Hydrogen and humidity sensing characteristics of Nafion,Nafion/graphene,and Nafion/carbon nanotube resistivity sensors

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - The melting of micro-/nanoparticles in an alloy melt is investigated by using the asymptotic method. The asymptotic solution of the dynamic model for...     

Quantification of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers using an oligonucleotide chip assay

A lesion-specific enzyme-induced DNA strand break assay was developed for an oligonucleotide chip for the determination of UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). A 20-mer of fluorophore-labeled and biotinylated oligonucleotide was immobilized on the chip. CPDs in DNA on the chip were formed by UVB irradiation (312 nm). T4 endonuclease V (T4N5) was used to excise the CPD site as T4N5 sensitively and specifically detects CPDs. The fluorophore-labeled DNA fragments were detected by a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection system. The number of CPDs induced by UVB was determined based on a mathematical equation obtained from a predetermined calibration curve. The yield of UVB-induced CPDs was 1.73 CPDs per megabase per (kJ/m²). The reliability of this value was proved by its similarity to reference values obtained from gel electrophoresis. The developed assay has strong potential to quantify most kinds of UV-induced DNA lesions.     

Highly sensitive trace analysis of paraquat using a surface-enhanced Raman scattering microdroplet sensor

We report a rapid and highly sensitive trace analysis of paraquat (PQ) in water using a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based microdroplet sensor. Aqueous samples of PQ, silver nanoparticles, and NaCl as the aggregation agent were introduced into a microfluidic channel and were encapsulated by a continuous oil phase to form a microdroplet. PQ molecules were adsorbed onto particle surfaces in isolated droplets by passing through the winding part of the channel. Memory effects, caused by the precipitation of nanoparticle aggregates on channel walls, were removed because the aqueous droplets were completely isolated by a continuous oil phase. The limit of detection (LOD) of PQ in water, determined by the SERS-based microdroplet sensor, was estimated to be below 2×10(-9) M, and this low detection limit was enhanced by one to two orders of magnitude compared to conventional analytical methods.     

Microdeformation in Poly-L-lactide and Poly-L-lactide + Hydroxyapatite Nanocomposite Thin Films

In order to gain new insight into failure mechanisms in poly-L-lactide (PLLA) and PLLA + hydroxyapatite nanocomposites, transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate room temperature microdeformation in electron transparent thin films of these materials subjected to various heat treatments and deformed in tension using the “copper grid” technique. In amorphous PLLA the dominant microdeformation mechanism was crazing. Localized fibrillar deformation zones (DZs) were also observed in semicrystalline films, tending to propagate in regions where the lamellar trajectories were at high angles to the tensile axis. Thus, in spherulitic films, in which the lamellae formed well-defined stacks with approximately straight trajectories at the scale of the spherulite radii, individual DZs were observed to propagate over relatively large distances, as in the amorphous films. On the other hand, films cold crystallized by heating from the glassy state showed more homogeneous lamellar textures. These were associated with a relatively high density of low aspect ratio DZs. Addition of well dispersed nanosized hydroxyapatite (nHA) to the amorphous PLLA films was also found to result in an increase in the craze density, attributed to stress concentrations associated with void formation at the PLLA-particle interfaces during deformation. However, interpretation was less straightforward in cold crystallized PLLA + nHA thin films, owing to a correlation between the lamellar texture and the nHA particles. In this case, both void formation and favorable lamellar orientations may have contributed to initiation of the DZs in the vicinity of the particles. The results are argued to be broadly consistent with previous observations of the behavior of bulk PLLA and PLLA + nHA films with a range of microstructures, in which there was evidence for an improvement in ductility in the presence of the nHA, again attributed to voiding at the PLLA-particle interfaces.     

Fast and sensitive analysis of DNA hybridization in a PDMS micro-fluidic channel using fluorescence resonance energy transfer

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer has been used to illustrate its applicability to the sensitive detection of DNA hybridization reactions in a PDMS microfluidic channel.     

5-Exocyclic products, 2,3,5-trisubstituted tetrahydrofurans via Prins-type cyclization

[reaction: see text] 5-Exocyclic products, 2,3,5-trisubstituted tetrahydrofurans, were synthesized from homopropargylic alcohols with terminally substituted alkynes and various aldehydes via Prins-type cyclization. It is of interest that the exocyclic vinyl cation generated as a result of Prins-type cyclization could be trapped as a vinyl triflate when CH2Cl2 was used as a solvent, whereas in ethereal solution the vinyl cation underwent hydrolysis to give the corresponding ketone product.     

Geometric phase for mixed states

We present a kinematic approach for obtaining the geometric phase of a mixed state under nonunitary evolution. This phase is gauge-invariant and measurable and leads to well-known results for unitary evolution.     

Liquid crystals comprising hydrogen-bonded organic acids II. Heterodimers in mixed mesogenic acids

Nematic mesophase stability, as determined by the excess mesophase range in mixtures of organic acids (supramesogen derived from par a-substituted phenyl, 4-substituted cyclohexane and bicyclo[2.2.2]octane carboxylic acids), is increased in mixtures of disparate species - mixed acids with differing substituent sizes (different supramesogen tail lengths) and different acid types (aliphatic and aromatic supramesogen cores). These trends enable one to estimate contributions to mesophase stability stemming from tail disparity and core differences, contributions that appear to carry over into analogous covalent mesogens. IR measurements of solid mixtures of acids suggest that the heterodimer acids population dominates, and deuterium NMR studies of labelled acids in the nematic phase emphasize the dynamic character of this class of supramesogens: dimer lifetimes are shorter than microseconds.