Molecules for organic electronics studied one by one

The electronic and geometrical structure of single difluoro-bora-1,3,5,7-tetraphenyl-aza-dipyrromethene (aza-BODIPY) molecules adsorbed on the Au(111) surface is investigated by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in conjunction with ab initio density functional theory simulations of the density of states and of the interaction with the substrate. Our DFT calculations indicate that the aza-bodipy molecule forms a chemical bond with the Au(111) substrate, with distortion of the molecular geometry and significant charge transfer between the molecule and the substrate. Nevertheless, most likely due to the low corrugation of the Au(111) surface, diffusion of the molecule is observed for applied bias in excess of 1 V.     

Conversion of methanol over 10-ring zeolites with differing volumes at channel intersections: comparison of TNU-9, IM-5, ZSM-11 and ZSM-5

Four 3D 10-ring zeolites, IM-5, TNU-9, ZSM-11 and ZSM-5, with Si/Al = 14-24 and crystal sizes below 2 microns, were tested as catalysts for the methanol to hydrocarbons reaction (MTH) at atmospheric pressure, 350 °C and WHSV = 9 h(-1). All catalysts gave initially full methanol conversion, and showed strikingly similar effluent product selectivities. However, their life-time duration differed significantly, and decreased in the order: ZSM-11 > ZSM-5 ? TNU-9 > IM-5. A main difference between the two groups of stability behaviour was the size of cavities formed by channel intersections; larger cavities in TNU-9 and IM-5 leading to polyaromatics formation and a more rapid deactivation compared to ZSM-5 and ZSM-11. Effluent yield-conversion plots suggested that polymethylated benzene intermediates were more important in IM-5 and TNU-9 than in ZSM-5 and ZSM-11, where alkene methylation and cracking reactions seemed to dominate product formation. However, this difference had only minor influence on effluent selectivity.     

Mass spectrometry of surfactant aggregates

In contrast with the enormous amount of literature produced during many decades in the field of surfactant aggregation in liquid, liquid crystalline and solid phases, only a few investigations concerning surfactant self- assembling in the gas phase as charged aggregates have been carried out until now. This lack of interest is disappointing in view of the remarkable theoretical and practical importance of the inherent knowledge. The absence of surfactant-solvent interactions makes it easier to study the role of surfactant-surfactant forces in determining their peculiar self-assembling features as well as the ability of these assemblies to incorporate selected solubilizate molecules. Thus, the study of gas-phase surfactant and surfactant-solubilizate aggregates is a research subject which has exciting potential, including mass and energy transport in the atmosphere, origin of life and simulation of supramolecular aggregation in interstellar space. On the other hand, the structural and dynamic properties of surfactant aggregates in the gas phase could be exploited in a number of interesting applications such as atmospheric cleaning agents, transport and protection of pulmonary drugs or biomolecules and as nanoreactors for specialized chemical reactions in confined space. Spectrometric techniques, together with molecular dynamics simulations, have been the principal investigative tools in this field and appearto be particularly suited to gaining fundamental information on the structure and stability of surfactant-based supramolecular aggregates, charge state effects, entrapment of solubilizate molecules, preferential solubilization sites and chemical reactions localized in a single organized aggregate. The main aim of this review is to present the actual state of the art in this novel and exciting research field underlining the knowledge acquired up to now as well as the aspects needing a more deep understanding. Moreover, intriguing departures of the behavior of surfactant solutions under electrospray ionization conditions from that of ionic, polar and apolar analytes will be discussed.     

Crossed-beam dynamics studies of the radical-radical combustion reaction O((3)P) + CH3 (methyl)

The dynamics of the radical-radical reaction O((3)P) + CH(3), a prototypical case for the reactions of atomic oxygen with alkyl radicals of great relevance in combustion chemistry, has been investigated by means of the crossed molecular beam technique with mass spectrometric detection at a collision energy of 55.9 kJ mol(-1). The results have been examined in the light of previous kinetic and theoretical work. From product angular and velocity distribution measurements, the dynamics of the predominant H-displacement channel leading to formaldehyde formation has been characterized. This channel has been found to proceed via the formation of an osculating complex; a significant coupling between the product centre-of-mass angular and translational energy distributions has been noted. Experimental attempts to characterize the dynamics of the channel leading to HCO + H(2) have failed and it remains unclear whether HCO is formed by the reaction and/or, if formed, a part of HCO does not dissociate quickly into CO + H.     

Automatic transwell assay by an EIS cell chip to monitor cell migration

Here an EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) biochip to detect cell migration is demonstrated. This biochip has been inspired by a traditional transwell assay/modified Boyden chamber and consists of two compartments separated by a porous membrane. This structure (PDMS-based) is aligned to EIS sensors. Cells are seeded in the upper chamber through microfluidic channels. During migration cells go through the pores of the membrane and get in touch with the electrodes that detect migrated cells. The performance of our cell-chip was tested by investigating the migratory ability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells as a function of microenvironment. For this purpose we challenged HCC cells to migrate on different extra-cellular matrix (ECM) components including laminin 1, collagen IV and laminin 5. The results reveal that our cell chip provides reliable results that consistently overlap with those obtained with traditional standardized Boyden chambers. Thus, we demonstrate a new, easy tool to study cell migration and to perform automatic assays. This approach is easier and faster than traditional transwell assays and can be suitable for high-throughput studies in drug discovery applications.     

