Bifurcation diagrams and Turing patterns in a chemical self-replicating reaction-diffusion system with cross diffusion

Chemical self-replication of oligonucleotides and helical peptides exhibits the so-called square root rate law. Based on this rate we extend our previous work on ideal replicators to include the square root rate and other possible nonlinearities, which we couple with an enzymatic sink. For this generalized model, we consider the role of cross diffusion in pattern formation, and we obtain exact general relations for the Poincare-Adronov-Hopf and Turing bifurcations, and our generalized results include the Higgins, Autocatalator, and Templator models as specific cases.     

Cyanide-bridged W(V)-Co(II) double-zigzag chain based on an octacoordinated W precursor: metamagnetism and spin canting

A cyanide-bridged W-Co bimetallic complex (1) with a double-zigzag chain structure was characterized in terms of structure and magnetism. Compound 1 exhibits metamagnetism and spin canting induced by the presence of anisotropic CoII ions and noncovalent interactions.     

Effect of the residual silanol group protection on the liquid chromatographic resolution of racemic primary amino compounds on a chiral stationary phase based on optically active (3,3'-diphenyl-1,1'-binaphthyl)-20-crown-6

A liquid chromatographic chiral stationary phase (CSP) based on (3,3'-diphenyl-1,1'-binaphthyl)-20-crown-6, which has been utilized in the resolution of alpha-amino acids, amines and amino alcohols, was treated with excess of n-octyltriethoxysilane to prepare a new improved CSP. The residual silanol groups of the original CSP were protected by n-octyl groups in the new CSP. The chiral recognition ability of the new CSP was superior to that of the original CSP in the resolution of alpha-amino acids, amines and amino alcohols. Retention factors (k1) for the resolution of alpha-amino acids were lower on the new CSP than on the original CSP while those for the resolution of amines and amino alcohols were higher on the new CSP than on the original CSP. The improved chiral recognition ability of the new CSP and the retention behaviors of the two enantiomers on the new CSP have been rationalized to stem from the removal of the non-enantioselective interactions between the analytes and the residual silanol groups of the original CSP and the improved lipophilicity of the CSP.     

Formation of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoindoles by palladium-catalyzed hydride reduction

Substituted 1,3-dihydro-2H-isoindoles (2, isoindolines) were prepared and subjected to palladium-catalyzed formate reduction. Alkyl isoindolines were reduced to 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2H-isoindoles (1). Only partial reduction was observed for 5-methoxyisoindoline, and 4-methoxy-, 5-carbomethoxy-, amino-, and amidoisoindolines were inert to the reaction. Halogen-substituted isoindolines were dehalogenated and reduced to 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2H-isoindoles. Isoindole 24 was also reduced to a mixture of an isoindoline and a 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2H-isoindole. In contrast, 2,3-dihydro-1H-indoles 21 underwent dehydrogenation to give thermodynamically stable indoles. Theoretical calculations show the significant difference in aromaticity between isoindoles and indoles, corresponding to the observed differences in reactivities. Tetrahydro-2H-isoindoles 1 were oxidized to 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoindole-1,3-diones in the presence of NBS and air.     

Magnesium ion selective two-photon fluorescent probe based on a benzo[h]chromene derivative for in vivo imaging

A novel, two-photon probe for the detection of free Mg2+ ions in living cells and live tissues has been developed. The probe can be excited by 880 nm laser photons, emits strong two-photon excited fluorescence in response to Mg2+ ions, can be easily loaded into the cell and tissue, shows high photostability, and can measure the Mg2+ ion concentration without interference by Ca2+ ions in living cells. The intracellular dissociation constant (Kdi) for Mg2+ determined by the two-photon process is 2.5 mM, which is suitable for dynamic Mg2+ concentration measurement. In addition, the probe is capable of imaging endogenous stores of free Mg2+ at a few hundred micrometers depth in live tissues using two-photon microscopy (TPM).     

Acetylation of beta-cyclodextrin surface-functionalized cellulose dialysis membranes with enhanced chiral separation

The enhanced enantiomeric separation of racemic phenylalanine solution has been demonstrated by the membrane-based chiral resolution method using an acetylated beta-cyclodextrin-immobilized cellulose dialysis membrane. Beta-cyclodextrin (CD) was first immobilized onto the surface of commercial cellulose dialysis membranes, followed by the acetylation reaction through the treatment of the membranes with acetic anhydride to form the chiral selective acetylated beta-cyclodextrin-immobilized cellulose dialysis membrane. The acetylated CD-immobilized membrane exhibits enantioselectivity in the range of 1.26-1.33 depending on the acetylation time. The improvement in enantioselectivity after acetylation was mainly attributed to the better discrimination ability of acetylated CD and the decrease in membrane pore size. Molecular modeling simulations indicate that the acetylation of hydroxyl groups would result in a CD conformation with torus distortions and would create higher steric hindrance for penetrants. As a result, compared to the original CD, the acetylated CD may have less effective binding but better discrimination of enantiomers. The energy drop is only 3 kcal/mol between different enantiomers before and after the binding of phenylalanine with an unmodified CD. The energy drop increases to 10 kcal/mol if acetylated CD is employed as the chiral selector, showing stronger characteristics for chiral selection.     

