Calorimetric study of binary systems of tetraethyleneglycol octylether and polyethyleneglycol with water

Calorimetric measurements have been made of the differential enthalpies of solution as a function of composition of both components in the binary systems tetraethyleneglycol octylether (C₈E₄)-water and polyethyleneglycol 400 (PEG)-water, as a function of composition, at three different temperatures. Heat capacity changes for dissolution were calculated from the temperature variation of the solution enthalpies. Excess enthalpies and excess heat capacities of mixing were calculated from the differential enthalpies of solution. All measurements on C₈E₄ were made above the critical micelle concentration (c.m.c.) so the results relate to C₈E₄ in aggregated form. The thermochemical properties of the C₈E₄ and PEG systems with water are similar. The differential solution enthalpy of the organic solute in pure water is fairly exothermic and then increases smoothly with increasing solute content. Likewise the solution enthalpy of water in pure C₈E₄ or PEG is fairly exothermic, but increases steadily to become zero at a water content corresponding to more than five water molecules per ethyleneoxide group. The measurements on the C₈E₄ system at 40°C were made close to the demixing temperature. The results are compared with previously reported results on the 2-butoxyethanol (BE)-water system.     

Two-Dimensional GaAs/AlGaAs Multiple Quantum Well Spatial Light Modulators

Multiple quantum well spatial light modulators with 128x128 array in 38μm pitch are fabricated using two pproaches, one with an attachment of an optical substrate and another one without. These two fabrication processes are described and compared.     

Regiochemistry of Palladium(II)-assisted oxidative lactonisation reactions.

The Pd(II)-assisted lactonisation of alkenoic acids has been studied. The selectivity, persisting to formation of 5- and 6-membered unsaturated lactones, can be governed by the change of solvent and/or base.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of large water clusters of known size

The structure of large water clusters of known size distributions 〈n〉 = 20-2000 is investigated by vibrational spectroscopy of the OH stretch mode. The water clusters are predissociated by a pulsed tunable infrared optical parametrical oscillator (OPO) in the frequency range 2800-3800 cm^-1. Their fragments are detected off-axis by electron impact ionization and mass analyzed by a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The largest ion signal stems from the neutral water hexamer fragment. The ion yield is investigated at certain wavelengths while the size of the clusters is varied, and for certain sizes complete absorption spectra of the OH stretch motion are measured. Fingerprints of the different coordination types of the water molecules in the clusters are found and it turns out that our method is especially sensitive to amorphous structures with frequencies shifting in the range of 3300-3400 cm^-1.     

A new series of siloxane liquid crystalline dimers exhibiting the antiferroelectric phase

In this paper, we report the study of a new series of symmetric chiral liquid crystalline siloxane dimers, their related monomers, and two of those monomers with heptamethyltrisiloxane attached. All the dimers coupled with a trisiloxane show the SmC_A phase, which in several cases has a large tilt angle greater than 40° over a wide temperature range, as well as high spontaneous polarisation in the field-induced ferroelectric state. Spacer lengths of 3-6 and 11 carbons between the siloxane central unit and the mesogenic cores were used. Monomers with 3-6 carbons in the spacer showed only orthogonal phases while the monomer with an 11-carbon spacer, as well as the monomers with siloxane attached, have a high tilt angle ferroelectric phase. The materials were characterized by means of DSC, NMR, X-ray diffraction, electro-optical methods (tilt angle and texture characterization) and polarization measurements.     

Prolonged stochastic single ion channel recordings in S-layer protein stabilized lipid bilayer membranes

S-layer proteins are commonly found in bacteria and archaea as two-dimensional monomolecular crystalline arrays as the outermost cell membrane component. These proteins have the unique property that following disruption by chemical agents, monomers of the protein can re-assemble to their original lattice structure. This unique property makes S-layers interesting for utilization in bio-nanotechnological applications. Here, we show that the addition of S-layer proteins to bilayer lipid membranes increases the lifetime and the stability of the bilayer. M2delta ion channels were functionally incorporated into these S-layer stabilized membranes and we were able to record their activity for up to 20 h. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to visualize the 2D crystalline pattern of the S-layer and the M2delta ion channel characteristics in bilayer lipid membrane's were compared in the presence and absence of S-layers.     

