Koutsoumpis, Stefanos; Ozimek, Jan; Raftopoulos, Konstantinos N.; Hebda, Edyta; Klonos, Panagiotis; Papadakis, Christine M.; Pielichowski, Krzysztof; Pissis, Polycarpos
Polyurethanes with POSS pendent on flexible hard segments: Morphology and glass transition
Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanne (POSS) moieties are tethered on a polyurethane chain, as side groups on the hard domains, which are based on the flexible hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). Their effect on morphology, and consequently on molecular dynamics, is studied in detail by microscopy, scattering, spectroscopic, thermal, and dielectric techniques. Albeit the…
Phosphorylation-induced conformational dynamics in an intrinsically disordered protein and potential role in phenotypic heterogeneity
Kulkarni, Prakash; Jolly, Mohit Kumar; Jia, Dongya; Mooney, Steven M.; Bhargava, Ajay; Kagohara, Luciane T.; Chen, Yihong; Hao, Pengyu; He, Yanan; Veltri, Robert W.; Grishaev, Alexander; Weninger, Keith; Levine, Herbert; Orban, John
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that lack a unique 3D structure and comprise a large fraction of the human proteome play important roles in numerous cellular functions. Prostate-Associated Gene 4 (PAGE4) is an IDP that acts as a potentiator of the Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factor. Homeodomain-Interacting Protein Kinase 1 (HIPK1)…
Emulsion-Based RIR-MAPLE Deposition of Conjugated Polymers: Primary Solvent Effect and Its Implications on Organic Solar Cell Performance
Ge, Wangyao; Li, Nan K.; McCormick, Ryan D.; Lichtenberg, Eli; Yingling, Yaroslava G.; Stiff-Roberts, Adrienne D.
Emulsion-based, resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) has been demonstrated as an alternative technique to deposit conjugated polymer films for photovoltaic applications; yet, a fundamental understanding of how the emulsion target characteristics translate into film properties and solar cell performance is unclear. Such understanding is crucial to enable the…
Effect of Source on the Properties and Behavior of Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspensions
Schütz, Christina; Van Rie, Jonas; Eyley, Samuel; Gençer, Alican; van Gorp, Hans; Rosenfeldt, Sabine; Kang, Kyongok; Thielemans, Wim
Sulfuric acid hydrolysis of native cellulose fibers results in colloidally stable suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). We have investigated the effect of the cellulose source on the suspension properties of CNCs extracted from cotton and wood sources using a comparable preparation strategy. The structural properties were revealed to be similar…
Fabrication and characterization of Ba3Zn2Fe24O41 (Zn2Z) hexaferrites films on silicon substrates
Al-Hwaitat, Eman; Al-Hussein, Mahmoud; Mahmood, Sami H.; Bsoul, Ibrahim
We report the fabrication and characterization of Ba3Zn2Fe24O41 (Zn2Z) hexaferrite films on silicon substrates using a simple sol-gel drop casting method. A combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to characterize the structural and…
Densely grafted liquid crystalline copper phthalocyanine side chain polymer: synthesis and characterization
Heinrich, C. David; Kostakoğlu, Sinem Tuncel; Thelakkat, Mukundan
A new polymeric donor material with pendant copper phthalocyanine side chains (PCuPc) was synthesized. The excellent suitability of a grafting-to approach, combining the controlled radical polymerization of propargyloxystyrene followed by “click” chemistry, was demonstrated. A polymer with a high molecular weight (Mn = 88 000 g mol−1) and a narrow…
On the Formation and Morphology of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Ionizable Cationic Lipids and siRNA
Kulkarni, Jayesh A.; Darjuan, Maria M.; Mercer, Joanne E.; Chen, Sam; van der Meel, Roy; Thewalt, Jenifer L.; Tam, Yuen Yi C.; Cullis, Pieter R.
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing short interfering RNA (LNP-siRNA) and optimized ionizable cationic lipids are now clinically validated systems for silencing disease-causing genes in hepatocytes following intravenous administration. However, the mechanism of formation and certain structural features of LNP-siRNA remain obscure. These systems are formed from lipid mixtures (cationic lipid,…
Immune responses induced by nano-self-assembled lipid adjuvants based on a monomycoloyl glycerol analogue after vaccination with the Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein
Rodrigues, Letícia; Raftopoulos, Konstantinos N.; Tandrup Schmidt, Signe; Schneider, Fabian; Dietz, Hendrik; Rades, Thomas; Franzyk, Henrik; Pedersen, Anders Elm; Papadakis, Christine M.; Christensen, Dennis; Winter, Gerhard; Foged, Camilla; Hubert, Madlen
Nanocarriers based on inverse hexagonal liquid crystalline phases (hexosomes) show promising potential as vaccine delivery systems. Their unique internal structure, composed of both lipophilic domains and water-containing channels, renders them capable of accommodating immunopotentiating compounds and antigens. However, their adjuvant properties are poorly understood. We hypothesized that the…
Microemulsions as Potential Carriers of Nisin: Effect of Composition on Structure and Efficacy
Chatzidaki, Maria D.; Papadimitriou, Konstantinos; Alexandraki, Voula; Tsirvouli, Eirini; Chakim, Zena; Ghazal, Aghiad; Mortensen, Kell; Yaghmur, Anan; Salentinig, Stefan; Papadimitriou, Vassiliki; Tsakalidou, Effie; Xenakis, Aristotelis
Water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions based on either refined olive oil (ROO) or sunflower oil (SO), distilled monoglycerides (DMG), and ethanol were used as nisin carriers in order to ensure its effectiveness as a biopreservative. This work presents experimental evidence on the effects of ethanol concentration, hydration, the nature of oil, and…
Extensional Strain Hardening Induced by $ensuremath{pi}text{ensuremath{-}}ensuremath{pi}$ Interactions in Barely Entangled Polymer Chains: The Curious Case of Poly(4-vinylbiphenyl)
López-Barrón, Carlos R.; Zhou, Huaxing
Aromatic π−π interactions between phenyl groups of adjacent chains in poly(4-vinylbiphenyl) (PVBP) have profound effects on the dynamics of this polymer. We report two unexpected nonlinear viscoelastic responses of PVBP when subjected to uniaxial flow. One is the unprecedented observation of extensional strain hardening (SH) in a barely entangled polymer…