A self-assembled tetrapeptide that acts as a “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for Hg2+ ion

The tetrapeptide (Bz-$\mathrm{\Delta }$Phe(p-NPh₂)-l-DOPA(protected)-l-Phe-l-Phe-OMe was designed to incorporate seven phenyl rings so that it’s conformation, self-assembly and application in Hg²⁺ ions sensing could be studied. Peptide molecules adopted an overlapping β-turn of type III/III conformation in crystals. The peptide showed a highly selective turn-on response towards mercuric ion over other metal ions with a 10-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity. This intensity change coupled with the selectivity of the peptide towards mercury allowed us to demonstrate simple colorimetric dip sensing of Hg²⁺ ions. The technique provides a highly selective and effective way to detect Hg²⁺ ions. The peptide also self-assembled into nanospheres with diameter ranges from 100 to 500?nm. Mercuric ion coordination enabled these peptide nanospheres to aggregate into well-defined nanoparticles. The enhanced fluorescence upon Hg²⁺ addition demonstrates that peptide scaffolds can be exploited in the development of different selective sensors.     

On universal Korovkin sets w.r.t. positive spectral contractions

We prove that there exists a finite universal Korovkin set with respect to positive spectral contraction operators for a Segal algebra on a locally compact abelian groupG if and only ifĜ is finite dimensional separable metrizable space.     

Stability-Indicating High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Method for the Estimation of Ambroxol Hydrochloride and Doxofylline in a Pharmaceutical Formulation Using Experimental Design in Robustness Study

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A sensitive, specific, and accurate stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for the analysis of...     

Intermolecular stacking in pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidine‐based pentamethylene‐linked flexible ­molecules

The crystal structures of 1‐{5‐[4,6‐bis­(methyl­sulfanyl)‐2H‐py­razolo­[3,4‐d]­pyrimidin‐2‐yl]­pentyl}‐6‐methyl­sulfanyl‐4‐(pyr­rolidin‐1‐yl)‐1H‐pyrazolo­[3,4‐d]­pyrimidine, C₂₂H₂₉N₉S₃, and 6‐methyl­sulfanyl‐1‐{5‐[6‐methyl­sulfanyl‐4‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐2H‐pyrazolo­[3,4‐d]­pyrimidin‐2‐yl]­pentyl}‐4‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐1H‐pyrazolo­[3,4‐d]­pyrimidine, C₂₅H₃₄N₁₀S₂, which differ in having either a pyrrolidine substituent or a methylsulfanyl group, show intermolecular stacking due to aromatic π–π interactions between the pyrazolo­[3,4‐d]­pyrimidine rings.     

Pronounced variation in the collective dynamics of highly correlated lightest liquid alkali metal: Lithium

Recently measured inelastic X-ray spectra (IXS) of detailed coherent dynamical structure factor S(κ, ω) and hence the equilibrium collective dynamics, of the lightest liquid alkali metal, lithium at 475 K, have been successfully explained using the modified microscopic theory of the collective dynamics of a simple liquid, in a huge wave-vector, κ, range: 1.4 nm^?1 ≤ κ ≤ 110.0 nm^?1, ?κ is the linear momentum transfer. The role of single particle motion in the collective dynamics of the liquid changes from diffusive for smaller values of wave-vector, κ < 21 nm^?1 to that of a free particle for higher κ-values, 21 nm^?1 ≤ κ ≤ 110 nm^?1. The quantum correction due to detailed balance condition in S(κ, ω) for liquid Li, whose dynamics, unlike that of quantum liquid ⁴He, is essentially classical, yields results in better agreement with the corresponding experimental S(κ, ω) and the quantum correction becomes significant for higher values of κ and ω. The wave-vector dependent variation of longitudinal viscosity, η_l, is in good agreement with the corresponding results obtained from memory function approach. The wave-vector dependent variation of single characteristic relaxation time lies in between the variation of two relaxation times of memory function approach.     

