Electrical resistance of Fe-Zr and Fe-Ni-Zr amorphous alloys under hydrostatic pressure

The effect of pressure on the electrical resistance of Fe₉₀Zr₁₀ and (Fe_0.96Ni_0.04)₉₀Zr₁₀ amorphous alloys has been investigated. The minimum point in the electrical resistance versus temperature curve shifts toward lower temperature range with increasing hydrostatic pressure, corresponding to the shift of the Curie temperature. The decrement of the electrical resistance below the Curie temperature T_c is about twice that above T_c, suggesting a large compressibility in the ferromagnetic state of the amorphous Invar alloys.     

Magnetorefractive effect in granular alloys with tunneling magnetoresistance

The magnetorefractive effect and optical reflectivity are studied in granular Co-Al-O, Co-Si-O, and Co-Ti-O metal-insulator alloys exhibiting tunneling magnetoresistance for compositions close to the percolation threshold. The dependences of these effects on frequency, angle of incidence, and light polarization were measured. The experimental data obtained suggest that the major MRE mechanism in these systems is spin-dependent tunneling at optical frequencies.     

Anisotropic Self‐Assembly of Citrate‐Coated Gold Nanoparticles on Fluidic Liposomes

The behavior of self‐assembly processes of nanoscale particles on plasma membranes can reveal mechanisms of important biofunctions and/or intractable diseases. Self‐assembly of citrate‐coated gold nanoparticles (cAuNPs) on liposomes was investigated. The adsorbed cAuNPs were initially fixed on the liposome surfaces and did not self‐assemble below the phospholipid phase transition temperature (T_m). In contrast, anisotropic cAuNP self‐assembly was observed upon heating of the composite above the T_m, where the phospholipids became fluid. The number of self‐assembled NPs is conveniently controlled by the initial mixing ratio of cAuNPs and liposomes. Gold nanoparticle protecting agents strongly affected the self‐assembly process on the fluidic membrane.     

Dissipative and Autonomous Square‐Wave Self‐Oscillation of a Macroscopic Hybrid Self‐Assembly under Continuous Light Irradiation

Building a bottom‐up supramolecular system to perform continuously autonomous motions will pave the way for the next generation of biomimetic mechanical systems. In biological systems, hierarchical molecular synchronization underlies the generation of spatio‐temporal patterns with dissipative structures. However, it remains difficult to build such self‐organized working objects via artificial techniques. Herein, we show the first example of a square‐wave limit‐cycle self‐oscillatory motion of a noncovalent assembly of oleic acid and an azobenzene derivative. The assembly steadily flips under continuous blue‐light irradiation. Mechanical self‐oscillation is established by successively alternating photoisomerization processes and multi‐stable phase transitions. These results offer a fundamental strategy for creating a supramolecular motor that works progressively under the operation of molecule‐based machines.     

Boronate affinity saccharide electrophoresis: a novel carbohydrate analysis tool

The incorporation of specialised carbohydrate affinity ligand methacrylamido phenylboronic acid in polyacrylamide gels for fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis greatly improved the effective separation of saccharides that show similar mobilities in standard electrophoresis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using methacrylamido phenylboronic acid in low loading (typically 0.5-1% dry weight) was unequivocally shown to alter retention of labelled saccharides depending on their boronate affinity. While conventional fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis of 2-aminoacridone labelled glucose oligomers showed an inverted parabolic migration, an undesired trait of small oligosaccharides labelled with this neutral fluorophore, boron affinity saccharide electrophoresis separation of these carbohydrates completely restored their predicted running order, based on their charge/mass ratio, and resulted in improved separation of the analyte saccharides. These results exemplify boron affinity saccharide electrophoresis as an important new technique for analysing carbohydrates and sugar-containing molecules.     

A photo-responsive cholesterol capable of inducing a morphological transformation of the liquid-ordered microdomain in lipid bilayers

An azobenzene-modified cholesterol was designed and synthesized for photo-induced domain transformation in lipid bilayer membranes. Upon UV-light irradiation, the cholesterol derivative changes the conformation through photoisomerization of the azobenzene moiety from trans- to cis-form. The photoisomerization effectively occurred both in liquid-ordered (L_o) and liquid-disordered (L_d) phases. Phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopic observation revealed that photoisomerization of the azobenzene-modified cholesterol induced the shape transformation of giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV) and the reorganization of L_o domain structure. Such a photo-induced transformation of lipid domain gave two different pathways dependent on the lipid composition of GUV; disappearance of the L_o domain or appearance of a small L_d domain with in the L_o domain.     

Synthesis of multi-substituted cyclobutenes: Cyclic strategy for [2 + 2] cycloaddition of ketene silyl acetals with propiolates

Cyclic ketene silyl acetals were utilized for [2 + 2] cycloaddition with propiolates to prevent an undesired electrocyclic ring opening reaction. Trimethylaluminum catalyzed this cycloaddition to afford the cyclobutene derivatives in high yields. The advantage of this reaction was highlighted by the successful application of β-substituted propiolates to afford the multi-substituted cyclobutenes. Furthermore, we applied this methodology to the late stage functionalization of natural product artemisinin.     

Scanning electro-optic microscope based on surface plasmon resonance

An optical scanning probe microscope, based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the attenuated total reflection geometry, is shown to successfully image the polarization structures in self-assembled monolayers of hemicyanine adsorbed on a gold surface. Application of an ac field to the tip gives rise to the linear electro-optic effect in the monolayer just below the tip and the local change in the refractive index of the monolayer was detected via the ac component of the reflected light intensity, in which SPR-based detection intensifies the ac component. Polarization structures in a monolayer can be clearly imaged by this technique.     

Hydrogen‐bonded structures of the 1:1 and 1:2 compounds of chloranilic acid with pyrrolidin‐2‐one and piperidin‐2‐one

In the four compounds of chloranilic acid (2,5‐dichloro‐3,6‐dihydroxycyclohexa‐2,5‐diene‐1,4‐dione) with pyrrolidin‐2‐one and piperidin‐2‐one, namely, chloranilic acid–pyrrolidin‐2‐one (1/1), C₆H₂Cl₂O₄·C₄H₇NO, (I), chloranilic acid–pyrrolidin‐2‐one (1/2), C₆H₂Cl₂O₄·2C₄H₇NO, (II), chloranilic acid–piperidin‐2‐one (1/1), C₆H₂Cl₂O₄·C₅H₉NO, (III), and chloranilic acid–piperidin‐2‐one (1/2), C₆H₂Cl₂O₄·2C₅H₉NO, (IV), the shortest interactions between the two components are O—H...O hydrogen bonds, which act as the primary intermolecular interaction in the crystal structures. In (II), (III) and (IV), the chloranilic acid molecules lie about inversion centres. For (III), this necessitates the presence of two independent acid molecules. In (I), there are two formula units in the asymmetric unit. The O...O distances are 2.4728 (11) and 2.4978 (11) Å in (I), 2.5845 (11) Å in (II), 2.6223 (11) and 2.5909 (10) Å in (III), and 2.4484 (10) Å in (IV). In the hydrogen bond of (IV), the H atom is disordered over two positions with site occupancies of 0.44 (3) and 0.56 (3). This indicates that proton transfer between the acid and base has partly taken place to form ion pairs. In (I) and (II), N—H...O hydrogen bonds, the secondary intermolecular interactions, connect the pyrrolidin‐2‐one molecules into a dimer, while in (III) and (IV) these hydrogen bonds link the acid and base to afford three‐ and two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded networks, respectively.