Close‐Packed Two‐Dimensional Silver Nanoparticle Arrays: Quadrupolar and Dipolar Surface Plasmon Resonance Coupling

Silver nanoparticles (NPs) ranging in size from 40 to 100 nm were prepared in high yield by using an improved seed‐mediated method. The homogeneous Ag NPs were used as building blocks for 2D assembled Ag NP arrays by using an oil/water interface. A close‐packed 2D array of Ag NPs was fabricated by using packing molecules (3‐mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane) to control the interparticle spacing. The homogeneous 2D Ag NP array exhibited a strong quadrupolar cooperative plasmon mode resonance and a dipolar red‐shift relative to individual Ag NPs suspended in solution. A well‐arranged 2D Ag NP array was embedded in polydimethylsiloxane film and, with biaxial stretching to control the interparticle distance, concomitant variations of the quadrupolar and dipolar couplings were observed. As the interparticle distance increased, the intensity of the quadrupolar cooperative plasmon mode resonance decreased and dipolar coupling completely disappeared. The local electric field of the 2D Ag NP array was calculated by using finite difference time domain simulation and qualitatively showed agreement with the experimental measurements.     

Singlewall carbon nanotubes covered with polystyrene nanoparticles by in‐situ miniemulsion polymerization

This work is to make carbon nanotubes dispersible in both water and organic solvents without oxidation and cutting nanotube threads. Polystyrene‐singlewall carbon nanotube (PS‐SWNT) composites were prepared with three different methods: miniemulsion polymerization, conventional emulsion polymerization, and mixing SWNT with PS latex. The two factors, crosslinking and surface coverage of PS are important factors for the mechanical and electrical properties, including dispersion states of SWNT in various solvents. The PS‐SWNT composite prepared via a conventional emulsion polymerization showed SWNT bundles entirely covered with PS, whereas the PS‐SWNT composite prepared via a miniemulsion polymerization showed SWNT partially covered with crosslinked PS nanoparticles. The method of mixing SWNTs with PS latex did not show the well dispersed state of carbon nanotubes because PS was not crosslinked and was dissolved in a solvent, and nanotubes separated from PS precipitated. So the PS nanoparticle‐SWNT composite had lower electrical resistance, and higher mechanical strength than the other composites made by the latter two methods. As the amount of SWNT increases, the bare surface area of SWNT increases and the electrical conductivity increases in the composite made by the miniemulsion polymerization. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 573–584, 2006     

Effects of allyl sulfur compounds and garlic extract on the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and p53 in non small cell lung cancer cell lines

Allyl sulfur compounds play a major role in the chemoprevention against carcinogenesis. The present study compared the antiproliferative effects of diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS) and garlic extract on p53-wild type H460 and p53-null type H1299 non small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC). The DAS and DADS treatment of both H460 and H1299 cells resulted in the highest numbers of cells in apoptotic state as measured by acridine orange staining, however, garlic extract treatment did not induce any significant apoptotic cells by MTT assay. DADS was found to be more effective in inducing apoptosis on NSCLC. The level of p53 protein in H460 cell was increased following DADS treatment. DAS and garlic extract treatment of H460 cells induced a rise in the level of Bax and a fall of Bcl-2 level. These results demonstrate that DAS, DADS and garlic extract are effective in reduction of anti-proliferative gene in NSCLC and suggest that modulation of apoptosis-associated cellular proteins by DAS, DADS and garlic extract may be the mechanism for apoptosis which merit further investigation as potential chemoprevention agents.     

A highly efficient synthesis of antiobestic ligand GW501516 for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ through in situ protection of the phenol group by reaction with a Grignard reagent

A new synthesis of an agonist for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) GW501516 as a potential antiobesity drug is described. The synthetic route involves the in situ protection of the phenol group with a Grignard reagent and a regio-controlled one-pot reaction for the formation of a sulfide bond as the key step. Starting from commercially available 4-iodo-2-methylphenol, this approach affords GW501516 with an overall yield of 87%.     

Determination of rimantadine in pharmaceutical preparations by capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect detection or after derivatization

Summary Rimantadine is synthetic analog of amantadine; both are antiviral agents used for prophylaxis and treatment of influenza A. A capillary zone electrophoretic (CZE) procedure for the determination of rimantadine has been developed. As the direct determination of rimantadine is poorly sensitive because the compound is almost transparent in the UV/Vis range, several indirect methods were studied. Two were found to be the particularly useful: (a) indirect detection using 5 mM 4-methylbenzylamine in 1:4 methanol-water as absorbing background electrolyte, with detection at 210 nm, and (b) derivatization of rimantadine with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid in alkaline medium and subsequent determination of the derivative by CZE (40 mM tetraborate, pH 9.2, detection at 280 nm). Uncoated capillary tubing, 44 cm length ×75 μM i.d., was used for both determinations. The detection limits were 0.1 and 2 ppm for methods a and b, respectively. The methods were used to determine rimantadine in pharmaceutical products and for dissolution testing of Flumadin^? tablets.