Collision of a long DNA molecule with an isolated nanowire

We provide an experimental test of the universal behavior arising in simulations of the electrophoretic collision of a long DNA molecule with an isolated, thin post. Our experiments take advantage of a robust protocol to embed matrices of circa 100 nm radius ZnO nanowires in a microfluidic channel. The density and height of the nanowires are easily controlled by the seeding and growth conditions. Single-molecule videomicroscopy of λ-DNA electrophoresis in a sparse nanowire array shows that the average holdup time decays exponentially with the impact parameter, in agreement with simulations. Only at the largest electric field studied here does the hooking probability approach that for an infinitesimally thin post.     

Emittance measurement & optimization for the photocathode RF gun with laser profile shaping

The Laser Undulator Compact X-ray source(LUCX) is a test bench for a compact high brightness X-ray generator,based on inverse Compton Scattering at KEK,which requires high intensity multi-bunch trains with low transverse emittance.A photocathode RF gun with emittance compensation solenoid is used as an electron source.Much endeavor has been made to increase the beam intensity in the multi-bunch trains.The cavity of the RF gun is tuned into an unbalanced field in order to reduce space charge effects,so that the field gradient on the cathode surface is relatively higher when the forward RF power into gun cavity is not high enough.A laser profile shaper is employed to convert the driving laser profile from Gaussian into uniform.In this research we seek to find the optimized operational conditions for the decrease of the transverse emittance.With the uniform driving laser and the unbalanced RF gun,the RMS transverse emittance of a 1 nC bunch has been improved effectively from 5.46 πmm.mrad to 3.66 πmm.mrad.     

Isolation and characterization of isolectins from Erythrina variegata seeds.

Three isolectins were isolated from seeds of Erythrina variegata (Linn.) var. Orientalis by ion-exchange chromatography, followed by affinity chromatography on lactose-Sepharose 4B and acid-treated Sepharose 4B columns. The purified isolectins (EVLI, EVLII and EVLIII) are all specific for galactopyranosides and N-acetylgalactosamine, and their affinities for simple sugars are EVLIII greater than EVLII greater than EVLI. EVLI and EVLIII are homodimers made up of an A-subunit of molecular mass 36,000 and a B-subunit of molecular mass 33,000, whereas EVLII is a heterodimer composed of the A- and B-subunits. Upon treatment with trifluoromethansulphonic acid, the molecular masses of both subunits decreased to 31,000. Rechromatography of EVLII on the acid-treated Sepharose 4B column again produced the homodimeric lectins (EVLI and EVLIII). It is suggested that the constituent subunits of Erythrina variegata isolectins are eschangeable with each other in vitro.     

Metabolic Profiling of Murine Macrophages Exposed to Silver Nanoparticles at Dose and Time Dependencies

The macrophage time-dependent metabolic profile changing basal metabolism triggered by nanoparticles can be obtained and used to improve wound healing treatments. Herein this study demonstrates that metabolic status responds systematically to cytotoxicity manipulation, providing an interesting way of cellular control. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics and cytotoxic assays are used to study RAW 264.7 cells exposed to AgNPs at different concentrations and incubation times. Cytotoxicity data show a slight decrease in cellular expansion rates accompanied by morphological changes in cells. Metabolomics show that despite the glycolytic activity of treated and non-treated cells remains unchanged; however, only the treated cells present a rich Citrate environment signaling up-regulation of Tricarboxylic-Acid-Cycle (TCA). Cells choose aerobic routes instead of anaerobic ones to produce energy and self-regulate their amino acid metabolism to balance TCA. Choline metabolism is down-regulated once its sub-products, Betaine and Glycine, are reduced, thus compromising Creatine synthesis. Phospholipid metabolism is down-regulated due to the decreasing of Phosphocholine and Sn-Glycerol-3-PC, in agreement with the cytotoxicity results. Pyroglutamate decreases in treated cells, signaling different levels of oxidative stress. These analytical tools can characterize AgNPs-treatments, even distinguishing dose and time dependencies. Therefore, the fine-tuning of exposition parameters can modulate cellular activity to achieve better wound healing.     

