug combination showed a higher inhibition and apoptosis against C6 cells than a single drug-loaded system, which suggests the promise for multi-drug delivery on combination therapy.

Preparation of SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+ fibers by electrospinning combined with sol-gel process

One-dimensional SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+ fibers were fabricated by a simple electrospinning combined with sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence were used to characterize the fibers. The results show that the phase structure of SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+ belongs to a monoclinic one, the composite fibers and fibers calcined at high temperature remain the original one-dimensional texture, and the SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+ was a green emission. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PLLA-PCys co-electrospun fibers for capture and elution of glutathione S-transferase

The copolymer poly(L-lactic acid)-b-poly(L-cysteine) (PLA-b-PCys) was co-electrospun with PLGA into ultrafine fibers. The reduced glutathione (GSH) was conjugated to the fiber surfaces via disulfide bonds. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) was captured onto the GSH fibers via specific substrate-enzyme interaction between the bound GSH and GST. The captured GST was eluted with free GSH aqueous solution and lyophilized to get pure GST powders. The results show that the GSH moieties on the fiber surface retain the bioactivity of the free GSH and thus they can bind specifically with GST and the GST in solution is captured onto the fiber surface. In addition, the bound GSH is not as active as free GSH so that the captured GST can be eluted off from the fiber by free GSH aqueous solution. Based on this principle, GST itself or its fused proteins can be separated and purified very easily. The preliminary purification efficiency is 6.5 mg center dot(g(PCys))(-1). Further improvements are undertaken.

Syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene fibers produced by electrospinning

Syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene (s-PB) is a typical thermoplastic elastomer with various applications because of its high reactivity. In the past, it is difficult to form s-PB fibers with a diameter below 10 mu m because of the limitation of the conventional method such as melt spinning. Here, we report for the first time on the production of s-PB nanofibers by using a simple electrospinning method. Ultrafine s-PB fibers without beads were electrospun from s-PB solutions in dichloromethane and characterized by environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). At 4 wt.% concentration of s-PB, the average diameter of s-PB was about 130 nm. We found that dichloromethane was a unique suitable solvent for the electrospinning of s-PB fibers, and the structure of syndiotactic was changed through the electrospinning process.