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Recently, more attentions have been focused on the exploration of hemicelluloses in the paper industry. In this work, xylan-grafted-polyacrylamide (xylan-g-PAM) biopolymers were synthesized by the graft copolymerization of xylan with acrylamide, and their interaction with fibers was also investigated to improve waste newspaper pulp properties with or without cationic fiber fines. The influences of synthesis conditions were studied on the grafting ratio and the grafting efficiency of biopolymers. Prepared biopolymers were characterized by FTIR, 13C NMR, TGA and rheology. It was found that the grafting of PAM on xylan was conductive to improve xylan properties, such as the solubility in water, rheological features, and thermal stability, and the maximum grafting ratio was achieved to 14.7%. Moreover, xylan-g-PAM could obviously enhance the mechanical properties of waste paper pulps. Xylan-g-PAM also played the dominant role in increasing the strength of paper in the combination with prepared cationic fine fibers. When the amounts of xylan-g-PAM and cationic fiber fines were 1.0 wt % and 0.5 wt %, the mechanical properties such as the tensile index was increased by 49.09%, tear index was increased by 36.54%, and the burst index was increased by 20.67%, when compared with the control handsheets. Therefore, xylan-g-PAM as the new biopolymer could be promising in the application of strength agents for the paper industry as well as cationic fiber fines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Overexpression of cyclin D1 dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) is a common feature of many human cancers including leukemia. LEE011 is a novel inhibitor of both CDK4 and 6. To date, the molecular function of LEE011 in leukemia remains unclear. Methods: Leukemia cell growth and apoptosis following LEE011 treatment was assessed through CCK-8 and annexin V/propidium iodide staining assays. Cell senescence was assessed by β-galactosidase staining and p16INK4a expression analysis. Gene expression profiles of LEE011 treated HL-60 cells were investigated using an Arraystar Human LncRNA array. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analysis were then used to analyze the differentially expressed genes from the cluster analysis. Results: Our studies demonstrated that LEE011 inhibited proliferation of leukemia cells and could induce apoptosis. Hoechst 33,342 staining analysis showed DNA fragmentation and distortion of nuclear structures following LEE011 treatment. Cell cycle analysis showed LEE011 significantly induced cell cycle G1 arrest in seven of eight acute leukemia cells lines, the exception being THP-1 cells. β-Galactosidase staining analysis and p16INK4a expression analysis showed that LEE011 treatment can induce cell senescence of leukemia cells. LncRNA microarray analysis showed 2083 differentially expressed mRNAs and 3224 differentially expressed lncRNAs in LEE011-treated HL-60 cells compared with controls. Molecular function analysis showed that LEE011 induced senescence in leukemia cells partially through downregulation of the transcriptional expression of MYBL2. Conclusions: We demonstrate for the first time that LEE011 treatment results in inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of G1 arrest and cellular senescence in leukemia cells. LncRNA microarray analysis showed differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs in LEE011-treated HL-60 cells and we demonstrated that LEE011 induces cellular senescence partially through downregulation of the expression of MYBL2. These results may open new lines of investigation regarding the molecular mechanism of LEE011 induced cellular senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the natural macromolecules potentially used as the scaffold material in hydrogels, xylan has aroused great interest in many fields because of its biocompatibility, low toxicity, and biodegradability. In this work, new pH and thermoresponsive hydrogels were prepared by the cross-linking polymerization of maleic anhydride-modified xylan (MAHX) with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and acrylic acid (AA) under UV irradiation to form MAHX-g-P(NIPAm-co-AA) hydrogels. The pore volume, the mechanical properties, and the release rate for drugs of hydrogels could be controlled by the degree of substitution of MAHX. These hydrogels were characterized by swelling ability, lower critical solution temperature (LCST), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and SEM. Furthermore, the cumulative release rate was investigated for acetylsalicylic acid and theophylline, as well as the cytocompatibility MAHX-based hydrogels. Results showed that MAHX-based hydrogels exhibited excellent swelling-deswelling properties, uniform porous structure, and the temperature/pH dual sensitivity. In vitro, the cumulative release rate of acetylsalicylic acid for MAHX-based hydrogels was higher than that for theophylline, and in the gastrointestinal sustained drug release study, the acetylsalicylic acid release rate was extremely slow during the initial 3 h in the gastric fluid (24.26%), and then the cumulative release rate reached to 90.5% after sustained release for 5 h in simulated intestinal fluid. The cytotoxicity experiment demonstrated that MAHX-based hydrogels could promote cell proliferation and had satisfactory biocompatibility with NIH3T3 cells. These results indicated that MAHX-based