Herein,the effect of the Ru:Ni bimetallic composition in dual-function materials(DFMs)for the integrated CO_(2)capture and methanation process(ICCU-Methanation)is systematically evaluated and combined with a thorough ...Herein,the effect of the Ru:Ni bimetallic composition in dual-function materials(DFMs)for the integrated CO_(2)capture and methanation process(ICCU-Methanation)is systematically evaluated and combined with a thorough material characterization,as well as a mechanistic(in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared fourier-transform spectroscopy(in-situ DRIFTS))and computational(computational fluid dynamics(CFD)modelling)investigation,in order to improve the performance of Ni-based DFMs.The bimetallic DFMs are comprised of a main Ni active metallic phase(20 wt%)and are modified with low Ru loadings in the 0.1-1 wt%range(to keep the material cost low),supported on Na_(2)O/Al_(2)O_(3).It is shown that the addition of even a very low Ru loading(0.1-0.2 wt%)can drastically improve the material reducibility,exposing a significantly higher amount of surface-active metallic sites,with Ru being highly dispersed over the support and the Ni phase,while also forming some small Ru particles.This manifests in a significant enhancement in the CH_(4)yield and the CH_(4)production kinetics during ICCU-Methanation(which mainly proceeds via formate intermediates),with 0.2 wt%Ru addition leading to the best results.This bimetallic DFM also shows high stability and a relatively good performance under an oxidizing CO_(2)capture atmosphere.The formation rate of CH_(4)during hydrogenation is then further validated via CFD modelling and the developed model is subsequently applied in the prediction of the effect of other parameters,including the inlet H_(2)concentration,inlet flow rate,dual-fu nction material weight,and reactor internal diameter.展开更多
In this study,Ni catalysts supported on Pr-doped Ce O_(2) are studied for the CO_(2) methanation reaction and the effect of Pr doping on the physicochemical properties and the catalytic performance is thoroughly evalu...In this study,Ni catalysts supported on Pr-doped Ce O_(2) are studied for the CO_(2) methanation reaction and the effect of Pr doping on the physicochemical properties and the catalytic performance is thoroughly evaluated.It is shown,that Pr^(3+)ions can substitute Ce^(4+)ones in the support lattice,thereby introducing a high population of oxygen vacancies,which act as active sites for CO_(2) chemisorption.Pr doping can also act to reduce the crystallite size of metallic Ni,thus promoting the active metal dispersion.Catalytic performance evaluation evidences the promoting effect of low Pr loadings(5 at%and 10 at%)towards a higher catalytic activity and lower CO_(2) activation energy.On the other hand,higher Pr contents negate the positive effects on the catalytic activity by decreasing the oxygen vacancy population,thereby creating a volcano-type trend towards an optimum amount of aliovalent substitution.展开更多
Composites of polycaprolactone （PCL） with mesoporous silica MCM-41 and N-[3- （trimethoxysilyl）propyl]-ethylenediamine （EPTES）-functionalized MCM-41 （EPTES/MCM-41） were prepared by in situ polymerization. The t...Composites of polycaprolactone （PCL） with mesoporous silica MCM-41 and N-[3- （trimethoxysilyl）propyl]-ethylenediamine （EPTES）-functionalized MCM-41 （EPTES/MCM-41） were prepared by in situ polymerization. The thermal properties of the composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis. There was an increase in the thermal decomposition temperature of PCL by more than 55 ℃, when the EPTES/MCM-41 loading was higher than 2 wt%. Tensile test results indicated that adding MCM-41 increased the brittleness of the PCL matrix, while adding 8 wt% of EPTES/MCM-41 increased the Young＇s modulus by 26%. Incorporating MCM-41 increased the crystallinity of the resulting PCL composite, compared with that of PCL. Incorporating up to 5 wt% EPTES/MCM-41 slightly reduced the crystallinity of PCL. The different effects of MCM-41 and EPTES/MCM-41 on the composite reflected the degree of interaction and dispersion of the silica filler in the polymer matrix, as evidenced by results from transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.展开更多
