Some Geometrical Factors in Light-Scattering Apparatus

Phenyl-Substituted Cibalackrot Derivatives: Synthesis, Structure, and Solution Photophysics

Three symmetrically and three unsymmetrically substituted cibalackrot (7,14-diphenyldiindolo[3,2,1-de:3',2',1'-ij][1,5]naphthyridine-6,13-dione, 1) dyes carrying two derivatized phenyl rings have been synthesized as candidates for molecular electronics and especially for singlet fission, a process of interest for solar energy conversion. Solution measurements provided singlet and triplet excitation energies and fluorescence yields and lifetimes; conformational properties were analyzed computationally. The molecular properties are close to ideal for singlet fission. However, crystal structures, obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), are rather similar to those of the polymorphs of solid 1, in which the formation of a charge-separated state followed by intersystem crossing, complemented with excimer formation, outcompetes singlet fission. Results of calculations by the approximate SIMPLE method suggest which ones among the solid derivatives are the best candidates for singlet fission, but it appears difficult to change the crystal packing in a desirable direction. We also describe the preparation of three specifically deuteriated versions of 1, expected to help sort out the mechanism of fast intersystem crossing in its charge-separated state.

Formation of Well-Defined Vesicles by Styrene Addition to a Nonionic Surfactant and Their Polymerization Leading to Viscous Hybrid Systems

Self-assembled structures in aqueous solutions can be fixed by polymerization after adding hydrophobic monomers and can thereby be used as templates which allow to substantially alter the properties of these systems. In this work, we started from a self-assembled micellar system consisting of the nonionic surfactants tetradecyldimethylamine oxid and Pluronic L35 to which styrene was added as a polymerizable monomer. Interestingly, it was observed that styrene induces a transition from micelles to well-defined vesicles in a similar manner as a typical cosurfactant. The structural transition of the aggregates upon styrene addition as well as the structures formed after initiating a polymerization reaction were investigated by means of turbidity, dynamic and static light scattering, small-angle neutron scattering, and rheology measurements. Especially the scattering results confirmed the interesting effect of styrene on the mesoscopic structure and showed a structural evolution from rod-like micelles for low styrene concentrations to vesicles at intermediate styrene amounts, and then finally the formation of microemulsion droplets for high styrene content. Their polymerization of the vesicles again leads to a shape change to wormlike, polymerized aggregates, whose presence then results in rather viscous systems. In contrast, the microemulsions with higher styrene content then are templated and retain their size after polymerization, thereby leading to nanolattices.

Silica Polymerization from Supersaturated Dilute Aqueous Solutions in the Presence of Alkaline Earth Salts

The early stages of silica polymerization in aqueous solution proceed according to a mechanism based on three steps: nucleation, particle growth, and agglomeration of the particles. Application of time-resolved static and dynamic light scattering as a powerful in situ technique in combination with spectrophotometric analysis of the monomer consumption based on the molybdenum blue method was carried out to further investigate this 3-step process. Experiments were carried out at four different initial silicic acid contents covering a range between 350 and 750 ppm in the presence of either 10 mM NaCl or 5 mM of a mixture of CaCl₂ and MgCl₂. The process in all cases was initiated with a drop of pH to 7. Addition of the salts made possible an analysis of the impact of an electrolyte on the process. Independent of the presence or absence of salt, particle growth in step two proceeded as a monomer-addition process without being interfered significantly by Ostwald-ripening. The growing particles were compact with a homogeneous density. The size of the particles approached final values between 5 and 20 nm with the actual value increasing with decreasing initial silicic acid content. Above a certain concentration of initial silica content, which depends on the level of added salt, particle-particle interactions caused agglomeration. The presence of electrolyte shifted this level from ∼2000 ppm to a range between 500 and 750 ppm. The resulting agglomerates had a fractal dimension of 2. Independent of the conditions, particle growth could be described with a simple nucleation and growth model.

