Structural and optical properties of thermally evaporated antimony telluride thin films

Antimony telluride thin films were prepared on the well-cleaned glass substrates under a pressure of 10 – 5 torr by thermal evaporation method. The thicknesses of the films were measured using Multiple Beam Interferometer (MBI) technique. The structure of the sample was analyzed by X-ray diffraction technique. The film attains crystalline structure as the temperature of the substrate is increased to 373 K. The d spacing and the lattice parameters of the sample were calculated. Optical behavior of the film samples with the various thicknesses was analyzed by obtaining their transmittance spectra in the wavelength range of 400 – 800 nm. The transmittance is found to decrease with increase in film thickness and also it falls steeply with decreasing wavelength. The optical constants were estimated and the results are discussed. The optical band gap energy decreases with increase in the film thickness. The optical transition in these films is found to be indirect and allowed. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Ionic Devices, Anna University, Chennai, India, Nov. 28–30, 2003.     

Peak area measurements of cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning 13C-NMR spectra of crosslinked polystyrenes

Cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning ¹³C-NMR spectra of polystyrenes crosslinked with 1–20% of methine vinyl carbon ¹³C-labeled p-divinylbenzene and of Friedel–Crafts crosslinked poly(chloromethylstyrene)s have been obtained with both glossy solid and CDCl₃-swollen gel samples. The spectra of natural abundance, uncrosslinked, glassy polystyrene, and the spectra of the solid labeled networks give aliphatic and aromatic peak areas only 0.7 times as large per ¹³C atom as that of poly(oxymethylene). Similarly the crosslinked poly(chloromethylstyrene) gave peak areas about 0.6 times that of internal poly(oxymethylene). The labeled gels give peak areas 0.2–0.6 times as large per ¹³C atom as glassy polystyrene, and the peak areas in spectra of gels increase with the divinylbenzene content     

Copper catalyzed oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

Copper(II) complex 1 catalyzes the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with 30% H₂O₂ in high yields. Addition of a catalytic amount of TEMPO to the reaction mixture enhances the conversion and selectivity. Complex 1 can be recycled without loss of activity.     

Novel vanadium-catalyzed oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones under atmospheric oxygen

[reaction: see text] Oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones has been studied in high yields using atmospheric oxygen and a catalytic amount of V2O5 in toluene under heating (ca. 100 degrees C). Secondary alcohols can be chemoselectively converted into ketones in the presence of primary hydroxy groups.     

Development and validation of LC‐MS/MS method for the estimation of β‐hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic studies

A simple, sensitive and specific high‐performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of β‐hydroxy‐β‐methyl butyrate (HMB) in small volumes of rat plasma using warfarin as an internal standard (IS). The API‐4000 LC‐MS/MS was operated under the multiple reaction‐monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique. A simple liquid–liquid extraction process was used to extract HMB and IS from rat plasma. The total run time was 3 min and the elution of HMB and IS occurred at 1.48 and 1.75 min respectively; this was achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in a water–acetonitrile mixture (15:85, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min on a Agilent Eclipse XDB C₈ (150 × 4.6, 5 µm) column. The developed method was validated in rat plasma with a lower limit of quantitation of 30.0 ng/mL for HMB. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 30–4600 ng/mL (r > 0.998) for HMB. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision values for HMB were acceptable as per Food and Drug Administration guidelines. HMB was stable in the battery of stability studies, viz. bench‐top, autosampler freeze–thaw cycles and long‐term stability for 30 days in plasma. The developed assay method was applied to a bioavailability study in rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of acridinedione derivatives as laser dyes

Synthesis of 9-alkyl, 10-alkyl, 9,10-dialkyl, and 10-aryl-3,4,6,7,9,10-hexahydro-1,8(2H,5H)acridinedione (2a–r) are described as a new class of laser dyes. Reactions of diamines with methylene bis(cyclohexane-1,3-dione) yielded the respective bisacridinediones (3a–e). These dyes lase around 478–494 nm and are compared with the standard dye coumarin-102. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Antibacterial Mechanisms of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle against Bacterial Food Pathogens Resistant to Beta-Lactam Antibiotics

