Effect of composition of sucrose fatty acid esters on formation of palladium nanoparticles in reverse micelles

Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles were prepared in the reverse micellar system containing sucrose fatty acid esters with various esterification degrees. The TEM showed that Pd nanoparticles were of spherical and relatively uniform. The size of Pd nanoparticles strongly depended upon the composition of sucrose fatty acid esters. The resultant Pd colloid could be preserved for at least 2 months without precipitation.     

Allosteric coextraction of sodium and metal ions with calix[4]arene derivatives 1

Solvent extraction of three alkali metal ions with p-t-octylcalix[6]arene hexacarboxylic acid, p-t-octylcalix[4]arene tetracarboxylic acid, corresponding linear trimeric and monomeric analogs was investigated. Cyclic tetramer selectively extracts sodium ion among alkali ions at extremely low pH, while the corresponding cyclic hexamer, the trimer, and the monomer exhibited only poor extraction ability for all alkali metals examined. The detailed extractive investigation of sodium ions with the cyclic tetramer was carried out. It was found that two sodium ions are simultaneously extracted by a single molecule of calix[4]arene derivative and that the second sodium extraction is facilitated by the uptake of the first sodium. The self-coextraction mechanism of sodium ions proposed in the present paper also strongly supports allosteric coextraction of sodium and other metal ions. In the competitive extraction of four alkali metal ions, potassium ion was slightly extracted as the second ion at low pH region, whereas it was hardly extracted in the individual extraction system. The result also supports the coextraction mechanism and role of the first-extracted sodium ion as an allosteric trigger. The extraction equilibrium constants of the cyclic tetramer and two sodium ions, K _ex1 and K _ex2, were estimated.     

Preparation of calix[4]arene methylene crosslinked resins with 2-pyridyl pendant group and their adsorption behavior towards silver ion

Three different resins namely 1:5 MC-resin, 1:3 MC-resin and 1:1 MC-resin have been synthesized by methylene crosslinking of 2-pyridylcalix[4]arene. Adsorption behavior of these resins towards the metal ions existing in photographic waste was investigated. The resins show absolute efficiency for adsorption of silver ion with no affinity for other coexisting ions. First two resins form 1:1 complex whereas the third one forms 2:1 complex with silver ion. Maximum loading capacity of silver ion on the present resins was found to be 1.15, 1.29 and 0.69 mol kg^?1, respectively. Column chromatographic separation of silver ion in presence of excess of sodium ions was also carried out with 1:5 MC-resin. Selective adsorption of silver ions over excess of sodium ions was achieved.     

Effects of dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride on the rheological behavior of behenyl trimethyl ammonium chloride/1-hexadecanol/water ternary system

The effects of dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DODAC) on the rheological properties of ternary systems consisting of behenyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (C22TAC), 1-hexadecanol (C16OH), and water are studied to improve the long-term stability and to establish the preparation method of cosmetic products. The basic ternary systems behave as solids at low stresses, due to the formation of lamella liquid crystals called alpha gel. The additions of DODAC to ternary systems cause the rupture of alpha gel structures and transformation to vesicles. The structures of molecular assemblies are confirmed through particle size distribution, differential scanning calorimetry, and freeze fracture electron microscopy. The vesicle structures formed in coexistence of single-chain surfactant and double-chain surfactant are highly stable. Because the quaternary systems are considered to be constructed by the mixtures of alpha gel and vesicles at the appropriate concentrations of DODAC, the rheology can be controlled by the structural balance between them.     

Biocleavable polyrotaxane-plasmid DNA polyplex for enhanced gene delivery

A biocleavable polyrotaxane, having a necklace-like structure consisting of many cationic alpha-cyclodextrins (alpha-CDs) and a disulfide-introduced poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), was synthesized and examined as a nonviral gene carrier. The polyrotaxane formed a stable polyplex having positively charged surface even at low charge ratio. This is likely to be due to structural factors of the polyrotaxane, such as the mobile motion of alpha-CDs in the necklace-like structure. Rapid endosomal escape was observed 90 min after transfection. The positively charged surface and the good buffering capacity are advantageous to show the proton sponge effect. The pDNA decondensation occurred through disulfide cleavage of the polyrotaxane and subsequent supramolecular dissociation of the noncovalent linkages between alpha-CDs and PEG. Transfection of the DMAE-SS-PRX polyplex is independent of the amount of free polycation. Those properties played a key role for delivery of pDNA clusters to the nucleus. Therefore, the polyplex nature and the supramolecular dissociation of the polyrotaxane contributed to the enhanced gene delivery.     

