TIME-RESOLVED PHOTOACOUSTIC CALORIMETRY OF TRYPTOPHAN IN WATER AND ORGANIC SOLVENTS

Abstract: Very little has been done in the direct study of nonradiative decays of Trp, indole and derivatives, in spite of their relatively low fluorescence quantum yields. Time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry is an ideal technique for this kind of study: it is very sensitive in the detection of small amounts of heat released and, in principle, allows a broad band of temporal resolution. The photoacoustic apparatus used for our measurements offers a temporal window between 10 ns and 10 μs. The analysis of the waveforms, based on a particular deconvolution method, simultaneously gives the fraction of energy released and the associated lifetime. In a broad sense, time-resolved photoacoustic spectroscopy can be seen as a complementary method to traditional radiative techniques such as static, time-resolved fluorescence and flash photolysis. The present work presents studies of Trp in different solvents in order to acquire new information about the interaction of this chromophore with solvents. From our measurements the high sensitivity of Trp to solvents is confirmed. The formation of complexes is evident at the excited state (exciplexes), between the chromophore and one or more molecules of solvent. These exciplexes are characterized by having an energy different from that of the singlet and triplet of Trp. Moreover, photoacoustic measurements detect, in water, the presence of another electronic state, which seems to have characteristics similar to a triplet-like state reported in other work.     

Asymmetric anionic polymerization of 2,6-dimethyl-7-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone methide

Asymmetric anionic polymerizations of 2,6-dimethyl-7-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone methide ( 1 ) were performed with various chiral anionic initiators, and the specific rotations of the obtained polymers were investigated. Optically active poly( 1 )s with configurational chirality were obtained with all the initiators, and a complex of fluorenyllithium (FlLi) with (−)-sparteine [(−)-Sp] produced poly( 1 ) with the largest negative specific rotation ([α]₄₃₅ = −26.8°). The specific rotations of poly( 1 )s obtained with FlLi/(−)-Sp depended on the initiator concentration and the solvent polarity. The maximum specific rotations were obtained at an almost constant initiator concentration (ca. 0.03 mol/L), regardless of the monomer concentration, in toluene, whereas a higher initiator concentration was required in more polar solvents. These results suggested that the aggregation state of the propagating chain end significantly affected the specific rotation of poly( 1 ). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4548–4555, 2004     

Synthesis of Oligo(thienylfuran)s with Thiophene Rings at Both Ends and Their Structural,Electronic, and Field‐Effect Properties

Oligo(thienylfuran)s with thiophene rings at both ends ( SOSOSOS , DE‐SOSOS , DH‐SOSOS , DE‐SOSOSOS , and DH‐SOSOSOS ; S and O denote thiophene and furan rings, respectively, DE and DH denote diethyl‐ and dihexyl‐substituted, respectively) were newly synthesized by repetitive Stille coupling reactions. The UV/Vis maximum absorptions of the oligomers, SO , SOSO , SOSOS , SOSOSO , and SOSOSOS , exhibited a clear bathochromic shift with increasing number of heterocycles. The value of the oxidation peak potential (E_pa¹) determined by cyclic voltammetry decreased with an increase in the number of heterocycles by 0.06–0.08 V per heterocycle. The crystal‐packing structures of DE‐SOSOS and DH‐SOSOS determined by X‐ray crystallography have a herringbone motif and are denser than the reported structures of pentacene and α‐sexithiophene. The morphologies of thin films prepared by vacuum deposition and spin coating were investigated by atomic force microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Among these films, those of DE‐SOSOS and DH‐SOSOS exhibited highly ordered arrangements. The devices based on vacuum‐deposited and spin‐coated films of DE‐SOSOS and DH‐SOSOS displayed the highest FET mobilities of 10^?2–10^?3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 among the oligomers reported in this study.     

Intramolecular cation-pi interactions control the conformation of nonrestricted (phenylalkyl)pyridines

NOEsy and fluorescence spectroscopy reveal that conversion of conformationally flexible (phenylalkyl)pyridines into their corresponding N-methyl-pyridinium iodides results in intramolecular pi-stacking.     

