Band-gap tuning and linear magnetoresistance in the silver chalcogenides

Optimally doped silver selenide and silver telluride exhibit linear positive magnetoresistance over decades in magnetic field and on a scale comparable to the colossal magnetoresistance compounds. We use hydrostatic pressure to smoothly alter the band structure of Ag-rich and Ag-deficient samples of semiconducting Ag(2 +/-delta)Te of fixed stoichiometry and disorder. We find that the magnetoresistance spikes and the linear field dependence emerges when the bands cross and the Hall coefficient changes sign.     

Persistence of well-defined collective excitations in a molten transition metal

Well-defined microscopic collective excitations are found in liquid Ni at 1763 K by means of inelastic neutron scattering. Such excitations are supported by the liquid despite an anharmonic character of its thermodynamic functions. Consideration of the detailed shape of the interionic pair potential provides a way to understand why atomic motions at microscopic scales behave in a way much closer to the alkali metals than to the liquefied rare gases.     

Electron magnetic resonance and magnetooptical studies of nanoparticle-containing borate glasses

We report electron magnetic resonance (EMR) and magnetooptical studies of borate glasses of molar composition 22.5K₂O-22.5Al₂O₃-55B₂O₃ co-doped with low concentrations of Fe₂O₃ and MnO. In as-prepared samples the paramagnetic ions, as a rule, are in diluted state. However, in the case where the ratio of the iron and manganese oxides in the charge is 3/2, magnetic nanoparticles with characteristics close to those of manganese ferrite are formed already at the first stage of the glass preparation, as evidenced by both magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and EMR. After thermal treatment all glasses show characteristic MCD and EMR spectra, attesting to the presence of magnetic nanoparticles, predominantly including iron ions. Preliminary EXAFS measurements at the Fe K-absorption edge show an emergence of nanoparticles with a structure close to MnFe₂O₄ after annealing the glasses at 560 °C.By computer simulating the EMR spectra at variable temperatures, a superparamagnetic nature of relatively broad size and shape distribution with the average diameter of ca. 3-4 nm. The characteristic temperature-dependent shift of the apparent resonance field is explained by a strong temperature dependence of the magnetic anisotropy in the nanoparticles.The formation of magnetic nanoparticles confers to the potassium-alumina-borate glasses magnetic and magneto-optical properties typical of magnetically ordered substances. At the same time, they remain transparent in a part of the visible and near infrared spectral range and display a high Faraday rotation value.     

Elastic modulus of supercooled liquid and hot solid silicon measured by inelastic X-ray scattering

The dynamical structure factors of supercooled-liquid and hot-solid silicon are measured by inelastic X-ray scattering at the same temperature, 1620 K. Two significant changes in the averaged longitudinal sound velocities and in the longitudinal modulus are observed. First, we observe a different longitudinal modulus in the polycrystalline hot-solid silicon compared to the extrapolated value obtained from the single-crystal measurement. This reduction of the modulus may be a precursor of the semiconductor-to-metal transition. Second, the increase in the longitudinal modulus in the liquid upon supercooling is consistent with an increase in the degree of the directional bonding.     

Self-assembled lamellar structures with functionalized single wall carbon nanotubes

Highly ordered self-assembled multi-layer structures with denatured collagen wrapped single wall carbon nanotubes and surfactant systems were obtained through bioinspired methodology.     

Development of structural order during supercooling of a fragile oxide melt

The authors have studied the structural evolution of the fragile glass-forming liquid CaAl2O4 during supercooling from the stable liquid phase to the cold glass below Tg. The evolution is characterized by a sharpening of the first diffraction peak and a shortening of the average nearest-neighbor bond length around 1.25Tg, indicating an increase in the degree of both intermediate-range and short-range orders occurring close to the dynamical crossover temperature. The cooling curve developed a kink at this temperature, indicating a simultaneous change in thermodynamic properties.     

Copper and iron interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A study by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Fast atom bombardment, combined with high-energy collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry, has been used to investigate gas-phase metal-ion interactions with captopril, enalaprilat and lisinopril, all angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.Suggestions for the location of metal-binding sites are presented. For captopril, metal binding occurs most likely at both the sulphur and the nitrogen atom. For enalaprilat and lisinopril, binding preferably occurs at the amine nitrogen. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ESI‐MS/MS of expanded porphyrins: a look into their structure and aromaticity

Electrospray mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry was used to investigate the gas‐phase properties of protonated expanded porphyrins, in order to correlate those with their structure and conformation. We have selected five expanded meso‐pentafluorophenyl porphyrins, respectively, a pair of oxidized/reduced fused pentaphyrins (22 and 24 π electrons), a pair of oxidized/reduced regular hexaphyrins (26 and 28 π electrons) and a regular doubly N‐fused hexaphyrin (28 π electrons). The gas‐phase behavior of the protonated species of oxidized and reduced expanded porphyrins is different. The oxidized species (aromatic Hückel systems) fragment more extensively, mainly by the loss of two HF molecules. The reduced species (Möbius aromatic or Möbius‐like aromatic systems) fragment less than their oxidized counterparts because of their increased flexibility. The protonated regular doubly fused hexaphyrin (non‐aromatic Hückel system) shows the least fragmentation even at higher collision energies. In general, cyclization through losses of HF molecules decreases from the aromatic Hückel systems to Möbius aromatic or Möbius‐like aromatic systems to non‐aromatic Hückel systems and is related to an increase in conformational distortion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic nanocarriers of doxorubicin coated with poly(ethylene glycol) and folic acid: relation between coating structure, surface properties, colloidal stability, and cancer cell targeting

We report the efficient one-step synthesis and detailed physicochemical evaluation of novel biocompatible nanosystems useful for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics (theranostics). These systems are the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) carrying the anticancer drug doxorubicin and coated with the covalently bonded biocompatible polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), native and modified with the biological cancer targeting ligand folic acid (PEG-FA). These multifunctional nanoparticles (SPION-DOX-PEG-FA) are designed to rationally combine multilevel mechanisms of cancer cell targeting (magnetic and biological), bimodal cancer cell imaging (by means of MRI and fluorescence), and bimodal cancer treatment (by targeted drug delivery and by hyperthermia effect). Nevertheless, for these concepts to work together, the choice of ingredients and particle structure are critically important. Therefore, in the present work, a detailed physicochemical characterization of the organic coating of the hybrid nanoparticles is performed by several surface-specific instrumental methods, including surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). We demonstrate that the anticancer drug doxorubicin is attached to the iron oxide surface and buried under the polymer layers, while folic acid is located on the extreme surface of the organic coating. Interestingly, the moderate presence of folic acid on the particle surface does not increase the particle surface potential, while it is sufficient to increase the particle uptake by MCF-7 cancer cells. All of these original results contribute to the better understanding of the structure-activity relationship for hybrid biocompatible nanosystems and are encouraging for the applications in cancer theranostics.