Modeling red coral (Corallium rubrum) and African snail (Helixia aspersa) shell pigments: Raman spectroscopy versus DFT studies

Pigments from red coral (Corallium rubrum) and African snail (Helixia aspersa) shell were studied non‐invasively using Raman spectroscopy with 1064‐nm laser beam. The two observed bands because of organic pigments confined in biomineralized CaCO₃ matrix at about 1500 and 1100 cm⁻¹ were assigned to ν(CC) and ν(C―C), respectively. Both signals originate from polyene(s) of largely unknown structure, containing several conjugated CC bonds. The small peak at 1016 cm⁻¹ in the Raman spectrum of coral pigment was assigned to in‐plane ―CH₃ rocking or structural deformation of polyene chain because of spatial confinement in the mineral matrix. The organic pigments in red coral and snail shell were present in inorganic matrix containing aragonite (shell) and calcite (coral). In addition, using Raman spectroscopy, it was observed that aragonite was replaced by calcite as result of healing damaged parts of snail shell. This is an important finding which indicates a great potential of nondestructive Raman spectroscopy instead of X‐ray technique, as a diagnostic tool in environmental studies. To support analysis of the observed Raman spectra detailed calculations using density functional theory (DFT with B3LYP and BLYP density functionals) on structure and vibrations of model all‐trans polyenes were undertaken. DFT calculated CC and C―C stretching frequencies for all‐trans polyenes containing from 2 to 14 CC units were compared with the observed ν(CC) and ν(C―C) band positions of the studied coral and shell. Individual correction factors were used to better match theoretical wavenumbers with observed band positions in red coral and African snail. It was concluded that all‐trans polyene pigments of red coral and dark parts of African snail shell contain 11–12 and 14 CC double bond units, respectively. However, Raman spectroscopy cannot produce any clear information on the presence and nature of the end‐chain substituents in the studied pigments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Different classification algorithms and serum surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy for noninvasive discrimination of gastric diseases

In this study, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used to investigate the spectral characteristics of blood serum for the purpose of diagnosing stomach diseases. SERS spectral data was collected from patients with atrophic gastritis, both pre‐operation and post‐operation gastric cancer, and from healthy individuals. Visual differences in the SERS spectra were observed between the four groups which indicate corresponding biomolecule concentration changes in blood. To further investigate the diagnostic ability of human serum, the spectral data was analyzed with three chemometric processes. These three methods extracted features and classified from the spectral data. Principal component analysis (PCA) was first performed to reduce the dimensionality of the original spectral data. Then, the classification methods support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and classification and regression tree (CART) were used for the evaluation of diagnostic ability. Accuracies of 96.5%, 88.8% and 87.1% were obtained for PCA‐SVM, PCA‐LDA and PCA‐CART, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New measurements and analysis of the far-infrared spectrum of CH2DOH in the lowest torsional vibrational state (e0)

In this work the far infrared (FIR) absorption spectrum has been measured for the asymmetrically mono deuterated Methanol (CH₂DOH) species in the wavenumber range of 15–1200 cm⁻¹ better accuracy and signal/noise ratio than known before. Assignments have been made for b-type transitions in the lowest lying torsional vibrational state trans-(e₀) for a wide range of rotational angular momentum. The assignments have been rigorously confirmed by the residual loop defect methods. The ^rR–branch wavenumbers are analyzed by the usual state dependent expansion parameters and the Q-Branch origins. These origins have been used to calculate the torsional and torsional-rotation interaction contributions. These findings are in good agreement with predicted from the Hamiltonian model described in recent publications. A large number of assignments have also been made in the millimeter wave spectrum recorded earlier and thereby evaluated the asymmetry splitting parameters for 4 different axial rotational angular momentum quantum numbers. The analysis and interpretation of the spectra are reported. New assignments for about 260 transitions are included the text and a catalog of about 1500 transitions belonging to the e₀ species is prepared (Appendix 1) and is made available through the open server in “Research Gate” and will be freely available to others.     

Structural and optical properties of CuSe2 nanocrystals formed in thin solid Cu–Se film

This paper describes the structural and optical properties of Cu–Se thin films. The surface morphology of thin films was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Formation of Cu–Se thin films is concluded to proceed unevenly, in the form of islands which later grew into agglomerates. The structural characterization of Cu–Se thin film was investigated using X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD). The presence of two-phase system is observed. One is the solid solution of Cu in Se and the other is low-pressure modification of CuSe₂. The Raman spectroscopy was used to identify and quantify the individual phases present in the Cu–Se films. Red shift and asymmetry of Raman mode characteristic for CuSe₂ enable us to estimate nanocrystal dimension. In the analysis of the far-infrared reflection spectra, numerical model for calculating the reflectivity coefficient of layered system, which includes film with nanocrystalite inclusions (modeled by Maxwell-Garnett approximation) and substrate, has been applied.     

