Preparation of ZnMgO:Ga thin films on flexible substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Transparent conducting ZnMgO:Ga films were deposited on flexible PET substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Effects of deposition pressure and time on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnMgO:Ga films were investigated. The films showed a low resistivity about 7.68 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm when deposited at the pressure of 0.03 Pa for 40 min. All the films exhibited a high transmittance over 80% in the visible and near-ultraviolet region. The band gap of as-grown films was about 3.50 eV.     

Measurement of the absolute Raman scattering cross section of the 1584‐cm−1 band of benzenethiol and the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering cross section enhancement factor for femtosecond laser‐nanostructured substrates

The absolute Raman scattering cross section (σ_RS) for the 1584‐cm⁻¹ band of benzenethiol at 897 nm (1.383 eV) has been measured to be 8.9 ± 1.8 × 10⁻³⁰ cm² using a 785‐nm pump laser. A temperature‐controlled, small‐cavity blackbody source was used to calibrate the signal output of the Raman spectrometer. We also measured the absolute surface‐enhanced Raman scattering cross section (σ_SERS) of benzenethiol adsorbed onto a silver‐coated, femtosecond laser‐nanostructured substrate. Using the measured values of 8.9 ± 1.8 × 10⁻³⁰ and 6.6 ± 1.3 × 10⁻²⁴ cm² for σ_RS and σ_SERS respectively, we calculate an average cross‐section enhancement factor (EF) of 0.8 ± 0.3 × 10⁶. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

真空紫外到深紫外波段基底材料的光学特性

 研究了真空紫外到深紫外波段常用的基底材料,给出了常用基底材料的光学特性和在真空紫外波段的截止波长,测量了这些材料在120~500 nm的透过率,给出了通过透过率计算弱吸收基底光学常数的计算方法,并用该方法得到了熔石英、氟化镁晶体、氟化钙晶体、氟化锂晶体在120~500 nm的折射率和消光系数,对这些常用基底的使用范围和特点进行了一定的比较和分析,并将所得基底的光学常数与公开发表的文献进行了比较,证明了所得结果的可靠性。     

A diastereoselective tandem RCM approach to spiropiperidines

This paper outlines the stereocontrolled synthesis of a functionalised spiropiperidine through a diastereoselective tandem RCM reaction. The diastereoselectivity of this process was found to be strongly dependant on the nature of the catalyst; the less active first generation Ru-carbene complexes provided the desired spirocycle in high yield and with good stereocontrol. Additionally, the further functionalisation of the spiropiperidine was carried out through a regio- and stereoselective dihydroxylation reaction employing Donohoe's OsO₄-TMEDA conditions.     

Polymer friction-transfer layers as orienting substrates

A variety of polymers were investigated as candidates for the formation of oriented layers by friction transfer. Only polyethylene, the liquid-crystalline Vectrá and fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer were found to yield oriented transfer layers. These layers, in turn, were found to induce the oriented growth a variety of species deposited onto them from the melt, solution or vapor phase. The present orientation-inducing friction-transfer layers, however, were found to be inferior to those of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) [PTFE], described previously. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for analytical mechanics

According to the basic idea of classical yin-yang complementarity and modern dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified new way proposed by Luo, the un-conventional Hamilton-type variational principles of holonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics can be established systematically. This unconventional Hamilton-type variational principle can fully characterize the initial-value problem of analytical mechanics, so that it is an important innovation for the Hamilton-type variational principle. In this paper, an important integral relation is given, which can be considered as the expression of the generalized principle of virtual work for analytical mechanics in mechanics. Based on this relation, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work of holonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for three-field and two-field unconventional variational principles, and the functional for the one-field one by the generalized Legendre transformation given in this paper. Further, with this new approach, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly. Meanwhile, the unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles of nonholonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics can also be established systematically in this paper.     

Lipase-Catalyzed Production of Sorbitol Laurate in a “2-in-1” Deep Eutectic System: Factors Affecting the Synthesis and Scalability

Surfactants, such as glycolipids, are specialty compounds that can be encountered daily in cleaning agents, pharmaceuticals or even in food. Due to their wide range of applications and, more notably, their presence in hygiene products, the demand is continuously increasing worldwide. The established chemical synthesis of glycolipids presents several disadvantages, such as lack of specificity and selectivity. Moreover, the solubility of polyols, such as sugars or sugar alcohols, in organic solvents is rather low. The enzymatic synthesis of these compounds is, however, possible in nearly water-free media using inexpensive and renewable building blocks. Using lipases, ester formation can be achieved under mild conditions. We propose, herein, a “2-in-1” system that overcomes solubility problems, as a Deep Eutectic System (DES) made of sorbitol and choline chloride replaces either a purely organic or aqueous medium. For the first time, 16 commercially available lipase formulations were compared, and the factors affecting the conversion were investigated to optimize this process, owing to a newly developed High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (HPLC-ELSD) method for quantification. Thus, using 50 g/L of lipase formulation Novozym 435^® at 50 °C, the optimized synthesis of sorbitol laurate (SL) allowed to achieve 28% molar conversion of 0.5 M of vinyl laurate to its sugar alcohol monoester when the DES contained 5 wt.% water. After 48h, the de novo synthesized glycolipid was separated from the media by liquid–liquid extraction, purified by flash-chromatography and characterized thoroughly by one- and two-dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments combined to Mass Spectrometry (MS). In completion, we provide initial proof of scalability for this process. Using a 2.5 L stirred tank reactor (STR) allowed a batch production reaching 25 g/L in a highly viscous two-phase system.     

