Tuning the physical properties of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer actuator

In this report we demonstrate the ability to tune the physical properties of a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) by varying the amount and type of crosslinking within the elastomer network. LCE films composed of a single mesogenic compound were capable of uniaxial contraction when thermally actuated through the nematic to isotropic phase of the material. We probed the physical properties of the LCE films while varying the amount and concentration of two crosslinking agents and measured actuation strains of 10–35%, elastic moduli of 3–14 MPa, and transition temperatures ranging between 75 and 60°C. The viscous losses of the elastomers and the estimated work capable of being produced by the films were also evaluated. The ability to tune the physical properties of the LCE films allows for a wide range of applications including robotics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), shape‐changing membranes, and/or microfluidics.     

On the interaction of two different types of ligands binding to the same molecule part I: basics and the transfer of the decoupled sites representation to systems with n and one binding sites

The decoupled sites representation (DSR) for one type of ligand allows to regard complex overall titration curves as sum of classical Henderson-Hasselbalch (HH) titration curves. In this work we transfer this theoretical approach to molecules with different types of interacting ligands (e.g. protons and electrons), prove the existence of decoupled systems for n ₁ and one binding sites for two different ligands, and point out some difficulties and limits of this transfer. A major difference to the DSR for one type of ligand is the loss of uniqueness of the decoupled system. However, all decoupled systems share a unique set of microstate probabilities and each decoupled system corresponds to a certain permutation of these microstate probabilities. Moreover, we show that the titration curve of a certain binding site in the original system can be regarded as linear combination of the titration curves of the individual sites of the decoupled system if the weights of the linear combination are substituted by functions in the activity of the second ligand. In the underlying model with only pairwise interaction, an important observation of our theoretical investigation is the following: Even though the binding sites of ligand L ₁ may not interact directly, they can show secondary interaction due to the interaction with the second type of ligand. This means, if the activity of the second ligand is fixed and we regard the 1-dimensional titration curve of an individual binding site for ligand L ₁ depending on its activity, we may observe a strong deviation from the classical HH shape in spite of non-interacting sites for ligand L ₁.     

Calorimetric investigation of phase transitions in cholesteryl oleate

An adiabatic scanning calorimeter has been used to investigate the temperature dependence of the enthalpy and the heat capacity near phase transitions in the cholesteric liquid crystal cholesteryl oleate (CO). It is found that the blue phases in CO are thermodynamically stable and that the observed enthalpy differences between the phases are small.     

Selective detection of unknown organic bromine compounds and quantification potentiality by negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with induced in-source fragmentation

For the detection of unknown organic bromine compounds, a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method with negative-ion electrospray ionization (NI-ESI) and induced in-source fragmentation (IISF) was established. After LC separation, the molecules are fragmentized in the source, and bromide is detected via m/z 79 and m/z 81 based on the isotopic occurrence of bromine. In this way, the retention times of the unknown organobromine compounds are determined, and this can be used to extract additional structural information (number of bound bromine atoms, molecular mass and fragmentation scheme) from measurements in the commonly used but less sensitive scan mode. The analysis of known organobromine compounds shows that LC/NI-ESI-IISF mass spectrometry with detection of m/z 79 and 81 is more sensitive than the detection of daughter ions (LC/ESI/MS-MS). Therefore, we present a method not only for the detection of unknown organic bromine compounds, but also for the selective and sensitive detection and quantification of known organobromine compounds.     

Simultaneous determination of inorganic arsenic,antimony, selenium and tellurium by ICP-MS in environmental waters using SPE preconcentration on modified silica

This paper deals with a simplified multi-element profiling of inorganic arsenic, antimony, selenium and tellurium in the form of ⁷⁵As, ⁸²Se, ¹²¹Sb and ¹²⁵Te by ICP-MS for amounts less than 10?µg?L^?1. Internal standards such as ⁷²Ge and ²⁰⁹Bi were successfully used for the suppression of both influence of macro elements Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ or Al³⁺, and interference of limited concentrations of heavy metal ions. Modified silica sorbents Separon? SGX C18, C8, CN, NH₂, RPS and Phenyl were tested for the preconcentration of As, Sb, Se and Te (0.25–5?µg?L^?1) in the form of ion associates with cationic surfactants from 50–250?mL sample volume. 1-etoxycarbonyl-pentadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (Septonex®, 0.005?mol?L^?1) was suitable for this purpose in the presence of 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol, 2-pyrrolidinecarbodithioate and 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid. The quantitative retention occurred at pH 7?±?0.2 and the mixture of acetone with ethanol in ratio 1?:?1 in the presence of 0.1?mol?L^?1 HCl was used for the quantitative elution. Organic solvents and the excess of acid were removed by evaporation prior to the determination by ICP-MS. The determination of the above trace metalloids in various kinds of water with enrichment factor till 50 times on silica Separon? SGX C18 and the above reagents were compared with the standard addition method.     