hydrogels, as new drug carriers, had favorable behavior for intestinal-targeted drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acylated xylan-based magnetic Fe3O4 nanocomposite hydrogels (ACX-MNP-gels) were prepared by fabricating Fe3O4 nanoctahedra in situ within a hydrogel matrix which was synthesized by the copolymerization of acylated xylan (ACX) with acrylamide and N-isopropylacrylamide under ultraviolet irradiation. The size of the Fe3O4 fabricated within the hydrogel matrix could be adjusted through controlling the crosslinking concentrations (C). The magnetic hydrogels showed desirable magnetic and mechanical properties, which were confirmed by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, physical property measurement system, SEM, TGA, and compression test. Moreover, the catalytic performance of the magnetic hydrogels was explored. The magnetic hydrogels (C = 7.5 wt %) presented excellent catalytic activity and provided a sensitive response to H2O2 detection even at a concentration level of 5 x 10-6 mol⋅L-1. This approach to preparing magnetic hydrogels loaded with Fe3O4 nanoparticles endows xylan-based hydrogels with new promising applications in biotechnology and environmental chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylan, the major component of hemicellulose in hardwoods and various grasses, has great potential for bio-refinery applications such as the production of energy and high value-added chemicals. A convenient and environment-friendly catalytic process for the conversion of xylan into furfural in ultrapure water using chromium-loaded perovskite-type oxides as the solid catalyst has been investigated. The crystalline and morphologies of the catalysts were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscope analysis (SEM), and the reactions were optimized by varying different parameters. It was found that LaCo0.8Cu0.2O3 modified with 1.5wt% chromium had the highest catalytic activity in the transformation of xylan to furfural at a temperature of 433 K in a 1:600 weight ratio of xylan to hyperpure water for 10 h; the corresponding yield was 21.2% for furfural. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for the dehydration of xylan to furfural using Cr-LaCo0.8Cu0.2O3 as a catalyst is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation of bioenergy, new functional polymers, or chemicals and biomaterials from hemicelluloses are important uses for biomass. In this paper, a novel functional biopolymer with carbon−carbon double bond and carboxyl groups was prepared by a homogeneous esterification of xylan-rich hemicelluloses (XH) with maleic anhydride in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) ionic liquid using LiOH as catalyst. The biopolymers with degrees of substitution (DS) between 0.095 and 0.75 were accessible in a completely homogeneous system by changing reaction temperature, reaction time, the dosage of catalyst, and the molar ratio of maleic anhydride to anhydroxylose unit in XH. Results obtained from FT-IR and 13C NMR spectroscopies confirmed the structure of hemicellulosic derivatives with carbon−carbon double bond and carboxyl groups, implying an efficient method to prepare a novel and important functional biopolymer for biomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of hemicelluloses, isolated from wheat straw, with acrylamide in alkaline aqueous solution was investigated. The degree of substitution (DS, up to 0.65) of the products could be obtained by adjusting the molar ratios of reagent to xylose unit in hemicelluloses (1.0-10.0) and the molar ratios of catalyst to xylose unit in hemicelluloses (0.5-1.6). Changes in the structure of hemicelluloses were verified by FT-IR and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopies. The results showed that carbamoylethyl groups surely were grafted onto the main chain of hemicelluloses. Moreover, it was also found that the saponification of carbamoylethyl groups to carboxyl groups occurred in alkaline medium. The behavior of modified hemicelluloses was monitored by means of thermo gravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (TGA). It was found that the products had a lower thermal stability than the native hemicelluloses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid phthaloylation and succinylation of wheat straw hemicelluloses with phthaloyl dichloride (PdC) and succinyl chloride (SC) in N,N-dimethylformamide/lithium chloride (DMF/LiCl) system using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as a catalyst was achieved for only 5 minutes at 50 °C by microwave irradiation. The degree of substitution (DS) ranged between 0.43 and 1.47. The effect of the molar ratios of xylose units in hemicelluloses to phthaloyl dichloride or succinyl chloride on the degree of substitution was investigated. It was found that the reactivity of succinyl chloride was higher as compared to Phthaloyl dichloride under similar experimental conditions. 13C NMR studies revealed that the esterification occurred at the C-3 and C-2 positions in the β-D-xylose units of hemicelluloses, but preferentially at C-3 position. However, it should be noted that microwave irradiation did result in more degradation of the macromolecular hemicelluloses than conventional heating technique as shown by a lower thermal stability of the hemicellulosic derivatives obtained by microwave irradiation than those obtained by conventional heating technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]