Materials chemistry: macroporous crystalline vanadium oxide foam

Porous inorganic solids can be synthesized in complex forms, and here we describe a simple method to create an ultralight, macroporous, crystalline vanadium oxide foam by bubbling oxygen gas produced in situ through a viscous vanadium oxide gel. This foaming process could be extended to other metal oxides.

Design of silica-coated microcapsules for bioencapsulation

Alginate-based microcapsules are coated with silica, providing enhanced mechanical resistance, protein diffusion and allowing enzyme immobilization.

Effect of some amino acids and peptides on silicic acid polymerization

The polymerization of silicic acid in aqueous solutions at different pH was followed by the colorimetric molybdosilicate method. The role of four amino acids (serine, lysine, proline and aspartic acid) and the corresponding homopeptides was studied. All four amino acids behave the same way and favor the condensation of silicic acid. Peptides exhibit a stronger catalytic effect than amino acids but they appear to behave in very different ways depending on the nature of side-groups and pH. Poly-lysine and poly-proline for instance lead to the precipitation of solid phases containing both silica and peptides. The role of these biomolecules on the polymerization of silicic acid is discussed in terms of electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds and solubility.

A Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study of the Lyotropic Nematic Phase of Vanadium Pentoxide Gels

Aqueous suspensions of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) ribbons, also called Zocher phases, are known to display a lyotropic nematic phase. In this paper, it is shown how the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique can provide useful information on the building blocks and their organization in this phase. SAXS experiments were performed either on unoriented samples or on samples aligned by a magnetic field or by shear flow. The scattering is comparable to that of the other classic lyotropic nematic phases displayed by stiff organic rod-like particles such as the tobacco mosaic virus. Scattering studies show that the building blocks have a ribbon shape, that their thickness is 9 (1) Å and indirectly that their width is several 100 Å. Their length is known to be around a few thousand Å and therefore could not be measured by SAXS. By following the average distance between the ribbons as a function of concentration, it is shown that the swelling of the phase is one-dimensional at large concentrations and two-dimensional at low concentrations. Finally, estimates of the nematic order parameter of a single domain sample and of samples sheared in a Couette cell have been obtained.

[Fixation and immunological reactivity of parasitic protozoa in sol-gel matrices]

Parasitic protozoa have been entrapped within sol-gel silica matrices. Stationary phase promastigote cells of Leishmania donovani infantum are mixed with a silicon alkoxide solution. They remain trapped within the growing oxide network formed upon hydrolysis and condensation of the alkoxide. Electron microscopy shows the preservation of the cellular organization and the integrity of the plasma membrane of entrapped parasites. Specific antigen-antibody reactions have been performed within the sol-gel matrix via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) currently used for the diagnostic of visceral leishmaniasis. A clear-cut difference in optical density was measured between positive and negative sera from dogs. Entrapped protozoa antigens are still able to react with specific antibodies through the open porosity of the silica network. These results suggest that sol-gel matrices could be used for the development of immunodiagnostic assays requiring whole cell parasites as antigens.