Fluorescent Carbon Dots Capped with PEG<Subscript>200</Subscript> and Mercaptosuccinic Acid

The synthesis and functionalization of carbon nanoparticles with PEG₂₀₀ and mercaptosuccinic acid, rendering fluorescent carbon dots, is described. Fluorescent carbon dots (maximum excitation and emission at 320 and 430 nm, respectively) with average dimension 267 nm were obtained. The lifetime decay of the functionalized carbon dots is complex and a three component decay time model originated a good fit with the following lifetimes: τ ₁ = 2.71 ns; τ ₂ = 7.36 ns; τ ₃ = 0.38 ns. The fluorescence intensity of the carbon dots is affected by the solvent, pH (apparent pK _a of 7.4 ± 0.2) and iodide (Stern-Volmer constant of 78 ± 2 M⁻¹).     

Quasi-Hadamard Full Propelinear Codes

In this paper, we give a characterization of quasi-Hadamard groups in terms of propelinear codes. We define a new class of codes that we call quasi-Hadamard full propelinear codes. Some structural properties of these codes are studied and examples are provided.     

Dielectric study of the slow motional processes in the polymorphic States of anhydrous caffeine

Molecular mobility in crystalline anhydrous caffeine was studied by the dielectric technique of thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC). Two relaxational processes were found, one appearing at approximately -10 degrees C that is ascribed to a reorientational glass transition, and a higher temperature one that probably arises from local molecular motions that are precursors of diffusion and sublimation. The experimental results suggest that both crystalline phases II and I of caffeine, that have distinct crystal structures, are solid rotator phases. Furthermore, this dynamic reorientational disorder shows a reorientational glass transition at the same temperature in phase II and in metastable phase I.     

Optimization of Verapamil Drug Analysis by Excitation-Emission Fluorescence in Combination with Second-order Multivariate Calibration

Excitation emission fluorescence matrices (EEMs) of Verapamil drug were obtained by direct and by derivatization fluorescence spectroscopy. The fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths were displaced to longer wavelengths and the fluorescence intensity was enhanced upon derivation with respect to the native fluorescence of the drug. The complete EEM of the native fluorescence of the drug and of the derivatization product were rapidly acquired by using a charged-coupled device detector (CCD), which is advantageous in terms of speed in the analysis, with respect to the use of a conventional photomultiplier detector. The EEMs were analyzed by several second-order multivariate calibration methods exploiting the second order advantage. The three-dimensional decomposition methods used, based in different assumptions about the trilinearity of the three way data structure under analysis, were parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), bilinear least squares (BLLS), parallel factor analysis 2 (PARAFAC2) and multivariate curve resolution—alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). The determination was performed by using the standard addition approach. The figures of merit of the PARAFAC and BLLS methods were calculated, obtaining a lower limit of detection with the derivatization procedure, when compared with the direct measurement of the fluorescence of the drug. In Verapamil drug the best estimations were found with the BLLS and the MCR-ALS models. In the quantification of Verapamil in a pharmaceutical formulation the best estimation, when compared with the result obtained by the US Pharmacopeia high performance liquid chromatography approach, was obtained by direct fluorescence spectroscopy with MCR-ALS and by derivatization fluorescence spectroscopy with the PARAFAC2 model.     

Deformation of Gabor systems

We introduce a new notion for the deformation of Gabor systems. Such deformations are in general nonlinear and, in particular, include the standard jitter error and linear deformations of phase space. With this new notion we prove a strong deformation result for Gabor frames and Gabor Riesz sequences that covers the known perturbation and deformation results. Our proof of the deformation theorem requires a new characterization of Gabor frames and Gabor Riesz sequences. It is in the style of Beurling's characterization of sets of sampling for bandlimited functions and extends significantly the known characterization of Gabor frames “without inequalities” from lattices to non-uniform sets.     

NO Fluorescence Quantification by Chitosan CdSe Quantum Dots Nanocomposites

The quantification of nitric oxide (NO) based on the quenching of the fluorescence of a nanocomposites sensor constituted by cadmium/selenium quantum dots (CdSe) stabilized by chitosan (CS) and mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) is assessed. The optimization of the response of the CS-CdSe-MSA nanocomposites to NO was done by multivariate response surface experimental design methodologies. The highest fluorescence quenching was obtained at pH 5.5 and at room temperature. The NO quantification capability of CS-CdSe-MSA was evaluated using standard solutions and a NO donor reagent. A large linear working range from 5 to 200 μM and a limit of detection of 1.86 μM were obtained. Better quantification results were obtained using the NO donor reagent. Besides NO, the response of the fluorescence of CS-CdSe-MSA to the main reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and similar NO compounds was also assessed.     

On the Upper Limits of Oxidation States in Chemistry

The concept of oxidation state ( OS ) is based on the concept of Lewis electron pairs, in which the bonding electrons are assigned to the more electronegative element. This approach is useful for keeping track of the electrons, predicting chemical trends, and guiding syntheses. Experimental and quantum‐chemical results reveal a limit near +8 for the highest OS in stable neutral chemical substances under ambient conditions. OS =+9 was observed for the isolated [IrO₄]⁺ cation in vacuum. The prediction of OS =+10 for isolated [PtO₄]²⁺ cations is confirmed computationally for low temperatures only, but hasn't yet been experimentally verified. For high OS species, oxidation of the ligands, for example, of O^?2 with formation of ^.O^?1 and O?O bonds, and partial reduction of the metal center may be favorable, possibly leading to non‐Lewis type structures.     

Application of a polarity parameter model to the separation of fat-soluble vitamins by reversed-phase HPLC

The retention behavior of a series of fat-soluble vitamins has been established on the basis of a polarity retention model: log k = (log k)(0) + p (P(m) (N) - P(s) (N)), with p being the polarity of the solute, P(m) (N) the mobile phase polarity, and (log k)(0) and P(m) (N) two parameters for the characterization of the stationary phase. To estimate the p-values of solutes, two approaches have been considered. The first one is based on the application of a QSPR model, derived from the molecular structure of solutes and their log P(o/w), while in the second one, the p-values are obtained from several experimental measurements. The quality of prediction of both approaches has also been evaluated, with the second one giving more accurate results for the most lipophilic vitamins. This model allows establishing the best conditions to separate and determine simultaneously some fat-soluble vitamins in dairy foods.     

An optimized luciferase bioluminescent assay for coenzyme A

A new bioluminescent method for coenzyme A (CoA) quantification is described. It is based on the enzymatic conversion of dehydroluciferyl-adenylate (L-AMP) into dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A (L-CoA) by firefly luciferase (E.C. 1.13.12.7) (LUC), which causes a flash of light that can be measured in a luminometer. The method was subjected to optimization using experimental design methodologies to obtain optimum values for the concentrations of L-AMP ([L-AMP]), luciferase ([LUC]), ATP ([ATP]) and luciferin ([LH₂]). This method has a linear response over the range of 0.25–4 μM of CoA, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.24 μM and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.80 μM. The assay has a relative standard deviation of about 7%. By coupling this optimized procedure to bioluminescent detection, a sensible and robust method can be obtained for the analysis of CoA.     

Discrete behavior of Seshadri constants on surfaces

Working over , we show that, apart possibly from a unique limit point, the possible values of multi-point Seshadri constants for general points on smooth projective surfaces form a discrete set. In addition to its theoretical interest, this result is of practical value, which we demonstrate by giving significantly improved explicit lower bounds for Seshadri constants on and new results about ample divisors on blow ups of at general points.