Geometric and operational optimization of 20-kHz probe-type sonoreactor for enhancing sonochemical activity

The use of a 20-kHz probe-type sonicator irradiating downward in a 500 mL vessel was optimized for the enhancement of the sonochemical activity in terms of the geometric and operational factors. These factors included the probe immersion depth (the vertical position of the probe), input power, height of the liquid from the bottom, horizontal position of the probe, and thickness of bottom plate The sonochemical oxidation reactions were investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively using calorimetry, KI dosimetry, and luminol (Sonochemiluminescence, SCL) techniques. The sonochemical activity was very positively affected by the vertical boundaries. The highest sonochemical activity was obtained when the probe was placed close to the bottom of the vessel (immersion depth of 60 mm), with a high input power (input power of 75%), and optimal liquid height condition (liquid height of 70 mm). The SCL image analysis showed that the cavitational activity zone gradually expanded around the probe body and changed into a circular shape as the experimental conditions were optimized, and consequently the sonochemical activity increased. The formation of a large bright circular-shaped activity zone could be attributed to the strong reflections of the ultrasound firstly, at the vessel bottom and secondly, at the liquid surface. On the other hand, the cavitational activity zone and the sonochemical activity were negatively affected by the horizontal boundaries when the probe was placed close to the side wall of the vessel. In addition, it was found that the sonochemical activity was also significantly affected by the thickness of the support plate owing to the reflection and transmission of the ultrasound at the boundary between the liquid and the solid media.     

Multifunctional Sulfur-Hyperdoped Silicon Nanoparticles with Engineered Mid-Infrared Sulfur-Impurity and Free-Carrier Absorption

Si nanoparticles (NPs), which are innovative promising light-harvesting components of thin-film solar cells and key-enabling biocompatible theranostic elements of infrared-laser and radiofrequency hyperthermia-based therapies of cancer cells in tumors and metastases, are significantly advanced in their near/mid-infrared band-to-band and free-carrier absorption via donor sulfur-hyperdoping during high-throughput facile femtosecond-laser ablative production in liquid carbon disulfide. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman microscopy reveal their mixed nanocrystalline/amorphous structure, enabling the extraordinary sulfur content of a few atomic percents and very minor surface oxidation/carbonization characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A 200-nm thick layer of the nanoparticles exhibits near−mid-infrared absorbance, comparable to that of the initial 380-micron thick n-doped Si wafer (phosphor-dopant concentration ≈10¹⁵ cm⁻³), with the corresponding extinction coefficient for the hyperdoped NPs being 4–7 orders higher over the broadband spectral range of 1–25 micrometers. Such ultimate, but potentially tunable mid-IR structured, multi-band absorption of various sulfur-impurity clusters and smooth free-carrier absorption are break through advances in mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser and radiofrequency (RF) hyperthermia-based therapies, as envisioned in the RF-heating tests, and in fabrication of higher-efficiency thin-film and bulk photovoltaic devices with ultra-broad (UV−mid-IR) spectral response.     

Influence of solvent on solution processed Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals and annealing induced changes in the optical,structural properties of CZTS film

The well-known quaternary Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) chalcogenide thin films are playing an important role in modern technology. The CZTS nanocrystal were successfully prepared by solution method using water, ethylene glycol and ethylenediamine as different solvent. The pure phase material was used for thin film coating by thermal evaporation method. The prepared CZTS thin films were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. The XRD and Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed the formation of polycrystalline CZTS thin film with tetragonal crystal structure after annealing at 450 ^°C. The oxidation state of the annealed film was studied by XPS. A direct band gap about 1.36 eV was estimated for the film from FT-IR studies, which is nearly close to the optimum value of band gap energy of CZTS materials for best solar cell efficiency. The CZTS annealed thin films are more suitable for using as a p-type absorber layer in a low-cost solar cell.     

