Stimulated interdiffusion and optical recording in Sb/As2S3 nanomultilayers

The role of the compositional modulation at nano-scale dimensions (2–10 nm) in the enhancement of optical recording parameters in nanomultilayers, which contain Sb as active, optical absorbing and diffusing layers and As₂S₃ as barrier (matrix) layers was investigated. Comparison was made with single homogeneous layers made of ternary (As₂S3)_xSb_1−x glasses and co-deposited from Sb and As₂S₃. It was shown that essential increase of the recording efficiency, sensitivity of the bleaching process, broadening of its spectral range occurs due to the stimulated interdiffusion of adjacent components in Sb/As₂S₃ nanomultilayers with optimized Sb layer thickness.     

Characterization of acoustic signals produced by ultraviolet laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A simple device was designed to measure the acoustic signal accompanying laser ablation. The potential use of this signal for laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma atomic emission was examined. A frequency quadrupled pulsed Nd:YAG laser radiation was used for the ablation of glass, steel and ceramic samples. The relation between the acoustic signal, the laser energy, the analyte signal and the amount of ablated material was studied and evidence of the use of the acoustic signal for the exact focusing of the laser beam onto the sample surface was given. A more intense acoustic signal was observed for the exact focusing with a formation of larger ablation craters in glass and ceramics. Received: 25 June 1998 / Revised: 25 September 1998 / Accepted: 30 September 1998     

A general strategy for the synthesis of difluoromethyl-containing pyrazoles, pyridines and pyrimidines

Difluoromethyl-containing heteroannulated pyridines, pyrimidines and pyrazoles are prepared by a two step method. The regioselective cyclizations of electron-excessive aminoheterocycles, hydrazines and amidines with CF₂Cl-substituted 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds provide the corresponding CF₂Cl-substituted heterocycles. Subsequent radical reactions with trimethylstannane or allyltrimethylstannane gave difluoromethyl-containing heteroannulated pyridines, pyrimidines and pyrazoles, respectively.     

Selective molecular sequestration with concurrent natural product functionalization and derivatization: from crude natural product extracts to a single natural product derivative in one step

A resin-bound nitroso compound sequestered a single unexpected component from crude plant seed extracts. Several plants, including Piper nigrum, Eugenia caryophyllata, and Pimenta dioica, were extracted with organic solvent in the presence of a nitroso-containing resin. The nitroso resin selectively sequestered a single compound, β-caryophyllene, via a chemo- and regioselective ene reaction. The ene product was released from the resin, and proper selection of the solid-phase linker and cleavage cocktail allowed concomitant further transformation of the primary ene product to a novel functionalized polycycle. Preliminary studies indicate that the new hydroxylamine-containing natural product derivatives have antibiotic activity.     

Faraday rotation enhancement of gold coated Fe2O3 nanoparticles: comparison of experiment and theory

Understanding plasmonic enhancement of nanoscale magnetic materials is important to evaluate their potential for application. In this study, the Faraday rotation (FR) enhancement of gold coated Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles (NP) is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experiment shows that the Faraday rotation of a Fe(2)O(3) NP solution changes from approximately 3 rad/Tm to 10 rad/Tm as 5 nm gold shell is coated on a 9.7 nm Fe(2)O(3) core at 632 nm. The results also show how the volume fraction normalized Faraday rotation varies with the gold shell thickness. From the comparison of experiment and calculated Faraday rotation based on the Maxwell-Garnett theory, it is concluded that the enhancement and shell dependence of Faraday rotation of Fe(2)O(3) NPs is a result of the shifting plasmon resonance of the composite NP. In addition, the clustering of the NPs induces a different phase lag on the Faraday signal, which suggests that the collective response of the magnetic NP aggregates needs to be considered even in solution. From the Faraday phase lag, the estimated time of the full alignment of the magnetic spins of bare (cluster size 160 nm) and gold coated NPs (cluster size 90 nm) are found to be 0.65 and 0.17 μs. The calculation includes a simple theoretical approach based on the Bruggeman theory to account for the aggregation and its effect on the Faraday rotation. The Bruggeman model provides a qualitatively better agreement with the experimentally observed Faraday rotation and points out the importance of making a connection between component properties and the average "effective" optical behavior of the Faraday medium containing magnetic nanoparticles.     

1‐Methyl‐1H‐imidazo[4,5‐f]quinolin‐6‐ium chloride monohydrate

The title compound, C₁₁H₁₀N₃⁺·Cl^?·H₂O, belongs to the N1‐methyl‐substituted imidazo­[4,5‐f]­quinoline family, in which the heterocyclic ring is protonated at the pyridine rather than at the imidazole N atom. The mol­ecule as a whole is almost exactly planar. The molecular structure has been compared with that of the 2‐amino analogue described in the literature, and it was found that the extra amino group of the latter is involved in conjugation with the adjacent double bond, i.e. the conjugation does not extend over the entire heterocyclic system. The cation of the title compound forms a strong hydrogen bond with the Cl^? anion and the anions are interconnected by the water solvent mol­ecule.     

4,5‐Di­hydro‐3‐methyl‐5‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)‐1H‐pyrazole‐1‐carboxamidinium acetate acetone hemisolvate

The X‐ray structure analysis of the unexpected product of the reaction between 4‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)­but‐3‐en‐2‐one and amino­guanidine revealed the title compound, C₁₂H₁₇N₄⁺·C₂H₃O₂^?·0.5C₃H₆O, consisting of a protonated amidine moiety joined to a substituted pyrazoline ring at the N1 atom. The amidine group is protonated and the positive charge is delocalized over the three C—N bonds in a similar manner to that found in guanidinium salts. The amidinium moiety of the cation is linked to the acetate anions through four N—H?O hydrogen bonds, with N?O distances of 2.749 (4), 2.848 (4), 2.904 (4) and 2.911 (4) Å. The pyrazoline ring adopts a flattened envelope conformation and the substituted phenyl ring is oriented perpendicular to the attached heterocycle. The acetone solvate molecule lies across a twofold rotation axis.     

Ferrocenyl‐Coupled N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Gold(I): A Successful Approach to Multinuclear Anticancer Drugs

Four gold(I) carbene complexes featuring 4‐ferrocenyl‐substituted imidazol‐2‐ylidene ligands were investigated for antiproliferative and antivascular properties. They were active against a panel of seven cancer cell lines, including multidrug‐resistant ones, with low micromolar or nanomolar IC₅₀ (72 h) values, according to their lipophilicity and cellular uptake. The delocalized lipophilic cationic complexes 8 and 10 acted by increasing the reactive oxygen species in two ways: through a genuine ferrocene effect and by inhibiting the thioredoxin reductase. Both complexes gave rise to a reorganization of the F‐actin cytoskeleton in endothelial and melanoma cells, associated with a G1 phase cell cycle arrest and a retarded cell migration. They proved antiangiogenic in tube formation assays with endothelial cells and vascular‐disruptive on real blood vessels in the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken eggs. Biscarbene complex 10 was also tolerated well by mice where it led to a volume reduction of xenograft tumors by up to 80 %.