Self-assembled nanocages for hydrophilic guest molecules

Reverse polymeric micelles are obtained following the association of polymeric amphiphiles in apolar media. To this date, reports of pharmaceutical applications for such micelles have been scarce, mainly because these systems have been studied in solvents that are not suitable for medical use. Here, alkylated star-shaped poly(glycerol methacrylate) polymers have been proposed in the design of oil-soluble reverse polymeric micelles. Micellar behavior was studied in various apolar solvents, including ethyl oleate, a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. The polymers were shown to assemble into spherical nanostructures (<40 nm) as determined by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy studies. Interestingly, the reverse micelles were able to encapsulate various peptides/proteins (vasopressin, myoglobin, and albumin) in substantial amounts and facilitate their solubilization in oil. The nature of both the polymer used in micelle formation and the guest molecules was found to influence the ability of the micelle to interact with hydrophilic compounds.     

Computational study on energetic properties of nitro derivatives of furan substituted azoles

Density functional theory has been used to investigate geometries, heats of formation (HOFs), C-NO₂ bond dissociation energies (BDEs), and relative energetic properties of nitro derivatives of azole substituted furan. HOFs for a series of molecules were calculated by using density functional theory (DFT) and Møller–Plesset (MP2) methods. The density is predicted using crystal packing calculations; all the designed compounds show density above 1.71 g/cm³. The calculated detonation velocities and detonation pressures indicate that the nitro group is very helpful for enhancing the detonation performance for the designed compounds. Thermal stabilities have been evaluated from the bond dissociation energies. Charge on the nitro group was used to assess the impact sensitivity in this study. According to the results of the calculations, tri- and tetra-nitro substituted derivatives reveal high performance with better thermal stability.     

Damping characteristics of seat cushion materials for tractor ride comfort

The cushioning material in a tractor seat plays a dominant role in supporting operator posture, isolating vibration and improving ride quality. Vibration attenuation in a tractor seat is achieved by selecting proper suspension and damping mechanism. This paper describes damping characterisation of tractor seat cushion materials to improve operator’s comfort. Nine commercially available seat cushion materials of different densities, thickness and compositions were selected for the study. A sinusoidal displacement exciter was designed to measure damping characteristics of the seat cushion materials in the frequency range of 1–8 Hz with displacement amplitudes of 10, 15 and 20 mm peak-to-peak. It was observed that the equivalent viscous damping coefficient (C_eq) of cushion materials decreased with the increase in frequency and peak-to-peak amplitude of vibration and decrease was very sharp in the lower frequency range up to 3 Hz. The average percentage reduction in C_eq increased with increase in peak-to-peak amplitude of vibration from 10 to 20 mm for the selected seat cushion materials. The average percentage reduction in C_eq was the highest for thinner high density polyurethane (PU) foam (thickness of 44 mm, density of 19.09 kg/m³) at different frequencies of vibration. It may be concluded that the high density PU based cushion material is good for dampening vibrations transmitted in tractor under dynamic condition.     

Monitoring of trace levels of p-dioxan in high purity benzene feedstock by capillary gas chromatography

Summary A procedure has been standarized for the determination of p-dioxan (1,4-dioxan) in benzene feedstock in the range of 1 to 100 ppm by capillary GC. The GC conditions such as oven temperature, length of the column etc were optimized to achieve better resolution of p-dioxan from hydrocarbons. The standard addition method of quantitation, was used to determine the amount of p-dioxan and was found to give better results than those obtained by external standardization. Prior to analysis the identity of the p-dioxan peak was established by GC-MS. The proposed method has been applied for the monitoring of p-dioxan in high purity benzene feedstock produced by the Udex extraction process in the refinery. The data were used for optimization of plant conditions for the production of high purity benzene feedstock. By using this method, the p-dioxan content down to 0.5 ppm can be determined in the benzene feedstock.     

Optical and electrical studies on spray deposited ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films were prepared by spray pyrolytic decomposition of zinc acetate onto a glass substrate. These films were analyzed for the optical and electrical properties. Optical studies show that in these films the electronic transition is of the direct transition type. The optical energy gap for the films of different thicknesses is estimated to be in the range 2.98 – 3.09 eV. Electrical studies indicate that the films exhibit thermally activated electronic conduction and the activation energies are found to be dependent on the film thickness. The complex impedance measurements were carried out over a wide range of frequencies at room temperature (300 K). All the impedance spectra contain only a single arc, but the arc has a non‐zero intersection with the real axis in the high frequency region. Also, the arc has its centre lying below with the real axis which indicates the multirelaxation behavior of the films. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)