Direct synthesis of aqueous quantum dots through 4,4'-bipyridine-based twin ligand strategy

We report a new class of derivatized 4,4'-bipyridinium ligands for use in synthesizing highly fluorescent, extremely stable, water-soluble CdSe and CdTe quantum dots (QDs) for bioconjugation. We employed an evaporation-condensation technique, also known as solvated metal atom dispersion (SMAD), followed by a digestive ripening procedure. This method has been used to synthesize both metal nanoparticles and semiconductors in the gram scale with several stabilizing ligands in various solvents. The SMAD technique comprised evaporation condensation and stabilization of CdSe or CdTe in tetrahydrofuran. The as-prepared product was then digestively ripened in both water and dimethyl formamide, leading to narrowing of the particle size distributions. The ligands were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution (S(N)2) reactions using 4,4'-bipyridine as a nucleophile. Confocal microscopy images revealed the orange color of the nanocrystalline QDs with diameters of ~5 nm. The size has been confirmed by using transmission electron microscopy. As a part of our strategy, 85% of the 4,4'-bipyridinium salt was synthesized as propionic acid derivative and used to both stabilize the QDs in water and label basic amino acids and different biomarkers utilizing the carboxylic acid functional group. Fifteen percent of the 4,4'-bipyridinium salt was synthesized as N-propyl maleimide and used as a second ligand to label any protein containing the amino acid cysteine by means of a 1,4-Michael addition.     

Preparation and characterization of poly-N-vinyl carbazole langmuir-blodgett films

Langmuir monolayers of poly-N-vinyl carbazole (PNVK) were obtained by dispensing PNVK dissolved in tetrahydrofuran onto an air-water interface. Surface pressure-area isotherms of mixed monolayer of the PNVK were studied under different subphase conditions such as temperature and pH of the subphase. It was demonstrated that the monolayer of PNVK remained stable over a temperature range of 10–40°C. The area per molecule of the solid phase was found to be 31Ų. These monolayers were transferred onto indium-tin-oxide-coated glass plates and characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques.     

Possibility of weakly charged nonlinear solitary dust clouds near the continuum threshold of dust population in a quasi-neutral dusty plasma

Considering the Boltzmann response of the plasma ions and electrons and inertial dynamics of the charged dust grains, the possibility of very weak compressive soliton near the continuum limit of the dust population has been inferred. It is concluded that the behaviour of such coherent structures could be well described by the numerical analysis of the derived nonlinear classical energy integral equation for bounded solutions. These seem to be higher order dispersive structures within acoustic limit of the nonlinear turbulence. It is observed that the dust density enhancement beyond the continuum threshold causes regular increment in width and amplitude of the soliton structures. It is found that the soliton amplitude sensitively depends on the massive impurity’s population. These coherent structures could be visualized as weakly charged solitary dust clouds of finite extension (∼ plasma Debye length) within Boltzmann environment of plasma particles in their local surroundings. The seeding mechanism of such clouds may be attributed to some plasma instabilities driven by either internal or external free energy sources. Numerical analysis of the problem concludes that the experimental observations of such clouds could be possible in low density plasma regime. It is deduced that for plasma density ∼ 10⁶ cm^-3 at temperatures of a few electron volts and for micron to l0nm sized dust grains, the observation of such structures could be possible within wide range variability of the dust population density.     

Exactness of the cordes condition of the Hölder property for the gradient of nondivergent elliptic systems

We give an example of a nondivergent elliptic system showing that the classical Cordes condition of the Hölder property for the gradient of solution of a nondivergent elliptic equation is exact if properly extended onto systems.Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 292–294, February, 1995.     

Partial applicability of Moser's method to nonlinear elliptic systems

We consider nonlinear elliptic systems of divergent-type second-order partial differential equations with solutionsu W _p ¹ . It is proved thatDu L _q with someq (p; +) and it is explicitly shown howq depends on the ellipticity modulus of the system. Some conditions on the ellipticity modulus are obtained under which the solutions satisfy the Hölder conditions and the Liouville theorem holds.Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 547–557, October, 1995.     

Synthesis of novel pyrano[2,3-b]quinolines from simple acetanilides via intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

Some novel isoxazole and pyrazole fused pyrano[2,3-b]quinolines were synthesized from simple acetanilides via intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions involving nitrones, nitrile oxides and nitrile imines as 1,3-dipoles, in a regioselective manner.     

Coimmobilization of urease and glutamate dehydrogenase in electrochemically prepared polypyrrole-polyvinyl sulfonate films

Immobilization of urease and glutamate dehydrogenase enzymes in electrochemically prepared polypyrrole-polyvinyl sulfonate films (PPY-PVS) was carried out using physical adsorption and electrochemical entrapment techniques. Detailed studies on optimum pH, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and scanning electron microscopy of the enzymes in the immobilized state were conducted. The value of the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant was experimentally determined to be 2.5 and 2.7 for physically adsorbed and electrochemically entrapped urease in PPY-PVS films, respectively.