Amperometric Folic Acid Quantification Using a Supramolecular Tetraruthenated Nickel Porphyrin µ‐Peroxo‐Bridged Matrix Modified Electrode Associated to Batch Injection Analysis

A supramolecular Nickel (II) porphyrin complex containing four pyridyl‐bis(2,2′‐bipyridyl)chloro ruthenium meso substituents was submitted to successive voltammetric cycles in high alkaline media to produce a supramolecular matrix with Nickel centers linked by µ‐peroxo bridges, producing a highly stable thin film able to act as redox mediator for electrocatalytic oxidation of folic acid. The characterization of electrode surface material was performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The modified electrode was inserted into a batch injection electrochemical cell used for the rapid and precise quantification of folic acid in pharmaceutical products. The favorable hydrodynamic conditions provided by amperometry‐BIA association allowed a very high throughput with good linear range (1 to 200 µmol L^?1) and low detection limit (7.37×10^?7 mol L^?1). The electrochemical method was applied to the quantification of folic acid in different tablet samples. The results were comparable with values indicated by the manufacturer and those found using high HPLC according to the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia; commercial samples were submitted to a procedure in order to remove lactose of tablets, since carbohydrates act as interfering species. This procedure together with the electrochemical method showed to be simple, rapid, efficient and an appropriate alternative for quantifying this compound in real samples.     

Time-harmonic BEM for 2-D piezoelectricity applied to eigenvalue problems

We will derive the fundamental generalized displacement solution, using the Radon transform, and present the direct formulation of the time-harmonic boundary element method (BEM) for the two-dimensional general piezoelectric solids. The fundamental solution consists of the static singular and the dynamics regular parts; the former, evaluated analytically, is the fundamental solution for the static problem and the latter is given by a line integral along the unit circle. The static BEM is a component of the time-harmonic BEM, which is formulated following the physical interpretation of Somigliana’s identity in terms of the fundamental generalized line force and dislocation solutions obtained through the Stroh–Lekhnitskii (SL) formalism. The time-harmonic BEM is obtained by adding the boundary integrals for the dynamic regular part which, from the original double integral representation over the boundary element and the unit circle, are reduced to simple line integrals along the unit circle.The BEM will be applied to the determination of the eigen frequencies of piezoelectric resonators. The eigenvalue problem deals with full non-symmetric complex-valued matrices whose components depend non-linearly on the frequency. A comparative study will be made of non-linear eigenvalue solvers: QZ algorithm and the implicitly restarted Arnoldi method (IRAM). The FEM results whose accuracy is well established serve as the basis of the comparison. It is found that the IRAM is faster and has more control over the solution procedure than the QZ algorithm. The use of the time-harmonic fundamental solution provides a clean boundary only formulation of the BEM and, when applied to the eigenvalue problems with IRAM, provides eigen frequencies accurate enough to be used for industrial applications. It supersedes the dual reciprocity BEM and challenges to replace the FEM designed for the eigenvalue problems for piezoelectricity.     

A simultaneous space sampling method for DNA fraction collection using a comb structure in microfluidic devices

Fraction collection of selected components from a complex mixture plays a critical role in biomedical research, environmental analysis, and biotechnology. Here, we introduce a novel electrophoretic chip device based on a signal processing theorem that allows simultaneous space sampling for fractionation of ssDNA target fragments. Ten parallel extraction channels, which covered 1.5-mm-long sampling ranges, were used to facilitate the capturing of fast-moving fragments. Furthermore, the space sampling extraction made it possible to acquire pure collection, even from partly overlapping fragments that had been insufficiently separated after a short electrophoretic run. Fragments of 180, 181, and 182 bases were simultaneously collected, and then the recovered DNA was PCR amplified and assessed by CE analysis. The 181-base target was shown to be isolated in a 70-mm-long separation length within 10 min, in contrast to the >50 min required for the 300-mm-long separation channel in our previous study. This method provides effective combination of time and space, which is a breakthrough in the traditional concept of fraction collection on a chip.     

