Plasma-Induced Synthesis of CuO Nanofibers and ZnO Nanoflowers in Water

Fiber-shaped cupric oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and flower-shaped ZnO nanoparticles were facilely synthesized by plasma-induced technique directly from copper and zinc electrode pair in water, respectively. The phase composition, morphologies and optical property of nanoparticles have been investigated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV–vis. The in situ analysis by an optical emission spectroscopy clarified the formation mechanism. Plasma was generated from the discharge between a metal electrode pair in water by a pulse direct current power. CuO and ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized via almost the same formation mechanism, which were prepared via the rapid energetic radicals’ bombardment to electrodes’ surface, atom vapour diffusion, plasma expansion, solution medium condensation, and in situ oxygen reaction and further growth. This novel plasma-induced technique will become a potential application in nanomaterials synthesis.     

Structural insight into exosite binding and discovery of novel exosite inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A through in silico screening

Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) is the most lethal toxin among the Tier 1 Select Agents. Development of potent and selective small molecule inhibitors against BoNT/A zinc metalloprotease remains a challenging problem due to its exceptionally large substrate binding surface and conformational plasticity. The exosites of the catalytic domain of BoNT/A are intriguing alternative sites for small molecule intervention, but their suitability for inhibitor design remains largely unexplored. In this study, we employed two recently identified exosite inhibitors, D-chicoric acid and lomofungin, to probe the structural features of the exosites and molecular mechanisms of synergistic inhibition. The results showed that D-chicoric acid favors binding at the α-exosite, whereas lomofungin preferentially binds at the β-exosite by mimicking the substrate β-sheet binding interaction. Molecular dynamics simulations and binding interaction analysis of the exosite inhibitors with BoNT/A revealed key elements and hotspots that likely contribute to the inhibitor binding and synergistic inhibition. Finally, we performed database virtual screening for novel inhibitors of BoNT/A targeting the exosites. Hits C1 and C2 showed non-competitive inhibition and likely target the α- and β-exosites, respectively. The identified exosite inhibitors may provide novel candidates for structure-based development of therapeutics against BoNT/A intoxication.     

Research on gamma-ray irradiation-assisted synthesis of cross-linked polystyrene via bulk polymerization

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Controlling heat accumulation is one of the major challenges for block materials synthesizing via bulk polymerization. In the paper, cross-linked...     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric [4+3]‐Cyclization Reaction of Fused 1‐Azadienes with Amino‐trimethylenemethanes: Highly Stereoselective Construction of Chiral Fused Azepines

Summary of main observation and conclusion A Pd-catalyzed asymmetric aromative[4+3]-cyclization reaction of amino-trimethylenemethanes(TMM,1d,ip3-oles)with fused 1-azadienes has been developed.This method enables access to the synthetically importance and biologically active benzofuran fused azepines and indeno-azepines in excellent efficiency and stereoselectivity(up to 95%yield,99%ee,>19:1 dr).     

Essential independent sets and Hamiltonian cycles

An independent set S of a graph G is said to be essential if S has a pair of vertices distance two apart in G. We prove that if every essential independent set S of order k ≥ 2 in a k-connected graph of order p satisfies max {deg v:v ϵ S} ≥ ½ p, then g is hamiltonian. This generalizes the result of Fan (J. Combinatorial Theory B 37 (1984), 221–227). If we consider the essential independent sets of order k + 1 instead of k in the assumption of the above statement, we can no longer assure the existence a hamiltonian cycle. However, we can still give a lower bound to the length of a longest cycle. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Toda rarefaction problem

In the Toda shock problem (see [7], [11], [8], and also [3]) one considers a driving particle moving with a fixed velocity 2a and impinging on a one-dimensional semi-infinite lattice of particles, initially equally spaced and at rest, and interacting with exponential forces. In this paper we consider the related Toda rarefaction problem in which the driving particle now moves away from the lattice at fixed speed, in analogy with a piston being withdrawn, as it were, from a container filled with gas. We make use of the Riemann-Hilbert factorization formulation of the related inverse scattering problem. In the case where the speed 2 |a| of the driving particle is sufficiently large (|a| > 1), we show that the particle escapes from the lattice, which then executes a free motion of the type studied, for example, in [5]. In other words, in analogy with a piston being withdrawn too rapidly from a container filled with gas, cavitation develops. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Double-Site Chemodosimeter for Selective Fluorescence Detection of a Nerve Agent Mimic

A novel two-site chemodosimeter (SWJT-4) based on fluorescein skeleton to detect diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP) was designed and synthesized. It is a turn-on fluorescent probe for DCP with good selectivity and obvious color change in aqueous solution. Interestingly, the two oxime groups of SWJT-4 as dual response sites initiated different reactions with DCP to form a cyano group and an isoxazole ring, respectively. The corresponding mechanism was confirmed by ¹H NMR, MS and DFT calculation. Moreover, SWJT-4 could be used as a fluorescent test paper to detect DCP vapor.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Ternary Complexes of Zinc(Ⅱ) and Cadmium(Ⅱ) with 3-Aminobenzoic Acid and 1,10-Phenanthroline

Two new ternary complexes [Zn(3-aba)2(phen)](2.58H2O 1 and {[Cd(3-aba)- (phen)2]·(NO3)·(1.5H2O)}n 2 (3-aba = 3-aminobenzoic acid anion, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV spectrum and X-ray diffraction. Complex 1 crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, space group R with a = 3.5733(3), b = 3.5733(3), c = 1.1231(2) nm, V = 12.419(3) nm3, C26H25.17N4O6.58Zn, Mr = 564.37, Z = 18, F(000) = 5253, μ = 0.937 mm-1, Dc = 1.358 g/cm3, R = 0.0668 and wR = 0.1690 for 2424 observed reflections (I > 2σ(I)). Complex 2 belongs to the tetragonal system, space group P4/ncc with a = 2.88451(10), b = 2.88451(10), c = 1.55571(11) nm, V = 12.9441(11) nm3, C31H25CdN6O6.50, Mr = 697.97, Z = 16, F(000) = 5648, μ = 0.727 mm-1, Dc = 1.433 g/cm3, R = 0.0607 and wR = 0.1742 for 3468 observed reflections (I > 2σ(I)). Complex 1 displays a mononuclear structure. The carboxylate group of 3-aminobenzoic acid anion coordinates to Zn(Ⅱ) in a chelating bidentate mode, and the nitrogen atom of the ligand does not involve in coordination. Complex 2 exhibits a one-dimensional chain structure with 3-aminobenzoic acid anion coordinating to Cd(Ⅱ) in a μ2-bridging mode through its nitrogen atom and one of its oxygen atoms.