Convenient determination of luminescence quantum yield using a combined electronic absorption and emission spectrometer

It is possible to measure luminescence quantum yield in a facile way, by designing an optical spectrometer capable of obtaining electronic absorption as well as luminescence spectra, with a setup that uses the same light source and detector for both the spectral measurements. Employment of a single light source and single detector enables use of the same correction factor profile for spectral corrections. A suitable instrumental scaling factor is used for adjusting spectral losses.

Liquid crystal nanoparticles prepared as miniemulsions

Liquid crystal nanoparticles using the low molecular weight liquid crystal E7 are prepared by a miniemulsion approach with a droplet size between 180 and 630 nm. The sizes of liquid crystal droplets prepared in this work are one of the smallest sizes ever reported for liquid crystals, and they are considerably dependent on the type and amount of the surfactant used, as well as on the amount of hexadecane. Furthermore, the behavior of a liquid crystal confined to small droplets is investigated. DSC measurements reveal a large shift in the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature. Further investigations on liquid crystal droplets are carried out using AFM measurements showing that these particles have an order of the liquid crystal molecules within the droplets. Light scattering measurements yield the temperature dependence of the anisotropy and the temporal stability of the droplets. An effect of the director fluctuations within the droplets on dynamic depolarized scattering was found.

The onset of amelogenin nanosphere aggregation studied by small-angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering

Proteins with predominantly hydrophobic character called amelogenins play a key role in the formation of the highly organized enamel tissue by forming nanospheres that interact with hydroxyapatite crystals. In the present investigation, we have studied the temperature and pH-dependent self-assembly of two recombinant mouse amelogenins, rM179 and rM166, the latter being an engineered version of the protein that lacks a 13 amino acid hydrophilic C-terminus. It has been postulated that this hydrophilic domain plays an important role in controlling the self-assembly behavior of rM179. By small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, as well as by dynamic light scattering, we observed the onset of an aggregation of the rM179 protein nanospheres at pH 8. This behavior of the full-length recombinant protein is best explained by a core-shell model for the nanospheres, where hydrophilic and negatively charged side chains prevent the agglomeration of hydrophobic cores of the protein nanospheres at lower temperatures, while clusters consisting of several nanospheres start to form at elevated temperatures. In contrast, while capable of forming nanospheres, rM166 shows a very different aggregation behavior resulting in the formation of larger precipitates just above room temperature. These results, together with recent observations that rM179, unlike rM166, can regulate mineral organization in vitro, suggest that the aggregation of nanospheres of the full-length amelogenin rM179 is an important step in the self-assembly of the enamel matrix.

Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, Light Scattering, and NMR Study of PEO−PPO−PEO Triblock Copolymer/Cationic Surfactant Complexes in Aqueous Solution

The formation of triblock copolymer/surfactant complexes upon mixing a nonionic Pluronic polymer (PEO-PPO-PEO) with a cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), has been studied in dilute aqueous solutions using small-angle X-ray scattering, static and dynamic light scattering, and self-diffusion NMR. The studied copolymer (denoted P123, EO(20)PO(68)EO(20)) forms micelles with a radius of 10 nm and a molecular weight of 7.5 x 10(5), composed of a hydrophobic PPO-rich core of radius 4 nm and a water swollen PEO corona. The P123/CTAC system has been investigated between 1 and 5 wt % P123 and with varying surfactant concentration up to approximately 170 mM CTAC (or a molar ratio n(CTAC)/n(P123) = 19.3). When CTAC is mixed with micellar P123 solutions, two different types of complexes are observed at various CTAC concentrations. At low molar ratios (>/=0.5) a "P123 micelle-CTAC" complex is obtained as the CTAC monomers associate noncooperatively with the P123 micelle, forming a spherical complex. Here, an increased interaction between the complexes with increasing CTAC concentration is observed. The interaction has been investigated by determining the structure factor obtained by using the generalized indirect Fourier transformation (GIFT) method. The interaction between the P123 micelle-CTAC complexes was modeled using the Percus-Yevick closure. For the low molar ratios a small decrease in the apparent molecular weight of the complex was obtained, whereas the major effect was the increase in electrostatic repulsion between the complexes. Between molar ratios 1.9 and 9 two coexisting complexes were found, one P123 micelle-CTAC complex and one "CTAC-P123" complex. The latter one consists of one or a few P123 unimers and a few CTAC monomers. As the CTAC concentration increases above a molar ratio of 9, the P123 micelles are broken up and only the CTAC-P123 complex that is slightly smaller than a CTAC micelle exists. The interaction between the P123/CTAC complexes was modeled with the hypernetted-chain closure using a Yukawa type potential in the GIFT analysis, due to the stronger electrostatic repulsion.

