Azobenzene-containing polyamic acid with excellent Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn film formation behavior suitable for all-optical switching

To generate command surfaces for all-optical switching, highly ordered polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn (LBK) multilayers were fabricated onto silicon substrates and gold-coated optical glass slides from novel azobenzene-bearing polyamic acid systems. Pronounced Bragg peaks and well-defined Kiessig fringes observed in the X-ray reflectivity measurement for samples on silicon substrates indicate that these films possess a regularly repeated Y-type LBK multilayer structure and ultrasmooth surfaces. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra taken by grazing incidence reflection suggest specific orientations of the functional groups in the layers. The excellent film-forming properties of the polyamic acid allow for a smooth buildup of several hundreds of layers of the LBK films onto gold-coated glass slides, which in turn allows for determining the geometrical thickness and the anisotropic refractive indices of the films by using optical waveguide spectroscopy. Interestingly, the probe laser beam induced a distinct fluorescence signal from the films, which remained even after the film underwent a thermal imidization process at 160 degrees C for 8 h in vacuo. LBK films fabricated from these compounds can be successfully applied for all-optically switching the alignment of liquid crystals by irradiation with light of different wavelengths.     

Chiral attachment of styrene mediated by surface dimers on Ge100

We have investigated the chiral adsorption configurations of styrene on Ge(100) using scanning tunneling microscopy at 300 K. The chemisorbed styrene on a single Ge dimer reduces the symmetry of the molecule, which produces a chiral center, and leads to the (S) or (R) chiral on-top configuration. We have found that the dimeric adsorption of styrene induced by the Ge surface dimer structure forms the enantiomeric and diastereomeric paired end-bridge configurations. We determine the absolute chirality of adsorbed styrene on Ge(100) and demonstrate a novel method for the achiral molecule to produce dimeric enantiomers and diastereomers attached to the semiconductor surface.     

Synthesis and structures of cis- and trans-bis(alkyneselenolato)platinum(II) complexes

The reaction of 2 equiv of LiSeCC-n-C(5)H(11) (1) with cis-PtCl(2)(Ph(3)P)(2) (2) gives a mixture of the cis and trans isomers of Pt(Ph(3)P)(2)(SeCC-n-C(5)H(11))(2) (3), which slowly isomerizes in CH(2)Cl(2) to the preferred trans form trans-3. The closely related cis-[Pt(dppf)(2)(SeCC-n-C(5)H(11))(2)] (4) (dppf = bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene) was prepared by a similar metathetical reaction using the platinum chloride complex of the chelating dppf to impose the cis geometry. The structures of the cis and trans complexes have been investigated in solution by heteronuclear NMR ((31)P, (77)Se, and (195)Pt) and, in the cases of trans-3 and 4, characterized in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Changing the coordination geometry from cis to trans induces significant changes in the structural and spectroscopic parameters, which do not comply with the previously anticipated donor-acceptor properties of selenolate ligands.     

3-(Triethoxysilyl)propionitrile sol-gel coating

3-(Triethoxysilyl)propionitrile (TESPN) sol-gel has been prepared under different conditions. It was employed for coating the surfaces of quartz and aluminum. Infrared (IR) and Raman spectra of TESPN and TESPN sol-gels have been recorded in the study of the sol-gel process. Transmission and reflection absorption IR (RAIR) spectra of TESPN sol-gel coated quartz and aluminum have also been collected for better understanding the film formation on the substrate surfaces. Spectra collected at different temperatures indicated that the silane film on quartz decomposes at 700 degrees C. Results from thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) supported this result. Based on the group frequencies and the spectral behavior in different states, some vibrational modes were assigned to the observed bands. The anticorrosion behavior of the sol-gel coated aluminum in comparison with the uncoated metal was evaluated by measuring the potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS).     

