Vacuum ultraviolet luminescence from a micro-pulling-down method grown Nd:(La0.9,Ba0.1)F2.9

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) luminescence from a Nd³⁺:(La_1−x,Ba_x)F_3−x (x=0.1) and a Nd³⁺:LaF₃ single crystal grown by the micro-pulling-down method modified for fluoride crystal growth is discussed. Emission resulting from excitation with 157 nm pulses of a F₂ laser and by 290 nm femtosecond pulses of a Ti:sapphire laser show that the luminescence spectral and temporal characteristics are similar for both excitation cases and that they have good prospects as a VUV laser material.     

The Adsorption of CHF3 on NaY5.6 Zeolite and Microdynamic Behaviors in Small Pores

Adsorption of CHF₃ on a NaY5.6 zeolite has been studied by the measurement of H and F NMR of the CHF₃ molecule, focusing in particular on the measurements of a chemical shift and a longitudinal relaxation time, together with the adsorption isotherm measurements. A coordination structure of the adsorbed CHF₃ is determined from the relationship between a chemical shift and an adsorption amount. Relaxation times of H and F were measured at respective two resonance frequencies for various adsorption amounts and temperatures. These relaxation data have been analyzed by use of the thermally activated diffusion model proposed by Torrey. From these analyses, various microdynamic variables such as a mean life time of the trapped state and a mean jump distance in the diffusion were determined as functions of an adsorption amount and temperature.     

Distribution of protease inhibitors in lipid emulsions: gabexate mesilate and camostat mesilate

Gabexate mesilate (GM) and camostat mesilate (CM) are protease inhibitors used for the treatment of pancreatitis, and have been reported to show anticancer effects in vivo. Lipid emulsions (20% fractionated soybean oil) were investigated in terms of physicochemical interaction between the drugs and lipid emulsions as a possible drug carrier. The result showed that the drugs did not distribute in the oil phase but were adsorbed at the phospholipid interface of oil droplets. With increasing concentration of the drugs, the adsorption amount at the interface rose steeply to around 2.2x10(-11) mol/cm2 for GM and 1.2x10(-11) mol/cm2 for CM, respectively, followed by further adsorption deviated from the Langmuir adsorption manner after the inflection. To interpret this two-stage adsorption of the drugs, surface potential and fluorescence changes were examined in addition to thermodynamics for their interaction with the interfacial lipid layer. The primary adsorption was exothermic and was due to electrostatic interaction and van der Waals interaction between drug molecules and phospholipid molecules. Both acidic and neutral phospholipids in the lipid were involved in the adsorption of GM, while acidic phospholipids were mainly involved in the adsorption of CM. On the other hand, the secondary adsorption was endothermic and was entropy-driven most probably due to hydrophobic interaction for GM and CM in common, including peripheral penetration of drug molecules into the interfacial lipid layer.     

Development of a D-amino acids electrochemical sensor based on immobilization of thermostable D-proline dehydrogenase within agar gel membrane

A novel biosensor for determination of d-amino acids (DAAs) in biological samples by using an electrode based on immobilization of a thermostable d-Proline dehydrogenase (d-Pro DH) within an agar gel membrane was developed. The electrode was simply prepared by spin-coating the agar solution with the d-Pro DH on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode.An electrocatalytic oxidation current of 2,6-dichloroindophenol (DCIP) was observed at −100 mV vs. Ag/AgCl with the addition of 5 and 20 mmol L⁻¹d-proline. The current response and its relative standard deviation were 0.15 μA and 7.6% (n = 3), respectively, when it was measured in a pH 8.0 phosphate buffer solution containing 10 mmol L⁻¹d-proline and 0.5 mmol L⁻¹ DCIP at 50 °C. The current response of d-proline increased with increase of the temperature of the sample solution up to 70 °C. The electrocatalytic response at the d-Pro DH/agar immobilized electrode subsequently maintained for 80 days. Finally, the d-Pro DH/agar immobilized electrode was applied to determination of DAAs in a human urine sample. The determined value of DAAs in the human urine and its R.S.D. were 1.39 ± 0.12 mmol L⁻¹ and 8.9% (n = 3), respectively.     

Toward pi-conjugated molecule bundles: synthesis of a series of B,B',B''-trianthryl-N,N',N''-triarylborazines and the bundle effects on their properties

As a prototype of a pi-conjugated molecule bundled system, a series of B,B',B'-trianthryl- N,N',N'-triarylborazine derivatives bearing various p-substituted phenyl groups (p-R-C(6)H(4): R = hexyl (1), i-Pr (2), CF(3) (3), Br (5)) as aryl groups was designed and synthesized. The crystal structure analysis of these derivatives confirmed that the three anthryl and three phenyl groups are bundled up alternately in a C(3) symmetrical gear-shaped fashion. On the basis of this structure, the trianthrylborazine derivatives form a unique honeycomblike packing structure consisting of intermolecular pi-stacking of the anthryl moieties. Significant bundle effects were observed in the photophysical and electrochemical properties of these compounds. In their fluorescence spectra, the trianthrylborazine derivatives (1-3) show intense emissions around 390 nm, whose quantum yields (1, Phi(F) = 0.62; 2, Phi(F) = 0.59; 3, Phi(F) = 0.63) are about twice high as that of anthracene (Phi(F) = 0.27). The cyclic voltammetry measurements show that the oxidation peak potential can be tuned by varying the substituents on the phenyl moieties. Theoretical calculations (B3LYP/ 6-31G(d)) suggested that secondary through-bond/through-space interactions in the bundled structure play an important role in the tuning of these properties. Facile structural derivatization at the 10-position of the anthryl moieties of trianthrylborazine was conducted to demonstrate the utility of the borazine skeleton as a core framework for new organic electronic materials.