Static and time-resolved fluorescence investigations of tryptophan analogues--a solvent study

The fluorescence properties of tryptophan, polytryptophan and seven of its analogues (7-azatryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan, 5-methoxytryptophan, 5-fluorotryptophan, 5-methyltryptophan, 5-bromotryptophan, and 6-fluorotryptophan) are studied using two novel fluorescence spectroscopic techniques for a wide range of solvent polarities. Two-dimensional mapping of all emission and all fluorescence spectra using excitation-emission spectroscopy (EES) has been used to determine quantum yields, positions of emission maxima, full widths at half maximum (FWHMs) as well as Stokes' shifts. Additionally, fluorescence lifetimes obtained from time-resolved experiments using a picosecond laser system are presented and compared with the data acquired from the static setup. This systematic study of the fluorescence characteristics is a prerequisite to assess the potential of these analogues to act as structure-conserving substitutes for tryptophan in protein fluorescence experiments. The potential of these analogues, to act as probes for the local environment, and allow estimation of the polarity in the vicinity of the fluorophore and its exposure to the solvent, is discussed.

Thermodynamics of nucleotides binding to phosphorylase b

The effects of several chemical modifications in the AMP molecule on its interaction with phosphorylase b are examined by microcalorimetry, equilibrium dialysis, light scattering and ultracentrifuge experiments. In this work we report the results obtained for eight AMP analogues corresponding to different substituents in the puric base or in the ribose, or to different positions of the phosphate. The thermodynamic properties of the interaction between the phosphorylase b and the above mentioned nucleotides are also reported. The following conclusions were obtained: a) Except for IMP and 2'dIMP all the nucleotides studied clearly show two types of binding sites in the enzyme. b) The interaction of the nucleotide with its weaker affinity binding site is highly dependent upon chemical alterations in the puric base. c) Both the amino group in C(6) and the N(1) of the adenine in the AMP seem to play an important role in the conformational transitions induced by the nucleotide on the enzyme. d) The tetramerization of phosphorylase b in the presence of 10(-2) M AMP and in the conditions of the ultracentrifuge experiments is drastically affected by modifications in the ribose-phosphate part of the AMP molecule.

Low angle laser light scattering-absolute calibration

A new method for the calculation of the Rayleigh factor from low angle light scattering measurements is developed. This method does not require a uniform intensity illuminating beam, hence efficiently utilizes all the beam from a focused laser source. Scattering volume is then very small, reducing sample volume and interference from contaminant particles. All the parameters necessary for the calculation of the Rayleigh factor (including the exact dependence on sample refractive index) are measurable, hence absolute calibration is possible. Over-all error is estimated to be less than 2.3% under specified conditions. Measurements are possible at scattering angles as small as 2 degrees obviating the need for angular extrapolations in the determination of molecular weight of most dissolved samples. Rayleigh factors at 22 degrees C, 633 nm, and a scattering angle of 4 degrees for water, methanol, benzene, and toluene, were found to be, respectively, 0.907, 2.56, 12.15, and 13.45 x 10(-6) cm(-1).