MVF Sensor Enables Analysis of Nucleic Acids with Stable Secondary Structures

One major challenge in nucleic acids analysis by hybridization probes is a compromise between the probe's tight binding and sequence‐selective recognition of nucleic acid targets folded into stable secondary structures. We have been developing a four‐way junction (4WJ)‐based sensor that consists of a universal stem‐loop (USL) probe immobilized on an electrode surface and two adaptor strands (M and F). The sensor was shown to be highly selective towards single base mismatches at room temperature, able to detect multiple targets using the same USL probe, and have improved ability to detect folded nucleic acids. However, some nucleic acid targets, including natural RNA, are folded into very stable secondary and tertiary structures, which may represent a challenge even for the 4WJ sensors. This work describes a new sensor, named MVF since it uses three probe stands M, V and F, which further improves the performance of 4WJ sensors with folded targets. The MVF sensor interrogating a 16S rRNA NASBA amplicon with calculated folding energy of ?32.82 kcal/mol has demonstrated 2.5‐fold improvement in a signal‐to‐background ratio in comparison with a 4WJ sensor lacking strand V. The proposed design can be used as a general strategy in the analysis of folded nucleic acids including natural RNA.     

On the validity of Langmuir adsorption on supported nanoparticles

The general form for adsorption on nanoparticles is presented. Conditions for the validity of Langmuir adsorption isotherm for supported nanoparticles are discussed.     

Mixed ligand complexes of AEE hexafluoroacetylacetonates with diglyme: Synthesis,crystal structure and thermal behavior

The novel mixed ligand complexes [Ca(hfa)₂(diglyme)(H₂O)] (I), [Sr(hfa)₂(diglyme)(H₂O)] (II) and [Ba(hfa)₂(diglyme)₂] (III) (Hhfa = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,4-dione, diglyme = 2,5,8-trioxanonane) were synthesized by the reactions of the alkaline earth element (AEE) carbonates in n-hexane with a mixture of Hhfa and diglyme, and they were characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and FTIR spectroscopy. The crystal structures of I–III, consisting of mononuclear isolated molecules, have been determined. The thermal behavior and composition of the vapor phase have been studied for I–III by thermal analysis at low pressure and mass spectrometry using a Knudsen cell. The stability of the mixed ligand complexes [M(hfa)₂(diglyme)_n] to the removal of diglyme molecules under heating decreases in the row I > II ≈ III, and only I evaporates as the mixed ligand complex after water removal.     

A series of three-dimensional coordination polymers with general formula [{Ln(H2O)n}{Re6Te8(CN)6}] · xH2O (Ln = Eu,Gd, Tb,Dy, Ho,Er, Tm,Yb; n = 3, 4, x = 0, 2.5)

A series of new compounds containing rare earth cations (Eu to Yb) and paramagnetic cluster anion [Re₆Te₈(CN)₆]³⁻ was prepared and investigated. The X-ray structural analyses have revealed that the compounds [{Ln(H₂O)₄}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] · 2.5H₂O; Ln = Eu (1), Tb (3), Dy (4), Ho (5), Er (6), Tm (7), [{Gd(H₂O)₃}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] · 2.5H₂O (2) and [{Yb(H₂O)₄}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] (8) are three-dimensional polymers based on Re–CN–Ln interactions. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility for 2 and 5 showed that effective magnetic moment (at 300 K) was 8.13 μ_B for compound 2 and 10.79 μ_B for compound 5 with weak antiferromagnetic ordering appeared at low temperatures.     

Helical solitons in vector modified Korteweg–de Vries equations

We study existence of helical solitons in the vector modified Korteweg–de Vries (mKdV) equations, one of which is integrable, whereas another one is non-integrable. The latter one describes nonlinear waves in various physical systems, including plasma and chains of particles connected by elastic springs. By using the dynamical system methods such as the blow-up near singular points and the construction of invariant manifolds, we construct helical solitons by the efficient shooting method. The helical solitons arise as the result of co-dimension one bifurcation and exist along a curve in the velocity-frequency parameter plane. Examples of helical solitons are constructed numerically for the non-integrable equation and compared with exact solutions in the integrable vector mKdV equation. The stability of helical solitons with respect to small perturbations is confirmed by direct numerical simulations.     

Growth of InN films and nanorods by H-MOVPE

InN films and nanorods were grown by hydride metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (H-MOVPE) and the effects of growth temperature, and NH₃/TMIn and HCl/TMIn ratios on morphological dependences were studied. The growth habit of InN varied from thin film to microrod to nanorod to no deposition as the growth conditions were changed about transition from growth to etching conditions. The growth and etch regimes were also predicted by chemical equilibrium calculations of In–C–H–Cl–N-inert system. The optical properties of InN nanorods and columnar structured films were measured by room temperature PL and a maximum intensity was observed at 1.08 eV for both structures.     

Ionic liquid matrices for MALDI mass spectrometry of lignin

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - The use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry for the study of lignin is still extremely limited due to its low...     

Assembly of Tetrazolylfuroxan Organic Salts: Multipurpose Green Energetic Materials with High Enthalpies of Formation and Excellent Detonation Performance

A series of highly energetic organic salts comprising a tetrazolylfuroxan anion, explosophoric azido or azo functionalities, and nitrogen-rich cations were synthesized by simple, efficient, and scalable chemical routes. These energetic materials were fully characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁴N, ¹⁵N) spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Additionally, the structure of an energetic salt consisting of an azidotetrazolylfuroxan anion and a 3,6,7-triamino-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b][1,2,4]triazolium cation was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The synthesized compounds exhibit good experimental densities (1.57–1.71 g cm⁻³), very high enthalpies of formation (818–1363 kJ mol⁻¹), and, as a result, excellent detonation performance (detonation velocities 7.54–8.26 kms⁻¹ and detonation pressures 23.4–29.3 GPa). Most of the synthesized energetic salts have moderate sensitivity toward impact and friction, which makes them promising candidates for a variety of energetic applications. At the same time, three compounds have impact sensitivity on the primary explosives level (1.5–2.7 J). These results along with high detonation parameters and high nitrogen contents (66.0–70.2 %) indicate that these three compounds may serve as potential environmentally friendly alternatives to lead-based primary explosives.     

Catalyst-Free Arylation of Tertiary Phosphines with Diaryliodonium Salts Enabled by Visible Light

The visible-light-induced arylation of tertiary phosphines with aryl(mesityl)iodonium triflates to produce the quaternary phosphonium salts occurs under mild, metal, and catalyst-free conditions. Photo-excited EDA complexes between diaryliodonium salts and phosphines supposedly enable this transformation, which is difficult to achieve through the traditional ground-state reactions. Demonstrating high functional group tolerance, broad scope, and complete selectivity of the aryl group transfer, the method is particularly compatible with sterically congested phosphines, which are challenging under metal-based catalytic methods.