Mobility of anionic spin probes in water-containing nylon 6 film

The rotational mobility of anionic spin probes in water-containing nylon 6 film was investigated by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements for comparison with the results for nonionic spin probes reported previously. The extrema separation of the ESR spectra, 2Az′ increased with time owing to the evaporation of water. In the higher temperature region, 2Az′ increased steeply with time at first, and then more slowly, whereas for the nonionic spin probes, 2Az′ increased gradually and monotonically with time. This fact suggests that the anionic probe molecules are more strongly affected by water than the nonionic ones, i.e., the former probes are located in hydrophilic regions and the latter in hydrophobic regions. T_50G, which can be empirically correlated with the glass transition temperature of the polymer T_g decreased with increasing water content. The decreasing tendency for the anionic spin probes was stronger than that for the nonionic ones. This fact also indicates that the local environment around the probe molecules varies from probe to probe. The rotational correlation time τ_R decreased markedly with an increase in water content. The Arrhenius plots of τ_R showed two crossover points. The crossover points in the higher temperature region T_n decreased greatly with increasing water content. The difference in T_n between dried and water-containing films was larger than that for T_50G. The activation energy for rotation, E, also decreased with increasing water content. It is suggested that water concentrates around the anionic spin probes and makes their rotation much easier.     

Photoreaction of benzofuroxan

Benzofuroxan 5 , upon irradiation using a high pressure mercury lamp with a Pyrex filter in acetonitrile containing a little water, afforded 1H-azepine-2,7-dione 6 . The initial stage of this reaction would be formation of a highly reactive intermediate possessing two nitrile oxide functions. On the other hand, when compound 5 was irradiated using a low pressure mercury lamp in acetonitrile containing a little water, it afforded 6H-furazano[4,5-c]carbazole 3-oxide 11 and compound 6 . The structure of compound 11 was determined by an X-ray structural analysis. In the presence of an aromatic hydrocarbon, the formation of compound 11 was decreased and that of compound 6 was increased. Mechanistic studies on the photoreaction suggest that the photosensitized formation of compound 6 with the aromatic hydrocarbon may be carried out by the reabsorption of the fluorescence of it near 365 nm and the presence of it may quench the formation of compound 11 .     

Liquid–Liquid Equilibria of Oxygenate Fuel Additives with Water at 25°C: Ternary and Quaternary Aqueous Systems of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether and tert-Amyl Methyl Ether with Methanol or Ethanol

Experimental tie-line data have been determined for the ternary system water + methyl tert-butyl ether + tert-amyl methyl ether and the quaternary systems water + methanol + methyl tert-butyl ether + tert-amyl methyl ether, and water + ethanol + methyl tert-butyl ether + tert-amyl methyl ether at 25°C and ambient pressure. The experimental results have been satisfactorily correlated using the modified UNIQUAC and extended UNIQUAC models with ternary and quaternary, in addition to binary parameters.     

Stress-strain behavior of segmented polyurethaneureas under pure shear deformation

Elastic properties of segmented polyurethaneureas (SPUs) under pure shear deformation were investigated. Data were analyzed by using strain energy density function (W). The values of the derivatives of W with respect to the invariants of the strain tensor (I _i ; i = 1, 2, 3 ) at zero strain limit were also estimated theoretically and were compared with those estimated by experiment. The limiting value of the derivative with respect to I ₁ (W/I ₁) was shown theoretically to be 5 G/8, while the derivatives with respect to I ₂ and I ₃ (W/I ₂ and W/I ₃ were respectively-G/8 and -3G/8. The theoretical prediction could explain the asymptotic behavior of the derivatives of SPUs as well as isoprene rubber (IR) reported by Kawabata et al. at small I ₁ limit.     

Single molecule FRET detection in CdSe-QD donor and Cy5-labeled molecular chaperone acceptor complex by imaging microscopy

We report single molecule spectroscopic evidence of FRET in CdSe quantum dot (QD) conjugated with Cy5-labeled molecular chaperone systems in buffer solutions. Donor QDs are core-shell type nanocrystals covered with organic surfactants on their outermost surfaces, i.e. CdSe/ZnS/TOPO’s. As prototype molecular chaperones, we adopt prefoldins (PFDs), on which Cy5’s are labeled as acceptors. Donor QDs possess two-fold degenerate emission dipoles perpendicular to the c-axis, due to their Wurtzite crystal structures, while acceptor Cy5’s possess linear absorption and emission dipoles. Thus, their combination provides novel features to those in conventional FRET systems. PFDs are jellyfish-shaped hexameric co-chaperones of group II chaperonins, which recognize hydrophobic portions of denatured proteins and encapsulate them within their central cavities. Hence, PFDs will also capture the CdSe/ZnS/TOPO QDs due to its surface similarity to the denatured proteins. By introducing simple microscope setup for single QD-PFD-Cy5 spectroscopy, we have successfully captured the emission spectra in FRET regime. We also have observed peculiar features in time evolution profiles of single QD emissions conjugated with Cy5-labeled PFDs under polarization modulation measurements. Notable point of our hybrid conjugates is that they are biochemically in living action. We describe our present results in relation to possible protein reactions.