Phosphoric Acid Triester Micelles: Characterization and Self-Assembly.

In this study, we analyzed the properties of amphiphilic alkyldi(methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MePEG)350-lactate) phosphates based on ethyl lactate, the monomethyl ether of poly(ethylene glycol)350, and alkyldichloro phosphates. Interestingly, these triesters combine two biodegradable bonds, -P(O)-O-C and -C(O)-O-C-, and include hydrophilic (MePEG350-lactate) and hydrophobic (R-aliphatic chain of alcohols) moieties. The properties of these esters resemble those of phospholipids. After being placed in an aqueous solution, they self-assembled. We also determined the effects of ester composition on micelle formation, stability, and size using dynamic light scattering. Solubilization tests using Sudan III or doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox·HCl) revealed that they could be incorporated into the hydrophobic cores of dodecyl di(MePEG350-lactate) phosphate and hexadecyl di(MePEG350-lactate) phosphate. Notably, dodecyl di(MePEG350-lactate) phosphate was stable for five days, whereas hexadecyl di(MePEG350-lactate) phosphate was stable for seven days in phosphate-buffered saline. Moreover, Dox·HCl release rates from the micelles were approximately 30-40, 70-80, and 90-100% after 1, 5, and 28 d, respectively.

Droplet impact of blood and blood simulants on a solid surface: Effect of the deformability of red blood cells and the elasticity of plasma.

The impact of blood droplets onto a solid wall is of great importance for bloodstain pattern analysis in forensic science. Previous studies suggest that the behaviour of impacting blood is similar to that of a Newtonian fluid, which has a shear viscosity equivalent to that of blood at high shear rates. To understand this important fact, we conducted comparative experiments of droplet impact on a glass surface using whole blood and three solutions with a shear viscosity similar to that of blood. Specifically, we used dog's whole blood (deformable red blood cells dispersed in plasma, WB), plasma with non-deformable resin particles (PwP), glycerol and water with resin particles (GWwP), and a commercial blood simulant (hard particles dispersed in a water-based Newtonian solution, BS). Ranges of Reynolds and Weber numbers in our experiments were 550

Isolation and characterization of benzo[a]pyrene-degrading bacteria from the Tokyo Bay area and Tama River in Japan.

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is one of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and has serious detrimental effects on human health and aquatic environments. In this study, we isolated nine bacterial strains capable of degrading BaP from the Tokyo Bay area and Tama River in Japan. The isolated bacteria belonged to the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, indicating that the BaP-degrading bacteria were widely present in the hydrosphere. ITB11, which shared 100% 16S rRNA identity with Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens in the phylum Bacteroidetes, showed the highest degradation of BaP (approximately 86%) among the nine isolated strains after 42 days. Moreover, it was found that three of the nine isolated strains collectively removed 50-55% of BaP during the first 7 days. Growth measurement of M. zeaxanthinifaciens revealed that the strain utilized BaP as a sole carbon and energy source and salicylate acted only as an inducer of BaP degradation.