Nanomechanical properties of phospholipid microbubbles

This study uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) force-deformation (F-Δ) curves to investigate for the first time the Young's modulus of a phospholipid microbubble (MB) ultrasound contrast agent. The stiffness of the MBs was calculated from the gradient of the F-Δ curves, and the Young's modulus of the MB shell was calculated by employing two different mechanical models based on the Reissner and elastic membrane theories. We found that the relatively soft phospholipid-based MBs behave inherently differently to stiffer, polymer-based MBs [Glynos, E.; Koutsos, V.; McDicken, W. N.; Moran, C. M.; Pye, S. D.; Ross, J. A.; Sboros, V. Langmuir2009, 25 (13), 7514-7522] and that elastic membrane theory is the most appropriate of the models tested for evaluating the Young's modulus of the phospholipid shell, agreeing with values available for living cell membranes, supported lipid bilayers, and synthetic phospholipid vesicles. Furthermore, we show that AFM F-Δ curves in combination with a suitable mechanical model can assess the shell properties of phospholipid MBs. The "effective" Young's modulus of the whole bubble was also calculated by analysis using Hertz theory. This analysis yielded values which are in agreement with results from studies which used Hertz theory to analyze similar systems such as cells.     

First palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes from employment of 2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime: synthesis, structural and spectroscopic characterization, and biological evaluation

Employment of the monoanion of 2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime (dapdoH(2)) as a tridentate chelate in palladium(II) and platinum(II) chemistry is reported. The syntheses, crystal structures, spectroscopic and physicochemical characterization, and biological evaluation are described of [PdCl(dapdoH)] (1) and [PtCl(dapdoH)] (2). Reaction of PdCl(2) with 2 equivs of dapdoH(2) in MeOH under reflux gave 1, whereas the same reaction with PtCl(2) in place of PdCl(2) gave 2 in comparable yields (70-80%). The divalent metal center in both compounds is coordinated by a terminal chloro group and a N,N',N"-tridentate chelating (η(3)) dapdoH(-) ligand. Thus, each metal ion is four coordinate with a distorted square planar geometry. Characterization of both complexes with (1)H and (13)C NMR and UV-vis and electrospray ionization mass spectroscopies confirmed their integrity in DMSO solutions. Interaction of the complexes with human and bovine serum albumin has been studied with fluorescence spectroscopy, revealing their affinity for these proteins with relatively high values of binding constants. UV study of the interaction of the complexes with calf-thymus DNA (CT DNA) has shown that they can bind to CT DNA, and the corresponding DNA binding constants have been evaluated. Cyclic voltammograms of the complexes in the presence of CT DNA solution have shown that the interaction of the complexes with CT DNA is mainly through intercalation, which has been also shown by DNA solution viscosity measurements. Competitive studies with ethidium bromide (EB) have revealed the ability of the complexes to displace the DNA-bound EB, suggesting competition with EB. The combined work demonstrates the ability of pyridyl-dioxime chelates not only to lead to polynuclear 3d-metal complexes with impressive structural motifs and interesting magnetic properties but also to yield new, mononuclear 4d- and 5d-metal complexes with biological implications.     

pH-Specific Hydrothermal Assembly of Binary and Ternary Pb(II)-(O,N-Carboxylic Acid) Metal Organic Framework Compounds: Correlation of Aqueous Solution Speciation with Variable Dimensionality Solid-State Lattice Architecture and Spectroscopic Signatures

Hydrothermal pH-specific reactivity in the binary/ternary systems of Pb(II) with the carboxylic acids N-hydroxyethyl-iminodiacetic acid (Heida), 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (Dpot), and 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) afforded the new well-defined crystalline compounds [Pb(Heida)](n)·nH(2)O(1), [Pb(Phen)(Heida)]·4H(2)O(2), and [Pb(3)(NO(3))(Dpot)](n)(3). All compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, solution or/and solid-state NMR, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structures in 1-2 reveal the presence of a Pb(II) center coordinated to one Heida ligand, with 1 exhibiting a two-dimensional (2D) lattice extending to a three-dimensional (3D) one through H-bonding interactions. The concurrent aqueous speciation study of the binary Pb(II)-Heida system projects species complementing the synthetic efforts, thereby lending credence to a global structural speciation strategy in investigating binary/ternary Pb(II)-Heida/Phen systems. The involvement of Phen in 2 projects the significance of nature and reactivity potential of N-aromatic chelators, disrupting the binary lattice in 1 and influencing the nature of the ultimately arising ternary 3D lattice. 3 is a ternary coordination polymer, where Pb(II)-Dpot coordination leads to a 2D metal-organic-framework material with unique architecture. The collective physicochemical properties of 1-3 formulate the salient features of variable dimensionality metal-organic-framework lattices in binary/ternary Pb(II)-(hydroxy-carboxylate) structures, based on which new Pb(II) materials with distinct architecture and spectroscopic signature can be rationally designed and pursued synthetically.     

