Langmuir-Blodgett films of 9-phenyl anthracene molecules incorporated into different matrices

This communication reports the surface pressure (pi) versus area per molecule (A) isotherm characteristics of the mixed films of 9-phenyl anthracene (PA) in stearic acid (SA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrices, at the air-water interface. The mixed Langmuir films at the air-water interface have been observed to be easily transferred onto solid substrates to form uniform Langmuir-Blodgett films. By changing various parameters, namely molefraction, surface pressure of lifting and number of layers, the mixed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of various types have been fabricated successfully and their spectroscopic characteristics have been reported. From the isotherm characteristics and the area per molecule versus molefraction plot, it is evident that the PA molecules are successfully incorporated into mixed Langmuir-Blodgett films. UV-vis absorption spectroscopic study of the mixed LB films at various molefractions of PA in two different matrices reveal that formation of I-type aggregate in PMMA matrix whereas both I- and H-type aggregates are playing their dominant role in SA matrix. Moreover, fluorescence spectroscopic study reveals reabsorption effect. Molecular movement persists in the freshly prepared LB films, as is evident from the time dependent changes in both UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra of the mixed LB films in both matrices. From our observation it is evident that about 200 h is required to get the LB films in a stable condition. Dimers and higher order n-mers are formed at a higher surface pressure of 30 mNm(-1).     

All-optical 2R-regeneration and continuous wave to pulsed signal wavelength conversion based on fiber nonlinearity

In this paper, we propose a novel all-optical 2R (re-amplification and re-shaping) regenerator based on inducing nonlinear chirp over a continuous wave probe. The regenerator also performs continuous wave to pulsed wavelength conversion. The chirp is induced in a highly nonlinear fiber by the data modulated pulsed signal that is to be regenerated. Offset filtering is employed at the output of the highly nonlinear fiber to extract the frequencies generated as a result of chirping. The regenerator performance has been evaluated with the help of bit-error-rate plots and eye diagrams at different values of optical signal to noise ratios. Apart from re-shaping and re-amplification, inclusion of the regenerator results in better resilience to amplified spontaneous emission noise.     

Redox behavior of juglone in buffered aq.: Ethanol media

The present work reports the redox mechanism of 5-hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione (HND), commonly known as juglone, in buffered aqueous media having 50% of ethanol. HND followed different mechanistic routes depending upon the pH of the media and more than one pK_a were evaluated from the changes in the slope of the E_p vs. pH plot. The change of pH from acidic to neutral conditions was found to switch the mechanism from CEC to EE mechanism. Pulse techniques were utilized to determine the number of electrons involved in the oxidation and/or the reduction step and to ensure the nature of the redox process. Based upon the obtained results, an electrode reaction mechanism was proposed. Computational studies of HND supported the experimental results. UV-Visible spectroscopy was also employed for the detailed characterization of the compound in a wide range of pH and for the determination of its pK_a.     

Trifluoroethylxanthate as an Analytical Reagent: AAS of Zinc,Antimony and Lead After Coprecipitation of Their Trifluoroethylxanthates onto Microcyrstalline Naphthalene

Abstract

A sensitive method has been developed for the direct atomic absorption spectrometric determination of zinc, antimony and lead after coprecipitation of their trifluoroethylxanthates onto microcrystalline naphthalene. The metal xanthates are quantitatively coprecipitated over the pH ranges: Zn, 5.9–8.4; Sb, 4.0–6.0 and Pb, 4.0–11.0. The solid mass consisting of the metal complex and naphthalene is dissolved in DMF. This solution is aspirated into an air-acetylene flame at 213.9, 217.6 and 217.0nm for Zn, Sb and Pb, respectively. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 2–50, 3–90 and 5–60 μg of Zn, Sb and Pb, respectively in 10ml of the final DMF solution. RSDs are at the ± (0.5–0.6)% level (n=10). The concentration for 1% absorption is 0.019, 0.035 and 0.060μg/ml for Zn, Sb and Pb, respectively. The method is suitable for the preconcentration of the metals from a larger volume of the aqueous phase, and has been employed for their determination in standard reference materials. It may be employed for the simultaneous determination of Zn, Pb and Sb in a solution by pH control.     

Applicability of in situ detectors for radiological assessment of strontium-90 in rivers and lakes

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - An in situ detector for radiological assessments of strontium-90 (90Sr) in river and lake water is developed, based on a CaF2(Eu) scintillator,...     

Photoluminescence properties of Er-doped AlN films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Er-doped aluminum nitride films, containing different Er concentrations, were obtained at room temperature by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The prepared samples show a nano-columnar microstructure and the size of the columns is dependent on the magnetron power. The Er-related photoluminescence (PL) was studied in relation with the temperature, the Er content and the microstructure. Steady-state PL, PL excitation spectroscopy and time-resolved PL were performed. Both visible and near infrared PL were obtained at room temperature for the as-deposited samples. It is demonstrated that the PL intensity reaches a maximum for an Er concentration equal to 1 at% and that the PL efficiency is an increasing function of the magnetron power. Decay time measurements show the important role of defect related non-radiative recombination, assumed to be correlated to the presence of grain boundaries. Moreover PL excitation results demonstrate that an indirect excitation of Er³⁺ ions occurs for excitation wavelengths lower than 600 nm.     

A sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the quantification of febuxostat in human plasma and its pharmacokinetic application

An improved, simple and highly sensitive LC‐MS/MS method has been developed and validated for quantification of febuxostat with 100 μL human plasma using febuxostat‐d₇ as an internal standard (IS) according to regulatory guidelines. The analyte and IS were extracted from human plasma via liquid–liquid extraction using diethyl ether. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax C₁₈ column using a mixture of acetonitrile and 5 mm ammonium formate (60:40, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The total run time was 5.0 min and the elution of febuxostat and IS occurred at 1.0 and 1.5 min, respectively. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 1–6000 ng/mL (r > 0.99). The precursor to product ion transitions monitored for febuxostat and IS were m/z 317.1 → 261.1 and 324.2 → 262.1, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (%RSD) were within 1.29–9.19 and 2.85–7.69%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies in humans. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural and functional stabilities of artificially designed DNA ultra-thin films grown by silica Assistance

We report the structural and functional stabilities of artificially synthesized DNA ultra-thin films. Fully covered DNA ultra-thin films on a silica substrate were fabricated by the silica-assisted growth method and those samples were then incubated in various chemicals and physical conditions. The DNA ultra-thin films showed high maintainability under those harsh conditions and these results would aid to facilitate the use of artificial DNA ultra-thin films in advanced research areas such as biophotonics and bioelectronics.