One-pot microwave synthesis of water-dispersible, ultraphoto- and pH-stable, and highly fluorescent silicon quantum dots

Fluorescent silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) are facilely prepared via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis. The as-prepared SiQDs feature excellent aqueous dispersibility, robust photo- and pH-stability, strong fluorescence, and favorable biocompatibility. Experiments show the SiQDs are superbly suitable for long-term immunofluorescent cellular imaging. Our results provide a new and invaluable methodology for large-scale synthesis of high-quality SiQDs, which are promising for various optoelectronic and biological applications.     

Water-dispersible sugar-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. An evaluation of their relaxometric and magnetic hyperthermia properties

Synthesis of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) for biomedical applications represents a current challenge. In this paper we present the synthesis and characterization of water-dispersible sugar-coated iron oxide NPs specifically designed as magnetic fluid hyperthermia heat mediators and negative contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. In particular, the influence of the inorganic core size was investigated. To this end, iron oxide NPs with average size in the range of 4-35 nm were prepared by thermal decomposition of molecular precursors and then coated with organic ligands bearing a phosphonate group on one side and rhamnose, mannose, or ribose moieties on the other side. In this way a strong anchorage of the organic ligand on the inorganic surface was simply realized by ligand exchange, due to covalent bonding between the Fe(3+) atom and the phosphonate group. These synthesized nanoobjects can be fully dispersed in water forming colloids that are stable over very long periods. Mannose, ribose, and rhamnose were chosen to test the versatility of the method and also because these carbohydrates, in particular rhamnose, which is a substrate of skin lectin, confer targeting properties to the nanosystems. The magnetic, hyperthermal, and relaxometric properties of all the synthesized samples were investigated. Iron oxide NPs of ca. 16-18 nm were found to represent an efficient bifunctional targeting system for theranostic applications, as they have very good transverse relaxivity (three times larger than the best currently available commercial products) and large heat release upon application of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation with amplitude and frequency close to the human tolerance limit. The results have been rationalized on the basis of the magnetic properties of the investigated samples.     

Spatial bandgap engineering along single alloy nanowires

Bandgap engineering of semiconductor nanowires is important in designing nanoscale multifunctional optoelectronic devices. Here, we report a facile thermal evaporation method, and realize the spatial bandgap engineering in single CdS(1-x)Se(x) alloy nanowires. Along the length of these achieved nanowires, the composition can be continuously tuned from x = 0 (CdS) at one end to x = 1 (CdSe) at the other end, resulting in the corresponding bandgap (light emission wavelength) being modulated gradually from 2.44 eV (507 nm, green light) to 1.74 eV (710 nm, red light). In spite of the existing composition (crystal lattice) transition along the length, these multicolor nanowires still possess high-quality crystallization. These bandgap engineered nanowires will have promising applications in such as multicolor display and lighting, high-efficiency solar cells, ultrabroadly spectral detectors, and biotechnology.     

Porous Cu-NiO modified glass carbon electrode enhanced nonenzymatic glucose electrochemical sensors

Porous Cu-NiO nanocomposites were successfully prepared by calcination of the Cu-Ni(OH)(2) precursor at 400 °C for 2 h. During the process of calcination, Ar was used to deaerate O(2). The structure and morphology of Cu-NiO were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectrum (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analyses (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using porous Cu-NiO nanocomposites, a simple non-enzymatic amperometric sensor has been fabricated (Cu-NiO/GCE) and evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and typical amperometric method. When applied to detect glucose by the amperometric method, Cu-NiO/GCE produced an ultrahigh sensitivity of 171.8 μA mM(-1), with a low detection limit of 0.5 μM (S/N = 3). What's more, interference from common co-existing species, such as UA, AA, and fructose can be avoided at the sensor. Results in this study imply that porous Cu-NiO nanocomposites are promising nanomaterials for the enzyme-free determination of glucose.     

