Synthesis and Single Crystal Structure Characterization of Dinuclear and Polymeric Mixed-ligand Coordination Compounds of Zinc(II) and Cadmium(II) with the Bridging Ligand 1,2-Bis(pyridin-4-ylmethylene)hydrazine

Three d¹⁰-transition-metal coordination compounds [Cd(tfpb)₂(4-bpmh)]_n ( 1 ), [Cd(9-aca)(NO₃)(OHCH₃)(4-bpmh)]_n ( 2 ) and [Zn₂(dpp)₄(4-bpmh)] ( 3 ) with the bridging ligand 4-bpmh were synthesized [4-bpmh = 1,2-bis(pyridin-4-ylmethylene)hydrazine, tfpb = 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenylbutane-1,3-dionate, 9-aca = anthracene-9-carboxylate, dpp = 1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dionate]. Compounds 1 – 3 were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and structurally authenticated by X-ray crystallography. Compounds 1 – 3 are constructed by an O,O'-donor ligand including chelating β-diketonates (tfpb, dpp) in 1 and 3 and a carboxylate ligand (9-aca) in 2 in combination with a linear neutral bidentate and bridging N-ligand (4-bpmh). The assembly and action of the bridging 4-bpmh ligand leads to one-dimensional coordination polymers in 1 , 2 and to a dinuclear coordination complex in 3 . The structures and the solid-state supramolecular interactions for studying the crystal packing fashions of 1 – 3 were analyzed. The supramolecular interactions including hydrogen bonding, C–H ··· π, π ··· π, and C–F ··· π in 1 , 2 , and 3 were founded.     

Practical and efficient synthesis of tetrahydrobenzo[<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]pyran using caffeine supported on silica as an ionic liquid solid acid catalyst

The new catalyst silica-caffeine hydrogen sulfate [SiO₂-caff.]HSO₄ was conveniently prepared from commercially available 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane via immobilization on silica followed by reaction with caffeine. The catalyst prepared was then characterized by the FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA, EDX, and SEM techniques. It was found that this heterogeneous catalyst was a highly efficient one for the synthesis of tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyrans in good-to-high yields, and could be recovered by a simple filtration of the reaction solution and reused for five consecutive runs. The attractive features of this method are simple procedure, clean reaction, easy work-up, use of a reusable catalyst, and performing a multi-component reaction.     

Thermal analysis of high-index-contrast grating (HCG)-based VCSEL

A 3-D thermal analysis of 870 nm high-index-contrast grating (HCG)-based vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by using finite volume method (FVM) is presented in this paper. The HCG-based VCSEL is modeled by applying a steady-state 3-D heat dissipation model. Temperature distribution profile and thermal resistance (R_th) of the device are investigated by inserting the heat source value into the thermal simulation. Also, this analysis is performed for a conventional VCSEL operating at the same wavelength and under the same injected current as well as the same geometric sizes. The analysis shows that the maximum temperature inside the HCG-based VCSEL is lower than that inside the conventional VCSEL.     

Intracellular injection of phospholipids directly alters exocytosis and the fraction of chemical release in chromaffin cells as measured by nano-electrochemistry

Using a nano-injection method, we introduced phospholipids having different intrinsic geometries into single secretory cells and used single cell amperometry (SCA) and intracellular vesicle impact electrochemical cytometry (IVIEC) with nanotip electrodes to monitor the effects of intracellular incubation on the exocytosis process and vesicular storage. Combining tools, this work provides new information to understand the impact of intracellular membrane lipid engineering on exocytotic release, vesicular content and fraction of chemical release. We also assessed the effect of membrane lipid alteration on catecholamine storage of isolated vesicles by implementing another amperometric technique, vesicle impact electrochemical cytometry (VIEC), outside the cell. Exocytosis analysis reveals that the intracellular nano-injection of phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine decreases the number of released catecholamines, whereas phosphatidylethanolamine shows the opposite effect. These observations support the emerging hypothesis that lipid curvature results in membrane remodeling through secretory pathways, and also provide new evidence for a critical role of the lipid localization in modulating the release process. Interestingly, the IVIEC data imply that total vesicular content is also affected by in situ supplementation of the cells with some lipids, while, the corresponding VIEC results show that the neurotransmitter content in isolated vesicles is not affected by altering the vesicle membrane lipids. This suggests that the intervention of phospholipids inside the cell has its effect on the cellular machinery for vesicle release rather than vesicle structure, and leads to the somewhat surprising conclusion that modulating release has a direct effect on vesicle structure, which is likely due to the vesicles opening and closing again during exocytosis. These findings could lead to a novel regulatory mechanism for the exocytotic or synaptic strength based on lipid heterogeneity across the cell membrane.

