Multifunctional hydrogels: advanced therapeutic tools for osteochondral regeneration

Wenqian Zhang,Kangkang Zha,Weixian Hu,Yuan Xiong,Samuel Knoedler,Doha Obed,Adriana C. Panayi,Ze Lin,Faqi Cao,Bobin Mi,Guohui Liu 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Various joint pathologies such as osteochondritis dissecans, osteonecrosis, rheumatic disease, and trauma, may result in severe damage of articular cartilage and other joint structures, ranging from focal defects to osteoarthritis (OA). The osteochondral unit is one of the critical actors in this pathophysiological process. New approaches and applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine continue to drive the development of OA treatment. Hydrogel scaffolds, a component of tissue engineering, play an indispensable role in osteochondral regeneration. In this review, tissue engineering strategies regarding osteochondral regeneration were highlighted and summarized. The application of hydrogels for osteochondral regeneration within the last five years was evaluated with an emphasis on functionalized physical and chemical properties of hydrogel scaffolds, functionalized delivery hydrogel scaffolds as well as functionalized intelligent response hydrogel scaffolds. Lastly, to serve as guidance for future efforts in the creation of bioinspired hydrogel scaffolds, a succinct summary and new views for specific mechanisms, applications, and existing limitations of the newly designed functionalized hydrogel scaffolds were offered.

Highly dispersed Ni2P clusters inlaid in micropore openings on mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite and its catalytic performance in the phenylacetylene semi-hydrogenation

Wenqian Fu,Lei Zhang,TingYu Tao,Tiandi Tang 한국공업화학회 2021 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.95 No.-

Preparation of Ni2P phase with cluster size and high stability is significant for enhancing its catalyticperformance. Herein, Ni2P nanoclusters (<1 nm) inlaid in micropore openings on mesoporous ZSM-5zeolite (MZSM-5) was prepared through citric acid-assisted, two-step impregnation method under thereduction temperature of 400 C. The facilitation effect of the citric acid and support surface properties onthe formation of Ni2P clusters was investigated. The formation of Ni(H2cit)+ complex promotes thedispersion of the Ni precursor on the zeolite surface. After calcination, the free Ni species interactstronger with the acidic hydroxyl groups on MZSM-5 than that with silanol on mesoporous TS-1(MTS-1),Silicalite-1 (MSilicalite-1) and SiO2, facilitating the formation of Ni2P nanoclusters on the MZSM-5micropore openings after the calcined Ni catalyst was loaded with P species and followed by activationtreatment. The obtained Ni2P clusters exhibit higher intrinsic activity (robs = 1.50 mol kg 1 s 1) than MTS-1, MSilicalite-1 and SiO2 supported Ni2P catalysts (0.80, 0.76, 0.40 mol kg 1 s 1) in the semihydrogenationof phenylacetylene.

Experimental and computational investigations on ring-opening polymerization mechanisms of amide-functional benzoxazines

Wenqian Zhao,Richie Yang,Shengfu Yang,Kan Zhang 한국고분자학회 2023 Macromolecular Research Vol.31 No.1

We observed an unusual low polymerization temperature for the ortho-amide benzoxazine in comparison with its para-isomer. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggested that the intramolecular hydrogen bond between the oxazine ring and the adjacent amide softens the C–O bond, resulting in a reduced activation energy and thus a low ring-opening polymerization temperature. In addition, the polymerization kinetics of both para- and ortho-amide functional benzoxazines were investigated using the Starink method, which confirmed a relatively lower activation energy for the ortho-amide functional benzoxazine compared with its para-isomer. Our work suggests that softening chemical bonds by intramolecular hydrogen bonding may become a new strategy for the design of high-performance polybenzoxazine thermosets with low processing temperatures.

Protein Associated with Adventitious Root Induction Analysis of Tree Peony (Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) Plantlets In Vitro by Two-dimensional Electrophoresis and Mass Spectrometry

Dandan Zhang,Zheng Wang,Liyun Shi,Wenqian Shang,Zhenzhu Fu,Dan He,Song Lin He 한국화훼학회 2016 화훼연구 Vol.24 No.2

In the present study, the plantlets in vitro of Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Wu Long Peng Sheng’ were used as laboratory materials. The proteome during adventitious root induction process was investigated to sift the related proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the protein spots were concentrated in the acidity gel region (pH 4 - 7) and the spots number had a dynamic change ranged from 373 to 462 at the process of root induction (0 – 7 d). 8 spots significantly changed were analyzed with a mass spectrometer and identified using associated software and databases. The peptide information of the 8 spots was similar to the ATP synthase β-subunit of P. suffruticosa (Spots 1 - 4 and 8), P. tenuifolia (Spots 5), P. californica (Spot 6) and P. brownie ( Spots 7) r espectiv ely. T he expression levels of protein spots 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 was dramatically downregulated, and that of protein spots 2 and 3 had a slightly opposite tendency on the 3rd day. The obviously decreased period is particularly interesting as it was consistent with the induction period of adventitious root primordial of tree peony plantlet in vitro. The ATP synthase β-subunit could be consumed for assembling the ATP synthase in order to supply energy to the rooting process. Therefore, we speculated that the ATP synthase β-subunit was involved in adventitious root initiation of tree peony plantlets in vitro and we expect that further studies should be carried out in order to export its action mechanism.