Over the past years, significant efforts have been devoted to explore novel drug delivery and detection strategies for simultaneous therapy and diagnostics. The development of biotinylated polyurethane-urea nanopartic...Over the past years, significant efforts have been devoted to explore novel drug delivery and detection strategies for simultaneous therapy and diagnostics. The development of biotinylated polyurethane-urea nanoparticles as theranostic nanocarriers for targeted drug and plasmid delivery, for fluorescence detection of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, is described herein. These targeted nanoparticles are specifically designed to incorporate biotin into the polymeric matrix, since many tumor types overexpress receptors for biotin as a mechanism to boost uncontrolled cell growth. The obtained nanoparticles were spherical, exhibited an average diameter ranging 110-145 nm, and showed no cytotoxicity in healthy endothelial cells. Biotinylated nanoparticles are selectively incorporated into the perinuclear and nuclear area of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HepG2, in division, but not into growing, healthy, human endothelial cells. Indeed, the simultaneous incorporation of the anticancer drugs, phenoxodiol or sunitinib, together with plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein, into these nanoparticles allows a targeted pharmacological antitumor effect and furthermore, selective transfection of a reporter gene, to detect these cancer cells. The combined targeted therapy and detection strategy described here could be exploited for liver cancer therapy and diagnostics, with a moderate safety profile, and may also be a potential tool for other types of cancer.展开更多
Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1(HIV-1)usually show a general dysregulation and hyper-activation of the immune system.A direct influence of HIV-1 particles on B-cell phenotypes and functio...Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1(HIV-1)usually show a general dysregulation and hyper-activation of the immune system.A direct influence of HIV-1 particles on B-cell phenotypes and functions has been previously described.However,the consequences of B-cell dysregulation are still poorly understood.We evaluated the phenotypic changes in primary B cells after direct contact with HIV-1 particles in comparison with different types of stimuli.The functionality of treated B cells was challenged in co-culture experiments with autologous CD4+and CD8+T cells.We demonstrated that HIV-1 induces a phenotypic change in B cells towards a regulatory B-cell phenotype,showing a higher level of IL-10,TGF-β1,EBI3 or IL-12(p35)mRNA expression and acquiring an immunosuppressive profile.The acquisition of a Breg phenotype was confirmed by co-culture experiments where HIVtreated B cells reduced the proliferation and the TNFαproduction of CD4+or CD8+T cells.This suppressive ability of HIV-treated B cells was dependent on cell-to-cell contact between these B cells and effector cells.To our knowledge,these data provide the first evidence that HIV-1 can directly induce a regulatory B cell-like immunosuppressive phenotype,which could have the ability to impair specific immune responses.This dysregulation could constitute one of the mechanisms underlying unsuccessful efforts to develop an efficient vaccine against HIV-1.展开更多
In the field of tissue engineering the choice of materials is of great importance given the possibility to use biocompatible polymers produced by means of biotechnology.A large number of synthetic and natural material...In the field of tissue engineering the choice of materials is of great importance given the possibility to use biocompatible polymers produced by means of biotechnology.A large number of synthetic and natural materials have been used to this purpose and processed into scaffolds using Electrospinning technique.Among materials that could be used for the fabrication of scaffold and degradable membranes,natural polymers such as collagen,elastin or fibroin offer the possibility to design structures strictly similar to the extracellular matrix(ECM).Biotechnology and genetic engineering made possible the advent of a new class of biopolymers called protein-based polymers.One example is represented by the silk-elastin-proteins that combine the elasticity and resilience of elastin with the high tensile strength of silk-fibroin and display engineered bioactive sequences.In this work,we use electrospinning technique to produce a fibrous scaffold made of the corecombinamer Silk-ELR.Obtained fibres have been characterized from the morphological point of view.Homogeneity and morphology have been explored using Scanning Electron Microscopy.A thorough study regarding the influence of Voltage,flow rate and distance have been carried out to determine the appropriate parameters to obtain the fibrous mats without defects and with a good distribution of diameters.Cytocompatibility has also been in vitro tested.For the first time we use the co-recombinamer Silk-ELR for the fabrication of a 2.5 angioplasty balloon coating.This structure could be useful as a coated scaffold for the regeneration of intima layer of vessels.展开更多
