Experimental investigation for stability and surface properties of TiO2 and Al2O3 water-based nanofluids

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Nanofluids have gained recent attention because of their potential applications in diverse engineering fields like enhancing thermal transport,...     

Kinetics of proton transfer in a green fluorescent protein: A laser-induced pH jump study

The sub-millisecond protonation dynamics of the chromophore in S65T mutant form of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was tracked after a rapid pH jump following laser-induced proton release from the caged photolabile compoundo-nitrobenzaldehyde. Following a jump in pH from 8 to 5 (which is achieved within 2 μs), the fluorescence of S65T GFP decreased as a single exponential with a time constant of ∼90 μs. This decay is interpreted as the conversion of the deprotonated fluorescent GFP chromophore to a protonated non-fluorescent species. The protonation kinetics showed dependence on the bulk viscosity of the solvent, and therefore implicates bulk solvent-controlled protein dynamics in the protonation process. The protonation is proposed to be a sequential process involving two steps: (a) proton transfer from solvent to the chromophore, and (b) internal structural rearrangements to stabilize a protonated chromophore. The possible implications of these observations to protein dynamics in general is discussed     

Bounds on the inverses of nonnegative triangular matrices with monotonicity properties

Some bounds on the entries and on the norm of the inverse of triangular matrices with nonnegative and monotone entries are found. All the results are obtained by exploiting the properties of the fundamental matrix of the recurrence relation which generates the sequence of the entries of the inverse matrix. One of the results generalizes a theorem contained in a recent article of one of the authors about Toeplitz matrices.     

A Two‐Dimensional Coordination Compound as a Zinc Ion Selective Luminescent Probe for Biological Applications

A 2D coordination compound {[Cu₂(HL)(N₃)]?ClO₄}_∞ ( 1 ; H₃L=2,6‐bis(hydroxyethyliminoethyl)‐4‐methyl phenol) was synthesized and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction to be a polymer in the crystalline state. Each [Cu₂(HL)(N₃)]⁺ species is connected to its adjacent unit by a bridging alkoxide oxygen atom of the ligand to form a helical propagation along the crystallographic a axis. The adjacent helical frameworks are connected by a ligand alcoholic oxygen atom along the crystallographic b axis to produce pleated 2D sheets. In solution, 1 dissociates into [Cu₂(HL)₂(H₃L)]?2H₂O ( 2 ); the monomer displays high selectivity for Zn²⁺ and can be used in HEPES buffer (pH 7.4) as a zinc ion selective luminescent probe for biological application. The system shows a nearly 19‐fold Zn²⁺‐selective chelation‐enhanced fluorescence response in the working buffer. Application of 2 to cultured living cells (B16F10 mouse melanoma and A375 human melanoma) and rat hippocampal slices was also studied by fluorescence microscopy.     

Synthesis of conjugated diacetylene, metal-chelating monomers for polymerizable monolayer assemblies

[see structure]. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on gold have been used for numerous applications. For protein targeting applications, one successful strategy is to use a metal-chelating SAM. It has also been demonstrated that polymerized SAMs are much more stable than non-polymerized counterparts. We report herein, the synthesis of several polymerizable, metal-chelating thiols capable of complexing luminescent lanthanide ions.     

Effect of heat treatment on the physico-chemical properties and catalytic activity of manganese nodules leached residue towards decomposition of hydrogen peroxide

The effect of calcination temperature on the physico-chemical characterization of manganese nodule leached residue (MNLR) and water-washed manganese nodule leached residue (WMNLR) has been investigated on the basis of chemical analysis, XRD, TG-DTA, FTIR, surface hydroxyl groups, surface oxygen, reducing and oxidizing sites, surface area. XRD and IR confirm the presence of amorphous iron oxyhydroxides, delta-MnO2, which are converted to alpha-Fe2O3 and gamma-Mn2O3 phases above 400 degrees C of calcination, respectively. A solid solution of Fe2O3 and Mn2O3 is formed above 700 degrees C. The surface area, surface hydroxyl group, surface oxygen, reducing and oxidizing sites increase with the increase in calcination temperature up to 400 degrees C and then decrease with further rise in calcination temperature up to 700 degrees C. The catalytic activity of the sample towards H2O2 decomposition shows the similar trend as surface properties. A suitable Mn(3+)Mn4+ couple favours H2O2 decomposition reaction. The activity has been correlated with various physico-chemical properties.     

Effect of adsorption of vapours on the electrical conductivity of some polyene semiconductors: adsorption and desorption kinetics

The change in semiconductive properties of β-apo-8′-carotenal, astacene and methyl bixin on adsorption of various vapours on the crystallite surfaces has been studied at a constant sample temperature. The adsorption of vapours enhances the semiconductivity of the polyenes appreciably. This enhancement depends on the chemical nature and also on the pressure of the adsorbed vapour. The adsorption and desorption kinetics follow the modified Roginsky-Zeldovich relation. A two stage desorption process, the first stage of which gives a Lennard-Jones potential energy curve and is followed by a rate-determining transition over a potential energy barrier to the second stage of adsorption forming weakly bound complexes between the vapour molecules and the polyene crystallites, can explain satisfactorily the experimentally observed kinetic data.     

Compensation effect in the electrical conduction process in a series of pyrenyl polyenes

The semiconductive properties of a series of pyrenyl polyenes of the type R-(CH=CH)_n-R, are studied as a function of the adsorption of different amount of a vapour. With regard to the compensation temperature (T ₀) the compounds are divided into two groups. For compounds which have odd number of double bonds,T ₀ is infinite and in compounds having even number double bonds,T ₀ is finite.T ₀ for II₂ is higher while that of II₄ is lower than the experimental temperature. DifferentT ₀ for the compounds having odd or even number of double bonds suggests a physical basis for the compensation rule, which we believe, is related to the molecular and crystalline structure of the compounds