Patterning of Gd2(WO4)3:Ln3+ (Ln=Eu, Tb) luminescent films by microcontact printing route

Gd(2)(WO(4))(3) doped with Eu(3+) or Tb(3+) thin phosphor films with dot patterns have been prepared by a combinational method of sol-gel process and microcontact printing. This process utilizes a PDMS elastomeric mold as the stamp to create heterogeneous pattern on quartz substrates firstly and then combined with a Pechini-type sol-gel process to selectively deposit the luminescent phosphors on hydrophilic regions, in which a Gd(2)(WO(4))(3):Ln(3+) (Ln=Eu, Tb) precursor solutions were employed as ink. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, as well as low voltage cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra were carried out to characterize the obtained samples. Under ultraviolet excitation and low-voltage electron beams excitation, the Gd(2)(WO(4))(3):Eu(3+) samples exhibit a strong red emission arising from Eu(3+)(5)D(0,1,2)-(7)F(1,2) transitions, while the Gd(2)(WO(4))(3):Tb(3+) samples show the green emission coming from the characteristic emission of Tb(3+) corresponding to (5)D(4)-(7)F(6,5,4,3) transitions. The results show that the patterning of rare earth-doped phosphors through combining microcontact printing with a Pechini-type sol-gel route has potential for field emission displays (FEDs) applications.     

Self-quenching in the electrochemiluminescence of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium(ii) using metabolites of catecholamines as co-reactants

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) using metabolites of catecholamines: homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) as co-reactants were investigated in aqueous solution for the first time. When HVA and VMA were co-existent in the buffer solution containing Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), ECL peaks were observed at a potential corresponding to the oxidation of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), and the ECL intensity was increased noticeably when the concentrations of HVA and VMA were at lower levels. The linear calibration range was from 8.0 × 10(-5) to 1.0 × 10(-9) M for HVA and VMA. The detection limit (S/N = 3) of HVA and VMA was 4.0 × 10(-10) M. The formation of the excited state Ru(bpy)(3)(2+*) was confirmed to result from the reaction between Ru(bpy)(3)(3+) and the intermediates of HVA or VMA radicals. Moreover, it was found that the ECL intensity was quenched significantly when the concentrations of HVA and VMA were relatively higher. The mechanism of self-quenching processes involved in the Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-HVA and -VMA ECL systems are proposed in this study.     

Hybridization of inorganic nanoparticles and polymers to create regular and reversible self-assembly architectures

Inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) with diversified functionalities are promising candidates in future optoelectronic and biomedical applications, which greatly depend on the capability to arrange NPs into higher-order architectures in a controllable way. This issue is considered to be solved by means of self-assembly. NPs can participate in self-assembly in different manners, such as smart self-organization with blended molecules, as the carriers of host molecules for assembly and disassembly with guest molecules, as netpoints to endow the architectures specific functionalities, and so forth. To enhance the structural stability of the as-prepared assembly architectures, polymers have been utilized to create NP-polymer composites. Meanwhile, such a strategy also demonstrates the possibility of integrating the functionalities of NPs and/or polymers by forming regular architectures. The emerging interest in the current optoelectronic and biological areas strongly demands intelligent nanocomposites, which are produced by combination of the excellent functionalities of NPs and the responsiveness of polymers. On the basis of the recent progress in fabricating NP-polymer composites, this critical review summarizes the development of new methods for fabricating regular self-assembly architectures, highlights the reversible assembly and disassembly behavior, and indicates the potential applications.     

Formation of high-capacity protein-adsorbing membranes through simple adsorption of poly(acrylic acid)-containing films at low pH

Layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte adsorption is a simple, convenient method for introducing ion-exchange sites in porous membranes. This study demonstrates that adsorption of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-containing films at pH 3 rather than pH 5 increases the protein-binding capacity of such polyelectrolyte-modified membranes 3-6-fold. The low adsorption pH generates a high density of -COOH groups that function as either ion-exchange sites or points for covalent immobilization of metal-ion complexes that selectively bind tagged proteins. When functionalized with nitrilotriacetate (NTA)-Ni(2+) complexes, membranes containing PAA/polyethylenimine (PEI)/PAA films bind 93 mg of histidine(6)-tagged (His-tagged) ubiquitin per cm(3) of membrane. Additionally these membranes isolate His-tagged COP9 signalosome complex subunit 8 from cell extracts and show >90% recovery of His-tagged ubiquitin. Although modification with polyelectrolyte films occurs by simply passing polyelectrolyte solutions through the membrane for as little as 5 min, with low-pH deposition the protein binding capacities of such membranes are as high as for membranes modified with polymer brushes and 2-3-fold higher than for commercially available immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) resins. Moreover, the buffer permeabilities of polyelectrolyte-modified membranes that bind His-tagged protein are ~30% of the corresponding permeabilities of unmodified membranes, so protein capture can occur rapidly with low-pressure drops. Even at a solution linear velocity of 570 cm/h, membranes modified with PAA/PEI/PAA exhibit a lysozyme dynamic binding capacity (capacity at 10% breakthrough) of ~40 mg/cm(3). Preliminary studies suggest that these membranes are stable under depyrogenation conditions (1 M NaOH).     

