Poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) as polymeric crosslinking accelerator for sulphur network formation

Programmable Enzymatic Reaction Network in Artificial Cell-Like Polymersomes

The ability to precisely control in vitro enzymatic reactions in synthetic cells plays a crucial role in the bottom-up design of artificial cell models that can recapitulate the key cellular features and functions such as metabolism. However, integration of enzymatic reactions has been limited to bulk or microfluidic emulsions without a membrane, lacking the ability to design more sophisticated higher-order artificial cell communities for reconstituting spatiotemporal biological information at multiple length scales. Herein, droplet microfluidics is utilized to synthesize artificial cell-like polymersomes with distinct molecular permeability for spatiotemporal control of enzymatic reactions driven by external signals and fuels. The presence of a competing reverse enzymatic reaction that depletes the active substrates is shown to enable demonstration of fuel-driven formation of sub-microcompartments within polymersomes as well as realization of out-of-equilibrium systems. In addition, the different permeability characteristics of polymersome membranes are exploited to successfully construct a programmable enzymatic reaction network that mimics cellular communication within a heterogeneous cell community through selective molecular transport.

The Versatility in the Applications of Dithiocarbamates

Dithiocarbamate ligands have the ability to form stable complexes with transition metals, and this chelating ability has been utilized in numerous applications. The complexes have also been used to synthesize other useful compounds. Here, the up-to-date applications of dithiocarbamate ligands and complexes are extensively discussed. Some of these are their use as enzyme inhibitor and treatment of HIV and other diseases. The application as anticancer, antimicrobial, medical imaging and anti-inflammatory agents is examined. Moreover, the application in the industry as vulcanization accelerator, froth flotation collector, antifouling, coatings, lubricant additives and sensors is discussed. The various ways in which they have been employed in synthesis of other compounds are highlighted. Finally, the agricultural uses and remediation of heavy metals via dithiocarbamate compounds are comprehensively discussed.

Latex-Based Membrane for Oily Wastewater Filtration: Study on the Sulfur Concentration Effect

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) latex/graphene oxide (GO) membranes were fabricated through a latex compounding and curing method which is a relatively new method to produce membranes for wastewater treatment. Hence, the steps in the production of the membrane through this new approach need to be evaluated to optimize the performance of the membrane. In this paper, the effect of sulfur loading in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 parts per hundred rubber (phr) on the morphology, crosslink density, tensile properties, permeation flux and oil rejection rate performance of NBR/GO membranes was studied. The sulfur loading was found to influence the surface morphology and integrity of the membrane which in turn affects the performance of the membrane in terms of strength, water flux and rejection rate of oil. Inaccurate sulfur loading produced a membrane with micro cracks, low surface area for filtration and could not withstand the filtration pressure. In this research work, the membrane with 1.0 phr sulfur provides the highest water flux value and oil rejection rate of 834.1 L/m2·hr and 92.23%, respectively. Surface morphology of 1.0 phr sulfur-loaded membrane revealed the formation of continuous membrane with high structural integrity and with wrinkles and folded structure. Furthermore, micro cracks and a less effective surface area for filtration were observed for membranes with 0.5 and 1.5 phr sulfur loading.