Refolding of Laccase in Dilution Additive Mode with Copper-Based Ionic Liquid

Ionic liquids (ILs) are molten salts which do not crystallize at room temperature. Tunable physicochemical properties of ILs including hydrophobicity and polarity facilitate their applications in many biological processes. In this study, a copper-based IL was employed in order to enhance the refolding efficiency of laccase from Trametes versicolor which requires copper as a cofactor. When 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trichlorocuprate ([EMIM][CuCl₃]) was added to refolding buffer instead of urea, the laccase refolding yield was improved more than 2.7 times compared to the conventional refolding buffer which contains urea. When the refolding of laccase was carried out at different temperatures (4, 25, and 37 °C), the highest refolding yield was obtained at 25 °C. At low temperature, two conflicting effects, i.e., suppression of the aggregate formation and decrease of folding rate, influence the protein refolding. In contrast, a copper-based IL did not enhance the refolding of lysozyme, a non-copper-containing protein. From these results, we can conclude that this copper-based IL, [EMIM][CuCl₃], was exclusively effective on the refolding process of a copper-containing protein.     

Multi-stacked organic light-emitting diodes using zinc oxide nanoparticle interfacial layers

Stacked organic light-emitting diodes (SOLEDs) with 30-nm nanoparticle (NP) interfacial layers were investigated. Zinc oxide (ZnO) was used as an interfacial layer between two green polymer (GP) layers. SOLEDs with NP interfacial layers had higher device efficiency than did a single-unit device due to the high probability of exciton recombination that originated from the Auger electron-assisted energy up-conversion process. Although the current density and luminance of SOLEDs with ZnO NP interfacial layers were smaller than those of the reference device, the efficiency was doubled because of the big band alignment difference and the large band gap between GP and ZnO NP interfacial layers, which induced more radiative-exciton recombination.     

Annealing-free Poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester-based organic solar cells

We report on the fabrication of efficient annealing-free organic solar cells using co-solvent solution considered as a promising method for low-cost and time-saving manufacturing. Higher device efficiency could be obtained compared to the pure solvent casted device, resulting from the improved crystallinity, optical absorption and transport properties. The power conversion efficiency of 2.8% was obtained, demonstrating the feasibility of achieving low-cost and high-efficiency organic solar cells without any additional treatment and processing additives.     

Reaction of 2-Methylsulfonyl-4H-4-chromenones with Nucleophiles

For the synthesis of 2-substituted 4H-4-chromenones, 2-methylsulfonyl-4H-4-chromenones as common intermediate were reacted with nucleophiles such as amines and thiophenol to afford the corresponding 2-substituted adducts in very high yields.     

Phase fluctuation of self-phase-controlled stimulated Brillouin scattering waves via K8 glass

As stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) materials, solids have many advantages such as compactness, innoxiousness, and ease of handling. The SBS threshold and reflectivity of K8 glass, a solid material, are investigated. A SBS phase control experiment using K8 glass to achieve coherent beam combination is performed with a self-phase-control technique below the optical damage threshold. The experimental results show that the short-term phase has been stabilized well with λ/33.8 fluctuation during 256 shots (25.6 s), and that the long-term phase change with non-convective K8 glass is much slower than that with convective HT-70 liquid.     

Electroreduction of oxygen on Pd catalysts supported on Ti-modified carbon

Carbon supports modified with well dispersed anatase TiO₂ (C–Ti-X; X (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) represents mass ratio of Ti precursor to carbon) were synthesized with various Ti loadings and used to support Pd catalysts for oxygen reduction. The anatase nanoparticles increased in size with increasing Ti loading. Pd dispersion improved with increasing Ti loading up to the C–Ti-0.75, which resulted in the best catalytic activity. Although the Pd dispersion was lowest on the C–Ti-1.0, it showed better catalytic performance than the catalysts supported on C–Ti-0.25 and C–Ti-0.5. At 0.8 V (vs. RHE), the best catalytic activity achieved was respectively 2.7 and 2.7 times the mass and specific activities of Pd supported on un-modified carbon. The interaction between Pd and highly dispersed TiO₂ is believed to improve the catalytic activity of Pd supported on TiO₂-modified carbons.     

Residual determination and risk assessment of buprofezin in plum (Prunus domestica) grown in open‐field conditions following the application of three different formulations

This study was conducted to characterize the residual level and perform a risk assessment on buprofezin formulated as an emulsifiable concentrate, wettable powder, and suspension concentrate over various treatment schedules in plum (Prunus domestica). The samples were extracted with an AOAC quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe, ‘QuEChERS’, method after major modifications. As intrinsic interferences were observed in blank plum samples following dispersive‐solid phase extraction (consisting of primary secondary amine and C₁₈ sorbents), amino cartridges were used for solid‐phase extraction. Analysis was carried out using liquid chromatography with diode array detection and confirmed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The method showed excellent linearity with determination coefficient (R² = 1) and satisfactory recoveries (at two spiking levels, 0.5 and 2.5 mg/kg) between 90.98 and 94.74% with relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤8%. The limit of quantification (0.05 mg/kg) was considerably lower than the maximum residue limit (2 mg/kg) set by the Codex Alimentarius. Absolute residue levels for emulsifiable concentrates were highest, perhaps owing to the dilution rate and adjuvant. Notably, all formulation residues were lower than the maximum residue limit, and safety data proved that the fruits are safe for consumers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.