Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated by coupling photoelectrochemically deposited poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with silver-paint on cathode

A PEDOT-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is successfully improved by coupling photoelectrochemically deposited PEDOT layer with an Ag paste-paint on the cathode. With a 9.3 μm thick mesoscopic nanocrystalline TiO(2) film, a maximum cell performance of 3.2% with relatively high V(oc) of around 780 mV is achieved.     

Electrochemically monitoring the binding of concanavalin A and ovalbumin

To evaluate protein-protein interactions, a new voltammetric method was developed using a protein labeled with an electroactive compound. Concanavalin A (ConA), which is a lectin, recognizes α-mannose residues. Because the ConA was to be bound to ovalbumin (OVA), which has a high-mannose sugar chain, ConA labeled with daunomycin was prepared as the probe to monitor the binding. The binding to OVA was caused by the label modification of the ConA. As a result, the electrode response of the labeled ConA decreased as the OVA concentration increased. The electrode response of the labeled ConA was linearly over the range of 1.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 1.5 × 10⁻⁹ M OVA. The relative standard deviation of 1.5 × 10⁻⁸ M labeled ConA and 1.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ M OVA was 6.9% (n = 5). The labeled ConA-OVA binding could then be conveniently monitored based on the change in response. In contrast, interactions between the labeled ConA and a protein with no specific sugar chain also were investigated. Incubation scarcely influenced the peak current of the labeled ConA. When several concentrations of OVA were added to a serum, good recovery determined it. Consequently, this method could be applied to the measurement of protein-protein interactions.     

Determination of Tetracycline by Microdroplet Hydrodynamic Adsorptive Voltammetry Using a Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Paste Rotating Disk Electrode

A novel and simple method is proposed for the determination of tetracycline by adsorptive voltammetry in a droplet using a carbon nanotube paste rotating disk electrode (CNTP-RDE). An enhanced electrochemical oxidation response of tetracycline was observed in pH 8.2 supporting electrolyte by the addition of a long-chain cationic surfactant, such as benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride (zephiramine). Under the optimized experimental conditions, the calibration curve was linear across a tetracycline concentration range from 1.0?×?10^?7 to 2.0?×?10^?6 M. The limit of detection and sensitivity were 4.0?×?10^?8 M and 0.9358?A M^?1, respectively. This method was successfully employed for the determination of tetracycline in milk samples.     

Design of an electroactive peptide probe for sensing of a protein

We designed a new electroactive peptide probe that has a molecular recognition function for the sensing of a protein. Ovalbumin (OVA) was the model protein, and when RNRCKGTDVQAW interacted with OVA, it conjugated with a tyrosine-rich peptide (Y₄C). This peptide is electroactive, has a high degree of biocompatibility, and offers the possibility of gene expression. To measure the effect of a number of the tyrosine residues, voltammetric measurements were conducted using a series of tyrosine-rich peptides (Y_nC, n = 3–7) with sensitivities that ranged from 10⁻⁹ to 10⁻⁸ M. The electrode response of Y₅C was the maximum value in the series. However, the peak current did not increase when the number of tyrosine residues was increased in a linear fashion. This may have been due to the micelles that are formed by a tyrosine-rich surfactant peptide. Thus, Y₄C was suitable as an electroactive label for the construction of the peptide probe. The electrode response of Y₄CRNRCKGTDVQAW obtained by a glassy carbon electrode was 100-fold that of tyrosine alone. The measurement of OVA via the peptide probe resulted in a detection on the order of 10⁻¹² M. In contrast, the sensitivity of OVA using RCKGTDVQAWY₄C probe was at the 10⁻¹¹ M level, because the hydrophobic moiety gave it a molecular recognition function. The recoveries of the OVA using Y₄CRNRCKGTDVQAW in a solution containing fetal bovine serum ranged between 98 and 101%. Consequently, the combination of a specific peptide and an electroactive element could be a powerful probe for the sensing of proteins.     

