Photolithographically patterned surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) via UV-initiated graft polymerization of acrylates

Patterned surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is achieved by combining ultraviolet-initiated graft polymerization (UV-GP) and photolithography. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) patterns were grafted onto PDMS with micrometer-scale feature edge resolution. The morphology and chemical composition of the grafted layers were assessed by optical and atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and XPS imaging. AFM section analyses demonstrated the deposition of 33 +/- 1 and 62 +/- 8 nm thick patterned films of PAA and PMAA, respectively. Spatially resolved C 1s XPS provided images of carboxylic acid functionalities, verifying the patterned deposition of acrylate films on PDMS. These observations demonstrate the general usefulness of UV-GP and photolithography for micropatterning.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-dactylolide

[reaction: see text] The enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-dactylolide is reported. The absolute stereochemistry of the tetrahydropyran was established by catalytic asymmetric Jacobsen hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. The remote C19 stereocenter was introduced by a sequence of chelation-controlled Grignard addition and Ireland-Claisen rearrangement.     

Pediatric ocular nanomedicines:Challenges and opportunities

Challenges and opportunities to development of ocular drug delivery systems and nanomedicines for pediatric patients are reviewed.     

Application of Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Stalks as Raw Material for Xylooligosaccharides Production

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a perennial plant widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of many countries. The present studies aimed to produce xylooligosaccharides (XOS) from pigeon pea stalks in order to do value addition. The chemical analysis of stalks revealed 18.33?±?1.40 % hemicelluloses in addition to cellulose, protein, and lignin. Sodium hydroxide coupled with steam application enabled almost 96 % recovery of original xylan, present in the pigeon pea stalks. Enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan led to production of XOS namely, xylobiose and xylotriose. Response surface model indicated a maximum yield of xylobiose (0.502 mg/ml) under the hydrolysis conditions of pH 4.91, temperature at 48.11 °C, enzyme dose at 11.01 U, and incubation time at 15.65 h. The ideal conditions for higher xylotriose yield (0.204 mg/ml) were pH 5.44, temperature at 39.29 °C, enzyme dose at 3.23 U, and incubation time at 15.26 h. The present investigation was successful in assessing the prospect of using pigeon pea stalks as a raw material for xylan extraction vis-à-vis XOS production.     

Hydrolysis of glycosides with microgel catalysts

A dormant macromolecular catalyst was prepared by polymerization of an aqueous styrene-butyl acrylate miniemulsion in the presence of a new polymerizable pentadentate ligand. The catalyst was activated by binding Cu(II) ions to the ligand site and then explored for its ability to hydrolyze glycosidic bonds in alkaline solution. The performance was correlated to the catalytic activity shown by low molecular weight analogs. A turnover rate of up to 43 × 10(-4) min(-1) was previously observed for cleavage of the glycosidic bond in selected p-nitrophenylglycosides with a binuclear, low molecular weight catalyst; by contrast, the same reaction is more than 1 order of magnitude faster and has a turnover rate of up to 380 × 10(-4) min(-1) when using the prepared macromolecular catalyst. The catalyzed hydrolysis is about 10(5)-fold accelerated over the uncatalyzed background reaction under the provided conditions, while a significant discrimination of the α- and β-glycosidic bond or of the galacto- and gluco-configuration in the sugar moiety in the glycoside substrates is not observed.     

Electrochemical performances of LiMnPO4 synthesized from non-stoichiometric Li/Mn ratio

In this paper, the influences of the lithium content in the starting materials on the final performances of as-prepared Li(x)MnPO(4) (x hereafter represents the starting Li content in the synthesis step which does not necessarily mean that Li(x)MnPO(4) is a single phase solid solution in this work.) are systematically investigated. It has been revealed that Mn(2)P(2)O(7) is the main impurity when Li < 1.0 while Li(3)PO(4) begins to form once x > 1.0. The interactions between Mn(2)P(2)O(7) or Li(3)PO(4) impurities and LiMnPO(4) are studied in terms of the structural, electrochemical, and magnetic properties. At a slow rate of C/50, the reversible capacity of both Li(0.5)MnPO(4) and Li(0.8)MnPO(4) increases with cycling. This indicates a gradual activation of more sites to accommodate a reversible diffusion of Li(+) ions that may be related to the interaction between Mn(2)P(2)O(7) and LiMnPO(4) nanoparticles. Among all of the different compositions, Li(1.1)MnPO(4) exhibits the most stable cycling ability probably because of the existence of a trace amount of Li(3)PO(4) impurity that functions as a solid-state electrolyte on the surface. The magnetic properties and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the MnPO(4)·H(2)O precursor, pure and carbon-coated Li(x)MnPO(4) are also investigated to identify the key steps involved in preparing a high-performance LiMnPO(4).     

