Small-Molecule Modulation of Soft-Matter Frank–Kasper Phases: A Method for Adding Function to Form

Incorporation of small amounts of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) in blends with the cellobiose–triazole-linked atactic poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (CB-aPMP) sugar–polyolefin conjugate can be used to exert external control over thermotropic phase behavior and provide access to non-canonical soft matter Frank–Kasper A15 and σ phases. These results establish a paradigm that can be used for the further design and development of scalable quantities of soft matter FK phases of increased structural complexity and functional capability.     

Raising the bar on-bead: Efficient on-resin synthesis of α-conotoxin LvIA

α4/7-Conotoxin LvIA is an isoform-selective inhibitor of the α3β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. An efficient strategy for the synthesis of this toxin is critical to advancing its utility as a probe for receptor function and as a potential pharmaceutical lead target. On-resin methods for peptide synthesis offer potential synthetic advantages; however, strategies for on-resin formation of multiple disulfides have historically been low-yielding. Here, we harness the reactivity of the Allocam protecting group and employ a 3-amino acid spacer strategy to synthesize α4/7-conotoxin LvIA via three different on-resin strategies, each of which results in an isolated yield higher than previous fully on-resin approaches.     

Synthesis of mesoporous-silica coated multi-branched gold nanoparticles for surface enhanced Raman scattering evaluation of 4-bromomethcathinone

Mesoporous silica-coated multi-branched gold nanoparticles (bAu@mesoSiO₂) aiming for enhanced Raman sensing for 4-bromomethcathinone (4-BMC) detection is reported. In this work, we present an effective strategy to probe the Raman signal of 4-MBC. Morphologies and optical properties of the synthesized materials with different [Au³⁺]/[Au⁰] ratios are characterized utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis and mid-infrared spectroscopy. Both experimental and theoretical (simulation) studies were investigated. Taking advantages of gold core branches that provide highly localized and strongly enhanced electromagnetic fields due to plasmon resonance, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is observed. The experimental results show that the SERS intensity exhibits a 100-fold increase with the increased average length and quantity of gold branches (nano tips). The analytical performance yielded a detection limit of 0.1?mg/ml for the 4-MBC target within 5?mins. The sensing method will likely find further improvement and broad use in the forensic science. Besides rapid detection and portability, the combination of the Raman effect and enhanced materials imparts other notable advantages, such as its non-contact and free of reagents.     

Optical emission behaviors of C,Al, Ti,Fe, Cu,Mo, Ag,Ta, and W wire explosions in gaseous media

Electrical explosion of wires (EEW) is a promising method for nanopowders preparation and insensitive explosives ignition. Plasma radiation plays a key role in the ignition process while little attention has been paid on this phenomenon before. This letter introduces optical emission behaviors of electrical explosions for nine materials in air, Helium, and Argon with the SWE-2 platform. Experimental results indicated that the light intensity for non-refractory metals decayed rapidly after the discharge ended. In contrast, for refractory metals, the emission continued to increase and lasted for a long period after the discharge ceased. As for spectra, the emission consisted of line and continuous spectra. With the atomic number increased, the density of lines grew rapidly, leading to a “continuous” appearance.     

