Liquid crystalline and light emitting polyacetylenes: Synthesis and properties of biphenyl-containing poly(1-alkynes) with different functional bridges and spacer lengths

Biphenyl- (Biph-) containing 1-alkynes (3 and 4) and their polymers (1 and 2) with varying bridge groups and spacer lengths were synthesized and the effects of the structural variation on their properties, especially their mesomorphism and photoluminescence behaviors, were studied. The acetylene monomers 3(3) [HCdropC(CH2)(3)O-Biph-OCO(CH2)(10)CH3] and 4(m) [HCdropC(CH2)(m)OCO-Biph-OCO(CH2)(10)-CH3, m = 3, 4] were prepared by sequential etherization and esterification reactions of 1-alkynes. While 3(3) exhibits enantiotropic crystal E and SmB mesophases, its structural cousin 4(3) displays only a monotropic SmB phase. Enantiotropic SmA and SmB mesophases are, however, developed when the spacer length is increased to 4. Polymerizations of the monomers are effected by Mo-, W-, Rh-, and Fe-based catalysts, with the WCl6-Ph4Sn catalyst giving the best results (isolation yield up to 85% and M-w up to 59000). The polymers were characterized by IR, UV, NMR, TGA, DSC, POM, XRD, and PL analyses. Compared to 1(3), 2(3) shows a red-shifted absorption, a higher T-i, and a better packed interdigitated bilayer SmA(d) structure, while the mesophase of 2(4) involves monolayer-packing arrangements of the mesogens. Upon photoexcitation, 1(3) emits almost no light but 2(m) gives a strong ultraviolet emission (lambda(max) similar to 350 nm), whose intensity increases with the spacer length.

Thermally crosslinkable poly(phenylene sulfide)/poly (ether sulfone)/polymerization of monomer reactant-polyimide blends

The effects of thermally crosslinkable polymerization of monomer reactant-polyimide (POI) on the miscibility, morphology, and crystallization of partially miscible poly(ether sulfone) (PES)/poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) blends were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy. The addition of POI led to a significant reduction in the size of PPS particles, and the interfacial tension between PPS and crosslinked POI was smaller than that between PES and crosslinked POI. During melt blending, crosslinking and grafting reactions of POI with PES and PPS homopolymers were detected; however, the reaction activity of POI with PPS was much higher than that with PES. The crosslinking and grafting reactions were developed further when blends were annealed at higher temperatures. Moreover, POI was an effective nucleation agent of the crystallization of PPS, but crosslinking and grafting hindered the crystallization of PPS. The final effect of POI on the crystallinity of the PPS phase was determined by competition between the two contradictory factors. The crosslinking and grafting reactions between the two components was controlled by the dosage of POI in the blends, the premixing sequence of POI with the two components, the annealing time, and the temperature.

Covalent grafting of luminescent rare earth complex onto MCM-41 by postsynthesis

New luminescent hybrid mesoporous material was prepared by covalent anchoring rare earth complex onto MCM-41 by a postsynthesis approach. The monomer (referred to here as PABI) which plays double roles, i.e., as a ligand for lanthanide ion and as an organic functional molecule to modify MCM-41 is synthesized and characterized by H-1 NMR and MS. The fluorescence spectra show clearly that the hybrid mesoporous material possesses excellent luminescence characteristics. The hybrid mesoporous material retains the structure of MCM-41 after modification.

Synthesis and thermal polymerization of a novel stilbene-maleimide AB-monomer

A novel AB-monomer, 3-maleimidostilbene (ST-MAI), was synthesized. DSC investigation indicated that the ST-MAI monomer melted at 127 degrees C and thermally polymerized in the temperature range of 180 similar to 300 degrees C. LR investigation on the thermal polymerization processes proved that the thermal polymerization included not only copolymerizaiton between stilbene and maleimide, but also homopolymerization of maleimide. The largest reaction conversion of maleimide and stilbene unit in a ST-MAI monomer was about 82% and 50% respectively. The glass transition temperature of cured ST-MAI resin was 234 degrees C, determined by DSC. The decomposition temperatures for 10% weight loss was above 430 degrees C in both air and nitrogen atmospheres.

