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Y: Dye-sensitized solar cells based on anatase TiO 2 nanoparticle/nanowire composites. J Phys Chem B 2006, 110:15932–15938.CrossRef 12. Narayan MR: Review: dye sensitized solar cells based on natural photosensitizers. Ren Sust En Rev 2012, 16:208–215. 13. Stepien M, see more Saarinen JJ, Teisala H, Tuominen M, H 89 price Aromaa M, Kuusipalo J, Mäkelä JM, Toivakka M: Surface chemical analysis of photocatalytic wettability conversion of TiO 2 nanoparticle coating. Surf Coat Technol 2012, 208:73–79.CrossRef 14. Stepien M, Saarinen JJ, Teisala H, Tuominen M, Aromaa M, Haapanen J, Kuusipalo J, Mäkelä JM, Toivakka M: ToF-SIMS analysis of UV-switchable TiO 2 nanoparticle-coated paper surface. Langmuir 2013, 29:3780–3790.CrossRef 15. Teisala

H, Tuominen M, Aromaa M, Mäkelä JM, Stepien M, Saarinen JJ, Toivakka M, Kuusipalo J: Development of superhydrophobic coating on paperboard surface using the liquid flame spray. Surf Coat Technol 2010, 205:436–445.CrossRef 16. Ulrich GD: Flame synthesis of fine particles. Chem Eng News 1984, 62:22–29.CrossRef 17. Tikkanen J, Gross KA, Berndt CC, Pitkänen V, Keskinen J, Raghu S, Rajala M, Karthikeyan J: Characteristics of the liquid flame spray process. Surf Coat Technol 1997, 90:210–216.CrossRef 18. Pratsinis SE: Flame aerosol synthesis of ceramic powders. Prog Energy Combust Sci 1998, 24:197–219.CrossRef 19. Mädler L, Kammler HK, Mueller

R, Pratsinis SE: Controlled synthesis of nanostructured Doramapimod particles by flame spray pyrolysis. J Aerosol Sci 2002, 33:369–389.CrossRef 20. Mäkelä however JM, Keskinen H, Forsblom T, Keskinen J: Generation of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles by liquid flame spray process. J Mater Sci 2004, 39:2783–2788.CrossRef 21. Gutsch A, Mühlenweg H, Krämer M: Tailor-made nanoparticles via gas-phase synthesis. Small 2005, 1:30–46.CrossRef 22. Aromaa M, Keskinen H, Mäkelä JM: The effect of process parameters on the liquid flame spray generated titania nanoparticles. Biomol Eng 2007, 24:543–548.CrossRef 23. Jokio M: Papermaking Part 3, Finishing. In Papermaking Science and Technology, Volume 10 . Edited by: Gullichsen J, Paulapuro H. Jyväskylä: Fapet; 1999:114–140. 24. Chen B, Penwell D, Benedetti LR, Jeanloz R, Kruger MB: Particle-size effect on the compressibility of nanocrystalline alumina. Phys Rev B 2002, 66:144101.CrossRef 25. Gilbert B, Zhang H, Chen B, Kunz M, Huang F, Banfield JF: Compressibility of zinc sulfide nanoparticles. Phys Rev B 2006, 74:115405.CrossRef 26. Park S-W, Jang J-T, Lee H-H, Lee DR, Lee Y: Shape-dependent compressibility of TiO 2 anatase nanoparticles. J Phys Chem C 2008, 112:9627–9631.CrossRef 27. Wenzel RW: Resistance of solid surfaces to wetting by water. Ind Eng Chem 1936, 28:988–994.

Of the data from 30 respondents, 28 were used for the analysis as two of the Q sorts had errors in them (such as double entry of a statement number) and had to be rejected. 57 % of the final respondents were male (n = 16) and 43 % were female (n = 12). Results Factor extraction The Q sorts were subjected

to factor analysis using the PQ method software find more that is available for free download from the internet. Brown (1980), Watts and Stenner (2005) and Watts and Stenner (2012) were consulted during the analysis. The factors were extracted using centroid analysis (Horst’s centroid). The data generated eight factors of which the first three were selected for the analysis due to the following reasons: first, it is a standard procedure to consider factors with Eigen values greater than 1 and having at least two respondents (that is, have at least two defining Q sorts) load on the factor (Brown 1980; Watts and Stenner 2012). Second,

