To develop low-cost and environmentally friendly polymeric materials for enrichment, separation, and remediation of metal ions from water, graft copolymers based on cellulose extracted from pine needles were synthesized by grafting of 2-hydroxy methacrylate (HEMA) alone and with comonomers acrylic acid, acrylamide, and acrylonitrile by benzoyl peroxide initiation. The effects of change in conce...

Two dimensionless parameters, the diffusional Deborah number, De, and the swelling interface number, Sw, were used as indicators of solvent and solute transport behavior in swellable hydrogel systems. Polymer relaxation and concentration-dependent diffusion led to dynamically swelling polymers which displayed Fickian, Case II, or anomalous transport behavior. Experimental systems studied includ...

A simple and sensitive preconcentration analysis-atomic absorption spectrometric procedure is described for the determination of lead, cadmium and nickel. The method is based upon on-line preconcentration of metal ions on a minicolumn of Cibacron Blue F3-GA immobilized on poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate), poly(HEMA). The enrichment factors obtained were 42 for lead, 52 for cadmium and 63 for nick...

A 57-year-old female presented with facial oedema, cheilitis and stomatitis that started after three overnight applications of the ‘Evolution’TM home tooth-whitening kit. Her symptoms slowly resolved without treatment 3 days after she stopped using the product. The whitening kit includes an individualized plastic dental mould, which is prepared by the dentist, and a whitening gel, which contain...

The aim of the present study is to develop new magnetic polymer microspheres with functional groups available for easy protein and antibody binding. Monodisperse macroporous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA-COOH) microspheres ~4 µm in diameter and containing ∼1 mmol COOH/g were synthesized by multistep swelling polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), ethylene dimethacrylat...

The pathogenic fungus Sporothrix schenckii is the causative agent of sporotrichosis. This subcutaneous mycosis may disseminate in immunocompromised individuals and also affect several internal organs and tissues, most commonly the bone, joints and lung. Since adhesion is the first step involved with the dissemination of pathogens in the host, we have studied the interaction between S. schenckii...

A new peptide-based system supported on copolymer brushes grafted from gold sensors and with resistance to nonspecific adsorption is reported for selective binding of human immunoglobulin G (IgG). A random copolymer rich in primary amines, poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(AMA-co-HEMA)) was first grafted from initiator-coated gold substrates via ...

Abstract 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and zwitterionic polymers are currently considered the most extensively studied antifouling hydrogel coatings. However, systematic identification of these coatings to unleash their potential properties is tremendously under-represented. Here, we report a high-throughput optimizing strategy that combines highly miniaturize...

5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is the universal precursor of tetrapyrroles, such as chlorophyll and heme. The major control of chlorophyll biosynthesis is at the step of ALA formation. In the chloroplasts of plants, as in Escherichia coli, ALA is derived from the glutamate of Glu-tRNA via the two-step C5 pathway. The first enzyme, Glu-tRNA reductase, catalyzes the reduction of Glu-tRNA to glutamat...