Formation and Stability of Binary Complexes of Divalent Ecotoxic Ions (Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) with Biodegradable Aminopolycarboxylate Chelants (dl-2-(2-Carboxymethyl)Nitrilotriacetic Acid, GLDA, and 3-Hydroxy-2,2′-Iminodisuccinic Acid, HIDS) in Aqueous Solutions

The protonation and complex formation equilibria of two biodegradable aminopolycarboxylate chelants {dl-2-(2-carboxymethyl)nitrilotriacetic acid (GLDA) and 3-hydroxy-2,2??-iminodisuccinic acid (HIDS)} with Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions were investigated using the potentiometric method at a constant ionic strength of I?=?0.10?mol·dm^?3 (KCl) in aqueous solutions at 25?±?0.1?°C. The stability constants of the proton?Cchelant and metal?Cchelant species for each metal ion were determined, and the concentration distributions of various complex species in solution were evaluated for each ion. The stability constants (log₁₀ K _ML) of the complexes containing Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions followed the identical order of log₁₀ K _CuL?>?log₁₀ K _NiL?>?log₁₀ K _PbL?>?log₁₀ K _ZnL?>?log₁₀ K _CdL for either GLDA (13.03?>?12.74?>?11.60?>?11.52?>?10.31) or HIDS (12.63?>?11.30?>?10.21?>?9.76?>?7.58). In each case, the constants obtained for metal?CGLDA complexes were larger than the corresponding constants for metal?CHIDS complexes. The conditional stability constants (log₁₀ $ K_{\text{ML}}^{'} $ ) of the metal?Cchelant complexes containing GLDA and HIDS were calculated in terms of pH, and compared with the stability constants for EDTA and other biodegradable chelants.     

Bio-inspired motifs via tandem assembly of polypeptides for mineralization of stable CaCO3 structures

A macromolecular-assembly of polypeptides constructs a network of anionic and cationic charges vital for recognizing and coassembling Ca(2+) and CO(3)(2-) ions to mineralize and stabilize different mineral forms of CaCO(3) with core-shell or solid morphologies in an aqueous solution.     

Molecular thioamide ↔ iminothiolate switches for sulfur mustards

SNS platinum(II) pincer complexes reversibly bind and release the surrogate half sulfur mustard, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES). The switch-like behavior of the pincers is attributed to a reversible transformation between the thioamide and iminothiolate forms of the pincer skeleton under slightly acidic and basic conditions, respectively. An amide-based palladium(II) pincer complex also binds CEES, as confirmed crystallographically and by NMR.     

Property enhancement of transparent conducting zinc oxide thin films—Effect of simultaneous (Sn+F) doping

Undoped and simultaneously (Sn+F) doped ZnO thin films were fabricated using a simplified spray pyrolysis technique and the effects of Sn doping level on their electrical, structural, optical and surface morphological properties were studied. The XRD patterns confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. The minimum electrical resistivity of 0.45×10⁻² Ω cm was obtained for ZnO films having Sn+F doping levels of 8+20 at%. All the films exhibited average optical transmittance of 85% in the visible region, suitable for transparent electrode applications. The overall quality of the fabricated films was confirmed from photoluminescence (PL) studies. The PL and surface morphological studies along with the elemental analysis showed the increase of Sn diffusion into the ZnO lattice which was consistent with the concentration of Sn in the starting solution. The results of the analysis of physical properties of simultaneously doped ZnO films proved that these films might be considered as promising candidates for solar cells and other opto-electronic applications.     

Effect of solvent volume on the physical properties of sprayed fluorine‐doped zinc oxide thin films

Fluorine‐doped zinc oxide (FZO) films were deposited from aged starting solutions having different solvent volumes (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ml) using a simplified spray pyrolysis technique. The electrical studies showed that the resistivity is minimum (4.68 × 10^–2 Ω cm) for lowest solvent volume (10 ml) and the value progressively increased with the increase in the solvent volume indicating that the fluorine incorporation increases with solvent volume. The systematic study clearly showed that the spray flux rate plays a crucial role in determining the electrical, optical, surface and structural properties of the FZO films. The optical transparency is found to be gradually increased (from 85 to 95%) as the volume of the solvent increases. The scanning electron microscope images depicted that the decrease in the spray flux rate caused an enhancement in the grain size. The X‐ray diffraction profile clearly showed that all the films have preferential orientation along the (002) plane with hexagonal wurtzite structure. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Novel broadband dispersion compensating photonic crystal fibers: Applications in high-speed transmission systems