Improved measurements and analysis of the far-infrared spectrum of methanol-D1 (CH2DOH) arising from trans- (e0) to gauche- (e1 & o1) states

In this work the millimeter-wave (MMW) and far infrared (FIR) absorption spectrum for the asymmetrically deuterated Methanol (CH₂DOH) species measured recently at a temperature of −60 °C with better accuracy and signal/noise (S/N) ratio than known before has been assigned for transitions originating at the lowest lying trans- to gauche-states. The entire spectrum for 50–1200 cm⁻¹ has been re-recorded recently using the Synchrotron Radiation Source coupled with the Bruker Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer with a resolution of about 0.001 cm⁻¹ or better. Complete spectrum has not been exploited a great deal but it helped to entangle overlapping lines in the present work. This also fills the gap remaining in the usual FTIR in the range 400–500 cm⁻¹. Hence it is expected to help the interacting partner for the Coriolis interaction encountered earlier. The assigned transitions mostly for the axial rotational angular momentum quantum number K + 1 ← K, both for R- and Q-sub bands for wide range of rotational angular momentum quantum number. The MMW spectrum has been recalibrated and assigned for a number of Q-branches. The assignments are confirmed rigorously using closed loop residual technique. The assigned ^rR and ^rQ lines have been analyzed in terms of polynomial expansion parameters. The new assignments are presented for about 750 transitions and a grand atlas of more than 1000 lines has been prepared which will be made available through the open source server at “research gate”. The present work should be useful in the area of astrophysical detection and further understanding of the energy relaxation pathways in the molecule.     

Effects of the structural order of canthaxanthin on the Raman scattering cross section in various solvents: A study by Raman spectroscopy and ab initio calculation

In this work,we measure the Raman scattering cross sections(RSCSs) of the carbon-carbon(CC) stretching vibrational modes of canthaxanthin in benzene,acetone,n-heptane,cyclohexane,and m-xylene.It is found that the absolute RSCS of CC stretching mode of canthaxanthin reaches a value of 10 24 cm 2 ·molecule 1 ·sr 1 at 8×10 5 M,which is 6 orders of magnitude larger than general RSCS(10 30 cm 2 ·molecule 1 ·sr 1),and the RSCSs of canthaxanthin in various solvents are very different due to the hydrogen bond.A theoretical interpretation of the magnetic experimental results is given,which is introduced in a qualitative nonlinear model of coherent weakly damped electron-lattice vibration in the structural order of polyene chains.In addition,the optimal structure and the bond length alternation(BLA) parameter of canthaxanthin are calculated using quantum chemistry calculation(at the b3lyp/6-31g(d,p) level of theory).The theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results.Furthermore,the combination of Raman spectroscopy and the quantum chemistry calculation study would be a quite suitable method of studying the structures and the properties of the π-conjugated systems.     

MOCVD生长的GaN和GaN:Mg薄膜的拉曼散射

通过显微拉曼散射对用金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)法在Al2O3衬底上生长的六方相CaN和掺Mg的P型GaN薄膜进行了研究。在两个样品的拉曼散射谱中同时观察到位于640,660cm^-1附近的两个峰。640cm^-1的峰归因于布里渊区边界(L点)最高声学声子的二倍频,而660cm^-1的峰为布里渊区边界的光学声子支或缺陷诱导的局域振动模。掺Mg的GaN在该处的峰型变宽是Mg诱导的缺陷引起的加宽或Mg的局域模与上述两峰叠加的结果。在掺Mg的样品中还观察到276,376cm^-1几个局域模并给予了解释。同时掺Mg的GaN中出现了应力弛豫的现象,掺Mg引起的失配位错和电子-声子相互作用都有可能对E2模的频率产生影响。     

拉曼光谱技术在中国古玉、古玉器鉴定和研究中的应用

激光拉曼光谱技术是应用于科技考古研究中的高技术之一,属于无损分析研究,但作为一种很好的无损分析方法它在中国古代玉器研究中的应用并不非常广泛。文章首先介绍了激光拉曼光谱技术的基本原理及近几年来国内外的最新进展,然后从矿物结构与拉曼特征峰之间的关系入手比较了目前国内外5种常见玉石的激光拉曼研究结果。然后分别通过对浙江良渚遗址和河南安阳殷墟遗址出土的4件中国古代玉器与新疆和田地区出产的软玉样品进行对比研究,成功地利用激光拉曼光谱技术对一批中国古代玉器进行了无损鉴定,从而阐明该项技术在中国古代玉器结构测试和材质鉴定中是一种很好的无损分析研究方法。最后,讨论了目前激光拉曼光谱技术在中国古玉和古代玉器研究中存在的局限性并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

空心阴极放电沉积氮化碳薄膜的结构和成键性质

利用空心阴极放电等离子体源在Si(100)衬底上沉积了氮化碳薄膜.用XRD,SEM,XPS及拉曼和红外吸收光谱对薄膜的结构、成分和化学键等进行了研究.XRD分析表明,制备的氮化碳薄膜为非晶结构.XPS分析证实了薄膜中以C—C,sp2CN和sp3CN键为主,并得出薄膜中的氮碳比为0.71,而sp3—CN相的含量也达到了0.39.拉曼和红外吸收光谱的结果也与XPS分析的键态结果一致.     

Permeability of R6G across Cx43 hemichannels through a novel combination of patch clamp and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

We have measured the permeability of rhodamine-6G across Cx43 hemichannels reconstituted on a pipette tip. Cx43 hemichannels were overexpressed in Sf9 cells, and affinity-purified. The hemichannels were reconstituted in a lipid bilayer on a pipette tip by the tip-dip method. R6G in the pipette permeated across the channels into the bath. The permeability of R6G was quantified by measuring R6G concentration in the bath after several hours by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with 100 nm silver colloid particles. The ratio of the permeability of dye to salt, as extracted by this combined electrical-SERS technique, is compatible with similar ratios for other dyes across whole gap junction channels. The results for the permeability ratio were further compared to fluorescence measurements. The novel combination of patch and SERS techniques can be extended to quantifying the transport of biologically significant non-fluorescent molecules, such as cAMP and IP3, across 1 nm sized pores, such as the gap junction channel.