Excited state dynamics of Michler's ketone: a laser flash photolysis study

Steady state absorption and fluorescence as well as the time resolved absorption studies in the pico and subpicosecond time domain have been performed to characterize the excited singlet and triplet states of Michler's ketone (MK). The nature of the lowest excited singlet (S₁) and triplet (T₁) states depends on the polarity of the solvent - in nonpolar solvents they have either pure nπ * character or mixed character of nπ * and ππ * states but in more polar solvents the states have CT character. Concentration dependence of the shapes of the fluorescence as well the excited singlet and triplet absorption spectra provide the evidence for the association of the MK molecules in the ground state.     

In vivo gastroprotective effect of xyloccensin-E and xyloccensin-I from Xylocarpus molluccensis in rats

Anti-ulcer activities of xyloccensin-E and xyloccensin-I were investigated in various ulcer models in Sprague-Dawley rats. The effects and the mechanism of action of both compounds for anti-secretory and cytoprotective activities were also studied. Both these active molecules improved the depleted levels of mucin and consequently inhibited the formation of erosions in a pyloric ligated ulcer model. Furthermore, xyloccensin-E and xyloccensin-I inhibited H⁺K⁺-ATPase activity in vitro confirming their anti-secretory activity. In conclusion, xyloccensin-E and xyloccensin-I were found to possess anti-ulcerogenic activity which might be due to their anti-secretory activity and subsequent strengthening of the defensive mechanism.     

Self-healing mineralized hydrogel scaffolds for stretch-triggered dye release

Hydrogels, with self-healing properties that can self-repair spontaneously when subjected to mechanical stress, are gaining popularity in the biomedical field. Numerous attempts have been made to create distinctive hydrogels with self-healing properties, along with stimuli-responsiveness and biocompatibility. Several techniques exist for fabricating hydrogels, including physical and chemical crosslinking via the creation of covalent bonds, and so on. Here, we prepared self-healing, stimuli-responsive, mineralized hydrogel by simply dissolving Kollidon 90-F, sodium chloride (NaCl), and potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) in an aqueous solution. The dissociated CO₃²⁻ replaces the water molecules from the Kollidon 90-F polymer backbone and facilitates the cross-linking of the polymer chain, resulting in hydrogel formation. In addition, the in-situ produced sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) strengthens the hydrogel network. We optimized the mineralized hydrogels by taking various metal salts and different concentrations of K₂CO₃. The optimized hydrogel showed good stability over a period of time, was able to maintain viscoelastic properties, possessed good self-healing ability, and showed a shape retention ability. The shear-thinning property demonstrated by the optimized hydrogel could open a ray of hope in the bioprinting or 3D printing industry. Further, the stretch-responsive release of dye from the Self-healing mineralized hydrogel (SHMH) matrix confirms the mechanoresponsive behavior of the hydrogel. Overall, the findings could be utilized in the future to fabricate a stable drug delivery system that can autonomously release the drug molecules when stretched by daily processes such as joint movements.     

Complexity and synchronization in stochastic chaotic systems

We investigate the complexity of a hyperchaotic dynamical system perturbed by noise and various nonlinear speech and music signals. The complexity is measured by the weighted recurrence entropy of the hyperchaotic and stochastic systems. The synchronization phenomenon between two stochastic systems with complex coupling is also investigated. These criteria are tested on chaotic and perturbed systems by mean conditional recurrence and normalized synchronization error. Numerical results including surface plots, normalized synchronization errors, complexity variations etc show the effectiveness of the proposed analysis.     

Physicochemical and photophysical studies on porphyrin-based donor-acceptor systems: effect of redox potentials on ultrafast electron-transfer dynamics

