Fluorescence Spectral Properties of Indocyanine Green on a Roughened Platinum Electrode: Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence

The interactions of fluorophores with noble metal particles can modify their emission spectral properties, a relatively new phenomenon in fluorescence. We subsequently examined indocyanine green (ICG), which is widely used in medical testing and imaging, in close proximity to an electrically roughened platinum electrode. The emission intensity and lifetimes were decreased about 2-fold on the roughened surface as compared to a smooth Pt surface, and the photostability about the same. Platinum does not appear promising for metal enhanced fluorescence, at least for long wavelength fluorophores.     

Laceioside,a new cycloartane saponin from Astragalus tephrosioides Boiss. var. lacei (Ali) Kirchoff.

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Astragalus tephrosioides Boiss. var. lacei (Ali) Kirchoff. (Family Fabaceae) resulted in the isolation of a new cycloartane glycoside laceioside (1). The structure of the previously undescribed compound 1 was established as 16β-acetyloxy-3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyloxy-cycloartan-11α,24ξ, 25-triol. The structure elucidation of compound 1 was based primarily on 1D and 2D-NMR techniques including ¹H and ¹³CNMR spectra, DEPT and by 2D COSY, HSQC and HMBC experiments.     

Measurement of activation cross sections of the proton induced nuclear reactions on palladium

Excitation functions of proton induced reactions on Pd are important for medical radioisotope production, for activation analysis, for development of low activation materials and other purposes. No experimental data exist in the literature for low and medium energy range protons. A detailed study of the excitation functions was performed up to 80 MeV proton energy by using the stacked foil irradiation technique and gamma-ray spectrometry. The irradiations were carried out at the external beam lines of the AVF cyclotron at the Tohoku University. Japan (80 and 70 MeV) and the CGR 560 cyclotron at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (38, 29 and 17 MeV). The beam intensity, the incident energy and the energy degradation were controlled by a method based on flux constancy via normalization to the parallel measured excitation functions of ^natAl(p,x)^22,24Na and ^natCu(p,x)^56,58Co, ^62,65Zn monitor reactions. Excitation functions for direct and cumulative cross sections have been measured for the production of ^{105mg,106m,110m}Ag, ¹⁰¹Pd, ^101mRh and ⁹⁷Ru radionuclei. Calculations for the excitation functions using the Alice-IPPE code were performed with a view to estimate the weight of the different contributing reactions and to check the trend and the magnitude of the obtained experimental data.     

Preparation and characterization of diphenylboron cation in solution

The electrophilic abstraction of chloride ion by SbCl₅ from diphenylchloroborane in CD₃NO₂ resulted in a transient species of which ¹¹B NMR chemical shift appeared at 20 ppm. This was indicative of diphenylboron cation, stabilized with electron donor O-atom of two nitromethane molecules. The experimental ¹¹B chemical shift for the solvated diphenylboron cation is in good agreement with that calculated by GIAO-HF/6-311+G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d).     

Four New Diterpenoids from Ballota limbata

Six diterpenoids ( 1 – 6 ) belonging to the clerodane and tetracyclic diterpene types were isolated from the CHCl₃ extract of Ballota limbata. The structures of the new compounds 1 and 4 – 6 (named ballatenolide A and limbatenolides A–C, resp.) were established by their spectral data, and their relative configuration was determined by 2D NMR. Compounds 2 and 3 were identified as known clerodanes. Compound 1 had a unique feature, i.e., an α,β‐unsaturated γ‐lactone moiety at C(4)/C(6), whereas limbatenolides A–C ( 4 – 6 ) belonged to the rare class of tetracyclic diterpenoids, which are known to occur only in the genus Ballota. All of the isolated compounds showed inhibitory potential in a cholinesterase‐inhibition assay.     

New triterpenoids from Corchorus trilocularis

Two new tetracyclic triterpenoid trilocularol A and trilocularol A 3-glucoside and one pentacyclic triterpenoid tirlocularoside A were isolated from Corchorus trilocularis L., their structure were elucidated as 3beta,6alpha,16alpha,20(S),27-pentahydroxydammar-24(Z)-ene (1), 3beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy-6alpha,16alpha,20(S),27-tetrahydroxydammar-24(Z)-ene (2) and 2alpha,3beta,19alpha,30-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-24,28-dioic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3). respectively, on the basis of detailed spectroscopic studies.