together the three factors explained 51 % of the total PXD101 cell line variance and had minimal https://www.selleckchem.com/products/shp099-dihydrochloride.html correlation within them, whereas the latter factors had stronger correlation with the first three factors as well as with one another. Finally, the difference in error in residual variance did not change significantly when considering four factors versus three factors. Each factor had a few Q sorts that especially contributed to defining that particular factor. The respondents corresponding to these defining Q sorts for each factor have been mentioned in the

following section on factor interpretation. The three chosen factors were then subjected to varimax rotation before the software conducted the final analysis. The three factors Histamine H2 receptor together had 26 defining Q sorts (two Q sorts loaded individually on two other factors that did not meet the criteria of selecting a factor). The software also presented the factor array table (or a model Q sort). A factor array table contains the statement scores for each factor based on the weighted average of its defining Q sorts (Table 1). Simply put, a factor array represents the statement scores on a factor that a Q sort would assign if it were to load a hundred percent on that factor. The statement scores in this table were used in the final interpretation. Taking a conservative approach, distinguishing statements (that is, statements which were highlighted in the analysis as being significant to the interpretation of a particular factor) at p < 0.01 were also used in the interpretation, even though they might have had lower statement scores. Following the same logic, consensus statements (that is, statements that did not help in distinguishing among the three factors) at p < 0.01 were excluded from the interpretation of individual factors, even though some of them had higher statement score.

Discussion Earlier immunolabeling studies with C59 wnt in vivo polyclonal antibodies had revealed that the RPS2 antigen was over-expressed in 100% of prostate cancer luminal epithelial cells (n = 20 prostates examined). In contrast, the protein was not expressed in NPTX-1532, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), seminal vesicle (SV) or in skeletal or smooth muscle tissues from the same prostates with (or without) cancer foci [1]. Likewise, RPS2 (aka: PCADM-1) was not expressed by primary prostate tissue fibroblast

cultures, WI38 human fibroblasts, human peripheral blood lymphocytes or human hepatocyte cultures [1]. In this paper, we have examined whether the PCADM-1 gene/protein is normally over expressed in malignant prostate cancer. Western blots indicated benign prostate did not express the protein, whereas malignant prostate cancer expressed PCADM-1 and the amount of RPS2 expressed increased with the tumor grade. We have, therefore, focused on studies designed to test whether RPS2 over expression in prostate cancer cell lines is essential for cell survival. To our surprise, learn more we found in ‘anti-sense’ MEK162 mw knock-out experiments with a DNAZYM-1P which targeted the RPS2 mRNA, that gene expression was essential for cell survival, but only in cells which over expressed the RPS2 protein

(i.e. in PC-3 ML, LNCaP, CPTX-1532 and pBABE-IBC-10a-c-myc cells). In comparison, prostate cell lines expressing very little RPS2 (i.e. BPH-1, NPTX-1532 or IBC-10a cells) were not affected by the DNAZYM-1P treatment

even at high concentrations for prolonged intervals. That is, only the PC-3ML and pBABE- IBC-10a-c-myc cells which expressed elevated RPS2 underwent apoptosis and failed ioxilan to grow in response to DNAZYM-1P. NPTX-1532 or IBC-10a cells which failed to express detectable RPS2 did not undergo apoptosis. Likewise, DNAZYM-1P treatment of localized or metastatic tumors in SCID mice, completely eradicated the tumors, but did not inflict noticeable harm to normal mouse cells. We interpret this to mean that the over-expression of RPS2 might promote ribosomal biogenesis and growth of tumor cells and that the tumor cells acquire a dependence on RPS2 for survival. Thus, ‘knock-out’ of RPS2 results in a ‘shut-down’ of ribosomal biogenesis and a cascade of apoptotic events leading to inhibition of cell growth and apoptosis. Again, a similar response was not observed in normal cells since the temporary ‘knock-down’ of RPS2 mRNA had little impact on overall cell homeostasis. Perhaps more importantly, we found that DNAZYM-1P treatment of tumor bearing mice was a highly effective therapeutic approach to eradicating tumors and dramatically improving disease free mouse survival rates. We showed that the DNAZYM-1P eliminated PC-3ML tumors in mice (> 90%) and that treatment resulted in a significant increase in disease free mouse survival rates (> 80–100%) after discontinuation of the treatment for ~4 mos.

