Spatial amplification of a laser wave and the transverse spread of electrons in an undulator with a noncollinear configuration

The spatial amplification of a wave in a magnetostatic undulator with noncollinear electron and laser beams is studied in the framework of the dispersion relation for single-frequency and collective regimes. The dependence of the gain on the electron beam width is estimated with regard to the spatial boundedness of the beams. The laser power threshold at which the selection with respect to the transverse velocity is possible is obtained for a free-electron laser without inversion.     

Application of Horner–Emmons Olefination to the Crown-Ether Derivatives

An effective synthetic approach to the preparation of a new crown-ether vinylogs involving the Horner–Emmons olefination of carbonyl precursors with the use of C₂- and C₅-phosphonates was proposed. The effects of the conjugation chain length and the nature of the terminal polar functions in the phosphonate reagent on the yield and process stereoselectivity were discussed.     

Phase transfer of metal cations by induced dynamic carrier agents: biphasic extraction based on dynamic covalent chemistry

In contrast to the classical method where a single molecule is designed to extract metal cations under specific conditions, dynamic covalent chemistry provides an approach based on the implementation of an adaptive dynamic covalent library for inducing the generation of the extractant species. This approach has been applied to the liquid–liquid extraction of copper(ii) nitrate based on a dynamic library of acylhydrazones constituents that self-build and distribute through the interface of a biphasic system. The addition of copper(ii) cations to this library triggers a modification of its composition and the up-regulation of the ligand molecules driven by coordination to the metal cations. Among these, one species has proven to be sufficiently lipophilic to play the role of carrier agent and its formation by component exchange enables the partial extraction of the copper(ii). The study of different pathways to generate the dynamic covalent library demonstrates the complete reversibility and the adaptability of the system. The detailed analytical investigation of the system provides a means to assess the mechanism of the dynamic extraction process.

Phase transfer of Cu(ii) cations is achieved by component exchange in a dynamic covalent library of acylhydrazone ligands. B1/B2 component exchange leads to the generation of a lipophilic carrier agent that extracts Cu(ii) into chloroform.     

Crystallization and second harmonic generation in thermally poled niobium borophosphate glasses

Crystallization of glasses with compositions (1−x)(0.95 NaPO₃+0.05 Na₂B₄O₇)+xNb₂O₅, x=0.4, 0.43, 0.45, 0.48 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction. Crystallization of two phases was observed in the glasses with x=0.43-0.48. First phase is a sodium niobate with the structure of tetragonal tungsten bronze () and second phase is Na₄Nb₈P₄O₃₂ (). The crystallization of sodium niobate is correlated with increasing of nonlinear optical efficiency reported for thermally poled glasses with x>0.4. The results of Raman spectroscopy show the formation of three-dimensional (3D) niobium oxide framework in the glasses with increase of niobium concentration. This framework is supposed to have tetragonal tungsten bronze structure and to be responsible for nonlinear optical properties of the glass. Second harmonic generation signals of as prepared and crystallized glass after thermal poling are compared. The nucleation and crystallization do not improve the NLO properties of the glasses under study.     

Identification of extracellular nanoparticle subsets by nuclear magnetic resonance

Exosomes are a subset of secreted lipid envelope-encapsulated extracellular vesicles (EVs) of 50–150 nm diameter that can transfer cargo from donor to acceptor cells. In the current purification protocols of exosomes, many smaller and larger nanoparticles such as lipoproteins, exomers and microvesicles are typically co-isolated as well. Particle size distribution is one important characteristics of EV samples, as it reflects the cellular origin of EVs and the purity of the isolation. However, most of the physicochemical analytical methods today cannot illustrate the smallest exosomes and other small particles like the exomers. Here, we demonstrate that diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method enables the determination of a very broad distribution of extracellular nanoparticles, ranging from 1 to 500 nm. The range covers sizes of all particles included in EV samples after isolation. The method is non-invasive, as it does not require any labelling or other chemical modification. We investigated EVs secreted from milk as well as embryonic kidney and renal carcinoma cells. Western blot analysis and immuno-electron microscopy confirmed expression of exosomal markers such as ALIX, TSG101, CD81, CD9, and CD63 in the EV samples. In addition to the larger particles observed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) in the range of 70–500 nm, the DOSY distributions include a significant number of smaller particles in the range of 10–70 nm, which are visible also in transmission electron microscopy images but invisible in NTA. Furthermore, we demonstrate that hyperpolarized chemical exchange saturation transfer (Hyper-CEST) with ¹²⁹Xe NMR indicates also the existence of smaller and larger nanoparticles in the EV samples, providing also additional support for DOSY results. The method implies also that the Xe exchange is significantly faster in the EV pool than in the lipoprotein/exomer pool.

Diffusion and xenon NMR based methods to determine a very broad range of sizes and sub-sets of extracellular vesicles.     

Unimolecular photochemistry of 4-thiouracils

Unimolecular phototautomeric reactions in 4-thiouracil, 1-methyl-4-thiouracil and 6-aza-4-thiouracil were studied using the matrix-isolation technique combined with infrared absorption spectroscopy. For monomers of these compounds, isolated in solid argon at 10 K, an intramolecular proton-transfer photoreaction was observed. Upon UV (lambda > 345 nm) irradiation, the initial oxo-thione forms of 4-thiouracils were converted into the corresponding oxo-thiol tautomers. The photogenerated oxo-thiol isomers were identified by comparing their experimental IR spectra with the spectra theoretically calculated at the DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(2d,p) level. Good agreement between the observed and predicted pattern of spectral bands allowed a reliable identification. This is the first report on experimental observation of isomeric forms of 4-thiouracils other than the canonical oxo-thione tautomers.     

Acylation through Ketene Intermediates

Carboxylic acids possessing a strong electron-withdrawing group in the alpha-position undergo facile dehydration upon reaction with carbodiimides to form the corresponding substituted ketenes that can react in situ with alcohols providing esters in a high yield. The ketene formed by the treatment of ethyl 2-methylmalonate with DCC was trapped in situ by a [4+2] cycloaddition with a second DCC molecule. The chemoselectivity of the acylation through the ketene intermediates was found to be substantially different from that of conventional acylation reagents showing a very low sensitivity toward the steric bulk of alcohols. A comparison of the sensitivity of the acylation to the steric bulk of alcohols supports the presence of a pseudopericyclic pathway for the nucleophilic addition of alcohols to ketenes derived from ethyl malonic and diethylphosphonoacetic acid.     

Computer simulation of interactions in the NH3-CO2-H2O system

Computer simulation of interactions in the NH₃-CO₂-H₂O system was performed using a quantum-chemical method B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) for the simulation of the possible routes of the reactions and the estimation of the energy parameters: interaction energy between molecules in complexes, activation energy of forward and reverse reactions, and the heat of the reaction. A new version of termolecular reaction mechanism is proposed and investigated. The probability of realization of various paths of interaction in the NH₃-CO₂-H₂O system was shown to be determined by the temperature: at low temperatures the termolecular mechanism is more probable, while at the temperatures close to the standard conditions carbamate and bimolecular mechanisms are preferable.