The Role of Fe in the Thermal Stabilization of Ormosils

The thermal stability of organically modified silicates (Ormosils) is limited by that of their organic constituent. In the case of the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-silica hybrids, degradation of the PDMS begins around 250°C, which restricts their range of applications. Several strategies have been used to stabilize PDMS, such as substitution of the methyl groups by phenyl groups. Another strategy is the addition of very small amounts (typically about 1 wt%) of iron. This technique has been used successfully in the stabilization of liquid silicones. In the case of PDMS-SiO₂ hybrids, this small dopant concentration has a very significant effect on the thermal stability, increasing it by up to 200°C. However, very little is known of the mechanism of stabilization. In the present work we carry out an investigation of the materials in order to explain the mechanisms involved. The materials were investigated by liquid and solid state ²⁹Si NMR, BET, SEM, TGA and DMA. The data indicates that Fe plays a most significant role at the solution stage already. The structures of the hybrids with and without Fe are very different. In other words, the thermal stabilization mechanism appears to be due not so much a direct redox process taking place in the solid state (as in the case of liquid silicones) but rather, to differences in chemical structures induced by Fe in the liquid. Specifically, PDMS chain cleavage and increased cross-linking to SiO₂ appear to be the cause of the thermal stabilization.     

Nile Red and Nile Blue: Applications and Syntheses of Structural Analogues

Nile red and Nile blue are highly fluorescent and photostable organic dyes from the benzo[a]phenoxazine family. They have been used as histological stains for imaging lysosomes and lipids in vitro. The dyes’ high quantum yields and solvent‐dependent optical properties make them ideal scaffolds for the development of pH probes and local polarity indicators. Reviews of the literature in this area are scarce with only one review ever published in 2006. It has been 10 years since and the field has evolved. This review aims to expand upon topics covered by the previous reviewers and to report on recent advances in the literature. As authors, we hope to convey a sense of scope and to spark renewed interest in this useful niche of dye chemistry.     

尼罗红为探针对芳醚树枝形聚合物微环境的研究

本工作合成了一系列羧基为外围末端基团的芳醚树枝形聚合物Gn(n=1—4),利用吸收光谱,稳态和时间分辨荧光发射光谱研究了Gn对尼罗红分子的增溶作用和Gn微环境极性.研究结果表明,尼罗红在Gn中的溶解度随代数增加而增大,从G1到G4,尼罗红溶解度相比水中分别增加了3、35、47和215倍.Gn的微环境极性比水低,2-4代芳醚树枝形聚合物具有相似的微环境极性.     

以尼罗红为探针对新型两亲性树枝形聚合物微环境的研究

本工作合成了一系列外围以三缩四乙二醇单甲醚修饰的烷基芳醚骨架两亲性树枝形聚合物Gn(n=0—3),化合物通过了¹H-NMR,IR和MALDI-TOF-MS的表征.利用吸收光谱,稳态和时间分辨荧光光谱研究了水溶液中Gn对尼罗红分子的增溶作用以及Gn内部微环境的极性.研究结果表明,高代数树枝形聚合物Gn对尼罗红具有更好的增溶效果.1—3代树枝形聚合物Gn内部疏水孔腔微环境极性随代数增加而逐渐降低,G1和G2树枝形聚合物具有相似的微环境极性,而由于构象的变化使G3具有更加疏水的微环境.     

Absorption and Capture of Methane into Ionic Liquid

A reversible storage-release process switched by a temperature difference of 10℃around room temperature can be realized. This fast, recyclable, energy efficient, low cost and green system within a wide range of temperature and pressure is reported here for the first time. The system is believed to open up a new route for the storage and homogeneous utilization of methane.     

