Markov processes in single molecule fluorescence

This article examines the current status of Markov processes in single molecule fluorescence. For molecular dynamics to be described by a Markov process, the Markov process must include all states involved in the dynamics and the first-passage time (FPT) distributions out of those states must be describable by a simple exponential law. The observation of non-exponential FPT distributions or other evidence of non-Markovian dynamics is common in single molecule studies and offers an opportunity to expand the Markov model to include new dynamics or states that improve understanding of the system.     

Effects of cobalt-60 γ-ray irradiation on fresh-keeping and storage of kiwifruits

The boxes contained kiwifruits were irradiated with cobalt-60 γ-rays at different dosages (0.6 , 1.8 and 3.6 KGy) and stored in a room ventilated at night, the natural ambient air being used as cool source.The results showed that the treatment which fruits irradiated with 0.6 KGy was the best after 85 days. It gave the normal-fruit rate of 95.10%, fruit flesh hardness of 4.10 Kg · cm^-2, fresh and plump fruits, good quality and less Vc loss.     

Momentum transfer in an agitated vessel with off-centred impellers

Momentum transfer was investigated in an unbaffled agitated vessel of inner diameter 0.3 m equipped with different off-centred impellers. The distribution of the shear rate on the tank wall as a function of the impeller type and Reynolds number was studied in the turbulent regime of the Newtonian liquid flow. The dependences of the averaged dimensionless shear rate, friction coefficient, and dissipated energy on the Reynolds number and eccentricity ratio were approximated using four-parameter equations. Presented at the 33rd International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 22–26 May 2006.     

Kinetic parameters of unsaturated polyester resin modified with poly(ε -caprolactone)

The mineral sabugalite (HAl)_0.5[(UO₂)₂(PO₄)]₂⋅8H₂O, has been studied using a combination of energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, dynamic and controlled rate thermal analysis techniques. X-ray diffraction shows that the starting material in the thermal decomposition is sabugalite and the product of the thermal treatment is a mixture of aluminium and uranyl phosphates. Four mass loss steps are observed for the dehydration of sabugalite at 48°C (temperature range 39 to 59°C), 84°C (temperature range 59 to 109°C), 127°C (temperature range 109 to 165°C) and around 270°C (temperature range 175 to 525°C) with mass losses of 2.8, 6.5, 2.3 and 4.4%, respectively, making a total mass loss of water of 16.0%. In the CRTA experiment mass loss stages were found at 60, 97, 140 and 270°C which correspond to four dehydration steps involving the loss of 2, 6, 6 and 2 moles of water. These mass losses result in the formation of four phases namely meta(I)sabugalite, meta(II)sabugalite, meta(III)sabugalite and finally uranyl phosphate and alumina phosphates. The use of a combination of dynamic and controlled rate thermal analysis techniques enabled a definitive study of the thermal decomposition of sabugalite. While the temperature ranges and the mass losses vary due to the different experimental conditions, the results of the CRTA analysis should be considered as standard data due to the quasi-equilibrium nature of the thermal decomposition process. The online version of the original article can be found at     

Metal Ion Guest Responsive Benzoxazine Dimers and Inclusion Phenomena of Cyclic Derivatives

This study was carried out with the aim to optimize the dissolution propertiesof diclofenac (DIC) – a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sparingly solublein water – through association -with -cyclodextrin (CD). Theeffect of CD on the aqueous solubility of DIC was evaluated by thephase solubility method. The amount of DIC dissolved increased linearly withthe addition of CD according to an AL type plot and without precipitationof the complex. The apparent stability constant of the complex, calculated supposinga 1:1 stoichiometry, was 295 M^-1; this value was confirmed by circulardichroism analysis. DIC/CD interactions were also studied in water by¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Equimolar DIC/CD solid systems were prepared by physical-mixing, kneading, co-evaporation andfreeze-drying, and their properties in the solid state studied by DifferentialScanning Calorimetry, X-ray powder diffractometry and Fourier-TransformInfrared analysis. For sake of comparison, the mixture of DIC and CDseparately lyophilized was investigated too. The results demonstrated that thefreeze-dried product had the highest degree of amorphization and they were inagreement with the existence of an inclusion complex in the solid state. Thedissolution profiles of the drug from each solid system were affected by its physico-chemical properties, the freeze-dried being the most rapidly dissolvingforms.     