New chromogenic substrates of human neutrophil cathepsin G containing non-natural aromatic amino acid residues in position P1 selected by combinatorial chemistry methods

Specificity of human cathepsin G was explored using combinatorial chemistry methods. Deconvolution of a tetrapeptide library, where 5-amino-2-nitrobenzoic acid served as a chromophore attached at the C-terminus, yielded the active sequence Phe-Val-Thr-Tyr-Anb^5,2-NH₂. This sequence was used for a second-generation library with the general formula Ac-Phe-Val-Thr-X-Anb^5,2-NH₂, where position X was replaced with several amino acids: l-pyridyl- alanine (Pal), 4-nitro-l-phenylalanine (Nif), 4-amino-l- phenylalanine (Amf), 4-carboxy-l-phenylalanine (Cbf), 4-guanidine-l-phenylalanine (Gnf), 4-methyloxycarbonyl- l-phenylalanine (Mcf), 4-cyano-l-phenylalanine (Cyf), Phe, Tyr, Arg and Lys. Specificity ligand parameters, k _cat and K _M, with human cathepsin G were determined for all chromogenic substrates synthesized. The highest value of the specificity constant (k _cat/K _M) was obtained for a substrate with the Gnf residue in position P₁. This peptide was 10 times more active than the second most active substrate which contained the Amf residue. The following order of potency was established: Gnf > > Amf > Tyr = Phe > Arg= Lys > Cyf. Substrate specificity for cathepsin G is greatly enhanced when an aromatic side chain and a strong positive charge are incorporated in residue P₁.     

Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays for the detection of activity and inhibition of phosphatase enzymes employing phosphorescently labeled peptide substrates

A rapid, homogenous, antibody-free assay for phosphatase enzymes was developed using the phosphorescent platinum (II)-coproporphyrin label (PtCP) and time-resolved fluorescent detection. An internally quenched decameric peptide substrate containing a phospho-tyrosine residue, labeled with PtCP-maleimide and dabcyl-NHS at its termini was designed. Phosphatase catalysed dephosphorylation of the substrate resulted in a minor increase in PtCP signal, while subsequent cleavage by chymotrypsin at the dephosphorylated Tyr-Leu site provided a 3.5 fold enhancement of PtCP phosphorescence. This phosphorescence phosphatase enhancement assay was optimized to a 96 well plate format with detection on a commercial TR-F plate reader, and applied to measure the activity and inhibition of alkaline phosphatase, recombinant human CD45, and tyrosine phosphatases in Jurkat cell lysates within 40 min. Parameters of these enzymatic reactions such as K_m's, limits of detection (L.O.D's) and IC₅₀ values for the non-specific inhibitor sodium orthovanadate were also determined.     

Growth substrate induced functional changes elucidated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy in in–vitro cultured human keratinocytes

Non-invasive measurements of cellular function in in vitro cultured cell lines using vibrational spectroscopy require the use of spectroscopic substrates such as quartz, ZnSe and MirrIR etc. These substrates are generally dissimilar to the original in vivo extracellular environment of a given cell line and are often tolerated poorly by cultured cell lines resulting in morphological and functional changes in the cell. The present study demonstrates various correlations between vibrational spectroscopic analyses and biochemical analyses in the evaluation of the interaction of a normal human epithelial keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) with MirrIR and quartz substrates coated with fibronectin, laminin and gelatin. The findings of this study suggest that there is a correlation between quantitative measurements of cellular proliferative capacity and viability and peak area ratios in FTIR spectra, with replicated differences in similar areas of the observed Raman spectra. Differences in the physiology of cells were observed between the two spectroscopic substrates coated in fibronectin and laminin, but little differences were observed when the cells were attached to gelatin-coated quartz and MirrIR slides. The correlations demonstrate the sensitivity of the spectroscopic techniques to evaluate the physiology of the system. Furthermore the study suggests that gelatin is a suitable coating for use in spectroscopic measurements of cellular function in human keratinocytes, as it provides a material that normalises the effect of substrate attachment on cellular physiology. This effect is likely to be cell-line dependent, and it is recommended that similar evaluations of this effect are performed for those combinations of spectroscopic substrate and cell lines that are to be used in individual experiments.