PURIFICATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF VACCINES AND ANTIVIRAL COMPOUNDS

Viral infections account for over 13 million deaths per year. Antiviral drugs and vaccines are the most effective method to treat viral diseases. Antiviral compounds have revolutionized the treatment of AIDS, and reduced the mortality rate. However, this disease still causes a large number of deaths in developing countries that lack these types of drugs. Vaccination is the most effective method to treat viral disease; vaccines prevent around 2.5 million deaths per year. Vaccines are not able to offer full coverage due to high operational costs in the manufacturing processes. Although vaccines have saved millions of lives, conventional vaccines often offer reactogenic effects. New technologies have been created to eliminate the undesired side effects. However, new vaccines are less immunogenic and adjuvants such as vaccine delivery vehicles are required. This work focuses on the discovery of new natural antivirals that can reduce the high cost and side effects of synthetic drugs. We discovered that two osmolytes, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and glycine reduce the infectivity of a model virus, porcine parvovirus (PPV), by 4 LRV (99.99%), likely by disruption of capsid assembly. These osmolytes have the potential to be used as drugs, since they showed antiviral activity after 20 h. We have also focused on improving current vaccine manufacturing processes that will allow fast, effective and economical vaccines to be produced worldwide. We propose virus flocculation in osmolytes followed by microfiltration as an economical alternative for vaccine manufacturing. Osmolytes are able to specifically flocculate hydrophobic virus particles by depleting a hydration layer around the particles and subsequently cause virus aggregation. The osmolyte mannitol was able to flocculate virus particles, and demonstrate a high virus removal, 81% for PPV and 98.1% for Sindbis virus (SVHR). Virus flocculation with mannitol, followed by microfiltration could be used as a platform process for virus purification. Finally, we perform biocompatibility studies on soft-templated mesoporous carbon materials with the aim of using these materials as vaccine delivery vehicles. We discovered that these materials are biocompatible, and the degree of biocompatibility is within the range of other biomaterials currently employed in biomedical applications.

Highly ordered mesoporous carbons as electrode material for the construction of electrochemical dehydrogenase- and oxidase-based biosensors

In this work, the excel lent catalytic activity of highly ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) to the electrooxidation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was described for the construction of electrochemical alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and glucose oxidase (GOD)-based biosensors.

The characteristics of highly ordered mesoporous carbons as electrode material for electrochemical sensing as compared with carbon nanotubes

In this paper, the unique properties of highly ordered mesoporous carbons modified glassy carbon electrode (OMCs/GE) are illustrated from comparison with carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (CNTs/GE) for the electrochemical sensing applications.

Highly ordered mesoporous carbons-based glucose/O-2 biofuel cell

This study demonstrates a novel compartment-less glucose/O-2 biofuel cell (BFC) based on highly ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with three-dimensionally (3D) interconnected and ordered pore structures. OMCs are used as supports for both stably confining the electrocatalyst (i.e., meldola's blue, MDB) for NADH oxidation and the anodic biocatalyst (i.e., NAD(+)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase, GDH) for glucose oxidation, and for facilitating direct electrochemistry of the cathodic biocatalyst (i.e., laccase, LAC) for O-2 electroreduction. In 0.10 M pH 6.0 PBS containing 20 mM NAD(+) and 60 mM glucose under the air-saturated atmosphere, the open circuit voltage (0.82 V) and the maximum power output (38.7 mu W cm(-2) (at 0.54V)) of the assembled compartment-less OMCs-based BFC are both higher than those of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based BFC (0.75 V and 2.1 mu W cm(-2) (at 0.46 V)).

Synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbons composed of nanotubes via catalytic chemical vapor deposition

Ordered mesoporous carbons composed of arrays of nanotubes have been synthesized using ordered mesoporous silica templates via catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The ordered carbons possess bimodal pores, namely, the pores arise from the "replica" of frameworks of the template and the pores correspond to carbon nanotubes formed in the channels of the template (see Figure).

