3-Helix micelles stabilized by polymer springs

Despite increasing demands to employ amphiphilic micelles as nanocarriers and nanoreactors, it remains a significant challenge to simultaneously reduce the particle size and enhance the particle stability. Complementary to covalent chemical bonding and attractive intermolecular interactions, entropic repulsion can be incorporated by rational design in the headgroup of an amphiphile to generate small micelles with enhanced stability. A new family of amphiphilic peptide-polymer conjugates is presented where the hydrophilic headgroup is composed of a 3-helix coiled coil with poly(ethylene glycol) attached to the exterior of the helix bundle. When micelles form, the PEG chains are confined in close proximity and are compressed to act as a spring to generate lateral pressure. The formation of 3-helix bundles determines the location and the directionalities of the force vector of each PEG elastic spring so as to slow down amphiphile desorption. Since each component of the amphiphile can be readily tailored, these micelles provide numerous opportunities to meet current demands for organic nanocarriers with tunable stability in life science and energy science. Furthermore, present studies open new avenues to use energy arising from entropic polymer chain deformation to self-assemble energetically stable, single nanoscopic objects, much like repulsion that stabilizes bulk assemblies of colloidal particles.     

Universal frames

For a class of frames we define the notion of a universal element and prove that in the class of all frames of weight less than or equal to a fixed infinite cardinal number τ there are such elements.     

On the sobriety of the inverse topology

An algebraic frame L with the finite intersection property (FIP) on compact elements is said to be polarised if every minimal prime element in it is complemented. In this note, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the inverse topology on the set of minimal prime elements of such a frame to be sober. We also establish some sufficient conditions for sobriety when the polarisation condition is relaxed.     

A note onR 1-topological spaces

The purpose of the present note is to give a number of characterizations of theR ₁-axiom and to show that theR ₁-axiom is equivalent to the weakly Hausdorff axiom introduced byB. Banaschewski andJ. M. Maranda [2]. In anR ₁-space it is shown that the locally compactness property is also open hereditary and that the closure of an almost compact set is the union of the closures of its points. A necessary and sufficient condition is obtained under which a locally compact set dense in anR ₁-space is open. Finally a variant of a well-known theorem regarding two continuous functions of a topological space into aT ₂-space is formulated forR ₁-spaces.     

Dielectronic recombination rates for ions of the magnesium sequence at low energies

The dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficient α^DR is explicitly calculated for the Si, Ar, Fe and Mo target ions of the Mg isoelectronic sequence with twelve electrons. Both the 3s, Δn ≠ 0 and 3s, Δn = 0 transitions are considered in detail. An explicit LS coupling scheme was applied to all the dominant transitions of these ions. Results of α^DR with different free electron temperatures are also discussed     

Homoleptic pnictogen-chalcogen coordination complexes

The synthesis and structural characterization of dicationic selenium and tellurium analogues of the carbodiphosphorane and triphosphenium families of compounds are reported. These complexes, [Ch(dppe)][OTf](2) [Ch = Se, Te; dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; OTf = trifluoromethanesulfonate], are formed using [Ch](2+) reagents via a ligand-exchange protocol and represent extremely rare examples of homoleptic pnictogen → chalcogen coordination complexes. The corresponding arsenic compounds were also prepared, [Ch(dpAse)][OTf](2) [Ch = Se, Te; dpAse = 1,2-bis(diphenylarsino)ethane], exhibiting the first instance of an arsenic → chalcogen dative bond. The electronic structures of these unique compounds were determined and compared to previously reported chalcogen dications.     

Boronic acid hydrogen bonding in encapsulation complexes

Hydrogen bonding is a key determinant of much macromolecular structure in nature, but individual donor and acceptor pairs are rarely observed in solution. Their weak interactions result in nanosecond lifetimes and rapid exchange of partners. Reversible encapsulation isolates molecules in very small spaces for milliseconds to hours and allows their characterization by NMR methods. Here we report a competitive study of hydrogen-bonding functions--carboxylic acids, primary amides, and boronic acids--within a multicomponent capsular assembly. The pairwise co-encapsulation of these molecules allows the direct observation of homodimeric boronic acids and their heterodimeric complexes with carboxylic acids and primary amides. The efficiency of boronic acids as hydrogen-bonding partners derives from their adaptable structures rather than from their intrinsic acid/base properties.     

Zur plasmachemischen Umsetzung von CO/H2-Gemischen zu leichten Kohlenwasserstoffen in einer Glimmentladung

Mixtures of CO und H₂ can be partially converted into hydrocarbons (Hc), especially methane, by nonthermal activation in a glow discharge. The degree of conversion α CO → Hc and the partial pressure of methane reached values of 12% and 3% resp. The CO-conversion depends on the discharge parameters, the discharge time the energy input resp., and the rate of CO/H₂-mixture. The Hc formed are intermediate products which react further to higher Hc including solid Hc. According to mass spectrometrical analysis of plasma ions a reaction scheme was developed which is considered to be valid for the Hc formation based on an ion as well on neutral particle reactions.