Density functional theory calculations were carried out to investigate the electronic structures of Keggin-typed [XMo12O40]n− and [XW12O40]n− anions with different heteroatoms (X = Zn2+, B3+, Al3+, Ga3+, Si4+, Ge4+, P5+, As5+, and S6+). The influence of solvent on redox properties of heteropolyanions was discussed. For [XW12O40]n− systems two linear correlation: first, between the experimental redox potential and energies of LUMO orbital; and second, between the experimental redox potential and total energy interaction (calculated between internal tetrahedron (XO4n−), and rest of Kegging anion skeleton, (W12O36)) were designated. Taking into account the similarity of XW12O40n− and XMo12O40n− systems (in geometry and electronic structure), the estimated redox potential of molybdenum heteropolyanions (with X being p block elements) in different solvent were proposed.

Novel bone substitutes such as highly porous ceramic scaffolds can serve as platforms for delivering active molecules. A common problem is to control the release of the drug, therefore, it is beneficial to use a drug-functionalized polymer coating. In this study, beta-tricalcium phosphate-based porous scaffolds were obtained and coated with diclofenac-functionalized biopolymer - poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) - P(3HO). To the best of our knowledge, studies using P(3HO) as a component in ceramic-polymer based drug delivery system for bone tissue regeneration have not yet been reported. Presented materials were comprehensively investigated by various techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, hydrostatic weighing and compression tests, pH and ionic conductivity measurements, high-performance liquid chromatography and in vitro cytotoxicity studies. The obtained diclofenac-loaded composite was not only characterised by controlled and sustained drug release, but also possessed improved mechanical properties. Moreover, the precipitation of apatite-like forms on its surface was observed after incubation in simulated body fluid, which indicates its bioactive potential. After 24 hours no cytotoxic effect on MC3T3-E1 mouse preosteoblastic cells was confirmed using indirect cytotoxicity studies. Thus, this promising multifunctional composite scaffold can be a promising candidate as an anti-inflammatory drug-delivery system in bone tissue engineering.

Vanadium-based catalysts, in which vanadium is present either as bulk V2O5 or as isolated species, are active in numerous oxidation reactions. In the present study, vanadium speciation and the possibility of its introduction in various forms (V=O, V–OH, V(=O)(–OH)) into the structurally different crystallographic positions in BEA zeolite was considered by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT). Out of nine nonequivalent positions, T2 and T3 positions are the most preferred. The former may accommodate V=O or V–OH, the latter V–OH or V(=O)(–OH). The structural and electronic properties of all possible centers present in the BEA zeolite are then compared with the characteristics of the same species on the most abundant (010) V2O5 surface. It is demonstrated that they exhibit higher nucleophilic character when introduced into the zeolite, and thus, may be more relevant for catalysis.

Nowadays, regenerative medicine faces a major challenge in providing new, functional materials that will meet the characteristics desired to replenish and grow new tissue. Therefore, this study presents new ceramic-polymer composites in which the matrix consists of tricalcium phosphates covered with blends containing a chemically bounded diclofenac with the biocompatible polymer—poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO). Modification of P(3HO) oligomers was confirmed by NMR, IR and XPS. Moreover, obtained oligomers and their blends were subjected to an in-depth characterisation using GPC, TGA, DSC and AFM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the hydrophobicity and surface free energy values of blends decreased with the amount of diclofenac modified oligomers. Subsequently, the designed composites were used as a substrate for growth of the pre-osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1). An in vitro biocompatibility study showed that the composite with the lowest concentration of the proposed drug is within the range assumed to be non-toxic (viability above 70%). Cell proliferation was visualised using the SEM method, whereas the observation of cell penetration into the scaffold was carried out by confocal microscopy. Thus, it can be an ideal new functional bone tissue substitute, allowing not only the regeneration and restoration of the defect but also inhibiting the development of chronic inflammation.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate monomers can serve as deep eutectic solvents components.

Development of new composite materials for bone tissue engineering is a constantly growing field of medicine. Therefore there is a continuous need in creating novel materials that can not only regenerate the defected tissue but also nourish it while the healing process progresses. Here we present a novel type of composite material that fulfils these requirements. The study describes creation of a composite with macroporous bioceramic core that is infiltrated with a thin biopolymer layer. The ceramic component, namely tricalcium phosphate (TCP), due to its mechanistic and bioactive properties may promote new bone creation as shown through the in vitro studies. To the best of our knowledge the coating layer was created for the first time from a representative of bacterially derived medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers (mcl-PHA), namely polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO). This polymer layer not only profoundly changed the stress-strain characteristics of the bioceramic foam but also released (R)-3-hydroxyacids and their dimers/trimers to the investigated environment. In the manuscript we have in depth characterised these materials employing a set of basic procedures, through 3D structure reconstruction and finishing with prolonged in vitro experiments.

