Divinylsiloxane‐bisbenzocyclobutene‐based polymer modified with polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymers

Divinylsiloxane‐bisbenzocyclobutene (DVS‐bisBCB) polymer has very low dielectric constant and dissipation factor, good thermal stability, and high chemical resistance. The fracture toughness of the thermoset polymer is moderate due to its high crosslink density. A thermoplastic elastomer, polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymer, was incorporated into the matrix to enhance its toughness. The cured thermoset matrix showed different morphology when the elastomer was added to the B‐staged prepolymer or when the elastomer was B‐staged with the DVS‐bisBCB monomer. Small and uniformly distributed elastomer domains were detected by transmission electron micrographs (TEM) in the former case, but TEM did not detect a separate domain in the latter case. A high percentage of the polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymer could be incorporated into the DVS‐bisBCB thermoset matrix by B‐staging the triblock copolymer with the BCB monomer. The elastomer increased the fracture toughness of DVS‐bisBCB polymer as indicated by enhanced elongation at break and increased K1c values obtained by the modified edge‐lift‐off test. Elastomer modified DVS‐bisBCB maintained excellent electrical properties, high T_g and good thermal stability, but showed higher coefficient of linear thermal expansion values. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1591–1599, 2006     

Differentiation of chiral phosphorus enantiomers by P and H NMR spectroscopy using amino acid derivatives as chemical solvating agents

The ability of commercially available amino acid derivatives, especially Fmoc-Trp(Boc)-OH, to differentiate enantiomers of chiral phosphonates, phosphinates, phosphates, phosphine oxides, and phosphonamidates is demonstrated with (31)P, (13)C, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The chiral differentiation provided a rapid and convenient method for measuring the enantiomeric purity of these phosphorus compounds.     

Construction of solutions with exactly k blow-up points for the Schrödinger equation with critical nonlinearity

We consider the nonlinear Schrödinger equation: (1) $${{i\partial u} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{i\partial u} {\partial t}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\partial t}} = - \Delta u - \left| u \right|^{{4 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {4 N}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} N}} uandu\left( {0,.} \right) = \varphi \left( . \right),$$ whereu:[0,T)×? ^N →?. For any given pointsx ₁,x ₂,...,x _k in ? ^N , we construct a solution of Eq. (1),u(t), which blows up in a finite timeT at exactlyx ₁,x ₂,...,x _k . In addition, we describe the precise behavior of the solutionu(t) whent→T, at the blow-up points {x ₁,x ₂,...,x _k } and in ? ^N ?{x ₁,x ₂,...,x _k }.     

Linear equations depending differentiably on a parameter

We investigate operator functionsT(x) inBanach spaces, depending differentiably (meaning of classC orC ) on a parameterx and enjoying a certain regularity property. Iff is a given differentiable function such that the equationT(x)e=f(x) is solvable for eachx then the existence of a functione is proved which belongs to the same differentiability class asf andT, solving the equationT(x)e(x)f(x) identically inx. As an application we extend a result ofJ. Leiterer [9] and give a comprehensive answer to a question posed byJ.L. Taylor in [15] concerning the exactness of certain cochain complexes.     

Nanoscale organization of the pathogen receptor DC-SIGN mapped by single-molecule high-resolution fluorescence microscopy.

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin exclusively expressed on dendritic cells (DCs), plays an important role in pathogen recognition by binding with high affinity to a large variety of microorganisms. Recent experimental evidence points to a direct relation between the function of DC-SIGN as a viral receptor and its spatial arrangement on the plasma membrane. We have investigated the nanoscale organization of fluorescently labeled DC-SIGN on intact isolated DCs by means of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) combined with single-molecule detection. Fluorescence spots of different intensity and size have been directly visualized by optical means with a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm. Intensity- and size-distribution histograms of the DC-SIGN fluorescent spots confirm that approximately 80 % of the receptors are organized in nanosized domains randomly distributed on the cell membrane. Intensity-size correlation analysis revealed remarkable heterogeneity in the molecular packing density of the domains. Furthermore, we have mapped the intermolecular organization within a dense cluster by means of sequential NSOM imaging combined with discrete single-molecule photobleaching. In this way we have determined the spatial coordinates of 13 different individual dyes, with a localization accuracy of 6 nm. Our experimental observations are all consistent with an arrangement of DC-SIGN designed to maximize its chances of binding to a wide range of microorganisms. Our data also illustrate the potential of NSOM as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution technique to probe nanometer-scale organization of molecules on the cell membrane.