Tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips for biomedical applications

Glassy carbon, in general, is made by the pyrolysis of polymeric materials and has been the subject of research for at least fifty years. However, as understanding its microstructure is far from straightforward, it continues to be an area of active research. Glassy carbon adopts different allotropes depending on the hybridizations of the C–C bond, that is, sp, sp2, or sp3. Furthermore, a variety of short-range ordering effects can interact with each other and this, along with the effects of microporosity, grain boundaries, and defects, render this a fascinating material. Following the nanoarchitectonics concept of bottom-up creation of functional materials, we use methane rather than a polymer to form glassy carbon. Here we show that tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips form when methane undergoes pyrolysis on a curved alumina surface. X-ray diffraction of these glassy carbon tubules shows long-range order with a d-spacing of 4.89 Å, which is indicative of glassy carbon. Raman spectroscopy shows the material to be graphitic in nature, and SEM shows the fullerene-like structure of the material. This work provides new insights into the structure of glassy carbons relevant to the application of glassy carbons as a biomaterial, for example, as a new form of carbon-based microneedles. Since metallic needles can introduce toxic/allergenic species into susceptible subjects, this alternative carbon-based microneedle form has great potential as a replacement biomedical material for metallic needles in the field of neural engineering and as acupuncture needles

Recent bio-advances in metal-organic frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have found uses in adsorption, catalysis, gas storage and other industrial applications. Metal Biomolecule Frameworks (bioMOFs) represent an overlap between inorganic, material and medicinal sciences, utilising the porous frameworks for biologically relevant purposes. This review details advances in bioMOFs, looking at the synthesis, properties and applications of both bioinspired materials and MOFs used for bioapplications, such as drug delivery, imaging and catalysis, with a focus on examples from the last five years

Review: Recent advances of one-dimensional coordination polymers as catalysts

This review aims to provide reports of one dimensional (1-D) coordination polymers that have been used as catalysts in various organic reactions in the last decade, covering the literature from 2007 and onwards. The CPs have been mainly categorized into homometallic and heterometallic compounds; additional parameters such as the metal and ligand selection for the CP are discussed to provide a more detailed look into each system

Unprecedented chemical transformation: crystallographic evidence for 1,1,2,2-tetrahydroxyethane captured within an Fe6Dy3 single molecule magnet

A nonanuclear {Fe6Dy3} coordination cluster displaying SMM behaviour in which an unprecedented chemical transformation provides structural information for the existence of 1,1,2,2-tetrahydroxyethane is reported

The Europeanization of the Western Balkans; Is European Conditionality Fostering Democracy?

This thesis analyzes the current model of European Union conditionality toward the Western Balkans, which based on a dual approach through the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP). Through SAP, the European Union (EU) is trying to stabilize the Western Balkans, while at the same time associating them with EU policies and supporting them in taking over the EU acquis. My hypothesis is that in order to promote democracy and the rule of law, the EU\u27s policy of stabilizing and integrating should be reformed to better strengthen and clarify conditionality. In order to test my hypothesis, I focused on the three Western Balkan countries, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were chosen because each represented a different stage of accession; they share a geographical footprint; and many historical experiences. I first discussed problems associated with each country\u27s transition to democracy. I looked at the justice and home affairs sector of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Within that I assessed whether the measures to address corruption and minority rights and refugees have been effective. The results of my tests indicate that despite the financial assistance the EU has given towards the Western Balkans, the countries have a long way to go to improving democracy and the rule of law. Conditions have not worsened but they have not improved. The EU can get its enlargement policy toward the Western Balkans back on track by strengthening its conditionality and only accepting members when they are politically and technically ready to become EU member states

Effects of functional vs. conventional circuit training on anthropometric variables and physical self-efficacy of young adults

Functional resistance training (FRT) is a relatively novel approach to resistance training that is becoming increasingly popular within the fitness domain and has been considered to be a better alternative than conventional resistance training (CRT) for improving various measures of muscular and neuromotor fitness. The definitions describing FRT vary to a great extent in the scientific literature, however, the major characteristic of this training method is that it includes movement-based exercises performed in multiple planes of motion which are designed to imitate activities of daily living (ADLs). Despite the popularity of FRT, most studies on this exercise method have until now mainly been based on anecdotal information from the fitness industry "experts", who have made exaggerated claims about functional exercises and their health benefits. Moreover, because functional training has its origins in physical therapy, the majority of studies have previously focused on older adults and on patients in the rehabilitation process. Therefore, for this reason, there is a scarcity of research studies especially those which include healthy young adults. Consequently, FRT has soared in popularity over the last decade, despite the fact that the research-based evidence is restricted to older people

A 12-fold ths interpenetrated network utilizing a glycine-based pseudopeptidic ligand

We report the synthesis and characterization of a 3D Cu(II) coordination polymer, [Cu3(L1)2(H2O)8]·8H2O (1), with the use of a glycine-based tripodal pseudopeptidic ligand (H3L1 = N,N’,N’’-tris(carboxymethyl)-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxamide or trimesoyl-tris-glycine). This compound presents the first example of a 12-fold interpenetrated ths net. We attempt to justify the unique topology of 1 through a systematic comparison of the synthetic parameters in all reported structures with H3L1 and similar tripodal pseudopeptidic ligands. We additionally explore the catalytic potential of 1 in the A3 coupling reaction for the synthesis of propargylamines. The compound acts as a very good heterogeneous catalyst with yields up to 99% and loadings as low as 3 mol%

Synthesis, characterization, magnetic properties, and topological aspects of isoskeletal heterometallic hexanuclear Co II 4 Ln III 2 coordination clusters possessing 2,3,4M6-1 Topology

The reaction of (E)-2-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylideneamino)phenol (H2L1) with Co(NO3)26H2O and LnCl3x(H2O) afforded a family of hexanuclear heterometallic coordination clusters (CCs) formulated as [CoII4LnIII2(µ3-OH)2(L1)4Cl2(NO3)2(MeOH)4] 3(Et2O) where Ln is Y (1), Gd (2), Dy (3), and Tb (4). All the compounds are stable in solution as confirmed by ESI-MS studies. The compounds can be described as twisted boat-like and possess a 2,3,4M6–1 topology. The reaction of (E)-2-(5-bromo-2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylideneamino)phenol (H2L2) with Co(NO3)26H2O and DyCl3x(H2O) afforded [CoII4DyIII2(µ3-OH)2(L2)4Cl2(NO3)2(MeOH)4] (5), which is isoskeletal to compounds 1–4. Magnetic studies performed over the temperature range 1.8–300 K show that compound 3 undergoes slow magnetic relaxation

Dinuclear Lanthanide (III) coordination polymers in a domino reaction

A systematic study was performed to further optimise the catalytic room-temperature synthesis of trans-4,5- diaminocyclopent-2-enones from 2-furaldehyde and primary or secondary amines under a non-inert atmosphere. For this purpose, a series of dinuclear lanthanide (III) coordination polymers were synthesised using a dianionic Schiff base and their catalytic activities were investigated

Isoskeletal Schiff base polynuclear coordination clusters: synthetic and theoretical aspects

This work addresses and enlightens synthetic aspects derived from our effort to systematically construct isoskeletal tetranuclear coordination clusters (CCs) of the general formula [TR2Ln2(LX)4(NO3)2(solv)2] possessing a specific defected dicubane topology, utilizing various substituted Schiff base organic ligands (H2LX) and NiII/CoII and Dy(OTf)3 salts. Our synthetic work is further supported by DFT studies