Surface harmonics for pentagonal point groups

Surface harmonics for the seven pentagonal point groups 5(C₅), {ie859-1}(S₁₀), {ie859-2}(C_5h ), {ie859-3}m2(D_5h ), {ie859-4} 2(D₅), 5m(C_5v ) and 5 2m(D_5d ) that represent the symmetries of quasicrystals in two and three dimensions are obtained, employing the projection operator method [11] and the simplified (authors) method. The results obtained are tabulated and are briefly discussed.     

Supramolecular interactions in salts/cocrystals involving pyrimidine derivatives of sulfonate/carboxylic acid

The crystal structures of three compounds involving aminopyrimidine derivatives are reported, namely, 5-fluorocytosinium sulfanilate–5-fluorocytosine–4-azaniumylbenzene-1-sulfonate (1/1/1), C₄H₅FN₃O⁺·C₆H₆NO₃S⁻·C₄H₄FN₃O·C₆H₇NO₃S, I , 5-fluorocytosine–indole-3-propionic acid (1/1), C₄H₄FN₃O·C₁₁H₁₁NO₂, II , and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidinium 3-nitrobenzoate, C₄H₈N₅⁺·C₇H₄NO₄⁻, III , which have been synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In I , there are two 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) molecules (5FC-A and 5FC-B) in the asymmetric unit, with one of the protons disordered between them. 5FC-A and 5FC-B are linked by triple hydrogen bonds, generating two fused rings [two R₂²(8) ring motifs]. The 5FC-A molecules form a self-complementary base pair [R₂²(8) ring motif] via a pair of N—H…O hydrogen bonds and the 5FC-B molecules form a similar complementary base pair [R₂²(8) ring motif]. The combination of these two types of pairing generates a supramolecular ribbon. The 5FC molecules are further hydrogen bonded to the sulfanilate anions and sulfanilic acid molecules via N—H…O hydrogen bonds, generating R₄⁴(22) and R⁶₆(36) ring motifs. In cocrystal II , two types of base pairs (homosynthons) are observed via a pair of N—H…O/N—H…N hydrogen bonds, generating R₂²(8) ring motifs. The first type of base pair is formed by the interaction of an N—H group and the carbonyl O atom of 5FC molecules through a couple of N—H…O hydrogen bonds. Another type of base pair is formed via the amino group and a pyrimidine ring N atom of the 5FC molecules through a pair of N—H…N hydrogen bonds. The base pairs (via N—H…N hydrogen bonds) are further bridged by the carboxyl OH group of indole-3-propionic acid and the O atom of 5FC through O—H…O hydrogen bonds on either side of the R₂²(8) motif. This leads to a DDAA array. In salt III , one of the N atoms of the pyrimidine ring is protonated and interacts with the carboxylate group of the anion through N—H…O hydrogen bonds, leading to the primary ring motif R₂²(8). Furthermore, the 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidinium (TAP) cations form base pairs [R₂²(8) homosynthon] via N—H…N hydrogen bonds. A carboxylate O atom of the 3-nitrobenzoate anion bridges two of the amino groups on either side of the paired TAP cations to form another ring [R₃²(8)]. This leads to the generation of a quadruple DADA array. The crystal structures are further stabilized by π–π stacking ( I and III ), C—H…π ( I and II ), C—F…π ( I ) and C—O…π ( II ) interactions.     

A novel stability-indicating HPLC method for the determination of enantiomeric purity of eluxadoline drug: Amylose tris(3,5-dichlorophenyl carbamate) stationary phase

A simple and sensitive stability-indicating chiral HPLC method has been developed and validated per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines for the determination of enantiomeric purity of eluxadoline (Exdl). The impact of different mobile phase compositions and chiral stationary phases on the separation of Exdl enantiomer along with process- and degradation-related impurities has been studied. Homogeneity of Exdl and stable results of Exdl enantiomer in all degraded samples reveal the fact that the proposed method was specific (stability indicating). Amylose tris(3,5-dichlorophenyl carbamate) stationary phase column Chiralpak IE-3 (150 × 4.6 mm, 3 μm) provided better resolution with polar organic solvents than cellulose derivative, crown ether, and zwitterion stationary phases and nonpolar solvents. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, methanol, butylamine, and acetic acid in the ratio of 500:500:20:2:1.5 (v/v/v/v/v). Isocratic elution was performed at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, column temperature of 35°C, injection volume of 10 μL, and UV detection of 240 nm. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) resolution of the Exdl enantiomer was found to be more than 4.0 within a 65-min run time. Exdl enantiomer detector response linearity over the concentration range of 0.859–4.524 μg/mL was found to be R² = 0.9985. The limit of detection, limit of quantification, and average percentage recovery values were established as 0.283 μg/mL, 0.859 μg/mL, and 96.0, respectively.     

