We have designed and developed novel luminescent lanthanide complexes for advanced photonics applications. Lanthanide(III) ions (Ln$^{3+}$) were encapsulated by the luminescent ligands such as metalloporphyrins and naphthalenes. The energy levels of the luminescent ligands were tailored to maintain the effective energy transfer process from luminescent ligands to Ln$^{3+}$ ions for getting a higher optical amplification gain. Also, key parameters for emission enhancement and efficient energy transfer pathways for the sensitization of Ln$^{3+}$ ions by luminescent ligands were investigated. Furthermore, to enhance the optophysical properties of novel luminescent Ln$^{3+}$ complexes, aryl ether-functionalized dendrons as photon antennas have been incorporated into luminescent Ln$^{3+}$ complexes, yielding novel Ln(III)-cored dendrimer complex. The novel Ln(III)-cored dendrimer complex has much higher PL intensity than the corresponding simple complex, due to the efficient site-isolation effect. In this article, we will deal with recent progress in the synthesis and photophysical studies of inert and stable luminescent Ln$^{3+}$ complexes for advanced photonics applications. Also, our review will include the exploratory investigation of the key parameters for emission enhancement and the effective energy transfer pathways from luminescent ligands to Ln$^{3+}$ ions with Ln(III)-chelated prototype complexes.

Cyclopentadiene compounds, 2-[CR'R(OMe)]-1,3-Me$_2C_5H_3$ (R, R' = 2,2'-biphenyl, 2) and 2-[CR'R(OSiMe$_3$)]-1,3-Me$_2C_5H_3$ (R, R' = 2,2'-biphenyl, 3; R = ph, R' = ph, 4; R = 2-naphthyl, R' = H, 5) are readily synthesized from 2-bromo-3-methoxy-1,3-dimethylcyclopentene (1). Reaction of the cyclopentadienes with Ti(NMe$_2$)$_4$ in toluene results in clean formation of the cyclopentadienyl tris(dimethylamido)titanium complexes, which are transformed to the trichloride complexes, 2-[CR'R(OMe)]-1,3-Me$_2C_5H_2$}TiCl$_3$ (R, R' = 2,2'-biphenyl, 6) and {2-[CR'R(OSiMe$_3$)]-1,3-Me$_2C_5H_2$}TiCl$_3$ (R, R' = 2,2'-biphenyl, 7; R = ph, R' = ph, 8; R = 2-naphthyl, R' = H, 9). Attempts to form C1-bridged Cp/oxido complexes by elimination of MeCl or Me$_3$SiCl were not successful. X-ray structures of 6, 7 and an intermediate complex {2-[Ph$_2$C(OSiMe$_3$)]-1,3-Me$_2C_5H_2$}TiCl$_2$(NMe$_2$) (10) were determined.

The enthalpies of transfer, ${\Delta}H_t{\Theta}$, of NaI from water to aqueous methanol, ethanol and isopropanol, iPrOH, systems are reported. These data have been analysed in terms of the new solvation theory. These data are considered in terms of the new developed solvation theory including variable ($\alpha$n + $\beta$N), the net effect of the solute on the solvent-solvent bonding, is positive if there is a net breaking or weakening of solvent-solvent bonds. The solvation parameters recovered from the analyses indicate that the net affect of NaI on solvent structure is a breaking of solvent-solvent bonds and that NaI is preferentially solvated by water in all aqueous alcohol systems considered. ($\alpha$n + $\beta$N) values increase with increasing in the size of the alcohol alkyl residue from methanol to iPrOH.

A series of proton conductive inorganic-organic hybrid membranes doped with phosphoric acid ($H_3PO_4$) and/or triethylphosphate (PO(OEt)$_3$) have been prepared by sol-gel process with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as precursors. High proton conductivity of 3.0 ${\times}$ $10^{-3}$ S/cm with composition of 50TEOS-30GPTMS-20APTES-50$H_3PO_4$ was obtained at 120 ${^{\circ}C}$ under 50% relative humidity. Thermal stability of membrane was significantly enhanced by the presence of SiO$_2$ framework up to 250 ${^{\circ}C}$. XRD revealed that the gels are amorphous. IR spectra showed a good complexation of $H_3PO_4$ in the matrix. The conductivity under 75% relative humidity was significantly improved by addition of APTES due to the increase in concentration of defected site in hybrid matrix. The effect of PO(OEt)$_3$, humidifying time, and heat-treatment were also investigated. PO(OEt)$_3$ had no improvement on conductivity and conductivity increased with humidifying time, however, decreased with heating temperature.

