Bright white light emission from ultrasmall cadmium selenide nanocrystals

A simple treatment method using formic acid has been found to increase the fluorescence quantum yield of ultrasmall white light-emitting CdSe nanocrystals from 8% to 45%. Brighter white-light emission occurs with other carboxylic acids as well, and the magnitude of the quantum yield enhancement is shown to be dependent on the alkyl chain length. Additionally, the nanocrystal luminescence remains enhanced relative to the untreated nanocrystals over several days. This brightened emission opens the possibility for even further quantum yield improvement and potential for use of these white-light nanocrystals in solid-state lighting applications.     

Synthesis of BaF2:Ce nanophosphor and epoxy encapsulated transparent nanocomposite

BaF₂:Ce nanophosphors with a peak emission at 355 nm were synthesized using a chemical precipitation method with oleic acid as the capping ligands. The cerium doping concentration was optimized and it was found that the photoluminescence intensity reached a maximum at about 15 mol% of Ce doping. Two distinct photoluminescence excitation peaks were observed from all samples at about 255 and 290 nm. The nanophosphors were incorporated into an epoxy matrix to form bulk nanocomposite samples for potential scintillation applications. Index matching between the nanophosphor and the epoxy matrix is critical to obtain high transparency.     

Linoleic Acid Isomerase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Propionibacterium acnes</Emphasis>: Purification,Characterization, Molecular Cloning,and Heterologous Expression

Propionibacterium acnes strain ATCC 6919 catalyzes the isomerization of the double bond at the C9 position in linoleic acid (c9,c12, 18:2) to form t10,c12 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, 18:2). CLA has significant health benefits in animal and human. The linoleic acid C9 isomerase was purified to an apparent homogeneity by successive chromatography on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) anion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and chromatofocusing columns. Two degenerated oligonucleotide primers were synthesized according to the N-terminal peptide sequence to clone, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a short nucleotide sequence (62 bp) of the isomerase gene. The linoleic acid isomerase gene (lai) was subsequently cloned by inverse PCR. The amino acid sequence deduced from the lai coding sequence predicts a protein of 424 amino acid residues (48 kDa), excluding the N-terminal methionine, which was absent in the polypeptide purified from the native host. The isomerase shares no significant sequence homology to other enzymes except a flavin-binding domain in the N-terminal region. The recombinant isomerase purified from Escherichia coli showed a typical ultraviolet spectrum for FAD-bound proteins. The recombinant enzyme produced a single isomer of t10,c12-CLA from linoleic acid, as demonstrated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrum analysis. The recombinant isomerase protein was expressed at high levels in E. coli, but it was almost totally sequestered in inclusion bodies. The level of active isomerase was increased 376-fold by medium and process optimization in bench-scale fermentors.