DNA Origami Nanoplate‐Based Emulsion with Nanopore Function

Bio‐inspired functional microcapsules have attracted increasing attention in many fields from physical/chemical science to artificial‐cell engineering. Although particle‐stabilised microcapsules are advantageous for their stability and functionalisation potential, versatile methods for their functionalisation are desired to expand their possibilities. This study reports a water‐in‐oil microdroplet stabilised with amphiphilic DNA origami nanoplates. By utilising DNA nanotechnology, DNA nanoplates were designed as a nanopore device for ion transportation and to stabilise the oil–water interface. Microscopic examination revealed the microcapsule formed by the accumulation of amphiphilic DNA nanoplates at the oil–water interface. Ion current measurements revealed the nanoplate pores functioned as channel to transport ions. These findings provide a general strategy for the programmable design of microcapsules to engineer artificial cells and molecular robots.     

Simulated reflectance spectra and point spread functions in database constructed by moderate grouping of nine layers in skin model

Optical Review - This paper presents a numerical study on simulated spectra and point spread functions in the database that we constructed by moderate grouping of nine layers in a skin model. The...     

Single-cell Trapping Using Microwell Arrays Fabricated from Self-assembled Particle Monolayers

This paper proposes a self-assembly fabrication method of microwells and investigates the effect of surface treatment for the cell trapping. The target cell is unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, which has been widely investigated as a model organism for photosynthesis. The self-assembly monolayer of polystyrene particles (3.0 μm diameter) etched by reactive-ion etching was used as a template of polydimethylsiloxane molds. The well diameter in the mold could be controlled by the etching time. The cell-trapping efficiency was discussed with the viewpoint of hydrophilically treatment and poly-L-lysine treatment on the well arrays.     

Explanation of Human Skin Color by Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Based on the Modified Lambert-Beer Law

Quantitative analysis of human skin color is needed in the medical and cosmetic fields. Because of the strong light scattering by biological tissues, however, analysis of skin color has not yet been fully successful. Human skin color is dominated by the colors of blood and melanin which are modified by scattering. Exposure of human skin to hot water or UV-ray changes its color because the absorbance spectrum of reflection from the human skin, and the changes in the absorbance spectra of reflection reflect the absorbance spectra of blood and melanin which are the absorption spectrum distorted by scattering. By applying the modified Lambert-Beer law, the absorbance spectrum of reflection from human skin can be expressed proportional to those distorted absorbance spectra of blood and melanin. Multiple linear regression analysis is successfully used to reproduce the absorbance spectrum of reflection from human skin from the distorted absorbance spectra of blood and melanin.     

Quantitative analysis of near surfaces three‐dimensional orientation of polymer chains in PET and PEN films using polarized ATR FTIR spectroscopy

Polarized attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the three‐dimensional orientation of polymer chains near highly anisotropic surfaces generated by uniaxial drawing. A versatile method was proposed to analyze the molecular orientation of the polymers by combining the experimental refractive indices and optimized contact pressure by an anvil for solving the optical contact problem. This method is effective even when changes in the molecular orientation along the thickness direction caused by drawing are remarkable. In addition, this method enables quantitative comparison of the molecular orientation among different polymers in the same coordinate system. From the molecular orientation analysis of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly (ethylene naphthalate) (PEN), it was revealed that this method has a broader range of applications with high accuracy in estimating the molecular orientation of polymers compared with the conventional methods. The significant changes in the molecular orientation caused by uniaxial and biaxial drawing of PET and PEN films were quantitatively analyzed, and the reasons for the significant in‐plane orientation of PEN chains on the film plane are discussed. In addition, the difference in the molecular orientation between both sides of the films was also demonstrated. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 870–879, 2010     

Cleavage of a P=P Double Bond Mediated by N-Heterocyclic Carbenes

The reaction of the bulky diphosphenes (Rind)P=P(Rind) ( 1 ; Rind=1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7-octa-R-substituted s-hydrindacen-4-yl) with two molecules of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC; 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene) resulted in the quantitative formation of the NHC-bound phosphinidenes NHC→P(Rind) ( 2 ), along with the cleavage of the P=P double bond. The reaction times are dependent on the steric size of the Rind groups (11 days for 2 a (R=Et) and 2 h for 2 b (R=Et, Me) at room temperature). The mechanism for the double bond-breaking is proposed to proceed via the formation of the NHC-coordinated, highly polarized diphospehenes 3 as an intermediate. Approach of a second NHC to 3 induces P−P bond cleavage and P−C bond formation, which proceeds through a transition state with a large negative Gibbs energy change to afford the two molecules of 2 , thus being the rate-determining step of the overall reaction with the activation barriers of 80.4 for 2 a and 29.1 kJ mol⁻¹ for 2 b .     

A Ring‐Flippable Sugar as a Stimuli‐Responsive Component of Liposomes

For the development of a liposome that takes in and out a drug in response to stimuli, 2,4‐diaminoxylose (Xyl), which allows stimuli‐responsive conformational switches between ⁴C₁ and ¹C₄, was incorporated into a lipid structure: Xyl derivatives with C8 and C16 methylene chains at the 1,3‐positions (C8Xyl and C16Xyl) were synthesized. ¹H NMR spectroscopy indicates that the addition of Zn²⁺ and then H⁺ induces conformational switches from the chair (⁴C₁) to the reverse chair (¹C₄) and ¹C₄‐to‐⁴C₁, respectively, at Xyl; this leads to transformation of the lipids between linear and bent structures. Osmotic pressure and electron microscopy studies demonstrate that C8Xyl in water forms spherical solid aggregates (C8Xyl?Zn), which are converted into liposomes (C8Xyl+Zn) upon the addition of Zn²⁺, and C16Xyl forms liposomes regardless of the presence of Zn²⁺. The aggregates of C8Xyl±Zn incorporated a fluorophore and only C8Xyl+Zn released the content upon the addition of HCl. This study shows that Xyl could be a stimuli‐responsive component of a liposome.     

Characterization of aluminum species with nitrate, perchlorate and sulfate ions in the positive and negative ion mode by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The application of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for aluminum speciation in the positive and negative ion modes was discussed. Aluminum nitrate, perchlorate and sulfate solutions were measured by ESI-MS. In the positive ion mode, aluminum species containing anions (Al-L; L=NO3, ClO4 and SO4) were identified, while [Al(OH)2(H2O)n]+ (n=2-4) were the main species. The affinity of the anions with Al3+ estimated by ESI-MS was consistent with the hardness of the anions (hard and soft acids and bases principle) and the results from 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance studies. This indicates that the results observed from the positive ion mode preserved the chemical state of aluminum in the solution. In the negative ion mode, [Al(OH)4-nLn]- (n=0-2, L=NO3, ClO4) were the main species, which were considered to be converted from positive aluminum species, [Al(OH)(H2O)n]+ (n=2-4), by the successive addition of anions. Anions did not only attach to one aluminum ion but also bridged two aluminum ions. In Al2(SO4)3 solution, the behavior of SO4(2-) in the negative ion mode differed from that of NO3- and ClO4-. This may reflect the affinity of SO4(2-) with Al3+ in the solution or in the mass spectrometer or in both. Finally, detection mechanisms for the aluminum species in the solution are proposed for both the positive and negative ion modes. It is shown that ESI-MS can be used to observe the interaction between Al3+ and anions. We show the importance of the interpretation of the results by ESI-MS for obtaining new information of the metal species in the solution.