Simultaneous determination of YM928, a novel noncompetitive AMPA receptor antagonist, and its demethylated metabolite in rat, dog and monkey plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A specific HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of YM928, a novel noncompetitive AMPA receptor antagonist, and its demethylated metabolite (YM-58875) in rat, dog and monkey plasma was developed and validated. The method utilized multiple-step liquid-liquid extraction followed by a reversed-phase HPLC with UV detection at 275 nm. No interfering peaks were observed at the retention times of YM928, YM-58875 or internal standard. The validated quantitation range was 5-5000 ng/mL for both YM928 and YM-58875 when 1 mL of the plasma sample was used. The intra- and inter-day precision was less than 5.3 and 2.5% for YM928, and 3.7 and 2.3% for YM-58875, respectively. The intra- and inter-day accuracies were -8.7-5.3% and 0.7-1.9% for YM928, and -10.0-6.1% and 1.3-3.4% for YM-58875, respectively. The mean recoveries in the extraction process were 52.7-62.8%. The utility of this analytical method was demonstrated by the investigation of the pharmacokinetics of the unchanged drug and its metabolite in preclinical studies.     

Formation of octacalcium phosphates with co-incorporated succinate and suberate ions

Octacalcium phosphates (OCPs) co-incorporated with various molar ratios of succinate and suberate ions were synthesized by wet processing. The interplanar spacings of the (100) planes (d(100)) of OCPs formed in the presence of succinic acid (Suc) or suberic acid (Sub) were larger than those of OCPs formed without addition of a dicarboxylic acid to the reaction solvent. The increases in the interplanar spacings of the (100) planes were caused by substitution of HPO(4)(2-) by dicarboxylate ions. The OCPs with co-incorporated succinate and suberate ions, i.e. solid solutions of OCP with incorporated Suc and Sub, were formed by reactions in the presence of Suc and Sub. When the Suc/(Suc + Sub) values in the starting compositions were in the range 0.45-1.0, Suc was preferentially incorporated into the OCP. In contrast, when the Sub/(Suc + Sub) values in the starting compositions were in the range 0.60-1.0, Sub was preferentially incorporated into the OCP crystals.     

Layered hydride CaNiGeH with a ZrCuSiAs-type structure: crystal structure, chemical bonding, and magnetism induced by Mn doping

Stimulated by the discovery of the iron oxypnictide superconductor with ZrCuSiAs-type structure in 2008, extensive exploration of its isostructural and isoelectronic compounds has started. These compounds, including oxides, fluorides, and hydrides, can all be simply recognized as valence compounds for which the octet rule is valid. We report herein the first example of a ZrCuSiAs-type hydride, CaNiGeH, which violates the octet rule. This hydride was synthesized by hydrogenation of the CeFeSi-type compound CaNiGe under pressurized hydrogen. Powder diffraction and theoretical simulation confirm that H enters into the interstitial position of the Ca(4) tetrahedron, leading to notable anisotropic expansion of the unit cell along the c axis. Density functional theory calculations indicate the modification of the chemical bonding and formation of ionic Ca-H bond as a result of hydrogen insertion. Furthermore, CaNiGeH shows Pauli paramagnetism and metallic conduction similar to that of CaNiGe, but its carrier type changes to hole and the carrier density is drastically reduced as compared to CaNiGe. Mn-doping at the Ni site introduces magnetism to both the parent compound and the hydride. The measurement demonstrates that hydrogenation of CaNi(1-x)Mn(x)Ge reduces ferromagnetic ordering of Mn ions and induces huge magnetic hysteresis, whereas the spin glass state observed for the parent compound is preserved in the hydride. The hydrogenation-induced changes in the electric and magnetic properties are interpreted in terms of development of two-dimensionality in crystal structure as well as electronic state.     

Extreme points, support points and the Loewner variation in several complex variables

In this paper we consider extreme points and support points for compact subclasses of normalized biholomorphic mappings of the Euclidean unit ball Bn in Cn. We consider the class S0(Bn) of biholomorphic mappings on Bn which have parametric representation, i.e., they are the initial elements f (·, 0) of a Loewner chain f (z, t) = etz + ··· such that {e-tf (·, t)}t 0 is a normal family on Bn. We show that if f (·, 0) is an extreme point (respectively a support point) of S0(Bn), then e-tf (·, t) is an extreme point of S0(Bn) for t 0 (respectively a support point of S0(Bn) for t ∈[0, t0] and some t0 > 0). This is a generalization to the n-dimensional case of work due to Pell. Also, we prove analogous results for mappings which belong to S0(Bn) and which are bounded in the norm by a fixed constant. We relate the study of this class to reachable sets in control theory generalizing work of Roth. Finally we consider extreme points and support points for biholomorphic mappings of Bn generated by using extension operators that preserve Loewner chains.