Swelling-shrinking behavior of a polyampholyte gel composed of positively charged networks with immobilized polyanions

Polyampholyte gels were prepared by free radical polymerization of aqueous monomer solutions with the following composition: 69% N-isopropylacrylamide (thermosensitive neutral monomer), 1% N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (cross-linker), 15% 1-vinylimidazole (cationic monomer), and either 15% acrylic acid (AAc, anionic monomer) or poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc, polyanion). We thus obtained two sorts of polyampholyte gels; that is, G1 with immobilized PAAc and G2 with randomly copolymerized AAc. The equilibrium swelling ratio (Qe) was studied as a function of the pH, NaCl concentration, and temperature. Also studied was the kinetics of swelling and shrinking in response to a sudden pH change. The significant results obtained were as follows: (i) A fully collapsed state was observed at pH 4.5-9.0 for G1 and at pH 4.5-7.0 for G2. (ii) Below and above these pH ranges, both gels were in a swollen state; therefore, an isoelectric point (pI) appeared in a wide pH range. (iii) At alkaline pH regions where a hysteresis was observed in the Qe versus pH curves of G1 and G2 as the pH was first increased then decreased, G1 exhibited very slow swelling-shrinking kinetics. (iv) An increase in the NaCl concentration allowed the gel to swell at pH approximately pI (antipolyelectrolyte behavior) but to shrink at pHs below and above the pI range (polyelectrolyte behavior). (v) The magnitude of the salt-induced shrinking of G1 is smaller than that of G2 at pH 10 and at NaCl concentrations > 0.01 M. (vi) At pH 10, an increase in the temperature from 35 to 50 degrees C led to a shrinking change of G1 but not of G2. These results were found to be explicable in terms of a different distribution of negative charges within the polyampholyte gel network.     

A concise route to (-)-kainic acid

A concise route to (-)-kainic acid from enantiopure (+)-cis-4-carbobenzoxyamino-2-cyclopentenol has been devised by employing concurrent Chugaev syn-elimination and intramolecular ene reaction as the key step.     

A stable silicon congener of highly strained bicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene

A silicon-containing fused bicyclic compound with a highly strained bridgehead double bond, 2,3,6,7-tetra-tert-butyl-4-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-5-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)-5-silabicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene (2), was synthesized quantitatively by the reaction of 1,2-bis-tert-butyl-4,4-bis(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-4-silatriafulvene (3) with di-tert-butylcyclopropenone (4) at 80 degrees C. An X-ray crystallographic analysis for 2 not only confirmed a bicyclic structure having a silacyclopentadiene (silole) ring fused with a silacyclobutene ring but also the remarkable deformation around the double bonds; the sum of the bond angles around the unsaturated bridgehead carbon was 333 degrees . The strain energy of a model 5-silabicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene was calculated at the MP2/6-31+G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level (30.2 kcal/mol) to be comparable to that for parent bicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene (30.7 kcal/mol). Despite the high steric strain, 2 was stable enough to be kept intact for several months in the air. The high stability is ascribed to the effective steric protection of the ring system by the bulky substituents.     

Midgap levels of photoexcited conductive polymers. I. A simple description of the midgap levels based on molecular orbital interaction

We studied the midgap levels appearing in the photoexcited conductive polymers such as trans- and cis-polyacetylenes, poly(p-phenylene), polypyrrole, and polyacene based on the molecular orbital analysis. The midgap levels are constructed from the transformation of the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the ground state. As the result of the localization of the wave functions associated with these midgap levels, large polarization is induced between adjacent carbon atoms. Based on the examination of the energy gap between the two midgap levels, the polymers with a nondegenerate ground state such as cis-polyacetylene, poly(p-phenylene), and polypyrrole would show no sizable photoconductivities.     

Method to determine quadruple points of a two-component system containing a simple hydrate phase and behavior of the system near these points

A method for determining quadruple points of a two-component system containing a simple hydrate phase is proposed. This method utilizes the quasi-static change of the system along three-phase equilibrium lines and was proved to be able to determine the quadruple points as accurately as the conventional method. By using this method, even though some preparation is necessary, a quadruple point can be determined in just a single experimental run. The behavior of the system near the quadruple points was also examined experimentally, for both the quasi-static and the irreversible change cases. At the quadruple points, the temperature and pressure of the system were kept constant for a while, as at the triple point of water. In both cases, the representative point of the state of the system passed through the quadruple point on a p–T diagram.     

Photophysical properties of porphyrin tapes

The novel fused Zn(II)porphyrin arrays (Tn, porphyrin tapes) in which the porphyrin macrocycles are triply linked at meso-meso, beta-beta, beta-beta positions have been investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements along with theoretical MO calculations. The absorption spectra of the porphyrin tapes show a systematic downshift to the IR region as the number of porphyrin pigments increases in the arrays. The fused porphyrin arrays exhibit a rapid formation of the lowest excited states (for T2, approximately 500 fs) via fast internal conversion processes upon photoexcitation at 400 nm (Soret bands), which is much faster than the internal conversion process of approximately 1.2 ps observed for a monomeric Zn(II)porphyrin. The relaxation dynamics of the lowest excited states of the porphyrin tapes were accelerated from approximately 4.5 ps for the T2 dimer to approximately 0.3 ps for the T6 hexamer as the number of porphyrin units increases, being explained well by the energy gap law. The overall photophysical properties of the porphyrin tapes were observed to be in a sharp contrast to those of the orthogonal porphyrin arrays. The PPP-SCI calculated charge-transfer probability indicates that the lowest excited state of the porphyrin tapes (Tn) resembles a Wannier-type exciton closely, whereas the lowest excited state of the directly linked porphyrin arrays can be considered as a Frenkel-type exciton. Conclusively, these unique photophysical properties of the porphyrin tapes have aroused much interest in the fundamental photophysics of large flat organic molecules as well as in the possible applications as electric wires, IR sensors, and nonlinear optical materials.     

