Sub-surface fracture of a thin metallic foil under impact loading

We examine here sub-surface fracture of a thin metallic foil sandwiched between two elastomeric layers under impact. In particular we generate a vertical stack consisting of alternate layers of soft elastomers and thin aluminum foils and place it on a rigid substrate; we then allow a rigid sphere to impact the stack from a small vertical height. We show that under impact the foil at the top of the stack undergoes buckling deformation; however the foil sandwiched between the two elastic layers undergoes both deformation and fracture. We show that because of friction at the contacting interfaces with the elastomer, the sandwiched foil is subjected to in-plane stretching which when exceeds a threshold limit causes fracture. Experiments show that this threshold condition is reached within a range of critical thicknesses of the top and bottom elastomeric layers, for a given height of impact of the rigid spherical indenter. We present a theoretical analysis to predict the critical thickness of the stack below which the foil is expected to undergo fracture and also the critical heights within this stack at which the foil would fracture.     

Synthesis,spectral and RAHB studies on some arylhydrazones of β-diketones: crystal and molecular structures of 2-(2-(3-pyridyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione and 2-(2-(2-methoxyphenyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione

The present study describes the synthesis and spectral analysis of a series of arylhydrazones of β-diketones (1–6) along with the single crystal X-ray structural studies of 2-(2-(3-pyridyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione (3) and 2-(2-(2-methoxyphenyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione (6). Spectral and structural studies clearly exemplify the effective intramolecular hydrogen bonding and as a result the NH proton signals and carbonyl carbon signals are shifted to higher frequency region in NMR spectra. Structural implications imposed by the formation of pseudo six-membered ring after hydrogen bonding is well observed in XRD analysis. XRD analysis also evidences the envelop conformation of the dimedone ring in both the cases and resonance assisted hydrogen bonding (RAHB) studies were also performed.     

Enzymatic sculpting of nanoscale and microscale surface topographies

Lithography-free etching of complex surface features is achieved by harnessing the enzyme proteinase K (PK), controlled by bovine serum albumin (BSA), to digest a biodegradable polymer. This bio-sculpting process is used to construct a membraneless filtration device for the size-based isolation and enrichment of cells from whole blood.     

Al3+ induced planarization, conformational arrest and metallochromic shift in a pyrimidine dione dye: insight from integrated hybrid quantum-classical calculations

In order to explore the possibilities of simulating metallochromism by modern molecular modeling, we apply a sequential hybrid quantum-classical approach to a prototype metallochromic system-the Al(3+) ion and pyrimidinedione (PY) dye complex. The complex shows several structural features with relevance for the metallochromism: the PY dye exhibits conformers with dynamical transitions between twisted structures, which are inhibited by the addition of the metal ion leading to planarization and a conformational arrest: the Al(3+) ion behaves like a structure-modifier for both intra and intermolecular degrees of freedom and with respect to the intermolecular solvation shell structure. The sequential approach that we have employed uses DFT/MM molecular dynamics for structure modeling and TDDFT/PCM for property modeling. The computed metallochromic shift between PY and the Al(PY)(3+) complex in DMSO solvent is obtained in excellent agreement with experiment. The results infer optimism for future use of such modeling techniques to design metallochromic indicators.     

NMR spin-spin coupling constants in polymethine dyes as polarity indicators

Herein, we explore the use of spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) in merocyanine (MCYNE) dyes as indicators of polarity. For this purpose, we use Car-Parrinello hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) to determine the structures of MCYNE in solvents of different polarity, followed by computations of the SSCCs by using QM/MM linear-response theory. The molecular geometry of MCYNE switches between neutral, cyanine-like, and zwitterionic depending on the polarity of the solvent. This structural variation is clearly reflected in the proton SSCCs in the polymethine backbone, which are highly sensitive to the dielectric nature of the environment; this mechanism can be used as a "polarity indicator" for different microenvironments. This result is highlighted by computing the SSCCs of the MCYNE probe in the cavity of the beta-lactoglobulin protein. The computed SSCCs clearly indicate a non-polar hydrophobic dielectric nature of this cavity.     