基于光谱技术的原料肉新鲜度指标在线检测系统开发及试验

为了实现原料肉新鲜度参数的无损在线实时评估，基于双波段可见/近红外反射光谱（350~1 100和1 000~2 500 nm）技术建立了原料肉新鲜度主要指标的在线检测系统。研究设计了装置的光源单元、光谱采集单元、控制单元和驱动单元，优化设计了光源固定支架和安放角度，编写了相应的控制程序，开发了实验室用和便于在不同生产线应用的两套在线检测系统。首先，对试验参数（传送带速度和样品到透镜入光口距离）进行了优化研究，通过光谱相似度比较和显著性分析，确定传送带速度是275 mm·s-1、距离是12 cm时能够获得更加稳定的光谱信号。然后，基于该试验参数，分别在静止和在线条件下采集了贮藏时间为1~13 d共50个猪肉样本的反射光谱，并利用抛物线拟合法对双波段光谱进行融合，以获取整条覆盖可见及近红外区域的完整光谱。为了使两个波段范围内的光谱数据点权重相同，在整个波段范围内均匀分布，借助三次样条插值法将所有光谱数据点以2 nm为间隔进行重新排布。采用窗口移动多项式最小二乘拟合法对光谱作平滑处理，采用标准正态变量变换对每条光谱进行标准化预处理，分别建立了静止和在线条件下新鲜度主要表征指标-颜色（L*，a*和b*）、pH和挥发性盐基氮的预测模型，以此验证所搭建系统的可靠性。经过对比分析，发现在线条件下的建模结果不如静止状态下的建模结果，这可能与在线采集时光谱存在漂移现象有关。进一步尝试利用一阶导数处理来消除基线漂移强化谱带特征，并对一阶导数和标准化处理顺序对建模结果的影响进行了探讨。结果发现先经过一阶导数再经过标准化处理，能更好地消除外部干扰造成的影响，建模结果更佳。在该处理方式下，基于第一波段光谱建立了颜色参数（L*，a*，b*）的预测模型，基于双波段光谱建立了pH和挥发性盐基氮的在线检测模型，预测相关系数分别为0.955 3，0.924 7，0.955 1，0.961 5和0.966 8。最后，为了验证模型的适用性，基于开发的便于在不同生产线应用的在线检测系统，利用独立的20个样本对在线模型进行外部验证，对颜色参数（L*，a*，b*），pH和挥发性盐基氮的预测相关系数分别为0.918 9，0.914 1，0.947 7，0.950 4和0.960 6。研究结果表明，该系统通过双波段光谱的实时采集和融合，可以获取更多反应样本内部信息的光学信号，具有更强的检测能力。结合设计的光路等其他硬件单元，可以同时获取样本表面更大区域的反射光谱信息，从而实现对原料肉新鲜度主要表征参数的无损、在线、实时评估。该系统便于组装和拆卸，可以适应不同企业生产线的实际需要，具有较强的实用价值和较好的市场前景。     

A High Sensitive,Reproducible and Disposable Immunosensor for Analysis of SOX2

In this study, an ITO (indium tin oxide) based biosensor was constructed to detect SOX2. SOX2 helps the regulation of cell pluripotency and is closely related to early embryonic development, neural and sexual differentiation. SOX2 is amplified and overexpressed in some malignant tumors such as squamous cell, lung, prostate, breast, esophageal cell, colon, ovarian, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. To generate a hydroxylated clean electrode surface, ITO electrodes were treated with NH₄OH/H₂O₂/H₂O. Later, ITO‐PET electrode surfaces were modified with 3‐glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (3‐GOPS). Then, Anti‐SOX2 was covalently immobilized onto the electrode surfaces. 3‐GOPS concentration, Anti‐SOX2 concentration and incubation time, SOX2 incubation time were optimized. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were utilized in order to follow up the immobilization processes and the optimization steps of the biosensor. To characterize the analytical properties of constructed immunosensor; linear range, repeatability, reproducibility and regeneration studies were investigated. The linear range of the immunosensor was detected as 0.625 pg/mL–62.5 pg/mL. Square wave voltammetry technique was also applied to the biosensor. Storage life of the biosensor was determined for identifying the possible usability of the biosensor in clinical field. Finally, the designed biosensor was applied to the real human serum samples. The results obtained with the presented biosensor were also compared with ELISA results.     

Study of electron-vibrational interaction and concentration quenching effect of Cu+ ions in lithium based sulphate phosphors

The objective of this work is to study electron-vibrational interaction (EVI) and concentration quenching and their manifestation in experimental photoluminescence spectra of Cu⁺ ion in various lithium based phosphors namely, Li₂SO₄, LiNaSO₄ and LiKSO₄. The main parameters of EVI, such as the Stokes shift, Huang-Rhys factor and zero-phonon line positions, were estimated. The studied systems shows strong electron lattice coupling. The validity of results was established by modeling the shape of the emission spectra, which was found to be in good agreement with experimental photoluminescence spectra. The concentration quenching study is also carried out for these compounds. The studied systems correspond to the nearest neighbor energy transfer mechanism.     