Electrochemical synthesis of Ag nanoparticles on functional carbon surfaces

In this paper, we present a new method of fabricating metal nanoparticles on carbon substrates through molecular design. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements show that the electrochemically synthesized Ag nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the modified highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface with a narrow particle size distribution. Moreover, the size and number density of Ag nanoparticles on the grafted HOPG surface can be easily changed through control of the experimental conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Spectroscopic study of the photophysical properties of rare earth ions encapsulated: Water soluble functional calixresorcin[4]arene

A novel macrocyclic compound-water soluble functional calixresorcin[4]arenes-tetra para sulfo-phenylmethyl-calixresorcin[4]are was synthesized for the first time. The photophysical properties of terbium and europium ions encapsulated in the macrocyclic ligand were studied in detail. The triplet state energy of the calixresorcin[4]arene was determined to be 24400 cm(-1) by the low temperature phosphorescence spectrum and it was found that it can sensitize both terbium ion and europium ion. The possible energy transfer process between the functional calixresorcin[4]arene and the encapsulated Tb3+ and Eu3+ was discussed. The luminescence quantum efficiency of Tb3+- calixresorcin[4]arene was calculated.

Phase identification of triphenylene-based discotic monomer and its main chain polymers

A monomer, 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexakispentyloxy triphenylene (HPT) possesses a triphenylene core as a discotic mesogen. Polymers containing this discotic mesogen have been studied using wide-angle X-ray and electron diffraction. HPT is known to show a discotic liquid crystal phase, noted as D-ho (h for hexagonal bidimensional lattice, o for ordered molecular spacing in each column). In this paper, however, HPT Liquid crystalline phases, heated up from the crystalline state and cooled down from the isotropic state, were characterized in the diameter dimensions. In addition. the diameters of the columns are close to a parameter of two separate crystals. A core orientation was, therefore, proposed in the mesophase obtained by heating the crystalline. In order to distinguish these differences, the D-ho phase was divided to include the D-hcd and D-hco phases. Molecular modeling was performed to help our understanding of the orientation. The D-hcd and D-hco phases were used to characterize the phases of the discotic polymeric analogs by comparing their column diameters to those of the monomers. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of the structural and functional changes of hemoglobin in dimethyl sulfoxide by spectroscopic techniques

Circular dichroism (CD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to explore the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the structure and function of hemoglobin (Hb). The native tertiary structure was disrupted completely when the concentration of DMSO reached 50% (v/v), which was determined by loss of the characteristic Soret CD spectrum. Loss of the native tertiary structure could be mainly caused by breaking the hydrogen bonds, between the heme propionate groups and nearby surface amino acid residues, and by disorganizing the hydrophobic interior of this protein. Upon exposure of Hb to 52% DMSO for ca. 12 h in a D2O medium no significant change in 1652 cm(-1) band of the FTIR spectrum was produced, which demonstrated that alpha-helical structure predominated. When the concentration of DMSO increased to 57%: (1) the band at 1652 cm(-1) disappeared with the appearance of two new bands located at 1661 and 1648 cm(-1); (2) another new band at 1623 cm(-1) was attributed to the formation of intermolecular beta-sheet or aggregation, which was the direct consequence of breaking of the polypeptide chain by the competition of S=O groups in DMSO with C=O groups in amide bonds. Further increasing the DMSO concentration to 80%, the intensity at 1623 cm(-1) increased, and the bands at 1684, 1661 and 1648 cm(-1) shifted to 1688, 1664 and 1644 cm(-1), respectively. These changes showed that the native secondary structure of Hb was last and led to further aggregation and increase of the content of 'free' amide C=O groups. In pure DMSO solvent, the major band at 1664 cm(-1) indicated that almost all of both the intermolecular beta-sheet and any residual secondary structure were completely disrupted. The red shift of the fluorescence emission maxima showed that the tryptophan residues were exposed to a greater hydrophilic environment as the DMSO content increased. GO-binding experiment suggested that the biological function of Hb was disrupted seriously even if the content of DMSO was 20%. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Theoretical investigation of LaC3n+ (n = 0, 1, 2) clusters by density functional theory

LaC3n+ (n = 0, 1, 2) clusters have been studied using B3LYP (Becke 3-parameter-Lee-Yang-Parr) density functional method. The basis set is Dunning/ Huzinaga valence double zeta for carbon and [2s2p2d] for lanthanum, denoted LANL1DZ. Four isomers are presented for each cluster; two of them are edge binding isomers with C-2 upsilon symmetry, the other two are Linear chains with C-infinity upsilon symmetry. Meanwhile, two spin states for each isomer, that is, singlet and triplet for LaC3+, doublet and quartet for LaC3 and LaC32+, respectively, are also considered. Geometries, vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, and other quantities are reported and discussed. The results indicate that at some spin states; the C-2 upsilon symmetry isomers are the dominant structures, while for the other spin states, linear isomers are energetically favored. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION OF CYTOCHROME-C AT GOLD ELECTRODES MODIFIED WITH THIOPHENE CONTAINING ONE FUNCTIONAL-GROUP

