Free-space propagation of diffuse light: theory and experiments

In this Letter we present a simple and novel theoretical approach for modeling the intensity distribution from an arbitrarily shaped turbid volume in a noncontact geometry by considering diffuse light propagation in free space. This theory is validated with experiments for a diffusive volume of known geometry in a noncontact situation, both with and without the presence of an embedded absorber. The implications of this new formulation in the context of optical tomography in turbid media are discussed.     

Dynamic rheo-optical characterization of a low-density polyethylene/perdeuterated high-density polyethylene blend by two-dimensional step-scan FTIR spectroscopy

Dynamic mechanical analysis coupled with polarized step-scan FTIR transmission and two-dimensional correlation analysis (2D FTIR) has been used to monitor the submolecular orientational responses of the components of a semicrystalline 50 : 50 blend of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and perdeuterated high-density polyethylene (d*-HDPE) to a small amplitude uniaxial 23.47 Hz sinusoidal mechanical strain. Perdeuteration of the HDPE component allowed the distinction of its response from that of the LDPE in the blend samples. The experiments were carried out at room temperature. Analysis of the data indicates that the crystalline parts of the two components reorient at different rates, with the functional groups of the high-density portion reorienting faster, in general, than those of the LDPE in response to the mechanical strain. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Manganese(II/II/II) and Manganese(III/II/III) Trinuclear Compounds. Structure and Solid and Solution Behavior

Two mixed-valence Mn(III)Mn(II) complexes and a homo-valence Mn(II) trinuclear manganese complex of stoichiometry Mn(III)Mn(II)Mn(III)(5-Cl-Hsaladhp)(2)(AcO)(4)(MeOH)(2).4CH(3)OH (1a), Mn(III)Mn(II)Mn(III) (Hsaladhp)(2)(AcO)(2)(5-Cl-Sal)(2)(thf)(2) (3a) and Mn(II)Mn(II)Mn(II) (AcO)(6)(pybim)(2) (1b) where H(3)saladhp is a tridentate Schiff base ligand and pybim a neutral bidentate donor ligand, have been structurally characterized by using X-ray crystallography. The structurally characterized mixed-valence complexes have strictly 180 degrees Mn(III)-Mn(II)-Mn(III) angles as required by crystallographic inversion symmetry. The complexes are valence trapped with two terminal Mn(III) ions showing Jahn-Teller distortion along the acetate or salicylate-Mn(III)-X axis. The Mn.Mn separation is 3.511 ? and 3.507 ? respectively. The mixed-valence complexes have S = (3)/(2) ground state and the homovalence complex S = (5)/(2), with small antiferromagnetic exchange J couplings, -5.6 and -1.8 cm(-1), respectively, while the powder ESR spectra at 4 K show a broad low field signal with g approximately 4.3 for Mn(III)Mn(II)Mn(III) and a broad temperature-dependent signal at g = 2 for Mn(II)Mn(II)Mn(II). Crystal data for 1a: [C(36)H(60)O(20)N(2)Cl(2)Mn(3)], triclinic, space group P&onemacr;, a = 9.272(7) ?, b = 11.046(8) ?, c = 12.635(9) ?, alpha = 76.78(2) degrees, beta = 81.84(2) degrees, gamma = 85.90(2) degrees, Z = 1. Crystal data for 3a: [C(48)H(56)O(18)N(2)Cl(2)Mn(3)], monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, a = 8.776(3) ?, b = 22.182(7) ?, c = 13.575(4) ?, beta = 94.44(1) degrees, Z = 2. Crystal data for 1b: [C(36)H(36)O(12)N(6)Mn(3)], triclinic, space group P&onemacr;, a = 13.345(6) ?, b = 8.514(4) ?, c = 9.494(4) ?, alpha = 75.48(1) degrees, beta = 75.83(1) degrees, gamma = 76.42(1) degrees, Z = 1.     

Vanadium reactions with 3,4–dihydroxyphenylethanoic acid in alcohol solutions. Aromatic ring degradation

The reaction of Vv with 3,4–dihydroxyphenylethanoic acid (3,4–DHPE) was studied by various spectroscopic techniques. Vanadium-catechol complexation is the first step, and is followed by stepwise ligand degradation, leading to several products, including AcOH. The mechanism of this degradation is investigated.     

New green fluorescent polymer sensors for metal cations and protons

A new 4-(N-methylpiperazine)-N-allyl-1,8-naphthalimide with intense yellow-green fluorescence has been synthesized. Then it has been copolymerized with styrene and methylmetacrylate. The photophysical characteristics of the fluorescent dye and its copolymers (poly(St-co-NI) and poly(MAA-co-NI)) have been determined viewing their sensor properties for protons and transition metal cations (Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Zn²⁺). Fluorescence enhancement is the photophysical response of the 4-(N-methylpiperazine)-N-allyl-1,8-naphthalimide to the presence of metal cations and protons, while fluorescence quenching is observed for both copolymers.     

Spectral investigation of coordination of cuprum cations and protons at PAMAM dendrimer peripherally modified with 1,8-naphthalimide units

The investigations aim at revealing the ability of a 1,8-napthalimide-modified poly(amidoamine) dendrimer from second generation to respond to the presence of cuprum cations and protons in the environment. It has been established that a single Cu(2+) cation present in the dendrimer molecule is capable of quenching more than 78% of its fluorescence what is an indication of high sensitiveness. An enhancement of the fluorescence emission of the dendrimer has been observed in acidic medium. It has been established that the processes of coordinating the ions in different sites of the dendrimer are reversible.     

