Clinical Outcomes of Patients Treated for Candida auris Infections in a Multisite Health System, Illinois, USA.

Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that is typically resistant to fluconazole and is known to cause healthcare-associated outbreaks. We retrospectively reviewed 28 patients who had >1 positive culture for C. auris within a multisite health system in Illinois, USA, during May 2018-April 2019. Twelve of these patients were treated as inpatients for C. auris infections; 10 (83%) met criteria for clinical success, defined as absence of all-cause mortality, C. auris recurrence, and infection-related readmission at 30 days from the first positive culture. The other 2 patients (17%) died within 30 days. Most patients (92%) were empirically treated with micafungin. Four (14%) of 28 total isolates were resistant to fluconazole, 1 (3.6%) was resistant to amphotericin B, and 1 (3.6%) was resistant to echinocandins. Our findings describe low rates of antifungal resistance and favorable clinical outcomes for most C. auris patients.

Preparation and Evaluation of a Zirconia/Oligosiloxane Nanocomposite for LED Encapsulation.

A zirconia/oligosiloxane nanocomposite encapsulant has been developed and tested in a high-power LED package against commercial silicone resins. The composite was a marriage of zirconia nanocrystals modified with butyric acid (BA) and 3-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and a high-index methacryloxy-oligosiloxanes resin made from MPTMS plus dimethyl, diphenyl, and triphenyl silanes. The modified zirconia had an index of 1.762 (@589 nm) and was dispersible in many solvents. The oligosiloxane resin, however, had an index of 1.5413 with good encapsulation properties and low viscosity allowing the incorporation of more zirconia. The final nanocomposite showed a refractive index of 1.625 with high transparency and a wavelength-independent scattering, both desirable for the light extraction from LED. When tested in a high-power LED package, the composite encapsulant resulted in 13% more light output compared to the commercial encapsulant (OE-6630, Dow Corning Corp.) and showed longer than 1000 h of lifetime (L70) under the steady-state Temperature Humidity Bias (THB) test.

Natural zwitterionic organosulfurs as surface ligands for antifouling and responsive properties.

Natural sulfur-containing zwitterionic compounds, l-cysteine (Cys), l-methionine, and glutathionine (GSH), have been employed as surface ligands to prevent protein nonspecific adsorption on planar substrates. These organosulfur compounds form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold substrates by gold-sulfur interaction. The chemical elements of SAMs were confirmed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface wetting tests for SAMs show that films prepared from Cys and GSH exhibited super-hydrophilicity (contact angles of θ = ~5°) due to their high coverage and strong hydration via ionic solvation and formation of hydrogen bonding. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation sensor was used to quantitatively and qualitatively monitor the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) from buffer onto these SAMs. It was found that the GSH film enables the resistance of BSA adsorption to the best extent at a physiological pH. Moreover, the surface charges of modified substrates were modulated by varying the pH value to control BSA adsorption. The effect of electrostatic repulsion on the antifouling behavior becomes prominent at a pH where the protein and the surface carry same charges. Consolidating the BSA adsorption measurements at different pH values, the antifouling properties of GSH-modified Au should be attributed to prevention of entropy gain and enthalpy loss, making BSA adsorption energetically unfavorable. It is believed that the surface modification with natural organosulfur ligands holds great potential in improving the biocompatibility of medical devices and in offering intelligent biointerfaces in response to environmental stimuli.

Some observations on the synthesis of fully-dispersible nanocrystalline zeolite ZSM-5.

