Development of Nanosensors and Bioprobes

We describe the development and application of nanosensors having bioreceptor probes for bioanalysis. The nanoprobes were fabricated with optical fibers pulled down to tips having distal end sizes of approximately 30–60nm. The use of two different types of receptors was investigated. Fiberoptic nanoprobes were covalently bound either with bioreceptors, such as antibodies, or with other receptors, such as cyclodextrins that are selective for the size and chemical structure of the analyte molecules. Theoretical calculations were performed to model the binding of beta-cyclodextrin with pyrene and 5,6-benzoquinoline, and to illustrate the possibility of comparing experimental data with theoretical data. The antibody-based nanoprobe was used for in situ measurements of benzopyrene tetrol in single cells. The performance of the nanosensor is illustrated by intracellular measurements performed on a rat liver epithelial cell line (Clone 9) used as the model cell system. The usefulness and potential of these nanotechnology-based biosensors in biological research and applications are discussed.     

Electrostatically stabilized metal oxide particle dispersions in carbon dioxide

We report electrostatic stabilization of micrometer-sized TiO(2) particles at long range (several micrometers) in liquid and supercritical CO(2) despite the ultralow dielectric constant, as low as 1.5. The counterions were solubilized in dry reverse micelles, formed with a low-molecular weight cationic perfluoropolyether trimethylammonium acetate surfactant, to prevent ion pairing with the particle surface. Dynamic light scattering and settling velocities indicate a particle diameter of 620-740 nm. The electrophoretic mobility of -2.3 x 10(-8) m(2)/V s indicated a particle charge on the order of -1.7 x 10(-17) C, or 105 elementary negative charges per particle. The balance of particle compression by an electric field versus electrostatic repulsion generated an amorphous arrangement of particles with 5-9 mum spacing, indicating Debye lengths greater than 1 mum. Scattering patterns also indicate that chains of particles may be achieved in CO(2) by dielectrophoresis with alternating fields. The electrostatic stabilization has been achieved by solubilizing a small concentration of counterions in only a small fraction of the reverse micelles in the double layer. Whereas many low-molecular weight surfactants have been shown to form reverse micelles in CO(2), very few polymers are able to stabilize micrometer-sized colloids sterically. Thus, electrostatic stabilization has the potential to expand markedly the domain of colloid science in apolar supercritical fluids.     

Photo- and thermoinduced generation of 1,3-diaryl carbonyl ylides from 2,3-diaryloxiranes 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to dipolarophiles

A group of symmetrically substituted 2,3-diaryloxiranes have been studied as photoprecursors for carbonyl ylides. The stereochemistry of the adducts obtained upon interception of these 4n pi-transient systems with a variety of dipolarophiles provides information on the mode(s) of electrocyclic opening of the oxiranes to carbonyl ylides, as well as the mechanism of the 4n + 2 cycloaddition process. The stereochemistry of the dipolarophiles is preserved in the cycloadducts, which is consistent with a concerted addition process; however, solvent effects, steric hindrance, and possibly secondary orbital overlap factors all may play a role in determining the product distribution.     

High-strain-rate tests on titanium 6-6-2 utilizing a unique rate-testing machine

This paper presents the design of a unique materials-testing system capable of medium strain rates of from 10^?4 to 10²/s. The design incorporates both closed-loop hydraulic operation with that of open-loop pneumatic operation. A novel design permits accurate specimen alignment and a stiff frame which exceeds 17×10⁶ lb/in. (11.7×10⁴ MPa). The mechanine is able to perform conventional tension/compression tests, fatigue tests and, with slight modification, biaxial-stress-tube tests and triaxial-stress tests. The accurate alignment capability coupled with high frame stiffness and the pneumatic operation enables the testing of brittle materials with rigid grips. Titanium 6-6-2 was tested in both tension and compression at strain rates from 10^?4 to about 10/s at four selected temperatures. The material showed a slight strain-rate sensitivity. Yield stress was shown to increase with strain rate while ductility decreased at each test temperature.     

核磁共振代谢组学数据的尺度归一化新方法

在核磁共振代谢组学数据预处理中,尺度归一化主要目的是提高特征代谢物信息的权重,减小噪声及无关代谢物信息的影响,从而降低后续模式识别分析的难度. 本文提出一种新的尺度归一化方法,该方法不强调各变量在尺度上的归一,而是在原始数据的基础上,通过提高那些稳定性高、且在不同类别样本中具有显著差异性的变量的权重,以增强与特征代谢物相关的信息. 文中分别采用模拟数据和真实代谢组学数据对新归一化方法的性能进行评估,并与单位方差法(Unit Variance)、变量稳定性(Variable Stability)和尺度缩放法(Level Scaling)等常用的尺度归一化方法做比较. 研究结果表明：新归一化方法能够提高多变量统计模型的预测能力,较好地保留核磁共振谱的分子信息,有助于特征代谢物的识别,并使后续的数据分析结果具有更好的可解释性.     

