EFFECT OF ELECTROOSMOTIC FLOW ON THE ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION OF ZEOLITE POWDER ON A POROUS ALUMINA SUPPORT

Pervaporation separation of azeotropic and near-boiling-point mixtures by zeolite membranes offers substantial advantages over traditional distillation and extraction methods in terms of energy consumption. Typically, zeolite membranes are prepared by coating seed crystals on a porous support surface, followed by the secondary growth of the seed crystals by subsequent hydrothermal synthesis. The properties of the seed layer are known to strongly influence the separation performance of the prepared membrane [1]. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a highly reproducible technology for the deposition of seed crystals on porous supports. Despite the effectiveness of EPD, only a few studies have investigated its use as a seeding method for the preparation of the zeolite membrane on porous alumina support. With the use of porous alumina support, seeding is conducted by placing electrodes of EPD on both sides of the support. In this case, two electrokinetic phenomena are observed: electrophoresis of the seed crystal particles and electroosmotic flow of the solvent within the porous alumina support [2]. Thus far, experiments for the simultaneous observation of electrophoresis of seed crystal particles and electroosmotic flow of the solvent within the support have not been systematically investigated. In this study, the effect of the electroosmotic flow of the solvent within seeding on the porous aluminum support by EPD is investigated using solvents such as water, acetone, and methanol. When water and acetone are used, the direction of the electroosmotic flow is opposite to that of EPD, the strength of electroosmotic flow with water is higher than that with acetone. In contrast, with methanol, the direction of the electroosmotic flow is the same as that of EPD, with weak particle charge. The results showed that both the support and solvent contributed to the change in the strength and direction of the electroosmotic flow. [1] H. Negishi, et. al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 89, 124-130 (2006) [2] S. Haber, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 179, 380-390 (1996

Targeted Anticancer Immunotoxins and Cytotoxic Agents with Direct Killing Moieties

Despite the progress of the bioinformatics approach to characterize cell-surface antigens and receptors on tumor cells, it remains difficult to generate novel cancer vaccines or neutralizing monoclonal antibody therapeutics. Among targeted cancer therapeutics, biologicals with targetable antibodies or ligands conjugated or fused to toxins or chemicals for direct cell-killing ability have been developed over the last 2 decades. These conjugated or fused chimeric proteins are termed immunotoxins or cytotoxic agents. Two agents, DAB389IL-2 (ONTAKTM) targeting the interleukin-2 receptor and CD33-calicheamicin (Mylotarg®), have been approved by the FDA for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), respectively. Such targetable agents, including RFB4(dsFv)-PE38 (BL22), IL13-PE38QQR, and Tf-CRM107, are being tested in clinical trials. Several agents using unique technology such as a cleavable adapter or immunoliposomes with antibodies are also in the preclinical stage. This review summarizes the generation, mechanism, and development of these agents. In addition, possible future directions of this therapeutic approach are discussed

A Crucial Role of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in the Wound Healing Response in Acute Liver Injury Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride

Background. Acute liver injury induced by administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) has used a model of wound repair in the rat liver. Previously, we reported transient expression of bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) 2 or Bmp4 at 6–24 h after CCl4 treatment, suggesting a role of BMP signaling in the wound healing response in the injured liver. In the present study, we investigated the biological meaning of the transient Bmp expression in liver injury. Methods. Using conditional knockout mice carrying a floxed exon in the BMP receptor 1A gene, we determined the hepatic gene expressions and proliferative activity following CCl4-treated liver. Results. We observed retardation of the healing response in the knockout mice treated with CCl4, including aggravated histological feature and reduced expressions of the albumin and Tdo2 genes, and a particular decrease in the proliferative activity shown by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. Conclusion. Our findings suggest a crucial role of BMP signaling in the amelioration of acute liver injury

イソニトリルの重合と金属錯体との反応に関する研究

Trace amounts of Pt- and Ru-doped Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts were prepared by a citrate method and tested in the oxidative reforming of C3H8 under daily start-up and shut-down (DSS) operation. The activity and the sustainability of the catalysts were compared with those of the Pt- and Ru-doped Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts derived from hydrotalcite (HT) precursor. The DSS operation of C3H8 reforming was carried Out with O-2 gas or O-2/H2O mixed gas between 200 degrees C and 600 degrees C or 700 degrees C under air purging conditions. The catalysts underwent steaming treatment with H-2/H2O mixed gas at 900 degrees C for 10 h. This allowed us to test the effect of Ni sintering on the catalyst deactivation. Coking was significantly suppressed on both HT- and citrate-derived Ni catalysts. Although both preparations produced highly dispersed Ni particles on the catalysts, the HT-derived catalysts exhibited more finely dispersed Ni particles, resulting in higher activity values than those of the citrate-derived catalysts, The regenerative activity due to redispersion of sintered Ni particles was enhanced over the HT-derived catalysts compared with the activity over citrate-derived catalysts. Although a clear redispersion of Ni particles was not observed in the oxidative reforming, i.e., in the absence of steam, the size decrease in Ni particles was more significant over the HT-derived catalysts than over the citrate-derived catalysts. The Mg(Al)O periclase structure derived from Mg-Al HT likely plays an important role in the regenerative activity of Pt- and Ru-Ni/Mg(Al)O catalysts. Pt-doping was more effective than Ru for the catalyst sustainability in the oxidative reforming of C3H8

Molecular dynamics simulation on a layer-by-layer homoepitaxial growth process of SrTiO3(001)

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:09355030・基盤研究(A)(2)・H9～H11/研究代表者:宮本, 明/次世代エレクトロニクス材料としての酸化物人口超格子の原子レベル設計と開発