The electrochemical reactions of cytochrome c were studied at a thiophene-modified gold electrode. It was demonstrated that thiophene is an effective promoter, although there is only one functional group in the molecule. Based on this result, the mechanis

PENDANT FUNCTIONAL-GROUP COPOLYETHER SULFONES .1. SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW COPOLYETHER SULFONES WITH PENDANT ALDEHYDE GROUPS MODIFIED INTO PHENOLIC AZOMETHINE GROUPS

New functional copolyether sulfones with pendant aldehyde groups were synthesized by the classical polycondensation reaction between 4,4' -dichlorodiphenyl sulfone (I) and various bisphenols such as 5,5'-methylene bis-salicylaldehyde (II-2), 2,2-bis( 4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (III), and 2,6-bis(4-hydroxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone (IV). Condensation reaction with 4-aminophenol led to pendant phenolic azomethine groups containing copolyether sulfones. The structures of the resulting polymers were confirmed by IR, H-1-NMR spectra, and elemental analyses. The polymers were characterized by reduced viscosity, solubility, thermal stability, DSC, and x-ray diffraction measurements.

A NEW THERMOPLASTIC POLYIMIDE COMPOSITE PREPARED BY THE POLYMERIZATION OF MONOMER REACTANTS APPROACH

A novel amorphous thermoplastic polyimide (PTI) is being developed as a potential matrix resin for advanced composites. This paper describes the manufacture of the resin, prepreg, and processing of the composite. The chemical and physical behavior of the resin during the processing was determined by infrared spectroscopy and rheology. The influence of processing conditions on the composite properties was investigated. Mechanical properties of the unidirectional carbon fiber/PTI laminates were also presented.

Two thymosin-repeated molecules with structural and functional diversity coexist in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

Recently, beta-thymosin-like proteins with multiple thymosin domains (defined as thymosin-repeated proteins) have been identified from invertebrate. In the present study, the cDNAs of two thymosin-repeated proteins (designated EsTRP1 and EsTRP2) were cloned from Chinese mitten crab by expressed sequence tags (EST) techniques. BLAST analysis presented three and two thymosin domains in EsTRP1 and EsTRP2, respectively, with the identities amongst the five domains varying from 47% to 100%. Both EsTRP1 and EsTRP2 shared high similarities with previously identified vertebrate beta-thynnosins and invertebrate thymosin-repeated proteins (TRPs) with the identities ranging from 43% to 78%, indicating that EsTRPs were new members of the beta-thymosin family. Real-time RT-PCR assay was adopted to determine the tissue distribution of EsTRPs and their temporal expression profile in hemocytes after pathogen stimulation and injury challenge. The expression of EsTRP1 transcript was predominantly detectable in the tissues of hemocytes, hepatopancreas and gonad with the highest expression in hemocytes, while the highest expression level of EsTRP2 was found in heart. EsTRP1 mRNA expression in hemocytes significantly increased at 3 and 48 h after Listonella anguillarum challenge, but there was no significant variation in EsTRP2 temporal expression profile. The injury challenge reduced the mRNA expression of EsTRPs, with the down-regulation of EsTRP2 expression occurred earlier than that of EsTRP1. The cDNA fragments encoding their mature peptides of EsTRP1 and EsTRP2 were recombined and expressed in Escherichia coli. The activities of recombinant proteins (rEsTRP1 and rEsTRP2) were examined by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) and lysoplate assay. rEsTRP2 could significantly accelerate the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, but there was no significant effect of rEsTRP1 on the tumor cell proliferation. Both rEsTRP1 and rEsTRP2 did not possess the ability of killing Micrococcus luteus and L. anguillarum. The differences in the tissue distribution of mRNA transcripts, the response to pathogen stimulation and injury challenge, and the effect of recombinant proteins on human cell proliferation, indicated that there were functional diversity between the two structurally different molecules, EsTRP1 and EsTRP2. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional biosynthesis of an allophycocyan beta subunit in Escherichia coli

Allophycocyanin is a phycobiliprotein with various biological and pharmacological properties. An expression vector was constructed using CpeS as the bilin lyase for the allophycocyanin beta subunit, resulting in overexpression of a fluorescent allophycocyanin beta-subunit in Escherichia coli. A high-density cell culture was developed using a continuous feeding strategy. After 16 h of culture, the dry cell density reached 21.4 g 1(-1), the expression of the allophycocyanin beta-subunit was 0.86 g l(-1) broth, and the relative chromoprotein yield was 81.4%. The recombinant protein showed spectral features similar to native allophycocyanin, which provide an efficient methodology for large-scale production of this valuable fluorescent protein. (C) 2008, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.