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Paramagnetic Ionic Liquids For Measurements Of Density Using Magnetic Levitation, David K. Bwambok, Martin M. Thuo, Manza B.J. Atkinson, Katherine A. Mirica, Nathan D. Shapiro, George M. Whitesides Aug 2013

Paramagnetic Ionic Liquids For Measurements Of Density Using Magnetic Levitation, David K. Bwambok, Martin M. Thuo, Manza B.J. Atkinson, Katherine A. Mirica, Nathan D. Shapiro, George M. Whitesides

Martin M. Thuo

Paramagnetic ionic liquids (PILs) provide new capabilities to measurements of density using magnetic levitation (MagLev). In a typical measurement, a diamagnetic object of unknown density is placed in a container containing a PIL. The container is placed between two magnets (typically NdFeB, oriented with like poles facing). The density of the diamagnetic object can be determined by measuring its position in the magnetic field along the vertical axis (levitation height, h), either as an absolute value or relative to internal standards of known density. For density measurements by MagLev, PILs have three advantages over solutions of paramagnetic salts in aqueous …


Biophotonic Logic Devices Based On Quantum Dots And Temporally-Staggered Forster Energy Transfer Relays, Jonathan C. Claussen, W. Russ Algar, Niko Hildebrandt, Kimihiro Susumu, Mario G. Ancona, Igor L. Medintz Jan 2013

Biophotonic Logic Devices Based On Quantum Dots And Temporally-Staggered Forster Energy Transfer Relays, Jonathan C. Claussen, W. Russ Algar, Niko Hildebrandt, Kimihiro Susumu, Mario G. Ancona, Igor L. Medintz

Jonathan C. Claussen

Integrating photonic inputs/outputs into unimolecular logic devices can provide significantly increased functional complexity and the ability to expand the repertoire of available operations. Here, we build upon a system previously utilized for biosensing to assemble and prototype several increasingly sophisticated biophotonic logic devices that function based upon multistep Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) relays. The core system combines a central semiconductor quantum dot (QD) nanoplatform with a long-lifetime Tb complex FRET donor and a near-IR organic fluorophore acceptor; the latter acts as two unique inputs for the QD-based device. The Tb complex allows for a form of temporal memory by …


Mild Yet Phase-Selective Preparation Of Tio2 Nanoparticles From Ionic Liquids – A Critical Study, Tarek Alammar, Heshmat Noei, Yuemin Wang, Anja V. Mudring Jan 2013

Mild Yet Phase-Selective Preparation Of Tio2 Nanoparticles From Ionic Liquids – A Critical Study, Tarek Alammar, Heshmat Noei, Yuemin Wang, Anja V. Mudring

Anja V. Mudring

The phase selective synthesis of nanocrystalline TiO2, titania, in ionic liquids (ILs) is explored. The influence not only of the IL but also of the Ti-precursor, pH, and temperature is investigated. Sonochemical synthesis, microwave synthesis and conventional heating are compared. In the case of Ti(OiPr)4 (OiPr ¼ isopropyl) as the Ti-source the ILs [C4mim][Tf2N] (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide), [C3mimOH][Tf2N] (1-(3-hydroxypropyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide), [C4Py]- [Tf2N] (butylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide), [N1888][Tf2N] (methyltrioctylammonium bis- (trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide), and [P66614][Tf2N] (tetradecyltrihexyl phosphonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) amide) led at ambient temperature to TiO2 in the form of anatase. The morphology of nano-anatase is controlled by the IL cation. Anatase nanospheres with a crystal size …


Yttrium(Iii) Oxomolybdates(Vi) As Potential Host Materials For Luminescence Applications: An Investigation Of Eu3+-Doped Y2[Moo4]3 And Y2[Moo4]2[Mo2o7], Sonja Laufer, Sabine Strobel, Thomas Schleid, Joanna Cybinska, Anja V. Mudring, Ingo Hartenbach Jan 2013

Yttrium(Iii) Oxomolybdates(Vi) As Potential Host Materials For Luminescence Applications: An Investigation Of Eu3+-Doped Y2[Moo4]3 And Y2[Moo4]2[Mo2o7], Sonja Laufer, Sabine Strobel, Thomas Schleid, Joanna Cybinska, Anja V. Mudring, Ingo Hartenbach

Anja V. Mudring

Two ternary yttrium(III) oxomolybdates(VI) are investigated, both structurally and spectroscopically. The crystal structure of Y2[MoO4]3 was solved at room temperature in the orthorhombic space group Pba2 (a = 1030.21(3), b = 1032.41(3), c = 1057.25(3) pm, Z = 4). In the unit cell, three discrete ortho-oxomolybdate(VI) units [MoO4]2− and two Y3+ cations, both with CN = 7 featuring a monocapped trigonal-prismatic oxygen environment, can be distinguished. Y2[MoO4]2[Mo2O7] crystallizes monoclinically in the space group P21/c (a = 681.85(2), b = 959.13(3), c = 1052.99(3) pm, β = 105.586(2)°) with two formula units per unit cell. In this compound the anionic environment …