Triangular ruthenium acetate clusters containing the bis(pyridyl)propane ligand and their inclusion chemistry with β-cyclodextrin

The triruthenium carboxylate cluster [Ru₃O(OAc)₆(py)₂(bpp)]⁺ (OAc = acetate) containing the bridging 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane (bpp) ligand, and its dimeric species [{Ru₃O(OAc)₆(py₂)}₂(μ-bpp)]²⁺ were synthesized in order to investigate their inclusion compounds with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Characterization of the complexes was carried out based on spectroscopic, electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical techniques, while the formation of inclusion complexes was evaluated using ¹H NMR/NOESY spectroscopy. Since bpp is a flexible ligand, a DFT study was carried out in order to characterize its conformational isomers and their possible role in the host–guest chemistry with β-CD. Instead of observing the formation of inclusion compounds with different stoichiometries, we observed the formation of 1:1 bpp/β-CD compounds in which the bpp ligand assumes different conformations. The assembly of polymetallic rotaxane species was successfully demonstrated by monitoring the ¹H NMR spectra of the monomeric cluster species in the presence of aquapentacyanoferrate(II) ions and β-CD.     

On-chip fraction collection for multiple selected ssDNA fragments using isolated extraction channels

High efficiency and high-purity fraction collection is highly sought in analysis of fragments-of-interest from selective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products generated by High Coverage Gene Expression Profiling (HiCEP) methods. Here we demonstrate a new electrophoretic chip device enabling automatic high-efficient fractionation of multiple ssDNA target fragments during a run of separation. We used thoroughly isolated extraction channels for each selected target to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between targets due to cross-talk of extraction channels. Fragments of 35, 108 and 138 b, were successfully isolated, then the recovery was PCR-amplified and assessed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis. Total impurity level of the targets due to unwanted fragments of 0.7%, 2% and 6% respectively, was estimated. Difficulties in collecting multiple target factions are due to band diffusion and DNA adsorption to the walls for the fragments in the separation channel, which is generated by transferring the DNA target fraction from the extraction section to the target reservoir. Therefore, we have carefully measured band broadening and analyzed its influence on the separation resolution due to the delay.     

Synthesis of poly(isobutyl‐co‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate) with 5,10,15,20‐tetraphenylporphinato platinum(II) moiety as an oxygen‐sensing dye for pressure‐sensitive paint

Pressure‐sensitive paint (PSP), which consists of luminescent molecules embedded in an oxygen‐permeable polymer, has been developed for use in wind‐tunnel experiments. To improve the PSP technique, a novel luminescent methacrylate monomer, 5‐[4‐(2‐methacryloyloxyethoxycarbonyl)phenyl]‐10,15,20‐triphenylporphinato platinum(II), was synthesized and copolymerized with isobutyl methacrylate and 2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate to produce a dye‐pendant copolymer ( 2 ). The introduction of 5,10,15,20‐tetraphenylporphinato platinum(II) (PtTPP) dye into 2 was confirmed by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and extended X‐ray absorption fine structure measurements. The extent of PtTPP dye incorporation in 2 was proportional to the molar fraction of the PtTPP‐pendant methacrylate monomer in the feed. The oxygen‐sensing property of 2 was compared with that of a PSP consisting of PtTPP dye embedded in poly(isobutyl‐co‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate). Although the simple mixture of PtTPP and poly(isobutyl‐co‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate) showed a marked deviation from a single Stern–Volmer relation, novel copolymer 2 gave a highly linear Stern–Volmer plot. This was unequivocal evidence of dye conjugation on the oxygen‐sensing polymer film. © 2005Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2997–3006, 2005