A new route to obtain shape-controlled gold nanoparticles from Au(III)-beta-diketonates

Ligands with a beta-diketone skeleton have been employed for the first time as reductant to produce ligand stabilized gold nanoparticles of different shapes from aqueous HAuCl(4) solution. Evolution of stable gold nanoparticles follows first order (k approximately equal to 10(-2) min(-1)) kinetics with respect to Au(0) concentration. Growth of particles of different shapes (spherical or triangular or hexagonal) goes hand in hand under the influence of different beta-diketones, which have excellent capping and reducing properties. Chlorine insertion was observed to take place in the beta-diketone skeleton.     

Size-selective synthesis and stabilization of gold organosol in C(n)TAC: enhanced molecular fluorescence from gold-bound fluorophores

Gold nanoparticles of variable sizes have been synthesized in toluene employing two-phase (water-toluene) extraction of AuCl4- followed by its reduction with sodium borohydride in the presence of a series of cationic surfactants of a homologous series having the general formula C(n)TAC. The solubility features of the gold particles in the organic solvent have been accounted qualitatively by calculating the van der Waals interaction potential between the particles. The effect of thermal energy and medium dielectric constant on the stability of metal particles has been studied by measuring the surface plasmon resonance. The stabilization of surfactant-mediated gold particles as hydrosol or organosol has been elucidated by considering the double-layer interaction as a function of the dielectric constant of the solvent medium. The influence of the counterion of the phase transfer reagent and stabilizing ligand on the photochemical stability of the gold colloids has been investigated. The fluorescence probe 1-methylaminopyrene (MAP) was considered for the surface functionalization of the gold particles, and it has been found that there is an enhancement of molecular fluorescence from the gold-probe assembly.     

Sensitivity of polar solvation dynamics to the secondary structures of aqueous proteins and the role of surface exposure of the probe

The structure and dynamics of water around a protein is expected to be sensitive to the details of the adjacent secondary structure of the protein. In this article, we explore this sensitivity by calculating both the orientational dynamics of the surface water molecules and the equilibrium solvation time correlation function of the polar amino acid residues in each of the three helical segments of the protein HP-36, using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The solvation dynamics of polar amino acid residues in helix-2 is found to be faster than that of the other two helices (the average time constant is smaller by a factor of 2), although the interfacial water molecules around helix-2 exhibit much slower orientational dynamics than that around the other two helices. A careful analysis shows that the origin of such a counterintuitive behavior lies in the dependence of the solvation time correlation function on the surface exposure of the probe-the more exposed is the probe, the faster the solvation dynamics. We discuss that these results are useful in explaining recent solvation dynamics experiments.     

Comparison of low-order multireference many-body perturbation theories

Tests have been made to benchmark and assess the relative accuracies of low-order multireference perturbation theories as compared to coupled cluster (CC) and full configuration interaction (FCI) methods. Test calculations include the ground and some excited states of the Be, H(2), BeH(2), CH(2), and SiH(2) systems. Comparisons with FCI and CC calculations show that in most cases the effective valence shell Hamiltonian (H(v)) method is more accurate than other low-order multireference perturbation theories, although none of the perturbative methods is as accurate as the CC approximations. We also briefly discuss some of the basic differences among the multireference perturbation theories considered in this work.     

Synthesis of mixed acid anhydrides from methane and carbon dioxide in acid solvents

[reaction: see text] The reaction of CH(4) with CO(2) has been performed in anhydrous acids using VO(acac)(2) and K(2)S(2)O(8) as promoters. NMR analysis establishes that the primary product is a mixed anhydride of acetic acid and the acid solvent. In sulfuric acid, the overall reaction is CH(4) + CO(2) + SO(3) --> CH(3)C(O)-O-SO(3)H. Hydrolysis of the mixed anhydride produces acetic acid and the solvent acid. When trifluoroacetic acid is the solvent, acetic acid is primarily formed via the reaction CH(4) + CF(3)COOH --> CH(3)COOH + CHF(3).     

Superior antioxidant polymer films created through the incorporation of grape tannins in ethyl cellulose

Agro-wastes represent an abundant and economical source of antioxidant compounds. Extraction and incorporation of antioxidants from these compounds into ethyl cellulose films provides the basis for an active packaging material. Grape tannin extract (GT) incorporation into ethyl cellulose results in hydrogen bonding between polyphenols and ethyl cellulose strands, which allows for the polyphenols to remain active and to be securely incorporated. Incorporation of 0.5 % GT in ethyl cellulose produced a significant increase (p < 0.01) in antioxidant activity while not altering physical or mechanical properties. A higher loading of GT at 3.0 % into ethyl cellulose resulted in further improvement in antioxidant activity (12-fold), while a slight decrease in the tensile properties was noted due to the plasticizing effect of GT as a consequence of disruption of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding.     

Bioconversion of Poplar Wood Hemicellulose Prehydrolysate to Microbial Oil Using Cryptococcus curvatus

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Poplar wood hemicellulose prehydrolysate was used for microbial oil production using an oleaginous microorganism Cryptococcus curvatus. Initially, the...