Rotation of a Fine Particle with Circularly Polarized Anti-Parallel Collinear Laser Beams

We have succeeded in the operation of rotating a fine particle which was held without mechanical contact by circularly polarized laser beams with opposite propagation directions. A polystyrene latex particle 11.9 μm in diameter deformed in a disk-like shape was dispersed in water, and was trapped using the anti-parallel collinear laser beams which were set up so that they had the circular polarization rotating in the same direction. It was observed that the trapped particle rotated in the same direction as the rotation of the circular polarization of light. Inversion of the rotational direction of the circular polarization of light reversed the direction of the rotation of the particle. Although the rotational speed of a particle varied significantly from particle to particle, it was found to be proportional to the laser beam intensity. A typical value for the rotational speed per beam intensity was 2.1 Hz/W.     

Development of a Millimeter Wave Compact Equipment for NDT of Materials

We developed a compact equipment working at 94 GHz to replace the commonly used network analyzer for nondestructive testing of materials. The compact equipment was designed to measure the variations in the amplitude and phase of the reflected signal from the material relative to a reference signal. A good accuracy of the amplitude and phase measurement of the equipment was obtained in the confirmative experiments. The distribution of a drop of water in a wood plate is clearly visible in the millimeter wave images obtained by the amplitude and phase measurement.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(phenylacetylenes) having two polar groups or one cyclic polar group on the phenyl ring

Phenylacetylene (PA) derivatives having two polar groups (ester, 2a – d ; amide, 4) or one cyclic polar group (imide, 5a – c ) were polymerized using (nbd)Rh⁺[(η⁶‐C₆H₅)B^?(C₆H₅)₃] catalyst to afford high molecular weight polymers (～1 × 10⁶ – 4 × 10⁶). The hydrolysis of ester‐containing poly(PA), poly( 2a) , provided poly(3,4‐dicarboxyPA) [poly ( 3 )], which could not be obtained directly by the polymerization of the corresponding monomer. The solubility properties of the present polymers were different from those of poly(PA) having no polar group; that is, poly( 2a )–poly( 2d ) dissolved in ethyl acetate and poly( 4 ) dissolved in N,N‐dimethylformamide, while poly(PA) was insoluble in such solvents. Ester‐group‐containing polymers [poly( 2a )–poly( 2d )] afforded free‐standing membranes by casting from THF solutions. The membrane of poly( 2a ) showed high carbon dioxide permselectivity against nitrogen (PCO₂/PN₂ = 62). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5943–5953, 2006     

The origin of enhanced photocatalytic decomposition of ATP on TiO2 powders as induced by surface modification with lanthanide ions: important roles of ATP adsorption to the modified surface

Surface modification of TiO₂ powders with lanthanide salts (EuCl₃ or YbCl₃) enhanced photocatalytic decomposition of ATP. In comparison with the unmodified catalyst, a 3-fold increase in the ATP decay rate was observed with TiO₂ powders as prepared in 5 mM EuCl₃ (or YbCl₃) solution. The reason was ascribed to enrichment of ATP to TiO₂ powder with the lanthanide ions. Evidence was obtained by adsorption experiments where ATP concentration was monitored after dispersing TiO₂ powders into the solution. The ATP molecules adsorbed faster to TiO₂ powder and strongly stabilized there in the presence of Yb³⁺ than otherwise.     

Conformational effects on lipase-mediated acylations of 2-substituted cyclohexanols

Lipase-mediated acetylations of trans- and cis-2-substituted cyclohexanols gave the corresponding (1R)-cyclohexyl acetates and (1S)-cyclohexanols in high yields and ee, but c-4-tert-butyl-c-2-ethenyl-r-1-cyclohexanol was unreactive owing to the steric interaction between the axial OH group and the axial H atoms at the 3- and 5-positions. In the cis-isomer the OH group occupies an equatorial position to bind to the lipase, and less bulky axial alkenyl and alkynyl groups might not so much prevent acetylations than an alkyl group.     

Effect of equimolar salt to decyltrimethylammonium decyl sulfate on vesicle formation and surface adsorption

The aqueous solution of mixture of sodium decyl sulfate (SDeS) and decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DeTAB) has been found to form equilibrium multilamellar vesicles (MLV) spontaneously. We measured the surface tension of the aqueous solution of 1:1 mixture of SDeS and DeTAB as a function of temperature T at various molalities m under atmospheric pressure. The surface density, the entropy of adsorption and the entropy of vesicle formation are evaluated and compared with those of the decyltrimethylammonium decyl sulfate (DeTADeS) aqueous solution system to investigate the role of small counterions in the mechanism of equilibrium vesicle formation. The saturated surface density Gamma (H,C ) vs T curve of the SDeS/DeTAB system sits below that of the DeTADeS system. Therefore, sodium and bromide ions are negatively adsorbed and nevertheless, they neutralize the electric charge of the decyl sulfate ion DeS(-) and the decyltrimethylammonium ion DeTA(+) to some extent to weaken the electrostatic attraction between the polar head groups in the adsorbed film. The net surfactant concentration required for vesicle formation was larger in the SDeS/DeTAB system. Hence, the electrostatic attraction between the polar head groups of the surfactant ions which is one of the major driving forces for vesicle formation is weakened by the presence of the counterions Na(+) and Br(-). Small but distinct changes in the surface density and the entropies of MLV formation of the SDeS/DeTAB system from those of the DeTADeS system were also found.     

Hexanuclear Pt complexes composed of two cyclic triplatinum units connected with 1,4-diphenylene and 1,1′-ferrocenylene spacer

1,4-Bis(dimethylsilyl)benzene reacted with [Pt₃H(PEt₃)₃(μ-PPh₂)₃] at room temperature to yield trinuclear Pt complex [Pt₃(SiMe₂C₆H₄SiMe₂H)(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃] (1a). Heating a solution containing an equimolar mixture of [Pt₃H(PEt₃)₃(μ-PPh₂)₃] and 1a at 60 °C produced a hexanuclear Pt complex [(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃Pt₃(SiMe₂C₆H₄SiMe₂)Pt₃(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃] (2a). Complex 1a was characterized by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, while the structure of 2a was determined by X-ray crystallography of single crystals containing 2a and [Pt₃H₂(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₄] in 1:1 ratio. [Pt₃(SiMe₂fcSiMe₂H)(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃] (fc = Fe(η⁵-C₅H₄)₂) (1b) and [(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃Pt₃(SiMe₂fcSiMe₂)Pt₃(PEt₃)₂(μ-PPh₂)₃] (2b) were obtained similarly from the reactions of 1,1′-bis(dimethylsilyl)ferrocene with [Pt₃H(PEt₃)₃(μ-PPh₂)₃] and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses.     

Structure-activity relationships of a new antifungal imidazole, AFK-108, and related compounds

Fungicidal activity of widely used imidazole antifungal drugs in topical applications is not so strong in spite of their fungistatic activities against dermatophytes and pathogenic yeasts. In order to improve fungicidal activity of imidazole antifungal agents, a series of novel imidazole derivatives having a hydrophobic substituent derived from isoprenoid were synthesized. The efficacy of these compounds was evaluated with respect to direct cell-membrane damaging activity, ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition, minimum growth-inhibitory concentration (MIC) and therapeutic effect for experimental dermatophytosis of guinea pigs. Among the newly synthesized compounds, the geranyl derivative named AFK-108 (2a) showed the highest in vivo fungicidal activity with both cell membrane damaging activity and ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition in vitro.