Preparation and characterization of nanostructured thin films of Au and Ag nanoparticles synthesized by ascorbic acid on modified glass surface

Immobilization of Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by ascorbic acid on chemically modified glass surface has been studied. 3‐[2‐(2‐Aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyl‐trimethoxysilane (AMPTS), N‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilan, and 3‐trimethoxysilyl‐1‐propanethiol (MSPT) were used as surface modifying agents. To improve immobilization efficiency, the ammonia solution has been used along with the silane reagents, which assisted to adsorb the metal NPs on glass surface. It was found that AMPTS and MSPT have considerable effect on deposition of Ag and AuNPs on glass substrate. The fabricated thin films were characterized by using UV‐Vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and subjected to antimicrobial resistance test. The UV–Vis spectra show a distinctive plasmon resonance absorbance peak for thin films of Au and AgNPs prepared with MSPT and AMPTS, respectively. Atomic force microscopy images indicate that formation of Au and AgNPs with spherical morphology after immobilization on the glass substrate and also the dimensions of NPs on the surface appear larger than those observed in the parent colloidal solution. Energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy measurements confirmed the presence of silver and gold on the modified glass surface, and elemental composition was measured. The Au and AgNPs thin films show antibacterial activity against gram negative (Escherichia coli) and gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria in comparison with a blank sample. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emission Turn‐On and Solubility Turn‐Off in Conjugated Polymers: One‐ and Two‐Photon‐Induced Removal of Fluorescence‐Quenching Solubilizing Groups

The synthesis of highly efficient two‐photon uncaging groups and their potential use in functional conjugated polymers for post‐polymerization modification are reported. Careful structural design of the employed nitrophenethyl caging groups allows to efficiently induce bond scission by a two‐photon process through a combination of exceptionally high two‐photon absorption cross‐sections and high reaction quantum yields. Furthermore, π‐conjugated polyfluorenes are functionalized with these photocleavable side groups and it is possible to alter their emission properties and solubility behavior by simple light irradiation. Cleavage of side groups leads to a turn‐on of the fluorescence while solubility of the π‐conjugated materials is drastically reduced.

     

Dissipation of carbendazim and its metabolites in cucumber using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Currently, there is growing interest in the degradation pathways of organic contaminants such as pesticides. In the case of pesticides, the determination of metabolites in agricultural products and environment is necessary as some of them could present similar toxicity to or even higher toxicity than the parent compound. The development of analytical methodology for the identification and quantification of carbendazim fungicide and its metabolites in cucumber was studied. Cucumber (cucumis sativus) is a global food in terms of economic importance and nutritional quality. Careful optimisation of the liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS parameters was achieved in order to attain a fast separation with the best sensitivity. The detection was carried out on an Ion-Trap tandem mass spectrometer (MS/MS) by electrospray ionisation in positive ion mode (ESI+) with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM).     

Sulfur 1s near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) of thiol and thioether compounds

The speciation and quantification of sulfur species based on sulfur K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy is of wide interest, particularly for biological and petroleum science. These tasks require a firm understanding of the sulfur 1s near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of relevant species. To this end, we have examined the gas phase sulfur 1s NEXAFS spectra of a group of simple thiol and thioether compounds. These high-resolution gas phase spectra are free of solid-state broadening, charging, and saturation effects common in the NEXAFS spectra of solids. These experimental data have been further analyzed with the aid of improved virtual orbital Hartree-Fock ab initio calculations. The experimental sulfur 1s NEXAFS spectra show fine features predicted by calculation, and the combination of experiment and calculation has been used to improve assignment of spectroscopic features relevant for the speciation and quantification of the sulfur compounds.     

Quantum Chemical Study of the Enzymatic Repair of T(6‐4)C/C(6‐4)T UV‐Photolesions by DNA Photolyases

Several strategies have evolved to repair one of the abundant UV radiation‐induced damages caused to DNA, namely the mutagenic pyrimidine (6‐4) pyrimidone photolesions. DNA (6‐4)‐photolyases are enzymes repairing these lesions by a photoinitiated electron transfer. An important aspect of a possible repair mechanism is its generality and transferability to different (6‐4) lesions. Therefore, previously suggested mechanisms for the repair of the T(6‐4)T lesion are here transferred to the T(6‐4)C and C(6‐4)T lesions and investigated theoretically using quantum chemical methods. Despite the different functional groups of the pyrimidine bases involved, a general valid molecular mechanism was identified, in which the initial step is an electron transfer coupled to a proton transfer from the protonated HIS365 to the N3^′ nitrogen of the 3^′ pyrimidine, followed by an intramolecular OH/NH₂ transfer in one concerted step, which does not require an oxetane/azetidine or isolated water/ammonia intermediate.     

Determination of volatile organic compounds in the dried leaves of Salvia species by solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Salvia spp. are used throughout the world both for food and pharmaceutical purposes. In this study, a method involving headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was developed, to establish the volatiles profile of dried leaves of four Iranian Salvia spp.: Salvia officinalis L., Salvia leriifolia Benth, Salvia macrosiphon Boiss. and two ecotypes of Salvia reuterana Boiss. A total of 95 volatiles were identified from the dried leaves of the five selected samples. Specifically, α-thujone was the main component of S. officinalis L. and S. macrosiphon Boiss. (34.40 and 17.84%, respectively) dried leaves, S. leriifolia Benth was dominated by β-pinene (27.03%), whereas α-terpinene was the major constituent of the two ecotypes of S. reuterana Boiss. (21.67 and 13.84%, respectively). These results suggested that the proposed method can be considered as a reliable technique for isolating volatiles from aromatic plants, and for plant differentiation based on the volatile metabolomic profile.     

An aptamer for recognizing the transmembrane protein PDL-1 (programmed death-ligand 1), and its application to fluorometric single cell detection of human ovarian carcinoma cells

Microchimica Acta - Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is overexpressed in a variety of cancer cells. Using protein SELEX, aptamers against PD-L1 were identified. After 10 rounds of selection, 2...