氨基酸官能团的太赫兹振动模式研究

对比于氨基酸的红外分析法,太赫兹波的电子能量更低,可实现无损检测。氨基酸分子内原子振动、分子间氢键的作用、以及晶体中晶格的低频振动均处于太赫兹波段,使其在太赫兹波段具有吸收峰,且不同的氨基酸分子太赫兹吸收峰不同,故可用氨基酸在太赫兹波段的这种“指纹特性”实现氨基酸类物质的定性分析。量子化学分析方法可以应用量子力学的基本原理和方法,研究稳定和不稳定分子的结构、性能及其之间的关系,还可以针对分子与分子间的相互作用、相互碰撞及相互反应等问题进行研究。通过量子化学计算方法计算氨基酸分子的太赫兹吸收谱,可以为氨基酸分子的太赫兹吸收峰匹配分子振动模式,对氨基酸定性分析有一定参考性与指向性,并为实验获取的样品太赫兹时域光谱提供理论支撑,在实验获得太赫兹吸收谱的基础上进行量子化学计算,还能为实验结果进行验证。首先利用太赫兹时域光谱技术获取了谷氨酰胺、苏氨酸、组氨酸的太赫兹吸收谱,分别构建这三种氨基酸样品在实物中以两性离子形式存在的单分子构型,利用量子化学计算方法在完成结构优化后进行太赫兹吸收谱模拟计算。计算结果表明三种氨基酸单分子的太赫兹吸收谱计算结果与实验获取的太赫兹吸收谱差异较大,但在高频段吸收峰峰位基本吻合。通过GaussView分别查看了这三种氨基酸分子在太赫兹段内的吸收峰对应频率处的振转情况,发现在高频段内三种氨基酸分子官能团均只发生转动而未见振动,并且转动模式基本一致。通过对氨基酸官能团的太赫兹吸收谱进行量子化学计算,将官能团在高频段内吸收峰对应频率处的振转模式与三种氨基酸分子在该段内吸收峰对应频率处的振转模式做了对比。研究表明,在氨基酸单分子构型下由量子化学方法计算所得的太赫兹吸收谱中,高频段内计算得出的模拟吸收峰与实验获取的太赫兹吸收峰基本吻合;振转模式分析发现,谷氨酰胺、苏氨酸、组氨酸在太赫兹高频段内的氨基酸官能团振转模式相同,三种氨基酸分子在高频段内的吸收峰主要来源于氨基酸官能团。因此,结合量子化学计算与太赫兹吸收谱可以实现氨基酸类物质的定性分析。     

皮肤组织容积脉搏波400~1000 nm光谱特性仿真研究

根据皮肤组织解剖结构特性建立了六层层状模型,并给出了皮肤组织各层的特性参数;考虑了氧合血红蛋白和还原血红蛋白的吸收特性,依据皮肤组织各层的水、血、脂肪、血氧饱和度含量以及血管大小给出了皮肤组织各层的光谱吸收系数;对不同波长散射系数做了适当简化,给出了皮肤组织各层的光谱散射系数。利用蒙特卡罗方法仿真血管组织在收缩与舒张两种状态下, 400~1 000 nm波长光在皮肤组织多层模型中的传输过程,并通过统计大量光子的分布特性,获得了皮肤组织光谱反射系数,并利用模拟所得的两种状态下的反射系数计算得到了光谱容积脉搏波幅度。仿真结果表明,当入射光强一定时,绿光的容积脉搏波幅度优于红光和蓝光。通过计算不同波长光沿皮肤组织深度方向光能流率衰减为1/e时对应的皮肤组织深度,获得了皮肤组织光谱穿透深度。结果显示,血管舒张状态下蓝光和绿光的穿透深度较小,蓝光大部分只能达到表皮层,绿光能到达微循环层,红光可直达真皮层。考虑到光在皮肤组织中传播包含了一个从收缩到舒张的动态过程,基于此,根据穿透深度定义了脉搏波信号产生深度,利用血管舒张与收缩两种不同状态下的穿透深度计算得到了光谱产生深度。结果表明,不同波长光产生深度大于其穿透深度,蓝光产生深度较浅,且其受到的血液吸收调制较小,因而其获得的脉搏信号易受噪声干扰;红光的容积脉搏波产生深度较大,但是相比于绿光其受血液吸收调制较小,且绿光产生深度足够达到真皮血管层,因而红光容积脉搏波的幅度小于绿光。上述仿真结果明确了皮肤组织部分光谱特性,为皮肤组织多光谱容积脉搏波的精确获取及其他相关研究提供了一定的理论基础。     

Dinuclear gold (I)-di-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: syntheses,structure, density functional theory calculation and photoluminescence study

The synthesis and characterizations for a series of dinuclear gold (I)-di-NHC complexes, 1–8 through the trans-metalation method of their respective silver (I)-di-NHC complexes, i–viii are reported (where NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene). The successful complexation of a series of unusual non-symmetrical and symmetrical di-NHC ligands, 3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diyl)-1-alkylbenzimidazolium-1'-butylbenzimidazolium (with alkyl = methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, benzyl) with the gold (I) ions are suggested by elemental analysis, Fourier transform-infrared, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR data. The ¹³C-NMR spectra of 1–8 show a singlet sharp peak in the range of 190.00–192.00 ppm, indicating the presence of a carbene carbon that bonded to the gold (I) ion. From single crystal X-ray diffraction data, the structure of complex 6 with the formula of [di-NHC-Au (I)]₂·2PF₆ is obtained [where NHC = 3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diyl)-1-hexylbenzimidazolium-1'-butylbenzimidazolium]. The photophysical study in solid state of 6 displays an intense photoluminescence with a strong emission maxima, λ_em = 480 nm, upon excitation at 340 nm at room temperature. Interestingly, the emission maximum at 77 K shows a structural character with a strong peak at 410 nm, a medium at 433 nm and a weak at 387 nm, accompanied by a tail band to about 500 nm.     