Metal nanoparticles Synthesis of engineered nanoparticles is usually done by the interaction of microorganisms, algae or plant extracts. It is quite obvious that nanomaterials may be useful or harmful in living system depending on their shape, size and above all the nature of specific metal ion. The effect of engineered metal nanoparticles of varying size and concentration on different parts of a variety of plants is given in Table 1. Table 1 Effects

of engineered metal nanoparticles on plants Nanoparticle Size (nm) Plant Concentration Effect References Aluminium   Corn, cucumber, lettuce, radish, rapeseed 2,000 mg L-1 No effect GSK872 research buy on germination [44] 1 to 100 Red kidney beans, ryegrass 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 mg L-1 No toxicity [45]   Radish, rapeseed 2,000 mg L-1 Improved root growth [44]   Ryegrass 2,000 mg L-1 Decreased root length [44]   Ryegrass 2,000 mg L-1 Reduced germination LY2874455 in vivo [44]   Corn, lettuce 2,000 mg L-1 Reduced root length [44] Copper   Lettuce 0.013% (w/w) No effect on germination, improved shoot/root ratio [13]   Mung bean <200 mg L-1 Reduced seedling growth [30]   Mung bean 800 mg L-1

Reduced shoot growth [30]   Wheat <200 mg L-1 Reduced root and seedling growth [30] 50 Zucchini 1,000 mg L-1 Reduced biomass

[46] 50 Zucchini 1,000 mg L-1 Reduced root growth [46] Dodecanethiol-functionalized gold   Lettuce 0.013% (w/w) No effect on germination, improved shoot/root ratio [13] Gold 10 Cucumber, lettuce 62, 100 and 116 mg L-1 Positive effect on germination index [47] Iron   Flax, meadow fescue, red clover, white clover 100, 250 and 500 mg L-1 No effect on germination [48]   Barley, ryegrass 100 and 250 mg L-1 No effect on germination [48]   Barley, flax, ryegrass 2,000 and 5,000 mg L-1 Completely inhibited germination [48]   GDC-0941 order Barley 300 mg L-1 Reduced Inositol oxygenase germination [48]   Flax, barley, ryegrass >1,500 mg L-1 No germination [48] Mixture of gold/copper   Lettuce 0.013% (w/w) No effect on germination, improved shoot/root ratio [13] Palladium entrapped in Al(OH)2 matrix   Lettuce 0.013% to 0.066% (w/w) No effect on germination, improved shoot/root ratio [13] Silicon 10 Zucchini 1,000 mg L-1 Completely inhibited germination [46] Silver 20 Flax 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mg L-1 No effect on germination [48] 2 Cucumber, lettuce 62, 100 and 116 mg L-1 Low to zero toxicity [47] 20.6 ± 3.1 Clover 0.01 mg kg-1 Reduced aboveground biomass [49] 0.1 mg kg-1 No effect on biomass [49] 1 mg kg-1 No effect on biomass [49] 10 Wheat 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 5.

There are several selleck chemicals proposed drug-loaded immunoliposome formulations that are used

in drug delivery applications [5–8], but there is still scant knowledge on how liposomes interact with the antibodies they incorporate [9, 10]. With the view of investigating interactions between liposomes and antibodies, we first set out to study the interactions between fatty acids and proteins by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Langmuir monolayers are widely used to model the biological GSK872 membrane surface in studies to understand the structure and function of biological membranes and the protein-lipid interactions [11]. The way proteins assemble on the lipid bilayer, either partially or fully embedded, and their ensuing stability should be considered before any experiment on the incorporation of proteins in the membrane is performed [12,

13]. In 1972, Singer and Nicolson made the important distinction between integral and peripheral membrane proteins in the fluid mosaic model of biological membranes [14]. Lipid-protein interactions that occur in the binary mixed system can be studied from data on miscibility, compressibility and thermodynamic stability from the isotherms obtained [15]. The analysed data would give an insight into learn more intermolecular interactions between the lipid and protein, thereby providing useful information on the different ways proteins associate with cell membranes. In our study, we used stearic acid (SA) to create a monolayer mimicking a half bilayer membrane, with various concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) incorporated onto the monolayer. BSA is a globular protein that is highly water soluble and readily available at low cost. Its structural similarity to the human homologue makes it a widely studied protein [16]. To the best of our knowledge, the behaviour of BSA next in a mixed lipid monolayer has not been studied in any great detail. The outcome of this initial study would provide indicators for future work on the interactions of other globular proteins, including antibodies,

in a mixed lipid monolayer. Methods Materials A spreading solution of stearic acid (Sigma-Aldrich, Palo Alto, CA, USA) was prepared by dissolving it in analytical grade chloroform (Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA). Various concentrations of bovine serum albumin (Carl Roth GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany) were prepared by dissolving in distilled water. Double-distilled water (processed by NANOpure Diamond Ultrapure Water System, Barnstead International, Dubuque, IA, USA) was used as the subphase throughout the study. Langmuir monolayer/mixed monolayer measurements A computer-controlled Langmuir balance (KSV 5000, Langmuir System, Helsinki, Finland) equipped with symmetric barriers and Teflon trough (total area 60,720 mm2) was used to determine the surface pressure (π)-molecular area (A) isotherms. The surface pressure of the films was measured to an accuracy of ±0.1 mN m-1 using a flame-cleansed high-purity platinum metal Wilhelmy plate (19.

