Performance of ethanol electro-oxidation on Ni-Cu alloy nanowires through composition modulation.

To reduce the cost of the catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells and improve its catalytic activity, highly ordered Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays have been fabricated successfully by differential pulse current electro-deposition into the pores of a porous anodic alumina membrane (AAMs). The energy dispersion spectrum, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to characterize the composition and morphology of the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays. The results reveal that the nanowires in the array are uniform, well isolated and parallel to each other. The catalytic activity of the nanowire electrode arrays for ethanol oxidation was tested and the binary alloy nanowire array possesses good catalytic activity for the electro-oxidation of ethanol. The performance of ethanol electro-oxidation was controlled by varying the Cu content in the Ni-Cu alloy and the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire electrode shows much better stability than the pure Ni one.

Preparation of ultrafine particles of azithromycin by sonochemical method.

Sonochemical method was used to prepare ultrafine Azithromycin. The morphology and size distribution of the particles prepared were characterized by scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and Zetasizer Nanoinstrument. The chemical bonding of production was examined by Fourier transform infra-red absorption spectroscopy (FT-IR). The result shows that different diameter particles of Azithromycin were prepared, and no fundamental bonding change in the Azithromycin molecule after preparation.

Binding of anti-inflammatory drug cromolyn sodium to bovine serum albumin.

Fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with circular dichroism (CD) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy were employed to investigate the binding of anti-inflammatory drug cromolyn sodium (Intal) to bovine serum albumin (BSA) under the physiological conditions with Intal concentrations of 0-6.4 x 10(-5)mol L(-1). In the mechanism discussion, it was proved that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by Intal is a result of the formation of Intal-BSA complex. Quenching constants were determined using the Stern-Volmer equation to provide a measure of the binding affinity between Intal and BSA. The thermodynamic parameters Delta G, Delta H, Delta S at different temperatures (298, 304, and 310 K) were calculated and the results indicate the electrostatic interactions play a major role in Intal-BSA association. Binding studies concerning the number of binding sites (n=1) and apparent binding constant K(b) were performed by fluorescence quenching method. Utilizing fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) the distance R between the donor (BSA) and acceptor (Intal) has been obtained. Furthermore, CD and synchronous fluorescence spectrum were used to investigate the structural change of BSA molecules with addition of Intal, the results indicate that the secondary structure of BSA molecules was changed in the presence of Intal.

Interaction of cromolyn sodium with human serum albumin: a fluorescence quenching study.

The interaction between cromolyn sodium (CS) and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated using tryptophan fluorescence quenching. In the discussion of the mechanism, it was proved that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by CS is a result of the formation of a CS-HSA complex. Quenching constants were determined using the Sterns-Volmer equation to provide a measure of the binding affinity between CS and HSA. The thermodynamic parameters DeltaG, DeltaH, and DeltaS at different temperatures were calculated. The distance r between donor (Trp214) and acceptor (CS) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Furthermore, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy data and UV-vis absorbance spectra have suggested that the association between CS and HSA changed the molecular conformation of HSA and the electrostatic interactions play a major role in CS-HSA association.