Hierarchical Spin-Crossover Cooperativity in Hybrid 1D Chains of FeII-1,2,4-Triazole Trimers Linked by [Au(CN)2]− Bridges

Foremost, practical applications of spin-crossover (SCO) materials require control of the nature of the spin-state coupling. In existing SCO materials, there is a single, well-defined dimensionality relevant to the switching behavior. A new material, consisting of 1,2,4-triazole-based trimers coordinated into 1D chains by [Au(CN)₂]⁻ and spaced by anions and exchangeable guests, underwent SCO defined by elastic coupling across multiple dimensional hierarchies. Detailed structural, vibrational, and theoretical studies conclusively confirmed that intra-trimer coupling was an order of magnitude greater than the intramolecular coupling, which was an order of magnitude greater than intermolecular coupling. As such, a clear hierarchy on the nature of elastic coupling in SCO materials was ascertained for the first time, which is a necessary step for the technological development of molecular switching materials.     

Effect of the nature of mendiaxon–X interactions (X= Na, Cu, H) and the hydrogen bonding on the ν(C=O) behavior: theoretical and spectroscopic study

Theoretical and spectroscopic (IR and Raman) study of different 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin (mendiaxon) systems (mend⁻, mendNa, mendCu, mendH and mendH · 2H₂O) were performed at B3LYP/6-31G(d) and B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) levels of theory. The geometric and electronic structures as well as the vibrational behavior of the systems studied were discussed: (1) as to the changes that occurred in the anion coumarin ring upon the mend⁻–X⁺ (X⁺ =Na⁺, Cu⁺, H⁺) interactions and (2) as to the changes that occurred in mendH due to hydrogen bondings in mendH · 2H₂O. The largest bond length changes in the anion coumarin ring were obtained for mendH and the smallest ones for mendNa. The bond length changes were mainly produced from the electrostatic effect of the positive charge of X. The induced polarization of the C=O bond upon the mend⁻–X⁺ interactions was found to be opposite to the basic one and it led to shorter C=O bond lengths (higher ν(C=O) frequencies) in the order: mendNa, mendCu and mendH. Conversely, upon the hydrogen bonding the induced polarization of the C=O bond was found in the same direction as the basic one and it produced elongation to the C=O bond length (lower ν(C=O) frequency). On the basis of the correlations found, the ν(C=O) positions in mendNa, mendCu, mendH and mendH · 2H₂O were explained.     

The combined use of thermal desorption and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry for the quantification of xylene and toluene in air

Thermal desorption (TD) is commonly employed for volatile chemical analysis, it being the method of choice for occupational health and safety monitoring. TD allows for offline capture of volatiles onto a solid sorbent followed by desorption and analysis at a later time. Although TD is routinely used in conjunction with gas chromatography (TD-GC), the assay throughput is low and requires the use of gas standards for quantification. Another technique increasingly employed for volatile chemical analysis, selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), is capable of real-time absolute (i.e. without calibration standards) quantification of volatile chemicals present at single digit parts per billion or higher concentrations. SIFT-MS is, however, normally used for online direct analysis of gas samples rather than offline collection and analysis. The goal of this study was to determine whether a combination of TD and SIFT-MS could be used to quantify volatile compounds, specifically xylene and toluene, more rapidly than TD-GC and without the need for calibration standards. SIFT-MS was able to quantify xylene and toluene levels within 45 s of desorption. Due to the robustness of the SIFT-MS analysis in the presence of water vapour and other major components of air, the purging of tubes usually required to remove these constituents during the TD cycle was not required, therefore reducing the TD cycle time. Comparing the quantity of xylene and toluene applied to the TD tube with the absolute levels quantified by SIFT-MS subsequent to desorption suggested a recovery of over 95% of the applied compound. We conclude that the combination of TD and SIFT-MS allows more rapid and accurate quantification of xylene and toluene (compared with TD-GC) to be achieved without the need for calibration standards, features which may be advantageous in applications requiring rapid analysis and high throughput.     

Theoretical study of metal-ligand interaction in Sm(III), Eu(III), and Tb(III) complexes of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid in the gas phase and solution

The interaction of lanthanide(III) cations (Ln(III) = Sm(III), Eu(III), and Tb(III)) with the deprotonated form of the coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (cca-) has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) and confirmed by reference MP2 and CCSD(T) computations. Solvent effects on the geometries and stabilities of the Ln(III) complexes were computed using a combination of water clusters and a continuum solvation model. The following two series of systems were considered: (i) Ln(cca)2+, Ln(cca)2+, Ln(cca)3 and (ii) Ln(cca)(H2O)2Cl2, Ln(cca)2(H2O)2Cl, Ln(cca)3. The strength and character of the Ln(III)-cca- bidentate bonding were characterized by calculated Ln-O bond lengths, binding energies, ligand deformation energies, energy partitioning analysis, sigma-donation contributions, and natural population analyses. The energy decomposition calculations predicted predominant electrostatic interaction terms to the Ln-cca bonding (ionic character) and showed variations of the orbital interaction term (covalent contributions) for the Ln-cca complexes studied. Electron distribution analysis suggested that the covalent contribution comes mainly from the interaction with the carboxylate moiety of cca-.