A new benzoxazole-modified [PhSiO 1.5 ] 8 (OPS) benzoxazine (OPS−Bz) was synthesized and used to prepare polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)/ polybenzoxazine (PBz) nanocomposites. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1 H NMR, 29 Si NMR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the structure of OPS−Bz. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy images of POSS/PBz(30/70) nanocomposites showed a well separated nanostructure of POSS with a typical phase size of 3−10 nm. POSS was highly dispersed in the polymer matrix because of the benzoxazole groups around the OPS molecular, in which the rigid benzoxazole groups increased the distance among the POSS molecules and reduced the aggregation of POSS nanoparticles. The TGA study showed these nanocomposites possess good thermal stability. Moreover, the dielectric constants and dielectric loss of these POSS/PBz nanocomposites were low and changed slightly at room temperature in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 1 MHz.

In the present study, two novel fully biobased benzoxazines were synthesized using modified products of rosin, dehydroabietylamine, guaiacol, 4-methylumbelliferone, and paraformaldehyde. The chemical structures of DM (dehydroabietylamine, 4methylumbelliferone) and DG (dehydroabietylamine, guaiacol) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 13 C NMR spectra, dimensional nuclear magnetic and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The curing process of DM and DG was monitored by differential scanning calorimetry and in situ FTIR. The results demonstrated that the corresponding polymers PDM and PDG had high thermal stability. In addition, they had low dielectric constants below 3.30 at 25 °C and 1 kHz condition. Water contact angle measurements, OPC-time curves, and Tafel plots of PDG and PDM were also studied. The results showed that anticorrosion performances of PDG and PDM were stable during the immersion process and had strong abilities as shield corrosive media. Therefore, these two benzoxazine resins based on dehydrobietylamine may have potential applications in many fields.

During last two decades, the chimerization and humanization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have led to the approval of several for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and transplant rejection. Additional approaches have been used to further improve their in vivo activity. These include combining them with other modalities such as chemotherapy and redesigning them for improved pharmacokinetics, effector function, and signaling activity. The latter has taken advantage of new insights emerging from an increased understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in the interaction of immunoglobulin G with Fc receptors and complement as well as the negative signaling resulting from the hypercrosslinking of their target antigens. Hence, mAbs have been redesigned to include mutations in their Fc portions, thereby endowing them with enhanced or decreased effector functions and more desirable pharmacokinetic properties. Their valency has been increased to decrease their dissociation rate from cells and enhance their ability to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In this review we discuss these redesigned mAbs and current data concerning their evaluation both in vitro and in vivo.

BackgroundAspergillus niger is widely used for enzyme production and achievement of high enzyme production depends on the comprehensive understanding of cell’s metabolic regulation mechanisms.ResultsIn this paper, we investigate the metabolic differences and regulation mechanisms between a high glucoamylase-producing strain A. niger DS03043 and its wild-type parent strain A. niger CBS513.88 via an integrated isotope-assisted metabolomics and 13C metabolic flux analysis approach. We found that A. niger DS03043 had higher cell growth, glucose uptake, and glucoamylase production rates but lower oxalic acid and citric acid secretion rates. In response to above phenotype changes, A. niger DS03043 was characterized by an increased carbon flux directed to the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway in contrast to reduced flux through TCA cycle, which were confirmed by consistent changes in pool sizes of metabolites. A higher ratio of ATP over AMP in the high producing strain might contribute to the increase in the PP pathway flux as glucosephosphate isomerase was inhibited at higher ATP concentrations. A. niger CBS513.88, however, was in a higher redox state due to the imbalance of NADH regeneration and consumption, resulting in the secretion of oxalic acid and citric acid, as well as the accumulation of intracellular OAA and PEP, which may in turn result in the decrease in the glucose uptake rate.ConclusionsThe application of integrated metabolomics and 13C metabolic flux analysis highlights the regulation mechanisms of energy and redox metabolism on flux redistribution in A. niger. Graphical abstractAn integrated isotope-assisted metabolomics and 13C metabolic flux analysis was was firstly systematically performed in A. niger. In response to enzyme production, the metabolic flux in A. niger DS03043 (high-producing) was redistributed, characterized by an increased carbon flux directed to the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway as well as an increased pool size of pentose. The consistency in 13C metabolic flux analysis and metabolites quantification indicated that an imbalance of NADH formation and consumption led to the accumulation and secretion of organic acids in A. niger CBS513.88 (wild-type)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-015-0329-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study proposes a novel and facile method to synthesize high-quality NH 2 -functionalized and carboxylfunctionalized graphene oxide (PPD-CFGO)/polyimide (PI) composite films with high dielectric constant (3), low dielectric loss, high-temperature resistance and outstanding mechanical properties by in situ polymerization. In addition to the partial carboxyl groups located at the edges, the ample hydroxyl and epoxy groups bonded on the basal plane of graphene sheets were exploited to covalently bond to the amines. GO was modified by oxalic acid to obtain carboxyl-functionalized GO (CFGO) before amidation.NH 2 -functionalized CFGO (PPD-CFGO), dispersing well in dimethylacetamide (DMAc), was the initial platform for polymer grafting to improve the CFGO dispersion in the polymer matrix. Partially reduced graphene nanosheets are formed during the imidization process. The PPD-CFGO/PI composite films exhibit high tensile strength (up to 848 MPa) and Young's modulus (18.5 GPa). The thermogravimetric analysis results indicate that the PPD-CFGO/PI composites have good thermal stability below 500 C.The dielectric constant increases up to 36.9 with an increasing amount of PPD-CFGO, higher than that of the pure PI polymer by a factor of 12.5, while the dielectric loss is only 0.0075 and the breakdown strength still remains at a high level (132.5 AE 9.3 MV m À1 ).