An integrated portable Raman sensor with nanofabricated gold bowtie array substrates for energetics detection

An integrated field-portable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing system has been developed and evaluated for quantitative analysis of energetics such as perchlorate (ClO(4)(-)) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) at environmentally relevant concentrations and conditions. The detection system consists of a portable Raman spectrometer equipped with an optical fiber probe that is coupled with novel elevated gold bowtie nanostructural arrays as a sensitive and reproducible SERS substrate. Using the standard addition technique, we show that ClO(4)(-) and TNT can be quantified at concentrations as low as 0.66 mg L(-1) (or ~6.6 μM) and 0.20 mg L(-1) (~0.9 μM), respectively, in groundwater samples collected from selected military sites. This research represents the first step toward the development of a field SERS sensor which may permit rapid, in situ screening and analysis for various applications including national security, chemical, biological and environmental detection.     

Mass spectrometric studies of the vapour phase in the (Pu + O) system

Vapour pressure measurements at high temperatures have been performed on plutonium oxide samples using a Knudsen cell coupled with a mass spectrometer. Different experimental conditions were applied for the derivation of the solid–gas phase relations for three composition in the Pu–O phase diagram: the (Pu₂O₃–PuO_2?x) two-phase domain, the congruent vapourisation composition and near stoichiometric PuO_2.00. The partial pressures of the gaseous species PuO₂, PuO, and Pu were assessed from ionisation efficiency curves recorded at constant temperature. The vapour pressure results for different phase fields were discussed together with all the available literature data.     

Development and validation of an improved method for the quantitation of sertraline in human plasma using LC-MS-MS and its application to bioequivalence studies

A rapid and sensitive LC-MS-MS method for the quantitation of sertraline in human plasma was developed and validated. Sertraline and the internal standard, telmisartan, were cleaned up by protein precipitation from 100 μL of plasma sample, and analyzed on a TC-C18 column (5 μm, 150 × 4.6 mm i.d.) using 70% acetonitrile and 30% 10 mM ammonium acetate (0.1% formic acid) as mobile phase. The method was demonstrated to be linear from 0.1 ng/mL to 50 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantitation of 0.1 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precision were below 4.40% and 3.55%. Recoveries of sertraline at low, medium, and high levels were 88.0 ± 2.3%, 88.2 ± 1.9%, and 90.0 ± 2.0%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a bioequivalence study of sertraline after a single oral administration of 50 mg sertraline hydrochloride tablets.     

Evaluation of automated sample preparation, retention time locked gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and data analysis methods for the metabolomic study of Arabidopsis species

In this paper, automated sample preparation, retention time locked gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and data analysis methods for the metabolomics study were evaluated. A miniaturized and automated derivatisation method using sequential oximation and silylation was applied to a polar extract of 4 types (2 types×2 ages) of Arabidopsis thaliana, a popular model organism often used in plant sciences and genetics. Automation of the derivatisation process offers excellent repeatability, and the time between sample preparation and analysis was short and constant, reducing artifact formation. Retention time locked (RTL) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used, resulting in reproducible retention times and GC-MS profiles. Two approaches were used for data analysis. XCMS followed by principal component analysis (approach 1) and AMDIS deconvolution combined with a commercially available program (Mass Profiler Professional) followed by principal component analysis (approach 2) were compared. Several features that were up- or down-regulated in the different types were detected.     

柱前衍生-反相高效液相色谱法测定不同方法煮制的猪肉及其汤汁中的游离氨基酸

建立了反相高效液相色谱(RP-HPLC)分离检测用不同方法煮制的猪肉及其汤汁中17种游离氨基酸的方法.样品经6-氨基喹啉基-N-羟基琥珀酰亚氨基甲酸酯(AQC)柱前衍生后,采用Nova- PakTMC18色谱柱分离,以AccQ·Tag Eluent A稀释液、乙腈和超纯水为流动相,梯度洗脱,检测波长为248 nm,在4...     

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of 2,5-disubstituted pyrimido[5,4-c]quinoline derivatives

A series of 2,5-disubstituted pyrimido[5,4-c]quinoline derivatives were synthesized and their cytotoxic activity against H460, HT-29 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines was evaluated in vitro.It was found that most of the tested compounds especially compound 17, shown stronger activity to the selected three cell lines than ZM447439.