Ligands involved in organometallic chemistry have been functionalised at locations somewhat removed from the binding site for diverse reasons, including modification of electronic and steric characteristics, improving solubility, to confer chirality, to add a spectroscopic "handle", to facilitate electron-transfer processes or for spin-labelling. Here, the focus is specifically on catalytically...

Stress is known to produce analgesia. The pain threshold is altered in diabetes. We studied the effect of 1 hr of immobilisation stress on pain threshold in male Wistar rats. The same effect was tested in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. The pain threshold of tail flick, vocalisation and vocalisation after discharge increased in the control group after the stress procedure. Significant ana...

We present a novel design of micron-sized particle trap that uses negative dielectrophoresis (nDEP) to trap cells in high conductivity physiological media. The design is scalable and suitable for trapping large numbers of single cells. Each trap has one electrical connection and the design can be extended to produce a large array. The trap consists of a metal ring electrode and a surrounding gr...

BACKGROUND Termites are worldwide pests causing considerable damage to agriculture, forestry and buildings. While various approaches have been tried to eliminate termite populations, the relevant toxicants are associated with certain risks to the environment and human health. RESULTS In this study, to combine the merits of effective chemical control by bifenthrin and a drug photoimmobilisatio...

The metal resistant bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, challenged with aqueous platinous and platinic chloride, rapidly immobilized platinum. XANES/EXAFS analysis of these reaction systems demonstrated that platinum binding shifted from chloride to carboxyl functional groups within the bacteria. Pt(IV) was more toxic than Pt(II), presumably due to the oxidative stress imparted by the pla...

This commentary outlines a protein engineering approach as an alternative to immobilisation developed in our laboratory. We use a recombinant silk protein into which metal active sites can be incorporated to produce solid-state metalloprotein materials. The silk protein directly coordinates to the metal centres providing control over their reactivity akin to that seen in naturally occurring met...

Two boys who were immobilised with peripheral neuropathy developed hypercalcaemia. It is suggested that hypercalcaemia aggravated the muscle weakness as well as producing systemic upset. The hypercalcaemia was controlled with corticosteroids which had to be continued over several months. A satisfactory remission of the disease occurred in both cases. The hypercalcaemia was attributed to immobil...

BACKGROUND Spinal immobilisation during extrication of patients in road traffic collisions is routinely used despite the lack of evidence for this practice. In a previous proof of concept study (n=1), we recorded up to four times more cervical spine movement during extrication using conventional techniques than self-controlled extrication. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to establis...

There is a growing interest to immobilize desired bacteria using inexpensive materials in order to improve the wastewater treatment process. Three different types of carriers namely natural zeolite, magnesium-exchanged natural zeolite and quartz sand of different particle size were used to immobilize the phosphate-accumulating bacteria Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and to determine which one was ...

Biochar, i.e. charred organic material, appears to increase nutrient retention in soil. The mechanism for how this happens is not clear. Here two possible mechanisms, adsorption and microbial immobilisation, are suggested and compared. It is also suggested that we use biochar in wastewater treatment, and so potentially integrate it better into the total waste management cycle.