The key to improve the performance of heteroatom catalysts is to ensure the orderliness of catalysts and the good dispersion of heteroatoms. The alkalinity plays the indispensable role in synthetic process of V-MCM-41 catalyst. The excessive alkalinity of synthetic system will make the MCM-41 difficult to crystallize, even to dissolve. It is easy to accumulate for heteroatomic species in the system of low alkalinity. Herein, the highly ordered V-MCM-41 with high vanadic content in framework is synthesized in the condition of excessive NH3·H2O in this paper. A series of characterization results prove the good dispersion of vanadium species, and most of vanadium gets into the framework of MCM-41 with the states of tetravalence and pentavalence. Furthermore, the modified MCM-41 by other transition metals is successful synthesized by the method of V-MCM-41 in this paper. The V-MCM-41 shows well catalytic activity for the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol, which up to 74.83% for the conversion of benzyl alcohol and 96.20% for selectivity of benzaldehyde when initial V/Si = 0.10. The paper provides the possibility for industrial application of V-MCM-41 in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol for benzaldehyde. Besides, the work provides a significant idea for the synthesis of modified MCM-41 by well-dispersed transition metals.

ABSTRACTInsight into the topographic and mechanical properties of biomaterials allows for efficient selection of a material for a specific application. Here, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and force spectroscopy were exploited to reveal the topographic and mechanical characteristics of charcoal‐purified, solvent‐cast polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO) film. The root mean square surface roughness of a PHO surface derived from ethyl acetate, acetone, or chloroform solution was 13.2, 11.5, or 30.9 nm, respectively, for 100 μm2 AFM images. The distribution of the local Young's modulus had a maximum of 25.4, 14.1, and 12.6 MPa for PHO films obtained from ethyl acetate, acetone, and chloroform solution, respectively. The positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements allowed us to determine the free volume in the polymer film structure (9.38%). Moreover, a number of additional techniques (X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, NMR, infrared spectroscopy, and polarized light microscopy) were used to reveal PHO features. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47192.

In this study, we evaluate the factors which determine the reactivity of divalent metal ions in the spontaneous formation of metallochlorophylls, using experimental and computational approaches. Kinetic studies were carried out using pheophytin a in reactions with various divalent metal ions combined with non- or weakly-coordinative counter ions in a series of organic solvents. To obtain detailed insights into the solvent effect, the metalations with the whole set of cations were investigated in three solvents and with Zn2+ in seven solvents. The reactions were monitored using electronic absorption spectroscopy and the stopped-flow technique. DFT calculations were employed to shed light on the role of solvent in activating the metal ions towards porphyrinoids. This experimental and computational analysis gives detailed information regarding how the solvent and the counter ion assist/hinder the metalation reaction as activators/inhibitors. The metalation course is dictated to a large extent by the reaction medium, via either the activation or deactivation of the incoming metal ion. The solvent may affect the metalation in several ways, mainly via H-bonding with pyrrolenine nitrogens and the activation/deactivation of the incoming cation. It also seems to affect the activation enthalpy by causing slight conformational changes in the macrocyclic ligand. These new mechanistic insights contribute to a better understanding of the "metal-counterion-solvent" interplay in the metalation of porphyrinoids. In addition, they are highly relevant to the mechanisms of metalation reactions catalyzed by chelatases and explain the differences between the insertion of Mg2+ and other divalent cations.

•First study on the role of cobalt siting within the heteropoly structure in shaping the catalytic properties in liquid phase aerobic oxidation.•Mo-based catalysts proved more active than their tungsten twins, location of Co within the Keggin unit more beneficial than as a counter cation.•Experimental study is combined with DFT calculations which provide rationale for the observed patterns of catalytic behavior.•Higher reducibility of Mo-based anions, as compared to W-based ones, leads to the more favorable energetics of chain initiation and propagation.•The positive effect of Co addition is associated with opening of new pathways for oxygen activation and ROOH intermediate decomposition.

