A novel fused thiouracil containing a heterocyclic ring system, dipyrimidinopyridine (3), has been prepared through the cyclization of compound 2. Compound 2 was formed by the formylation of 6-amino-2-thiouracil 1, pyrazolopyrimidines 8-10 via the heating of 6-arylhydrazono-2-thiouracils 5-7, compound 11, using Vilsmeier reagent with compound 4, pyrazolylpyrimidine 12, indolodiazinopyrimidine 14 and pyridazinopyrimidine 15. Pyridazino-pyrimidine 15 was formed by the condensation of compound 4 with acetylacetone, isatin and benzyl, respectively.

A new method for the simultaneous determination of heavy metal ions in cigarette material by microwave digestion and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) has been developed. The cigarette material was digested by microwave digestion. Lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel and tin ions in the digested samples were pre-column derivatized with tetra-(2-chlorophenyl)-porphyrin ($T_2$-CPP) to form color chelates, which were then enriched by solid phase extraction with a $C_{18}$ cartridge. The chelates were separated on a Waters Xterra$^{TM}RP_{18}$ column by gradient elution with methanol (containing 0.05 mol/L pyrrolidine-aceticacid buffer salt, pH = 10.0) and acetone (containin0.05 mol/L pyrrolidine-acetic acid buffer salt, pH = 10.0)as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.5mL/min and analyzed with a photodiode array detector from 350-600 nm. The detection limits of lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel and tin were 4,3,3,8 and 5 ng/L, respectively, in the original samples. This method was afforded good results.

Thermal decomposition of hydrated surface layer of $Mg(OH)_2$ at $500^{\circ}C$ in vacuum turned non-porous MgO into porous one with high surface area of around $270 m^2$/g. Most of its surface area, 74 %, was from micropores, and rest of it was from mesopores in wedge-shaped slits, exhibiting bimodal size distribution centered around 30 and 90${\AA}$. Rehydration followed by subsequent dehydration at $300 ^{\circ}C$ in dynamic vacuum further raised the surface area to 340 $m^2$/g. Fraction of microporous surface area was increased to 93%, and the shape of the mesopores was modified into parallel slits with a specific dimension of 32 ${\AA}$. Application of $Fe_2O_3$ over MgO via iron complex formation did not alter the pore characteristics of MgO core, except slightly increased pore dimension. Over the course of the modification, $Fe_2O_3$ stayed on the surface possibly via spill-over reaction.

The microsurface adsorption - spectral correction (MSASC) technique has been applied to the interaction of indigo carmine (IC) with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The aggregation of IC on CTAB obeys Langmuir isothermal adsorption. The results show that both the monomer complex $IC{\cdot}CTAB$ and the micellar complex $(IC{\cdot}CTAB)_{78}$ were formed. The binding constant of the monomer complex was calculated to be $K_{IC{\cdot}CTAB}$ = 2.20 ${\times}10^5L{\cdot}mol^{-1}$, and the molar absorptivity of the micellar complex was calculated to be ${\varepsilon}_{(IC{\cdot}CTAB)78}\;^{560nm}$ = 8.58 ${\times}10^5L{\cdot}mol^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-1}$. The aggregation was applied to the determination of cationic surfactant in wastewater.

A new equation has been derived on the basis of ${\delta}G^o$ = -RT lnK, linear behavior of the enthalpy of micellization with temperature, and the Gibbs-Helmholtz relation. It describes correctly the dependence of critical micelle concentration $(X_{CMC})$ on temperature and has yielded excellent fitting results for various surfactant systems. The new equation results in the linear behavior of the entropy of micellization with temperature and accounts for the compensation phenomena observed for the micellization in aqueous solutions, along with the linear dependence of the enthalpy of micellization on temperature. These results imply that the new equation of $X_{CMC}(T)$ accounts for the temperature dependence of CMC correctly.

Several series of compounds (benzoic acids, pyrazolecarboxylic acids, phenoxyacetic acids, and quinolinoxyacetic acids) were prepared and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against PTP-1B. Several compounds showed submicromolar inhibitory activity.

A neutral ligand is synthesized and studied for the binding properties with anions by electrochemical methods. The binding of 1,8-bis[(N'-phenylureido)ethyloxy]anthraquinone (BPUA) with $H_2PO_4^-$ makes cathodic shift of its electrochemical potentials and red shift of absorption band. This novel neutral anion receptor BPUA binds anions through hydrogen bonding and show high selectivity with $H_2PO_4^-$ over $CH_3CO_2^-,CI^-,{\;}and{\;}HSO_4^-$. The selecivity of H_2PO_4^-$ over $CH_3CO_2^-,CI^-,{\;}and{\;}HSO_4^-$ may be attributed to the stronger hydrogen bonding with urea moiety and also with anthraquinone moiety of BPUA receptor, and also the higher complementarity of the cavity of BPUA for tetrahedral H_2PO_4^-$.

The dynamics of the tertiary conformation of myoglobin (Mb) after photolysis of carbon monoxide was investigated at 283 K solution by probing amide I and II bands using femtosecond IR absorption spectroscopy. Time-resolved spectra in the amide region evolve with 6-12 ps time scale without noticeable subpicosecond dynamics. The spectra measured at 100 ps delay after photolysis is similar to the difference FTIR spectrum at equilibrium. Time-resolved spectra of photoexcited Mb evolve modestly and their amplitudes are less than 8% of those of photolyzed MbCO, indicating that thermal contribution to the spectral evolution in the amide region is negligible. These observations suggest that the conformational relaxation ensuing photolysis of MbCO be complex and the final deoxy protein conformation have been substantially formed by 100 ps, probably with 6- 12 ps time constant.