Dry gel conversion of organosilane templated mesoporous silica: from amorphous to crystalline catalysts for benzene oxidation

Mesoporous silica grown using [3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]octadecyldimethylammonium chloride as the mesoporogen in the presence of Fe and Al is X-ray amorphous, but contains very small domains with features of MFI zeolite as evidenced by IR and Raman spectroscopy. When applied as a catalyst, this amorphous sample shows good performance in the selective oxidation of benzene using nitrous oxide. Addition of tetrapropylammonium as structure directing agent to the as-synthesized mesoporous silica and subsequent dry gel conversion results in the formation of hierarchical Fe/ZSM-5 zeolite. During dry gel conversion the wormhole mesostructure of the initial material is completely lost. A dominant feature of the texture after crystallization is the high interconnectivity of micropores and mesopores. Substantial redistribution of low-dispersed Fe takes place during dry gel conversion towards highly dispersed isolated Fe species outside the zeolite framework. The catalytic performance in the oxidation of benzene to phenol of these highly mesoporous zeolites is appreciably higher than that of the parent material.

Textural Characterization of Micro- and Mesoporous Carbons Using Combined Gas Adsorption and n-Nonane Preadsorption

Porous carbon and carbide materials with different structures were characterized using adsorption of nitrogen at 77.4 K before and after preadsorption of n-nonane. The selective blocking of the microporosity with n-nonane shows that ordered mesoporous silicon carbide material (OM-SiC) is almost exclusively mesoporous whereas the ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-3 contains a significant amount of micropores (25%). The insertion of micropores into OM-SiC using selective extraction of silicon by hot chlorine gas leads to the formation of ordered mesoporous carbide-derived carbon (OM-CDC) with a hierarchical pore structure and significantly higher micropore volume as compared to CMK-3, whereas a CDC material from a nonporous precursor is exclusively microporous. Volumes of narrow micropores, calculated by adsorption of carbon dioxide at 273 K, are in linear correlation with the volumes blocked by n-nonane. Argon adsorption measurements at 87.3 K allow for precise and reliable calculation of the pore size distribution of the materials using density functional theory (DFT) methods.

Methoxylation of α-pinene over mesoporous carbons and microporous carbons: A comparative study

A biomass derived carbon, a commercial microporous carbon and a xerogel mesoporous carbon catalysts were used in the study of α-pinene methoxilation reaction and the influence of textural and physical–chemical properties of the carbons was evaluated. Biomass carbon presented the higher activity, whereas the commercial one is the less active in the conditions studied. The main product of the reaction was α-terpinyl methyl ether and good values of selectivity were obtained over all the catalysts. A kinetic model was developed assuming that the α-pinene is consumed according to the parallel reaction network. The kinetic model presents high quality fittings to the experimental concentration profiles. These results show that it is possible to activate a waste residue using H3PO4 and convert it to high added value product such as acid catalyst.

Effect of pore packing defects in 2-D ordered mesoporous carbons on ionic transport

Ordered mesoporous materials show great importance in energy, environmental, and chemical engineering. The diffusion of guest species in mesoporous networks plays an important role in these applications, especially for energy storage, such as supercapacitors based on ordered mesoporous carbons ( OMCs). The ion diffusion behavior in two different 2-D hexagonal OMCs was investigated by using cyclic voltametry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition, transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen cryosorption methods were used to study the pore structure variations of these two OMCs. It was found that, for the OMC with defective pore channels ( termed as pore packing defects), the gravimetric capacitance was greatly decayed when the voltage scan rate was increased. The experimental results suggest that, for the ion diffusion in 2-D hexagonal OMCs with similar mesopore size distribution, the pore packing defect is a dominant dynamic factor.

Investigating the structure of biomass-derived non-graphitizing mesoporous carbons by electron energy loss spectroscopy in the transmission electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