The thermal effects and activity of silica and alumina supported bimetallic Pd-Au catalysts (of various Pd/Au ratio) in the exothermic H-2 and O-2 recombination reaction have been investigated in view of their potential use in the industrial passive autocatalytic recombiners (PAR). The catalysts were prepared by the colloid-based reverse "water-in-oil" microemulsion method which provided metal particles of size in a very narrow range (4-7 nm). In both SiO2] and Al2O3 - series catalysts the Pd-Au particles aggregated to some extent, especially strongly in alumina-series samples. The H-2 + O-2 reaction has been monitored using Microscal gas-flow through microcalorimeter at temperature of 22 degrees C and atmospheric pressure. The observed pattern of changes in both the heat evolution and the conversion of hydrogen seem to reflect the effect of water and/or other oxygen-containing surface species (like OH) on the activity/deactivation of catalysts. The nature of support and the composition of metal particles (Pd/Au ratio) played a role. Deactivation of alumina supported catalysts was stronger than silica supported counterparts. Among all studied catalysts, the best behavior was offered by low Au content-containing Pd-Au-0.1/SiO2 (Pd90Au10) catalyst. Its almost stable activity during the catalytic run may be attributed to relatively weak interactions with water molecules and/or other oxygen-containing, species (like OH), intermediates formed in the hydrogen oxidation. It may be supposed that electronic modification of palladium sites by gold assisted by the surface composition of Pd-Au particles reflecting in "surface arrangement of Pd and Au-atoms" are decisive. This experimental observation seems to correlated with the DFT calculation indicating that besides the number of Au atoms, their location with respect to the Pd, e.g "surface arrangement of Au" is more important for the energy/strength of interaction with water molecules. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The thermal effects and activity of silica and alumina supported monometallic Pd, Pt and bimetallic Pd-Pt catalysts (of various Pd/Pt ratio) in the exothermic H-2 and O-2 recombination reaction have been investigated in view of their potential use in the industrial passive autocatalytic recombiners (PAR). The pattern of changes in both the heat evolution and the conversion of hydrogen observed in the H-2/O-2 reaction seem to reflect the effect of water formation on the activity/deactivation of the studied catalysts. The catalysts have been prepared using the colloid-based reverse "water-in-oil" microemulsion method and characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, EDS techniques. The recombination reaction of hydrogen and oxygen has been monitored using Microscal gas-flow through microcalorimeter as well as a laboratory flow microreactor. The humidity present in the reaction mixture and the water molecules formed in the recombination reaction both inhibited the activity of the tested catalysts. The nature of support and the type of metal played a role in such water-poisoning effect. Deactivation of alumina supported catalysts was stronger than silica supported counterparts and Pt was more prone to the water inhibition compared to Pd. The most promising catalysts exhibiting the lowest amount of evolved heat accompanied by high and stable activity are silica supported Pd-rich bimetallic Pd-Pt particles whereas alumina wash-coat-Pt is the catalyst of chose in the PAR reactors. The observed activity/water-poisoning relations found confirmation in the DFT calculations concerning the interactions between water molecules and mono-(Pd, Pt) as well as bi (Pd-Pt) metallic clusters as a function of cluster size and Pd/Pt compositions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The catalytic properties, both redox and acidic, of 12-tungsto- and 12-molybdo-phosphoric Al3+, Ga3+, In3+ salts were studied. As a model reaction the gas phase ethanol conversion was used. On different sites (redox and acidic) various products are obtained (acetaldehyde and diethyl ether/ethylene respectively). Catalytic activity of MePW and MePMo salts was theoretically predicted, using both periodic and cluster models. Performed experiments confirm the theoretical prediction concerning the influence of addenda atoms (W and Mo) and various counter-cations (Al3+, Ga3+, In3+) on the catalytic properties of studied systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enzyme-catalyzed enantioselective reductions of ketones and keto esters have become popular for the production of homochiral building blocks which are valuable synthons for the preparation of biologically active compounds at industrial scale. Among many kinds of biocatalysts, dehydrogenases/reductases from various microorganisms have been used to prepare optically pure enantiomers from carbonyl compounds. (S)-1-phenylethanol dehydrogenase (PEDH) was found in the denitrifying bacterium Aromatoleum aromaticum (strain EbN1) and belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family. It catalyzes the stereospecific oxidation of (S)-1-phenylethanol to acetophenone during anaerobic ethylbenzene mineralization, but also the reverse reaction, i.e., NADH-dependent enantioselective reduction of acetophenone to (S)-1-phenylethanol. In this work, we present the application of PEDH for asymmetric reduction of 42 prochiral ketones and 11 β-keto esters to enantiopure secondary alcohols. The high enantioselectivity of the reaction is explained by docking experiments and analysis of the interaction and binding energies of the theoretical enzyme-substrate complexes leading to the respective (S)- or (R)-alcohols. The conversions were carried out in a batch reactor using Escherichia coli cells with heterologously produced PEDH as whole-cell catalysts and isopropanol as reaction solvent and cosubstrate for NADH recovery. Ketones were converted to the respective secondary alcohols with excellent enantiomeric excesses and high productivities. Moreover, the progress of product formation was studied for nine para-substituted acetophenone derivatives and described by neural network models, which allow to predict reactor behavior and provides insight on enzyme reactivity. Finally, equilibrium constants for conversion of these substrates were derived from the progress curves of the reactions. The obtained values matched very well with theoretical predictions.