溶质和溶剂极性对二氮杂苯异构体吸收光谱移动的影响

采用根据连续介质理论和热力学约束平衡态方法得到的新非平衡态静电溶剂化能公式, 在单球孔穴点偶极模型近似下推导得到了吸收/发射光谱移动计算的新解析公式. 在CASSCF(6,5)/6-31＋＋G**水平上分别计算了邻位、间位、对位三种二氮杂苯异构体真空中的 跃迁吸收光谱能量值和在5种不同极性溶剂中的偶极矩, 并讨论了三种异构体偶极矩变化和溶剂极性变化对 跃迁的吸收光谱移动的影响.     

New Simple and Robust Method for Determination of Polarity of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) by Means of Contact Angle Measurement

The paper presents a new method for evaluating the polarity and hydrophobicity of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on the measurement of the DES contact angle on glass. DESs consisting of benzoic acid derivatives and quaternary ammonium chlorides–tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) and benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC)—in selected molar ratios were chosen for the study. To investigate the DESs polarity, an optical goniometer and an ET(30) solvatochromic scale based on Reichardt’s dye were used. The research demonstrated the high accuracy and precision of the developed procedure. The simplicity of the examination and the availability of basic equipment allow for the implementation of the developed method in routine investigations of DESs.     

Relationship between the Molecular Structure of Cyanine Dyes and the Vibrational Fine Structure of their Electronic Absorption Spectra

Vibronic sub‐bands in the electronic absorption spectra of symmetrical cyanine dyes (see picture) are attributed to the symmetric C? C valence vibration of the polymethine chain in the excited state. The ³J(H,H) coupling constants in the polymethine chain can be used to characterize the bond localization within the chain in the ground state and thus to explain the intensity distribution of the sub‐bands.

     

酸度及溶剂极性对两亲配体紫外-可见光谱的影响

研究了溶剂生和溶液的酸度对两亲配体Ｎ－十六烷基－８－羟基－２－喹啉甲酰胺（ＨＬ）紫外－可见光谱的影响。在碱性介质中,ＨＬ的吸收带＾１Ｂｂ、＾１Ｌａ和＾１Ｌｂ均产生红移;在酸性介质中,ＨＬ的吸收带不仅红移,而且＾１Ｌｂ带分开明为两个吸收峰。ＨＬ存在明显的浓度效应。非极性和弱极性溶剂对ＨＬ的紫餐可见光谱的影响服从Ｂａｙｌｉｃｓ方程;极性溶剂对ＨＬ的紫外可见光谱的影响服从ＭｃＲａｃ方程。     

Cooling,Spectroscopy and Non‐Sticking of trans‐Stilbene and Nile Red

We create and study trans‐Stilbene and Nile Red in a cryogenic (7 K) cell with a low density helium buffer gas. No molecule–helium cluster formation is observed, indicating limited atom–molecule sticking in this system. We place an upper limit of 5 % on the population of clustered He–trans‐Stilbene, consistent with a measured He–molecule collisional residence time of less than 1 μs. With its very low energy torsional modes, trans‐Stilbene is less rigid than any molecule previously buffer‐gas‐cooled into the Kelvin regime. We also report cooling and gas phase visible spectroscopy of Nile Red, a much larger molecule. Our data suggest that buffer gas cooling will be feasible for a variety of small biological molecules.     

A Theoretical Study of the UV/Visible Absorption and Emission Solvatochromic Properties of Solvent‐Sensitive Dyes

Using the density‐functional vertical self‐consistent reaction field (VSCRF) solvation model, incorporated with the conductor‐like screening model (COSMO) and the self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) methods, we have studied the solvatochromic shifts of both the absorption and emission bands of four solvent‐sensitive dyes in different solutions. The dye molecules studied here are: S‐TBA merocyanine, Abdel‐Halim's merocyanine, the rigidified aminocoumarin C153, and Nile red. These dyes were selected because they exemplify different structural features likely to impact the solvent‐sensitive fluorescence of “push‐pull”, or merocyanine, fluorophores. All trends of the blue or red shifts were correctly predicted, comparing with the experimental observations. Explicit H‐bonding interactions were also considered in several protic solutions like H₂O, methanol and ethanol, showing that including explicit H‐bonding solvent molecule(s) in the calculations is important to obtain the correct order of the excitation and emission energies. The geometries, electronic structures, dipole moments, and intra‐ and intermolecular charge transfers of the dyes in different solvents are also discussed.     

