An optical study of the D-D neutron irradiation-induced defects in Co-and Cu-doped ZnO wafers

Room-temperature photoluminescence and optical transmittance spectroscopy of Co-doped(1×1014,5×1016,and 1×1017cm-2) and Cu-doped(5×1016cm-2) ZnO wafers irradiated by D-D neutrons(fluence of 2.9×1010 cm-2) have been investigated.After irradiation,the Co or Cu metal and oxide clusters in doped ZnO wafers are dissolved,and the wu¨rtzite structure of ZnO substrate for each sample remains unchanged and keeps in high c-axis preferential orientation.The degree of irradiation-induced crystal disorder reflected from the absorption band tail parameter(E0) is far greater for doped ZnO than the undoped one.Under the same doping concentration,the Cu-doped ZnO wafer has much higher irradiation-induced disorder than the Co-doped one.Photoluminescence measurements indicate that the introduction rate of both the zinc vacancy and the zinc interstitial is much higher for the doped ZnO wafer with a high doping level than the undoped one.In addition,both crystal lattice distortion and defect complexes are suggested to be formed in doped ZnO wafers.Consequently,the Co-or Cu-doped ZnO wafer(especially with a high doping level) exhibits very low radiation hardness compared with the undoped one,and the Cu-doped ZnO wafer is much less radiation-hard than the Co-doped one.     

Co (II)‐C12 alkyl carbon chain multi‐functional ionic liquid immobilized on nano‐SiO2 nano‐SiO2@CoCl3‐C12IL as an efficient cooperative catalyst for C–H activation by direct acylation of aryl halides with aldehydes

Nano‐silica supported ionic liquids composed of alkyl carbon chain and transition metal chlorides anions have been prepared and successfully applied as a heterogeneous catalyst in the direct aldehyde C‐H activation. Catalytic results indicated that nano‐SiO₂ supported ionic liquid consisting C12 alkyl carbon chain and CoCl₃ anion nano‐SiO₂@CoCl₃‐C12IL showed excellent catalytic properties with good to excellent yields towards the desired aryl ketones. The excellent recyclability of the supported catalyst, mild reaction conditions, low catalyst loading, and operational simplicity are the important features of this methodology.     

Solution-processable graphenes by covalent functionalization of graphene oxide with polymeric monoamines

We develop here a simple wet chemistry to prepare covalent functionalized graphenes(FGs) through epoxide aminolysis especially under alkaline aqueous condition. Remarkably, a series of typical monoamines, such as industrial Huntsman Jeffamine~ M-2070 and M-2005 polymer with hydrophilic or hydrophobic polyetheramine chains, positively-charged 2-amino-N,N,Ntrimethylpropanaminium,negatively-charged sulfanilic acid, even oligopeptide sequence, can be effectively grafted on the platelets of graphene oxide precursor with covalent functionalization and partially reduced features. This strategy provides the researchers a facile and convenient approach to design and synthesize solution processable, biocompatible and functionalized graphenes for the potent applications in electronic inks, drug carriers and biomedicines. Expansion of the current study is actively ongoing in our laboratory.     

Development and validation of UPLC‐MS/MS method for determination of domperidone in human plasma and its pharmacokinetic application

A sensitive, rapid and selective ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC‐MS/MS) method was developed for the determination and pharmacokinetic study of domperidone in human plasma. Diphenhydramine was used as the internal standard. Plasma sample pretreatment involved a one‐step liquid–liquid extraction with a mixture of diethyl ether–dichloromethane (3:2, v/v). The analysis was carried out on an Acquity UPLC^TM BEH C₁₈ column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol–water containing 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.5% (v/v) formic acid (60:40, v/v). The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode via electrospray ionizationsource with positive mode. Each plasma sample was chromatographed within 2.1 min. The standard curves for domperidone were linear (r² ≥ 0.99) over the concentration range of 0.030–31.5 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification of 0.030 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision (relative standard deviation) values were not higher than 13% and accuracy (relative error) was from ?7.6 to 1.2% at three quality control levels. The method herein described was superior to previous methods and was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of domperidone in healthy Chinese volunteers after oral administration. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure‐guided RP‐HPLC chromatography of diastereomeric α‐helical peptide analogs substituted with single amino acid stereoisomers

An α‐helical model peptide (Ac‐EAEKAAKE‐X‐EKAAKEAEK‐amide) was used as a template to examine the efficacy of conventional reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC) in separating peptide analogs with single substitutions (at position X) of diasteromeric amino acids Ile, allo‐Ile, d ‐Ile and d ‐allo‐Ile. We compared differences in peptide retention behavior on a C₈ column and a C₁₈ column at different temperatures. We demonstrated how subtle differences in peptide secondary structure affected by the different substitutions of amino acids with identical overall hydrophobicity enabled effective resolution of these peptide analogs. We also demonstrated the ability of RP‐HPLC to separate Ile‐ and allo‐Ile‐substituted analogs of a 26‐residue α‐helical antimicrobial peptide (AMP), with the substitution site towards the C‐terminus of the α‐helix. These peptides show different values of antibacterial activity and hemolytic activity, and different selectivity against bacteria and human cells. Our results underline the ability of RP‐HPLC to resolve even difficult diasteromeric peptide mixtures as well as its value in monitoring very subtle hydrophobicity changes in de novo‐designed AMP. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.