Nickel tetrazolato complexes synthesized by microwave irradiation: Catecholase like activity and interaction with biomolecules

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition between nickel-ligated azide in [NiL(N₃)] [HL = 3-(2-diethylamino-ethylimino)-1-phenyl-butan-1-one] and two different organonitriles furnished two new square-planar complexes viz. [NiL(5-phenyltetrazolato)] and [NiL{5-(4-pyridyl)-tetrazolato}]. Both the complexes have been characterized by spectroscopic tools and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Interaction with different biomolecules revealed that both complexes bind strongly to serum albumin proteins and show moderate catecholase-like activity by catalyzing the oxidation of 3,5-ditertbutylcatechol (3,5-DTBC). Identification of intermediates formed in catechol oxidation has been explored by ESI-MS spectrometry.     

Nonrenewal statistics in the catalytic activity of enzyme molecules at mesoscopic concentrations

Recent fluorescence spectroscopy measurements of single-enzyme kinetics have shown that enzymatic turnovers form a renewal stochastic process in which the inverse of the mean waiting time between turnovers follows the Michaelis-Menten equation. We study enzyme kinetics at physiologically relevant mesoscopic concentrations using a master equation. From the exact solution of the master equation we find that the waiting times are neither independent nor identically distributed, implying that enzymatic turnovers form a nonrenewal stochastic process. The inverse of the mean waiting time shows strong departure from the Michaelis-Menten equation. The waiting times between consecutive turnovers are anticorrelated, where short intervals are more likely to be followed by long intervals and vice versa. Correlations persist beyond consecutive turnovers indicating that multiscale fluctuations govern enzyme kinetics.     

Complexation of sodium picosulphate with beta cyclodextrin: NMR spectroscopic study in solution

Sodium Picosulphate (SPL) is a synthetic drug, widely used for thorough evacuation of the bowel, usually for patients who are preparing to undergo a colonoscopy. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are chiral, truncated cone shaped, cyclic oligosaccharides that can encapsulate a variety of drug molecules into inclusion complexes, thereby increasing their stability and solubility. ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies showed the inclusion complexation between β-CD and SPL, based on the upfield shift changes in the β-CD cavity protons (H-3′ and H-5′) and downfield shift changes in the guest (SPL) protons. The structure of inclusion complexes was determined by 2D ROESY spectral data. The 1:1 stoichiometry and overall association constant (Ka) were determined by using Scott’s plot method to be 450 M^?1.     

Crosslinking of Polydimethyl Siloxane Copolymers with Aromatic Dianhydrides: The Study of Thermal and Flame Retardant Properties †

Aromatic dianhydrides have been identified as potential candidates for crosslinking with biocatalytically synthesized siloxane copolymers containing a functional amino group on the isophthalate moieties. We present the synthesis, characterization, thermal and flame retardant properties of this novel class of crosslinked organo-siloxane copolymers. We also discuss the effect of the concentration of one of the crosslinkers, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DAH), on thermal decomposition and flame retardant properties using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC) studies. The char yields were improved in all the polymers crosslinked with the various aromatic dianhydrides. The heat release capacity of a polymer crosslinked with 20% DAH, compared to the pure polymer, was tremendously reduced from 190 J/gK to 100 J/gK. The decomposition kinetics from TGA showed that the crosslinked polymer is thermally more stable than the non-crosslinked polymer.     

High Resolution NMR Spectroscopic Study of Complexation of Hydroxyzine Hydrochloride with β‐Cyclodextrin in Aqueous Solution

Hydroxyzine hydrochloride forms two 1:1 inclusion complexes with β‐cyclodextrin in aqueous solution as confirmed by the ¹H NMR titration and ROESY studies. One complex is formed by the deep penetration of the chlorophenyl ring from the wider rim side, while the mode of entry of the phenyl ring into the β‐CD cavity is not clear. The stoichiometry and overall association constant of the complexes have been determined by the treatment of ¹H NMR shift data. Some chiral discrimination by the host between the two enantiomers of hydroxyzine hydrochloride is also indicated.     

Non-paraxial Split-step Finite-difference Method for Beam Propagation

A method based on symmetrized splitting of the propagation operator in the finite difference scheme for non-paraxial beam propagation is presented. The formulation allows the solution of the second order scalar wave equation without having to make the slowly varying envelope and one-way propagation approximations. The method is highly accurate and numerically efficient. Unlike most Padé approximant based methods, it is non-iterative in nature and requires less computation. The method can be used for bi-directional propagation as well.     

Study of108–112Ru in non-axial microscopic framework

The yrast spectra, intrinsic quadrupole moments and root mean square radii for each angular momentum state, calculated for^108–112Ru isotopes by carrying out Cranked-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (CHFB) calculations. These calculations have been performed by employing pairing-plus-quadrupole-quadrupole effective interaction operating in a reasonably large valence space outside⁷⁶Sr core. The experimentally available spectra upto 10⁺ is reasonably well reproduced. Our results indicate that there is a possibility for observing backbending phenomenon in^108,110,112Ru at spins 12⁺, 20⁺ and 14⁺, respectively, which remains yet to be confirmed experimentally.     

Can correlations drive a band insulator metallic?

We analyze the effects of the on-site Coulomb repulsion U on a band insulator using dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). We find the surprising result that the gap is suppressed to zero at a critical Uc1 and remains zero within a metallic phase. At a larger Uc2 there is a second transition from the metal to a Mott insulator, in which the gap increases with increasing U. These results are qualitatively different from Hartree-Fock theory which gives a monotonically decreasing but nonzero insulating gap for all finite U.     

Effect of Ca and Sr alkaline earth ions on luminescence properties of BaAl12O19:Eu nanophosphor

Nanosized barium aluminate materials was doped by divalent cations (Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺) and Eu²⁺ having nominal compositions Ba_1−xMxAl₁₂O₁₉:Eu (M=Ca and Sr) (x=0.1-0.5), were synthesized by the combustion method. These phosphors were characterized by XRD, scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and photoluminescence measurement. The photoluminescence characterization showed the presence of Eu ion in divalent form which gave emission bands peaking at 444 nm for the 320 nm excitation (solid-state lighting excitation), while for 254 nm it gave the same emission wavelength of low intensity (1.5 times) compared to 320 nm excitation. It was also observed that alkaline earth metal (Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺) dopants increase the intensity of Eu²⁺ ion in BaAl₁₂O₁₉ lattice, thus this phosphor may be useful for solid-state lighting.