Synthetic layered double hydroxides (LDHs), [$Mg_4Al_2(OH)_{12}]CO_3{\cdot}nH_2O$, were prepared in the submicron size of plate-like polycrystals. Anion-exchange reactions with various linear dicarboxylic acids were performed to produce LDH/organic hybrid materials by solvothermal treatment in toluene. X-ray powder diffraction spectra for the products indicated that the interlayer spacings of LDHs remarkably changed, up to 20 $\AA$ when 1,10-decanedicarboxylic acid anions were intercalated as an organic guest. Dicarboxylates-LDHs samples could be also re-exchanged consecutively with other dicarboxylic acids or carbonate without serious destruction of layer structure under the scanning electron microscopic observation.

[$(tacn)_4Fe_4O_2(OH)_4]_2{\cdot}8Br{\cdot}9H_2O$ (tacn = 1,4,7-triazacyclononane), a tetranuclear iron(III) complex was synthesized by the hydrolysis of (tacn)FeCl3 and crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group, Pca2(1), with cell parameters, a = 37.574(3) $\AA$, b = 16.9245(12) $\AA$, c = 14.2830(11) $\AA$, V = 9082.9(12) ${\AA}^3$. [$(tacn)_4Fe_4O_2(OH)_4]^{4+}$ cations approach S4 point symmetry containing an adamantane skeleton. Four Fe(III) atoms have distorted octahedral environments with two hydroxo and an oxo bridges. Two [$(tacn)_4Fe_4O_2(OH)_4]^{4+}$ clusters having different Fe…Fe distances are connected to each other by the networked hydrogen bonds. The electrochemical behavior reveals irreversible three cathodic and two anodic peaks. Magnetic properties are characterized by antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions between Fe(III) ion spins. However, the low-lying states are still magnetic and exhibit a blocking behavior and a magnetic hysteresis at low temperatures.

The nature of the active site of Tobacco acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) in the substrate- and cofactorbinding was studied by kinetics and fluorescence spectroscopy. The substrate saturation curve does not follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics at different temperatures (7, 21 and 37 ${^{\circ}C}$), pH (6.5, 7.5 and 8.5) and buffers (Tris-HCl and MOPS). The concentration of one half of the maximum velocity ($S_{0.5}$) decreased in the following order: pyruvate $\gt$ ThDP $\approx$$Mg^{+2}$ $\gt$ FAD. However, the catalytic efficiency (K$_{cat}/S_{0.5}$) inversely decreased in the following order; FAD $\gt$ $Mg^{+2}$ $\approx$ThDP $\gt$ pyruvate, indicating that the cofactors by in decreasing order; FAD, $Mg^{+2}$, ThDP, affect the catalysis of AHAS. The dissociation constant ($K_d$) of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence decreased with the same tendency of the concentration of one half of the maximum velocity ($S_{0.5}$) decreasing order. This data provides evidence that the substrate and cofactor binding natures of the active site, as well as its activation characteristics, resemble those of other ThDP-dependent enzymes.

An efficient method of addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to aldehydes by employing a zirconium complex as the catalyst has been described. A variety of aromatic, aliphatic, cyclic and heterocyclic aldehydes has been converted into corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers in excellent yield within short reaction time.

Different detection characteristics of fluorescence immunochromatography method and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the analysis of cyanobacterial toxins were studied. In particular, low and high limits of detection, detection time and reproducibility and detectable microcystin species were compared when fluorescence immunochromatography method and high performance liquid chromatography method were applied for the detection of microcystin (MC), a cyclic peptide toxin of the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. A Fluorescence immunochromatography assay system has the unique advantages of short detection time and low detection limit, and high performance liquid chromatography detection method has the strong advantage of individual quantifications of several species of microcystins.