Development of a chemical vapor sensor using piezoelectric quartz crystals with coated unusual lipids

Piezoelectric quartz crystal sensors were developed using lipids with various properties for highly sensitive detection of chemical vapors. Lipids with varying lengths of alkyl chains were coated onto 10 MHz AT-cut quartz crystal resonators and the response of these modified crystals to chemical vapors were measured. It was shown that hydrophilic compounds, such as ethanol and methanol, could be recognized efficiently by lipids having shorter alkyl chains, whereas lipids with longer alkyl chains showed affinity to more hydrophobic vapors, such as toluene, hexane and cyclohexane. Frequency changes caused by adsorption of alcohols could be enhanced when cholesterol was co-immobilized in the lipid layer. To confirm the assumption that the sensor-response might be affected by the properties of lipids derived from acyl chains, we have examined the effects of two types of newly synthesized unusual lipids on sensor response. When lipids having one triple bond each at different positions on their alkyl chains were coated onto quartz crystals separately, lower responses were observed compared to responses obtained for a sensor with immobilized, saturated phosphatidylcholine. Lipids containing -branched acyl chains, however, showed good affinity for organic vapors, and sensor responses improved 4–5-fold. Moreover, these sensors were shown to have sensitivity of the same order as the humans' sense of smell (10⁻⁵–10⁻⁶ w/w in liquid paraffin) when measured using standard odorants (isovaleric acid, skatole, etc.) for an olfactometry established in Japan.     

Application of plasma-polymerized films for isoelectric focusing of proteins in a capillary electrophoresis chip

The first use of plasma polymerization technique to modify the surface of a glass chip for capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) of different proteins is reported. The electrophoresis separation channel was machined in Tempax glass chips with length 70 mm, 300 microm width and 100 microm depth. Acetonitrile and hexamethyldisiloxane monomers were used for plasma polymerization. In each case 100 nm plasma polymer films were coated onto the chip surface to reduce protein wall adsorption and minimize the electroosmotic flow. Applied voltages of 1000 V, 2000 V and 3000 V were used to separate mixtures of cytochrome c (pI 9.6), hemoglobin (pI 7.0) and phycocyanin (pI 4.65). Reproducible isoelectric focusing of each pI marker protein was observed in different coated capillaries at increasing concentration 2.22-5 microg microL(-1). Modification of the glass capillary with hydrophobic HMDS plasma polymerized films enabled rapid cIEF within 3 min. The separation efficiency of cytochrome c and phycocyanin in both acrylamide and HMDS coated capillaries corresponded to a plate number of 19600 which compares favourably with capillary electrophoresis of neurotransmitters with amperometric detection.     

Crystal Structure and Property of Perovskite-Type Oxides Containing Ion Vacancy

Studies on the role of oxygen vacancy in structural change of nonstoichiometric perovskites and a property of oxygen-deficient perovskite-related K₂NiF₄ compounds are reviewed.The structural changes on which the authors focused are cation ordering and lattice distortion. The relationship between the distortion and oxygen vacancy was investigated by comparing the structures of Sr₂(Sr_1-xM_x)TaO_6-d (M = Ca²⁺ and Nd³⁺) solid solutions. It was found that distortion of a perovskite-type lattice decreased with an increasing amount of oxygen vacancies. In order to investigate the relationship between the cation ordering on octahedral sites and oxygen vacancy, structures of stoichiometric Sr_2-xLa_xCo_1-yTa_1+yO₆ and oxygen-deficient Sr_2-xLa_xMg_1-yTa_1+yO_6-d solid solutions were compared. The authors' work reveals that the cation ordering affects the amount of oxygen vacancies in addition to cation charge and size.     

Overlapping of three-phase regions in a water/nonionic surfactant/triglyceride system

It was found that two types of three-phase regions containing surfactant phases (microemulsions) are overlapped and the four coexisting phases including excess water and oil phases appear in a three-component system of water/hexaethyleneglycol tetradecyl ether (R₁₄EO₆)/triglyceride (1,2,3-[tris(2-ethylhexanoyloxy)] propane, TEH). A schematic diagram of three- and four-phase behavior was constructed based on the real phase diagrams. One type of three-phase behavior is the same as that typically appearing over a wide range of water/oil ratios in a water/nonionic surfactant/hydrocarbon system. The other type of three-phase behavior is similar to that observed over a wide range of water/oil ratios in a system of water/nonionic surfactant/amphiphilic oil such as long-chain alcohols, fatty acids, and triglycerides. The result clearly shows how two three-phase regions interact with each other and are transferred from one to another.