Voltammetric sensing of phosphoproteins using a gallium(III) acetylacetonate-modified carbon paste electrode

The voltammetric detection of phosphoproteins was developed using a gallium(III) acetylacetonate-modified carbon paste electrode. Because phosphate groups of the protein interacted with the gallium(III) ion, the protein was accumulated on the electrode surface. A hexaammine ruthenium(III) ion, which combined with the functional groups, was used to monitor the interaction. When phosvitin and hexaammine ruthenium(III) ions were incubated in 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 3.2), a reduction peak of hexaammine ruthenium(III) ion at the electrode decreased as the concentration of the protein increased. In contrast, an increase in the peak current was observed with a plain carbon paste electrode. These results were caused by a competitive reaction of the phosphate groups with the hexaammine ruthenium(III) and gallium(III) ions. In the presence of α-, β- and κ-caseins, the electrode response decreased due to the order of the numbers of phosphate groups. This method could be applied to the sensing of phosphoproteins at the 10(-10) M level.     

Electrochemical assay of concanavalin A-ovalbumin binding on magnetic beads

To monitor protein-glycoprotein interactions on magnetic beads, the present study developed an electrochemical assay of the binding between concanavalin A (ConA) and ovalbumin (OVA). The system was a powerful model that could be used to evaluate cell junctions. ConA with an electroactive daunomycin was immobilized on 6 different sizes of magnetic beads (diameter: 1.0-8.9 μm) through a cross-linking agent. Six sizes of OVA-beads (diameter: 1.0-8.9 μm) were also prepared using a similar method. The binding was evaluated using an oxidation peak of ConA with daunomycin because ConA recognized OVA with α-mannose residues. When binding took place on the beads' surface, the peak current was decreased due to the electroactive moieties being covered with OVA. When ConA/daunomycin-OVA binding was evaluated, the change of the peak current obtained by the beads (diameter: 8.9 μm) modified with ConA and daunomycin was the greatest in the presence of OVA-modified beads (diameter: 2.5 μm). In contrast, particle agglomeration was observed for the smallest beads (diameter: 1.0 μm) with ConA/daunomycin and OVA. The results suggested that ConA-OVA binding depended on the size of beads. Thus, this method could be applied to measure protein-glycoprotein interactions on the cell surface.     

Construction of a peptide with an electroactive daunomycin like a pendant arm to detect ovalbumin

In this study, a peptide-1 (RNRCKGTDVQAW) constructing lysozyme was conjugated with an electroactive daunomycin in order to voltammetrically detect ovalbumin (OVA). Hetero-bifunctional cross-linking agents with four kinds of ethylene chains in differing lengths were used to bind the peptide-1 and daunomycin. After a cross-linking agent had reacted with an amino group of daunomycin, the compound was introduced into the peptide to the cysteine residue in the peptide using a pendant arm. The OVA was sensed via a change in the electrode response of the daunomycin moiety, based on the binding between the peptide and the OVA. The adsorption of the peptide probe on the electrode increased with increases in the ethylene chain. The binding constants between the peptide probes and the OVA, however, did not depend on the length of the chain. This was because the ethylene chain influenced the binding. When the peptide and the daunomycin were bound using N-(6-maleimidocaproyloxy) sulfosuccinimide, the electrode response of the peptide probe was the most sensitive from among the four cross-linking agents. The calibration curve of the OVA using the peptide probe was linear and ranged from 1.5 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ M. Furthermore, this method could be applied to the electrochemical sensing of the OVA in egg whites and in fetal bovine serum.     

Conversion of indoles into quinolines through the n-1-c-2 fission by singlet-oxygen as a model experiment of biomimetic synthesis of quinine alkaloids

Photo-oxygenation of indole-3-acetaldehydes (28–30) followed by treatments with dimethyl sulphide and then dilute acetic acid gave 4-acylquinolines (13,31 and 32), respectively.     

Finite-time future singularities in modified Gauss–Bonnet and ℱ(R,G) gravity and singularity avoidance

We study all four types of finite-time future singularities emerging in the late-time accelerating (effective quintessence/phantom) era from ?(R,G)-gravity, where R and G are the Ricci scalar and the Gauss–Bonnet invariant, respectively. As an explicit example of ?(R,G)-gravity, we also investigate modified Gauss–Bonnet gravity, so-called F(G)-gravity. In particular, we reconstruct the F(G)-gravity and ?(R,G)-gravity models where accelerating cosmologies realizing the finite-time future singularities emerge. Furthermore, we discuss a possible way to cure the finite-time future singularities in F(G)-gravity and ?(R,G)-gravity by taking into account higher-order curvature corrections. The example of non-singular realistic modified Gauss–Bonnet gravity is presented. It turns out that adding such non-singular modified gravity to singular Dark Energy makes the combined theory a non-singular one as well.