Detection of single ion channel activity on a chip using tethered bilayer membranes

Membrane-bound ion channels are promising biological receptors since they allow for the stochastic detection of analytes at high sensitivity. For stochastic sensing, it is necessary to measure the ion currents associated with single ion channel opening and closing events. However, this calls for stability, high reproducibility, and long lifetimes. A critical issue to overcome is the low stability of the ion channel environment, that is, the bilayer membrane. A promising technique to surmount this is to connect the lower part of the membrane to a surface forming a tethered bilayer membrane. By reconstituting the synthetic ion channel, gramicidin A, into a tethered bilayer as part of a microchip design, we have been able to record the activity of single ion channels. The observed activity was compared with that obtained by a conventional electrophysiology method, tip dipping, to confirm its authenticity. These findings allow for the construction of stable biosensors based on ion channels and provide a novel technique for the characterization of ion channel activity.     

Development of pinene-derived N,P ligands and their utility in catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation

New diastereomeric N,P-ligands, derived from the natural product (+)-alpha-pinene, have been synthesized and evaluated in iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. The ligands are tetrahydroquinoline derivatives synthesized directly from commercially available alpha-pinene utilizing resolution or recrystallization to separate diastereomers. In reduction of a range of different trisubstituted alkenes the catalysts express very different activities ranging from no activity to high activity. One of the catalysts gives good ee values for some substrates.     

Selective synthesis of 2-substituted pyridine N-oxides via directed ortho-metallation using Grignard reagents

Addition of i-PrMgCl to pyridine N-oxides in THF at −78 °C generates selectively an ortho-metallated species, which can be trapped with various electrophiles to generate 2-substituted pyridine N-oxides. Furthermore, by applying a double metal-catalyzed cross-coupling, direct arylation of the pyridine N-oxides is achieved.     

Modulation of the ligand-field anisotropy in a series of ferric low-spin cytochrome c mutants derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c-551 and Nitrosomonas europaea cytochrome c-552: a nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance study

Cytochromes of the c type with histidine-methionine (His-Met) heme axial ligation play important roles in electron-transfer reactions and in enzymes. In this work, two series of cytochrome c mutants derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa c-551) and from the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea (Ne c-552) were engineered and overexpressed. In these proteins, point mutations were induced in a key residue (Asn64) near the Met axial ligand; these mutations have a considerable impact both on heme ligand-field strength and on the Met orientation and dynamics (fluxionality), as judged by low-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. Ne c-552 has a ferric low-spin (S = 1/2) EPR signal characterized by large g anisotropy with g(max) resonance at 3.34; a similar large g(max) value EPR signal is found in the mitochondrial complex III cytochrome c1. In Ne c-552, deletion of Asn64 (NeN64Delta) changes the heme ligand field from more axial to rhombic (small g anisotropy and g(max) at 3.13) and furthermore hinders the Met fluxionality present in the wild-type protein. In Pa c-551 (g(max) at 3.20), replacement of Asn64 with valine (PaN64V) induces a decrease in the axial strain (g(max) at 3.05) and changes the Met configuration. Another set of mutants prepared by insertion (ins) and/or deletion (Delta) of a valine residue adjacent to Asn64, resulting in modifications in the length of the axial Met-donating loop (NeV65Delta, NeG50N/V65Delta, PaN50G/V65ins), did not result in appreciable alterations of the originally weak (Ne c-552) or very weak (Pa c-551) axial field but had an impact on Met orientation, fluxionality, and relaxation dynamics. Comparison of the electronic fingerprints in the overexpressed proteins and their mutants reveals a linear relationship between axial strain and average paramagnetic heme methyl shifts, irrespective of Met orientation or dynamics. Thus, for these His-Met axially coordinated Fe(III), the large g(max) value EPR signal does not represent a special case as is observed for bis-His axially coordinated Fe(III) with the two His planes perpendicular to each other.