Samarium Based High Surface Area Perovskite Type Oxides SmFe1-XAlXO3 (X=0.00, 0.50, 0.95). Part II, Catalytic Combustion of CH4

The catalytic combustion of methane with stoichiometric amounts of oxygen to CO₂ and H₂O has been studied over samarium based high surface area perovskite type oxides SmFe_1-xAl_xO₃ (x=0.00, 0.50 0.95) prepared via a new sol-gel method. A comparison to other lanthanum perovskites prepared by the ceramic method shows higher catalytic activity for SmFeO₃ and SmFe_0.5Al_0.5O₃ samples.     

Bi-complement Reducible Graphs

We introduce a new family of bipartite graphs which is the bipartite analogue of the class ofcomplement reduciblegraphs orcographs. Abi-complement reduciblegraph orbi-cographis a bipartite graphG = (W ∪ B, E) that can be reduced to single vertices by recursively bi-complementing the edge set of all connected bipartite subgraphs. Thebi-complementedgraphofGis the graph having the same vertex setW ∪ BasG, while its edge set is equal toW × B − E. The aim of this paper is to show that there exists an equivalent definition of bi-cographs by three forbidden configurations. We also propose a tree representation for this class of graphs.     

Synthesis of 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-N,N-di-n-propyl-1H-benz[g] indol-7-amine,a potential dopamine receptor agonist

In this work, the synthesis of 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-N,N-di -n-propyl-1H-benz[g]indol-7-amine (1) is described. This compound was designed as an indole bioisostere to the known dopamine receptor agonist 5-OH-aminotetraline 2 . The key step of the synthesis was a Mukaiyama type aldol condensation between the dimethyl acetal of 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)pyrrole-3-acetaldehyde ( 4 ) and 4-di-n-propylamino-1-trimethylsilyloxycyclohexene ( 8 ) followed by cycloaromatization to afford 1-p-toluenesulfonyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-N,N-di-n- propyl-1H-benz[g]indol-7-amine ( 10 ). Scission of the sulfonamide bond in 10 gave the target compound 1 . A byproduct which was isolated was assigned to the structure of 1-(p-toluenesul-fonyl)-6-[3-[1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)]pyrrolyl]indole ( 11 ). This compound was also synthesized in good yield by an acid catalyzed dimerization of the dimethyl acetal of 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)pyrrole-3-acetaldehyde ( 4 ). Preliminary screening of 1 indicated that it possesses central dopamine receptor agonist properties.     

Ramsey families of subtrees of the dyadic tree

We show that for every rooted, finitely branching, pruned tree of height there exists a family which consists of order isomorphic to subtrees of the dyadic tree with the following properties: (i) the family is a subset of ; (ii) every perfect subtree of contains a member of ; (iii) if is an analytic subset of , then for every perfect subtree of there exists a perfect subtree of such that the set either is contained in or is disjoint from .

     

Examination of the Spatial Distribution of Dyes and Polymers in Thin Films by Two-Photon Microscopy

Summary.  Two-photon absorption induced fluorescence microscopy was used as a tool for the examination of the spatial distribution of a thin dye film. The two-photon absorption induced fluorescence signal is essentially the same as that produced by excitation with a single photon of equivalent energy. When femtosecond pulses are focused into a sample there is an intrinsic spatial selectivity of the two-photon emission signal, since it is dependent upon the square of the light intensity. This has tremendous implications in fluorescence microscopy. Since two-photon absorption is confined in a small region at the focal waist of an objective lens, photodamage and photobleaching of the sample are significantly reduced. In addition, the two-photon signal has inherent z-axis spatial resolution, which facilitates the construction of 3-D images. In the present work an application of this technique to a thin film of a dye is presented. The method can generally be applied to thin films made from photonic polymers. Received June 23, 2000. Accepted (revised) July 31, 2000