Electromagnetophoretic force measurement of a single binding interaction between lectin and yeast cell surfaces.

A novel measurement method of the binding force between a micrometer-sized particle and a solid surface in an electrolyte solution has been established by using the electromagnetophoretic buoyancy on the particle. By this method, we investigated the binding force between a yeast cell surface and an oligosaccharide-binding protein, concanavalin A (Con A), fixed on a silica capillary wall. The force measurement was carried out up to 60 pN. In a lower surface concentration of Con A, yeast cells could be desorbed by a force less than 60 pN. However, in a higher surface concentration after treated by 1 mg ml(-1) solution, yeast cells were adsorbed with a force stronger than 60 pN. In this case, the addition of 10 mg ml(-1) D-mannose solution to the medium reduced the binding force to less than 60 pN. The observed adsorption force of yeast cells ranged within 30 - 40 pN, regardless of the interfacial amount of Con A. This force was thought to be the single binding force between a mannose group of the cell surface and an active site of Con A. Moreover, the dissociation rate constant of the single binding of yeast cell and Con A complex was determined as 4.6 x 10(-3) s(-1) and the increment of the binding distance at the transition state as 0.33 nm from the desorption kinetic experiments of yeast cell under the constant pulling conditions of 10, 20 and 30 pN. Such satisfactory results demonstrate the novel advantages of the present method.     

On the Metrical Theory of Continued Fraction Mixing Fibred Systems and Its Application to Jacobi-Perron Algorithm

 We study the metrical theory of fibred systems, in particular, in the case of continued fraction mixing systems. We get the limit distribution of the largest value of a continued fraction mixing stationary stochastic process with infinite expectation and some related results. These are analogous to J. Galambos, W. Philipp, and H. G. Diamond–J. D. Vaaler theorems for the regular continued fractions. As an application, we see that these theorems hold for Jacobi-Perron algorithm. Received September 30, 2001; in revised form January 8, 2002     

Synthesis of aromatic poly(thioether ketone)

Aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s were prepared by the direct polycondensation of aromatic dicarboxylic acids with aryl compounds containing ether or sulfide structures using phosphorus pentoxide/methanesulfonic acid (PPMA) as a condensing agent and solvent. Polycondensation proceeded smoothly and produced aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s with inherent viscosities up to 0.73 dL/g. The synthesis of substituted aryl ketones by the reaction of substituted benzoic acids with aryl compounds in PMMA was studied in detail to demonstrate the feasibility of the reaction for polymer formation. The thermogravimetry of the aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s showed a 10% weight loss in air and nitrogen at around 450 and 460°C, respectively. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The synthesis and reaction of N-sulfenyl heterocycles: development of effective sulfenylating reagents

Various N-sulfenyl heterocycles were synthesized by transamination of sulfenamides using a chlorine gas-free method. The N-sulfenyl heterocycles behaved as sulfenylating reagents of anilines; N-sulfenylbenzimidazoles were the most effective.     

Infrared reflection absorption study of carbon monoxide adsorption on Pd/Cu(1 1 1)

Pd-Cu bimetallic surfaces formed through a vacuum-deposition of Pd on Cu(1 1 1) have been discussed on the basis of carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption: CO is used as a surface probe and infrared reflection absorption (IRRAS) spectra are recorded for the CO-adsorbed surfaces. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns for the bimetallic surfaces reveal six-fold symmetry even after the deposition of 0.6 nm. The lattice spacings estimated by the separations of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) streaks increase with increasing Pd thickness. Room-temperature CO exposures to the bimetallic surfaces formed by the Pd depositions less than 0.3 nm thickness generate the IRRAS bands due to the three-fold-hollow-, bridge- and linear-bonded CO to Pd atoms. In particular, on the 0.1 nm-thick Pd surface, the linear-bonded CO band becomes apparent at an earlier stage of the exposure. In contrast, the bridge-bonded CO band dominates the IRRAS spectra for CO adsorption on the 0.6 nm-thick Pd surface, at which the lattice spacing corresponds to that of Pd(1 1 1). A 90 K-CO exposure to the 0.1 nm-thick Pd surface leads to the IRRAS bands caused not only by CO-Pd but also by CO-Cu, while the Cu-related band is almost absent from the spectra for the 0.3 nm-thick Pd surface. The results clearly reveal that local atomic structures of the outermost bimetallic surface can be discussed by the IRRAS spectra for the probe molecule.     

Preparation and characterization of mesoporous silica thin films from polyethoxysiloxanes

Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and polyethoxysiloxanes (PEOSs; prepared by the acid‐catalyzed hydrolytic polycondensation of TEOS) were subjected to the sol–gel process in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), respectively. The PEOSs with M_w 700–26,000, as prepared by sol–gel coating of TEOS and PEOS under various conditions, were used. Uniform and crack‐free thin films of thickness 276–613 nm were prepared by spin‐coating of a PEOS solution containing CTAB. When the coating films were sintered at 400 °C, the combustion of ethoxy groups and CTAB took place to provide porous silica thin films. The structure of the thin films was found to be dependent on the molecular weight of PEOS and the molar ratio of CTAB/Si: lamellar or hexagonal phase was observed for M_w less than 15,000 and for CTAB/Si molar ratios greater than 0.10. Honeycomb structures were observed for M_w less than 5000 and for CTAB/Si molar ratios of 0.15. The honeycomb structure was also observed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscope. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2542–2550, 2006