The influence of the mercury and thallium atoms in organomercury and organothallium nitroxyl radicals on their reactivity

An increase is found in the reactivity of organomercury and organothallium nitroxyl mono- and biradicals of the imidazoline type in comparison with the analogous compounds without organometallic fragments. This is explained by the formation of coordination bonds NHg, NTl, and NOHg.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 224–226, January, 1993.     

Photophysical aspects of single-molecule detection by two-photon excitation with consideration of sequential pulsed illumination.

An important goal in single molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is the theoretical simulation of the fluorescence signal stemming from individual molecules and its autocorrelation function. The simulation approaches developed up to now are based exclusively on continuous-wave (cw) illumination and consequently on cw-excitation. However, this approximation is no longer valid in the case of two-photon excitation, for which pulsed illumination is usually employed. We present a novel theoretical model for the simulation of the fluorescence signal of single molecules and its autocorrelation function with consideration of the time dependence of the excitation flux and thus of all illumination-dependent photoprocesses: two-photon excitation, induced emission and photobleaching. Further important characteristics of our approach are the consideration of the dependence of the photobleaching rate on illumination and the low intersystem-crossing rates of the studied coumarins. Moreover, using our approach, we can predict quantitatively the effect of the laser pulse width on the fluorescence signal of a molecule, that is, the contributions of the photobleaching and saturation effects, and thus we can calculate the optimal laser pulse width. The theoretical autocorrelation functions were fitted to the experimental data, and we could ascertain a good agreement between the resulting and the expected parameters. The most important parameter is the photobleaching constant sigma, the cross section of the transition Sn<--S1, which characterises the photostability of the molecules independent of the experimental conditions. Its value is 1.7 x 10(-23) cm2 for coumarin 153 and 5 x 10(-23) cm2 for coumarin 314.     

Advanced kinetic tools for the evaluation of decomposition reactions

Summary An advanced kinetic study on the thermal behaviour of pyrotechnic ignition mixtures has been carried out by differential scanning calorimetry using different B/KNO3 mixtures (50:50, 30:70, 20:80) as a model reaction. The experimental conditions applied (isochoric conditions/closed crucibles and isobaric conditions/open crucibles) as well as the composition of the mixtures noticeably influences the relative thermal stabilities of the energetic materials. The kinetic study focused on the prediction of the thermal stability of the different mixtures both in extended temperature ranges and under temperature conditions at which ordinary investigation would be very difficult. Using advanced numerical tools [1], thermal ageing and influence of the complex thermal environment on the heat accumulation conditions were computed. This can be done for any surrounding temperature profile such as isothermal, non-isothermal, stepwise, modulated, shock, adiabatic conditions and additionally for temperature profiles reflecting real atmospheric temperature changes (yearly temperature profiles of different climates with daily minimal and maximal fluctuations). Applications of accurate decomposition kinetics enabled the determination of the time to maximum rate under adiabatic conditions (TMR_ad) with a precision given by the confidence interval of the predictions. This analysis can then be applied for the examination of the effects of the surrounding temperature for safe storage or transportation conditions (e.g. determination of the safe transport or storage temperatures).     

Surface transient effects in ultralow‐energy Cs+ sputtering of Si

This study examines the dependence of the sputter rate and the transient width (z_tr) as a function of Cs⁺ primary ion energy (impact energy (E_p) = 320 eV, 500 eV and 1 keV) and incident angles between 0 and 70° . The instrument used was the ATOMIKA 4500 SIMS depth profiler and the sample was Si with ten delta layers of Si_0.7 Ge_0.3. We observed the narrowest transient widths of between 1.4 and 2.0 nm apparent depth. This was achieved at incident angles (θ) of 30–50° . An extended transient effect was observed when profiled at θ > 50° . Below this incident angle, the transient width is less than twice the penetration depth (z_tr < 2R_norm). At minimum z_tr, z_tr ≈ R_norm. The detection sensitivity is best achieved at θ ≈ 30° for all energies investigated. The sputter rate is lowest at normal incidence, rising gradually to a maximum at θ ≈ 50–60° . This is similar to that observed with ultralow‐energy O₂⁺ primary ion beams. 1 At ultralow energies, reducing E_p does not have a significant effect in reducing z_tr. We conclude that for E_p < 1 keV, the optimum condition to achieve minimum z_tr while maintaining good sensitivity and high sputter rate is at θ ≈ 30° . Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.