Gadolinium chelate coated gold nanoparticles as contrast agents for both X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

Functionalized gold nanoparticles were applied as contrast agents for both in vivo X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging. These particles were obtained by encapsulating gold cores within a multilayered organic shell which is composed of gadolinium chelates bound to each other through disulfide bonds. The contrast enhancement in MRI stems from the presence of gadolinium ions which are entrapped in the organic shell, whereas the gold core provides a strong X-ray absorption. This study revealed that these particles suited for dual modality imaging freely circulate in the blood vessels without undesirable accumulation in the lungs, spleen, and liver.     

Efficient method for visualization and isolation of proteins resolved in polyacrylamide gels

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is a popular method used to purify proteins for reconstitution experiments, amino acid composition and sequence determinations. In this report we describe methods that will be of general use in the isolation and characterization of proteins and the benefits of substituting boric acid for glycine in the electrophoresis tray buffers. We also describe how proteins resolved in a variety of gel systems (including those containing sodium dodecyl sulfate) may be rapidly visualized with 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid and efficiently transferred to a second gel for two-dimensional gel analysis, or isolated by electroelution for subsequent characterization.     

La3Os2O10, a new compound containing isolated clusters Os2O10 with metal-metal bonds

The formula of a new compound isolated in the LaOsO system has been established by means of crystal structure determination. There are two La₃Os₂O₁₀ units in a face-centered monoclinic unit cell (S.G. $\text{C2}\text{m}$); a = 7.911(2) Å, b = 7.963(2) Å, c = 6.966(2)Å, β = 115.76(2)°;. For 1082 intensities, collected on an automated single-crystal diffractometer, the final R value was 0.025 after absorption corrections. The structure consists of isolated Os₂O₁₀ clusters composed of two edge-shared OsO₆ octahedra. These dimeric units are connected together by two types of La³⁺ ions in eightfold coordination. In view of the OsOs distance inside the pair (2.462 Å), La₃Os₂O₁₀ provides an example of metal-metal bonding involving a transition metal in a half-integral formal oxidation state of 5.5.     

Reaction de metathese des olefines induite photochimiquement en presence d'un complexe de metal de transition : V. Intervention d'un complexe dinucleaire du tungstene

The photoinduced metathesis [W(CO)₆CCl₄hν] of cis- and trans-RCH=CHMe gives 2-butene in a very high trans but low cis stereoselectivity. Propene behaves like a cis olefin. These results are consistent with the proposal of a dinuclear tungsten intermediate, which requires high steric constraints in the transalkylidenation step.     

Micellar Solubilization of Proteins in Aprotic Solvents and their Spectroscopic Characterisation

The quaternary ammonium salt methyl-trioctylammonium chloride enables the transfer of α-chymotrypsin, trypsin, pepsin and glucagone from water to cyclohexane. Reversed micelles, whose polar core solubilizes both protein and water, are probably formed in the apolar phase. The influence of various parameters on the phase transfer (concentration, pH, solvent, temperature, etc.) has been investigated. Absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism studies of the biopolymers in the cyclohexane system have been carried out. For trypsin and chymotrypsin, the CD. signal in the 200 nm region is very similar in water and in cyclohexane, which suggests that the polypeptide folding is not substantially different in the two phases. The fluorescence quantum yield is always much larger in the cyclohexane phase than in water. The longer wavelength region of the UV. absorption spectrum is slightly red-shifted relative to water, and a band at 225 nm, probably arising from the aromatic chromophore, is apparent in the organic phase. Reasons for these spectral perturbations are discussed. The enzymes transferred from water into cyclohexane phases can be continuously retransferred into a second water phase. The possible relevance of this ‘double transfer’ as a model for the vectorial transport of biopolymers or a separation technique is discussed.     

High energy neutrino astronomy: first light

We review:

1. The compelling case for doing neutrino astronomy,

2. Why we anticipate that we need kilometer-scale observatories to do the science,

3. The recent successful commissioning of the Lake Baikal and South Pole neutrino detectors.

Fluorination of the epsilon-Keggin Al13 polycation

Fluorination of the Al13 polycation in epsilon-Keggin (Kepsilon-J) conformation, leads to partial substitution of di-mu2-OH bridges by fluorine and enhances the formation of Al30 polycation.     

Shear viscosity of langmuir monolayers in the low-density limit

We have measured the shear viscosity in the liquid phase of several Langmuir monolayers with an accuracy better than 30%. The method is based on the optical monitoring of the Brownian diffusion of submicron latex spheres floating at the air-water interface. The values are between 1 and 11x10(-10) N s m(-1), which is 10 to 100 times lower than previous data on similar systems. For N-palmitoyl-6-n-penicillanic acid and L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, the variation of the shear viscosity with surface density agrees with a classical free area model, whereas for pentadecanoic acid we observe a compensation effect.