We report new polychromophoric complexes, where different porphyrin (P) derivatives are covalently coupled to a redox active Mo center, MoL*(NO)Cl(X) (L* is the face-capping tridentate ligand tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl) hydroborate and X is a phenoxide/pyridyl/amido derivative of porphyrin). The luminescence quantum yields of the bichromophoric systems (1, 2, and 5) were found to be an order of magnitude less than those of their respective porphyrin precursors. Transient absorption measurements revealed the formation of the porphyrin radical cation species (P(.)(+)) and photoinduced electron transfer from the porphyrin moiety to the respective Mo center in 1, 2, and 5. Electrochemical studies showed that the reduction potentials of the acceptor Mo centers in a newly synthesized pyridyl derivative (2; E(1/2)[Mo(I/0)] = approximately -1.4 V vs Ag/AgCl) and previously reported phenoxy- (1; E(1/2)[Mo(II/I)] = approximately -0.3 V vs Ag/AgCl) and amido- (3; E(1/2)[Mo(II/I)] = approximately -0.82 V vs Ag/AgCl) derivatives were varied over a wide range. Thus, studies with these complexes permitted us to correlate the probable effect of this potential gradient on the electron-transfer dynamics. Time-resolved absorption studies, following excitation at the Soret band of the porphyrin fragment in complexes 1, 2, and 5, established that forward electron transfer took place biexponentially from both S2 and S1 states of the porphyrin center to the Mo moiety with time constants 150-250 fs and 8-20 ps, respectively. In the case of MoL*(NO)ClX (where X is pyridine derivative 2), the high reduction potential for the MoI/0 couple allowed electron transfer solely from the S2 state of the porphyrin center. Time constants for the charge recombination process for all complexes were found to be 150-300 ps. Further, electrochemical and EPR studies with the trichromophoric complexes (3 and 4) revealed that the orthogonal orientation of the peripheral phenoxy/pyridyl rings negated the possibility of any electronic interaction between two paramagnetic Mo centers in the ground state and thereby the spin exchange, which otherwise was observed for related Mo complexes when two Mo centers are separated by a polyene system with comparable or larger separation distances.     

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics of the Excited States of 1‐Amino‐ and 1‐(N,N‐Dimethylamino)‐fluoren‐9‐ones

The dynamics of the excited states of 1‐aminofluoren‐9‐one (1AF) and 1‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐fluoren‐9‐one (1DMAF) are investigated by using steady‐state absorption and fluorescence as well as subpicosecond time‐resolved absorption spectroscopic techniques. Following photoexcitation of 1AF, which exists in the intramolecular hydrogen‐bonded form in aprotic solvents, the excited‐state intramolecular proton‐transfer reaction is the only relaxation process observed in the excited singlet (S₁) state. However, in protic solvents, the intramolecular hydrogen bond is disrupted in the excited state and an intermolecular hydrogen bond is formed with the solvent leading to reorganization of the hydrogen‐bond network structure of the solvent. The latter takes place in the timescale of the process of solvation dynamics. In the case of 1DMAF, the main relaxation pathway for the locally excited singlet, S₁(LE), or S₁(ICT) state is the configurational relaxation, via nearly barrierless twisting of the dimethylamino group to form the twisted intramolecular charge‐transfer, S₁(TICT), state. A crossing between the excited‐state and ground‐state potential energy curves is responsible for the fast, radiationless deactivation and nonemissive character of the S₁(TICT) state in polar solvents, both aprotic and protic. However, in viscous but strong hydrogen‐bond‐donating solvents, such as ethylene glycol and glycerol, crossing between the potential energy surfaces for the ground electronic state and the hydrogen‐bonded complex formed between the S₁(TICT) state and the solvent is possibly avoided and the hydrogen‐bonded complex is weakly emissive.     

Interfacial electron transfer between the photoexcited porphyrin molecule and TiO2 nanoparticles: effect of catecholate binding

Interfacial electron transfer (ET) dynamics of 5,10,15-trisphenyl-20-(3,4-dihydroxybenzene) porphyrin (TPP-cat) adsorbed on TiO2 nanoparticles has been studied by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the visible and near-IR region exciting at 400 and 800 nm. TPP-cat molecule forms a charge transfer (CT) complex with TiO2 nanoparticles through the catechol moiety with the formation of a five-membered ring. Optical absorption measurements have shown that the Q-band of TPP-cat interacts strongly with TiO2 due to chelation; however, the Soret band is affected very little. Optical absorption measurements indicate that the catechol moiety also interacts with TiO2 nanoparticles showing the characteristic band of pure catechol-TiO2 charge transfer (CT) in the visible region. Electron injection has been confirmed by monitoring the cation radical, instant bleach, and injected electron in the conduction band of TiO2 nanoparticles. Electron injection time has been measured to be < 100 fs and recombination kinetics has been best fitted with a multiexponential function, where the majority of the injected electrons come back to the parent cation radical with a time constant of approximately 800 fs for both excitation wavelengths. However, the reaction channel for the electron injection process has been found to be different for both wavelengths. Excitation at 800 nm, found to populate the CT state of the Q-band, and from the photoexcited CT state electron injection into the conduction band, takes place through diffusion. On the other hand, with excitation at 400 nm, a complicated reaction channel takes place. Excitation with 400 nm light excites both the CT band of Cat-TiO2 and also the Soret band of TPP-cat. We have discussed the reaction path in the TPP-cat/TiO2 system after exciting with both 400 and 800 nm laser light. We have also compared ET dynamics by exciting at both wavelengths.