Nanoporous Carbons Derived from Metal-Organic Frameworks as Novel Matrices for Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) represents a powerful tool for the analysis of biomolecules, synthetic polymers, and even small organic compounds; its performances largely depend on the type of matrix materials utilized. Here, for the first time the employment of nanoporous carbons derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as novel matrices for SALDI-MS is demonstrated. The nanoporous carbons derived from MOFs not only circumvent the shortcomings of existing matrix materials but also demonstrate much higher efficiency of laser desorption/ionization for various compounds than any other nanoporous carbons reported so far. A new perspective for the development of matrix materials for SALDI-MS application is therefore provided.

NMR Evidence for Inhomogeneous Nematic Fluctuations in BaFe_{2}(As_{1-x}P_{x})_{2}

We present evidence for nuclear spin-lattice relaxation driven by glassy nematic fluctuations in isovalent P-doped BaFe_{2}As_{2} single crystals. Both the ^{75}As and ^{31}P sites exhibit a stretched-exponential relaxation similar to the electron-doped systems. By comparing the hyperfine fields and the relaxation rates at these sites we find that the As relaxation cannot be explained solely in terms of magnetic spin fluctuations. We demonstrate that nematic fluctuations couple to the As nuclear quadrupolar moment and can explain the excess relaxation. These results suggest that glassy nematic dynamics are a common phenomenon in the iron-based superconductors.

Synthesis, characterization and reactivity study of aluminum compounds incorporating bi- and tri-dentate pyrrole–piperazine ligands

A series of Al derivatives are afforded incorporating substituted bi- and tri-dentate pyrrole–piperazine precursors. The reactivity with small organic molecules and the associated mechanistic details are also reported.

Waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials as sustainable precursors for the synthesis of nanoporous MOFs, MIL-47, MIL-53(Cr, Al, Ga) and MIL-101(Cr)

Waste PET to useful MOFs: simple, novel, and sustainable methods have been developed for the first time, for the effective conversion of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials into valuable MOF materials.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new spirooxindoles with embedded pharmacophores

The newly synthesized spirooxindole derivatives have shownin vitroantioxidant, antidiabetic and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities.

Crystal structure of 4'-(2-meth-oxy-quinolin-3-yl)-1'-methyl-dispiro-[indan-2,2'-pyrrolidine-3',3''-indoline]-1,3,2''-trione

In the title compound, C₃₀H₂₃N₃O₄, the central 1-methyl­pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation on the N—CH₂ bond. The pyrrolidin-2-one ring of the indolin-2-one ring system also has a twist conformation on the C—C bond involving the spiro C atom and the carbonyl C atom. The five-membered ring of the indene-1,3-dione moiety has an envelope conformation with the spiro C atom as the flap. The quinoline ring system adopts an almost planar conformation (r.m.s. deviation = 0.04 Å). The mean planes of the indolin-2-one ring system, the indene-1,3-dione ring system and the the quinoline ring system are inclined to the mean plane of the central 1-methyl­pyrrolidine ring by 77.97 (7), 86.98 (7) and 46.58 (6)°, respectively. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked via N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming chains along the b axis. The chains are linked via a number of C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and C—H⋯π and π–π inter­actions [inter-centroid distance = 3.7404 (9) Å], forming a three-dimensional network.

Precision Measurement of the Helium Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays of Rigidities 1.9 GV to 3 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

Knowledge of the precise rigidity dependence of the helium flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. A precise measurement of the helium flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1.9 GV to 3 TV based on 50 million events is presented and compared to the proton flux. The detailed variation with rigidity of the helium flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at rigidities larger than 100 GV. The rigidity dependence of the helium flux spectral index is similar to that of the proton spectral index though the magnitudes are different. Remarkably, the spectral index of the proton to helium flux ratio increases with rigidity up to 45 GV and then becomes constant; the flux ratio above 45 GV is well described by a single power law.

To Transfer or Not to Transfer? Development of a Dinitrosyl Iron Complex as a Nitroxyl Donor for the Nitroxylation of an Fe(III) -Porphyrin Center

A positive myocardial inotropic effect achieved using HNO/NO(-) , compared with NO⋅, triggered attempts to explore novel nitroxyl donors for use in clinical applications in vascular and myocardial pharmacology. To develop M-NO complexes for nitroxyl chemistry and biology, modulation of direct nitroxyl-transfer reactivity of dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) is investigated in this study using a Fe(III) -porphyrin complex and proteins as a specific probe. Stable dinuclear {Fe(NO)2 }(9) DNIC [Fe(μ-(Me) Pyr)(NO)2 ]2 was discovered as a potent nitroxyl donor for nitroxylation of Fe(III) -heme centers through an associative mechanism. Beyond the efficient nitroxyl transfer, transformation of DNICs into a chemical biology probe for nitroxyl and for pharmaceutical applications demands further efforts using in vitro/in vivo studies.