基金support of this work by the project“Development of new innovative low carbon energy technologies to improve excellence in the Region of Western Macedonia”(MIS 5047197),which is implemented under the Action“Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure”funded by the Operational Program“Competitiveness,Entrepreneurship and Innovation”(NSRF 2014-2020)co-financed by Greece and the European Union(European Regional Development Fund)+4 种基金the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation(HFRI)for supporting this research work under the 3~(rd)Call for HFRI PhD Fellowships(Fellowship Number:6033)the support of ELECMI-LMA nodeNanbiosis ICTSsfunded by the Swiss National Science Foundation(Grant:206021_189629)the Research Council of Norway(Grant:296087)。
文摘Herein,the effect of the Ru:Ni bimetallic composition in dual-function materials(DFMs)for the integrated CO_(2)capture and methanation process(ICCU-Methanation)is systematically evaluated and combined with a thorough material characterization,as well as a mechanistic(in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared fourier-transform spectroscopy(in-situ DRIFTS))and computational(computational fluid dynamics(CFD)modelling)investigation,in order to improve the performance of Ni-based DFMs.The bimetallic DFMs are comprised of a main Ni active metallic phase(20 wt%)and are modified with low Ru loadings in the 0.1-1 wt%range(to keep the material cost low),supported on Na_(2)O/Al_(2)O_(3).It is shown that the addition of even a very low Ru loading(0.1-0.2 wt%)can drastically improve the material reducibility,exposing a significantly higher amount of surface-active metallic sites,with Ru being highly dispersed over the support and the Ni phase,while also forming some small Ru particles.This manifests in a significant enhancement in the CH_(4)yield and the CH_(4)production kinetics during ICCU-Methanation(which mainly proceeds via formate intermediates),with 0.2 wt%Ru addition leading to the best results.This bimetallic DFM also shows high stability and a relatively good performance under an oxidizing CO_(2)capture atmosphere.The formation rate of CH_(4)during hydrogenation is then further validated via CFD modelling and the developed model is subsequently applied in the prediction of the effect of other parameters,including the inlet H_(2)concentration,inlet flow rate,dual-fu nction material weight,and reactor internal diameter.
基金support of this work by the project“Development of new innovative low carbon energy technologies to improve excellence in the Region of Western Macedonia”(MIS 5047197)which is implemented under the Action“Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure”funded by the Operational Program“Competitiveness,Entrepreneurship and Innovation”(NSRF 2014-2020)co-financed by Greece and the European Union(European Regional Development Fund)。
文摘In this study,Ni catalysts supported on Pr-doped Ce O_(2) are studied for the CO_(2) methanation reaction and the effect of Pr doping on the physicochemical properties and the catalytic performance is thoroughly evaluated.It is shown,that Pr^(3+)ions can substitute Ce^(4+)ones in the support lattice,thereby introducing a high population of oxygen vacancies,which act as active sites for CO_(2) chemisorption.Pr doping can also act to reduce the crystallite size of metallic Ni,thus promoting the active metal dispersion.Catalytic performance evaluation evidences the promoting effect of low Pr loadings(5 at%and 10 at%)towards a higher catalytic activity and lower CO_(2) activation energy.On the other hand,higher Pr contents negate the positive effects on the catalytic activity by decreasing the oxygen vacancy population,thereby creating a volcano-type trend towards an optimum amount of aliovalent substitution.
文摘Composites of polycaprolactone （PCL） with mesoporous silica MCM-41 and N-[3- （trimethoxysilyl）propyl]-ethylenediamine （EPTES）-functionalized MCM-41 （EPTES/MCM-41） were prepared by in situ polymerization. The thermal properties of the composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis. There was an increase in the thermal decomposition temperature of PCL by more than 55 ℃, when the EPTES/MCM-41 loading was higher than 2 wt%. Tensile test results indicated that adding MCM-41 increased the brittleness of the PCL matrix, while adding 8 wt% of EPTES/MCM-41 increased the Young＇s modulus by 26%. Incorporating MCM-41 increased the crystallinity of the resulting PCL composite, compared with that of PCL. Incorporating up to 5 wt% EPTES/MCM-41 slightly reduced the crystallinity of PCL. The different effects of MCM-41 and EPTES/MCM-41 on the composite reflected the degree of interaction and dispersion of the silica filler in the polymer matrix, as evidenced by results from transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.
