Layer-by-layer fabrication and characterization of DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotube particles

Carbon nanotubes have been proposed as support materials for numerous applications, including the development of DNA sensors. One of the challenges is the immobilization of DNA or other biological molecules on the sidewall of carbon nanotubes. This paper introduces a new fabrication of DNA-carbon nanotubes particles using the layer-by-layer (LBL) technique on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Poly(diallyldimethylammonium) (PDDA), a positively charged polyelectrolyte, and DNA as a negatively charged counterpart macromolecule are alternatively deposited on the water-soluble oxidized SWCNTs. Pure DNA/PDDA/SWCNTs particles can be prepared and separated by simple unltracentrifugation. The characterization of DNA/PDDA/SWCNTs particles was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). An electrode modified by the DNA/PDDA/SWCNTs particles shows a dramatic change of the electrochemical signal in solutions of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) ((Ru(bpy)(3)2+) as a reporting redox probe. A preliminary application of the DNA-modified carbon nanotubes in the development of DNA sensors used in the investigation of DNA damage by nitric oxide is presented.     

Single-walled carbon nanotube-based coaxial nanowires: synthesis, characterization, and electrical properties

We report herein the template-directed synthesis, characterization, and electric properties of single-walled carbon nanotube- (SWNT-) based coaxial nanowires, that is, core (SWNT)-shell (conducting polypyrrole and polyaniline) nanowires. The SWNTs were first dispersed in aqueous solutions containing cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or nonionic surfactant poly(ethylene glycol) mono-p-nonyl phenyl ether (O pi-10). Each individual nanotube (or small bundle) was then encased in its own micellelike envelope with hydrophobic surfactant groups orientated toward the nanotube and hydrophilic groups orientated toward the solution. And thus a hydrophobic region within the micelle/SWNT (called a micelle/SWNT hybrid template) was formed. Insertion and growth of pyrrole or aniline monomers in this hybrid template, upon removal of the surfactant, produce coaxial structures with a SWNT center and conducting polypyrrole or polyaniline coating. Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy were used to characterize the composition and the structures of these coaxial nanowires. The results revealed that the micellar molecules used could affect the surface morphologies of the resulting coaxial nanowires but not the molecular structures of the corresponding conducting polymers. Electric properties testing indicated that the SWNTs played the key roles in the conducting polymer/SWNT composites during electron transfer in the temperature range 77 K to room temperature. Compared with the SWNT network embedded in the conducting polymers, the composites within which SWNTs were coated perfectly by the identical conducting polymers exhibited higher barrier heights during electron transfer.     

锂离子电池用多孔硅/石墨/碳复合负极材料的研究

在两步高能球磨和酸蚀条件下制得了多孔硅/石墨复合材料，并对其进行碳包覆制成多孔硅/石墨/碳复合材料。通过TEM，SEM等测试手段研究了多孔硅材料的结构。作为锂离子电池负极材料，电化学测试结果表明多孔硅/石墨/碳复合材料相比纳米硅/石墨/碳复合材料有更好的循环稳定性。同时，改变复合体配比、热解碳前驱物、粘结剂种类和用量也会对材料的电化学性能产生较大的影响。其中使用质量分数为10％的LA132粘结剂的电极200次循环以后充电容量保持在649.9 mAh·g^-1，几乎没有衰减。良好的电化学性能主要归因于主活性体-多孔硅颗粒中的纳米孔隙很好地抑制了嵌锂过程中自身的体积膨胀，而且亚微米石墨颗粒和碳的复合也减轻了电极材料的体积效应并改善了其导电性。     

BLUE LIGHT-EMITTING COIL-ROD-COIL BLOCK OLIGOMERS WITH RIGID p-HEXAPHENYL AS CHROMOPHORE

The synthesis and characterization of coil-rod-coil triblock oligomers, poly（ethylene oxide）-b-p-hexaphenyl-b- poly（ethylene oxide）, are described. The number of repeating ethylene oxide units in each flexible block are 3 （EO3-PHP- EO3）, 8 （EOs-PHP-EO8）, 13 （EO13-PHP-EO13）, and 17 （EO17-PHP-EO17）, respectively. The structures of these oligomers are confirmed by ^1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, EA, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The introduction of soluble poly（ethylene oxide） coils to the rigid p-hexaphenyl segment significantly improves the solubility of the oligomers, so they can form smooth thin films by spin-coating from their solutions. The oligomers are quite thermally stable and have 1% weight loss temperatures at above 340℃ under nitrogen. They can emit strong blue light in both solution and film state, and have fluorescence quantum yields of about 40% in chloroform. They are expected to have potential applications in optoelectronic devices.     

