Non-destructive rapid analysis of brominated flame retardants in electrical and electronic equipment using Raman spectroscopy.

Using Raman spectroscopy without any preparation, we analyzed the brominated flame retardant, polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which has been prohibited by the European Union. The typical Raman bands of PBDEs, which are clearly different from those of other brominated flame retardants, are from 100 to 300 cm(-1). In our analysis, the detection limit was about 100 ppm, and the analysis took about 1 min, whereas the usual method of solvent extraction using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy takes 50 h.     

Preparation and lithium doping of gallium oxynitride by ammonia nitridation via a citrate precursor route

Gallium oxynitride, isostructural to hexagonal gallium nitride (h-GaN), was obtained by ammonia nitridation of a precursor prepared from the addition of citric acid to an aqueous solution of gallium nitrate. Gallium oxynitride produced at 750 °C had a small amount of gallium vacancies, and was formulated as (Ga_0.89□_0.11) (N_0.66O_0.34) where the symbol □ stands for gallium vacancy. Both the gallium vacancies and oxygen substituted for nitrogen were randomly distributed within the structure. The amount of vacancies decreased with nitridation temperatures in the range of 750-850 °C. Approximately, 10 at% Li⁺ was doped into the gallium oxynitride, using a similar preparation with the additional presence of lithium nitrate, resulted in the random substitution of Ga³⁺ in an atomic ratio of Li/Ga<1 at 750 °C. Oxygen was codoped with lithium and substituted nitrogen in the wurtzite-type crystal lattice. These substitutions reduced the electrical conductivity in the gallium oxynitride semiconductor. A new oxynitride, Li₂Ga₃NO₄, was also obtained with Li₂CN₂ impurity using similar preparations from a mixture of Li/Ga?1. The crystal structure was isostructural with h-GaN, and was refined as P6₃mc with a=0.31674(1) nm, and c=0.50854(2) nm. The Ga and Li occupancies at the 2b site were refined to be 0.6085 and 0.3915, respectively, assuming that the other 2b site was randomly occupied with 1/5O and 4/5N. When the new compound was washed for over 1 min for the removal of Li₂CN₂ impurities, it was decomposed to a mixture of α-GaOOH and α-LiGaO₂. The as-prepared product with Li/Ga=1 showed the highest intensity in yellow luminescence among the products under excitation at 254 nm.     

Tuning of luminescence spectra of neutral ruthenium(II) complexes by crystal waters

Neutral ruthenium(II) complexes [RuLL'(CN)2] (L, L' = bpy, dmb, dbb; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, dmb = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, dbb = 4,4'-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine) were prepared, and the luminescence characteristics of the complexes in the solid state were measured. The luminescence was tuned by crystal waters included in the crystals; for example, [Ru(dbb)2(CN)2] x 2H2O, [Ru(dbb)2(CN)2] x H2O, and [Ru(dbb)2(CN)2] emit luminescence at 640, 685, and 740 nm, respectively.     

Effects of Si−Al composition on the fluorescence spectra of 1-naphthol during the sol-gel-xerogel transitions

A systematic study has been carried out on the characteristic changes in the fluorescence spectra of 1-naphthol doped in the sol-gel-xerogel transition systems comprised of tetraethyl orthosilicate and diisobutoxyaluminium triethylsilicate catalyzed by a small amount of HCl, NH₄OH, as well as under uncatalyzed conditions. In the systems containing large amounts of silicon, the fluorescence of 1-naphthol shifts to the red (a predominant emission from the ¹L_a state) during the first stage of the reaction. This red shift indicates an increase in the polarity of the matrix surrounding 1-naphthol. In the second stage of the reaction, the spectrum shifts to the blue (a predominant emission from the ¹L_b state), reflecting an increase in the micro-viscosity around 1-naphthol. In the systems containing relatively large amounts of aluminum, however, the spectrum just after mixing shows a larger red shift than that originating from the ¹L₂ emission. This large red-shifted fluorescence reflects the formation of a complex between 1-naphthol and the −O−Al−O−Si−O-network. The spectrum then shifted to the blue. The spectral behaviours observed indicate that there is a large and dynamic molecular-level change in the physicochemical properties of the matrix surrounding the 1-naphthol molecules during the sol-gel-xerogel transitions of the systems while the gelation phenomenon reflects macroscopic inflexibility although it is completely different from the restriction of movement at the molecular level.     

