Effect of plasma etching on photoluminescence of SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles deposited on DOPC lipid membrane

The photoluminescence characteristic of the SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles deposited on a solid supported liquid-crystalline phospholipid (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) membrane was probed after plasma etching the nanoparticle monolayer. It was shown that the plasma etching of the nanoparticle surface greatly altered the particle morphology and enhanced the PL effect, especially when the particle size was below 10 nm in spite of strong presence of surrounding carbon. The enhancement mainly stemmed from the growth of a new PL peak due to the additional defect states produced on the nanoparticle surface by the plasma etching. It was also shown that hydrating the SnO(x)/Sn nanoparticles similarly improved the PL response of the nanoparticles as the hydration produced an additional oxygen-rich oxide layer on the particle surface.     

The Jahn-Teller effect in CH3Cl+(X̃2E): a combined high-resolution experimental measurement and ab initio theoretical study

The energy levels of CH(3)Cl(+)X?(2)E showing strong spin-vibronic coupling effect (Jahn-Teller effect) have been measured up to 3500 cm(-1) above the ground vibrational state using one-photon zero-kinetic energy photoelectron and mass-analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopic method. Theoretical calculations have been also performed to calculate the spin-vibronic energy levels using a diabatic model and ab initio adiabatic potential energy surfaces (PESs). In the theoretical calculations the diabatic potential energy surfaces are expanded by the Taylor expansions up to the fourth-order including the multimode vibronic interactions. The calculated spin-orbit energy splitting (224.6 cm(-1)) for the ground vibrational state is in good agreement with the experimental data (219 ± 3 cm(-1)), which indicates that the Jahn-Teller and the spin-orbit coupling have been properly described in the theoretical model near the zero-point energy level. Based on the assignments predicted by the theoretical calculations, the experimentally measured energy levels were fitted to those from the diabatic model by optimizing the main spectroscopic parameters. The PESs from the ab initio calculations at the level of CASPT2/vq(t)z were thus compared with those calculated from the experimentally determined spectroscopic parameters. The theoretical diagonal elements in the diabatic potential matrix are in good agreement with those determined using the experimental data, however, the theoretical off-diagonal elements appreciably deviate from those determined using the experimental data for geometric points far away from the conical intersections. It is also concluded that the JT effect in CH(3)Cl(+) mainly arises from the linear coupling and the mode coupling between the CH(3) deform (υ(5)) and CH(3) rock (υ(6)) vibrations. The mode couplings between the symmetric C-Cl stretching vibration υ(3) with υ(5) and υ(6) are also important to understand the spin-vibronic structure of the molecule.     

Novel Tripod Amphiphiles for Membrane Protein Analysis

Integral membrane proteins play central roles in controlling the flow of information and molecules across membranes. Our understanding of membrane protein structures and functions, however, is seriously limited, mainly due to difficulties in handling and analysing these proteins in aqueous solution. The use of a detergent or other amphipathic agents is required to overcome the intrinsic incompatibility between the large lipophilic surfaces displayed by the membrane proteins in their native forms and the polar solvent molecules. Here, we introduce new tripod amphiphiles displaying favourable behaviours toward several membrane protein systems, leading to an enhanced protein solubilisation and stabilisation compared to both conventional detergents and previously described tripod amphiphiles.     

Separation of five oligostilbenes from Vitis amurensis by flow‐rate gradient high‐performance counter‐current chromatography

A rapid and efficient high‐performance counter‐current chromatography (HPCCC) method was developed to separate five oligostilbenes from the roots of Vitis amurensis. An n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water system (4:8:4:10, v/v/v/v) was selected as an optimal two‐phase solvent system of which the upper phase was used as the stationary phase and the lower phase was used as the mobile one. Partition coefficient values for the target compounds under these optimized conditions were 0.28 ( 1 , ampleosin A), 7.12 ( 2 , (+)‐g‐viniferin), 2.26 ( 3 , vitisin A), 5.38 ( 4 , wilsonol C), and 11.23 ( 5 , vitisin B). Flow‐rate gradient HPCCC (4 mL/min in 0–70 min, 8 mL/min in 70–250 min) was applied to isolate the target compounds in as high purity as possible within the shortest possible run time. Under these conditions, ampelopsin A (12.1 mg), (+)‐g‐viniferin (10.4 mg), vitisin A (2.8 mg), wilsonol C (3.2 mg), and vitisin B (37 mg) were isolated with >95% purity from 150 mg of enriched oligostilbene extract. Although the K_D of the last eluted compound, vitisin B (K_D = 11.23), was relatively large, it was eluted in 115–145 min using the two‐phase solvent system. This study shows that HPCCC is an efficient tool for the isolation and purification of natural products.     

