Optical sensing in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip by femtosecond-laser-written waveguides

We use direct femtosecond laser writing to integrate optical waveguides into a commercial fused silica capillary electrophoresis chip. High-quality waveguides crossing the microfluidic channels are fabricated and used to optically address, with high spatial selectivity, their content. Fluorescence from the optically excited volume is efficiently collected at a 90° angle by a high numerical aperture fiber, resulting in a highly compact and portable device. To test the platform we performed electrophoresis and detection of a 23-mer oligonucleotide plug. Our approach is quite powerful because it allows the integration of photonic functionalities, by simple post-processing, into commercial LOCs fabricated with standard techniques. Figure Femtosecond laser written waveguides can selectively excite fluorescence in a microfluidic channel of a commercial lab-on-a-chip. A compact scheme for on-chip detection by laser induced fluorescence is applied to capillary electrophoresis of a 23-mer Cy3-labeled oligonucleotide     

High-power, continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser pumped by fiber-laser green source at 532 nm

We report the first experimental demonstration of efficient and high-power operation of a Ti:sapphire laser pumped by a simple, compact, continuous-wave (cw) fiber-laser-based green source. The pump radiation is obtained by direct single-pass second-harmonic-generation (SHG) of a 33 W, cw Yb-fiber laser in a 30-mm-long MgO:sPPLT crystal, providing 11 W of single-frequency green power at 532 nm in TEM₀₀ spatial profile with power and frequency stability better than 3.3% and 32 MHz, respectively, over 1 h. The Ti:sapphire laser is continuously tunable across 743-970 nm and can deliver an output power up to 2.7 W with a slope efficiency as high as 32.8% under optimum output coupling of 20%. The laser output has a TEM₀₀ spatial profile with M²<1.44 across the tuning range and exhibits a peak-to-peak power fluctuation below 5.1% over 1 h.     

Pyridopyrimidines. X. Synthesis of 3‐Substituted 2‐Thioxo‐5,7‐dimethylpyrido[2,3‐d] pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones and their S‐Alkylation Under Phase Transfer Conditions

2‐Thioxo‐5,7‐dimethylpyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones 3 were synthesized by the cyclocondensation of 2‐amino‐3‐carbethoxy‐4,6‐dimethylpyridine 1 with methyl‐N‐aryldithiocarbamates 2 and compared with the condensation between 1 and aryl isothiocyanates 4. When a comparative study of N vs S alkylation of ambident 2‐thioxo‐5,7‐dimethylpyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones 3 was carried out under liquid‐liquid and solid‐liquid phase transfer conditions using various alkylating agents 5 , the S‐alkylated products 6 were obtained exclusively and selectively.     

Synthesis of isomeric triazolopyrrolopyrimidines

4‐Hydrazino‐7H‐pyrrolo[2,3‐d]pyrimidines ( 4 ) were cyclocondensed with formic acid or triethyl orthoformate to give 7H‐1,2,4‐triazolo[1,5‐c]pyrrolo[3,2‐e]pyrimidines ( 5 ) and 7H‐1,2,4‐triazolo[4,3‐c]pyrrolo‐[3,2‐e]pyrimidines ( 6 ) respectively. The [4,3‐c]‐isomers ( 6 ) were rearranged into thermodynamically more stable [1,5‐c]‐isomers ( 5 ). The identical compounds ( 5 ) were prepared using another route by reacting 3‐amino‐4‐imino‐7H‐pyrrolo[2,3‐d]pyrimidines ( 3 ) with formic acid or triethylorthoformate. Reaction of 2‐amino‐3‐cyanopyrroles ( 1 ) with triethyl orthoformate followed by hydrazinolysis afforded ( 3 ) via the formation of N‐ethoxymethylene‐2‐amino‐3‐cyanopyrroles ( 2 ).     