Dynamic ft-ir spectroscopy of polymer films and liquid crystals

The use of continuous-scan and step-scan Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic techniques to study the dynamics of the response of polymer films and liquid crystals to external perturbations is described here. The first application of dynamic stepscan FT-IR deals with the response of various polymer films to sinusoidally modulated tensile strain. In these experiments, a small amplitude sinusoidal stress is applied to a polymeric film and the transition dipole responses are monitored as a phase lag with respect to the external perturbation. The degree of deformation is small enough to cause only linear reversible responses to the sample. The main advantage of the technique is that it can provide valuable information at the molecular level that can be used to interpret the macroscopic properties of the polymeric material under investigation. Results for heterogeneous polymers include semicrystalline high density/low density polyethylene blends and the micro-phase separated copolymer Kraton^r̀ are presented. In addition, continuous-scan stroboscopic FT-IR was used to explore the submolecular (functional group) contributions to the reorientation dynamics of the liquid crystal director in response to pulsed (DC) electric fields. For the nematic liquid crystal molecules, 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and 4-pentyl-4'-cyanophenylcyclohexane (5PCH), the individual response of the rigid and floppy parts was examined.     

Viscoelasticity and self-diffusion in melts of entangled asymmetric star polymers

The crossover from linear to branched polymer dynamics in highly entangled melts was investigated with a series of asymmetric three-arm stars of poly(ethylene-alt-propylene). Two arms of equal length formed a linear backbone, kept constant through the series, while branches of various length were appended as the third arm. The materials were made by carbanionic polymerization of isoprene and the judicious application of chlorosilane linking chemistry. Subsequent saturation of the polymeric double bonds with deuterium and hydrogen, followed by fractionation, led to a set of structurally matched, nearly monodisperse pairs of deuterium-labeled and fully hydrogenous samples. Dynamic moduli were measured over wide ranges of frequency and temperature. With increasing branch length, the resulting master curves evolve smoothly, but with surprising rapidity, from the relatively narrow terminal spectrum of linear polymers to the much broader spectrum of symmetric stars. The viscosity η_o increases rapidly with branch length, and the diffusion coefficient D, obtained by forward recoil spectrometry, decreases even more rapidly. The product η_oD, however, distinguishes the transition from linear to branched polymer dynamics most clearly: for a backbone with about 38 entanglements, the crossover is already approaching completion for a single mid-backbone branch with only about three entanglements. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 1943–1954, 1997     

Generation of Oxidoreductases with Dual Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Amine Dehydrogenase Activity

The l -lysine-ϵ-dehydrogenase (LysEDH) from Geobacillus stearothermophilus naturally catalyzes the oxidative deamination of the ϵ-amino group of l -lysine. We previously engineered this enzyme to create amine dehydrogenase (AmDH) variants that possess a new hydrophobic cavity in their active site such that aromatic ketones can bind and be converted into α-chiral amines with excellent enantioselectivity. We also recently observed that LysEDH was capable of reducing aromatic aldehydes into primary alcohols. Herein, we harnessed the promiscuous alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity of LysEDH to create new variants that exhibited enhanced catalytic activity for the reduction of substituted benzaldehydes and arylaliphatic aldehydes to primary alcohols. Notably, these novel engineered dehydrogenases also catalyzed the reductive amination of a variety of aldehydes and ketones with excellent enantioselectivity, thus exhibiting a dual AmDH/ADH activity. We envisioned that the catalytic bi-functionality of these enzymes could be applied for the direct conversion of alcohols into amines. As a proof-of-principle, we performed an unprecedented one-pot “hydrogen-borrowing” cascade to convert benzyl alcohol to benzylamine using a single enzyme. Conducting the same biocatalytic cascade in the presence of cofactor recycling enzymes (i.e., NADH-oxidase and formate dehydrogenase) increased the reaction yields. In summary, this work provides the first examples of enzymes showing “alcohol aminase” activity.     

Applications of photoacoustic step-scan FT-IR spectroscopy to polymeric materials

Thin coatings technology demands that characterization tools are readily available to distinguish between the composition and physical state of the coated layers versus the substrate. In principle, infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) possesses all the appropriate features to become a mainstream technique for these types of characterizations. These features include the ability to characterize coatings of a variety of thickness (monolayers to tens of microns) and the fact that the technique requires virtually no sample preparation. One category of such samples involves systems having few micron thin layered structures coated on relatively thick polyester substrates. The phase delay of the photoacoustic signal can be used in conjunction with the knowledge of the thermal properties of the coated fluids in the calculation of the relative as well as the absolute depths of these multi-layered coatings. The phase delay is calculated at wavelengths that are characteristic of the various components of the different layers in the system. The technique is applied to the characterization of a coated system having a submicron layer as the top layer. Step-scan FT-IR photoacoustic data are presented that prove the ability of the technique to successfully isolate the infrared signature of the top layer from the infrared spectrum of the bulk material, proving the sub-micron resolution capability of the method. In addition, results will be shown that underline the fact that the most serious problem in PAS is saturation at high absorptivities.