We have investigated the microstructure and bonding of two biomass-based porous carbon chromatographic stationary phase materials (alginic acid-derived Starbon® and calcium alginate-derived mesoporous carbon spheres (AMCS) and a commercial porous graphitic carbon (PGC), using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), N2 porosimetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The planar carbon sp -content of all three material types is similar to that of traditional nongraphitizing carbon although, both biomass-based carbon types contain a greater percentage of fullerene character (i.e. curved graphene sheets) than a non-graphitizing carbon pyrolyzed at the same temperature. This is thought to arise during the pyrolytic breakdown of hexauronic acid residues into C5 intermediates. Energy dispersive X-ray and XPS analysis reveals a homogeneous distribution of calcium in the AMCS and a calcium catalysis mechanism is discussed. That both Starbon® and AMCS, with high-fullerene character, show chromatographic properties similar to those of a commercial PGC material with extended graphitic stacks, suggests that, for separations at the molecular level, curved fullerene- like and planar graphitic sheets are equivalent in PGC chromatography. In addition, variation in the number of graphitic layers suggests that stack depth has minimal effect on the retention mechanism in PGC chromatography. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High activity, templated mesoporous SO4/ZrO2/HMS catalysts with controlled acid site density for α-pinene isomerisation

Highly active mesoporous SO4/ZrO2/HMS (hexagonal mesoroporous silica) solid acid catalysts with tuneable sulphated zirconia (SZ) content have been prepared for the liquid phase isomerisation of α-pinene. The mesoporous HMS framework is preserved during the grafting process as evidenced by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and porosimetry with all SO4/ZrO2/HMS materials possessing average pore-diameters ∼20 Å. XRD confirms the presence of a stabilized tetragonal phase of nanoparticulate ZrO2, with no evidence for zirconia phase separation or the formation of discrete crystallites, consistent with a uniform and highly dispersed SZ coating. The activity towards α-pinene isomerisation scales linearly with Zr loading, while the specific activities are an order of magnitude greater than attainable by conventional methodologies (∼1 versus 0.08 mol h−1 g Zr−1).

Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Materials by Dry Etching

A novel synthesis method for ordered mesoporous carbons is presented. The inverse replication of a silica template was achieved using the carbonization of sucrose within mesoporous KIT-6. Instead of liquid acid etching, as in classical nanocasting, a novel dry chlorine etching procedure for template removal is presented for the first time. The resultant ordered mesostructured carbon material outperforms carbons obtained by conventional hard templating with respect to high specific micro- and mesopore volumes (0.6 and 1.6 cm3 g−1, respectively), due to the presence of a hierarchical pore system. A high specific surface area of 1671 m2 g−1 was achieved, rendering this synthesis route a highly convenient method to produce ordered mesoporous carbons.

Synthesis and spectroscopic study of mesoporous aluminum methylphosphonate foam templated by dibutyl methylphosphonate

New types of templates and novel interactive mechanisms between template and framework are very important for creating porous materials. In this work, by using neutral dibutyl methylphosphonate as a template, an inorganic-organic hybrid mesoporous material, aluminum methylphosphonate, was prepared. The as-synthesized material was studied by P-31 magnetic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), Al-27 MAS NMR, C-13 CP/MAS, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and transmission electron microscopy. After thermal treatment at 673 K and 10 mmHg for 2 h, hybrid mesoporous foam was obtained. The transformation process was investigated by FT-IR. TG-DTA results indicate that the methyl group bonded to the framework keeps intact up to 792 K under air and 823 K under nitrogen. The characterization results from nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption measurements show that the BET surface area and the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda desorption cumulative pore volume of the foam are 90 m(2) g(-1) and 0.32 cm(3) g(-1) respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stable ordered mesoporous silica materials templated by high-temperature stable surfactant micelle in alkaline media

Ordered hexagonal mesoporous silica material (JLU-30) has been successfully synthesized in alkaline media at high temperature (> 160 degreesC, using cationic (1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidin-2-ylidene)hexadecylmethyl-ammonium bromide (DIHAB) as a template, and characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), as well as Al-27 and Si-29 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Mesoporous JLU-30 shows much higher hydrothermal stability than MCM-41. Si-29 NMR spectra indicate that the pore walls of JLU-30 samples synthesized at high temperature (160 degreesC) are fully condensed, giving a Q(4)/Q(3) ratio as high as 6.2. In contrast, MCM-41 synthesized at relatively low temperature (100 degreesC) shows the Q(4)/Q(3) + Q(2) ratio at 1.1. Such unique structural feature might be responsible for the observed highly hydrothermal stability of the mesoporous silica materials (JLU-30).