Investigation of a putative mobius aromatic hydrocarbon. The effect of benzannelation on mobius [4n]annulene aromaticity

The first experimental example of a [4n]annulene derivative with one Mobius twist, 1, was synthesized recently [Ajami, D.; Oeckler, O.; Simon, A.; Herges, R. Nature 2003, 426, 819] and was purported to possess aromatic character. However, critical analysis of the published crystallographic data indicates that the Mobius [16]annulene core of 1 shows large bond alternation (Deltar up to 0.157 A). Delocalization in this core is inhibited by large dihedral angles, which hinders effective pi overlap. This conclusion is supported by computational results (B3LYP/6-311+G) on 1 and several less benzannelated derivatives, based on geometric (Deltar, Deltar(m), Julg A, HOMA) and magnetic (NICS, magnetic susceptibility exaltation) criteria of aromaticity. That benzannelation results in bond localization in the [16]annulene core is shown by additional computations on benzannelated derivatives of other Mobius aromatic species. Additionally, the aromatic stabilization energy (ASE) of 1 has been reinvestigated using two different procedures. Evaluation of uncorrected ISE(II) values of just the polyene bridge portion of 1 and its Huckel counterpart suggests that stabilization of 1 relative to its Huckel isomer is confined to the polyene bridge and is not due to a delocalized pi circuit. Furthermore, application of s-cis/s-trans corrections lowers the ISE(II) value of 1 from 4.0 kcal/mol to 0.6 kcal/mol, suggesting that 1 is nonaromatic.     

An efficient, solvent-free approach to heteroarylcarbazoles: synthesis of 3-chromenylcarbazoles, 3,6-bis-(chromenyl)carbazoles and 3-quinolylcarbazoles

An easy and efficient synthesis of 3-chromenylcarbazoles, 3,6-bis-(chromenyl)carbazoles and 3-quinolylcarbazoles is reported under solvent-free conditions.     

Molecular Modeling and Docking Studies of O-Succinylbenzoate Synthase of M. tuberculosis—a Potential Target for Antituberculosis Drug Design

Menaquinone is a lipid-soluble naphthoquinone that is essential for various pivotal functions of bacteria. Naphthoquinone is synthesized from chorismate of the shikimate pathway in microorganisms. Due to its absence in humans and animals, menaquinone biosynthesis has been an attractive target for development of antibiotics against a number of important microbial pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In shikimate pathway, O-succinylbenzoate synthase (OSBS) plays a major role and is one of the major potential drug targets. For Mtb-OSBS, a systematic study was conducted to get an insight about Mtb-OSBS enzyme and the corresponding inhibitors using in silico methods. The 3-D model of Mtb-OSBS was built using structure coordinates of Thermobifida fusca. O-succinylbenzoate synthase, the model, was further refined. The active site amino acids have been identified by comparing the template sequence with the Mtb-OSBS sequence. We identified that Lys¹⁰⁸, Asn¹⁴⁰, Asp¹³⁸, Lys¹¹⁰, Glu¹⁸⁹, Ser²³⁶, Asp¹⁸⁸, Arg²⁷, Tyr⁵², and Ser²³⁷ are highly conserved, and these may play a vital role as active residues, similar to that in template protein. As per the competitive binding of substrate (2-succinyl-6-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate (SHCHC)), we screened the SHCHC through AutoDock 4.0. The SHCHC molecule was further modified structurally and optimized through PRODRG server. Docking of the 12 lead molecules for best interactions with Mtb-OSBS has given an insight that all the lead molecules have shown interactions with active site amino acids of Mtb-OSBS. MD simulation analysis report has shown the stable conformation annotations of Mtb-OSBS. These hypothetical studies create another way to develop more potential drugs against the deadly mycobacterium.     

Which NICS aromaticity index for planar pi rings is best?

[STRUCTURE: SEE TEXT] Five increasingly sophisticated aromaticity indexes, based on nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS), were evaluated against a uniform set of aromatic stabilization energies (ASE) for 75 mono- and polyheterocyclic five-membered rings. While acceptable statistical correlations were given by all of the NICS methods, the most fundamentally grounded index, NICS(0)pizz (based on the pi contribution to the out-of-plane zz tensor component), performed best statistically (cc=0.980) and in practice. The easily computable NICS(1)zz index is a useful alternative (cc=0.968).     

Aberration-corrected STEM imaging of Ag on gamma-Al2O3.

Ag on gamma-alumina is a promising catalyst for hydrocarbon selective catalytic reduction in lean-burn gasoline and diesel engines for transportation applications. Although much is known about the mechanism of NOx reduction and the various intermediates, little agreement exists on the nature of the active silver species. In the present work, aberration-corrected STEM has provided new information about the nature of Ag on alumina both as impregnated and following treatments at various temperatures with exposure to simulated exhaust gas. Ex situ techniques have provided new insights into the evolution of Ag on alumina following exposure to temperature and simulated exhaust gas.