Carboxyl-terminated dendrimer-coated bioactive interface for protein microarray: high-sensitivity detection of antigen in complex biological samples

Protein microarrays are promising tools that can potentially enable high throughput proteomic screening in areas such as disease diagnosis and drug discovery. A critical aspect in the development of protein microarrays is the optimization of the array's surface chemistry to achieve the high sensitivity required for detection of proteins in cell lysate and other complex biological mixtures. In the present study, a high-density antibody array with minimal nonspecific cellular protein adsorption was prepared using a glass surface coated with a poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer terminated with carboxyl group (PAMAM-COOH). The carboxyl-terminated dendrimer-modified surface has almost similar nonspecific cellular protein adsorption when compared to an inert PEG-modified surface. In addition, the multiple functional sites available for reaction on the dendrimer surface facilitated high-density immobilization of antibodies and efficient capture of bioanalytes. Various molecules were tested for their ability to block or deactivate the reactive carboxyl surface after antibody immobilization to further reduce the nonspecific binding. A short oligoethylene glycol (NH2-d4-PEG-COOH), was found to significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the assay, resulting in higher sensitivity. The properties and functional qualities of the various surfaces were characterized by contact angle and AFM measurements. Nonspecific protein adsorption and protein immobilization as a function of dendrimer generations and sensitivity of antigen capturing from a buffer (1 pM) as well as from the complex cell lysate (10 pM) system were examined. Our detailed experimental studies demonstrated a facile method of preparing surfaces with high protein loading and low nonspecific protein binding for the development of high sensitivity protein microarrays.     

Nuclear matter properties and relativistic mean-field theory

Nuclear matter properties are calculated in the relativistic mean-field theory by using a number of different parameter sets. The result shows that the volume energy a₁ and the symmetry energy J are around the acceptable values 16MeV and 30MeV, respectively; the incompressibility K₀ is unacceptably high in the linear model, but assumes reasonable value if nonlinear terms are included; the density symmetry L is around 100MeV for most parameter sets, and the symmetry incompressibility K _s has positive sign which is opposite to expectations based on the nonrelativistic model. In almost all parameter sets there exists a critical point (,), where the minimum and the maximum of the equation of state are coincident and the incompressibility equals zero, falling into ranges 0.014fm^-3 < < 0.039fm^-3 and 0.74 < ≤0.95; for a few parameter sets there is no critical point and the pure neutron matter is predicted to be bound. The maximum mass M _NS of neutron stars is predicted in the range 2.45M ?M _NS? 3.26M , the corresponding neutron star radius R _NS is in the range 12.2km ?R _NS? 15.1km. Received: 5 May 2000 / Accepted: 28 November 2000     

Synthesis of Chain-End Functionalized PP and Applications in Exfoliated PP/Clay Nanocomposites

This paper summarizes our research to the preparation of chain-end functionalized isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) having a terminal functional group, such as an OH and an NH₂. The chemistry involves metallocene-mediated propylene polymerization using the rac-Me₂Si[2-Me-4-Ph(Ind)]₂ZrCl₂/MAO complex in the presence of styrene derivatives (St-f) and hydrogen, which serve as the chain transfer agents. The molecular weight of the resulting i-PP polymers with terminal OH or NH₂ groups (i.e., PP-t-OH and PP-t-NH₂) are inversely proportional to the molar ratio of [St-f]/[propylene]. Despite the extremely low concentration of functional groups, the high molecular weight NH₃⁺-terminated PP (PP-t-NH₃⁺) exhibits a distinctive advantage over other functional PP polymers containing side chain functional groups or long functional blocks. The terminal hydrophilic NH₃⁺ cation, with good mobility and reactivity, effectively ion-exchanges the cations (Li⁺, Na⁺, etc.) located between the clay interlayers, and anchors the PP chain to the clay surfaces. On the other hand, the remaining rest of the unperturbed, end-tethered, high molecular weight PP tail exfoliates the clay layers. This exfoliated structure is maintained even after further mixing of the PP-bearing platelets with pure, neat PP polymers.     

Effect of pH on Adsorption of Cephalosporin C by A Nonionic Polymeric Sorbent

Adsorption of cephalosporin C in a column charged with a nonionic polymeric sorbent, SP850, was studied at various pH values to assess the effect of pH on the dynamic behavior in column adsorbers. Since cephalosporin C is amphoteric, the fractions of each ionic form were calculated from the pK values at a given solution pH. Single-species isotherm parameters for each ionic form were simultaneously extracted from all sets of adsorption equilibrium data measured at several pH values. The mutual interaction between different ionic forms on SP850 was described by a competitive adsorption, namely the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). This treatment made it possible to simulate the dynamic behavior of cephalosporin C at low pH values properly by a dynamic model which was incorporated with the mutual competitive adsorption.