Characterization and cytotoxicity of a benzocaine inclusion complex

Benzocaine (BZC), is a local anesthetic widely used in topical formulations as well as in throat pastilles. A disadvantage is that the compound presents low aqueous solubility. The present work describes the preparation and characterization of an inclusion complex between BZC and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), followed by cytotoxicity assays. The association constant (Ka) was calculated using solubility isotherms, at different temperatures, and an HPLC procedure, at room temperature, employing a reverse phase C18 column, with a mobile phase consisting of water/acetonitrile. Ka obtained with solubility isotherms at temperatures of 25, 35, and 45 °C were 229.8, 317.1, and 520.3 M^?1, respectively. Employing HPLC, Ka was 38.0 M^?1. The difference in the Ka value could be explained because HPLC analyses were conducted using organic solvent, which affected the host–guest interaction. Moreover, the continuous flow could have altered the degree of association of the drug with β-CD. The BZC/CD inclusion complex was characterized using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and X-ray diffraction. Analysis showed a good agreement with literature, suggesting that the complex was established. Cytotoxicity assays using fibroblast V79 cells showed that BZC/CD formulation was not cytotoxic, demonstrating its potential to reduce the toxicity of the anesthetic. The assays demonstrated an effective interaction between BZC and CD, and that the inclusion complex was less toxic to V79 cells than the plain BZC, turning it a good alternative to decrease its toxicity when administered to patients.     

Growth temperature induced effects in non-polar a-plane GaN on r-plane sapphire substrate by RF-MBE

Non-polar a-plane GaN films were grown on an r-plane sapphire substrate by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The effect of growth temperature on structural, morphological and optical properties has been studied. The growth of non-polar a-plane (1 1 ?2 0) orientation of the GaN epilayers were confirmed by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) study. The X-ray rocking curve (XRC) full width at half maximum of the (1 1 ?2 0) reflection shows in-plane anisotropic behavior and found to decrease with increase in growth temperature. The atomic force micrograph (AFM) shows island-like growth for the film grown at a lower temperature. Surface roughness has been decreased with increase in growth temperature. Room temperature photoluminescence shows near band edge emission at 3.434–3.442 eV. The film grown at 800 °C shows emission at 2.2 eV, which is attributed to yellow luminescence along with near band edge emission.     

Efficient synthesis of AB ring core of luotonin A derivatives: (2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)methanamine

An efficient procedure for the preparation of AB ring core of luotonin A analogues has been achieved with a simple methodology.     

A CMOS image sensor to recognize the cardiovascular disease markers troponin I and C-reactive protein

A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor was utilized to detect the interaction of cardiovascular disease markers, troponin I and C-reactive protein. Each marker with its respective antibodies was adsorbed to an indium nanoparticle (InNP)-coated glass substrate. Dielectric layers of antigens and antibodies bound onto and interacted on conducting InNPs. Normal room light passed through these protein-layer-bound substrates and hit the CMOS image sensor surface, and the number of photons was detected and converted into digital form. We tested this approach for real-time monitoring of cardiac disease markers based on photon count, demonstrating its low cost and its capacity to detect antigens with high sensitivity at picogram per milliliter concentration.     

Electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing as a non-invasive tool for cancer cell study

Cell-substrate interactions are investigated in a number of studies for drug targets including angiogenesis, arteriosclerosis, chronic inflammatory diseases and carcinogenesis. One characteristic of malignant cancerous cells is their ability to invade tissue. Cell adhesion and cytoskeletal activity have served as valuable indicators for understanding the cancer cell behaviours, such as proliferation, migration and invasion. This review focuses on bio-impedance based measurement for monitoring the behaviours in real time and without using labels. Electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) provides rich information about cell-substrate interactions, cell-cell communication and cell adhesion. High sensitivity of the ECIS method allows for observing events down to single-cell level and achieving nanoscale resolution of cell-substrate distances. Recently, its miniaturization and integration with fluorescent detection techniques have been highlighted as a new tool to deliver a high-content platform for anticancer drug development.     

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence of GaN grown on β-Si3N4/Si (1 1 1) by plasma-assisted MBE

Photoluminescence (PL) of high quality GaN epitaxial layer grown on β-Si₃N₄/Si (1 1 1) substrate using nitridation-annealing-nitridation method by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) was investigated in the range of 5-300 K. Crystallinity of GaN epilayers was evaluated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and surface morphology by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). The temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra showed an anomalous behaviour with an ‘S-like’ shape of free exciton (FX) emission peaks. Distant shallow donor-acceptor pair (DAP) line peak at approximately 3.285 eV was also observed at 5 K, followed by LO replica sidebands separated by 91 meV. The activation energy of the free exciton for GaN epilayers was also evaluated to be ∼27.8±0.7 meV from the temperature-dependent PL studies. Low carrier concentrations were observed ∼4.5±2×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ by measurements and it indicates the silicon nitride layer, which not only acts as a growth buffer layer, but also effectively prevents Si diffusion from the substrate to GaN epilayers. The absence of yellow band emission at around 2.2 eV signifies the high quality of film. The tensile stress in GaN film calculated by the thermal stress model agrees very well with that derived from Raman spectroscopy.