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Biomedical subjects

Jianling Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Jianling Zhang.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Compressed CO2-enhanced solubilization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in reverse micelles of Triton X-100.

We carried out the first study about the effect of a compressed gas on the properties of reverse micellar solutions with ionic liquid (IL) polar cores. And the properties of compressed CO2/cyclohexane/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4])/Triton X-100 (TX-100) system were investigated at 288.2, 293.2, 298.2, 308.2 K and different pressures by using phase behavior measurement, small-angle x-ray scattering, and UV-Vis techniques. The concentration of the surfactant in the solution was 0.3 mol/l (M). It was found that compressed CO2 could enhance solubilization of the IL in the reverse micelles considerably at suitable pressures, and formation of the reverse micelles could be controlled easily by pressure. Increase of CO2 pressure resulted in decrease of the micellar sizes at fixed [bmim][BF4]-to-surfactant molar ratios (w), and the size of the reverse micelles increased with the increase of w values. The polarity of the IL cores increased continuously with increasing w value.

Journal Article↗

Enhancement of the solubilization capacity of water in Triton X-100/cyclohexane/water system by compressed gases.

The effect of compressed CO2 and ethylene on the properties of Triton X-100/cyclohexane/water systems was studied at different temperatures and pressures. Surprisingly, it was discovered that the compressed gases had the functions of co-surfactants. At suitable pressures, the water-to-surfactant molar ratio (W0) was enhanced significantly by the dissolution of the gas in the solution. The microenvironment in the reverse micelles was investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy by using methyl orange (MO) as a probe. The influence of n-hexane, Na2CO3, NaHCO3, H2C2O4, and CaCl2 at various concentrations on the solubilization of water in the absence of compressed gases was also investigated in order to obtain some information about the mechanism of the interesting phenomenon. This new route to stabilize reverse micelles may have potential applications to other similar systems. Moreover, the results of this work provide some useful information to get insight into the mechanism of co-surfactants, because a conventional co-surfactant usually contains both polar group and hydrocarbon chain, and it is very difficult to clarify the functions these two groups, while the gases used in this work are small nonpolar molecules, which solely have the function of the hydrocarbon chain in a co-surfactant.

Journal Article↗

A novel method to synthesize polystyrene nanospheres immobilized with silver nanoparticles by using compressed CO2.

In this work, a novel route to synthesize polymer/metal composite nanospheres has been proposed. This method combines the advantages that the polymer chains collapse and entangle in the presence of compressed CO(2), which acts as antisolvent, and the metal nanoparticles and polymers can be precipitated simultaneously from micellar solutions by the easy control of CO(2) pressure. Ag/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites have been successfully prepared using this method. The transmission electronic micrographs (TEM) of the obtained nanocomposites show that the smaller Ag nanoparticles are immobilized by PS nanospheres of about 50 nm; the phase structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Ag/PS nanocomposites show absorption properties at a wavelength of approximately 417 nm. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and FT-IR spectra indicate that there is no chemical linkage or strong interaction between PS and Ag nanoparticles in the resultant products. This method has many potential advantages for applications and may easily be applied to the preparation of a range of inorganic/ polymer composite nanoparticles.

Journal Article↗

Preparation of ZnS/CdS composite nanoparticles by coprecipitation from reverse micelles using CO2 as antisolvent.

The possibility of simultaneously recovering ZnS and CdS particles from reverse micelles by dissolving antisolvent CO2 into the micellar solution was investigated by high-pressure UV-Vis spectra. It was found that all the ZnS and CdS particles in the reverse micelles could be precipitated by compressed CO2 at suitable pressures. The phase structures and morphologies of the obtained composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electronic micrographs. The results illustrate that the smaller molar ratio of water to surfactant of the reverse micelles and higher pressure of CO2 are favorable for producing smaller particles. This method has many potential advantages for the production of composite nanoparticles.

Journal Article↗

A simple route to micropatterned polymer surfaces.

Polymer surfaces with uniform microscale concave arrays were fabricated by spreading polymer solution on the nonsolvent surface, and the concave-patterned surface could further be used as a template to structure convex-patterned polymer surfaces.

Journal Article↗

Tautomeric equilibrium of ethyl acetoacetate in compressed CO2 + ethanol and CO2 + methanol mixtures.

Tautomerism equilibrium of ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) in compressed CO2 + methanol and CO2 + ethanol mixtures was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy at 308.15 K and different pressures. The volume expansion coefficient (alpha) of the solvents at different pressures was also determined. The relative permittivity (epsilon) of CO2 + methanol and CO2 + ethanol mixtures at different conditions was calculated using the Kc and Onsager solvent parameter. The equilibrium constant (Kc) of EAA in the binary mixtures increases considerably with increasing pressure or volume expansion coefficient. The relative permittivity or the polarity of the binary mixtures decreases sharply with increasing volume expansion coefficient in the range of 0 < alpha < 1.5. However, as the volume expansion coefficient exceeds 1.5, the relative permittivity decreases slowly. In other words, the dissolution of CO2 in the polar solvents can reduce the polarity of the solvents significantly in the low volume expansion coefficient range, and the polarity of the solution is not sensitive to the volume expansion coefficient as its value is large enough. The difference in polarity of the two solvents reduces with increasing pressure and becomes negligible after volume expansion coefficient exceeds about 2.5.

