Development of a solid-supported biotinylation reagent for efficient biotin labeling of SH groups on small molecules

We report here the design and synthesis of a novel and selective SH-group biotinylating reagent, KSH-1 (1), for the biotinylation of small molecules using solid phase chemistry. The results demonstrate that 1 efficiently biotinylated a small molecule, captopril, and afforded the product in high yield and purity.     

Demonstration of diamond field effect transistors by AlN/diamond heterostructure

This is the first report on an AlN/diamond heterojunction field effect transistor (HFET). The AlN epilayer is grown on oxygen‐terminated (111) diamond substrates using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy at a temperature as high as 1240 °C. The transistor and gate capacitance–voltage characteristics indicate that the HFET behaves as a p‐channel FET with a normally‐on depletion mode. The HFET channel is located at the AlN/diamond interface, and holes are accumulated in diamond close to the interface. The development of the AlN/diamond HFET creates a new possibility for diamond‐based power electronics. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Synthesis and self‐assembly of thermotropic block copolymer with long alkyl tethered cage silsesquioxane in the side chain

Thermotropic POSS‐containing poly(methacrylate) with long alkyl chain tethered polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) in the side chain and the block copolymers (PMMA‐b‐PMAC11POSS) were developed by through living anionic polymerization. The resulting polymers indicated a phase transition temperature at 112 °C from spherocrystal to isotropic phase. The POSS‐containing polymer segments tended to form matrix of microphase‐separated nanostructures in the bulk even in the very low volume fraction, for instance, PMMA cylindrical nanostructure was obtained by PMMA₁₇₅‐b‐PMAC11POSS₁₁ (?_PMAC11POSS = 0.44). The control of thin film morphology was carried out by not only solvent annealing, but also thermal annealing, resulting in the formation of well‐ordered dot‐ and fingerprint‐type nanostructures. This is the first report in a series of POSS‐containing block polymers that are capable for thermal annealing to generate well‐ordered microphase‐separated nanostructures in thin films. The novel thermotropic POSS‐containing block copolymer offers a promising material for block copolymer lithography. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Gravitational Effects on Mixing and Growth Morphology of an In0.5Ga0.5 System

A mixing experiment of multicomponents melts was performed using a uniform temperature furnace in the Second International Microgravity Laboratories (IML-2) mission. Growth morphologies and Ga concentration profiles were analyzed for the samples with the compositional ratio of 0.5 In–0.5 Ga–1.0 Sb grown under microgravity and on earth. The sample with free surface grown under microgravity was nearly spherical in shape, except some parts with projections. Ga was dispersed homogeneously in the bulk because the mixing was enhanced by Marangoni convection due to the concentration gradient. On the other hand, the sample grown on earth was a double cylindrical shape with different diameters, and Ga concentration decreased from top to bottom, showing clearly the effect of gravity. Many needle crystals were formed in both space and earth samples due to rapid cooling. The average size of the needle crystals grown in space was larger than that of the earth sample.     

Lectures on attractors and black holes

A basic survey on some aspects of four‐dimensional black holes (BHs) is given in these lectures. It covers thermodynamical properties as well as the Attractor Mechanism for extremal BHs in an environment of scalar field background. Some relevant formulæ for the critical points of the BH “effective potential” are discussed, and the simplest example uncovering the attractor behavior, the Maxwell‐Einstein‐dilaton supergravity, is analyzed in detail. Observations on similarities between BH entropy (as given by the Bekenstein‐Hawking entropy‐area formula) and multipartite entanglement of qubits in quantum information theory are reported, as well. Finally, among the latest developments, the moduli space of attractor points for 𝒩 ≥ 2 supergravities is also considered. Based on lectures given by S. Ferrara at the International School of Subnuclear Physics, 45th Course: Search for the “Totally Unexpected” in the LHC era, Erice, Italy, 29 August – 7 September 2007 (Directors: G. 't Hooft – A. Zichichi), and at the III Avogadro Meeting on Theoretical Physics, Alessandria, Italy, 19 – 21 December 2007.     

Effect of Ampoule Rotation on Growth of InGaAs Ternary Bulk Crystals from Solution

In_xGa_1-xAs (x = 0.045) ternary bulk crystals were grown on GaAs seeds from an In–Ga–As solution by the temperature-difference method modified to rotate a growth ampoule. The effect of ampoule rotation on the profiles of the composition and the growth rate were investigated. The In compositional profiles were uniform irrespective of the ampoule rotation. On the other hand, the growth rate at the center of the crystal increased from 40 μm/h at 0 rpm to 55 μm/h at 100 rpm. The profile of growth rate changed from concave to convex toward the seed due to the ampoule rotation. Flow patterns and compositional profiles in the solution were simulated by solving four equations: Navier-Stokes, continuity, energy, and solute diffusion. The ampoule rotation enhanced the transportation of As component from the GaAs feed toward the seed at the central region in the solution. This led to the increase of the growth rate.