Silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres for chemical and optical sensing

In-fibre chemical and optical sensors based on silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres (MPOFs) were demonstrated. The silver nanocrystals modified MPOFs were formed by direct chemical reduction of silver ammonia complex ions on the templates of array holes in the microstructure polymer optical fibres. The nanotube-like and nanoisland-like Ag-modified MPOFs could be obtained by adjusting the conditions of Ag-formation in the air holes of MPOFs. SEM images showed that the higher concentration of the reaction solution (silver ammonia 0.5 mol/L, glucose 0.25 mol/L), gave rise to a tubular silver layer in MPOF, while the lower concentration (silver ammonia 0.1 M, glucose 0.05 M) produced an island-like Ag nanocrystal modified MPOF. The tubular Ag-MPOF composite fibre was conductive and could be directly used as array electrodes in electrochemical analyses. It displayed high electrochemical activity on sensing nitrate or nitrite ions. The enhanced fluorescence of dye molecules was observed when the island-like Ag-modified MPOF was inserted into a fluorescent dye solution. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

One-pot synthesis of silver nanoplates and charge-transfer complex nanofibers

We describe a facile one-pot process to synthesize Ag nanoplates by reducing silver nitrate with 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) at room temperature. The silver nanoplates were highly oriented single crystals with (111) planes as the basal planes. TMB can be readily oxidized to charge-transfer (CT) complex between TMB, as a donor, and (TMB)(2+), as an acceptor. The pi-pi interaction of the neutral amine (TMB) and diiminium structure (dication, TMB2+) result in the formation of one-dimensional CT complex nanofiber.

Effect of silver nanoparticles on luminescent properties of europium complex in di-ureasil hybrid materials

Organic-inorganic hybrids containing luminescent lanthanide complex Eu(tta)(3)Phen (tta = thenoyltrifluoroaceton, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) and silver nanoparticles have been prepared via mixing rare earth complex and nanoparticles with the precursors of di-ureasil using a sol-gel process. The obtained hybrid materials with transparent and elastomeric features were characterized by transmission electron microscope, solid-state Si-29 magic-angle spinning NMR spectra, diffuse reflectance, UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The effect of the silver nanoparticles on the luminescence properties was investigated. The experimental results showed that the luminescence intensity of the Eu(tta)(3)phen complex could be enhanced by less than ca. 9.5 nM of silver nanoparticles with the average diameter of 4 nm, and reached its maximum at the concentration of ca. 3.6 nM. Further increasing the concentration of the silver nanoparticles (> 9.5 nM) made the luminescence quenched. The enchancement and quench mechnism was discussed.

A new alpha-Keggin type polyoxometalate coordinated to four silver complex moieties: {PW9V3O40[Ag(2,2 '-bipy)](2)[Ag-2(2,2 '-bipy)(3)](2)}

A new polyoxometalate derivative {PW9V3O40[Ag(2,2'-bipy)](2)[Ag-2(2,2'-bipy)(3)](2)} 1 has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by the single crystal X-ray diffraction. X-Ray analysis showed that both [Ag(2,2'-bipy)](+) and [Ag-2(2,2'-bipy)(3)](2+) units are supported on the alpha-Keggin polyoxoanion [PW9V3O40](6-) via the surface bridging oxygen atoms. 1 represents the first alpha-Keggin type polyoxoanion coordinated with four transition metal complex moieties, which further acts as a neutral molecular units for the construction of an interesting three-dimensional supramolecular framework.

Bead-probe complex capture a couple of SINE and LINE family from genomes of two closely related species of East Asian cyprinid directly using magnetic separation

