Self-assembly of Ag nanoparticle-biotin composites into long fiberlike microstructures

An end-to-end assembly of spherical Ag nanoparticles takes place in the presence of biotin to form long fiberlike microstructures. These microstructures are about 4 mum long with a thickness of 1 mum, obtained from SEM studies. TEM studies showed the presence of spherical silver nanoparticles having an average size of 20 nm. ATR-FTIR studies revealed that silver ions interact with biotin involving the carboxylate group. A weak binding of the silver particles with the thioether and ureido groups helps in connecting the Ag nanoparticles to form long fiberlike structures. Elucidation of the mechanism of formation of the spherical Ag clusters was done by pulse radiolysis.     

Temperature-induced percolation behavior of AOT reverse micelles affected by poly(ethylene glycol)s

The influence of poly(ethylene glycol)s additives viz. mono- (EG), di- (DEG), tri- (TEG), tetra- (TeEG) and poly(ethylene glycol)-400 (PEG-400) on temperature-induced electrical percolation of water/AOT/isooctane microemulsion system has been investigated. The composition of microemulsion systems has been kept constant to omega=22 and [additive] = 0.1 M w.r.t. dispersion medium. The effect of increase in the non-polar continuum (S= [Oil]/[AOT]) is indicated by increase in the percolation threshold, theta(c). The findings have been elaborated in terms of validity of scaling laws in the light of the dynamic percolation theory. The activation energy of the process, DeltaEp, has been estimated from Arrhenius plots. Pseudophase concept of the micellar aggregation has been utilized to assess the thermodynamics of clustering of the nanodroplets. The state of trapped water in the micellar core and the corresponding interactions with the AOT head group has been visualized through 1H NMR and FTIR analysis. Results show that at higher omega (>16.0), encapsulated water behaves like free or the bulk water.     

Photo-induced formation of silver nanoparticles and polymerization of acrylamide derivatives

The effect of silver ions and silver nanoparticles on the rate of polymerization of acrylamide and N-isopropylacylamide was investigated. Composites of silver particles of diameter around 30 nm and polyacrylamide were prepared by the photochemical method in the absence of any photosensitizer. The particles formed were characterized by UV–visible spectrophotometry, XRD, and TEM. It was shown that the presence of metal ions such as Ag⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺ in the acrylamide monomer is essential for photoinduced polymerization.     

Thermal,Mechanical and Morphological Behavior of Poly(propylene)/Wood Flour Composites

The comparative studies on the thermal, mechanical and morphological behavior of compression molded poly(propylene) (PP)/wood flour (WF) composites were performed using wood flours (WFs) of different origins. The comparison has been made on the basis of results obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing. It has been demonstrated that an addition of 5 wt.-% of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) has a significant effect on the morphological and thermomechanical behavior of the composites. Although, microscopic examinations revealed no significant differences in the morphology of the compatibilized composites, a remarkable improvement of thermal degradation behavior was observed. From the view point of mechanical properties, the composites with high amount of filler (60 wt.-%) showed similar behavior irrespective of the origin of wood flour.     

Universal reusable polymer support for oligonucleotide synthesis

A new efficient reusable universal polymer support for oligonucleotide synthesis, based on a non-ammoniacal cleavable linker, is described. Twenty six cycles of oligonucleotide synthesis have been carried out without compromising the quality of the fully deprotected oligonucleotides.     

Nickel(II)‐Mediated Reversible Thiolate/Disulfide Conversion as a Mimic for a Key Step of the Catalytic Cycle of Methyl‐Coenzyme M Reductase

According to the well‐accepted mechanism, methyl‐coenzyme M reductase (MCR) involves Ni‐mediated thiolate‐to‐disulfide conversion that sustains its catalytic cycle of methane formation in the energy saving pathways of methanotrophic microbes. Model complexes that illustrate Ni‐ion mediated reversible thiolate/disulfide transformation are unknown. In this paper we report the synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic properties and redox interconversions of a set of Ni^II complexes comprising a tridentate N₂S donor thiol and its analogous N₄S₂ donor disulfide ligands. These complexes demonstrate reversible Ni^II‐thiolate/Ni^II‐disulfide (both bound and unbound disulfide‐S to Ni^II) transformations via thiyl and disulfide monoradical anions that resemble a primary step of MCR's catalytic cycle.     

Luminescence Enhancement based Sensing of L‐Cysteine by Doped Quantum Dots

The interaction of a presynthesized orange emitting Mn²⁺‐doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with L‐Cysteine (L?Cys) led to enhance emission intensity (at 596 nm) and quantum yield (QY). Importantly, the Mn²⁺‐doped ZnS QDs exhibited high sensitivity towards L?Cys, with a limit of detection of 0.4±0.02 μM (in the linear range of 3.3–13.3 μM) and high selectivity in presence of interfering amino acids and metal ions. The association constant of L?Cys was determined to be 0.36×10⁵ M^?1. The amplified passivation of the surface of Mn²⁺‐doped ZnS QDs following the incorporation and binding of L?Cys is accounted for the enhancement in their luminescence features. Moreover, the luminescence enhancement‐based detection will bring newer dimension towards sensing application.     

Spectroscopic studies of transition metal complexes with a N-donor tetradentate(N4) 12-membered macrocylic ligand

Chromium(III), manganese(II), iron(III), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II), ruthenium(III), iridium(III), palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes were synthesized with a 12-membered 1,4,7,10-tetraazadodeca-5,6,11,12-tetraene macrocylic ligand (L) and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility, IR, electronic, EPR and M?ssbauer [Fe(III)] spectral studies. The molar conductance measurements of all the complexes in DMF solution correspond to non-electrolytic nature for M(L)Cl2 complexes [where M=Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II)], 1:1 electrolytes for M'(L)Cl3 complexes [where M'=Cr(III), Fe(III), Ru(III) and Ir(III)] and 1:2 electrolytes for M'(L)Cl2 complexes [where M'=Pd(II) and Pt(II)]. Thus, the complexes may be formulated as [M(L)C1(2)], [M'(L)C1(2)]C1 and [M'(L)]C1(2), respectively [where L=ligand]. All complexes were of the high-spin type and found to have six-coordinate octahedral geometry except the Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes which were four coordinate, square planar and diamagnetic.     

Column reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of rabeprazole sodium and domperidone in combined tablet dosage form

A new, simple column reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of rabeprazole sodium (RAB) and domperidone (DOM) in a combined tablet dosage form has been developed and validated. Determination was performed using a Jasco HPLC system with a HiQ SiL octadecylsilane (C18) column (250 x 4.6 mm id), acetonitrile-0.1 M ammonium acetate (50 + 50, v/v) mobile phase, and paracetamol as an internal standard. The detection was performed using a UV detector set at 280 nm. The method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 1.0-10.0 and 0.5-5.0 microg/mL for RAB and DOM, respectively. The method has been successfully applied for the analysis of drugs in a pharmaceutical formulation.