Although a single small pseudoaneurysm AZD1390 that is located distal to the brachial bifurcation can be ligated [25], surgical excision with arterial reconstruction is the standard treatment. The arterial continuity should be restored with end-to-end anastomosis or a venous interposition graft [20, 27]. Endovascular stent-grafts implantation is a minimally invasive intervention with a high success rate. However,

the high cost of the device, luminal stenosis, and long-term complications, such as device failure, should be considered [28, 29]. Embolization of the sac is indicated when the sac is small and the pseudoaneurysm does not disturb the distal circulation. Embolization of the distal and proximal arterial segments is only indicated if collateral

circulation is sufficient [25]. US-guided compression was first introduced as a treatment of postangiographic femoral artery injury and also applied for treatment of a brachial artery pseudoaneurysm [30, 31]. However, there are limitations, such as a long procedural time, patient discomfort, and lower effectiveness with an anticoagulated patient. When there is infection, coexisting large hematomas with impending compartment syndrome, limb ischemia, skin ischemia, excessive patient discomfort, and unsuitable anatomy, US-guided compression is contraindicated [26]. Percutaneous thrombin injection is performed under US-guide and also conducted with the aid of intraluminal balloon occlusion [32, 33]. This has shown a high success rate and a low recurrence and complication rate. However, Selleck BLZ945 there have been several reports of complications, such as distal embolization, anaphylaxis, RANTES abscess formation, and pseudoaneurysm rupture. There can be complications including median nerve traction due to postoperative adhesion [24], true aneurysm formation [34] and Volkmann’s ischemic contracture [35]. This case did not show the generally observed symptoms of a pseudoaneurysm: swelling, thrill, and a mass-like see more lesion. A brachial artery

pseudoaneurysm was not suspected at first because the patient had visited the hospital with wound dehiscence, accompanied by oozing as the main complaint. It is difficult to perform an accurate physical examination after burn wound reconstruction because the surrounding tissue hardens as a result of fibrosis. This fibrosis of the surrounding tissues also helped to prevent continuous enlargement of the pseudoaneurysm in the present case. The pseudoaneurysm in this patient is likely to have formed gradually due to partial damage of the brachial artery wall during burn rehabilitation when the soft tissues adhered to the blood vessel tract, and due to burn-induced blood vessel injuries. As shown in Figure 4, the pseudoaneurysm originated from a slit-like opening of the brachial artery. And the surrounding neurovascular bundle sheath and muscles had fibrosis as a consequence of the severe burn injury.

In order to determine the location of the transcriptional start site (TSS) of the gene cluster, RNA was isolated from the jamaicamide producing strain of Lyngbya majuscula (JHB). First strand cDNA was synthesized using reverse

transcriptase and a reverse primer designed as a complement to the 5′ end of the jamA gene (Additional file 1: Table S1). Baf-A1 nmr Initial experiments creating second strand cDNA using the first strand cDNA as template found that an unusually long untranslated leader region of at least 500 bp preceded jamA. A primer extension experiment was conducted in which second strand cDNA was amplified in 50 bp increments beyond this 500 bp location. The experiment indicated that transcription of RNA began between 850 bp and 902 bp upstream VX-680 of the jamA ORF start site (selleck screening library Figure 2). Using comparisons to consensus promoter and transcription start regions in E. coli [28–30], a putative promoter was identified which, relative

to a probable TSS (844 bp upstream of jamA), included conserved hexamer RNA polymerase (RNAP) binding sites at -35 and -10 bp, a conserved extended -10 TGn region upstream of the -10 box, and an optimal DNA length between the hexamers (17 bp) (Figure 3). Figure 1 Structures of the jamaicamides and the jamaicamide biosynthetic gene cluster [6]. Genes associated with the pathway are represented medroxyprogesterone by black arrows, and genes flanking the pathway are represented in gray. Elevated arrows above the upstream regions of selected