This paper reveals a novel dispersion compensating photonic crystal fiber (DC-PCF) for wide-band high-speed transmission systems. The finite-difference method with an anisotropic perfectly matched absorbing layers boundary condition is used to investigate the guiding properties. The designed novel DC-PCF shows that it is possible to obtain a larger negative dispersion coefficient, better dispersion slope compensation, and confinement losses less than 10^?4 dB/m in the entire S+C+L telecommunication band by using a modest number of design parameters. The proposed module can be used in 40 Gb/s dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems in optical fiber communication networks.     

Design and analysis of novel highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibers with ultra-flattened chromatic dispersion

The present article describes novel highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibers (HN-PCFs) with flattened chromatic dispersion and low confinement losses. The proposed design has been simulated based on the finite-difference method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers absorbing boundary condition. It is proved that the design novel HN-PCFs is obtained a nonlinear coefficient greater than 45 W⁻¹ km⁻¹ and low dispersion slope −0.009 ps/(nm².km) at 1.55 μm wavelength. In addition, results from numerical simulation show that the ultra-flattened dispersion of 0 ± 0.65 ps/(nm.km) can be obtained in a 1.36-1.62 μm wavelength range with confinement losses lower than 10⁻⁷ dB/m in the same wavelength range. Another advantage of the proposed HN-PCFs is that it possessed modest number of design parameters.     

Broadband nearly-zero ultra-flattened dispersion single mode index guiding holey fiber

This paper proposes and demonstrates a novel type of silica index guiding holey fibers (IGHFs) that has two cladding layers at the defective innermost structures. The proposed IGHFs exhibit remarkable chromatic dispersion properties such as nearly-zero and flattened dispersion over a wide spectral range and single mode guidance along with very low confinement loss. The numerical results indicate that 5 air-hole rings of nearly zero ultra-flattened dispersion single mode IGHFs can be designed with desire flattened dispersion of over a 340 nm bandwidth including the entire band of interest with low confinement loss of less than 10⁻⁶ dB/m.     

Hydrogen Bonded Channel Formation in a Molecular Complex: <Emphasis Type="Italic">cis-</Emphasis>1-Chloro-2-ammonium-1-trimethylsilylcycloheptane Picrate

Abstract  The crystal and molecular structure of cis-1-chloro-2-amino-1-trimethylsilylcycloheptane picrate (cis-CATP) is determined and discussed along with its spectroscopy. The crystal structure of this compound (C₁₀H₂₃SiClN⁺ C₆H₂N₃O₇⁻) consists of ammonium cycloheptane cation and picrate anion stabilized by interionic N–H···O and C–H···O interactions leading to extended hydrogen bonded network structure. Apart from the less common syn addition of nitrosylchloride to 1-trimethylsilylcycloheptene ring, an interesting and unexpected reversal of regiochemistry of addition is revealed. Index Abstract  The preparation of cis-1-chloro-2-ammonium-1-trimethylsilylcycloheptane picrate is described and its crystal structure is determined and discussed.      

Tilianin: A Potential Natural Lead Molecule for New Drug Design and Development for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disorders

Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are the leading risk factor for death worldwide, and research into the processes and treatment regimens has received a lot of attention. Tilianin is a flavonoid glycoside that can be found in a wide range of medicinal plants and is most commonly obtained from Dracocephalum moldavica. Due to its extensive range of biological actions, it has become a well-known molecule in recent years. In particular, numerous studies have shown that tilianin has cardioprotective properties against CVDs. Hence, this review summarises tilianin’s preclinical research in CVDs, as well as its mechanism of action and opportunities in future drug development. The physicochemical and drug-likeness properties, as well as the toxicity profile, were also highlighted. Tilianin can be a natural lead molecule in the therapy of CVDs such as coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia, according to scientific evidence. Free radical scavenging, inflammation control, mitochondrial function regulation, and related signalling pathways are all thought to play a role in tilianin’s cardioprotective actions. Finally, we discuss tilianin-derived compounds, as well as the limitations and opportunities of using tilianin as a lead molecule in drug development for CVDs. Overall, the scientific evidence presented in this review supports that tilianin and its derivatives could be used as a lead molecule in CVD drug development initiatives.