Amperometry and intracellular vesicle impact electrochemical cytometry with nanotip electrodes were used to monitor the effects on exocytosis and vesicular storage after nano-injection of phospholipids with different geometries into secretory cells.     

Application of adsorptive stripping voltammetry to the simultaneous determination of bismuth and copper in the presence of nuclear fast red

A sensitive and selective method for the simultaneous determination of copper and bismuth by adsorptive stripping was developed using nuclear fast red (2-anthracenesulfonic acid, 4-amino-9,10-dihydro-1,3-dihydroxy-9,10-dioxo-, monosodium salt) as selective complexing agent onto hanging mercury drop electrode. In a single scan both metals gave peaks that were distinctly separated by 85 mV allowing their determination in the presence of each other. Optimal analytical conditions were found to be: nuclear fast red concentration of 80 μM, pH of 2.8 and adsorptive potential of −300 mV versus Ag/AgCl. With accumulation time of 180 s the peaks currents are proportional to concentration of copper and bismuth over the 1-100 and 5-60 ng mL⁻¹ range with detection limits of 0.2 and 1.2 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The procedure was applied to simultaneous determination of copper and bismuth in some real samples.     

A novel architecture of ultracompact pulse position modulator in photonic crystals

We propose and analyze a novel photonic crystal pulse position modulator utilizing a coupled cavity waveguide delay line. Also, a nonlinear photonic crystal directional coupler is used as an all-optical switch in the proposed structure. The input data acts as the control signal of the switch and activates the switching operation. We show that the device size can be reduced significantly by designing the delay line to achieve a reduced group velocity and a quasi-flat impurity band. The size of the designed modulator is 32a × 16a, where a represents the lattice constant of the photonic crystal. The characteristics of the device are investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and plane wave expansion (PWE) methods.     

Catalyst-free green synthesis of tetrahydro-benzo[b]pyrans in magnetized water: experimental aspects and molecular dynamics simulation

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In this work, magnetized water is applied as a green-promoting medium for the catalyst-free, one-pot, practical, efficient, and environmentally benign...     

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of polyphenolic compounds in human plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A diet rich in polyphenolic compounds has recognized health benefits, and as such is routinely monitored as part of dietary intervention studies. A method for the simultaneous determination of 36 phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry is described here. The target analytes were quantified based on their specific mass spectral fragments using a selected reaction monitoring approach. A C18 column with embedded aromatic functionality ensured separation of all phenolic compounds studied which included several pairs of isomers. Sample preparation involved the use of β‐glucuronidase to release the phenolic compounds from their conjugated forms. The intra‐day and inter‐day precision and accuracy was less than 7% for all phenolic compounds studied. Recoveries, where plasma was spiked with three different concentrations of the analytes, ranged from 95–115%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.23–3.89 and 1.15–7.79 nM, respectively. The method was successfully applied to real samples and the range reported for each phenolic compound, with the exception of hydroferulic acid, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, methylgallate, and m‐coumaric acid, was at least an order of magnitude higher than the limit of quantification for the method.     

Zn salen complex supported on MnCoFe2O4(MCF) magnetic nanoparticles as a catalyst in the synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2 (1H)-ones/thiones (Biginelli-like reaction)

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In the present work, a novel Zn salen complex supported on MnCoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles, MnCoFe2O4@SiO2-Pr-NH-SA&amp;Zn (MCF@SiO2-Pr-NH-SA&amp;Zn)...