open reading frames indicate where promoter activity was detected using the β-galactosidase reporter assay. The region upstream of jamQ did not have any detectable promoter activity in the assay. Figure 2 Transcription start site (TSS) primer extension experiment using first strand cDNA upstream of jamA (top) or jam fosmid (bottom) as PCR templates. The upstream region sizes (e.g., 600-0, 650-0) are indicated above each lane. Figure 3 Location of identified promoter regions and transcription start site (TSS) upstream of jamA. The consensus -35 and -10 boxes of each region are underlined. The conserved extended -10 TGn box of the primary pathway promoter is double underlined. The putative TSS is noted at +1, and was chosen based on similarities to the consensus E. coli TSS nucleotide region [29]. The first four codons of the jamA gene are noted at the end of the sequence. We also evaluated whether the jamaicamide gene cluster contained non-transcribed intergenic regions between ORFs that could indicate the presence of breaks in the transcripts.

Gelatin was included as a negative control. PLG bound to leptospires and to several recombinant proteins, acting selleck compound as PLG receptor, can acquire proteolytic activity in the presence of an activator, as we have previously shown [17–19, 21]. Therefore, we investigated whether Lsa33 bound to PLG could also generate the enzymatically active plasmin.

As a negative control, we have included the recombinant protein Lsa63, previously shown to be non-reactive with PLG [21]. Microplates were coated with the test protein, blocked, and then incubated with PLG. Unbound PLG was washed away and the urokinase – type PLG activator (uPA) was added together with a plasmin – specific chromogenic substrate. The reaction was carried out overnight and the plasmin activity was evaluated by measuring the cleavage of the substrate (absorbance at 405 nm). As shown in Figure 6D, the PLG captured by the Lsa33 protein could be converted into plasmin, as demonstrated indirectly by specific STAT inhibitor proteolytic activity. The negative controls Lsa63 and BSA did not show any proteolytic activity, similar

to the controls lacking PLG, uPA or the chromogenic substrate. The interaction of recombinant proteins with C4bp was studied in function of protein concentration. We have employed anti –Lsa33 and anti-Lsa25 polyclonal (Figure 6E) and anti-His tag monoclonal antibodies (Figure 6F) to probe the binding. Dose – response curves were obtained with both antibodies but the best response was achieved with anti-His tag monoclonal

(Figure 6F), probably because of their homogeneous nature. However, C4bp was not saturated with the protein concentration range employed and therefore the K D could not be calculated. Lsa63, a His – tag recombinant protein that does not bind C4bp was also included, as a negative control, showed very low interaction and did not respond to increase protein concentration. Inhibition of L. interrogans attachment to laminin or to PLG by Lsa33 and Lsa25 It has been reported that the several recombinant proteins with adhesin activity revealed an inhibitory effect on the Proteasome inhibitor Binding of leptospires to ECM macromolecules [6]. We therefore performed experiments to assess whether P-type ATPase the recombinant proteins had an effect on the binding of Leptospira to laminin or PLG by employing ELISA to detect the interaction in function of protein concentration (0–10 μg). The results demonstrate that the addition of increasing concentrations of Lsa33 reduced the leptospiral binding to laminin and to PLG molecules in a dose – dependent manner (Figure 7A). Binding decrease in the number of leptospires interacting to laminin and PLG was statistically significant with 1.25 μg of Lsa33 (*, P < 0.05). This interference was also evaluated with the binding of leptospires to laminin in the presence of increasing concentrations of Lsa25 (0–10 μg), resulting in a similar effect as obtained with Lsa33 (*, P < 0.05) (Figure 7B).

The clinical and pathological data collected included gender, age, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status, serum

alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, tumor number, tumor size, degree of tumor differentiation, Child-Pugh class, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage, presence of cirrhosis, ascites, tumor thrombus, and extrahepatic metastasis. The PFS and OS were defined as the time from initiation of sorafenib therapy to the time of disease progression detected by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, or death, respectively. Immunohistochemical staining Expression of VEGFR-2, PDGFR-β, and c-Met were determined by two-step PV-6000 Talazoparib clinical trial immunohistochemistry staining. Specimen slices were dewaxed, rinsed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Antigen retrieval was performed by placing the slides in a high pressure cooker in 0.01 mmol/L citrate buffer, pH 6.0, for 3 minutes at 100°C, followed by cooling for 20 min at room temperature,

