Highly Sensitive Determination of Concanavalin A Lectin Based on Silver-Enhanced Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence of Luminol

A highly sensitive bioassay based on silver-enhanced luminol electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) is reported for the determination of concanavalin A lectin. A gold electrode modified with the mixed self-assembled monolayer of thiolated mannoside and mercaptohexanol was used to selectively capture a target lectin, concanavalin A, through the specific interaction between mannoside and concanavalin A. Mannoside-functionalized gold nanoparticles were further introduced to the opposite binding sites of the tetrameric concanavalin A to form a sandwich-type complex. Silver enhancement step was performed to coat the surface of mannose-stabilized gold nanoparticles with silver. The deposited silver was dissolved in an acidic solution and further neutralized. The resulting silver ions were finally detected with luminol electrogenerated chemiluminescence, in which the silver ions greatly enhanced the chemiluminescence intensity. The present electrogenerated chemiluminescence bioassay detected concanavalin A from 0.190 to 10.0?µg/mL (r²?=?0.999) with a detection limit of 0.146?µg/mL (signal to noise ratio?=?3), which is much lower compared to previously reported methods such as microgravimetry, surface plasmon resonance, and colorimetry. Furthermore, the present bioassay showed good selectivity over possible interfering lectin proteins.     

Effects of an ultrashort prepulse on soft X-ray generation from an aluminium plasma produced by femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser pulses

The influence of a prepulse on soft X-ray emission in the range of 50–200 from an aluminium plasma produced by 130 fs Ti: Sapphire laser pulses with an intensity of 10¹⁴ W/cm² at normal incidence is studied. An ultrashort prepulse with an intensity of 10¹³ W/cm² significantly enhances soft X-ray emission when there is a long time separation ( > 100 ps) between the prepulse and an intense main pulse. It is also observed for the first time that a prepulse with a short pulse time separation can slightly reduce soft X-ray emission, contrary to the previous work done using 248 nm laser pulses. This can be explained qualitatively in terms of the dependence of absorption on the length scale.     

Generation of multiorder Stokes and anti-Stokes lines in a Brillouin erbium-fiber laser with a Sagnac loop mirror

We have demonstrated a novel multiwavelength lasing scheme in which a Brillouin erbium-fiber laser with a Sagnac loop mirror and a metal-coated planar mirror were used. The Sagnac loop permitted the simultaneous presence of a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) pump and Stokes lines within the loop and thus generated high-order Stokes and anti-Stokes waves through a four-wave mixing (FWM) process. A total of 34 lines of Stokes and anti-Stokes waves with 0.08-nm line spacing was generated through the SBS and FWM processes with 1.5-mW SBS pump power at 1561 nm and 80-mW erbium-doped-fiber pump power.     

Do oxygen molecules contribute to oxygen diffusion and thermal donor formation in silicon?

In- and out-diffusion experiments of oxygen in silicon indicate the existence of an oxygen-containing species diffusing much faster than interstitial oxygen at temperatures below about 700°C. The formation of oxygen-related thermal donors in the temperature range around 450°C also requires a fast diffusing species. The paper examines the possibility of this fast diffusing species beingmolecular oxygen, as had been suggested earlier. Special emphasis will be placed on experimental results which have become available since that time. These results allow one to relate thermal donor formation to the loss of interstitial oxygen and to oxygen precipitation. The role of carbon is also considered in this context.Paper submitted as contribution to special issue on Molecule-Like Defects in Crystalline Semiconductors. Appl. Phys. 48/1 January 1989     

Highly fluorescent photochromic diarylethene in the closed-ring form

A highly fluorescent diarylethene in the closed-ring form was synthesized by the oxidation of 1,2-bis(2-methyl-1-benzothiophene-3-yl)perfluorocyclopentene (BTF6).     

Synthesis,structure and methyl methacrylate polymerization of cobalt(II), zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes with N,N′,N-bidentate versus N,N′,N-tridentate N,N′,N-bis((1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)amines

Mononuclear Co(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes derived from bidentate or tridentate N,N′,N-bis((1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)amines (L_n = L_A, L_B), where L_A is N,N-bis((1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)-3-methoxypropan-1-amine and L_B is 3-methoxy-N,N-bis((3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)propan-1-amine, have been synthesized and characterized. The geometry at Co(II) and Cd(II) for [L_ACoCl₂], [L_BCoCl₂] and [L_BCdBr₂] with N,N′,N-tridentate ligands (L_n = L_A, L_B) can be described as a distorted trigonal bipyramid achieved by coordinative interaction of N_pyrazole, two halides and the nitrogen of amine moiety. However, the molecular structure of four-coordinate [L_AZnCl₂] can be best described as tetrahedral, resulting in an eight-membered chelate ring. [L_ACoCl₂] polymerized methyl methacrylate in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane at 60 °C and resulted in poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) with higher molecular weight and narrower polydispersity index compared to the other synthesized complexes. However, all the synthesized complexes yielded syndiospecific PMMA, characterized using ¹H NMR spectroscopy, with ca. 0.70.