Byerspitts0377

A series of benzoate-decorated lanthanide (Ln)-containing tetrameric Dawson-type phosphotungstates [N(CH3)4]6H20[(P2W17O61)Ln(H2O)3Ln(C6H5COO)(H2O)6][(P2W17O61)Ln(H2O)3]2Cl2·98H2O [Ln = Sm (1), Eu (2), and Gd (3)] were made using a facile one-step assembly strategy and characterized by several techniques. Notably, the Ln-containing tetrameric Dawson-type polyoxoanions [(P2W17O61)Ln(H2O)3Ln(C6H5COO)(H2O)6][(P2W17O61)Ln(H2O)3]224- are all established by four monolacunary Dawson-type [P2W17O61]10- segments, encapsulating a Ln3+ ion with two benzoates coordinating to the Ln3+ ions. 1-3 exhibit reversible photochromism, which can change from intrinsic white to blue for 6 min upon UV irradiation, and their colors gradually recover for 30 h in the dark. selleckchem The solid-state photoluminescence spectra of 1 and 2 display characteristic emissions of Ln components based on 4f-4f transitions. Time-resolved emission spectra of 1 and 2 were also measured to authenticate the energy transfer from the phosphotungstate and organic chromophores to Eu3+. In particular, 1 shows an effectively switchable luminescence behavior induced by its fast photochromism.Microwave-assisted functionalization of zinc oxide nanoflowers (ZnO NFs) with palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) is demonstrated to realize high-performance chemiresistive-type hydrogen (H2) gas sensors operating at room temperature (RT). The developed gas sensors exhibit a high response of up to 70% at 50 ppm and a theoretical detection limit of 10 ppb. The formation of ZnO NFs with an enhanced specific surface area and their functionalization with Pd NPs are investigated through various characterizations. Furthermore, the optimization of microwave absorption upon the structural incorporations between nanostructures (NF-NPs) is investigated for solution-based functionalization at low temperatures (below 120 °C) for short process times (within 1 min), compared to the conventional thermal annealing at 250 °C for 1 h. Highly sensitive and selective ZnO-based gas sensors enabling the detection of H2 gas molecules at 300 ppb concentration at RT exhibit a short response/recovery time of below 3 min and a good selectivity toward different gases including nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen. The successful functionalization of nanostructured metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) with metal NPs via effective and practical microwave absorption enhances the potential on highly sensitive and selective chemiresistive-type MOS-based gas sensors operating at RT without additional heaters or photogenerators.An axisymmetric polynitro-pyrazole molecule, 3,5-di(3,5-dinitropyrazol-4-yl)]-4-nitro-1H-pyrazole (5), and its salts (6-12) were prepared and fully characterized. These compounds not only show promising energetic properties but also show a unique tautomeric switch via combining different cations with the axisymmetric compound (5). Its salts (6-9) remain axisymmetric when the cations are potassium, ammonium, or amino-1,2,4-triazolium. However, when the cations are guanidiums, the salts (10-12) dramatically become asymmetric owing to the fixed proton. The introduction of guanidium cations breaks the tautomeric equilibrium by blocking the prototropic transformations and results in the switch-off effect to tautomerism. The structural constraints of 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra provide strong evidence for the unusual structural constraint phenomenon. These stabilized asymmetric tautomers are very important from the point of molecular recognition, and this research may promote further developments in synthetic and isolation methodologies for novel bioactive pyrazole-based compounds.Noninvasive in vivo imaging to measure the expression of EpCAM, a biomarker overexpressed in the majority of carcinoma tumors and metastatic lesions, is highly desirable for accurate tumor staging and therapy evaluation. Here, we report the use of an aptamer radiotracer to enable tumor-specific EpCAM-targeting PET imaging. Oligonucleotide aptamers are small molecular ligands that specifically bind with high affinity to their target molecules. For specific tumor imaging, an aptamer radiotracer was formulated by chelating a 64Cu isotope and DOTA-PEGylated aptamer sequence to target EpCAM. In vitro cell uptake assays demonstrated that the aptamer radiotracer specifically bound EpCAM-expressing breast cancer cells but did not react with off-target tumor cells. For in vivo tumor imaging, aptamer radiotracer was systemically administered into xenograft mice. MicroPET/CT scans revealed that the aptamer radiotracer rapidly highlighted xenograft tumors derived from MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (EpCAM positive) as early as 2 h postadministration with a gradually increasing tumor uptake signal that peaked at 24 h but not in lymphoma 937 tumors (EpCAM negative). In contrast, nonspecific background signals in the liver and kidneys were rapidly decreased postadministration. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the utility of aptamer radiotracers for tumor-specific PET imaging.Interactions between polymers and surfaces can be used to influence properties including mechanical performance in nanocomposites, the glass transition temperature, and the orientation of thin film block copolymers (BCPs). In this work we investigate how specific interactions between the substrate and BCPs with varying substrate affinity impact the interfacial width between polymer components. The interface width is generally assumed to be a function of the BCP properties and independent of the surface affinity or substrate proximity. Using resonant soft X-ray reflectivity the optical constants of the film can be controlled by changing the incident energy, thereby varying the depth sensitivity of the measurement. Resonant soft X-ray reflectivity measurements were conducted on films of polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) and PS-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA), where the thickness of the film was varied from half the periodicity (L0) of the BCP to 5.5 L0. The results of this measurement on the PS-b-P2VP films show a significant expansion of the interface width immediately adjacent to the surface. This is likely caused by the strong adsorption of P2VP to the substrate, which constrains the mobility of the junction points, preventing them from reaching their equilibrium distribution and expanding the observed interface width. The interface width decays toward equilibrium moving away from the substrate, with the decay rate being a function of film thickness below a critical limit. The PMMA block appears to be more mobile, and the BCP interfaces near the substrate match their equilibrium value.