rinsing in PBS, treating with 3% hydrogen peroxide in deionized water for 10 min to block endogenous peroxidase, and rinsing again in PBS. Specimens were then incubated at 37°C for 1 hour with primary antibody against VEGFR-2 (dilution ratio 1:50; Santa Cruz VS-4718 order Biotechnology Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), PDGFR-β (dilution ratio 1:40; Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc., CA), and c-Met (rabbit anti-human c-Met monoclonal antibody working solution; Epitomics, California, US), followed by rinsing three times in PBS for 2 min each time. Specimens were incubated at 37°C for 20 min with universal IgG antibody-HRP polymer (Zhongshan Jinqiao Co., Beijing, China), and rinsed three times in PBS AUY-922 cost for 2 min each time. Specimens

were placed in DAB solution for color development, rinsed with distilled water, stained again, dehydrated, and sealed with transparent strips. Primary antibodies were replaced with PBS to produce a negative control, and a known positive tissue slice was used as a positive control. Analysis of immunohistochemistry results Two pathologists who were blind to diagnosis independently inspected the slices. The rate of agreement between the two pathologists was 95%. The scores from both pathologists were averaged to provide Phosphoglycerate kinase the final score for each case. A combination of positive cell count and staining intensity was used for scoring. Positive cell count was scored based on the average percentage of positive cells per 100 cells in 10 high-power fields, as follows: 0–10%, score 0; 11–25%, score 1; 26–50%, score 2; 51–75%, score 3; and >75%, score 4. Staining intensity was scored as follows: negative, score 0; faint yellow, score 1; yellow or deep yellow, score 2; brown or dark brown, score 3. The final score was obtained by multiplying the cell count and staining intensity scores. For VEGFR-2 and c-Met, a score of ≥ 5 was defined as high expression and a score of < 5 was defined low expression.

Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA, SDTA851e) was used to evaluate the weight loss ratio of the products.

The tests were conducted at a heating rate of 10°C/min from room temperature to 900°C under nitrogen. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, HITACHI SU1510, Selleck GW3965 Chiyoda-ku, Japan) was employed to observe the surface morphology of various products, whose accelerating voltage was 1.0 kV. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, H-800-1) was employed to observe the microstructure of various products, whose accelerating voltage was 20 kV. Results and discussion Fourier Selleckchem Barasertib transform infrared spectroscopy The FTIR spectra of f-GNPs, PAA-GNPs, siloxane-GNPs, and SiO2/GNPs hybrid material were presented in Figure  2. The peaks at 3,440 cm−1 (Figure  2a) which were attributed to stretching vibration of O-H groups could be observed clearly. The results indicated that GNPs had been functionalized successfully as designed. The peaks at 1,190 and 1,100 cm−1 (Figure  2b) were assigned to stretching vibration of C-O-C groups between GNPs and PAA, which indicated that PAA was grafted onto the surface

of GNPs successfully. As showed in Figure  3c, Ro 61-8048 cost the peaks at 1,556 and 3,300 cm−1 were attributed to bending vibration and stretching vibrating of N-H groups of amide, respectively. And the peak at 1,640 cm−1 (Figure  2c) was attributed to stretching vibration of C = O groups of amide. Exoribonuclease Meanwhile, the peaks at 1,121 and 1,045 cm−1 were attributed to stretching vibrating of Si-O and C-O groups of siloxane respectively. Also, the peak at 2,930 cm−1 was assigned to stretching vibration of C-H groups of alkyl groups. All these features confirmed that KH550 have linked with PAA-GNPs successfully. Figure  2d showed the spectrum of SiO2/GNPs hybrid material, compared with Figure  2c; it was clear that there appeared new stretching vibration peak of Si-O-Si groups at about 1,096 cm−1, and the peak at 796 cm−1 was attributed to the symmetric stretching of Si-O-Si groups as designed in Figure  1. All these data indicated that SiO2 fabricated on the surface of GNPs successfully. Figure 2 FTIR spectra of (a) f-GNPs, (b) PAA-GNPs,

(c) siloxane-GNPs, and (d) SiO 2 /GNPs hybrid material. Figure 3 Raman spectra of (a) f-GNPs and (b) SiO 2 /GNPs hybrid material. Raman spectra Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and useful technique to investigate the ordered or disordered crystal structures and assessing defects of graphene-based materials. It is well known that the typical features of carbon materials in Raman spectra are the G band at 1,580 cm−1 deriving from the E2g phonon of C sp2 atoms and D band at 1,350 cm−1 considered as a breathing mode of k-point photos of A1g symmetry which is assigned to local defects and disorder mostly at the edges of f-GNP platelet [33, 34]. Raman spectra of f-GNP and SiO2/GNPs hybrid material were shown in Figure  3.