Xiaoyu Chen*, Jie Zhu

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 983-996, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07325

Abstract With the rapid development of textile industry, a large amount of dye-contaminated effluents was produced and caused serious environmental problem. To remove the dye from effluents, adsorption materials have been applied because of their relatively cheap, high efficiency, and easy handling. In this study, a novel composite hydrogel bead with unique multilayer flake structure was fabricated by alginate, acrylamide and attapulgite for dye adsorption. Acrylamide was grafted polymerization onto alginate to obtain alginate-g-poly(acrylamide). Then alginate-g-poly(acrylamide) was cross-linked by Ca²⁺ ions in present of attapulgite to form composite hydrogel bead. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that… More >

B. Benobeidallah¹, A. Benhamida¹, A. Dorigato^2,*, A. Sola³, M. Messori³, A. Pegoretti²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 89-102, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00136

Abstract Various amounts (up to 10 wt%) of palygorskite nanofibers functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) coupling agent were used to reinforce polyamide 11 nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding. The covalent bonding of the silane on the palygorskite surface was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray diffraction revealed the retention of the α-form of polyamide crystals upon the addition of both natural and silane treated palygorskite nanorods. All the investigated nanocomposites showed an improvement of the thermal stability, especially when surface treated palygorskite nanofibers were considered. Tensile tests and dynamic mechanical thermal analyses on the prepared More >

Anne Riemann^*, Antje Güttler^†, Verena Haupt^*, Henri Wichmann^†, Sarah Reime^*, Matthias Bache^†, Dirk Vordermark^†, Oliver Thews^*

Oncology Research, Vol.26, No.2, pp. 191-200, 2018, DOI:10.3727/096504017X14965111926391

Abstract Carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX has emerged as a promising target for cancer therapy. It is highly upregulated in hypoxic regions and mediates pH regulation critical for tumor cell survival as well as extracellular acidification of the tumor microenvironment, which promotes tumor aggressiveness via various mechanisms, such as augmenting metastatic potential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the complex interdependency between CA IX and the tumor microenvironment in prostate tumor cells with regard to potential therapeutic implications. CA IX was upregulated by hypoxia as well as acidosis in prostate cancer cells. This induction… More >

Regina Jeziorska*, Agnieszka Abramowicz, Agnieszka Szadkowska, Anna Pasnik and Ewa Spasowka

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.7, pp. 772-783, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2018.634114

Abstract Poly(phenylene oxide)/renewable polyamide 11 (PPO/PA11 20/80) blends toughened with glycidyl methacrylate grafted ethylene-n-octene copolymer (GEOC) were prepared in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. The reaction between GEOC and PPO/PA11 blend was analyzed by gel content tests. The morphology of PPO/PA11/GEOC blends was observed by scanning electron microscope. The SEM results showed that PPO formed the continuous phase, though it is a minority component of blends. With increasing GEOC content from 5 to 15 wt% the morphology of the blends transformed from droplet-matrix to co-continuous structure, in which both PA11 and PPO phases are continuous. The blend More >

Weijun Yang^1†, Xiaomin Zhao^2†, Elena Fortunati¹, Franco Dominici¹, Jose M. Kenny¹, Debora Puglia^1*, De-Yi Wang^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 423-434, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634146

Abstract Presented herein is a deep investigation of the fire, mechanical and thermal performances of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites, which were obtained by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with various contents of N,N’-diallyl-phenylphosphoricdiamide (P-AA) via a two-steps masterbatch melt extrusion process (glycidyl methacrylate grafting on PLA and CNC premixing with PLA). Results have shown that the value of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased to 28.8% and a V-0 rating in UL94 test was obtained when 2 wt% of P-AA was added in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals (3 wt%). The incorporation of CNC induced a decrease More >

Erythrina Stavila, Katja Loos^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 268-280, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634102

Abstract The selective and specific features of enzymes have drawn an enormous amount of attention for use as in-vitro catalysts in polymerization reactions. Various studies on the enzymatic synthesis of polyesters, polycarbonates, polysaccharides, polypeptides, and polyamides have been performed and some have been implemented on an industrial scale. Particularly in the synthesis of polyester and polyamides, lipases are the most used enzymes as catalysts for their polymerization. Polyamides are considered to be one of the largest engineering polymer families used in the automotive, electrical and electronics, and consumer goods industries; thus the enzymatic synthesis of polyamides will More >

Leendert W. Schwab, Wouter M. J. Kloosterman, Jakob Konieczny, Katja Loos^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 73-78, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2012.634102

Abstract The papain catalyzed enzymatic synthesis of amido amines catalyzed from aromatic diamines and N-carbobenzyloxy (Z) protected amino acids (Gly, L-Leu, L-Phe) is described. The amides precipitate (yield 19–47 % depending on the amino acid used) from the reaction mixture after one amide bond is formed thus preventing the formation of diamides in all cases. Papain retains its activity in buffers with a higher pH (9 and 12) observable by the amide bond formation between 1,3-phenylene diamine and Z-L-Gly and Z-L-Phe. Aliphatic diamines (1,4-butanediamine and 1,6-hexanediamine) were used as well but amide formation could not be More >

MARÍA J. RICO^*1,2, PABLO MATAR^*1,2, O. GRACIELA SCHAROVSKY^1,3

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 91-95, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.091

Abstract We have already shown that IL-10 plays an important role in immunosuppression and metastatic dissemination in the rat B-cell lymphoma L-TACB model. It was suggested that the up-regulation of IL10 production and IL-10 receptor (IL-10R) expression would be part of the transition from primary tumor to metastatic phenotype and that IL-10, besides its immunosuppressive activity, may act as a growth factor for metastatic L-TACB cells. The treatment of L-TACB-bearing rats with a single low-dose cyclophosphamide decreased IL-10 production, reverted immunosuppression and induced the immunologic rejection of tumor metastasis without any effect on primary tumor growth.… More >

VIJAY L. KUMAR*, ABHISHEK SINGHAL

BIOCELL, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 19-24, 2009, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2009.33.019

Abstract Cytotoxic properties of plant extracts and drugs being developed for cancer treatment are usually evaluated by a variety of in vivo and in vitro tests carried out in animal or plant based models. In the present study we have evaluated the possibility of using the germinating mung beans (Vigna radiata), for rapid and inexpensive screening of drugs exhibiting cytotoxic properties. Mung beans were allowed to germinate either in tap water or in different drug solutions, and parameters like percent germination, increase in radicle length, change in seedling weight and mitotic index of apical root meristems were determined… More >

R. SEHGAL, S. ROY, V.L. KUMAR*

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 9-13, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.009

Abstract In the present study we have utilized the Allium cepa root tip meristem model to evaluate the cytotoxic and anti-mitotic activities of latex of Calotropis procera (DL) and podophyllotoxin. Standard cytotoxic drug cyclophosphamide and non-cytotoxic drugs cyproheptadine and aspirin served as controls. Like cyclophosphamide, both DL and podophyllotoxin significantly inhibited the growth of roots and mitotic activity in a dose-dependent manner. However, podophyllotoxin was more potent in this regard and produced root decay. Cyproheptadine and aspirin, on the other hand, showed a marginal effect on the root growth and mitotic activity at much higher concentrations. More >