An rhodamine-based fluorescence probe for iron(III) ion determination in aqueous solution

An “off-on” rhodamine-based fluorescence probe for the selective signaling of Fe(III) has been designed exploiting the guest-induced structure transform mechanism. This system shows a sharp Fe(III)-selective fluorescence enhancement response in 100% aqueous system under physiological pH value and possesses high selectivity against the background of environmentally and biologically relevant metal ions including Al(III), Cd(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Mg(II), Ba(II), Pb(II), Na(I), and K(I). Under optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensity enhancement of this system is linearly proportional to Fe(III) concentration from 6.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 7.2 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.4 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹.     

Suppression of probe background signals via B(1) field inhomogeneity

A new approach combining a long pulse with the DEPTH sequence (Cory and Ritchey, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 1988) greatly improves the efficiency for suppressing probe background signals arising from spinning modules. By applying a long initial excitation pulse in the DEPTH sequence, instead of a π/2 pulse, the inhomogeneous B(1) fields outside the coil can dephase the background coherence in the nutation frame. The initial long pulse and the following two consecutive EXORCYCLE π pulses function complementarily and prove most effective in removing background signals from both strong and weak B? fields. Experimentally, the length of the long pulse can be optimized around odd multiples of the π/2 pulse, depending on the individual probe design, to preserve signals inside the coil while minimizing those from probe hardware. This method extends the applicability of the DEPTH sequence to probes with small differences in B? field strength between the inside and outside of the coil, and can readily combine with well-developed double resonance experiments for quantitative measurement. In general, spin systems with weak internal interactions are required to attain efficient and uniform excitation for powder samples, and the principles to determine the applicability are discussed qualitatively in terms of the relative strength of spin interactions, r.f. power and spinning rate.     

Characterization of coating probe with Ti-DLC for electrical scanning probe microscope

In electrical scanning probe microscope (ESPM) applications, the wear and conductivity of the probe are undoubtedly serious concerns since they affect the integrity of the measurements. This study investigates the characterization of Ti doped diamond-like-carbon (DLC) as coating material on a silicon cantilever for ESPM. We deposited a layer of Ti-DLC thin film on the surface of Si cantilever by magnetron sputtering. The morphology and composition of the Ti-DLC films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. We also compared the wear resistance, electric conductivity and scanning image quality of the Ti-DLC-coated probes with those of commercially available conductive probes. The results showed that the electric conductivity and the scanning image quality of the Ti-DLC-coated probes were the same as the commercial conductive probes, while the wear resistance and service life was significantly better.     

Characterization at a local scale of a laser-shock peened aluminum alloy surface

The influence of a laser shock peening mechanical surface treatment on 2050-T8 aluminum alloy has been investigated, mostly using Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy. Volta potential difference maps around Al(CuFeMn) precipitates were performed before and after laser-shock peening to determine the influence of laser treatment versus galvanic coupling near precipitates, and resulting pit initiations. It has been shown that laser shock peening either preserves or reduces precipitate-matrix Volta potentials gradients, which in this later case, and correlated to recent corrosion electrochemical investigations, could explain corrosion improvement obtained after laser-shock peening treatments of aluminum alloys. The influence of crystal orientation and plastic deformation, and more specifically the effect of laser-induced compressive residual stresses or work-hardening, on the Volta potential values and on the pitting corrosion behavior was also addressed.     

MYC基因在人类HL－60和CEM癌细胞系中原位表达的研究

以细胞分子原位杂交方法对两种不同类型的人类白血细胞系ＨＬ－６０和ＣＥＭ，以及正常人白细胞中Ｃ－ｍｙｃ基因的表达进行了比较研究．结果证明：ＨＬ－６０细胞中Ｃ－ｍｙｃ基因有异常高水平的表达，而在ＣＥＭ细胞和正常人白血球与淋巴细胞中则没有明显的Ｃ－ｍｙｃ转录产物．Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ分析表明，ＨＬ－６０细胞基因组中Ｃ－ｍｙｃ基因有显著的扩增现象；而ＣＥＭ细胞基因组中的Ｃ－ｍｙｃ基因的拷贝数与正常人血细胞的接近，属正常水平表达。再次证明了ＨＬ－６０细胞系Ｃ－ｍｙｃ基因的异常高水平表达，与该基因的大量扩增紧密相关．还对两种癌细胞系的癌变机理和细胞原位杂交在基因表达研究中的应用进行了讨论．     

抑制性消减杂交方法的建立

为建立研究基因表达差异的抑制性消减杂交（SSH）方法，以未加诱导剂处理的结肠癌LoVo细胞提取的mRNA为模板合成的cDNA作为驱赶子（driver)，联合使用10.0μmol/LATRA和0.1μmol/L1,25-(OH)2D3诱导2d的LoVo细胞提取的mRNA为模板合成的cDNA作为测试子（tester)进行SSH实验，结果为：消减产物与未消减样品（对照）在琼脂糖凝胶电泳图谱上明显不同，前者可见一些扩增条带，其大小范围在100-1000bp之间，本实验说明SSH方法对于识别差异表达的基因具有高效性。     

Hyperbranched Hybridization Chain Reaction for Triggered Signal Amplification and Concatenated Logic Circuits

A hyper‐branched hybridization chain reaction (HB‐HCR) is presented herein, which consists of only six species that can metastably coexist until the introduction of an initiator DNA to trigger a cascade of hybridization events, leading to the self‐sustained assembly of hyper‐branched and nicked double‐stranded DNA structures. The system can readily achieve ultrasensitive detection of target DNA. Moreover, the HB‐HCR principle is successfully applied to construct three‐input concatenated logic circuits with excellent specificity and extended to design a security‐mimicking keypad lock system. Significantly, the HB‐HCR‐based keypad lock can alarm immediately if the “password” is incorrect. Overall, the proposed HB‐HCR with high amplification efficiency is simple, homogeneous, fast, robust, and low‐cost, and holds great promise in the development of biosensing, in the programmable assembly of DNA architectures, and in molecular logic operations.     

Hybridization Gap and Dresselhaus Spin Splitting in EuIr4In2Ge4

EuIr₄In₂Ge₄ is a new intermetallic semiconductor that adopts a non‐centrosymmetric structure in the tetragonal ${I\bar 42m}$ space group with unit cell parameters a=6.9016(5) Å and c=8.7153(9) Å. The compound features an indirect optical band gap E_g=0.26(2) eV, and electronic‐structure calculations show that the energy gap originates primarily from hybridization of the Ir 5d orbitals, with small contributions from the Ge 4p and In 5p orbitals. The strong spin–orbit coupling arising from the Ir atoms, and the lack of inversion symmetry leads to significant spin splitting, which is described by the Dresselhaus term, at both the conduction‐ and valence‐band edges. The magnetic Eu²⁺ ions present in the structure, which do not play a role in gap formation, order antiferromagnetically at 2.5 K.     

Detection of p53 Gene by Using Genomagnetic Assay Combined with Carbon Nanotube Modified Disposable Sensor Technology

Electrochemical monitoring of DNA hybridization related to p53 gene sequence was investigated using genomagnetic assay combined with single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) modified pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs). The hybridization was performed either at magnetic beads (MB) surface or in solution. The enhanced guanine signal was obtained using SWCNT‐PGEs compared to one obtained by unmodified PGEs. The selectivity of genomagnetic assay was tested under optimum conditions. The DLs were calculated as 0.88 µM and 0.11 µM for hybridization performed at MB surface and solution, respectively. This selective, practical and cost effective genomagnetic assay combined with SWCNT‐PGEs is reported herein for the first time.