Structures and properties of self-assembled monolayers of bistable [2]rotaxanes on Au (111) surfaces from molecular dynamics simulations validated with experiment

Bistable [2]rotaxanes display controllable switching properties in solution, on surfaces, and in devices. These phenomena are based on the electrochemically and electrically driven mechanical shuttling motion of the ring-shaped component, cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT(4+)) (denoted as the ring), between a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) unit and a 1,5-dioxynaphthalene (DNP) ring system located along a dumbbell component. When the ring is encircling the TTF unit, this co-conformation of the rotaxane is the most stable and thus designated the ground-state co-conformer (GSCC), whereas the other co-conformation with the ring surrounding the DNP ring system is less favored and so designated the metastable-state co-conformer (MSCC). We report here the structure and properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of a bistable [2]rotaxane on Au (111) surfaces as a function of surface coverage based on atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) studies with a force field optimized from DFT calculations and we report several experiments that validate the predictions. On the basis of both the total energy per rotaxane and the calculated stress that is parallel to the surface, we find that the optimal packing density of the SAM corresponds to a surface coverage of 115 A(2)/molecule (one molecule per 4 x 4 grid of surface Au atoms) for both the GSCC and MSCC, and that the former is more stable than the latter by 14 kcal/mol at the optimum packing density. We find that the SAM retains hexagonal packing, except for the case at twice the optimum packing density (65 A(2)/molecule, the 3 x 3 grid). For the GSCC and MSCC, investigated at the optimum coverage, the tilt of the ring with respect to the normal is theta = 39 degrees and 61 degrees, respectively, while the tilt angle of the entire rotaxane is psi = 41 degrees and 46 degrees , respectively. Although the tilt angle of the ring decreases with decreasing surface coverage, the tilt angle of the rotaxane has a maximum at 144 A(2)/molecule (the 4 x 5 grid/molecule) of 50 degrees and 51 degrees for the GSCC and MSCC, respectively. The hexafluorophosphate counterions (PF(6)(-)) stay localized around the ring during the 2 ns MD simulation. On the basis of the calculated density profile, we find that the thickness of the SAM is 40.5 A at the optimum coverage for the GSCC and 40.0 A for MSCC, and that the thicknesses become less with decreasing surface coverage. The calculated surface tension at the optimal packing density is 45 and 65 dyn/cm for the GSCC and MSCC, respectively. This difference suggests that the water contact angle for the GSCC is larger than for the MSCC, a prediction that is verified by experiments on Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers of amphiphilic [2]rotaxanes.     

Rapid determination of acetone in human blood by derivatization with pentafluorobenzyl hydroxylamine followed by headspace liquid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

In the current work, a simple, rapid, accurate and inexpensive method was developed for the determination of acetone in human blood. The proposed method is based on derivatization with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine hydrochloride (PFBHA), followed by headspace liquid-phase microextraction (HS-LPME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In the present method, acetone in blood samples was derivatized with PFBHA and acetone oxime formed in several seconds. The formed oxime was enriched by HS-LPME using the organic solvent film (OSF) formed in a microsyringe barrel as extraction interface. Finally, the enriched oxime was analyzed by GC/MS in electron ionization (EI) mode. HS-LPME parameters including solvent, syringe plunger withdrawal rate, sampling volume, and extraction cycle were optimized and the method reproducibility, linearity, recovery and detection limit were studied. The proposed method was applied to determination of acetone in diabetes blood and normal blood. It has been shown that derivatization with HS-LPME and GC/MS is an alternative method for determination of the diabetes biomarker, acetone, in blood samples.     

Impact of solar ultraviolet radiation on marine phytoplankton of Patagonia, Argentina

