Spectral Properties of Thioflavin T and Its Complexes with Amyloid Fibrils

Comparative analysis of the absorption and fluorescence spectra and fluorescence excitation spectra of thioflavin T (ThT) in various solvents and in the composition of amyloid fibrils has shown that ThT, when excited in the region of the long-wavelength absorption band, fluoresces in the spectral region with a maximum at 478–484 nm. The appearance in aqueous and alcohol solutions of a fluorescence band with a maximum near 440 nm has been attributed to the presence in the composition of the ThT preparations of an impurity with an absorption band in the 340–350-nm range. The literature data showing that in glycerol ThT has a wide fluorescence spectrum with two maxima are due to the artifact connected with the use of a high concentration of the dye. It has been suggested that the cause of the low quantum yield of ThT aqueous and alcohol solutions is the breakage of the system of conjugated bonds due to the reorientation of the benzothiozole and benzaminic rings of ThT in the excited state with respect to one another. The main factor determining the high quantum yield of fluorescence of ThT incorporated in fibrils is the steric restriction of the rotation of the rings about one another under these conditions. The suggestions made have been verified by the quantum-chemical calculation of the ThT molecule geometry in the ground and excited states.     

Absorption Complex between Porphyrin and Phenothiazine in Reverse Micelles

Porphyrin derivatives attract much more interest in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Their importance as therapeutic drugs and targeting agents has been widely recognized1, and many of the efforts have been put towards crafting new porphyrin-based molecular entities to achieve enhanced tumor localization, better tissue penetration and increased singlet oxygen quantum yield2. The states of porphyrins in tissue models such as micelles, lipid bilayers are extensively investigated focusing more or l…     

Microperforated insertion units: An alternative strategy to design microperforated panels

Microperforated panels (MPPs) coupled to a rigid wall have been proposed recently as an alternative to porous absorbers in situations having concerns with bacterial contamination and small particles discharge, like food, pharmaceutical and microelectronic industries. There exists also an increasing interest for MPP absorbers in the transportation industry and civil engineering. In general, an optimally designed MPP with good broadband absorption requires many submillimetric holes distributed over a panel of also submillimetric thickness. Such thin plates or foils become so fragile that they need to be protected from mechanical damage. In this paper, an alternative strategy is investigated which allows the design of MPPs with panels of millimetric thickness while maintaining their acoustic performance. These absorbers, named microperforated insertion units (MIUs), avoid the structural problems of the classical MPPs. An assessment of the sound absorption properties of these structures is presented. Comparisons between calculations and measurements are also made under two experimental conditions: plane waves at normal incidence (impedance tube) and free field (anechoic room).     

双轴晶体Nd^3＋：KGd（WO4）2的非偏振吸收光谱研究

报道了用三个方向相互垂直的非偏振吸收光谱测量计算Ｊｕｄｄ－Ｏｆｅｌｔ参数从而算出双轴晶体Ｎｄ３＋ＫＧｄ（ＷＯ４）２的荧光寿命、荧光分支比和发射截面的方法。得到的荧光寿命为１１９μｓ，平均发射截面为２．３×１０－１９ｃｍ２。     

X-ray damage characterization in BaLiF3,KMgF3 and LiCaAlF6 complex fluorides

Two-inch sized KMgF₃,BaLiF₃ and LiCaAlF₆ (LiCAF) single crystals were grown by the Czochralski method under a CF₄ atmosphere. X-ray irradiation was used to carry out a comparative study of induced optical absorption phenomena and colour centre creation in the ultra-violet and visible spectral regions. The integral of the induced absorption spectra is significantly lower in LiCAF with respect to the other studied materials. It is found that the amplitude of the F-absorption band is suppressed more than a factor of 3 by Mg-doping. For Mg-doped crystals, the optimum doping concentration is about 0.2 mol% of Mg²⁺.     