AGR2, a mucinous ovarian cancer marker, promotes cell proliferation and migration

Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of death in women. Early detection of ovarian cancer is essential to decrease mortality. However, the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer is difficult due to a lack of clinical symptoms and suitable molecular diagnostic markers. Thus, identification of meaningful tumor biomarkers with potential clinical application is clearly needed. To search for a biomarker for the early detection of ovarian cancer, we identified human anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) from our systematic analysis of paired normal and ovarian tumor tissue cDNA microarray. We noted a marked overexpression of AGR2 mRNA and protein in early stage mucinous ovarian tumors compared to normal ovarian tissues and serous type ovarian tumors by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. To further elucidate the role of AGR2 in ovarian tumorigenesis, stable 2774 human ovarian cancer cell lines overexpressing AGR2 were established. Forced expression of AGR2 in 2774 cells enhanced the growth and migration of ovarian cancer cells. AGR2 protein was detected in the serum of mucinous ovarian cancer patients by Western blot and ELISA analysis. Thus, AGR2 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of mucinous ovarian cancer and an ELISA assay may facilitate the early detection of mucinous ovarian cancer using patient serum.     

Dual‐curable fluorinated poly(methacrylate) copolymers for optical adhesives

In pursuit of photo‐curable adhesive for optical communication, dual‐curable acrylic oligomers (AOs) having alkoxy silane group, fluorine atoms and vinyl group as a pendent group were synthesized by two‐stage reactions. The isocyanate group containing oligomers were firstly synthesized via radical polymerization of acrylic monomers, and followed by urethane reaction with 2‐hydroxy ethyl methacrylate. The dual curing behaviors, e.g. thermal and photo‐cure, were studied by using photo‐differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and real‐time IR. An optimum adhesive formulation, based on AO (15 g), epoxy acrylate (80 g), isobonyl methacrylate (17 g) and photo‐initiator (3 g), was obtained. As the content of AO was increased in the optical adhesive formulation, refractive index decreased but transmittance increased due to the increase in fluorine content. The optical transmittance at the range of 1.3 to 1.55 μm was higher than 90%. The addition of colloidal silica with the earlier mentioned formulation was helpful in decreasing crosslinking volume shrinkage and the increasing of glass fiber adhesion. The required properties for the optical adhesive, including chemical resistance and thermal resistance, dimension stability, etc. were also investigated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanism and nanosize products of the sol-gel reaction using diphenylsilanediol and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane as precursors

We use a first-principles calculation and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to investigate the mechanism and the nanosize products of the sol-gel reaction with diphenylsilanediol (DPD) and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MEMO) precursors in synthesizing a hybrid waveguide material. It is predicted that switching between a DPD hydroxyl and a MEMO methoxy with a reaction rate of 6.8 x 10(-6) s(-1) at 300 K is the fastest process for the first reaction step, thus generating diphenylmethoxysilanol (DPM) and 3-methacryloxypropyldimethoxysilanol (MEDO) as products. However, we determine that this reaction pathway could be modified by the presence of the H2O released from a catalyst such as Ba(OH)2.H2O. Next, switching between the DPM hydroxyl and the MEDO methoxy is followed to generate diphenyldimethoxysilane (DPDM) and 3-methacryloxypropylmethoxysilanediol (MEMDO). However, condensation between a MEMDO hydroxyl and a DPDM methoxy is found to be most favorable for the third reaction step, which generates the DPDM-MEMDO dimer and CH3OH molecule as products. In a similar fashion, a DPDM methoxy of the DPDM-MEMDO dimer can condense with a MEMDO hydroxyl of the second DPDM-MEMDO dimer to increase the chain, but its reaction rate of 2.8 x 10(-11) s(-1) is predicted to be about 5 times smaller than that between a DPDM methoxy and a MEMDO hydroxyl. This implies that the reaction rate for the larger nanostructures becomes smaller. Additionally, our SANS measurements determine that the final products from our sol-gel reaction are on the nanometer scale, at sizes from 1.76 to 2.36 nm.     

Metabolism of eupatilin in rats using liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry

Eupatilin (5,7-dihydroxy-3',4',6-trimethoxy flavone) is an active ingredient of an ethanol extract of Artemisia asiatica (DA-9601) that is used in the treatment of gastritis. In vitro and in vivo metabolism of eupatilin in the rats has been studied by LC-electrospray mass spectrometry. Rat liver microsomal incubation of eupatilin in the presence of NADPH and UDPGA resulted in the formation of four metabolites (M1-M4). M1, M2, M3 and M4 were tentatively identified as 3'- or 4'-O-demethyl-eupatilin glucuronide, eupatilin glucuronide, 6-O-demethyleupatilin and 3'- or 4'-O-demethyl-eupatilin, respectively. Those metabolites from in vitro study were also characterized in bile, plasma or urine samples after an intravenous administration of eupatilin to rats. In rat bile, plasma and urine samples, eupatilin glucuronide (M2) was a major metabolite, whereas M3, M4 and M4 glucuronide (M1) were the minor metabolites.