Decompositions of metastable [C6H12O]+ ions with the oxygen on the third carbon: Ring-size preferences in [CnH2nO]+˙ ions

The isomerizations preceding the metastable decompositions in the mass spectrometer of a number of [C₆H₁₂O]⁺˙ ions with the oxygen on the third carbon are characterized utilizing deuterium labeling. Hydrogens are transferred in these ions by three-, five- and six-membered ring rearrangements, with propensities determined by features of the individual reactions. Three-membered ring hydrogen transfers between α and β-carbons are preferred to all five-membered ring hydrogen transfers. However, six-membered ring hydrogen transfers take place to the apparent exclusion of three-membered ring hydrogen transfers to enol carbons when the products are of comparable stability. The low-energy [C₆H₁₂O]⁺˙ isomerizations characterized are predictable from the behavior of their lower homologs. It is concluded that the determinants of these reactions are the same as those of other highly reactive organic intermediates.     

High-resolution (19)F MAS NMR spectroscopy: structural disorder and unusual J couplings in a fluorinated hydroxy-silicate

High-resolution (19)F magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy is used to study disorder and bonding in a crystalline solid. (19)F MAS NMR reveals four distinct F sites in a 50% fluorine-substituted deuterated hydrous magnesium silicate (clinohumite, 4Mg(2)SiO(4)·Mg(OD(1-x)F(x))(2) with x = 0.5), indicating extensive structural disorder. The four (19)F peaks can be assigned using density functional theory (DFT) calculations of NMR parameters for a number of structural models with a range of possible local F environments generated by F(-)/OH(-) substitution. These assignments are supported by two-dimensional (19)F double-quantum MAS NMR experiments that correlate F sites based on either spatial proximity (via dipolar couplings) or through-bond connectivity (via scalar, or J, couplings). The observation of (19)F-(19)F J couplings is unexpected as the fluorines coordinate Mg atoms and the Mg-F interaction is normally considered to be ionic in character (i.e., there is no formal F-Mg-F covalent bonding arrangement). However, DFT calculations predict significant (19)F-(19)F J couplings, and these are in good agreement with the splittings observed in a (19)F J-resolved MAS NMR experiment. The existence of these J couplings is discussed in relation to both the nature of bonding in the solid state and the occurrence of so-called "through-space" (19)F-(19)F J couplings in solution. Finally, we note that we have found similar structural disorder and spin-spin interactions in both synthetic and naturally occurring clinohumite samples.     

Recoupling in solid state NMR using γ prepared states and phase matching

The paper describes two-dimensional solid state NMR experiments that use powdered dephased antiphase coherence (γ preparation) to encode chemical shifts in the indirect dimension. Both components of this chemical shift encoded gamma-prepared states can be refocused into inphase coherence by a recoupling element. This helps to achieve sensitivity enhancement in 2D NMR experiments by quadrature detection. The powder dependence of the gamma-prepared states allows for manipulating them by suitable insertion of delays in the recoupling periods. This helps to design experiments that suppress diagonal peaks in 2D spectra, leading to improved resolution. We describe some new phase modulated heteronuclear and homonuclear recoupling pulse sequences that simplify the implementation of the described experiments based on γ prepared states. Recoupling in the heteronuclear spin system is achieved by matching the difference in the amplitude of the sine/cosine modulated phase on the two rf-channels to the spinning frequency while maintaining the same power on the two rf-channels.     

Dynamic nuclear polarization at 9T using a novel 250 GHz gyrotron microwave source. 2003

In this communication, we report enhancements of nuclear spin polarization by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in static and spinning solids at a magnetic field strength of 9 T (250 GHz for g = 2 electrons, 380 MHz for ¹H). In these experiments, ¹H enhancements of up to 170 ± 50 have been observed in 1-¹³C-glycine dispersed in a 60:40 glycerol/water matrix at temperatures of 20 K; in addition, we have observed significant enhancements in ¹⁵N spectra of unoriented pf1-bacteriophage. Finally, enhancements of ∼17 have been obtained in two-dimensional ¹³C–¹³C chemical shift correlation spectra of the amino acid U–¹³C, ¹⁵N-proline during magic angle spinning (MAS), demonstrating the stability of the DNP experiment for sustained acquisition and for quantitative experiments incorporating dipolar recoupling. In all cases, we have exploited the thermal mixing DNP mechanism with the nitroxide radical 4-amino-TEMPO as the paramagnetic dopant. These are the highest frequency DNP experiments performed to date and indicate that significant signal enhancements can be realized using the thermal mixing mechanism even at elevated magnetic fields. In large measure, this is due to the high microwave power output of the 250 GHz gyrotron oscillator used in these experiments.