The enantioselectivity of reactions catalyzed by ethylbenzene dehydrogenase, a molybdenum enzyme that catalyzes the oxygen-independent hydroxylation of many alkylaromatic and alkylheterocyclic compounds to secondary alcohols, was studied by chiral chromatography and theoretical modeling. Chromatographic analyses of 22 substrates revealed that this enzyme exhibits remarkably high reaction enantioselectivity toward (S)-secondary alcohols (18 substrates converted with >99% ee). Theoretical QM:MM modeling was used to elucidate the structure of the catalytically active form of the enzyme and to study the reaction mechanism and factors determining its high degree of enantioselectivity. This analysis showed that the enzyme imposes strong stereoselectivity on the reaction by discriminating the hydrogen atom abstracted from the substrate. Activation of the pro(S) hydrogen atom was calculated to be 500 times faster than of the pro(R) hydrogen atom. The actual hydroxylation step (i.e., hydroxyl group rebound reaction to a carbocation intermediate) does not appear to be enantioselective enough to explain the experimental data (the calculated rate ratios were in the range of only 2–50 for pro(S): pro(R)-oriented OH rebound).

The present brief review aims at elucidation of the parameters affecting the properties and reactivity of high valent iron(IV) oxo porphyrin complexes, being models of compound II reactive intermediate known from biochemistry of cytochromes and peroxidases. The stress is put on the influence of the axial ligand and porphyrin ring substituents, with special attention on implications for their catalytic activity.

High-valent iron-oxo species have been invoked as reactive intermediates in catalytic cycles of heme and nonheme enzymes. The studies presented herein are devoted to the formation of compound II model complexes, with the application of a water soluble (TMPS)Fe(III)(OH) porphyrin ([meso-tetrakis(2,4,6-trimethyl-3-sulfonatophenyl)porphinato]iron(III) hydroxide) and hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, and their reactivity toward selected organic substrates. The kinetics of the reaction of H2O2 with (TMPS)Fe(III)(OH) was studied as a function of temperature and pressure. The negative values of the activation entropy and activation volume for the formation of (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(OH) point to the overall associative nature of the process. A pH-dependence study on the formation of (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(OH) revealed a very high reactivity of OOH(-) toward (TMPS)Fe(III)(OH) in comparison to H2O2. The influence of N-methylimidazole (N-MeIm) ligation on both the formation of iron(IV)-oxo species and their oxidising properties in the reactions with 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol or 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, was investigated in detail. Combined experimental and theoretical studies revealed that among the studied complexes, (TMPS)Fe(III)(H2O)(N-MeIm) is highly reactive toward H2O2 to form the iron(IV)-oxo species, (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(N-MeIm). The latter species can also be formed in the reaction of (TMPS)Fe(III)(N-MeIm)2 with H2O2 or in the direct reaction of (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(OH) with N-MeIm. Interestingly, the kinetic studies involving substrate oxidation by (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(OH) and (TMPS)Fe(IV)=O(N-MeIm) do not display a pronounced effect of the N-MeIm axial ligand on the reactivity of the compound II mimic in comparison to the OH(-) substituted analogue. Similarly, DFT computations revealed that the presence of an axial ligand (OH(-) or N-MeIm) in the trans position to the oxo group in the iron(IV)-oxo species does not significantly affect the activation barriers calculated for C-H dehydrogenation of the selected organic substrates.