A novel self activated K2XV2O7 (X = Mg and Zn) pyrovanadate green phosphor: Systematic characterization and time resolved photoluminescence

Novel self activated green phosphors; K₂ZnV₂O₇ (KZV) and K₂MgV₂O₇ (KMV) have been prepared and characterized in details. Both KZV and KMV were prepared by solid state reaction and systematically characterized by a number of techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed Infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPLS). XRD studies confirm tetragonal melilite type layered phase for both of them. The presence of pyrovanadate group in both is supported by FTIR and Raman spectroscopic investigations. Raman bands of KMV are blue shifted w.r.t to KZV which may be due to shorter bond lengths of MgO compared to ZnO and lower atomic weight of magnesium compared to zinc. DRS measurements indicated the optical band gap of KMV and KZV are 3.14 and 3.12 eV, respectively. Optical measurements on these samples show the emission of green color on ultra violet light irradiation. The origin of such emission is attributed to electronic transition (charge transfer) from filled 2p orbital of oxygen ion (O²⁻) to vacant 3d orbital of vanadium ion (V⁵⁺). In KZV there are dual emission band (PL1 and PL2) which are respectively attributed to ³T₂ → ¹A₁ and ³T₁ → ¹A₁transition, and the emission zone varies slightly compared to KMV. KZV emits bluish green (cool green) where KMV emits in yellowish green (warm green) region. This is indeed an important step towards realization of cost effective rare earth free luminescence material. It is also oberved that PL intensity of KZV is very high compared to KMV which is supported by the lifetime measurements.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic studies,thermal analyses,biological activity of tridentate-coordinated transition-metal complexes [M(L)X2] and crystal structure of [ZnBr2(2,6-bis(tert-butylthiomethyl)pyridine)]

A new terdentate acyclic pincer ligand, 2,6-bis(tert-butylthiomethyl)pyridine (tbtmp), was synthesized and reacted with several complexes of iron, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and copper. The ligand and its coordination compounds were characterized using elemental analysis, infrared, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR-spectroscopy, thermal analyses, plus—for the Zn complex—single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. The structure of [Zn(L)Br₂] was solved in the tetragonal crystal system, chiral space groups P4₁2₁2 and P4₃2₁2 (No. 92 and No. 96, a = 947.2(1) pm, c = 2265.2(5) pm), revealing five-fold coordination of the metal atoms. According to spectroscopy, all complexes share the same coordination environment around the metal atoms, consisting of two halide anions and a sulfur-methylene-pyridine-methylene-sulfur entity; tbtmp acts as a tridentate ligand with the pyridine N atom and both tert-butylthio S atoms coordinating to the metal ions (NS2). The analysis results indicate that the metal ions are coordinated as distorted pseudo-bipyramids, LMX₂, with the chelate ligand meridionally arranged. One of the complexes contains ethanol as an additional ligand, resulting in a pseudo-octahedral coordination sphere [Ni(L)Cl₂EtOH]. The latter was obtained in the form of green crystals, which turn into a red powder with loss of the ethanol molecule. Fe (III), Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) metal complexes [M(L)Cl₂] were screened for their antibacterial activity against B. subtilis G(+) and Escherichia coli G(−) bacteria, and fungus (Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus).     

Raman Spectroscopic Signature of Ectoine Conformations in Bulk Solution and Crystalline State

Recent crystallographic results revealed conformational changes of zwitterionic ectoine upon hydration. By means of confocal Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, we present a detailed study of this transformation process as part of a Fermi resonance analysis. The corresponding findings highlight that all resonant couplings are lifted upon exposure to water vapor as a consequence of molecular binding processes. The importance of the involved molecular groups for water binding and conformational changes upon hydration is discussed. Our approach further shows that the underlying rapid process can be reversed by carbon dioxide saturated atmospheres. For the first time, we also confirm that the conformational state of ectoine in aqueous bulk solution coincides with crystalline ectoine in its dihydrate state, thereby highlighting the important role of a few bound water molecules.