157-nm Laser ablation of polymeric layers for fabrication of biomolecule microarrays

A new methodology for protein microarray fabrication is proposed based on the ablation of polymer film using laser at 157 nm (F₂). The polymer has been selected among others with the criterion of negligible protein adsorption. Improved results have been obtained by pretreatment of the polymer surface with an inert protein. The use of 157-nm laser radiation allowed very good depth control during the polymeric layer ablation process. In addition the importance of laser ablation at 157 nm is based on the fact that irradiated surfaces indicate limited chemical change due to the fact that laser ablation at 157 nm is only photochemical, thus avoiding excessive surface heating and damage. Results of protein microarray fabrication are presented to illustrate the viability of the proposed method.     

Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Pentaammineruthenium(II) Complexes of 1-(4-Cyanophenyl)imidazole

A new bridging ligand, 1-(4-cyanophenyl)imidazole (CPI) has been prepared, as well as its N-methylated derivative 1-methyl-3-(4-cyanophenyl)imidazolium iodide (CPI-Me(+)I(-)). The mononuclear and binuclear complexes [(NH(3))(5)Ru-CPI-Me](3+) and [(NH(3))(5)Ru-CPI-Ru(NH(3))(5)](4+) have been obtained. Free CPI is planar, according to theoretical calculations (MMX and MNDO), and its luminescence properties suggest the occurence of a twisted internal charge transfer (TICT) state. The comparison of the two ruthenium complexes reveals the spectral and electrochemical features of coordination by the cyanophenyl or by the imidazole groups. Controlled oxidation of the binuclear complex [(NH(3))(5)Ru-CPI-Ru(NH(3))(5)](4+) yields the mixed valence species [(NH(3))(5)Ru-CPI-Ru(NH(3))(5)](5+) in which the ruthenium coordinated to the cyanophenyl group is ruthenium(II) while the ruthenium linked to imidazole is ruthenium(III). An intervalence band is observed at 640 nm (epsilon = 188), from which the effective metal-metal coupling through the bridging ligand is determined as 0.032 eV. This value is satisfactorily reproduced by a theoretical calculation using the effective Hamiltonian theory. Finally the binuclear complex exhibits a weak luminescence when excited either on the ligand band near 260 nm or on the metal-to-ligand charge transfer band near 410 nm. The CPI ligand is the first example of a TICT-forming species with appreciable coupling between metallic sites and can be considered as a first step toward a molecular switch.     

New research findings in biotechnology for fuels and chemical production

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology -     

How wall properties control diffusion in grooved nanochannels: a molecular dynamics study

The effect of a geometrically-rough wall, amplified by its degree of wettability and stiffness on diffusion coefficient in cases of fluid flow in nanochannels is studied by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics. Diffusion coefficient values, either inside the grooves or as average channel values are affected by the rough wall characteristics. A significant anisotropy along the directions parallel and normal to the flow is observed inside the grooves, while a critical value of groove length below which this anisotropy is enhanced exists. Wall wettability is the property that affects diffusion the most and could be a means of controlling its behavior.     

Deleting Outliers in Robust Regression with Mixed Integer Programming

In robust regression we often have to decide how many are the unusual observations, which should be removed from the sample in order to obtain better fitting for the rest of the observations. Generally, we use the basic principle of LTS, which is to fit the majority of the data, identifying as outliers those points that cause the biggest damage to the robust fit. However, in the LTS regression method the choice of default values for high break down-point affects seriously the efficiency of the estimator. In the proposed approach we introduce penalty cost for discarding an outlier, consequently, the best fit for the majority of the data is obtained by discarding only catastrophic observations. This penalty cost is based on robust design weights and high break down-point residual scale taken from the LTS estimator. The robust estimation is obtained by solving a convex quadratic mixed integer programming problem, where in the objective function the sum of the squared residuals and penalties for discarding observations is minimized. The proposed mathematical programming formula is suitable for small-sample data. Moreover, we conduct a simulation study to compare other robust estimators with our approach in terms of their efficiency and robustness.     

Sharp general local estimates for dyadic-like maximal operators and related Bellman functions

For each 1?q<p we precisely evaluate the main Bellman functions associated with the local Lp→Lq estimates of the dyadic maximal operator on Rn. Actually we do that in the more general setting of tree-like maximal operators and with respect to general convex and increasing growth functions. We prove that these Bellman functions equal to analogous extremal problems for the Hardy operator which can be viewed as a symmetrization principle for such operators. Under certain mild conditions on the growth functions we show that for the latter extremals exist (although for the original Bellman functions do not) and analyzing them we give a determination of the corresponding Bellman function.     

The Sedimentation of Colloidal Nanoparticles in Solution and Its Study Using Quantitative Digital Photography

Sedimentation and diffusion are important aspects of the behavior of colloidal nanoparticles in solution, and merit attention during the synthesis, characterization, and application of nanoparticles. Here, the sedimentation of nanoparticles is studied quantitatively using digital photography and a simple model based on the Mason–Weaver equation. Good agreement between experimental time‐lapse photography and numerical solutions of the model is found for a series of gold nanoparticles. The new method is extended to study for the first time the gravitational sedimentation of DNA‐linked gold nanoparticle dimers as a model system of a higher complexity structure. Additionally, simple formulas are derived for estimating suitable parameters for the preparative centrifugation of nanoparticle solutions.     

Restricted Universality of Power Series

We prove the existence of a power series having radius of convergence0, whose partial sums have universal approximation propertieson any compact set with connected complement that is containedin a finite union of circles centred at 0 and having rationalradii, but do not have such properties on any compact set withnonempty interior. This relates to a theorem of A. I. Seleznev.2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 30B30 (primary), 30B10,30E60 (secondary).