Domino synthesis of 1,3,5-trisubstituted hydantoins: a DFT study

The mechanism of the reaction between carbodiimides and activated α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids yielding fully substituted hydantoins and variable amounts of N-acyl urea by-products was studied using density functional theory calculations. Two alternative pathways featuring N-acyl ureas and imino-oxazolidinones as intermediates for the formation of the hydantoin product were taken into account. The results obtained using two different computational models indicate that the overall barriers are similar for the two pathways considered. In all cases, inclusion of a second molecule of carboxylic acid was required to mediate tautomerizations and rearrangement steps. The calculations successfully reproduce the experimentally observed regioselectivity with respect to both N-acyl urea and hydantoin products.     

Substituted pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines as human A1 adenosine antagonists: developments in understanding the receptor stereoselectivity

A(1) adenosine receptor antagonists have been proposed to possess an interesting range of potential therapeutic applications. We have already reported the synthesis and the biological characterization of a family of pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine derivatives as A(1) adenosine ligands endowed with an antagonistic profile. In the present work, we report the LC separation of enantiomers of our most active A(1) antagonists together with the determination of their absolute configuration by means of X-ray crystal structure analysis. Biological assays confirmed a different activity for the two enantiomers, with the R one showing the higher human A(1)AR affinity. We also developed a homology model of this receptor subtype in order to suggest a binding disposition of the ligands into the hA(1)AR. All of the obtained data suggest that the compound's chirality plays a key role in A(1) affinity.     

Fluorescence and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for the analysis of iconic Italian design lamps made of polymeric materials

The preservation of design object collections requires an understanding of their constituent materials which are often polymeric blends. Challenges associated with aging of complex polymers from objects with an unknown physical history may compromise the interpretation of data from analytical techniques, and therefore complicate the assessment of the condition of polymers in indoor museum environments. This study focuses on the analysis of polymeric materials from three well-known Italian design lamps from the 1960s. To assess the degree of chemical modifications in the polymers, non-destructive molecular spectroscopic techniques, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy, have been applied directly on the object surfaces using an optical fiber probe and through examination of micro samples. FTIR spectra of the different polymers, polyvinylacetate (PVAc) for the lamps Taraxacum and Fantasma, and both acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene polymer (ABS) and cellulose acetate (CA) for the lamp Nesso, allowed the detection of ongoing deterioration processes. Fluorescence spectroscopy proved particularly sensitive for the detection of molecular changes in the polymeric objects, as the spectra obtained from the examined lamps differ significantly from those of the unaged reference materials. Differences in fluorescence spectra are also detected between different points on the same object further indicating the presence of different chemical species on the surfaces. With the aid of complementary data from FTIR spectroscopy, an interpretation of the emission spectra of the studied polymeric objects is here proposed, further suggesting that fluorescence spectroscopy may be useful for following the degradation of historical polymeric objects.     

A multi-analytical approach for the characterization of powders from the Pompeii archaeological site

Nine black powders found in Pompeii houses in three different types of bronze vessels (cylindrical theca atramentaria, unguentaries, and aryballoi) were characterized in order to assess a correspondence between the composition and the type of vessel and, possibly, to verify if these powders were inks or not. For the compositional characterization, a multi-analytical approach was adopted, which involved the use of scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, Raman, X-ray diffraction, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and pyrolysis GC/MS. Powders contained in cylindrical theca atramentaria form a homogeneous group, and their organic and inorganic compositions suggest that they were writing inks, while powders contained in unguentaries and aryballoi could have had several different uses, including writing inks and cosmetics. Furthermore, the composition profile of the powders found in cylindrical cases shows that, at 79?AD: , in Pompeii, carbon-based inks were still used for writing, and iron gall inks had not been introduced yet.     

En route to a molecular sheaf: active metal template synthesis of a [3]rotaxane with two axles threaded through one ring

We report that a 2,2':6',2″-terpyridylmacrocycle-Ni complex can efficiently mediate the threading of two alkyl chains with bulky end groups in an active metal template sp(3)-carbon-to-sp(3)-carbon homocoupling reaction, resulting in a rare example of a doubly threaded [3]rotaxane in up to 51% yield. The unusual architecture is confirmed by X-ray crystallography (the first time that a one-ring-two-thread [3]rotaxane has been characterized in the solid state) and is found to be stable with respect to dethreading despite the large ring size of the macrocycle. Through such active template reactions, in principle, a macrocycle should be able to assemble as many axles in its cavity as the size of the ring and the stoppers will allow. A general method for threading multiple axles through a macrocycle adds significantly to the tools available for the synthesis of different types of rotaxane architectures.