A facile method for the rapid synthesis of fully-dispersible ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 100) of about 30 nm size in high yield (about 91%) is described. The method comprises three steps, viz., concentration of an initial clear solution, low-temperature (80 degrees C) ageing of concentrated sol, and high-temperature (175 degrees C) hydrothermal treatment or microwave heating (175 degrees C) of aged concentrated sol. A simple vacuum-concentration method was used for the extraction of pure NPs of ZSM-5 in solution. XRD, FT-IR, TGA and ASAP characterizations showed that the NPs were partially crystalline. The concentration step accelerated the aggregation of primary units, which helps in the production of a large number of nucleation centers protected by TPA+ ions against aggregation. During low-temperature ageing, the number of critical sized nuclei increases, growing into zeolite. The high-temperature heating results in the complete growth of unreacted silica, giving high yields. A key factor for generating small non-aggregated zeolite crystals is the amount of water in the synthesis sol. The three-step method presented here produces a target material of small and uniform sized, non-aggregated ZSM-5 of about 30 nm in a short reaction time. The results are significant, as the synthesis method adopted here produces much uniform, non-aggregated nanocrystalline ZSM-5 in a shorter time with high yield.

Hansen solubility parameter analysis on the dispersion of zirconia nanocrystals.

Nanoparticle dispersible in a broad range of solvents is desirable when preparing an organic/inorganic nanocomposite. In this report, the dispersion behavior of carboxylate-grafted zirconia nanoparticle in 25 solvents covering a wide range of polarity was analyzed based on their Hansen solubility parameters (HSP). Particles grafted with alkyl-chain longer than four carbons could only be dispersed in non-polar solvents, while that grafted with acetic acid was dispersible in polar ones. However, particle modified with methacrylic acid (MA) was compatible with both types of solvents, which was rather unexpected. Further NMR analysis showed that the carboxylate-grafted samples contained a trace amount of triethanolamine (TEA) due to the particular ZrO2 synthesis process employed. The combination of the hydrophilic TEA ligand with the short hydrophobic tail of methacrylate broadened the range of compatible solvents from benzene to methanol. Such an extended solvent compatibility was observed previously only for nanoparticles covered with large polymer surfactants having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. Achieving this with two small molecules having separate functional groups is crucial when one needs to maximize the inorganic content in a composite.

A simple one-pot route to mesoporous silicas SBA-15 functionalized with exceptionally high loadings of pendant carboxylic acid groups.

Ordered SBA-15 functionalized with a high loading of pendant carboxylate groups has been synthesized via co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and carboxyethylsilanetriol sodium salt (CES) templated by Pluronic P123 under acidic conditions.

Grafting of cyclopentadienyl ruthenium complexes on aminosilane linker modified mesoporous SBA-15 silicates.

Cyclopentadienyl ruthenium phosphane and carbene complexes are grafted on the surface of mesoporous SBA-15 molecular sieves through an aminosilane linker. The nature of the support after the grafting is examined by powder XRD, TEM and N(2) adsorption/desorption analysis. Elemental analysis, FT-IR, DRIFTS, TG-MS and MAS-NMR studies confirm the successful grafting of the complexes on the surface. The grafted materials are applied for catalytic aldehyde olefination and cyclopropanation.

Facile synthesis of stable cubic mesoporous silica SBA-1 over a broad temperature range with the aid of D-fructose.

A highly ordered cubic mesoporous silica SBA-1 with enhanced stability towards washing with water has been synthesized simply by adding D-fructose as an auxiliary agent during the synthesis.

Rapid synthesis of MFI zeolite nanocrystals.

A rapid synthesis procedure for nonagglomerated silicalite nanocrystals has been developed. This was achieved by concentrating the precursor sol before 10-12 h of aging at 80 degrees C, followed by hydrothermal synthesis at 175 degrees C for 90 min. The high silica concentration in the concentrated sol accelerated the aggregation of primary units that were present early in the system. Thus, little silica nutrients were left for growth when the secondary particles were converted to zeolite during hydrothermal reaction. As a result, fully dispersible nanocrystals were obtained within a day instead of weeks as reported previously. The aggregation of primary units during the 80 degrees C aging process as well as the conversion of these aggregates into zeolite has been followed by DLS, XRD, and FTIR. In light of the new results, the nucleation and growth mechanisms of MFI zeolite that have been under debate in the literature were reexamined.