Closed paths of light trapped in a closed Fermat curve

Geometric constructions have previously been shown that can be interpreted as rays of light trapped either in polygons or in conics, by successive reflections. The same question, trapping light in closed Fermat curves, is addressed here. Numerical methods are used to study the behaviour of the reflection points of a triangle when the degree of the curve varies, including a generalization to non integer powers.     

Electrodeposited copolymer electrolyte into nanostructured titania electrodes for 3D Li-ion microbatteries

The electrochemical synthesis of a copolymer electrolyte (PEO-PMMA) into titania nanotubes is described and studied. Compared with the electrochemical systems based on solid electrolytes deposited by top-down techniques, the copolymer/titania nanotube material reveals high electrochemical performance, opening new perspectives for the fabrication of 3D all-solid-state microbatteries.     

(Trifluoromethylselenyl)methylchalcogenyl as Emerging Fluorinated Groups: Synthesis under Photoredox Catalysis and Determination of the Lipophilicity

The synthesis of molecules bearing (trifluoromethylselenyl)methylchalcogenyl groups is described via an efficient two-step strategy based on a metal-free photoredox catalyzed decarboxylative trifluoromethylselenolation with good yields up to 88 %, which raised to 98 % in flow chemistry conditions. The flow methods allowed also to scale up the reaction. The mechanism of this key reaction was studied. The physicochemical characterization of these emerging groups was performed by determining their Hansch–Leo lipophilicity parameters with high values up to 2.24. This reaction was also extended to perfluoroalkylselenolation with yields up to 95 %. Finally, this method was successfully applied to the functionalization of relevant bioactive molecules such as tocopherol or estrone derivatives.     

Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Europium(III) DO3A as a Bimodal Imaging Probe

A new prototype consisting of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles decorated with europium(III) ions encapsulated in a DO3A organic scaffold was designed as a platform for further development of bimodal contrast agents for MRI and optical imaging. The USPIO nanoparticles act as negative MRI contrast agents, whereas the europium(III) ion is a luminophore that is suitable for use in optical imaging detection. The functionalized USPIO nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, DLS, XRD, FTIR, and TXRF analysis, and a full investigation of the relaxometric and optical properties was conducted. The typical luminescence emission of europium(III) was observed and the main red emission wavelength was found at 614 nm. The relaxometric study of these ultrasmall nanoparticles showed r₂ values of 114.8 mm ^?1_Fes^?1 at 60 MHz, which is nearly double the r₂ relaxivity of Sinerem^®.     

Two-Photon Absorption and Cell Imaging of Fluorene-Functionalized Epicocconone Analogues

Epicocconone 1 is a natural chromophore isolated from the fungus Epicoccum nigrum that has shown applications in proteomics and fluorescent microscopy thanks to its unique pro-fluorescence properties. The modification of the skeleton of the natural product by replacing the triene side chain by a fluorenyl scaffold can noticeably increase the fluorophore's absorption coefficient. The synthesis of the analogues of the natural product has been made possible by the use of a palladium-catalyzed carbonylation reaction, allowing the construction of the β-keto-dioxinone key intermediate. Two-photon absorption cross-section measurements of the fluorenyl epicocconone analogues show a structure dependency with values ranging from 60 to 280 GM and live cell imaging show intense staining of intracellular vesicle-like structures around the nucleus.