Ultraviolet photochemistry of ethane: implications for the atmospheric chemistry of the gas giants

Chemical processing in the stratospheres of the gas giants is driven by incident vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light. Ethane is an important constituent in the atmospheres of the gas giants in our solar system. The present work describes translational spectroscopy studies of the VUV photochemistry of ethane using tuneable radiation in the wavelength range 112 ≤ λ ≤ 126 nm from a free electron laser and event-triggered, fast-framing, multi-mass imaging detection methods. Contributions from at least five primary photofragmentation pathways yielding CH₂, CH₃ and/or H atom products are demonstrated and interpreted in terms of unimolecular decay following rapid non-adiabatic coupling to the ground state potential energy surface. These data serve to highlight parallels with methane photochemistry and limitations in contemporary models of the photoinduced stratospheric chemistry of the gas giants. The work identifies additional photochemical reactions that require incorporation into next generation extraterrestrial atmospheric chemistry models which should help rationalise hitherto unexplained aspects of the atmospheric ethane/acetylene ratios revealed by the Cassini–Huygens fly-by of Jupiter.

The vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of ethane provide clues for modelling the atmospheric chemistry of the gas giants.     

Photooxidized products of recombinant alpha A-crystallin and W9F mutant

Human lenses contain many photosensitizers that absorb light at wavelengths above 300 nm, most notably UVA light (320-400 nm). Kynurenine (Kyn) and 3-hydroxykynurenine (HK), two of the best-known photosensitizers in the human lens, may play a significant role in photooxidation-related changes in lens proteins, such as conformational change and aggregation. In vitro irradiation experiments with proteins indicate that the Trp residue (with maximal absorption at 295 nm) is more susceptible to photooxidation by UVB light (280-320 nm) than by UVA light, but most UVB light below 300 nm is screened by the cornea and little reaches the lens, especially the nuclear region where nuclear color develops. Therefore, if photooxidation is an important contributor to nuclear color or nuclear cataract, it must arise from a photosensitized reaction. In the present study, we use recombinant alpha A- and its Trp-deficient mutant W9F as models to study the effects of UVA irradiation in the presence of HK or Kyn and of UVB (300 nm) irradiation on alpha-crystallins. alpha A-crystallin showed a large decrease in Trp fluorescence and a large increase in non-Trp (blue) fluorescence after the HK-sensitized or 300 nm photooxidation. For the W9F mutant, a smaller decrease in protein fluorescence (lambda ex at 280 nm) and a smaller increase in blue fluorescence than for the wild-type alpha A-crystallin were observed. A decrease in the near-UV CD was also observed for both photooxidized alpha A and the W9F mutant. The effect of Kyn sensitization is smaller than that of HK sensitization. A study of chaperone-like activity indicated that only 300 nm photooxidized alpha A and the W9F mutant increased the ability to protect insulin from dithiothreitol-induced aggregation. Thus, sensitized photooxidation can occur in amino acids other than Trp by UVA in the presence of HK or Kyn with effects similar to, albeit smaller than, those of direct UVB (300 nm) photooxidation.     

