Atomic beam-induced fluorination of polyimide and its application to site-selective Cu metallization

Metallization methods of polyimide by hyperthermal atomic oxygen and atomic fluorine beams were developed. An atomic fluorine beam with a translational energy of 6.2 eV modified the wettability of polyimide surfaces to provide an advancing water contact angle of 132 degrees. It was confirmed that in-air storage for 2 months did not alter the hydrophobic property created by the atomic fluorine beam. This stable beam-induced surface fluorination technique was then applied to site-selective electroless Cu plating on polyimide. It was demonstrated that changing the exposure sequence could create both positive- and negative-type plating processes.     

Screening for Oral Cancer Using Electrochemical Telomerase Assay

Electrochemical telomerase assay (ECTA) developed by our group was evaluated in an oral cancer screening using exfoliated oral cells and tissues obtained from patients of oral cancer, mucosa associated disease, or healthy volunteers. Telomerase activity from ECTA is correlated with hTERT mRNA expression level using a real‐time PCR and was increasing in the following order: healthy volunteer group<mucosa associated disease group<oral cancer group. Sensitivity and specificity of ECTA were 88 % and 72 %, respectively when used 17 % of the threshold value based on the receiver operating characteristic curve in ECTA data.     

Optimum hole-opening condition for Cisplatin incorporation in single-wall carbon nanohorns and its release

We enclosed cisplatin (CDDP), an anticancer drug, inside single-wall carbon nanohorns (SWNH) with holes opened by being heated from room temperature to a target temperature (475-580 degrees C) in flowing dry air, with an increase rate of 1 degrees C/min. The optimum target temperature was found to be 500 degrees C, in terms of the least amount of CDDP deposited outside the SWNH, when the quantity of CDDP encapsulated inside the SWNH was 12 wt %. The incorporated CDDP was slowly released from the SWNH in phosphate buffer saline, and the released quantity was 80%, which was greatly improved from the previous value of 15%. This indicated that a CDDP-containing SWNH could become more potentially useful for biological applications.     

Visualization of penetration of a high-speed focused microjet into gel and animal skin

Journal of Visualization - Realization of a needle-free drug delivery device can solve needle-caused problems. Recently, attention has been given to the use of a focused liquid jet instead of the...     

Convergent total syntheses of gambierol and 16-epi-gambierol and their biological activities

The convergent total syntheses of gambierol (1) and 16-epi-gambierol (2) have been achieved. The ABC and FGH ring segments 4 and 5 were prepared from known compounds 6 and 13, respectively, by linear manners. The fragments prepared were connected by our own synthetic strategy including the intramolecular allylation of alpha-acetoxy ether followed by ring-closing metathesis to furnish the octacyclic ether 3. The diiodoalkene 45, prepared from 3, was converted to the Z-iodoalkene 50 via a novel and stereoselective hydrogenolysis followed by deprotection. Construction of the triene side chain was performed by the modified Stille coupling of 50 with the Z-vinylic stannane 41 to afford 1. The similar transformations were carried out on the epimeric octacycle 34 to give 2, which showed no toxicity against mice at the concentration of 14 mg/kg.     

Heteroepitaxial growth of a zeolite film with a patterned surface-texture

We focus on the eteroepitaxial growth of trigonal chabazite with voids of three-dimensional intersection structures. The differences in the structures originate from the stacking sequences of the six-membered rings. Sodalite along 111 is constructed by an "abcabc" stacking sequence, while chabazite along [111] is constructed by "abab". Therefore, chabazite can grow heteroepitaxially on a sodalite substrate while keeping the relation of chabazite (111)//sodalite {111}. In this Communication, we report on the first success of the heteroepitaxial growth of a continuous zeolite (chabazite) film with a unique patterned surface-texture on a millimeter-sized sodalite single crystal. We have found that the unique texture of chabazite films is rationalized by the heteroepitaxial growth of chabazite on sodalite and the subsequent twin formation of chabazite.     

Simultaneous analysis of cationic, anionic, and neutral compounds using monolithic CEC columns

A new capillary electrochromatography (CEC) column for the simultaneous analysis of cationic, neutral, and anionic compounds using CEC-ESI-MS is described. Three different silica monolith columns were prepared by changing the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) contents for comparison of the separation property of these columns. Different separation programs were used for the simultaneous separation of different charged compounds under the same conditions. The column prepared with 80 mg of PEG separated typical compounds within 15 min using 1 M formic acid as the electrolyte. The analytes migrated in the order of cationic, neutral, and anionic compounds, which means that the migration order was mainly determined by the electrophoresis. The hydrodynamic flow by pressure from the inlet side was significant for a stable analysis to be achieved. The effect of the composition of the sheath liquid was also examined. All analytes (14 amino acids, thiourea, urea, citric acid, and ATP) were detectable when 1% acetic acid in 50% (v/v) methanol was used as the sheath liquid.