TY - JOUR A1 - Svaneborg, Carsten A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Fleck, Franz A1 - Everaers, Ralf T1 - Multiscale approach to equilibrating model polymer melts JF - Physical Review E N2 - We present an effective and simple multiscale method for equilibrating Kremer Grest model polymer melts of varying stiffness. In our approach, we progressively equilibrate the melt structure above the tube scale, inside the tube and finally at the monomeric scale. We make use of models designed to be computationally effective at each scale. Density fluctuations in the melt structure above the tube scale are minimized through a Monte Carlo simulated annealing of a lattice polymer model. Subsequently the melt structure below the tube scale is equilibrated via the Rouse dynamics of a force-capped Kremer-Grest model that allows chains to partially interpenetrate. Finally the Kremer-Grest force field is introduced to freeze the topological state and enforce correct monomer packing. We generate 15 melts of 500 chains of 10.000 beads for varying chain stiffness as well as a number of melts with 1.000 chains of 15.000 monomers. To validate the equilibration process we study the time evolution of bulk, collective, and single-chain observables at the monomeric, mesoscopic, and macroscopic length scales. Extension of the present method to longer, branched, or polydisperse chains, and/or larger system sizes is straightforward. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.94.032502 SN - 2470-0053 VL - 94 IS - 032502 PB - AIP Publishing CY - Melville, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwab, Lukas A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Lacayo, Jorge A1 - Wilhelm, Manfred T1 - Fourier-Transform Rheology of Unvulcanized, Carbon Black Filled Styrene Butadiene Rubber JF - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering N2 - Rubber materials filled with reinforcing fillers display nonlinear rheological behavior at small strain amplitudes below γ0 < 0.1. Nevertheless, rheological data are analyzed mostly in terms of linear parameters, such as shear moduli (G′, G″), which loose their physical meaning in the nonlinear regime. In this work styrene butadiene rubber filled with carbon black (CB) under large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) is analyzed in terms of the nonlinear parameter I3/1. Three different CB grades are used and the filler load is varied between 0 and 70 phr. It is found that I3/1(φ) is most sensitive to changes of the total accessible filler surface area at low strain amplitudes (γ0 = 0.32). The addition of up to 70 phr CB leads to an increase of I3/1(φ) by a factor of more than ten. The influence of the measurement temperature on I3/1 is pronounced for CB levels above the percolation threshold. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201500356 SN - 1439-2054 VL - 301 IS - 4 SP - 457 EP - 468 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harish, Ajay B. A1 - Wriggers, Peter A1 - Jungk, Juliane A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Recker, Carla T1 - Mesoscale Constitutive Modeling of Non-Crystallizing Filled Elastomers JF - Computational Mechanics N2 - Elastomers are exceptional materials owing to their ability to undergo large deformations before failure. However, due to their very low stiffness, they are not always suitable for industrial applications. Addition of filler particles provides reinforcing effects and thus enhances the material properties that render them more versatile for applications like tyres etc. However, deformation behavior of filled polymers is accompanied by several nonlinear effects like Mullins and Payne effect. To this day, the physical and chemical changes resulting in such nonlinear effect remain an active area of research. In this work, we develop a heterogeneous (or multiphase) constitutive model at the mesoscale explicitly considering filler particle aggregates, elastomeric matrix and their mechanical interaction through an approximate interface layer. The developed constitutive model is used to demonstrate cluster breakage, also, as one of the possible sources for Mullins effect observed in non-crystallizing filled elastomers. