Near-infrared chiro-optical effects in metallogels

A series of novel metallogelators containing near-IR nickel-bis(dithiolene) absorbers were rationally designed and synthesized. Robust gel networks are formed by right handed helical 1D-nanofibers which generate strong and remarkable chiro-optical effects in the near-infrared region.     

Comparative molecular surface analysis (CoMSA) for virtual combinatorial library screening of styrylquinoline HIV-1 blocking agents

We used comparative molecular surface analysis to design molecules for the synthesis as part of the search for new HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. We analyzed the virtual combinatorial library (VCL) constituted from various moieties of styrylquinoline and styrylquinazoline inhibitors. Since imines can be applied in a strategy of dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC), we also tested similar compounds in which the -C=N- or -N=C- linker connected the heteroaromatic and aromatic moieties. We then used principal component analysis (PCA) or self-organizing maps (SOM), namely, the Kohonen neural networks to obtain a clustering plot analyzing the diversity of the VCL formed. Previously synthesized compounds of known activity, used as molecular probes, were projected onto this plot, which provided a set of promising virtual drugs. Moreover, we further modified the above mentioned VCL to include the single bond linker -C-N- or -N-C-. This allowed increasing compound stability but expanded also the diversity between the available molecular probes and virtual targets. The application of the CoMSA with SOM indicated important differences between such compounds and active molecular probes. We synthesized such compounds to verify the computational predictions.     

Strong Jordan Separation and Applications to Rigidity

We prove that simple, thick hyperbolic P-manifolds of dimensionat least three exhibit Mostow rigidity. We also prove a quasi-isometryrigidity result for the fundamental groups of simple, thickhyperbolic P-manifolds of dimension at least three. The keytool in the proof of these rigidity results is a strong formof the Jordan separation theorem, for maps from Sⁿ Sⁿ⁺¹ whichare not necessarily injective.     

Confinement of THz surface waves on the subwavelength size metal waveguide

We investigate surface plasmon waves propagating on planar Goubau lines, so-called Goubau modes, using a guided-wave terahertz spectroscopy system based on a freely positionable electrooptic probe. We show the radial nature of the Goubau mode and its confinement around the Goubau line over a few tenths of microns (??/10).