Hydrogen bonding structure and stability of alpha-chitin studied by 13C solid-state NMR

The structure and stability of hydrogen bonds in alpha-chitin were investigated by (13)C solid-state NMR measurements at different temperatures. Splitting of the carbonyl carbon signal for alpha-chitin was interpreted as two types of hydrogen bonding; the peaks at 173.5 and 175.8 ppm were assigned, respectively, to a carbonyl carbon hydrogen bonded exclusively to the NH group and a carbonyl carbon hydrogen-bonded to both NH and C(6)-OH groups. Approximately 60% of carbonyl groups exclusively contributed to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and ca. 40% of them to the combination of intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Internal rotation around the C(5)-C(6) bond was detected at 55 degrees C.     

Search for coherent charged pion production in neutrino-carbon interactions

We report the result from a search for charged-current coherent pion production induced by muon neutrinos with a mean energy of 1.3 GeV. The data are collected with a fully active scintillator detector in the K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. No evidence for coherent pion production is observed, and an upper limit of is set on the cross section ratio of coherent pion production to the total charged-current interaction at 90% confidence level. This is the first experimental limit for coherent charged pion production in the energy region of a few GeV.     

Sensor for free fatty acids based on acyl coenzyme-a synthetase and acyl coenzyme-a oxidase

The measurement is based on monitoring dissolved oxgyen consumed by the two sequential reactions catalyzed by the enzymes immobilized in photo-cross-linkable poly (vinyl alcohol) resin (PVA-SbQ). A linear correlation was observed between current decrease and 0.3–2.6 mM oleic or palmitic acid. The sensor was stable in use for three days and could be used to monitor the freshness of oily food.     

Evidence for surface Andreev bound states in cuprate superconductors from penetration depth measurements

Tunneling and theoretical studies have suggested that Andreev bound states form at certain surfaces of unconventional superconductors. Through studies of the temperature and field dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth lambda(ab) at low temperature, we have found strong evidence for the presence of these states in clean single crystal YBCO and BSCCO. Crystals cut to expose (110) surfaces show a strong upturn in lambda(ab) at around 7 K, when the field is oriented along the c axis. In YBCO this upturn is completely suppressed by a field of approximately 0.1 T.     

Electric quadrupole moments of neutron-rich nuclei 32Al and 31Al

The electric quadrupole moments for the ground states of ³²Al and ³¹Al have been measured by the β ray-detected nuclear quadrupole resonance method. Spin-polarized ³²Al and ³¹Al nuclei were obtained from the fragmentation of ⁴⁰Ar projectiles at E/A?=?95 MeV/nucleon, and were implanted in a single crystal α-Al₂O₃ stopper. The measured Q moment of ³²Al, |Q(³²Al)|?=?24(2) mb, is in good agreement with a conventional shell-model calculation with a full sd model space and empirical effective charges, while that of ³¹Al is considerably smaller than the sd calculations.     

Stabilization of an asymmetric bolaamphiphilic sugar-based crown ether hydrogel by hydrogen bonding interaction and its sol-gel transcription

Asymmetric bolaamphiphilic sugar-based hydrogelators (1-3) were synthesized and their gelation ability with and without alkylammonium ions was investigated by CD, TEM, FTIR and NMR. These compounds acted as versatile gelators for organic solvents and water. The xerogels 1-3 obtained from water showed well-developed structures of fibrils with diameters of 10-38 nm and length of several hundred micrometers. Particularly, the gelation ability of crown-appended gelator 1 was drastically enhanced by addition of alkylammonium ions 4 and 5, suggesting that the bridging effect of alkyldiammonium ions could be the primary driving-force for the stabilization due to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The present result is a rare case of a hydrogel being stabilized by a host-guest interaction. In addition, the hydrogel 1 with AgNO₃ and KClO₄ induced the formation of nanotubular and vesicular structures of silica by sol-gel polymerization of TEOS, respectively. These results indicate that hydrogel 1 acted as a template to produce inorganic nanomaterials.     

Determination of particle-associated hydroxynitropyrenes with correction for chemical degradation on a quartz fibre filter during high volume air sampling

A correction method for the determination of atmospheric monohydroxylated derivatives of 1-nitropyrene (hydroxy-1-nitropyrenes, OHNPs) based on their degradation rates during high volume air sampling was established. OHNPs adsorbed directly on a quartz fibre filter (QFF) or on airborne particles collected on a QFF were exposed to ambient air passively or actively in a high volume air sampling system. The influence of ozone flux and exposure time on the degree of degradation of OHNPs was investigated. Up to 50% of OHNPs degraded over 1 h of exposure to ambient air containing ～60 ppbv of ozone in the active system. The degradation rate constants of OHNPs were found to correlate with the number of ozone molecules passing through the QFF in a unit time (N_O3) during high volume air sampling. The chemical loss of OHNPs under high volume air sampling conditions was successfully evaluated by the exposure time and the pseudo-first-order rate constant for OHNP degradation estimated from the correlation with N_O3. Concentrations of 3-, 6-, and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrenes in airborne particles collected in Osaka, Japan were determined using the established correction method.     

Arginine Side Chains as a Dispersant for Individual Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Charged peptides and proteins disperse single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in aqueous solutions. However, little is known about the role of their side chains in their interactions with SWCNTs. Homopolypeptide–SWCNT systems are ideal for investigating the mechanisms of such interactions. In this study, we demonstrate that SWCNTs are individually dispersed by poly‐L ‐arginine (PLA). The debundled SWCNTs exhibited a distinct fluorescence. The dispersibility of SWCNTs with PLA was greater than that of SWCNTs with poly‐L ‐lysine (PLL). Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the side chains of PLA have stronger interactions with the sidewalls of SWCNTs compared with those of PLL. The guanidinium group at the end of the side chain of an arginine residue plays an important role in the interaction with SWCNTs, likely through hydrophobic, van der Waals, and π–π interactions. PLA can be useful as a tool for the dispersion of SWCNTs and can be used to non‐covalently anchor materials to SWCNTs with strong binding.