The materials science X‐ray beamline BL8 at the DELTA storage ring

The hard X‐ray beamline BL8 at the superconducting asymmetric wiggler at the 1.5 GeV Dortmund Electron Accelerator DELTA is described. This beamline is dedicated to X‐ray studies in the spectral range from ～1 keV to ～25 keV photon energy. The monochromator as well as the other optical components of the beamline are optimized accordingly. The endstation comprises a six‐axis diffractometer that is capable of carrying heavy loads related to non‐ambient sample environments such as, for example, ultrahigh‐vacuum systems, high‐pressure cells or liquid‐helium cryostats. X‐ray absorption spectra from several reference compounds illustrate the performance. Besides transmission measurements, fluorescence detection for dilute sample systems as well as surface‐sensitive reflection‐mode experiments have been performed. The results show that high‐quality EXAFS data can be obtained in the quick‐scanning EXAFS mode within a few seconds of acquisition time, enabling time‐resolved in situ experiments using standard beamline equipment that is permanently available. The performance of the new beamline, especially in terms of the photon flux and energy resolution, is competitive with other insertion‐device beamlines worldwide, and several sophisticated experiments including surface‐sensitive EXAFS experiments are feasible.     

Resonance splitting in gyrotropic ring resonators

We present the theoretical concept of an optical isolator based on resonance splitting in a silicon ring resonator covered with a magneto-optical polymer cladding. For this task, a perturbation method is derived for the modes in the cylindrical coordinate system. A polymer magneto-optical cladding causing a 0.01 amplitude of the off-diagonal element of the dielectric tensor is assumed. It is shown that the derived resonance splitting of the clockwise and counterclockwise modes increases for smaller ring radii. For the ring with a radius of approximately 1.5μm, a 29GHz splitting is demonstrated. An integrated optical isolator with a 10μm geometrical footprint is proposed based on a critically coupled ring resonator.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Potassium–Lanthanoid(III) Complexes with the 1,2‐Benzenedisulfonate Ligand

The complexes [K(H₂O)₂LnL₂] (Ln = La or Nd; L = 1,2‐benzenedisulfonate) and [K(H₂O)Yb(H₂O)₄L₂] were initially isolated fortuitously from attempts to prepare the corresponding Ln₂L₃ complexes from Ln₂O₃ and H₂L in water. Indeed the bulk products from these reactions have the composition Ln₂L₃. Subsequently, deliberate syntheses by reacting equimolar amounts of Ln₂L₃ with K₂L in water gave the complexes in good yield. X‐ray crystal structures of [K(H₂O)₂LnL₂] (Ln = La or Nd) showed the complexes to be isostructural with a two dimensional polymeric network structure in which LnL₂ units are linked into chains crosslinked by potassium ions. Each Ln is nine coordinate with solely sulfonate oxygen donor atoms. Between adjacent lanthanoid ions there are three different types of sulfonate bridges and two examples of each. Most noteworthy is highly unsymmetrical bridging through μ‐η²‐sulfonate oxygen atoms. Consequently, one Ln–O bond is ca. 0.5 Å longer than the other eight. Potassium is nine‐coordinate with seven sulfonate oxygen atoms and two aqua ligands, and surprisingly <K–O(sulfonate)> is much longer than <K–O(H₂O)>. Pairs of potassium ions are linked by two μ‐η²‐sulfonate oxygen atoms, which are unsymmetrically bridging. The structure of [K(H₂O)Yb(H₂O)₄L₂] comprises discrete tetranuclear units containing two independent ytterbium ions, each coordinated by four water molecules and two chelating (via seven membered rings) disulfonate ligands, and two potassium ions, each coordinated by six sulfonate oxygen atoms and a water molecule. For each potassium, four of the coordinated sulfonate oxygen atoms are from sulfonate ligands bonded to one ytterbium atom and two from sulfonate ligands attached to the other ytterbium atom. In contrast to the Nd and La complexes, <K–O(sulfonate)> is shorter than <K–O(H₂O)>.     

Optical Control of Acetylcholinesterase with a Tacrine Switch

Photochromic ligands have been used to control a variety of biological functions, especially in neural systems. Recently, much effort has been invested in the photocontrol of ion channels and G‐protein coupled receptors found in the synapse. Herein, we describe the expansion of our photopharmacological approach toward the remote control of an enzyme. Building on hallmark studies dating from the late 1960s, we evaluated photochromic inhibitors of one of the most important enzymes in synaptic transmission, acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Using structure‐based design, we synthesized several azobenzene analogues of the well‐known AChE inhibitor tacrine (THA) and determined their effects on enzymatic activity. One of our compounds, AzoTHA, is a reversible photochromic blocker of AChE in vitro and ex vivo with high affinity and fast kinetics. As such, AzoTHA can be used to control synaptic transmission on the neuromuscular endplate based on the light‐dependent clearance of a neurotransmitter.     

Capillary HPLC–ICP MS mapping of selenocompounds in spots obtained from the 2-D gel electrophoresis of the water-soluble protein fraction of selenized yeast

A method based on ICP collision-cell MS detection in capillary HPLC was developed to gain an insight into the purity and identity of selenium-containing proteins separated by 1-D and 2-D electrophoresis. The bands and spots obtained after the separation of water-soluble proteins in selenized yeast were digested with trypsin prior to chromatography. Selenium could be detected down to the subpicogram level. The method, assisted by information obtained by MALDI TOF MS on the 5000 Da cut-off fraction, permitted the purity of bands and spots to be estimated and the efficiency of tryptic digestion and the quantity of selenium present in individual peptides to be evaluated. Owing to the high sensitivity and the lack of matrix suppression effects, the method provided chromatograms with signal-to-noise ratios of 10–1000 in conditions where the common ES Q–TOF MS detection failed.      

Versatile coordination chemistry towards multifunctional carbon nanotube nanohybrids

Dispersible single-walled carbon nanotubes grafted with poly(4-vinylpyridine), SWNT-PVP, were tested in coordination assays with zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnP). Kinetic and spectroscopic evidence corroborates the successful formation of a SWNT-PVPZnP nanohybrid. Within this SWNT-PVPZnP nanohybrid, static electron-transfer quenching (2.0+/-0.1) x 10(9) s(-1) converts the photoexcited-ZnP chromophore into a radical-ion-pair state with a microsecond lifetime, namely one-electron oxidized-ZnP and reduced-SWNT.     

Facile preparation of fluorovinylene aryl ether telechelic polymers with dual functionality for thermal chain extension and tandem crosslinking

New fluorovinylene aromatic ether polymers, possessing dual reactivity, have been successfully prepared via the step-growth polymerization of commercial bis(trifluorovinyl) aromatic ethers and bisphenols.