Carbonization and oxidation of metal-organic frameworks based on 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylates

Three new isostructural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), [V(OH)(NDC)] (1), [Cr(OH)(NDC)] (2), and [Ga(OH)(NDC)] (3) have been synthesized hydrothermally using 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (NDC) as the linker. These MOFs (1, 2 and 3) have been used as a template for the synthesis of metal-oxide-inserted nanoporous carbon materials. The newly synthesized MOFs and the resulting porous carbon hybrid functional materials have been characterized using powder x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopic analysis. Results show that compounds 2 and 3 form their respective metal oxide nanoparticles on the surface of the carbon materials during carbonization at 800 °C. The gas sorption properties of the new MOFs and their corresponding carbon frameworks have been reported.

Suicidal drug overdose in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, a nationwide population-based case-control study

OBJECTIVE

A four-fold increase of suicide mortality has been demonstrated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Prior studies showed that the most common method of suicide attempts in SLE patients involves drug overdose. Therefore, we conducted a nationwide population-based case-control study to elucidate factors associated with drug overdose as suicide attempt in SLE patients.

METHODS

This study was based on the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. We identified all SLE patients from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. Patients who had suicidal drug overdose (SDO) were selected as cases while age- and gender-matched patients who did not have SDO were selected as controls.

RESULTS

The incidence rate of SDO in SLE patients was 291 cases per 100,000 person-years, higher than that in the general population (160 cases per 100,000 person-years). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, we observed that SDO was associated with psychiatric disorders such as depressive disorders (odds ratio: 8.36, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.60-12.48) and insomnia (odds ratio: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.73-4.25), and lower monthly income (odds ratios: 2.74 to 3.50) in SLE patients.

CONCLUSION

SDO is associated with psychiatric disorders such as depressive disorders and insomnia, and lower monthly income in SLE patients.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/GaAs hybrid solar cells with 13% power conversion efficiency using front- and back-surface field

Planar hybrid solar cells based on bulk GaAs wafers with a background doping density of 10(16) cm(-3) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (

PEDOT

PSS) demonstrated an excellent power conversion efficiency of 8.99%. The efficiency of the cell was enhanced to 9.87% with a back-surface field feature using a molecular beam epitaxially grown n-type GaAs epi-layer. The efficiency and fill factor reach 11.86% and 0.8 when an additional p + GaAs epi-layer is deposited on the surface of the solar cells, which provides a front-surface field. The interface between the high- and low-doped regions in the polymer/GaAs and GaAs formed an electric field that introduced a barrier to minority carriers flow to the substrate and effectively reduced front surface carrier recombination, thereby enhancing light-generated free carrier collection efficiency and open-circuit voltage. Compared with the device without the front- and back-surface field, the fill factor and open-circuit voltage of the hybrid solar cell were improved from 0.76 to 0.8 and from 0.68 V to 0.77V, respectively. The highest efficiency reaches a record 13% when the Zonyl fluorosurfactant-treated

PEDOT

PSS is used as a hole-transporting conducting layer for hybrid cells.

Doubly end-on azido bridged mixed-valence cobalt trinuclear complex: Spectral study, VTM, inhibitory effect and antimycobacterial activity on human carcinoma and tuberculosis cells

Doubly end-on azido-bridged mixed-valence trinuclear cobalt complex, [Co3(L)2(N3)6(CH3OH)2] (1) is afforded by employing a potential monoanionic tetradentate-N2O2 Schiff base precursor (2-[{[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]imino}methyl]-6-methoxyphenol; HL). Single crystal X-ray structure reveals that in 1, the adjacent Co(II) and Co(III) ions are linked by double end-on azido bridges and thus the full molecule is generated by the site symmetry of a crystallographic twofold rotation axis. Complex 1 is subjected on different spectral analysis such as IR, UV-vis, emission and EPR spectroscopy. On variable temperature magnetic study, we observe that during cooling, the χMT values decrease smoothly until 15K and then reaches to the value 1.56 cm(3) K mol(-1) at 2 K. Complex 1 inhibits the cell growth on human lung carcinoma (A549 cells), human colorectal (COLO 205 and HT-29 cells), and human heptacellular (PLC5 cells) carcinoma cells. Complex 1 exhibits anti-mycobacterial activity and considerable efficacy on Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv ATCC 27294 and H37Ra ATCC 25177 strains.

Metal-Organic Frameworks to Metal/Metal Oxide Embedded Carbon Matrix: Synthesis, Characterization and Gas Sorption Properties

Three isostructural metal-organic frameworks, (MOFs), [Fe(OH)(1,4-NDC)] (1), [Al(OH)(1,4-NDC)] (2), and [In(OH)(1,4-NDC)] (3) have been synthesized hydrothermally by using 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (1,4-NDC) as a linker. The MOFs were characterized using various techniques and further used as precursor materials for the synthesis of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles inserted in a carbon matrix through a simple thermal conversion method. The newly synthesized carbon materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and BET analysis. The results showed that the MOF-derived carbon composite materials maintained the morphology of the original MOF upon carbonization, and confirmed the insertion of metal/metal oxide particles in the carbon matrix.