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00466-015-1251-1 SN - 1432-0924 VL - 57 SP - 653 EP - 677 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Sorich, Maren A1 - Bartz, Alexander A1 - Siegert, Petra A1 - Willenberg, Holger S. A1 - Lisdat, Fred A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Towards an adrenaline biosensor based on substrate recycling amplification in combination with an enzyme logic gate JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - An amperometric biosensor using a substrate recycling principle was realized for the detection of low adrenaline concentrations (1 nM) by measurements in phosphate buffer and Ringer’s solution at pH 6.5 and pH 7.4, respectively. In proof-of-concept experiments, a Boolean logic-gate principle has been applied to develop a digital adrenaline biosensor based on an enzyme AND logic gate. The obtained results demonstrate that the developed digital biosensor is capable for a rapid qualitative determination of the presence/absence of adrenaline in a YES/NO statement. Such digital biosensor could be used in clinical diagnostics for the control of a correct insertion of a catheter in the adrenal veins during adrenal venous-sampling procedure. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2016.06.064 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 237 SP - 190 EP - 195 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Jin A1 - Heimbach, Tycho A1 - Scheer, Nico A1 - Barve, Avantika A1 - Li, Wenkui A1 - Lin, Wen A1 - He, Handan T1 - Clinical Exposure Boost Predictions by Integrating Cytochrome P450 3A4–Humanized Mouse Studies With PBPK Modeling JF - Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences N2 - NVS123 is a poorly water-soluble protease 56 inhibitor in clinical development. Data from in vitro hepatocyte studies suggested that NVS123 is mainly metabolized by CYP3A4. As a consequence of limited solubility, NVS123 therapeutic plasma exposures could not be achieved even with high doses and optimized formulations. One approach to overcome NVS123 developability issues was to increase plasma exposure by coadministrating it with an inhibitor of CYP3A4 such as ritonavir. A clinical boost effect was predicted by using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. However, initial boost predictions lacked sufficient confidence because a key parameter, fraction of drug metabolized by CYP3A4 (ƒₘCYP3A4), could not be estimated with accuracy on account of disconnects between in vitro and in vivo preclinical data. To accurately estimate ƒₘCYP3A4 in human, an in vivo boost effect study was conducted using CYP3A4-humanized mouse model which showed a 33- to 56-fold exposure boost effect. Using a top-down approach, human ƒₘCYP3A4 for NVS123 was estimated to be very high and included in the human PBPK modeling to support subsequent clinical study design. The combined use of the in vivo boost study in CYP3A4-humanized mouse model mice along with PBPK modeling accurately predicted the clinical outcome and identified a significant NVS123 exposure boost (∼42-fold increase) with ritonavir. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2016.01.021 SN - 0022-3549 VL - Volume 105 IS - Issue 4 SP - 1398 EP - 1404 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dallas, Shannon A1 - Salphati, Laurent A1 - Gomez-Zepeda, David A1 - Wanek, Thomas A1 - Chen, Liangfu A1 - Chu, Xiaoyan A1 - Kunta, Jeevan A1 - Mezler, Mario A1 - Menet, Marie-Claude A1 - Chasseigneaux, Stephanie A1 - Declèves, Xavier A1 - Langer, Oliver A1 - Pierre, Esaie A1 - DiLoreto, Karen A1 - Hoft, Carolin A1 - Laplanche, Loic A1 - Pang, Jodie A1 - Pereira, Tony A1 - Andonian, Clara A1 - Simic, Damir A1 - Rode, Anja A1 - Yabut, Jocelyn A1 - Zhang, Xiaolin A1 - Scheer, Nico T1 - Generation and Characterization of a Breast Cancer Resistance Protein Humanized Mouse Model JF - Molecular Pharmacology N2 - Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is expressed in various tissues, such as the gut, liver, kidney and blood brain barrier (BBB), where it mediates the unidirectional transport of substrates to the apical/luminal side of polarized cells. Thereby BCRP acts as an efflux pump, mediating the elimination or restricting the entry of endogenous compounds or xenobiotics into tissues and it plays important roles in drug disposition, efficacy and safety. Bcrp knockout mice (Bcrp−/−) have been used widely to study the role of this transporter in limiting intestinal absorption and brain penetration of substrate compounds. Here we describe the first generation and characterization of a mouse line humanized for BCRP (hBCRP), in which the mouse coding sequence from the start to stop codon was replaced with the corresponding human genomic region, such that the human transporter is expressed under control of the murine Bcrp promoter. We demonstrate robust human and loss of mouse BCRP/Bcrp mRNA and protein expression in the hBCRP mice and the absence of major compensatory changes in the expression of other genes involved in drug metabolism and disposition. Pharmacokinetic and brain distribution studies with several BCRP probe substrates confirmed the functional activity of the human transporter in these mice. Furthermore, we provide practical examples for the use of hBCRP mice to study drug-drug interactions (DDIs). The hBCRP mouse is a promising model to study the in vivo role of human BCRP in limiting absorption and BBB penetration of substrate compounds and to investigate clinically relevant DDIs involving BCRP. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.115.102079 SN - 1521-0111 VL - 89 IS - 5 SP - 492 EP - 504 PB - ASPET CY - Bethesda, Md. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rösch, C. A1 - Kratz, F. A1 - Hering, T. A1 - Trautmann, S. A1 - Umanskaya, N. A1 - Tippkötter, Nils A1 - Müller-Renno, C.M. A1 - Ulber, Roland A1 - Hannig, M. A1 - Ziegler, C. T1 - Albumin-lysozyme interactions: cooperative adsorption on titanium and enzymatic activity JF - Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces N2 - The interplay of albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LYZ) adsorbed simultaneously on titanium was analyzed by gel electrophoresis and BCA assay. It was found that BSA and lysozyme adsorb cooperatively. Additionally, the isoelectric point of the respective protein influences the adsorption. Also, the enzymatic activity of lysozyme and amylase (AMY) in mixtures with BSA was considered with respect to a possible influence of protein-protein interaction on enzyme activity. Indeed, an increase of lysozyme activity in the presence of BSA could be observed. In contrast, BSA does not influence the activity of amylase. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2016.09.048 VL - 149 IS - 1 SP - 115 EP - 121 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wulfhorst, Helene A1 - Duwe, Anna-Maria A1 - Merseburg, Johannes A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Compositional analysis of pretreated (beech) wood using differential scanning calorimetry and multivariate data analysis JF - Tetrahedron N2 - The composition of plant biomass varies depending on the feedstock and pre-treatment conditions and influences its processing in biorefineries. In order to ensure optimal process conditions, the quantitative proportion of the main polymeric components of the pre-treated biomass has to be determined. Current standard procedures for biomass compositional analysis are complex, the measurements are afflicted with errors and therefore often not comparable. Hence, new powerful analytical methods are urgently required to characterize biomass. In this contribution, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was applied in combination with multivariate data analysis (MVA) to detect the cellulose content of the plant biomass pretreated by Liquid Hot Water (LHW) and Organosolv processes under various conditions. Unlike conventional techniques, the developed analytic method enables the accurate quantification of monosaccharide content of the plant biomass without any previous sample preparation. It is easy to handle and avoids errors in sample preparation. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2016.04.029 VL - 72 IS - 46 SP - 7329 EP - 7334 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roth, Jasmine A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Evaluation of lignocellulosic material for butanol production using enzymatic hydrolysate medium JF - Cellulose Chemistry and Technology N2 - Butanol is a promising gasoline additive and platform chemical that can be readily produced via acetone-butanolethanol (ABE) fermentation from pretreated lignocellulosic materials. This article examines lignocellulosic material from beech wood for ABE fermentation, using Clostridium acetobutylicum. First, the utilization of both C₅₋ (xylose) and C₆₋ (glucose) sugars as sole carbon source was investigated in static cultivation, using serum bottles and synthetic medium. The utilization of pentose sugar resulted in a solvent yield of 0.231 g·g_sugar⁻¹, compared to 0.262 g·g_sugar⁻¹ using hexose. Then, the Organosolv pretreated crude cellulose fibers (CF) were enzymatically decomposed, and the resulting hydrolysate medium was analyzed for inhibiting compounds (furans, organic acids, phenolics) and treated with ionexchangers for detoxification. Batch fermentation in a bioreactor using CF hydrolysate medium resulted in a total solvent yield of 0.20 gABE·g_sugar⁻¹. Y1 - 2016 VL - 50 IS - 3-4 SP - 405 EP - 410 PB - Editura Academiei Romane CY - Bukarest ER -