The Synthesis and Absorption Character of New Bis（dithiobenzil）nickel Complex NIR Dyes

A series of new NIR dyes bearing 4-(4-morpholinyl) phenyl and substituted phenyl,were synthesized. The maximum absorption wavelengths of these dyes range from 928nm to 990nm.     

Solvent Polarity and pH Effects on the Spectroscopic Properties of Neutral Red: Application to Lysosomal Microenvironment Probing in Living Cells

Neutral red is a lysosomal probe and a biological pH indicator. In aqueous solutions, the protonated (NRW) and neutral (NR) forms of monomeric neutral red exhibit distinct absorption maxima (535 and 450 nm, respectively) but have the same fluorescence with a maximum at 637 nm and a quantum yield of 0.02. The similarity of the fluorescence spectra at acidic and basic pH suggests deprotonation of cationic species in the first singlet excited state. The NR fluorescence strongly depends on the solvent polarity as shown by addition of increasing amounts of water to pure dioxane, which gradually shifts the fluorescence maximum from 540 nm in pure dioxane to 637 nm in water. The fluorescence quantum yield increases from 0.17 in dioxane to 0.3 upon addition of 7% water and then decreases, reaching 0.02 in pure water. Immediately after incubation of human skin fibroblasts with neutral red, excitation with 435 nm light produces a fluorescence whose maximum is recorded at 575 nm. This fluorescence is located in the perinuclear region and originates from large fluorescent intracytoplasmic spots, suggesting staining of the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi complex. At longer times, this fluorescence is shifted to 606 nm, suggesting slow diffusion of the lysosomotropic dye toward the more hydrated and acidic interior of ly-sosomes. Addition of a lysosomotropic detergent to cells previously incubated with neutral red shifts the fluorescence to the blue. Thus, in complex biological systems, this probe cannot be a good pH indicator but is a very sensitive probe of lysosomal rnicroenvironrnents.     

饲料添加剂中铜和锰的原子吸收光谱直接测定方法

报道了用次灵敏线原子吸收光谱法直接测定饲料添加剂（预混料）中高含量铜、锰的分析方法；解决了以往高铜、锰预混合饲料测定中，由于称样量小，稀释倍数过大所引起的分析误差；方法简便、快速、实用性强，已广泛应用于实际饲料预混料样品的分析，获得满意结果。     

Study of the absorption spectra and ionic equilibria of cationic-anionic polymethine dyes

The absorption spectra of a number of cationic-anionic polymethine dyes in polar, low-polarity, and nonpolar solvents were studied. It was established that in polar solvents the absorption spectra represent the sum of the absorption spectra of the cation and anion, whereas in nonpolar and low-polarity solvents, in many cases the appearance of a short-wave absorption band is observed, due to interaction of the chromophores of the cation and anion in ion pairs. In solvents of intermediate polarity (for example, in chloroform and ethyl acetate), a concentration dependence of the absorption spectra is observed, determined by the equilibria of ionic dissociation. The ionic dissociation constants of a number of cationic-anionic dyes in chloroform and ethyl acetate were determined by a conductometric method. The thermodynamic data obtained are compared with the spectral data.N. N. Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117977 Moscow. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2524–2532, November, 1992.     