Refactoring The Silent Spectinabilin Gene Cluster Using A Plug-And-Play Scaffold, Zengyi Shao, Guodong Rao, Chun Li, Zhanar Abil, Yunzi Luo, Huimin Zhao Jan 2013

Refactoring The Silent Spectinabilin Gene Cluster Using A Plug-And-Play Scaffold, Zengyi Shao, Guodong Rao, Chun Li, Zhanar Abil, Yunzi Luo, Huimin Zhao

Zengyi Shao

Natural products (secondary metabolites) are a rich source of compounds with important biological activities. Eliciting pathway expression is always challenging but extremely important in natural product discovery because an individual pathway is tightly controlled through a unique regulation mechanism and hence often remains silent under the routine culturing conditions. To overcome the drawbacks of the traditional approaches that lack general applicability, we developed a simple synthetic biology approach that decouples pathway expression from complex native regulations. Briefly, the entire silent biosynthetic pathway is refactored using a plug-and-play scaffold and a set of heterologous promoters that are functional in a heterologous …


Activation And Characterization Of A Cryptic Polycyclic Tetramate Macrolactam Biosynthetic Gene Cluster, Yunzi Luo, Hua Huang, Jing Liang, Meng Wang, Lu Lu, Zengyi Shao, Ryan E. Cobb, Huimin Zhao Jan 2013

Activation And Characterization Of A Cryptic Polycyclic Tetramate Macrolactam Biosynthetic Gene Cluster, Yunzi Luo, Hua Huang, Jing Liang, Meng Wang, Lu Lu, Zengyi Shao, Ryan E. Cobb, Huimin Zhao

Zengyi Shao

Polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PTMs) are a widely distributed class of natural products with important biological activities. However, many of these PTMs have not been characterized. Here we apply a plug-and-play synthetic biology strategy to activate a cryptic PTM biosynthetic gene cluster SGR810-815 from Streptomyces griseus and discover three new PTMs. This gene cluster is highly conserved in phylogenetically diverse bacterial strains and contains an unusual hybrid polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthetase, which resembles iterative polyketide synthases known in fungi. To further characterize this gene cluster, we use the same synthetic biology approach to create a series of gene deletion constructs and …


Phase And Morphology Selective Interface-Assisted Synthesis Of Highly Luminescent Ln3+-Doped Nagdf4 Nanorods, Anja V. Mudring, Qiang Ju Jan 2013

Phase And Morphology Selective Interface-Assisted Synthesis Of Highly Luminescent Ln3+-Doped Nagdf4 Nanorods, Anja V. Mudring, Qiang Ju

Anja V. Mudring

Making use of the multifunctional properties of ionic liquids by employing them as a fluoride resource and hydrophilic phase, we have grown small, monodisperse, highly luminescent Ln3+-doped NaGdF4 nanorods at the interface between octadecene and the reactive ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. The obtained nanocrystals could further be endowed with functional groups and rendered water dispersible, which allows them to be used for biodetection.


On The Mesophase Formation Of 1,3-Dialkylimidazolium Ionic Liquids, Mei Yang, Bert Mallick, Anja V. Mudring Jan 2013

On The Mesophase Formation Of 1,3-Dialkylimidazolium Ionic Liquids, Mei Yang, Bert Mallick, Anja V. Mudring

Anja V. Mudring

A series of seven different 1,3-dialkylimidazolium-based ion-pair salts with the same molecular weight and size but different symmetries was synthesized. For all salts, bromide was chosen as the counterion, giving the series ([CnIMCm][Br]), where IM = imidazolium and Cn and Cm are varying N-alkyl substituents with n + m = 13. Thus, the effect of symmetry on the physicochemical properties, such as thermal transitions, densities and viscosities and particularly mesophase formation, is investigated herein. All salts are fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and their physicochemical properties such as thermal transitions, densities, and viscosities are reported. Single crystal …


Structure, Stability, And Electronic Interactions Of Polyoxometalates On Functionalized Graphene Sheets, Jean-Philippe Tessonnier, Stephanie Goubert-Renaudin, Shaun Alia, Yushan Yan, Mark A. Barteau Jan 2013

Structure, Stability, And Electronic Interactions Of Polyoxometalates On Functionalized Graphene Sheets, Jean-Philippe Tessonnier, Stephanie Goubert-Renaudin, Shaun Alia, Yushan Yan, Mark A. Barteau

Jean-Philippe Tessonnier

Polyoxometalates (H3PMo12O40, H 3PW12O40, H4PMo11VO 40) supported on oxygen- and alkyl-functionalized graphene sheets were investigated. Discrete molecular species were directly observed by electron microscopy at loadings below 20 wt.%. The interaction between the polyoxometalates and the graphene surface was found to significantly impact their vibrational spectra and a linear correlation between the frequency of the M-Oc-M vibration and the dispersion was evidenced by FTIR. While bulk-like electronic properties were observed for small aggregates (2-5 nm), UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry revealed changes in the electronic structure of isolated molecular species as a result of their interaction with graphene. Because of …