Synthesis of Hexagonal ZnO-PQ7 Nano Disks Conjugated with Folic Acid to Image MCF – 7 Cancer Cells

Surface modified ZnO nanomaterial is widely used in the field of bioimaging worldwide due to its optical properties, electronic characteristics and biocompatibility. Fluorescent enhanced, Polyquaternium-7(PQ7) capped, ZnO hexagonal nano disks (ZnO-PQ7) were synthesised by simple wet chemical method. The structural and optical properties of ZnO-PQ7 hexagonal nano disks were characterized using XRD, UV-Visible, Fluorescence, HRTEM, EDAX and FTIR studies. The size of synthesised ZnO-PQ7 were around 30-45 nm as confirmed by HRTEM studies. Fluorescence emission intensity increased with increase in PQ7 concentration. ZnO-PQ7 was further conjugated with folic acid (FA) to target human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) via EDC/NHS coupling chemistry. Conjugation of folic acid with ZnO-PQ7 was confirmed by FTIR studies. The cell viability study using Methyl thiazolyltetrazolium(MTT) assay has demonstrated that the ZnO-PQ7 conjugated FA composites (ZnO-PQ7-FA) exhibit low toxicity towards MCF-7 up to a concentration of 125 μg/mL. Confocal laser scanning microscopic images confirmed the uptake of ZnO-PQ7-FA nanoparticles by MCF-7 cells. This study reveals ZnO-PQ7-FA nano disks as a potential imaging agent for detection of cancer cells. The synthesis route reported in this article is simple and easy to follow for the synthesis of ZnO-PQ7-FA in bulk quantities with high purity.     

One-pot synthesis of methyl piperazinyl–quinolinyl nicotinonitrile derivatives under microwave conditions and molecular docking studies with DNA

Derivatives of methyl piperazinyl–quinolinyl nicotinonitrile were synthesised by one-pot method under microwave conditions. This was achieved using the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The novel derivatives described above were purified by column chromatography and characterised by FT-IR, ¹H, ¹³C, 2D-NMR and HRMS spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, molecular docking was used to determine the binding sites of DNA with selected compounds. The synthetic method developed in this study showed several advantages including simplicity, high yield of products, coupled with safety and a short reaction time of 15 min.     

M(S)2(I)2 (M=Zn,Cd) and Hg(S)3I Coordination Environment of Transition Metal Complexes – Synthesis,Spectral, and Single Crystal X‐ray Structural Investigations

Three new transition metal complexes [Zn(bipyrtds)I₂]( 1 ), [Cd(bipyrtds)I₂] ( 2 ) and [Hg(pipdtc)I]( 3 ) (where bipyrtds = bipyrrolidine thiuamdisulfide and pipdtc = piperidinecarbodithioate) were prepared by the reaction of the corresponding biscarbodithioates with iodine and were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectra. The structures of all the three complexes were determined by single crystal X‐ray crystallography. Compounds 1 and 2 contain four coordinated metal atoms and both Zn^II and Cd^II complexes are isostrucutral. Interestingly, complex 3 was found to contain effectively four coordinated mercury atom as a dimer with a relatively long Hg‐S (3.084Å) bond. The IR studies are in keeping with the observed thioureide distances. ¹H NMR spectra of 1 and 2 show clear differences in environments of α‐ and β‐CH₂ protons. However, in 1 a broad signal was observed at 4.02 ppm for α‐protons and a multiplet at 2.10 for β‐protons. For 2 , two triplets appeared at 4.26 and 4.03 ppm for α‐protons and two quintets appeared in the range of 2.18 and 2.28 ppm for β‐protons. Complex 3 gave three sets of signals. Variation of stereochemical environment with respect to α and β protons of the rings is very clearly observed in the NMR spectra.