文摘Over the past years, significant efforts have been devoted to explore novel drug delivery and detection strategies for simultaneous therapy and diagnostics. The development of biotinylated polyurethane-urea nanoparticles as theranostic nanocarriers for targeted drug and plasmid delivery, for fluorescence detection of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, is described herein. These targeted nanoparticles are specifically designed to incorporate biotin into the polymeric matrix, since many tumor types overexpress receptors for biotin as a mechanism to boost uncontrolled cell growth. The obtained nanoparticles were spherical, exhibited an average diameter ranging 110-145 nm, and showed no cytotoxicity in healthy endothelial cells. Biotinylated nanoparticles are selectively incorporated into the perinuclear and nuclear area of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HepG2, in division, but not into growing, healthy, human endothelial cells. Indeed, the simultaneous incorporation of the anticancer drugs, phenoxodiol or sunitinib, together with plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein, into these nanoparticles allows a targeted pharmacological antitumor effect and furthermore, selective transfection of a reporter gene, to detect these cancer cells. The combined targeted therapy and detection strategy described here could be exploited for liver cancer therapy and diagnostics, with a moderate safety profile, and may also be a potential tool for other types of cancer.
基金This work was partially supported by Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness ISCIII-FIS grants PI12/01763,PI12/00934 and PI15/00923co-financed by ERDF(FEDER)Funds from the European Commission,‘A way of making Europe’+3 种基金JL-A was supported by a Grant from IiSGMAP-S was supported by the Youth Employment Program co-financed by the Madrid community and FEDER FoundsRC-R was supported by the‘Miguel Servet’program(CPII13/00033)MP by the Spanish MICINN through the Ramón y Cajal(RYC-2009-05486).
文摘Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1(HIV-1)usually show a general dysregulation and hyper-activation of the immune system.A direct influence of HIV-1 particles on B-cell phenotypes and functions has been previously described.However,the consequences of B-cell dysregulation are still poorly understood.We evaluated the phenotypic changes in primary B cells after direct contact with HIV-1 particles in comparison with different types of stimuli.The functionality of treated B cells was challenged in co-culture experiments with autologous CD4+and CD8+T cells.We demonstrated that HIV-1 induces a phenotypic change in B cells towards a regulatory B-cell phenotype,showing a higher level of IL-10,TGF-β1,EBI3 or IL-12(p35)mRNA expression and acquiring an immunosuppressive profile.The acquisition of a Breg phenotype was confirmed by co-culture experiments where HIVtreated B cells reduced the proliferation and the TNFαproduction of CD4+or CD8+T cells.This suppressive ability of HIV-treated B cells was dependent on cell-to-cell contact between these B cells and effector cells.To our knowledge,these data provide the first evidence that HIV-1 can directly induce a regulatory B cell-like immunosuppressive phenotype,which could have the ability to impair specific immune responses.This dysregulation could constitute one of the mechanisms underlying unsuccessful efforts to develop an efficient vaccine against HIV-1.
基金funds provided by“THE GRAIL”(Tissue in Host Engineering Guided Regeneration of Arterial Intima Layer)projectThe project is funded by the European Union’s‘Seventh Framework’Programme for research,technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement no.HEALTH.2011.1.4-2-278557European Commission(NMP-2014-646075,MSCA-ITN-2014-642687),MINECO of the Spanish Government(PCIN-2015-010,MAT2015-68901-R,MAT2016-78903-R),Junta de Castilla y Leo´n(VA015U16)and Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y Leo´n.
文摘In the field of tissue engineering the choice of materials is of great importance given the possibility to use biocompatible polymers produced by means of biotechnology.A large number of synthetic and natural materials have been used to this purpose and processed into scaffolds using Electrospinning technique.Among materials that could be used for the fabrication of scaffold and degradable membranes,natural polymers such as collagen,elastin or fibroin offer the possibility to design structures strictly similar to the extracellular matrix(ECM).Biotechnology and genetic engineering made possible the advent of a new class of biopolymers called protein-based polymers.One example is represented by the silk-elastin-proteins that combine the elasticity and resilience of elastin with the high tensile strength of silk-fibroin and display engineered bioactive sequences.In this work,we use electrospinning technique to produce a fibrous scaffold made of the corecombinamer Silk-ELR.Obtained fibres have been characterized from the morphological point of view.Homogeneity and morphology have been explored using Scanning Electron Microscopy.A thorough study regarding the influence of Voltage,flow rate and distance have been carried out to determine the appropriate parameters to obtain the fibrous mats without defects and with a good distribution of diameters.Cytocompatibility has also been in vitro tested.For the first time we use the co-recombinamer Silk-ELR for the fabrication of a 2.5 angioplasty balloon coating.This structure could be useful as a coated scaffold for the regeneration of intima layer of vessels.