Rapid discovery of potent siRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles enabled by controlled microfluidic formulation

The discovery of potent new materials for in vivo delivery of nucleic acids depends upon successful formulation of the active molecules into a dosage form suitable for the physiological environment. Because of the inefficiencies of current formulation methods, materials are usually first evaluated for in vitro delivery efficacy as simple ionic complexes with the nucleic acids (lipoplexes). The predictive value of such assays, however, has never been systematically studied. Here, for the first time, by developing a microfluidic method that allowed the rapid preparation of high-quality siRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for a large number of materials, we have shown that gene silencing assays employing lipoplexes result in a high rate of false negatives (~90%) that can largely be avoided through formulation. Seven novel materials with in vivo gene silencing potencies of >90% at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg in mice were discovered. This method will facilitate the discovery of next-generation reagents for LNP-mediated nucleic acid delivery.     

SXI route to mesostructured materials from Fau and Beta zeolite precursors: A comparative study of their assembly behaviors in extremely acidic media

Mesoporous molecular sieves were synthesized from Beta and Fau zeolite precursors through S⁺X⁻I⁺ route under extremely acidic conditions in parallel (designated as M_Beta and M_Fau, respectively). The textural properties of M_Fau were different from its M_Beta counterpart but resembled normal MCM-41 silica from TEOS. Al content in M_Beta was almost equivalent to that in the initial Beta zeolite precursors, whereas only trace Al species was present in M_Fau from elemental analysis results. The hydrothermal stability of M_Beta after post-synthesis ammonia treatment was considerably improved compared with normal MCM-41 aluminosilicates, whereas the M_Fau after the same procedure was as unstable as normal MCM-41 silica. Thus, the assembly behaviors of Beta and Fau zeolite precursors were comparatively studied based on these results. The microstructure of Fau zeolite precursors were degraded by the extremely acidic condition, and Al species was dissolved into the synthesis mixture. However, Beta zeolite precursors survived the chemical attack of extremely acidic media and were incorporated into mesostructured framework as primary building units.     

Conduction in charged PbSe nanocrystal films

Conduction in thin films of PbSe nanocrystals doped by electrochemical gating has been studied. Charging the film, with either electrons or holes, increases the conductance by orders of magnitude. The electrons in the 1S(e) state of nanocrystals in these films have a mobility as high as 5.0 x 10(-3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). Electrons in the 1P(e) state were found to have a differential mobility up to 3-5 times greater than the electrons in the 1S(e) state, and a mobility minima was found corresponding to the complete filling of the 1S(e) state. The temperature and electric field dependence of conductance in the film, measured between 4.3 and 135 K, were both well described by a variable range hopping model.     

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 on Cu low-index surfaces

The extended LEPS of O(2)-Cu single crystal plane systems is constructed by means of 5-MP (the 5-parameter Morse potential). Both the adsorption and dissociation of O(2) on Cu low-index surfaces are investigated with extended LEPS in detail. All critical characteristics of the system that we obtain, such as adsorption geometry, binding energy, eigenvalues for vibration, etc., are in good agreement with the experimental results. Our calculated results suggest there are many differences between O(2)-Cu (110) and O(2)-Pd (110) systems. On a Cu (110) surface, O(2) adsorbs in a tilted configuration and there are two lowest energy dissociation channels along the [001] and [10] directions, respectively. We speculate that the adsorption geometry of O(2) on the metal surfaces relates to the lattice constant of metal. Meanwhile, We use the concepts of the molecular dissociation limit and the surface dissociation distance to analyze again the dissociation mechanism of the O(2) on the low-index surfaces.     

Supersonically cooled hydronium ions in a slit-jet discharge: high-resolution infrared spectroscopy and tunneling dynamics of HD2O+

Jet-cooled high-resolution infrared spectra of partially deuterated hydronium ion (HD2O+) in the O-H stretch region (nu3 band) are obtained for the first time, exploiting the high ion densities, long absorption path lengths, and concentration modulation capabilities of the slit-jet discharge spectrometer. Least-squares analysis with a Watson asymmetric top Hamiltonian yields rovibrational constants and provides high level tests of ab initio molecular structure predictions. Transitions out of both the lower (nu3(+)<--0(+)) and the upper (nu3(-)<--0(-)) tunneling levels, as well as transitions across the tunneling gap (nu3(-)<--0(+)) are observed. The nu3(-)<--0(+) transitions in HD2O+ acquire oscillator strength by loss of D(3h) symmetry, and permit both ground-state-[27.0318(72) cm(-1)] and excited-state-[17.7612(54) cm(-1)]-tunneling splittings to be determined to spectroscopic precision from a single rovibrational band. The splittings and band origins calculated with recent high level ab initio six-dimensional potential surface predictions for H3O+ and isotopomers [X. C. Huang, S. Carter, and J. M. Bowman, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 5431 (2003); T. Rajamaki, A. Miani, and L. Halonen, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10929 (2003)] are in very good agreement with the current experimental results.