Acetoacetates↗

Induction of apoptosis in macrophage cell line, J774, by the cell-free supernatant from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is able to secrete many virulence factors that are cytotoxic towards eukaryotic cells. To investigate the effect of the bacterium on macrophages, we obtained cell-free supernatants from P. aeruginosa (Pa) IID1117 (elastase-positive and protease-positive) and Pa IID1130 (elastase-positive and protease-negative). After 6 hr of incubation with the cell-free supernatant from the Pa IID1117 strain, the viability of J774 macrophages was shown to be significantly reduced (47.5+/-11%), but not Pa IID1130 (96.4+/-1.6%) at a concentration of 10% (v/v) compared to control J774 macrophages without any supernatant (97.2+/-1.7%) by the detection of trypan blue dye exclusion. The death of cells was further demonstrated to be due to apoptosis characterized by chromatin condensation and apoptotic bodies by Hoechst 33258 staining, DNA fragmentation by agarose gel electrophoresis and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). An activated subunit was found to be released from procaspase-3 in cell lysate. But in the presence of protease inhibitor, the apoptosis was completely blocked. The findings indicate that the Pa IID1117 strain is capable of inducing apoptosis in J774 macrophages. The apoptosis induced by the cell-free supernatant from Pa IID1117 strain is suggested to be dependent on protease, but not elastase.

Apoptosis↗

Why do co-solvents enhance the solubility of solutes in supercritical fluids? New evidence and opinion.

The effects of two polar co-solvents, chlorodifluoromethane and acetone, on the solubility and enthalpy of a solution of 1,4-naphthoquinone in supercritical (SC) CO2 were studied. We found that the dissolution process becomes less exothermic in the presence of the co-solvents relative to that in pure CO2, although the solubility is enhanced significantly by the co-solvents. This indicates that the increase in the solubility by adding co-solvents results from the increase of the entropy of solution. On the basis of the unexpected results we propose a new mechanism for the solubility enhancement of the solute by the co-solvents in supercritical fluids (SCF); this should be applicable to cases in which the local density of the SC solvent around the solute and the co-solvent is larger, and the co-solvent associates preferentially with the solute. The results are also very important for the understanding of other fundamental questions of SCF science, such as the effect of co-solvents on the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the reactions in SCFs.

Journal Article↗

Recovery of silver nanoparticles synthesized on AOT/C(12)E(4) mixed reverse micelles by antisolvent CO(2).

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized in sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelles in isooctane with tetraethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C(12)E(4)) as a cosurfactant. Recovery of the Ag particles from the reverse micelles by dissolving antisolvent CO(2) in the micellar solution was investigated. All the Ag particles in the reverse micelles could be precipitated by compressed CO(2) at suitable pressures, while the surfactants remained in the isooctane continuous phase, and well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles were obtained. The effects of operating conditions on the size and size distribution of the Ag particles were investigated. The particle size decreased with decreasing molar ratio (w) of water to surfactant. A higher CO(2) pressure in the recovery process favored production of smaller particles. A decrease in the molar ratio of reductant KBH(4) to AgNO(3) resulted in larger Ag particles with higher polydispersity.

Journal Article↗

Formation of water-in-CO(2) microemulsions with non-fluorous surfactant Ls-54 and solubilization of biomacromolecules.

The solubility of Ls-54 surfactant in supercritical CO(2) was determined. It was found that the surfactant was highly soluble in SC CO(2) and the water-in-CO(2) microemulsions could be formed, despite it being a non-fluorous and non-siloxane nonionic surfactant. The main reasons for the high solubility and formation of the microemulsions may be that the surfactant has four CO(2)-philic groups (propylene oxide) and five hydrophilic groups (ethylene oxide) and its molecular weight are relatively low. The results of this work provide useful information for designing CO(2)-soluble non-fluorous and non-siloxane surfactants. The phase behavior of the CO(2)/Ls-54/H(2)O system, solvatochromic probe study, and the UV spectrum of lysozyme proved the existence of water domains in the SC CO(2) microemulsions. The method of synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering was used to obtain the structural information on the Ls-54 based water-in-CO(2) reverse micelles. By using the Guinier plot (ln I(q) versus q (2)) on the data sets in a defined small q range (0.022-0.040 A(-1)), the radii of the reverse micelles were obtained at different pressures and molar ratio of water to surfactant, W(0), which were in the range of 20.4-25.2 A.

Azo Compounds↗