Experimental probe for hyperconjugative resonance contribution in stabilizing the singlet state of 2,2-dialkoxy-1,3-diyls: Regioselective 1,2-oxygen migration

A detailed study of the regioselectivity of 1,2-oxygen migration was conducted using the unsymmetrically substituted singlet 2,2-dialkoxy-1,3-diarylcyclopentane-1,3-diyls 5. The alkoxy group selectively migrates to the electron-donating p-methoxyphenyl-substituted carbon. The regioselective migration of oxygen clearly indicates a hyperconjugative resonance structure, that is, zwitterionic characteristics, in singlet 2,2-dialkoxy-1,3-diyls. This represents the first attempt to experimentally probe the contribution of hyperconjugation to stabilizing the singlet state.     

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of troxerutin in human plasma

A simple, rapid, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to quantify troxerutin in human plasma. The analyte and rutin, used as the internal standard, were analyzed on a Phenomenex Synergi Fusion RP column interfaced with a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer using positive electrospray ionization. Acetonitrile/water (20:80 v/v) was used as the isocratic mobile phase, with 0.1% formic acid in water. A simple sample preparation method of protein precipitation with perchloric acid was employed. The assay was linear over the concentration range 31.25-4000 pg/mL. Correlation coefficients generated by linear regression with a 1/x(2) weighting factor ranged from 0.9991 to 0.9996. The intra- and inter-day precision over the entire concentration range were less than 12.28%. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of a 300 mg troxerutin drop pill to 18 healthy volunteers.     

Highly reversible and multi-stage cantilever actuation driven by polyelectrolyte brushes

Microcantilever bending can be reversibly driven by conformational changes of phosphate containing polyelectrolyte brushes when exposed to different pH or salt solutions. The deflection of the cantilevers allows a detailed analysis of the properties of polymer brushes, while these systems are also a first step toward polymer-based nanoactuators.     

Direct dynamics study on the hydrogen abstraction reactions N2H4 + R-->N2H3 + RH (R=NH2, CH3)

We present a direct ab initio dynamics study on the hydrogen abstraction reactions N(2)H(4)+R-->N(2)H(3)+RH (R=NH(2),CH(3)), which are predicted to have six possible reaction channels for NH(2) abstraction and four for CH(3) abstraction caused by the different N(2)H(4) isomers and various attacking orientations of foreign radical to N(2)H(4). The structures and frequencies at the stationary points and the points along the minimum energy paths (MEPs) of all reaction channels are obtained at the UMP2(full)6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. Energetic information of stationary points and the points along the MEPs is further refined by means of MC-QCISD method. The rate constants of these channels are calculated using the improved canonical variational transition-state theory with the small-curvature tunneling correction (ICVT/SCT) method. The calculated results show that the favorable reaction channels are channels (n1) and (n4) as well as (c1) and (c3) (refer to Scheme 1) in the whole temperature range. The total ICVT/SCT rate constants of all channels for the two reactions at the MC-QCISDUMP2(full)6-31+G(d,p) level are both in good agreement with the available experimental data, and corresponding three-parameter expressions of k(ICVTSCT) in 220-3000 K are fitted as 6.46 x 10(-15)(T298)(3.60) exp(-386T) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) for NH(2) abstraction and 1.04 x 10(-14)(T298)(4.00) exp(-2037T) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) for CH(3) abstraction. Additionally, the long range interaction between the H atom of X-H bond in foreign radicals and the lone pair on the nonreactive N atom of the transition states is further discussed to explain the various transition-state numbers of the two similar hydrogen abstraction reactions.     

Elastic light scattering from nanoparticles by monochromatic vacuum-ultraviolet radiation

Elastic light scattering is reported using monochromatic vacuum-ultraviolet radiation to study free, spherical silica nanoparticles prepared by approaches from colloidal chemistry, with diameters between 100 and 240 nm. The colloidal nanoparticles of defined size are transferred from an aqueous solution into the gas phase using a particle beam experiment. After focusing of the particle beam by an aerodynamic lens, the scattered light from monochromatic synchrotron radiation is measured. Angle-resolved elastically scattered light is detected, showing a strong forward-scattering component. Additional evidence for the detection of elastically scattered light comes from plotting the scattered light intensity as a function of the dimensionless parameter qR, where q is the magnitude of the scattering wave vector and R is the particle radius. This yields different power-law regimes that are assigned to scattering from the surface and the bulk of the nanoparticles. Furthermore, there is evidence for modulations in the scattered light intensity as a function of scattering angle, which is clearly distinguished from the forward-scattering component. The experimental results are compared to Mie scattering simulations for isolated particles, yielding general agreement with the experimental results. Deviations from Mie simulations are observed for samples consisting of significant amounts of aggregates. The present results indicate that the optical properties of free nanoparticles are sensitively probed by vacuum-ultraviolet radiation.     

