Finite-size effects do not reduce the repeat spacing of phospholipid multibilayer stacks on a rigid substrate

Finite-size effects in stacks of phospholipid bilayers, in the fluid phase, are investigated using samples oriented on silicon substrates. Recently in this journal, such effects have been suggested as the probable cause of reduced lamellar repeat spacings in very thin samples made up of a few (<10) bilayers. Our systematic studies on samples of different thicknesses do not support this conclusion. At full hydration all samples are found to have the same repeat spacing, irrespective of their thickness. At lower hydrations, on the other hand, very thin samples, consisting of only a few bilayers, have a slightly larger spacing.Received: 20 January 2004, Published online: 20 April 2004PACS: 68.08.Bc Wetting - 87.15.Ya Fluctuations - 87.16.Dg Membranes, bilayers, and vesicles - 87.64.Bx Electron, neutron, and X-ray diffraction and scattering     

Transonic shock oscillations on NACA0012 aerofoil

The mechanism of the origin of shock oscillations on NACA0012 aerofoils is investigated using a moving grid thin layer Navier Stokes code. The method used to understand the mechanism is to initiate the shock oscillations on an aerofoil by moving the aerofoil from a regime of steady transonic flow into a regime of periodic flow by a change in airflow incidence. The results indicate that the shock induced bubble plays a leading role in the origin of shock oscillations and the trailing edge has an affect on its amplitude. Received 1 April 1997 / Accepted 1 December 1997     

A nonlithographic top-down electrochemical approach for creating hierarchical (micro-nano) superhydrophobic silicon surfaces

Superhydrophobic surfaces are biomimetic structures with potential applications in several key technological areas. In the past decade, several top-down and bottom-up fabrication methods have been developed to create such surfaces. These typically combine a hierarchical structure and low surface energy coatings to increase the contact angle and decrease the rolling angles. Silicon-based superhydrophobic surfaces are particularly attractive since they can be integrated with active electronics in order to protect them from the detrimental effects of environmental water and moisture. In this work, we introduce a simple and inexpensive process incorporating electrochemical surface modification (to create a fractal shape micro-nano topography) in combination with a final wet etching step to fabricate a superhydrophobic silicon surface with a contact angle of 160 degrees and a sliding angle of less than 1 degree.     

Structure of mesh phases in a cationic surfactant system with strongly bound counterions

We report the observation of an intermediate mesh phase with rhombohedral symmetry, corresponding to the space group Rm, in a mixed surfactant system formed by the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and the organic salt 3-sodium-2-hydroxy naphthoate (SHN). It occurs between a random mesh phase (L(alpha)(D)) and a lamellar phase (L(alpha)) at low temperatures; at higher temperatures, the (L(alpha)(D)) phase transforms continuously into the (L(alpha)) phase with an increasing surfactant concentration (phi(s)). To separate the effects of salt and phi(s) on the phase behavior, the ternary system consisting of cetyltrimethylammonium 3-hydroxy-naphthalene-2-carboxylate (CTAHN), sodium bromide (NaBr), and water was studied. The intermediate mesh phase is found in this system at high NaBr concentrations. The micellar aggregates, both in the intermediate and random mesh phases, are found to be made up of a two-dimensional network of rod-like segments, with three rods meeting at each node. The average mesh size increases with phi(s), and the transition from the random mesh phase to the intermediate phase is found to occur when it is approximately 1.5 times the lamellar periodicity. The intermediate mesh phase is absent in the equimolar dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB)-SHN system, indicating the role of the surfactant chain length in the formation of this phase. This system exhibits a random mesh phase over a very wide range of water content, with the average mesh size decreasing upon an increasing phi(s), contrary to the trend seen in the CTAB-SHN system.     

Synthesis of spiropyrazolines

Synthesis of a series of novel 1,3,2′-triphenyl-4-aryl spiropyrazolines [5.4′]-2′-butenolides has been accomplished in good yield by regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diphenylnitrilimine with (E)-3-arylidenebutenolides. X-ray crystal structure analysis of one of the products 4a confirms the structure of the product and the regiochemistry of cycloaddition. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 9:517–522, 1998     

Structural Phase Behavior of High-Concentration,Alignable Biomimetic Bicelle Mixtures

The structures of bicelle mixtures composed of dimyristoyl and dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholines (DMPC and DHPC) with DMPC/DHPC molar ratios of 3.2 and 5 are characterized using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Three phases, isotropic (I), chiral nematic (N^*) and smectic (S) are observed as temperature (T) varies from 10 to 70 °C. The structure of the magnetically alignable N^* phase, which was previously considered to be made up of discoidal micelles, is found to be composed of “ribbons”. Doping with the charged lipid, dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG), which has the same 14:0 hydrocarbon chains as DMPC, results in a structural change of the aggregates where only the isotropic and smectic phases are observed. The smectic phase for the mixtures doped with DMPG is shear-alignable and follows one-dimensional swelling. However, at high-T zwitterionic DMPC/DHPC mixtures form multi-lamellar vesicles (MLV) with a relatively constant lamellar spacing of 66 Å, independent of water content.     

Orientational Order Parameter in 1-Hexyl-4-(4-Isothiocyanatophenyl) Bicyclo [2,2,2] Octane using X-Rays

Abstract

1-Hexy1-4-(4-isothiocyanatophenyl)bicyclo[2,2,2]octane (HIPBO), a nematic liquid crystal which shows nematic phase in the temperature range 52.8 to 90.2°C, has been used along with imaging plate system to record X-ray Laue type diffraction pattern at different temperatures. For this purpose oriented sample was used. Orientational order parameter was obtained using Fourier method, recently reported by us, and has been compared with that of other existing methods.     

Indium trichloride catalyzed one-pot synthesis of indolo[2,1-a]pyrrolo[4′,3′:2,3]-7a,8,13,13b-tetrahydroquinolines through intramolecular imino Diels-Alder reactions

An efficient synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines has been achieved by the reaction of aldimines derived from various substituted aromatic amines and indole-2-carbaldehyde containing an internal dienophile using 20 mol % InCl₃ in acetonitrile at room temperature. The reactions are very fast and the products are isolated in good yields and in pure form.