Laurdan and Prodan as Polarity-Sensitive Fluorescent Membrane Probes

The steady-state and dynamic fluorescence spectral properties of 2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnaphthalene (LAURDAN) and several other naphthalene derivatives are summarized to illustrate their sensitivity to the polarity of the environment. Results obtained both in solvents of different polarity and in phospholipid vesicles in two phase states are presented. The emission red shift observed in polar solvents and in the phospholipid liquid–crystalline phase is explained on the basis of dipolar relaxation of solvent molecules surrounding the fluorescent naphthalene moiety of these probes. In phospholipid environments, experimental evidence is shown that excludes the intramolecular relative reorientation of the dimethylamino and carbonyl groups in the naphthalene and the reorientation of the entire fluorescent moiety. The solvent dipolar relaxation observed for LAURDAN and PRODAN in phospholipid bilayers has been attributed to a small number of water molecules present at the membrane interface. A comparison between LAURDAN emission in phospholipid vesicles prepared in D₂O and in H₂O is also presented. The definition and the derivation of the generalized polarization function are also discussed.     

The influence of aliphatic sulfides on the photoinduced polymerization of butanediol-1,4 dimethacrylate

The photoinduced polymerization of butanediol-1,4 dimethacrylate was investigated in the presence of various linear sulfides and cyclic dithioacetals. Benzophenone was used as a sensitizer. It was found that the addition of small amounts of sulfides to the polymerization mixture causes, depending on the sulfide structure and concentration, reduction or full elimination of an induction period as well as an increase in the reaction rate and yield both in air and argon-saturated systems. The explanation of the obtained results is based on the propensity of sulfides to act as hydrogen donors, chain-transfer agents, and highly oxidizable compounds.     

A Collocation Code for Singular Boundary Value Problems in Ordinary Differential Equations

We present a MATLAB package for boundary value problems in ordinary differential equations. Our aim is the efficient numerical solution of systems of ODEs with a singularity of the first kind, but the solver can also be used for regular problems. The basic solution is computed using collocation methods and a new, efficient estimate of the global error is used for adaptive mesh selection. Here, we analyze some of the numerical aspects relevant for the implementation, describe measures to increase the efficiency of the code and compare its performance with the performance of established standard codes for boundary value problems.     

Transformable H-bonds and conformation in compressed glucose

In response to external stimuli the α-d-glucose molecule extensively transforms its H-bonding pattern and conformation. High-pressure reverses the linear compressibility and changes the hierarchy of intermolecular interactions in crystalline α-d-glucose. At 5.40(2) GPa it undergoes an isostructural phase transition rearranging the OH···O hydrogen bonds, promoting the role of CH···O contacts and eliminating voids in the structure. Such monotonic and abrupt transformations may be characteristic of sugars and polysaccharides.     

Dicyclohexylammonium bromoacetate: a low molecular mass organogelator with a one‐dimensional secondary ammonium monocarboxylate (SAM) synthon

The asymmetric unit of the title salt, C₁₂H₂₄N⁺·C₂H₂BrO₂⁻, contains a dicyclohexylammonium cation connected to a bromoacetate anion by means of an N—H...O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, the ion pairs assemble via N—H...O interactions, forming zigzag infinite chains parallel to the c axis with the (...H—N—H...O—C—O...)_n motif that is considered to be a prerequisite for ensuring gelation properties of secondary ammonium monocarboxylate salts. The title salt was characterized by FT–IR, X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD), TG–DTA and ¹H NMR spectroscopy in solution. Gelation experiments revealed that dicyclohexylammonium bromoacetate forms molecular gels with dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to reveal morphological features of dried gels.