Patagonia area is located in close proximity to the Antarctic ozone "hole" and thus receives enhanced ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation (280-315 nm) in addition to the normal levels of ultraviolet A (UV-A; 315-400 nm) and photosynthetically available radiation (PAR; 400-700 nm). In marine ecosystems of Patagonia, normal ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels affect phytoplankton assemblages during the three phases of the annual succession: (1) prebloom season (late summer-fall), (2) bloom season (winter-early spring) and (3) postbloom season (late spring-summer). Small-size cells characterize the pre- and postbloom communities, which have a relatively high photosynthetic inhibition because of high UVR levels during those seasons. During the bloom, characterized by microplankton diatoms, photosynthetic inhibition is low because of the low UVR levels reaching the earth's surface during winter; this community, however, is more sensitive to UV-B when inhibition is normalized by irradiance (i.e. biological weighting functions). In situ studies have shown that UVR significantly affects not only photosynthesis but also the DNA molecule, but these negative effects are rapidly reduced in the water column because of the differential attenuation of solar radiation. UVR also affects photosynthesis versus irradiance (P vs E) parameters of some natural phytoplankton assemblages (i.e. during the pre- but not during the postbloom season). However, there is a significant temporal variability of P vs E parameters, which are influenced by the nutrient status of cells and taxonomic composition; taxonomic composition is in turn associated with the stratification conditions (e.g. wind speed and duration). In Patagonia, wind speed is one of the most important variables that conditions the development of the winter bloom by regulating the depth of the upper mixed layer (UML) and hence the mean irradiance received by cells. Studies on the interactive effects of UVR and mixing show that responses of phytoplankton vary according to the taxonomic composition and cell structure of assemblages; therefore cells use UVR if >90% of the euphotic zone is being mixed. In fact, cell size plays a very important role when estimating the impact of UVR on phytoplankton, with large cells being more sensitive when determining photosynthesis inhibition, whereas small cells are more sensitive to DNA damage. Finally, in long-term experiments, it was determined that UVR can shape the diatom community structure in some assemblages of coastal waters, but it is virtually unknown how these changes affect the trophodynamics of marine systems. Future studies should consider the combined effects of UVR on both phytoplankton and grazers to establish potential changes in biodiversity of the area.     

Raman spectroscopy in combination with background near-infrared autofluorescence enhances the in vivo assessment of malignant tissues

The diagnostic ability of optical spectroscopy techniques, including near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy, NIR autofluorescence spectroscopy and the composite Raman and NIR autofluorescence spectroscopy, for in vivo detection of malignant tumors was evaluated in this study. A murine tumor model, in which BALB/c mice were implanted with Meth-A fibrosarcoma cells into the subcutaneous region of the lower back, was used for this purpose. A rapid-acquisition dispersive-type NIR Raman system was employed for tissue Raman and NIR autofluorescence spectroscopic measurements at 785-nm laser excitation. High-quality in vivo NIR Raman spectra associated with an autofluorescence background from mouse skin and tumor tissue were acquired in 5 s. Multivariate statistical techniques, including principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), were used to develop diagnostic algorithms for differentiating tumors from normal tissue based on their spectral features. Spectral classification of tumor tissue was tested using a leave-one-out, cross-validation method, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to further evaluate the performance of diagnostic algorithms derived. Thirty-two in vivo Raman, NIR fluorescence and composite Raman and NIR fluorescence spectra were analyzed (16 normal, 16 tumors). Classification results obtained from cross-validation of the LDA model based on the three spectral data sets showed diagnostic sensitivities of 81.3%, 93.8% and 93.8%; specificities of 100%, 87.5% and 100%; and overall diagnostic accuracies of 90.6%, 90.6% and 96.9% respectively, for tumor identification. ROC curves showed that the most effective diagnostic algorithms were from the composite Raman and NIR autofluorescence techniques.     

Efficient palladium-catalyzed homocoupling reaction and Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes under aerobic conditions

An efficient method for palladium-catalyzed homocoupling reaction of terminal alkynes in the synthesis of symmetric diynes is presented. The results showed that both Pd(OAc)(2) and CuI played crucial roles in the reaction. In the presence of 2 mol % Pd(OAc)(2), 2 mol % CuI, 3 equiv of Dabco, and air, homocoupling of various terminal alkynes afforded the corresponding symmetrical diynes in moderate to excellent yields, whereas low yields were obtained without either Pd(OAc)(2) or CuI. Moreover, high TONs (turnover numbers; up to 940 000 for the reaction of phenylacetylene) for the homocoupling reaction were observed. Under similar reaction conditions, cross-coupling of 1-iodo-4-nitrobenzene with phenylacetylene was also carried out smoothly in quantitative yield. However, the presence of CuI disfavored the palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions of the less active aryl iodides and bromides. In the presence of 0.01-2 mol % Pd(OAc)(2), a number of aryl iodides and bromides were coupled with terminal alkynes in good to excellent yields. It is noteworthy that this protocol employs mild, efficient, aerobic, copper-free, and ligand-free conditions.