Existence and regularity of solutions to nonlocal retarded differential equations

In this paper the existence and uniqueness of different types of solutions to a class of semilinear retarded differential equations with nonlocal history conditions are obtained by a fixed point argument. Also finite dimensional approximation of these solutions in a Hilbert space is established.     

Anticancer Potency and Multidrug‐Resistant Studies of Self‐Assembled Arene–Ruthenium Metallarectangles

A suite of three tetraruthenium metallacycles have been obtained from [2+2] self‐assemblies between N,N′‐Di‐(4‐pyridyl)‐1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarbo–xydiimide ( 4 ) and one of the three dinuclear arene ruthenium clips, (η⁶‐p‐iPrC₆H₄Me)₂Ru₂(OO∩OO)][OTf]₂ (OO∩OO=oxalate 1 , 2,5‐dioxydo‐1,4‐benzoquinonato (dobq) 2 , 5,8‐dihydroxy‐1,4‐naphthaquinonato (donq) 3 ; OTf=triflate). All complexes were isolated in good yield (>85 %) as triflate salts and were fully characterized by using ¹H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopies, and high‐resolution electrospray mass spectrometry. A single crystal of the metallarectangle 5 was suitable for X‐ray diffraction structural characterization. The biological activities of the metallacycles were determined by using 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, establishing their in vitro anticancer properties. Our results show that for the AGC (gastric cancer) cell lines, the cytotoxicity of (donq)‐containing SCC 7 exceeds that of cisplatin, which was used as a control. For HCT15 (colon cancer) cell lines, the cytotoxicity is comparable to both cisplatin and doxorubicin. An in vivo hollow fiber model was used to show growth‐inhibitory activity against HCT15 and image‐based cytometry experiments indicated that 7 induced apoptosis as the mode of cell death. Complex 7 also showed significant antitumor activity for multidrug‐resistant HCT15/CLO2 cell lines, for which doxorubicin was ineffective.     

In-plane correlations in a polymer-supported lipid membrane measured by off-specular neutron scattering

Polymer-supported single lipid bilayers are models to study configurations of cell membranes. We used off-specular neutron scattering to quantify in-plane height-height correlations of interfacial fluctuations of such a lipid bilayer. As temperature decreased from 37 °C to 25 °C, the polymer swells and the polymer-supported lipid membrane deviates from its initially nearly planar structure. A correlation length characteristic of capillary waves changes from 30 μm at 37 °C to 11 μm at 25 °C, while the membrane bending rigidity remains roughly constant in this temperature range.     

Synthesis and characterization of porous silicon layers for 1D photonic crystal application

In this paper, we studied the optical and physical properties of electrochemically prepared porous silicon layers. The atomic force microscopy analysis showed that the etching depth, pore diameter and surface roughness increase as the etching time increased from 30 to 50 mA/cm². By tuning two current densities J₁ = 50 mA/cm² and J₂ = 30 mA/cm², two samples of 1D porous silicon photonic crystals were fabricated. The layered structure of 1D photonic crystals has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy measurement which showed white and black strips of two distinct refractive index layers. Finally, the measured reflectance spectra of 1D porous silicon photonic crystals were compared with simulated results.     

4-Chloro-2,6-Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanocomposites for the Synthesis of Sinapaldehyde

Kinetics and Catalysis - 4-Chloro-2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (CPDA) functionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15 nanocomposites (SBA/5CPDA) were synthesized and characterized for the Knoevenagel...     

Rapid prototyping of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchips using electrohydrodynamic jet printing: Application to electrokinetic assays

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidic devices have found increasing utility for electrophoretic and electrokinetic assays because of their ease of fabrication using replica molding. However, the fabrication of high-resolution molds for replica molding still requires the resource-intensive and time-consuming photolithography process, which precludes quick design iterations and device optimization. We here demonstrate a low-cost, rapid microfabrication process, based on electrohydrodynamic jet printing (EJP), for fabricating non-sacrificial master molds for replica molding of PDMS microfluidic devices. The method is based on the precise deposition of an electrically stretched polymeric solution of polycaprolactone in acetic acid on a silicon wafer placed on a computer-controlled motion stage. This process offers the high-resolution (order 10 $\mu$m) capability of photolithography and rapid prototyping capability of inkjet printing to print high-resolution templates for elastomeric microfluidic devices within a few minutes. Through proper selection of the operating parameters such as solution flow rate, applied electric field, and stage speed, we demonstrate microfabrication of intricate master molds and corresponding PDMS microfluidic devices for electrokinetic applications. We demonstrate the utility of the fabricated PDMS microchips for nonlinear electrokinetic processes such as electrokinetic instability and controlled sample splitting in ITP. The ability to rapid prototype customized reusable master molds with order 10 $\mu$m resolution within a few minutes can help in designing and optimizing microfluidic devices for various electrokinetic applications.