The increase in β-lactam-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is a severe recurrent problem in the food industry for both producers and consumers. The development of nanotechnology and nanomaterial applications has transformed many features in food science. The antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and their mechanism of action on β-lactam-resistant Gram-negative food pathogens, such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis, are investigated in the present paper. The study results demonstrate that ZnO NPs possesses broad-spectrum action against these β-lactamase-producing strains. The minimal inhibitory and minimal bactericidal concentrations vary from 0.04 to 0.08 and 0.12 to 0.24 mg/mL, respectively. The ZnO NPs elevate the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde in the bacterial cells as membrane lipid peroxidation. It has been confirmed from the transmission electron microscopy image of the treated bacterial cells that ZnO NPs diminish the permeable membrane, denature the intracellular proteins, cause DNA damage, and cause membrane leakage. Based on these findings, the action of ZnO NPs has been attributed to the fact that broad-spectrum antibacterial action against β-lactam-resistant Gram-negative food pathogens is mediated by Zn²⁺ ion-induced oxidative stress, actions via lipid peroxidation and membrane damage, subsequently resulting in depletion, leading to β-lactamase enzyme inhibition, intracellular protein inactivation, DNA damage, and eventually cell death. Based on the findings of the present study, ZnO NPs can be recommended as potent broad-spectrum antibacterial agents against β-lactam-resistant Gram-negative pathogenic strains.     

Synthesis,spectral characterization,C?C coupling,oxidation reactions and antibacterial activities of new ruthenium(III) Schiff base complexes

A new series of hexa‐coordinated stable Ru(III) Schiff base complexes of the type [RuX(EPh₃)(L)] (where X = Cl/Br; E = P/As; L = tetradentate N₂O₂ donor Schiff ligands) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurement, FT‐IR, UV–vis, ¹³C{¹H}‐NMR, ESR spectra, electrochemical and powder X‐ray diffraction pattern studies. The selective oxidation of alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds occurred in the presence of N‐methylmorpholin‐N‐oxide (NMO), H₂O₂ and O₂ atmosphere at ambient temperature as co‐oxidants and C? C coupling reactions. Further, these new Schiff base ligands and their Ru(III) complexes were also screened for their antibacterial activity against K. pneumoniae, Shigella sp., M. luteus, E. coli and S. typhi. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Copper(II)-catalyzed CH oxidation of alkylbenzenes and cyclohexane with hydrogen peroxide

Copper(II) complex 1 efficiently catalyses the oxidation of alkylbenzenes and cyclohexane into the corresponding ketones in moderate to high yields in the presence of 30% H₂O₂. This protocol is simple, clean and generates water as the only by-product.     

Modification of one side of mulberry silk fabric by monochromatic VUV excimer lamp

One side of mulberry silk fabric surface was irradiated with monochromatic VUV excimer lamp (172 nm). Change in surface morphology due to one side (I) and two side (II) irradiation was analyzed using high resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The irradiated samples were further characterized through measurement of wetting time, vertical and horizontal wicking. Surface nanopores of 100 nm × 10 nm were formed on the irradiated side, however, on back side change in morphology was not observed. Upon one side irradiation the wettability and wickability improved significantly. One side irradiated silk surface (I) showed average wetting time of 14.7 s and 7.2 s while the two side irradiated silk surface (II) showed a wetting time of 9.3 s and 3.1 s for irradiation period of 1 min and 5 min, respectively. Beyond 5 min of irradiation the wettability of both the surfaces stabilized. Mechanism responsible for wetting behaviour of one side irradiated sample has been proposed. The influence of lamp geometry on irradiation effect was found to be noticeable for irradiation timings <5 min.