Correlation between oxygen consumption and photobleaching during in vitro photodynamic treatment with ATX-S10.Na(II) using pulsed light excitation: dependence of pulse repetition rate and irradiation time

We revealed that in ATX-S10.Na(II)(13,17-bis (1-carboxypropionyl) carbamoylethyl-8-etheny-2-hydroxy-3-hydroxyiminoethylidene-2,7,12,18-tetraethyl porphyrin sodium)-mediated photodynamic therapy using 667 nm nanosecond-pulsed light excitation at a peak intensity of 2.0 MW/cm(2), phototoxicity increased with decreasing pulse repetition rate in the range of 5-30 Hz for A549 cell cultures. To examine the relation between the reaction mechanism and measured phototoxicity, we carefully measured the kinetics of photochemical oxygen consumption and photobleaching during irradiation of ATX-S10.Na(II)-sensitized A549 monolayer cultures. Measurements of oxygen consumption with a microelectrode, which was performed just above the cells, showed that there was no significant difference between the magnitudes of decrease in oxygen at the three repetition rates at the same cumulative fluence. Loss of ATX-S10.Na(II) fluorescence intensity also exhibited little repetition rate dependence when compared at the same cumulative fluence. We investigated the correlation between oxygen consumption and photobleaching during irradiation and obtained "fluorescence-oxygen diagrams." The diagrams showed dynamic changes between oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent photobleaching at the higher repetition rates of 10 and 30 Hz, whereas such change was not clearly seen over the whole irradiation time at 5 Hz. These results suggest that the reduced phototoxicity at high repetition rates might be due to an oxygen-independent reaction. We presumed that the change in the reaction mechanism was associated with the local concentrations of the photosensitizer and oxygen in cells during irradiation.     

Characterization of flower-inducing compound in Lemna paucicostata exposed to drought stress

A flower-inducing compound, LDS1, was isolated from a free-floating aquatic plant, Lemna paucicostata. The chemical structure and the absolute stereochemistry of LDS1 were determined as (9R,13R,11E,15Z)-9,13-dihydroxy-10-oxooctadeca-11,15-dienoic acid for its most abundant diastereomer. LDS1 was enzymatically produced when the plant was exposed to drought stress, and induced flowering at a concentration of 10 nM.     

In vivo estimation of optical properties of rat liver using single-reflectance fiber probe during ischemia and reperfusion

Optical Review - To quantify the changes in optical properties of in vivo rat liver tissue, we applied diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) system using single-reflectance fiber probe during...     

In vivo multispectral imaging of the absorption and scattering properties of exposed brain using a digital red–green–blue camera

Optical Review - To evaluate multi-spectral images of the absorption and scattering properties in the cerebral cortex of rat brain, we investigated spectral reflectance images estimated by the...     

Macrocyclic Metal Complexes Bearing Rigid Polyaromatic Ligands: Synthesis and Catalytic Activity

We synthesised palladium and platinum complexes possessing cyclic and acyclic pincer‐type polyaromatic ligands and investigated their structural effect on the catalysis. The pincer‐type bis(6‐arylpyridin‐2‐yl)benzene skeleton was constructed via Kröhnke pyridine synthesis under transition metal‐free conditions on gram‐scale quantity. Ligand structure significantly influenced catalytic activity toward the platinum‐catalysed hydrosilylation of diphenyl acetylenes, despite the ligand‐independence of the conformations and electronic properties of these complexes.