Development of tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy for biological applications: a review

Tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy is an approach that holds a good deal of promise for the nanoscale characterisation of matter. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) has been demonstrated on a variety of samples: inorganic, organic and biological. Imaging using TERS has been shown for carbon nanotubes due to their high scattering efficiency. There are a number of compelling motivations to consider alternative approaches for biological samples; most importantly, the potential for heat damage of biomolecules and long acquisition times. These issues may be addressed through the development of tip-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy.     

A mild and efficient palladium–triethylsilane system for reduction of olefins and carbon–carbon double bond isomerization

The versatility of palladium(II) acetate and palladium on activated charcoal catalysts with triethylsilane has been investigated in the hydrogenation and the isomerization of carbon–carbon double bond of 1‐alkenes. The reduction of 1‐alkenes was carried out in the presence of triethylsilane, ethanol and a catalytic amount of palladium(II) acetate or palladium on activated charcoal, at room temperature. This facile and efficient method affords high yields for hydrogenation of unsaturated alkenes to the corresponding alkanes. Then the carbon–carbon double bond isomerization of 1‐alkenes was tested using the same catalysts in the absence of solvent. The system palladium(II) acetate‐triethylsilane was found to be more effective compared with palladium on an activated charcoal–triethylsilane system at room temperature, while comparable results were obtained at 50 °C for both catalysts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Symmetry-breaking in periodic gravity waves with weak surface tension and gravity-capillary waves on deep waterBrisure de symétrie dans les vagues de gravité avec une faible tension de surface et les vagues de gravité-capillarité périodiques en eau profonde

The method developed by Debiane and Kharif for the calculation of symmetric gravity-capillary waves on infinite depth is extended to the general case of non-symmetric solutions. We have calculated non-symmetric steady periodic gravity-capillary waves on deep water. It is found that they appear via bifurcations from a family of symmetric waves. On the other hand we found that the symmetry-breaking bifurcation of periodic steady class 1 gravity wave on deep water is possible when it approaches the limiting profile, if it is very weakly influenced by surface tension effects. To cite this article: R. Aider, M. Debiane, C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

Chemistry and antiproliferative activities of 3-methoxyflavones isolated from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Varthemia iphionoides</Emphasis>

A new isolated flavone, 4′-hydroxy-3,5,6,7-tetramethoxyflavone (6), together with seven known 3-O-methylated flavones isolated from the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Varthemia iphionoides, were studied for DPPH free radical-scavenging and cytotoxic activities. Flavones 2, 3, 4, and 8 were the most active DPPH free-radical scavengers with inhibition percentage of 63.5, 42.9, 47.9, and 55.6, respectively, at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Flavones 2 and 8 were the most active as inhibitor for human leukemia HL-60 cells; the IC₅₀ values after 48 h incubation were 20.5 and 23.9 μg/mL, respectively.     

High sensitive matrix-free mass spectrometry analysis of peptides using silicon nanowires-based digital microfluidic device

We present for the first time an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) microfluidic system coupled to a surface-assisted laser desorption-ionization (SALDI) silicon nanowire-based interface for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of small biomolecules. Here, the transfer of analytes has been achieved on specific locations on the SALDI interface followed by their subsequent mass spectrometry analysis without the use of an organic matrix. To achieve this purpose, a device comprising a digital microfluidic system and a patterned superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic silicon nanowire interface was developed. The digital microfluidic system serves for the displacement of the droplets containing analytes, via an electrowetting actuation, inside the superhydrophilic patterns. The nanostructured silicon interface acts as an inorganic target for matrix-free laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry analysis of the dried analytes. The proposed device can be easily used to realize several basic operations of a Lab-on-Chip such as analyte displacement and rinsing prior to MS analysis. We have demonstrated that the analysis of low molecular weight compounds (700 m/z) can be achieved with a very high sensitivity (down to 10 fmol μL(-1)).     

On a parabolic equation in a triangular domain

We prove the optimal regularity, in Sobolev spaces, of the solution of a parabolic equation set in a triangular domain T. The right-hand term of the equation is taken in Lebesgue space L^p(T). The method of operators sums in the non-commutative case is referred to.     

Schiffer’s Problem and an Isoperimetric Inequality for the First Buckling Eigenvalue of Domains on $$\mathbb{S}^{2}$$

We consider the overdetermined eigenvalue problem on a sufficiently regular connected open domain Ω on the 2-sphere :

Localized electropolymerization on oxidized boron-doped diamond electrodes modified with pyrrolyl units

This paper describes the functionalization of oxidized boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes with N-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)pyrrole (TMPP) and the influence of this layer on the electrochemical transfer kinetics as well as on the possibility of forming strongly adhesive polypyrrole films on the BDD interface through electropolymerization. Furthermore, localized polymer formation was achieved on the TMPP-modified BDD interface using the direct mode of a scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) as well as an electrochemical scanning near-field optical microscope (E-SNOM). Depending on the method used polypyrrole dots with diameters in the range of 1-250 microm are electrogenerated.