Three monoterpene glucosides (1-3), including one new compound (3), have been isolated from the methanol extract of Portulaca oleracea. Structures of these compounds were determined to be (3S)-3-O-( ${\Beta}$-Dglucopyranosyl)-3,7-dimethylocta-1,6-dien-3-ol (1), (3S)-3-O-( ${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl)-3,7-dimethylocta-1,5-dien-3,7-diol (2) and (3S)-3-O-( ${\beta}$-D-glucopyranosyl)-3,7-dimethyl-7-hydroperoxyocta-1,5-dien-3-ol (3), respectively, by a combination of spectral analyses. Their stereochemistries were established by measurement of NOE and vicinal proton-proton coupling constants as well as comparisons of spectral data with those of previously related compounds.

CRAMP was identified from a cDNA clone derived from a mouse femoral marrow cells as a member of cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial peptide. Tertiary structure of CRAMP in TFE/$H_2O$ (1 : 1, v/v) solution has been determined by NMR spectroscopy previously and consists of two amphipathic $\alpha-helices$ from Leu4 to Lys10 and from Gly16 to Leu33. These two helices are connected by a flexible region from Gly11 to Gly16. Analysis of series of fragments composed of various portion of CRAMP revealed that an 18-residue fragment with the sequence from Gly16 to Leu33 (CRAMP-18) was found to retain antibacterial activity without cytotoxicity. The effects of two Phe residues at positions 14 and 15 of CRAMP-18 on structure, antibacterial activity, and interaction with lipid membranes were investigated by $Phe^{14,15}$ ${\rightarrow}$ Ala substitution (CRAMP-18-A) in the present study. Substitution of Phe with Ala in CRAMP-18 caused a significant reduction on antibacterial and membrane-disrupting activities. Tertiary structures of CRAMP-18 in 50% TFE/$H_2O$ (1 : 1, v : v) solution shows amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helix, from $Glu^2{\;}to{\;}Leu^{18}$, while CRAMP-18-A has relatively short amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helix from $Leu^4{\;}to{\;}Ala^{15}$. These results suggest that the hydrophobic property of $Phe^{14}{\;}and{\;}Phe^15$ in CRAMP-18 is essential for its antibacterial activity, ${\alpha}$-helical structure, and interactions with phospholipid membranes.

The gelation for di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)-plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) was studied by measuring time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and a flow of the solutions in test tube. It was found that for the gelation there were three regimes. At Regime I, the solution rapidly changed to a gel, and the SAXS intensity showed a peak and the peak intensity increased, keeping the peak angle constant. Applying the SAXS intensity to the kinetic analysis of the liquid-liquid phase separation, it was revealed that the spinodal decomposition proceeded to develop a periodic length of 29.9 nanometer in size, a hydrogen-bonding-type association in polymer rich phase followed, and then it induced fast gelation rate. At Regime II, the gelation slowly occurred and the SAXS intensity was not observed, suggesting that a homogeneous gel network was formed by a hydrogen-bonding. At regime III, the solution was a homogeneous sol.

Noncovalently linked electron donor-acceptor dyad consisting of zinc tetratolylporphyrin and pyridine appended ruthenium trisbipyridine comlex was prepared, via axial coordination of pyridine moiety in ruthenium trisbipyridine complex on zinc tetratolylporphyrin. For the purpose of comparison, axial coordination of pyridine-appended 2,2'-bipyridine on zinc tetratolylporphyrin was also investigated. The Kvalues were detemined based on absorption of fluorescence studies. The fluorescence of zinc teratolylporphrin was efficiently quenched upon axial coordination of pyridine moiety, prbably due to the photoinduced electron transfer from zinc tetrtolylporphyrin to ruthenium trisbipyridine, supported by free enegy estimation.

Equilibria and applications of a synergistic extraction were studied for the determination of a trace lithium by using thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as ligands. Several equations were derived for the extraction of lithium into m-xylene as a phase of Li-TTA·mTOPO adduct. Distribution coefficients and extraction constant were determined together with a stability constant of the adduct. The adduct was quantitatively extracted from the basic solution of higher than pH 9 by shaking for 30 minutes. m-Xylene was selected as an optimum solvent by comparing the extraction efficiency among several kinds of organic solvents. The stability constant (${\Beta}_2$) for Li-TTA/2TOPO was 150 times higher than Li-TTA/TOPO. The distribution coefficient of Li-TTA/2TOPO into m-xylene was 9.12 and the logarithmic extraction constant (log $K_{ex}$) was 6.76. Trace lithium of sub-ppm level in seawater samples could be determined under modified conditions and a detection limit equivalent to 3 times standard deviation for background absorption was 0.42 ng/mL.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCN) were integrated in $TiO_2$ film and the beneficial influence on the dyesensitized solar cells in terms of improved photocurrent was studied in the light of static J-V characteristics obtained both under illumination and in the dark, photocurrent transients, IPCE spectra and impedance spectra. Compared with a solar cell without SWCN, it is established that the photocurrent density of the modified cell increases at all applied potentials. The enhanced photocurrent density is correlated with the augmented concentration of electrons in the conduction band of $TiO_2$ and with increased electrical conductivity. Explanations are additionally corroborated with the help of SEM, Raman spectra and dye-desorption measurements.