Nano-sized Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes and their use as a precursor for synthesis of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles: A study on their sonochemical synthesis,characterization, and DNA-binding/cleavage,anticancer, and antimicrobial activities

Two new divalent copper (C1) and zinc (C2) chelates having the formulae [M(PIMC)₂] (where M = Cu(II), Zn(II) and PIMC = Ligand [(E)-3-(((3-hydroxypyridin-2-yl)imino)methyl)-4H-chromen-4-one] were obtained and characterized by several techniques. Structures and geometries of the synthesized complexes were judged based on the results of alternative analytical and spectral tools supporting the proposed formulae. IR spectral data confirmed the coordination of the ligands to the copper and zinc centers as monobasic tridentate in the enol form. Thermal analysis, UV-Vis spectra and magnetic moment confirmed the geometry around the copper center to be tetrahedral, square pyramidal and octahedral. Study of the binding ability of the synthesized compounds with Circulating tumor DNA (CT-DNA) bas been evaluated applying UV-Vis spectral titration and viscosity measurements. The copper and zinc oxides were achieved from the copper and zinc nano-particles structures Schiff base complexes as the raw material after calcination for 5 hr at 600°C. On the other hand, synthesized of C1 and C2 NPs were used as suitable precursors to the preparation of CuO and ZnO NPs. Finally, the synthesized of the two complexes exhibited enhanced activity against the tested bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia Coli) and fungal strains (Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus) as compared to HPIMC. Among all these synthesized compounds, C1 exhibits good cleaving ability compared to other newly synthesized C2.     

Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles from a Zn(II) coordination polymer: Structural characterization,optical properties and photocatalytic activity

A zinc coordination polymer derived from pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate (PDC), {[Zn₂(PDC)₂]}_n, was successfully prepared via conventional, sonication and microwave-irradiation methods. The composition and characteristics of the obtained coordination polymers (CPs) were investigated by elemental analysis, TGA/DTA, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. The so obtained CPs were heat-treated in the air at 600 °C for 2 h to produce ZnO of nanosized particles (NPs). It is of interest to note that the synthesis approach of the precursor greatly affects both the nanoparticle size and the structure of the resulting ZnO NPs. Moreover, the smallest particle size was associated with the sample derived from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. TEM analysis revealed that all samples have sphere-like morphologies. Structural analysis of the prepared ZnO samples was conducted and compared using Rietveld analysis of their PXRD patterns. Optical band gap calculations based on analysis of the UV–vis spectra of ZnO samples using Tauc's power law were achieved. The highest band gap of 3.63 eV was observed for ZnO sample obtained from the ultrasonically prepared precursor. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NPs for the removal of Eosin Y color was monitored. The highest removal efficiency was recorded for ZnO originated from the ultrasonically synthesized precursor. Enhancement of removal efficiency that reached 98% was attained in only a period of 8 min. Its recycling test showed that it can be reused without structural changes over four cycling experiments.     

Comparative absorption kinetics of seven active ingredients of Eucommia ulmoides extracts by intestinal in situ circulatory perfusion in normal and spontaneous hypertensive rats

Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (E. ulmoides) is a valuable and nourishing medicinal herb in China that has been used in the treatment of hypertension. Given the fact that most traditional Chinese medicine is mainly used to treat disease, investigating the pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicines in the pathological state is more useful than that in the normal state. However, the differences in the absorption kinetics of active ingredients of E. ulmoides extract between pathological and physiological conditions have not been reported. Therefore, in this study, the rat intestinal in situ circulatory perfusion model was used to investigate the differences in absorption kinetics of seven active ingredients of E. ulmoides extract in normal and spontaneously hypertensive rats, namely, genipinic acid, protocatechuic acid, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, (+)-pinoresinol di-O-β-D -glucopyranoside and (+)-pinoresinol 4′-O-β-D -glucopyranoside. Our results indicate that the pathological state of spontaneous hypertension may change the absorption of active components of E. ulmoides extracts, and these findings may provide a reference for improving the rational use of E. ulmoides in the clinic.     

A rapid and sensitive bioanalytical LC–MS/MS method for the quantitation of a novel CDK5 inhibitor 20–223 (CP668863) in plasma: Application to in vitro metabolism and plasma protein-binding studies

A rapid, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantitation of the novel CDK5 inhibitor ‘20–223' in mouse plasma. Separation of analytes was achieved by a reverse-phase ACE Excel C₁₈ column (1.7 μm, 100 × 2.1 mm) with gradient elution using 0.1% formic acid (FA) in methanol and 0.1% FA as the mobile phase. Analytes were monitored by MS/MS with an electrospray ionization source in the positive multiple reaction monitoring mode. The MS/MS response was linear over the concentration range 0.2–500 ng/mL for 20–223. The within- and between-batch precision were within the acceptable limits as per Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The validated method was successfully applied to plasma protein binding and in vitro metabolism studies. Compound 20–223 was highly bound to mouse plasma proteins (>98% bound). Utilizing mouse S9 fractions, in vitro intrinsic clearance (CL_int) was 24.68 ± 0.99 μL/min/mg protein. A total of 12 phase I and II metabolites were identified with hydroxylation found to be the major metabolic pathway. The validate method required a low sample volume, was linear from 0.2 to 500 ng/mL, and had acceptable accuracy and precision.