A solution to Curry and Hindley’s problem on combinatory strong reduction

It has often been remarked that the metatheory of strong reduction , the combinatory analogue of βη-reduction in λ-calculus, is rather complicated. In particular, although the confluence of is an easy consequence of being confluent, no direct proof of this fact is known. Curry and Hindley’s problem, dating back to 1958, asks for a self-contained proof of the confluence of , one which makes no detour through λ-calculus. We answer positively to this question, by extending and exploiting the technique of transitivity elimination for ‘analytic’ combinatory proof systems, which has been introduced in previous papers of ours. Indeed, a very short proof of the confluence of immediately follows from the main result of the present paper, namely that a certain analytic proof system G _e [] , which is equivalent to the standard proof system CL _ext of Combinatory Logic with extensionality, admits effective transitivity elimination. In turn, the proof of transitivity elimination—which, by the way, we are able to provide not only for G _e [] but also, in full generality, for arbitrary analytic combinatory systems with extensionality—employs purely proof-theoretical techniques, and is entirely contained within the theory of combinators.      

Synthesis of poly(L‐lactide)‐grafted pullulan through coupling reaction between amino group end‐capped poly(L‐lactide) and carboxymethyl pullulan and its aggregation behavior in water

Poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) with terminal primary amino groups (PLLA‐NH₂) was synthesized and used to construct PLLA‐grafted pullulan (Pul‐g‐PLLA). It consisted of a hydrophilic carboxymethyl Pul (CM‐Pul) main chain and hydrophobic PLLA graft chains that were created through a direct coupling reaction between PLLA‐NH₂ and CM‐Pul using 2‐ethoxy‐1‐(ethoxycarbonyl)‐1,2‐dihydroquinoline as a condensation reagent. Pul‐g‐PLLAs with over 78 wt % sugar unit content were found to form nanometer‐sized aggregates in water. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5482–5487, 2004     

TIME-RESOLVED PHOTOACOUSTIC CALORIMETRY OF TRYPTOPHAN IN WATER and ORGANIC SOLVENTS

Abstract –Very little has been done in the direct study of nonradiative decays of Trp, indole and derivatives, in spite of their relatively low fluorescence quantum yields. Time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry is an ideal technique for this kind of study: it is very sensitive in the detection of small amounts of heat released and, in principle, allows a broad band of temporal resolution. The photoacoustic apparatus used for our measurements offers a temporal window between 10 ns and 10 μs. The analysis of the waveforms, based on a particular deconvolution method, simultaneously gives the fraction of energy released and the associated lifetime. In a broad sense, time-resolved photoacoustic spectroscopy can be seen as a complementary method to traditional radiative techniques such as static, time-resolved fluorescence and flash photolysis. The present work presents studies of Trp in different solvents in order to acquire new information about the interaction of this chromophore with solvents. From our measurements the high sensitivity of Trp to solvents is confirmed. The formation of complexes is evident at the excited state (exciplexes), between the chromophore and one or more molecules of solvent. These exciplexes are characterized by having an energy different from that of the singlet and triplet of Trp. Moreover, photoacoustic measurements detect, in water, the presence of another electronic state, which seems to have characteristics similar to a triplet-like state reported in other work.     

Mixed cells in directional solidification of In-doped GaAs; cellular profile and shape-induced stresses

By revealing the built-in rotation striations in In-doped GaAs grown by the Czochralski technique, X-ray topography enables one to follow the time evolution of the solid-liquid interface. The birth, amplification and lateral spreading of morphological instability and the dynamics of formation of the cellular pattern are analysed. Mixed cells, composed of {111} facets linked together by rough parts, are observed to form and continuously increase in size through facet expansion. Besides, critical information on shape-induced stresses and defects is for the first time obtained. Indeed, additional contrast lines show up close to the facet edges, which can be attributed to peaks in the stress field, induced by the very peculiar profile of the rough regions adjacent to the facets. It follows from the observation of cell eliminations that the contrast lines actually separate these rough regions in two parts: one like the classical equilibrium one, i.e. probably as 3/2, with x the distance from the static facet edge, and one created by the dynamical roughening of the facet, whose edges thus recede from their equilibrium positions.