Background: Short and long interspersed elements (SINEs and LINEs, respectively), two types of retroposons, are active in shaping the architecture of genomes and powerful tools for studies of phylogeny and population biology. Here we developed special protocol to apply biotin-streptavidin bead system into isolation of interspersed repeated sequences rapidly and efficiently, in which SINEs and LINEs were captured directly from digested genomic DNA by hybridization to bead-probe complex in solution instead of traditional strategy including genomic library construction and screening. Results: A new couple of SINEs and LINEs that shared an almost identical 3'tail was isolated and characterized in silver carp and bighead carp of two closely related species. These SINEs (34 members), designated HAmo SINE family, were little divergent in sequence and flanked by obvious TSD indicated that HAmo SINE was very young family. The copy numbers of this family was estimated to 2 x 10(5) and 1.7 x 10(5) per haploid genome by Real-Time qPCR, respectively. The LINEs, identified as the homologs of LINE2 in other fishes, had a conserved primary sequence and secondary structures of the 3'tail region that was almost identical to that of HAmo SINE. These evidences suggest that HAmo SINEs are active and amplified recently utilizing the enzymatic machinery for retroposition of HAmoL2 through the recognition of higher-order structures of the conserved 42-tail region. We analyzed the possible structures of HAmo SINE that lead to successful amplification in genome and then deduced that HAmo SINE, SmaI SINE and FokI SINE that were similar in sequence each other, were probably generated independently and created by LINE family within the same lineage of a LINE phylogeny in the genomes of different hosts. Conclusion: The presented results show the advantage of the novel method for retroposons isolation and a pair of young SINE family and its partner LINE family in two carp fishes, which strengthened the hypotheses containing the slippage model for initiation of reverse transcription, retropositional parasitism of SINEs on LINEs, the formation of the stem loop structure in 3'tail region of some SINEs and LINEs and the mechanism of template switching in generating new SINE family.

Preparation of DNA - Silver nanohybrids in multilayer nanoreactors by in situ electrochemical reduction, characterization, and application

Novel nanocomposite films containing DNA-silver nanohybrids have been successfully fabricated by combined use of the layer-by-layer self-assembly technique and an in situ electrochemical reduction method with the DNA-Ag+ complex as one of the building blocks. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy was employed to monitor the buildup of the multilayer films, which suggested a progressive deposition with almost an equal amount of the DNA-Ag+ complex in each cycle. The following electrochemical reduction of silver resulted in the formation of metal nanoparticles in the film, which was evidenced by the evolution of the intense plasmon absorption band originating from silver. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the particles formed in the multilayer films possessed good monodispersity and stability, thanks to the surrounding polymers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy further confirmed the presence of the main components (such as DNA and metallic silver) of the nanocomposite films. In addition, we show that the size of the metal nanoparticles and the optical property of the film could be readily tuned by manipulating the assembly conditions.

Formation and photoluminescence of silver nanoparticles stabilized by a two-armed polymer with a crown ether core

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by the use of a two-armed polymer with a crown ether core [poly(styrene)]-dibenzo-18-crown-6-[poly(styrene)] based on the flexibility of the polymer chains and the complex effect of crown ether with Ag+ and Ag. The size of silver nanoparticles could be tailored by controlling the initial concentrations of the polymer and Ag+, and the molecular weight of the polymer. The emission of silver nanoparticles was blue-shifted, and the intensity of the photoluminescence of silver nanoparticles stabilized by the polymer was significantly increased due to the complex effect between the crown ether embedded in the polymer and the silver nanoparticles.

Syntheses, structures, and characterizations of four new silver(I) sulfonate coordination polymers with neutral ligands

In this paper, four novel silver(I) sulfonate coordination polymers containing neutral ligands, namely, [Ag(2)Ll (biim)(2)]center dot 2H(2)O (1). AgL2(biim) (2), [Ag(HL3)(Pic)(2)]center dot H2O (3), and [Ag-3(L3)(HL3)(4,4'-bipy)(3)(H2O)(2)]center dot 4H(2)O (4), have been synthesized [L1 = 3-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate, L2 = p-aminobenzenesulfonate, H(2)L3 = p-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid, biim = 1,1'-(1.4-butanediyl)-bis(imidazole), Pic = beta-picoline, 4,4'-bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine]. For compounds 1 and 2, Ag(I) cations are bridged by biim ligands to form a one-dimensional (1D) "zigzag" chain, and L1 and L2 sulfonate ligands are not coordinated to the silver cation. Compound 3 has a dimeric structure in which two silver cations are bridged by two HL3 ligands. For compound 4, L3 ligand coordinates to a silver cation as a monodentate ligand, and Ag(l) cations are bridged by 4,4'-bipy ligands to form a ID chain. Compound 1 contains water dimers, while compound 4 contains water trimers. Compounds 1-3 display room-temperature photoluminescence.

Room-temperature strategy for networked nonspherical gold nanostructures from Au(III)-[G-2]-CO2H dendrimer complex

The present work describes a convenient approach to fabricate networked nonspherical gold nanostructures by using [G-2]-CO2H dendrimer and toluene as capping and bridging agents in a CH2Cl2 and H2O biphasic system. A controlled linear assembly is achieved without the use of any catalyst at room temperature. UV-vis spectrum, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis show that the product is well networked nanostructures with diameter of 4-10 nm and consists of coalesced face-centered cubic gold nanocrystals. Extended experiments reveal that both benzene and dimethylbenzene can also inhabit the gold ions to make them crosslinked, prolong the nucleation points and eventually facilitate the formation of the networks.