Benzo[1,2‐d:4,5‐d′]bisimidazoles as a Convenient Platform Towards Dyes that are Capable of Excited‐State Intramolecular Proton Transfer and of Two‐Photon Absorption

New, strongly fluorescent benzo[1,2‐d:4,5‐d′]bisimidazoles have been prepared by the reaction of Bandrowski′s base with various aldehydes. Their structures were carefully designed to achieve efficient excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer and good two‐photon‐absorption (2PA) cross‐sections. Functional dyes that possessed both high fluorescence quantum yields and large Stokes shifts were prepared. A π‐expanded D‐A‐D derivative that possessed Φ_fl=50 % and σ₂=230 GM in the spectroscopic area of interest for biological imaging is an excellent candidate as a fluorescent probe. Thanks to the presence of two reactive amino groups, such compounds can be easily transformed into probes for bioconjugation. All of these benzo[1,2‐d:4,5‐d′]bisimidazoles were also strongly fluorescent in the solid state.     

茜素红S-牛血清白蛋白配合物的凝胶层析分离制备及紫外可见吸收光谱研究

用葡聚糖凝胶层析分离制备牛血清蛋白(BSA)-茜素红S(ARS)配合物。在420和530 nm处用紫外可见吸收光谱法同时测定含有BSA-ARS配合物和茜素红S的联立方程为:A420=4.89×103cARS 3.06×104cBSA-ARS,A530=4.60×102cARS 2.29×104cBSA-ARS;正交试验选择了合适的分离条件:柱直径1.0 cm,柱长30.0 cm,凝胶用量1.3 g,最佳进样浓度为ARS:5×10-3mol/L、BSA:1.49×10-4mol/L,进样体积1.5 mL,洗脱流速0.33 mL/min,分离度为1.25;测定了纯BSA-ARS配合物紫外吸收光谱,最大吸收峰在530 nm。     

Amphiphilicity-Controlled Localization of Red Emitting Bicationic Fluorophores in Tumor Cells Acting as Bio-Probes and Anticancer Drugs

Small organic molecules arouse lively interest for their plethora of possible biological applications, such as anticancer therapy, for their ability to interact with nucleic acids, or bioimaging, thanks to their fluorescence emission. Here, a panchromatic series of styryl-azinium bicationic dyes, which have already proved to exhibit high water-solubility and significant red fluorescence in water, were investigated through spectrofluorimetric titrations to assess the extent of their association constants with DNA and RNA. Femtosecond-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy was also employed to characterize the changes in the photophysical properties of these fluorophores upon interaction with their biological targets. Finally, in vitro experiments conducted on tumor cell lines revealed that some of the bicationic fluorophores had a peculiar localization within cell nuclei exerting important antiproliferative effects, others were instead found to localize in the cytoplasm without leading to cell death, being useful to mark specific organelles in light of live cell bioimaging. Interestingly, this molecule-dependent behavior matched the different amphiphilicity featured by these bioactive compounds, which are thus expected to be caught in a tug-of-war between lipophilicity, ensured by the presence of aromatic rings and needed to pass cell membranes, and hydrophilicity, granted by charged groups and necessary for stability in aqueous media.     

Improving Memory Performances by Adjusting the Symmetry and Polarity of O‐Fluoroazobenzene‐Based Molecules

Three O‐fluoroazobenzene‐based molecules were chosen as memory‐active molecules: FAZO‐1 with a D–A2–D symmetric structure, FAZO‐2 with an A1–A2–A1 symmetric structure, and FAZO‐3 with a D–A2–A1 asymmetric structure. Both FAZO‐1 and FAZO‐2 had a lower molecular polarity, whereas FAZO‐3 had a higher polarity. The fabricated indium–tin oxide (ITO)/ FAZO‐1 /Al (Au) and ITO/ FAZO‐2 /Al (Au) memory devices both exhibited volatile static random access memory (SRAM) behavior, whereas the ITO/ FAZO‐3 /Al (Au) device showed nonvolatile ternary write‐once‐read‐many‐times (WORM) behavior. It should be noted that the reproducibility of these devices was considerably high, which is significant for practical application in memory devices. In addition, the different memory performances of the three active materials were determined to be attributable to the stability of electric‐field‐induced charge‐transfer complexes. Therefore, the switching memory behavior could be tuned by adjusting the molecular polarity.