To improve the key properties of nonlinear optical crystals assembled with tetrahedral functional building units

Nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals assembled with conventional non-π-conjugated tetrahedral functional building units (FBUs), generally referring to [PO₄] and [BO₄], usually exhibit weak nonlinearity and poor birefringence. It is currently proposed that partially substituting oxygen atoms with fluoride atoms in these FBUs could enhance these crucial properties. Hence, we investigated for the first time the NLO-related properties of NH₄BAsO₄F (ABAF), which was constructed from tetrahedral [BO₃F] and [AsO₄] FBUs, and enhancements of these properties were observed in this material, that is large second-harmonic generation (SHG) response (2 × KDP) and improved birefringence (0.03 at 1064 nm). Notably, both SHG coefficient and birefringence of ABAF exceeded those of a great majority of phosphates, sulfates, or boron phosphates and achieved a preferable balance. It is interesting that ABAF shows vast structural similarities to the typical NLO crystals Sr₂Be₂B₂O₇ (SBBO) and KBe₂BO₃F₂ (KBBF), which might be the partial reason why it showed improvement in these vital properties. This work may afford some inspiration for enhancing the key performances of NLO crystals assembled with non-π-conjugated tetrahedra.

We report a new nonlinear optical crystal assembled exclusively with tetrahedral functional building units in which enhanced birefringence (Δn) and second-harmonic generation (d_eff) were observed.     

Microfluidic adhesion analysis of single glioma cells for evaluating the effect of drugs

Cancer metastasis is one of the most serious problems for tumor therapy, which is closely related to cell adhesion and deadhesion process. Better comprehension of cell adhesion ability will benefit drug research. Here, a biomimetic microfluidic enzyme digestion method was proposed to gently measure the influence of drugs on cell-matrix adhesion ability at the single cell level.The method can selectively digest the extracellular matrix(ECM) that linked to a single cell, and the trypsin concentration around the cell is relatively uniform and constant, thus the measured cell adhesion strength should be precise. Commercially available anti-cancer agents including 5-fluorouracil(5-FU), actinomycin D(Act D), temozolomide(TMZ) and allicin were evaluated, and the data showed only TMZ and allicin can inhibit cell adhesion significantly under our experiment conditions. The influence of TMZ became more and more obvious as the increase of duration and the effect became prominent only after 6 h adhesion process, which could provide a quick evaluation of whether the drugs are effective to cancer cell(compared with Calcein-AM/PI cell viability test). The adhesion strength of U87 cells decreased when the concentration of TMZ increased, and the effect of TMZ can be effectively inhibited by adding lactic acid to culture medium, which indicated acidic tumor microenvironment could promote drug resistance of tumor cells. Different from conventional evaluation methods which focus on the drugs' influence on cellular viability or metabolism, this work provides a new perspective to study the effect of drugs, which is helpful to enrich the drug evaluation system.     

A membrane separation technique for optimizing sample preparation of MALDI-TOF MS detection

Here, we report a new method based on the combination of membrane separation technology and nanomaterial to rapid detection of peptides and protein with MALDI-TOF MS. This method shows advantages as it can inhibit the heterogeneous of sample spot and enhance the target molecular signal intensity.     

First-second shell interactions in metal binding sites in proteins: a PDB survey and DFT/CDM calculations

The role of the second shell in the process of metal binding and selectivity in metalloproteins has been elucidated by combining Protein Data Bank (PDB) surveys of Mg, Mn, Ca, and Zn binding sites with density functional theory/continuum dielectric methods (DFT/CDM). Peptide backbone groups were found to be the most common second-shell ligand in Mg, Mn, Ca, and Zn binding sites, followed (in decreasing order) by Asp/Glu, Lys/Arg, Asn/Gln, and Ser/Thr side chains. Aromatic oxygen- or nitrogen-containing side chains (Tyr, His, and Trp) and sulfur-containing side chains (Cys and Met) are seldom found in the second coordination layer. The backbone and Asn/Gln side chain are ubiquitous in the metal second coordination layer as their carbonyl oxygen and amide hydrogen can act as a hydrogen-bond acceptor and donor, respectively, and can therefore partner practically every first-shell ligand. The second most common outer-shell ligand, Asp/Glu, predominantly hydrogen bonds to a metal-bound water or Zn-bound histidine and polarizes the H-O or H-N bond. In certain cases, a second-shell Asp/Glu could affect the protonation state of the metal ligand. It could also energetically stabilize a positively charged metal complex more than a neutral ligand such as the backbone and Asn/Gln side chain. As for the first shell, the second shell is predicted to contribute to the metal selectivity of the binding site by discriminating between metal cations of different ionic radii and coordination geometries. The first-shell-second-shell interaction energies decay rapidly with increasing solvent exposure of the metal binding site. They are less favorable but are of the same order of magnitude as compared to the respective metal-first-shell interaction energies. Altogether, the results indicate that the structure and properties of the second shell are dictated by those of the first layer. The outer shell is apparently designed to stabilize/protect the inner-shell and complement/enhance its properties.     

Development of high-temperature pulsed slit nozzle and its application to supersonic jet absorption spectrometry

A high-temperature pulsed slit nozzle, consisting of a circular pulsed nozzle and an interface to convert a circular flow into a slit flow has been constructed. The absorption spectrum is measured by scanning the wavelength of the monochromator equipped with a xenon arc lamp and by detecting the transmitted light through a jet with a photomultiplier. A rotationally cooled spectrum is clearly observed for aniline only when a long slit nozzle is employed. The absorptivity increases proportionally to the slit length at least up to 6 cm. The time for recording a spectrum is 3.5 min, which is reduced to several seconds by transmitting a white light through a jet and by measuring the spectrum with an optical multichannel analyzer. The detection limit is estimated to a partial vapor pressure of 0.4 torr for aniline. The present system can be conveniently used in routine analysis, because of a wide spectral coverage of the lamp source.     