Fabrication of arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates by microcontact printing and block copolymer nanoreactors

A combination of microcontact printing and block copolymer nanoreactors succeeded in fabricating arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates. A complex solution of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) micelles and silver salt was used as an ink to form thin films or droplets on polydimethylsiloxane stamp protrusions. After these complex aggregates were printed onto silicon substrates under controlled conditions, highly ordered arrays of disklike, dishlike, and dotlike complex aggregates were obtained. A Subsequent oxygen reactive ion etching treatment yielded arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates.

Complex potentials and singular integral equation for curve crack problem in antiplane elasticity

Four types of the fundamental complex potential in antiplane elasticity are introduced: (a) a point dislocation, (b) a concentrated force, (c) a dislocation doublet and (d) a concentrated force doublet. It is proven that if the axis of the concentrated force doublet is perpendicular to the direction of the dislocation doublet, the relevant complex potentials are equivalent. Using the obtained complex potentials, a singular integral equation for the curve crack problem is introduced. Some particular features of the obtained singular integral equation are discussed, and numerical solutions and examples are given.

Large Eddy Simulation of Complex Turbulent Flows: Physical Aspects and Research Trends

In the current paper, we have primarily addressed one powerful simulation tool developed during the last decades-Large Eddy Simulation (LES), which is most suitable for unsteady three-dimensional complex turbulent flows in industry and natural environment. The main point in LES is that the large-scale motion is resolved while the small-scale motion is modeled or, in geophysical terminology, parameterized. With a view to devising a subgrid-scale(SGS) model of high quality, we have highlighted analyzing physical aspects in scale interaction and-energy transfer such as dissipation, backscatter, local and non-local interaction, anisotropy and resolution requirement. They are the factors responsible for where the advantages and disadvantages in existing SGS models come from. A case study on LES of turbulence in vegetative canopy is presented to illustrate that LES model is more based on physical arguments. Then, varieties of challenging complex turbulent flows in both industry and geophysical fields in the near future-are presented. In conclusion; we may say with confidence that new century shall see the flourish in the research of turbulence with the aid of LES combined with other approaches.

Multiscale Coupling in Complex Mechanical Systems

Multiscale coupling attracts broad interests from mechanics, physics and chemistry to biology. The diversity and coupling of physics at different scales are two essential features of multiscale problems in far-from-equilibrium systems. The two features present fundamental difficulties and are great challenges to multiscale modeling and simulation. The theory of dynamical system and statistical mechanics provide fundamental tools for the multiscale coupling problems. The paper presents some closed multiscale formulations, e.g., the mapping closure approximation, multiscale large-eddy simulation and statistical mesoscopic damage mechanics, for two typical multiscale coupling problems in mechanics, that is, turbulence in fluids and failure in solids. It is pointed that developing a tractable, closed nonequilibrium statistical theory may be an effective approach to deal with the multiscale coupling problems. Some common characteristics of the statistical theory are discussed.

Pattern Recognition With Weighted Complex Networks

In this paper we introduce a weighted complex networks model to investigate and recognize structures of patterns. The regular treating in pattern recognition models is to describe each pattern as a high-dimensional vector which however is insufficient to express the structural information. Thus, a number of methods are developed to extract the structural information, such as different feature extraction algorithms used in pre-processing steps, or the local receptive fields in convolutional networks. In our model, each pattern is attributed to a weighted complex network, whose topology represents the structure of that pattern. Based upon the training samples, we get several prototypal complex networks which could stand for the general structural characteristics of patterns in different categories. We use these prototypal networks to recognize the unknown patterns. It is an attempt to use complex networks in pattern recognition, and our result shows the potential for real-world pattern recognition. A spatial parameter is introduced to get the optimal recognition accuracy, and it remains constant insensitive to the amount of training samples. We have discussed the interesting properties of the prototypal networks. An approximate linear relation is found between the strength and color of vertexes, in which we could compare the structural difference between each category. We have visualized these prototypal networks to show that their topology indeed represents the common characteristics of patterns. We have also shown that the asymmetric strength distribution in these prototypal networks brings high robustness for recognition. Our study may cast a light on understanding the mechanism of the biologic neuronal systems in object recognition as well.