Stripping of photoresist on silicon wafer by CO(2) supercritical fluid

Supercritical CO₂-based fluid is not only being considered as environmentally benign medium for photoresist (PR) removal in electronic device manufacture, but also capable of challenging feature dimensions. Despite many attractive properties, clear supercritical CO₂ has little solvating power for PR. Here, two acetate modifiers were selective to add in the CO₂ and evaluated individual contribution to the overall stripping rate by factorial experiment design, which included four other factors with four level ranges for each one and concluded the best 90% extraction efficiency would be obtained under the optimized parameters: 2.5 min static time, 35 min dynamic time, 1.25 ml ethylacetate spiked, 125 °C oven temperature and 480 atm CO₂ pressure. As analyzing the variances of these contributors to this system, it disclosed that dynamics controlled the stripping mechanism before near 35 min purging but thermodynamics took over after then; and that increasing pressure was more competent for removing PR than increasing temperature. All supercritical extracts were from two commercial PR coated on two substrates and analyzed by UV absorption spectrometry. Removing PR coated on silicon oxide layer was easier than that on Al-Cu alloy one.     

Replica molding of high-aspect-ratio polymeric nanopillar arrays with high fidelity

Polymeric nanostructures with high aspect ratios, so-called nanopillars, are of interest for a wide range of applications. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate high-density, polymeric nanopillars using soft lithography when the feature size is decreased to hundreds of nanometers and the structures are close to each other. Here, we investigate the fidelity of replica molding technique to fabricate polymer nanopillar arrays with diameters ranging from 300 nm to 1 mum, and we compare the experimental results to the theoretical prediction to understand the nature of the instability of nanopillars. Nanopillars molded from soft materials, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), mainly ground collapse due to the adhesive force when the aspect ratio is above 6, whereas those from stiffer materials, polyurethane and epoxy, collapse laterally at a much higher aspect ratio (>/=12), of which the critical value is dependent on the nanopillar's feature size, spacing, height, and shape. Further, we attempt to restore the collapsed high-aspect-ratio nanopillars using supercritical CO(2) drying.     

Effect of hydrophobicity inside PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer micelles on the stabilization of gold nanoparticles: experiments

In this paper we present the effect of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer micelles and their hydrophobicity on the stabilization of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles were prepared by a method developed by Sakai et al. (Sakai, T.; Alexandridis, P. Langmuir 2004, 20, 8426). An absorption centered at 300-400 nm in time-dependent UV spectra provided evidence that the very first step of the synthesis was to form primary gold clusters. Then the gold clusters grew in size and were stabilized by block copolymer micelles. The stabilization capacities of the micelles were modulated by tuning the block copolymer concentration and composition and by adding salts. With good stabilization, gold particles were spherical and uniform in size with a diameter of 5-10 nm. Otherwise they were aggregates with irregular shapes such as triangular, hexagonal, and rodlike. The presence of a small amount of NaF significantly increased the stabilization capacity of the micelles and consequently modified the quality of the gold particles. Using FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, micellization of the block copolymers and hydrophobicity of the micelles were proven very important for the stabilization. A higher hydrophobicity of the micelle cores was expected to favor the entrapment of primary gold clusters and the stabilization of gold nanoparticles.     

Solution-phase synthesis of spherical zinc sulfide nanostructures

A facile solution-phase method has been developed to synthesize specially hollow and solid ZnS nanospheres. High-resolution TEM images on the nanospheres suggest their formation via the oriented aggregation of the primary ZnS nanocrystals. The morphology and size of the ZnS nanospheres can also be tuned easily by controlling the experimental conditions. These special spherical structures are very easily encapsulated within a uniform silica layer without any surface modification, suggesting potential applications in biochemistry and biodiagnostics.