A visible-light activated [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction enables pinpointing carbon–carbon double bonds in lipids

The precise location of C C bonds in bioactive molecules is critical for a deep understanding of the relationship between their structures and biological roles. However, the traditional ultraviolet light-based approaches exhibited great limitations. Here, we discovered a new type of visible-light activated [2 + 2] cycloaddition of carbonyl with C C bonds. We found that carbonyl in anthraquinone showed great reactivities towards C C bonds in lipids to form oxetanes under the irradiation of visible-light. Combined with tandem mass spectrometry, this site-specific dissociation of oxetane enabled precisely locating the C C bonds in various kinds of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated lipids. The proof-of-concept applicability of this new type of [2 + 2] photocycloaddition was validated in the global identification of unsaturated lipids in a complex human serum sample. 86 monounsaturated and polyunsaturated lipids were identified with definitive positions of C C bonds, including phospholipids and fatty acids even with up to 6 C C bonds. This study provides new insights into both the photocycloaddition reactions and the structural lipidomics.

A new visible-light activated [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction was discovered and enabled pinpointing carbon–carbon double bonds in lipids.     

On the Criteria of Instability for Electrochemical Systems

Both cyclic-voltammetry-based and impedance-based experimental criteria that have been developed recently for the oscillatory electrochemical systems are critically appraised with two typical categories of oscillators.Consistent conclusions can be drawn by the two criteria for the category of oscillators that involve the coupling of charge transfer mainly with surface steps(e.g.ad-and desorption)such as in the electrooxidation of C1 organic molecules.Whereas,impedance-based criterion is not applicable to the category of oscillators that involve the coupling of charge transfer mainly with mass transfer(e.g.diffusion and convection) such as in the Fe(CN)6^3- reduction accompanying periodic hydrogen evolution.The reason is that the negative impedance cannot include the feedback information of convection mass transfer induced by the hydrogen evolution.However,both positive and negative nonlinear feedbacks,i.e., the diffusion-limited depletion and convection-enhanced replenishment of the Fe(CN)6^3- surface concentration,that coexist between the bistability,i.e.,Fe(CN)6^3- reduction with and without hydrogen evolution at lower and higher potential sides respectively,are all reflected in the crossed cyclic voltammogram(CCV).It can be concluded that the voltammetry-based criterion(in time domain)is more intuitive,less time-consuming and has a wider range of applications than the impedancebased one (in frequency domain).     

Tasumatrols P – T,Five New Taxoids from Taxus sumatrana

The phytochemical investigation of the more polar fractions from the leaves and twigs of Taxus sumatrana (Taxaceae) afforded five new taxane diterpene esters, tasumatrols P–T ( 1 – 5 ) possessing an 11(15→1),11(10→9)‐diabeotaxane skeleton. Compounds 1, 4 , and 5 contain an α‐hydroxy group at C(14), while 3 has no OH group at either C(13) or C(14). Compound 2 is a natural 4,5‐acetonide derivative, while 4 has an unusual spiro‐connected 2‐hydroxy‐2‐phenyl‐1,3‐dioxolane ring. Ten known taxoids, were also isolated in the course of the chromatographic fractionation. Five additional new O‐acetyl derivatives 3a, 4a, 4b, 5a , and 5b were prepared from the taxanes 3 – 5 . The structures of all new compounds were established on the basis of their spectroscopic analyses. Compound 1 showed mild cytotoxic activity against human Hela and Daoy tumor cells.     

Precise and accurate determination of the stoichiometry of CuInS2 semiconductor material by electrochemical methods

Summary CuInS₂ is one of the important I–III–VI₂ ternary compounds which has in recent years received increasing interest in semiconductor science. In this study an electrochemical method has been developed based on a limited amount of available sample (0.5–10mg) for the precise and accurate determination of CuInS₂ composition. After decomposition of the sample in concentrated HNO₃ under pressure, copper and indium were sequentially determined by constant potential coulometry, and sulfur (as sulfate) by amperometric titration. Various experimental parameters which ensure high precision and accuracy of the results were carefully evaluated and calibrated. The overall errors for the determination of copper, indium and sulfur in a 10 mg sample were found to be +0.10%, –0.12% and +0.16%, respectively, which fullfills the requirement for accurate stoichiometric assessment.

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Reproduzierbare und genaue Bestimmung der Stöchiometrie von CuInS₂-Halbleitermaterial mit Hilfe elektrochemischer Verfahren

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Presented at the 10th International Symposium on Microchemical Techniques, August 25–29, 1986, Antwerp, Belgium     

Study of quasi-monodisperse In2O3 nanocrystals: synthesis and optical determination

In this communication, we report a successful synthesis of quasi-monodisperse In2O3 nanocrystals with high crystallinity in a high-temperature organic solution. The average size of nanocrystals can be tuned using a dynamic injection technique. TEM and XRD investigations indicate that each nanocrystal is a single crystal. The optical determination implies that the photoluminescence behavior of these In2O3 nanocrystals is different from that of the bulk, probably due to the combination of weak quantum-confinement-effects and the nature of high crystallinity in nanocrystals.