High Precision and Low Force Resonant Probe Based on Quartz Tuning Fork

Qiangxian Huang,Wenqian Wang,Guangpu Wang,Rongjun Cheng,Liansheng Zhang,Hongli Li,Ruijun Li 한국정밀공학회 2023 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.24 No.11

To realize the high-precision three-dimensional (3D) measurement of micro-precision devices, a 3D resonant trigger probe based on quartz tuning fork for micro/nano coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is proposed. The probe is composed of a quartz tuning fork, a tapered optical fiber stylus and a microsphere. It vibrates in resonance state and makes contact with the measured surface in the Z direction in tapping mode, while in the X and Y directions, it operates in friction mode. The 3D nano-positioning of the probe is achieved by the changes in resonance parameter caused by the interatomic force between the microsphere and the surface of the measured sample. In this study, the diameter of the probe microsphere can be as low as 80 μm, and the length of the probe stylus is approximately 5 mm. The trigger resolution of the probe in the X, Y and Z directions are 0.44, 0.41 and 0.34 nm, respectively. The probing forces in the X, Y and Z directions are 2.25, 1.81 and 4.24 μN, respectively. Experimental results verify that the proposed probe has the advantages of small size, sub-nano resolution and very low probing force. This probe can be used as the trigger probe of micro/nano CMM, which can be triggered by interatomic force.

Transcriptome sequencing and characterization of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus root reveals key genes involved in flavonoids biosynthesis

Jianping Liang,Wenqian Li,Xiaoyun Jia,Ying Zhang,Jianping Zhao 한국유전학회 2020 Genes & Genomics Vol.42 No.8

Background Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao is a traditional medicinal herb of Leguminosae since it contains bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, which have significant pharmacological effects on immunity and antioxidant. However, the scanty genomic and transcriptome resources of Astragalus membranaceus have hindered further exploration of its biosynthesis and accumulation mechanism. Objective This project aim to further improve our understanding of the relationship between transcriptional behavior and flavonoids content of A. mongholicus. Methods The accumulation of flavonoids and related gene expression in five different developmental stages (A: vegetative, B: florescence, C: fruiting, D: fruit ripening and E: defoliating stages) of A. mongholicus root were studied by combining UV spectrophotometry and transcriptomic techniques. The de novo assembly, annotation and functional evaluation of the contigs were performed with bioinformatics tools. Results After screening and assembling the raw data, there were a total of 158,123 unigenes with an average length of 644.89 bp were finally obtained, which has 8362 unigenes could be jointly annotated by NR, SwissProt, eggNOG, GO, KEGG and Pfam databases. KEGG enrichment analysis was performed on differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in the four groups (A vs. B, B vs. C, C vs. D, D vs. E). The results showed that many DEGs in each group were significantly enriched to flavonoids biosynthesis related pathways. Among them, a number of 86 were involved in the biosynthesis of isoflavonoid (12), flavonoid (5) and phenylpropanoid (69). Further analysis of these DEGs revealed that the expression levels of key genes such as PAL, 4CL, CCR , COMT, DFR, etc. were all down-regulated at the fruiting stage, and then raised at the fruit ripening stage. This expression pattern was similar to the accumulation trend of total flavonoids content. Conclusions In summary, this comprehensive transcriptome dataset allowed the identification of genes associated with flavonoids metabolic pathways. The results laid a foundation for the biosynthesis and regulation of flavonoids. It also provided a scientific basis for the most suitable harvest time and resource utilization of A. mongholicus.

Removal of Uranium from Uranium Plant Wastewater Using Zero-Valent Iron in an Ultrasonic Field

Jing Li,Libo Zhang,Jinhui Peng,Jinming Hu,Lifeng Yang,Aiyuan Ma,Hongying Xia,Wenqian Guo,Xia Yu 한국원자력학회 2016 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.48 No.3

Uranium removal from uranium plant wastewater using zero-valent iron in an ultrasonicfield was investigated. Batch experiments designed by the response surface methodology(RSM) were conducted to study the effects of pH, ultrasonic reaction time, and dosage ofzero-valent iron on uranium removal efficiency. From the experimental data obtained inthis work, it was found that the ultrasonic method employing zero-valent iron powdereffectively removes uranium from uranium plant wastewater with a uranium concentrationof 2,772.23 mg/L. The pH ranges widely from 3 to 7 in the ultrasonic field, and theprediction model obtained by the RSM has good agreement with the experimental results.

Catalytic conversion of cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over chromium trichloride in ionic liquid

Shui Wang,Jidong Wang,Yizhen Du,Wenqian Zhang,Xiaowei Cheng 한국화학공학회 2014 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.31 No.10

An efficient method for converting cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) using an inexpen-sive ionic liquid tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) and relatively low-toxicity catalyst of chromium (III) trichloride(CrCl3·6H2O) was developed. The effects of hydrochloric acid loading, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature and timeon the yield of 5-HMF were surveyed to achieve optimal reaction conditions. A 5-HMF yield of 43.7% was obtainedwithin 90 min at 140 oC using oil-bath heating. Glucose and starch were also investigated as feedstock to produce 5-HMF in TBAC/CrCl3·6H2O system, in which the 5-HMF yield was considerable. After 5-HMF was extracted, TBAC/CrCl3 ·6H2Ocould be used for several runs.