Spectral characterisation of new organic fluorescent dyes with an alkoxysilane moiety and their utilisation for the labelling of layered silicates

New fluorescence dyes with an alkoxysilane moiety were synthesised by the condensation of 3-(triethoxysilyl)-1-propanamine (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) with 4,10-benzothioxanthene-3,1′-dicarboxylic acid anhydride (BTXA) and N,N-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1,8-dicarboxylic acid anhydride (DMANA), which was accompanied by the formation of an imidic bridge. The compounds N-(3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl)-thioxantheno[2,1,9-dej]isoquinoline-1,3-dione (BTX-S) and 4-(N′, N′-dimethyl)-N-(triethoxysilyl)propyl-1,8-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid imide (DMAN-S) were characterised by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in chloroform and ethanol. Both conjugates (BTX-S and DMAN-S) exhibited absorption and emission bands in the same region as the un-substituted BTXA and DMANA. An important Stokes shift was observed for DMAN-S in ethanol. A high fluorescence quantum yield was observed for BTX-S in both solvents and for DMAN-S in chloroform. In addition, the newly developed fluorescent silane dyes were covalently attached to the microscopic particles of layered silicates and on the surface of SiO₂ wafers as a proof of concept for fluorescence particle (surface) visualisation. The surface wafer modification was precisely characterised by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Successful covalent linkage onto the particles of layered silicates was proved by confocal laser scanning microscopy technique.     

Synthesis and properties of macrocyclic diazene switch with binaphthalene unit attached via acrylamide linkers

2,2′-Diiodo-1,1′-binaphthalene undergoes a tandem Heck reaction with methyl acrylate to afford methyl 2-(7H-dibenzo[c,g]fluoren-7-ylidene)acetate. As a consequence, the target macrocyclic diazene with binaphthalene unit attached via acrylamide linker was prepared by the stepwise building of acrylamide at a binaphthalene moiety, including the Doebner modification of the Knoevenagel condensation, and completed by oxidative macrocyclisation of aniline end-groups. Despite being an equimolar mixture of monomer and dimer, it exhibited remarkable changes in CD spectra due to reversible (E/Z) isomerisation of N=N diazene bonds upon irradiation at 365/465 nm. Although the dimer isomerises from (E) to (Z) isomer 7.4 times faster than the monomer, the latter’s contribution to the change in ellipticity at 307 nm in the photostationary state is 2.4 times greater.     

“Heteroglycals” As New Potential Glycosidase Inhibitors. Synthetic Approaches From D-Arabinose

Within the frame of an ongoing project on glycosidase inhibitors, we have been interested in the synthesis of “heteroglycals”, namely, glycal analogues with sulfur or nitrogen in the ring. Glycals² are well known for their applications in sugar chemistry in particular for glycosyl transfer.³ They are also known as glycosidase inhibitors through a slow chemical reaction with the enzyme. Recently exo-glycals emerged as a new class of glycals⁴ which showed interesting features as glycosidase inhibitors but also as precursors of glycomimetics such as C-glycosides.⁵ We have undertaken investigations on related heteroglycals: such compounds are of interest because they combine a planar geometry at the anomeric center and a possible charge site - both elements known to be important to mimic the transition state of the enzymatic glycoside hydrolysis process.⁶     

Hydrothermal Degradation and Kinetic Studies of 1,3-Dihydroxy-2-Propanone and 2,3-Dihydroxypropanal

The equilibrium of 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone (dihydroxyacetone) and 2,3-dihydroxypropanal (glyceraldehyde) and their dehydration reaction to methylglyoxal has been studied in the range of 180 - 240 °C under hydrothermal reaction conditions. A reaction mechanism for the conversion of these C-3 compounds was formulated which allowed the calculation of the product yields. In the investigated temperature range both compounds produce a maximum of 30-40% of methylglyoxal.     

Blood Proteins Strongly Reduce the Mobility of Artificial Self‐Propelled Micromotors

Autonomous self‐propelled catalytic microjets are envisaged as an important technology in biomedical applications, including drug delivery, micro/nanosurgery, and active dynamic bioassays. The direct in vivo application of these microjets, specifically in blood, is however impeded by insufficient knowledge on the in vivo viability of the technique. This study highlights the effect of blood proteins on the viability of the microjets. The presence of blood proteins, including serum albumin and γ‐globulins at physiological concentrations, has been found to dramatically reduce the viability of the microjets. The reduction of viability has been measured in terms of a lower number of active microjets and a decrease in the velocity of propulsion. It is clear from this study that in order for microjets to function in biomedical applications, different modes of propulsion besides platinum‐catalyzed oxygen bubble ejection must be employed. These findings have serious implications for the biomedical applications of catalytic microjets.