Anomalies in the Absorption and Reflection of a High-Power Ultrashort Laser Pulse by a Plasma with a Solid-State Density

The patterns of absorption and reflection of an ultrashort laser pulse by a plasma with a solid-state density, which are realized in the mode of the normal skin effect, are studied. It is shown that a decrease in low-power pulse duration shorter than the period corresponding to the fundamental frequency of radiation leads to an increase in the absorption coefficient. If the pulse power is so high as to provide electron heating during a time shorter than the reciprocal fundamental frequency, nonlinear suppression of absorption takes place and the spectrum of the reflected radiation contains odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency.     

Failure of the Quasiparticle Picture of X-ray Absorption?

The Golden rule expression for x-ray absorption spectra (XAS) is typically calculated within a one-particle (quasiparticle) approximation and generally leads to good agreement between theory and experiment. The fact that a quasiparticle approximation works fairly well is surprising, since it neglects satellite excitations and intrinsic losses due to a suddenly created core-hole. The resolution of this paradox requires physics beyond the independent particle approximation. This is discussed here using an effective Green's function formulation based on a quasi-boson model that takes interference between inelastic losses into account. This approach shows that inelastic excitations such as multi-electron excitations tend to be suppressed, and that the XAS is given by a broadened quasiparticle particle approximation, together with weak satellite structure and edge singularity effects.     

Structure and optical properties of lead iodide based two-dimensional perovskite compounds containing fluorophenethylamines

Phenethylammonium-based perovskites, which can be regarded as a semiconductor/insulator multiple quantum well consisting of lead halide semiconductor layers sandwiched between phenethylammonium insulator layers were prepared. To investigate the effects of the electronic state and the orientation of organic insulator layers on the optical properties of layered perovskites, fluorine substituted analogues were also prepared. The structure and optical properties were investigated by the XRD, UV–Vis absorption, and fluorescence measurements. The exciton absorption peak was shifted by the substitution of fluorine atoms in organic ammonium compounds. It became clear that the optical properties of two-dimensional perovskite compounds were controlled by the substitution of fluorine atoms.     

Absorption measurement of strained SiGe nanostructures deposited by UHV-CVD

In order to obtain a low band gap photocell based on the widely spread silicon technology, e.g. for thermophotovoltaics, SiGe nanostructures can be introduced into a monocrystalline silicon photocell. Beforehand, it is necessary to know the absorption coefficient of the SiGe quantum wells. On a silicon (1 0 0) substrate multiple Si/SiGe quantum well structures were grown by UHV-CVD. The Ge concentration and the well width were used as growth parameters. To obtain significant absorption, the experiment was set up to allow for 200 internal reflections.The total reflection of the light results in a standing electromagnetic wave. The absorption coefficient was obtained from the experimental data taking the geometry and the electric field distribution in the absorbing layer into account. The influence of well width and germanium content on the absorption was investigated with the goal of maximizing the absorption for photons with energies below the band gap energy of silicon. The measurement results are compared with a theoretical model, which takes the band structure of strained SiGe including confinement effects into account.     

Novel route to synthesis of allyl starch and biodegradable hydrogel by copolymerizing allyl‐modified starch with methacrylic acid and acrylamide

Maize starch was modified by allyl chloride adopting an interfacial reaction technique with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as a phase‐transfer catalyst and pyridine as an acid acceptor. The degree of substitution was determined from an increasing carbon content of the modified starch. The percentage of carbon and hydrogen of the allyl‐modified starch was estimated by elemental analysis (C, H, and N), and the product characterization was done through ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR analyses. The allyl‐modified starch was then copolymerized with methacrylic acid and a combination of methacrylic acid and acrylamide at 50 and 70 °C with potassium persulfate as an initiator. The copolymer thus formed swelled in distilled water after neutralization with sodium carbonate. The percentage of absorption capacity of the hydrogels was determined with distilled water and 0.9% NaCl solution. The highest percentage of absorption, 6500%, was achieved for the developed hydrogel containing allyl starch and acrylic monomer in a 1.7:1 w/w ratio and acrylic monomer, namely, methacrylic acid and acrylamide in a 3.2:1 w/w ratio. The study on biodegradability of the developed hydrogel showed that the hydrogel is degradable in the presence of diastase (amylase). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1650–1658, 2003