Growth of gold nanoparticles in human cells

Gold nanoparticles of 20-100 nm diameter were synthesized within HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney), HeLa (human cervical cancer), SiHa (human cervical cancer), and SKNSH (human neuroblastoma) cells. Incubation of 1 mM tetrachloroaurate solution, prepared in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.4, with human cells grown to approximately 80% confluency yielded systematic growth of nanoparticles over a period of 96 h. The cells, stained due to nanoparticle growth, were adherent to the bottom of the wells of the tissue culture plates, with their morphology preserved, indicating that the cell membrane was intact. Transmission electron microscopy of ultrathin sections showed the presence of nanoparticles within the cytoplasm and in the nucleus, the latter being much smaller in dimension. Scanning near field microscopic images confirmed the growth of large particles within the cytoplasm. Normal cells gave UV-visible signatures of higher intensity than the cancer cells. Differences in the cellular metabolism of cancer and noncancer cells were manifested, presumably in their ability to carry out the reduction process.     

Novel polybenzoxazinones with tricyclic fused-rings

A series of polybenzoxazinones containing phenoxathiin and phenoxaphosphine units were prepared from tricyclic diacid chlorides and 4,4′-diaminobiphenyl-3,3′-dicarboxylic acid and 4,4′-diamino-3,3′-diphenylmethane dicarboxylic acid. The low temperature solution polymerization technique afforded polyamic acid which subsequently underwent cyclization along the polymer chain in a solvent mixture of refluxing N,N′-dimethylacetamide, acetic anhydride, and pyridine to give polybenzoxazinones in moderate yields. The polymers thus obtained had inherent viscosities in the range of 0.15–0.23 dL/g, were sparingly soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and were found to be thermally more stable than the corresponding open-chain polymer with diphenylether linkage.     

Gas chromatographic analysis of infant formulas for total fatty acids, including trans fatty acids

Twelve powdered and 13 liquid infant formulas were analyzed by using an extension of AOAC Official Method 996.01 for fat analysis in cereal products. Samples were hydrolyzed with 8 N HCl and extracted with ethyl and petroleum ethers. Fatty acid methyl esters were prepared by refluxing the mixed ether extracts with methanolic sodium hydroxide in the presence of 14% boron trifluoride in methanol. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. In powdered formulas, saturated fatty acid (SFA) content (mean +/- SD; n = 12) was 41.05 +/- 3.94%, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content was 36.97 +/- 3.38%, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was 20.07 +/- 3.08%, and total trans fatty acid content was 1.30 +/- 1.27%. In liquid formulas, SFA content (mean +/- SD; n = 13) was 42.29 +/- 2.98%, MUFA content was 36.05 +/- 2.47%, PUFA content was 20.65 +/- 2.40%, and total trans fatty acid content was 0.88 +/- 0.54%. Total fat content in powdered formulas ranged from 4.4 to 5.5 g/100 kcal and linoleic acid content ranged from 868 to 1166 mg/100 kcal. In liquid formulas, total fat content ranged from 4.1 to 5.1 g/100 kcal and linoleic acid content ranged from 820 to 1100 mg/100 kcal. There were no significant differences between powdered and liquid infant formulas in concentrations of total fat, SFA, MUFA, PUFA, or trans fatty acids.     

The use of squaric acid as a scaffold for cofacial phenyl rings

[structure: see text] To examine the possibility of using squaric acid as a scaffold for organizing phenyl rings in a cofacial orientation, we undertook an investigation of the conformational preferences of secondary and tertiary N-phenylsquaramides. In secondary squaramides, the extended ZZ conformation is preferred, while in the N-methyl derivative, the folded EE conformation with cofacial phenyl rings is preferred. This conformational switch is likely driven by a combination of steric and electronic factors.     

Robust sampled‐data control of uncertain switched neutral systems with probabilistic input delay

This article focuses on the robust sampled‐data control for a class of uncertain switched neutral systems based on the average dwell‐time approach. In particular, the system is considered with probabilistic input delay using sampled state vectors, which are described by the stochastic variables with a Bernoulli distributed white sequence and time‐varying norm‐bounded uncertainties. By constructing a novel Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional which involves the lower and upper bounds of the delay, a new set of sufficient conditions are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities for ensuring the robust exponential stability of the uncertain switched neutral system about its equilibrium point. Moreover, based on the stability criteria, a state feedback sampled‐data control law is designed for the considered system. Finally, a numerical example based on the water‐quality dynamic model for the Nile River is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design technique. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 308–318, 2016     

Antiparallel arrangement of the helices of vesicle-bound alpha-synuclein

alpha-Synuclein (alphaS) is the main component of Lewy bodies from Parkinson's disease. That alphaS binds to membranes is known, but the conformation it adopts is still unclear. Pulsed EPR on doubly spin-labeled variants of alphaS sheds light on the most likely structure. For alphaS bound to vesicles large enough to accommodate also the extended conformation, an antiparallel helix conformation is found. This suggests that the bent structure shown is the preferred conformation of alphaS on membranes.     

Time, space, and spectrally resolved studies on J-aggregate interactions in zeolite L nanochannels

Temporally and spectrally resolved confocal microscopy has been used to explore the behavior of pyronine intercalated zeolite L crystals at different loadings. The low pyronine loading of 0.6% exhibits photophysical behavior similar to that of the free molecule in solution, indicating molecules are isolated from each other in the crystal channels. The higher loading of 20% results in a dye gradient along the channel axis, and the presence of an additional red-shifted spectroscopic transition, with shorter lifetimes. The new band is assigned to an inline arrangement of the molecules undergoing a J-aggregate-type coupling, a process so far not observed in subnanometer channels.     

Model-oriented ocean tomography using higher frequency, bottom-mounted hydrophones

A tomographic scheme is presented that ingests ocean acoustic measurements into an ocean model using data from bottom-mounted hydrophones. The short distances between source-receiver pairs (1-10 km) means arrival times at frequencies of 8-11 kHz are readily detectable and often distinguishable. The influence of ocean surface motion causes considerable variability in acoustic travel times. Techniques are presented for measuring travel times and removing the variability due to surface waves. An assimilation technique is investigated that uses differences in measured and modeled acoustic travel times to impose corrections on the oceanographic model. Equations relating travel time differences to oceanographic variables are derived, and techniques are presented for estimating the acoustic and ocean model error covariance matrices. One test case using a single source-receiver pair shows that the tomographic information can have an impact on constraining the solution of the ocean circulation model but can also introduce biases in the predictions. A second test case utilizes knowledge of a bias in a model-predicted variable to limit grid cells that are impacted by the tomographic data. In this case, using the tomographic data results in significant improvements in the model predictions without introducing any biases.     

Flow-induced transverse electrical potential across an assembly of gold nanoparticles

We report the generation of a potential difference, of the order of tens of millivolts, induced by the flow of polar liquids over an assembly of gold nanoparticles. The device consisted of two conducting glass plates, one of which contained the gold nanoparticle multilayer assembly. The potential generated is in transverse direction to the flow and is dependent on the nature of the flowing liquid. We propose a simple theoretical model to account qualitatively for the generation of the flow-induced transverse potential.