Work in the field of BNCT using the Portuguese Research Reactor

The goal of this work is to pursue the research activity in BNC and the installation of a therapy facility in the position presently occupied by the thermal column. With these objectives the experimental studies in mice and cells are continuing while improvements in the facilities are created or prepared. For this effect: (1) the installation of lead shield in the vertical access of the thermal column, which resulted in an enhancement of the Φ _th toD _γ ratio, was performed, (2) the adaptation of a beam tube to deliver a dominantly thermal or epithermal beam in two possible beam openings is being done and (3) Monte Carlo calculations aiming at the optimization of the conditions for the therapy installation are in progress.     

Borexino as a test of solar matter density fluctuations

This talk summarizes some results of our recent work focusing on the possibility to test solar matter density fluctuations by the future Borexino experiment.     

Low-energy anti-neutrinos from the sun

If neutrino conversions within the Sun result in partial polarization of initial solar neutrino fluxes, then a new opportunity arises to observe the 's in future neutrino experiments in the low energy region (such as BOREXINO or HELLAZ) and thus to probe the Majorana nature of the neutrinos. The conversions may take place for low energy solar neutrinos while being unobservable at the Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande experiments.     

Invisible defects in complex crystals

We show that invisible localized defects, i.e. defects that cannot be detected by an outside observer, can be realized in a crystal with an engineered imaginary potential at the defect site. The invisible defects are synthesized by means of supersymmetric (Darboux) transformations of an ordinary crystal using band-edge wavefunctions to construct the superpotential. The complex crystal has an entire real-valued energy spectrum and Bragg scattering is not influenced by the defects. An example of complex crystal synthesis is presented for the Mathieu potential.     

Nanoreactors based on self-assembled amphiphilic diblock copolymers for the preparation of ZnO nanoparticles

A self-assembled diblock copolymer containing styrene (S), methyl methacrylate and a certain percentage of hydrophilic segment of poly(methacrylic acid) (i.e., poly(styrene)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid) was synthesized via the ATRP method in two steps. This was followed by a partial hydrolysis of the methyl ester linkages of the methyl methacrylate block under acidic conditions. The resultant block copolymer had a narrow molecular weight dispersity (Р< 1.3) and was characterized using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy as well as size exclusion chromatography. The block copolymer was used as a nanoreactor for inorganic nanoparticles (ZnO). The incorporation of a single source precursor, such as ZnCl₂, into the self-assembled copolymer matrix and the conversion into ZnO nanostructures was carried out in the liquid phase using wet chemical processing techniques. We report the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites with dual characteristics due to the functionalities incorporated into the matrix. The optical properties were determined by UV–Vis and fluorescence, the crystallinity was studied using X-ray diffraction, and the thermal stability and studies of the cyclic voltammetry were obtained by thermogravimetric analyzes and potentiodynamic electrochemical measurements, respectively. The structural, topographical and morphological characterizations of the ZnO composite in relation to the precursor block copolymer were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.     

Oxidation potential of thiophene oligomers: Theoretical and experimental approach

Intrinsic properties of conducting polymers, such as oxidation potential and band gap, are very important for designing new materials with improved properties. Computational chemistry offers suitable tools capable of predicting these quantities. This work presents electrochemical information about accurate oxidation potentials of oligothiophenes and polymer band gap. These are compared to theoretical predictions based on electronic structure calculations at Density Functional Theory levels, coupled with self‐consistent reaction field. All computational protocols gave a qualitative prediction of the experimental trend. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Neutrino unification

Present neutrino data are consistent with neutrino masses arising from a common seed at some "neutrino unification" scale M(X). Such a simple theoretical ansatz naturally leads to quasidegenerate neutrinos that could lie in the electron-volt range with neutrino mass splittings induced by renormalization effects associated with supersymmetric thresholds. In such a scheme the leptonic analog of the Cabibbo angle straight theta(middle dot in circle) describing solar neutrino oscillations is nearly maximal. Its exact value is correlated with the smallness of straight theta(reactor). The two leading mass-eigenstate neutrinos present in nu(e) form a pseudo-Dirac neutrino, avoiding conflict with neutrinoless double beta decay.     

N-Acylureas in Peptide Synthesis: An X-Ray Diffraction and IR-Absorption Study

An X-ray diffraction analysts of two N-acyl derivatives of symmetrical dialkylureas, N-[N^α-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L -valyl] -N, N′-diisopropylurea ( 1 ) and N-{Nα(tert-butyloxy)carbonyl -L -valyl}-N-N′-dicyclohexylurea ( 2 ), and one N-acyl derivative of an unsymmetrical N-N′-dialkylurea, N-[N^α-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L -valyl] -N′-(tert-butyl)-N-ethylurea ( 3 ), has been performed. It was established that it is the least hindered O-acylisourca N-atom that attacks intramolecularly the carbonyl group of the N^α-protected amino acid activated by the unsymmetrical carbodiimide to form the major rearrangement product. The occurrence and nature of intra- and intermolecularly H? bonded forms of the N-acylureas in the crystal state were also assessed. It was also shown that soluble N-acylureas may compete with intermolecular (peptide)N? H…O?C(peptide) H-bonds in CH₂Cl₂.     

Synthesis of a diversifiable cis-dehydrodecalin scaffold based on meiogynin A

A highly endo selective Diels-Alder reaction provides efficient access to the substituted cis-dehydrodecalin core structure of meiogynin A. Elaboration into the fully functionalized scaffold was achieved in three steps from cycloadduct 20a. This strategy is amenable to the synthesis of diversely substituted meiogynin analogs for the discovery of novel inhibitors of Bcl-xL and related anti-apoptotic proteins.     

Synergistic Approach to Elucidate the Incorporation of Magnesium Ions into Hydroxyapatite

Although the content of Mg²⁺ in hard tissues is very low (typically ≤1.5 wt %), its incorporation into synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) particles and its role in the mineral’s properties are still subject of intensive debate. A combined experimental–computational approach is used to answer many of the open questions. Mg²⁺‐enriched HAp particles are prepared using different synthetic approaches and considering different concentrations of Mg²⁺ in the reaction medium. The composition, morphology and structure of the resulting particles are investigated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, FTIR, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. After this scrutiny, the role of the Mg²⁺ in the first nucleation stages, before HAp formation, is investigated using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Saturated solutions are simulated with and without the presence of DNA, which has been recently used as a soft template in the biomineralization process. This synergistic investigation provides a complete picture of how Mg²⁺ ions affect the mineralization from the first stages onwards.