In situ approach of cementite nanoparticles encapsulated with nitrogen-doped graphitic shells as anode nanomaterials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

Novel Fe3C nanoparticles encapsulated with nitrogen-doped graphitic shells were synthesized by floating catalytic pyrolysis. Due to the short synthesis time and controllable pyrolytic temperature, the diameters of Fe3C core nanoparticles ranged from 5 to 15 nm (Fe3C@NGS900 prepared at 900 °C) and the average thickness of N-doped graphitic shells was ∼1.2 nm, leading to their high electrochemical performance: specific capacity of 1300 mA h g-1 at current density 0.2 A g-1, outstanding rate capability of 939 mA h g-1 at 3 A g-1, improved initial coulombic efficiency (Fe3C@NGS900: 72.1% vs. NGS900 (pure graphitic shells): 52%) for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), and impressive long-term cycle performance (1399 mA h g-1 maintained at 3 A g-1 after 500 cycles for LIBs; 214 mA h g-1 maintained at 1 A g-1 after 500 cycles for sodium ion batteries).

Cu(II)-Catalyzed ortho-Selective Aminomethylation of Phenols.

A Cu(II)-catalyzed ortho-selective functionalization of free phenols with trifluoroborates to afford Csp2-Csp3 coupling products under mild conditions has been developed. A variety of functional groups on the phenol and the potassium aminomethyltrifluoroborate substrates were found compatible, furnishing the corresponding products in moderate to excellent yields. A single-electron transfer radical coupling mechanism involving a six-membered transition state is proposed to rationalize the high levels of ortho-selectivity in the reaction. This protocol provides straightforward access to ortho-aminomethyl-substituted phenols, unnatural amino acids and other bioactive small molecules.

Interaction of DNA with aromatic hydrocarbons fraction in atmospheric particulates of Xigu District of Lanzhou, China.

Voluminously epidemiological studies show that the relationships exist between the air pollution and human health and cancer. Aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) in air form a large class of organic pollutants, which are widely in environment and many of them are known to be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic and contribute to ambient air pollution. In the past decades, bioassays mainly have been used to evaluate the toxicity of chemical mixtures in atmospheric particulates or aqueous environment. However, it is well known that the covalent complexes formed by carcinogens with DNA may be exert negative results in bioassay. So the main aim of this paper is to develop an evaluation method of toxicity effects of chemical mixtures in atmospheric particulates from chemical standpoint. In this study, the in vitro interaction of the AHs with DNA was investigated by absorption, fluorescence and resonance light scattering (RLS) spectroscopic techniques. The results showed that the AHs in the atmospheric particulates could combine with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) and herring sperm DNA (hsDNA) without being activated or metabolized by organism, respectively. Intercalation may be present in the mechanism of interaction. The binding constants of the AHs with ctDNA and hsDNA were 2.5 x 10(2) and 2.0 x 10(3), respectively, which indicated that the interaction of the AHs with hsDNA is stronger than that with ctDNA. In addition, the relationships of dose-effect between the total mole concentration of chemical components and the ability of binding ctDNA and hsDNA were confirmed. This research made it possible to study the toxicity effects of chemical mixtures in atmospheric particulates by chemical method. It is believed that the composition and contents of unknown AHs and the interaction of DNA with AHs in atmospheric particulates of Xigu District of Lanzhou City, China are first reported in the past twenty years.

Enhanced photoluminescence of morin-bovine serum albumin on porous anodized aluminum oxide.

In this paper, the photoluminescence (PL) of porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) impregnated with essentially nonfluorescent morin and morin-bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated for the first time, respectively. The evident PL bands similar to that of morin-Al3+ complex in solution were observed and the intensity of the latter with morin-BSA was much greater than that of the former with only morin. Moreover, the enhancement increased with the larger pore diameter of the AAO membranes. The appearance of PL bands might be ascribed to the formation of morin-Al complexes in the AAO pores with its inner wall involved. A likely orderly luminescent model was proposed to be responsible for the observed enhancing phenomena of PL due to the coexistence of morin and BSA in the AAO pores.

A highly sensitive assay for protein with dibromochloro-arsenazo-Al(3+) using resonance light scattering technique and its application.

A simple, sensitive and selective method has been developed for the determination of protein using resonance light scattering (RLS) technique. The method is based on the interaction of protein and arsenazo-DBC-Al(3+) in the pH range of 5.0-7.0, which causes a substantial enhancement of the resonance scattering signal of arsenazo-DBC-Al(3+) in the wavelength range of 300-550 nm with the maximum RLS platform at 405-420 nm. With this method, 2.50-50.00 mug ml(-1) of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 2.50-60.00 mug ml(-1) of human serum albumin (HSA) can be determined, and the detection limits, calculated three times the standard deviation (S.D.) of six blank measurements, for BSA and HSA were 123.4 and 89.6 ng ml(-1), respectively. Moreover, the method is free from interference from many amino acids and metal ions. The method, with high sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility, was satisfactorily applied to the determination of total protein in human serum samples. Mechanism studies indicated that arsenazo-DBC-Al(3+) could bind to BSA depending mainly on electrostatic forces, which results in enhanced RLS in the arsenazo-DBC-Al(3+)-protein system.