Improved methodology for the preparation of water-soluble maleimide-functionalized small gold nanoparticles

Improved methodology to prepare maleimide-functionalized, water-soluble, small (<3 nm) gold nanoparticles using a retro-Diels-Alder strategy that we developed for similar organic-soluble AuNP's is described. Importantly, our results suggest that a recent paper by Zhu, Waengler, Lennox, and Schirrmacher describing a similar strategy gave results inconsistent with the formation of the titled maleimide-modified AuNP (Zhu, J.; Waengler, C.; Lennox, R. B.; Schirrmacher, R. Langmuir2012, 28, 5508) as the major product, but consistent with the major product being an adduct derived from the hydrolysis of maleimide formed under the conditions used for the required deprotection of the maleimide. Our methodology provides an efficient and accessible route to pure maleimide-modified small AuNP's that circumvents the formation of the hydrolysis product. The maleimide-modified small AuNP's are versatile because they are soluble in water and in a wide range of organic solvents and their reactivity can now be properly exploited as a reactive moiety in Michael addition for bioconjugation studies in aqueous solution.     

Hydrogen and halogen bonding drive the orthogonal self-assembly of an organic framework possessing 2D channels

Orthogonal self-assembly of an open organic framework showing 2D channels has been obtained by combining hydrogen and halogen bonding. The framework is able to host various guest molecules with a diverse set of steric demands and substitution patterns, and survives single-crystal-to-single-crystal guest exchanges from liquid and gas phases.     

2-Iodo-imidazolium receptor binds oxoanions via charge-assisted halogen bonding

A detailed (1)H-NMR study of the anion binding properties of the 2-iodo-imidazolium receptor 1 in DMSO allows to fully attribute the observed affinities to strong charge-assisted C-I···X(-) halogen bonding (XB). Stronger binding was observed for oxoanions over halides. Phosphate, in particular, binds to 1 with an association constant of ca. 10(3) M(-1), which is particularly high for a single X-bond. A remarkably short C-I···O(-) contact is observed in the structure of the salt 1·H(2)PO(4)(-).     

Photonic Integrated Circuits for Cost-Effective,High Port Density,and Higher Capacity Optical Communications Systems

Abstract

Bandwidth-hungry services, such as higher speed Internet, voice over IP (VoIP), and IPTV, allow people to exchange and store huge amounts of data among worldwide locations. In the age of global communications, domestic users, companies, and organizations around the world generate new contents making bandwidth needs grow exponentially, along with the need for new services. These bandwidth and connectivity demands represent a concern for operators who require innovative technologies to be ready for scaling. To respond efficiently to these demands, Alcatel-Lucent is fast moving toward photonic integration circuits technologies as the key to address best performances at the lowest “bit per second” cost. This article describes Alcatel-Lucent's contribution in strategic directions or achievements, as well as possible new developments.     

Halogen bonding driven self-assembly of (E)-1,2-diiodo-1,2-difluoroethene with nitrogen substituted hydrocarbons

N?I halogen bondings drive the intermolecular recognition between (E)-1,2-diiodo-1,2-difluoroethene, which work as bidentate electron acceptor, and TMEDA or 4,4′-dipyridyl, which work as bidentate electron donors. The presence of 1D infinite chains in both co-crystals has been established through X-ray analyses.     

Microfluidic behaviour of perfluoropolyether fluids in poly(dimethylsiloxane) micro-channels

Two different perfluoropolyether-based fluids, namely the unfunctionalized GALDEN SV90^® and the dihydroxy derivative FOMBLIN Z-DOL^® 2000 were employed as liquid samples in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic setup, fabricated by soft-lithography techniques. The results of our investigation were compared with the behaviour of the low viscosity and high-fragility polyurethane structural adhesive (NOA72^®), that is well known as an excellent material for the fabrication of sub-micrometer structures by soft-lithography techniques, and whose structural elastic properties inside restricted geometric systems have been recently investigated.     

Confined space design by nanoparticle self-assembly

Nanoparticle (NP) self-assembly has led to the fabrication of an array of functional nanoscale systems, having diverse architectures and functionalities. In this perspective, we discuss the design and application of NP suprastructures (SPs) characterized by nanoconfined compartments in their self-assembled framework, providing an overview about SP synthetic strategies reported to date and the role of their confined nanocavities in applications in several high-end fields. We also set to give our contribution towards the formation of more advanced nanocompartmentalized SPs able to work in dynamic manners, discussing the opportunities of further advances in NP self-assembly and SP research.

This perspective gives an outlook on the design of interparticle confined nanocavities in self-assembled NP systems and their functional relevance.     

Halogen bonding and pi...pi stacking control reactivity in the solid state

The halogen bonding and the pi...pi stacking interactions induce the noncovalent self-assembly of modules into photoreactive supramolecular architecture. The pi...pi interaction pre-organizes the template, and the halogen bonding aligns the olefins to conform to the topochemical principle for photoreaction. The UV irradiation of the crystal resulted in a cyclization product with quantitative yield and stereospecificity.     

Remarks on KdV-type flows on star-shaped curves

We study the relation between the centro-affine geometry of star-shaped planar curves and the projective geometry of parametrized maps into RP¹. We show that projectivization induces a map between differential invariants and a bi-Poisson map between Hamiltonian structures. We also show that a Hamiltonian evolution equation for closed star-shaped planar curves, discovered by Pinkall, has the Schwarzian KdV equation as its projectivization. (For both flows, the curvature evolves by the KdV equation.) Using algebro-geometric methods and the relation of group-based moving frames to AKNS-type representations, we construct examples of closed solutions of Pinkall’s flow associated with periodic finite-gap KdV potentials.     

Convergence of singular limits for multi-D semilinear hyperbolic systems to parabolic systems

In this paper we investigate the diffusive zero-relaxation limit of the following multi-D semilinear hyperbolic system in pseudodifferential form:

We analyze the singular convergence, as , in the case which leads to a limit system of parabolic type. The analysis is carried out by using the following steps:

(i)

We single out algebraic ``structure conditions' on the full system, motivated by formal asymptotics, by some examples of discrete velocity models in kinetic theories.

(ii)

We deduce ``energy estimates ', uniformly in , by assuming the existence of a symmetrizer having the so-called block structure and by assuming ``dissipativity conditions' on .

(iii)

We assume a Kawashima type condition and perform the convergence analysis by using generalizations of compensated compactness due to Tartar and Gérard.

Finally, we include examples that show how to use our theory to approximate any quasilinear parabolic systems, satisfying the Petrowski parabolicity condition, or general reaction diffusion systems, including Chemotaxis and Brusselator type systems.