Advances in photolithographically fabricated ENFET membranes

A photolithographically fabricated membrane for enzyme immobilisation based on an Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET) is described. The preparation of an Enzyme-FET (ENFET) containing urease was successful. The ENFET has been used for the determination of urea and pesticides; this depends on the chosen enzyme level in the membrane and can be employed in a flow-injection system. The urea sensitive sensor (high enzyme load) has a wide linear range (1–500 mmol/l) a fast response (t₉₅=20 s) and a lifetime greater than 30 days. The application of this sensor to the determination of urea in the waste water from a fertilizer plant and in blood serum is discussed. The second sensor (low enzyme level) was able to detect pesticides in water based on the inhibition of urease. The detection limit was found to be 0.1 µg/l for Carbofuran (10 minutes incubation time, without preconcentration).     

Comparative study of the influence of cavity preparation with high-speed rotation or Er:YAG laser on infiltration of aesthetic restorations

Laser Physics - The aim of the present study was to compare marginal infiltration in Class V cavities prepared on extracted human premolars with either high-speed rotation or a Er:YAG laser. Class...     

Study of the C(3P) + OH(X2Pi) --> CO(X1Sigma(g)+) + H(2S) reaction: a fully global ab initio potential energy surface of the X2A' state

The C((3)P) + OH(X (2)Pi) --> CO(X (1)Sigma(g)(+)) + H((2)S) reaction has been investigated by ab initio electronic structure calculations of the X(2)A' state based on the multireference (MR) internally contracted single and double configuration interaction (SDCI) method plus Davidson correction (+Q) using Dunning aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets. In particular, the multireference space is taken to be a complete active space (CAS). Improvement over previously proposed potential energy surfaces for HCO/COH is obtained in the sense that present surface describes also the potential part where the CO interatomic distance is large. A large number of geometries (around 2000) have been calculated and analytically fitted using the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) method of Ho and Rabitz both for the two-body and three-body terms following the many-body decomposition of the total electronic energies. Results show that the global reaction is highly exothermic ( approximately 6.4 eV) and barrierless (relative to the reactant channel), while five potential barriers are located on this surface. The three minima and five saddle points observed are characterized and found to be in good agreement with previous work. The three minima correspond to the formation of HCO and COH complexes and to the CO + H products, with the COH complex being a metastable minimum relative to the product channel. The five saddle points correspond to potential barriers for both the dissociation/formation of HCO and COH into/from CO + H, to barriers for the isomerization of HCO into COH and to barriers for the inversion of HCO and COH through their respective linear configuration.     

Computing the Automorphic Chromatic Index of Certain Snarks

The automorphic G-chromatic index of a graph Γ is the minimum integer m for which Γ has a proper edge-coloring with m colors which is preserved by the full automorphism group G of Γ. We determine the automorphic G-chromatic index of each member of four infinite classes of snarks: type I Blanu?a snarks, type II Blanu?a snarks, Flower snarks and Goldberg snarks.     

A fourth-order boundary value problem for a Sturm-Liouville type equation

An existence result of multiple solutions for a fourth-order Sturm-Liouville boundary value problem with variable parameters is established. As a consequence, three solutions for a boundary value problem with a fourth-order equation in a complete form are obtained. Our approach is based on variational methods.     

Visible Channeled Spectra of a Multilayer Wood Filter

The transmission factor of multilayer Wood filters containing quartz and rutile layers was simulated in order to avoid the experimental trials for obtaining optical filters with predicted transmission. The main refractive indices of uniaxial crystals—quartz and rutile—were interferometrically determined and Cauchy constants were obtained by simulation. The transmission factor of optical devices consisting of quartz and rutile layers was simulated using the Maple Program.     

Chiral Aggregates of Triphenylamine‐Based Dyes for Depleting the Production of Hydrogen Peroxide in the Photochemical Water‐Splitting Process

Recent studies on water‐splitting photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) have demonstrated the intriguing possibility of controlling the spin state in this chemical reaction to form H₂ and O₂ by exploiting the chirality of organic π‐conjugated supramolecular polymers. Although this fascinating phenomenon has been disclosed, the chiral supramolecular materials reported thus far are not optimized for acting as efficient photosensitizer for dye‐sensitized PECs. In this work we report on the design, synthesis, and characterization of chiral supramolecular aggregates based on C₃‐symmetric triphenylamine‐based dyes that are able to both absorb visible light and control the spin state of the process. Variable temperature‐dependent spectroscopic measurements reveal the assembly process of the dyes and confirm the formation of chiral aggregates, both in solution as well as on solid supports. Photoelectrochemical measurements on TiO₂‐based anodes validate the advantage of using chiral supramolecular aggregates as photosensitizer displaying higher photocurrent compared to achiral analogues. Moreover, fluorimetric tests for the quantification of the hydrogen peroxide produced, confirm the possibility of controlling the spin of the reaction exerting spin‐selection with chiral supramolecular polymers. These results represent a further step towards the next‐generation of organic‐based water‐splitting solar cells.     

Trapping Aluminum Hydroxide Clusters with Trisilanols during Speciation in Aluminum(III)–Water Systems: Reproducible,Large Scale Access to Molecular Aluminate Models

To gain molecular level insights into the properties of certain functions and units of extended oxides/hydroxides, suitable molecular model compounds are needed. As an attractive route to access such compounds the trapping of early intermediates during the hydrolysis of suitable precursor compounds with the aid of stabilizing ligands is conceivable, which was tested for the aluminum(III)/water system. Indeed, trisilanols proved suitable trapping reagents: their presence during the hydrolysis of AlⁱBu₂H in dependence on the amount of water used allowed for the isolation of tri‐ and octanuclear aluminum hydroxide cluster complexes [Al₃(μ₂‐OH)₃(THF)₃(PhSi(OSiPh₂O)₃)₂] ( 1 ) and [Al₈(μ₃‐OH)₂(μ₂‐OH)₁₀(THF)₃(p‐anisylSi(OSiPh₂O)₃)₄] ( 2 ). 1 can be regarded as the Al(OH)₃ cyclic trimer, where six protons have been replaced by silyl residues. While 2 features a unique [Al₈(μ₃‐OH)₂(μ₂‐OH)₁₀]¹²⁺ core. In contrast to most other known aggregates of this type, 1 and 2 can be readily prepared at reasonable scales, dissolve in common solvents, and retain an intact framework even in the presence of excessive amounts of water. This finding paves the way to future research addressing the reactivity of the individual functional groups.