INVESTIGATION OF THE ALLOMERIZATION REACTION OF CHLOROPHYLL a: USE OF DIODE ARRAY HPLC, MASS SPECTROMETRY AND CHEMOMETRIC FACTOR ANALYSIS FOR THE DETECTION OF EARLY PRODUCTS

Abstract –The products of chlorophyll allomerization in methanol were isolated and analyzed by open column sucrose chromatography, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS) and DAD-HPLC (diode-array high-performance liquid chromatography). Four main bands were found with molecular ions of (a) 908, (b) 938, (c) 938 and (d) 938, consistent with the structures (a) 13²-hydroxy-chlorophyll a (II), (b) and (c) Mg(II)-3¹,3²-didehydro-15¹-hydroxy-15¹-methoxy-rhodochlorin-15 acetic acid δ-lactone 15²-methyl 17³-phytyl ester and its epimer (III) and (d) Mg(II)-3¹,3²-didehydro-rhodochlorin-15-glyoxylic acid 13¹,15²-dimethyl 17³-phytyl ester (IV), evidence enhanced by UV/visible spectroscopy, chromatographic coelutions and chemometrics. Chlorophyll a was degraded both in the dark and light, under O₂ and N². DAD-HPLC of the resultant degradation mixtures were analyzed using the chemometric heuristic-evolving latent projection method for resolution. Ultraviolet/visible spectra of II and III are reproducibly extracted from the mixtures after a short degradation time, whereas III and IV are the dominant compounds after longer degradation times. Changes in relative elution order of IV using open column chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC are established. A possible allomerization pathway is proposed.     

Preparation and characterization of sodium carboxymethylcellulose/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/clay semi-IPN nanocomposite hydrogels

A new kind of pH-/temperature-responsive semi-interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels based on linear sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) cross-linked by inorganic clay (CMC/PNIPA/Clay hydrogel) was prepared. The temperature- and pH-responsive behaviors, the mechanical properties of these hydrogels were investigated. The CMC/PNIPA/Clay hydrogels exhibited a volume phase transition temperature around 32 °C with no significant deviation from the conventional PNIPA hydrogels. The swelling ratio of the CMC/PNIPA/Clay hydrogels gradually decreased with increasing the contents of clay. The influence of pH value on swelling behaviors showed that there is a maximum swelling ratio at pH 5.9. Moreover, the CMC/PNIPA/Clay hydrogels exhibited excellent mechanical properties with high tensile stress and elongation at break in excess of 1200%.     

Optimization of the process parameters of synthesis of vinblastine imprinted polymer

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are tailor-made polymers with high selectivity for the template molecule. This selectivity arises from the synthetic procedure followed to prepare the MIP. In this work, the influence of process parameters on the preparation of vinblastine (VLB) imprinted polymers was presented. In the procedure of polymerization, VLB (0.1 mmol) was used as the template molecule and a commonly used initiator, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), was employed to initiate the reaction at 60 °C. The influence of the following parameters was investigated: the moles of functional monomer (MAA, 0.3-1.0 mmol), the moles of cross-linker (EDMA, 1.5-5.0 mmol) and the porogenic solvent (toluene or acetonitrile). A mathematical method of uniform design was applied to optimize these selected parameters in order to increase the selectivity of MIP for template molecule. The experimental data were analyzed to obtain the regression model and the optimal conditions were achieved by optimization with uniform design software. The MIP was synthesized under the optimal conditions that 1.0 mmol of MAA and 5.0 mmol of EDMA copolymerized in toluene in the presence of 0.1 mmol of VLB. After removal of the template molecule, the obtained MIP was then employed as the sorbents of solid-phase extraction (SPE) to separate VLB from Catharanthus roseus extract. The results showed that the polymer exhibited high affinity to the template molecule and could separate and enrich VLB from C. roseus extract effectively. The recovery of VLB on the optimal MIP was 89.00%, which agreed closely with the predicted recovery. Therefore it is possible to further improve the nature of the polymer by optimizing the polymerization parameters with the method of uniform design.     

Novel Electroless Deposition of Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>Se<Subscript>2</Subscript> Film on Silicon Substrate by a Simple Galvanic Displacement Process

A novel electroless deposition method for depositing highly uniform adhesive thin films of copper selenide (Cu₃Se₂) on silicon substrates from aqueous solutions is described. The deposition is carried out by two coupled galvanic reactions in a single deposition bath containing copper cations, hydrogen fluoride, and selenous acid: the galvanic deposition of copper on silicon and the subsequent galvanic reaction between the deposited copper with selenous acid in the deposition bath. The powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy are used to characterize and examine the deposited films.