Dynamic resolution of $\alpha$-bromo tertiary acetamides in asymmetric nucleophilic substitution reaction is described. Intermolecular substitution of $\alpha$-bromo tertiary acetamides with dibenzylamine in the presence of TBAI and $Et_3N$ gave the dipeptide analogues 7-10 with high stereoselectivities up to 90 : 10 dr. Also, cyclic dipeptide analogues 20-29 were produced by the intramolecular nucleophilic cyclization of $\alpha$-bromo tertiary acetamides with low stereoselectivities in 84-42% yields.

To obtain cytochrome $c_3$ labeled with a stable isotope, the conditions of cultivation and the composition of medium for DvMF were examined. The growth of DvMF was steady and reproducible under purging with $N_2$ and under pH control. DvMF was able to go on a defined medium without natural products. The composition of medium containing a small amount of $NH_4C$l as sole nitrogen source was established. Then, uniformly $^{15}N$labeled cytochrome $c_3$ was obtained during the culture of DvMF in a defined medium with $^{15}NH_4$Cl; it was confirmed by $^1H-^{15}N$ HMQC.

The Fe/MgO catalysts with different Fe loadings (1, 4, 6, 15 and 30 wt% Fe) were prepared by a wet impregnation with iron nitrate as precursor. All of the catalysts were characterized by BET surface analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The maximum removal capacity of $H_2S$ was obtained with 15 wt% Fe/MgO catalyst which had the highest BET surface area among the measured catalysts. XRD of Fe/MgO catalysts showed that well dispersed Fe particles could be present on Fe/MgO with Fe loadings below 15 wt%. The crystallites of bulk $\alpha$-$Fe_2O_3$ became evident on 30 wt% Fe/MgO, which were confirmed by XRD. TPR profiles showed that the reducibility of Fe/MgO was strongly related to the loaded amounts of Fe on MgO support. Therefore, the highest removal efficiency of $H_2S$ in wet oxidation could be ascribed to a good dispersion and high reducibility of Fe/MgO catalyst. XPS studies indicated that the $H_2S$ oxidation with Fe/MgO could proceed via the redox mechanism ($Fe^{3+}\;{\leftrightarrow}\;Fe^{2+}$).

The nonstructural protein 5B (NS5B) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which is the essential catalytic enzyme for the viral replication and is an appealing target for the development of new therapeutic agents against HCV infection. A small amount of serum from a single patient with hepatitis C was used to get the genome of a Korean HCV isolate. Sequence analysis of NS5B 1701 nucleotides showed the genotype of a Korean isolate to be subtype 1b. The soluble recombinant HCV NS5B polymerase lacking the C-terminal 24 amino acids was expressed and purified to homogeneity. With the highly purified NS5B protein, we established in vitro systems for RdRp activity to identify potential polymerase inhibitors. The rhodanine family compounds were found to be potent and specific inhibitors of NS5B from high throughput screening (HTS) assay utilizing the scintillation proximity assay (SPA) system. The binding mode of an inhibitor was analyzed by measuring various kinetic parameters. Lineweaver-Burk plots of the inhibitor suggested it binds not to the active site of NS5B polymerase, but to an allosteric site of the enzyme. The activity of NS5B in in vitro polymerase reactions with homopolymeric RNA requires interaction with multiple substrates that include a template/primer and ribonucleotide triphosphate. Steady-state kinetic parameter, such as Km, was determined for the ribonucleotide triphosphate. One of compounds found interacts directly with the viral polymerase and inhibits RNA synthesis in a manner noncompetitively with respect to UTP. Furthermore, we also investigated the ability of the compound to inhibit NS5B-directed viral RNA replication using the Huh7 cell-based HCV replicon system. The investigation is potentially very useful for the utility of such compounds as anti-hepatitic agents.

Physical and chemical properties of thexylboronic acid and its derivatives such as thexylboroxine and ethylene glycol or diethanolamine thexylboronic ester have been studied. Thexylboronic acid can be extracted from an organic solution with an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution as an “te”complex. It is readily converted into thexylboroxine in the presence of anhydrous magnesium sulfate in pentane. It reacts with simple alcohols only slowly; however, it reacts readily with excess diethanolamine in the presence of anhydrous magnesium sulfate to give the corresponding ester.

The determination of total phenols was accomplished by capillary-high performance liquid chromatography (capillary-HPLC) after nitrosation of the U.S.E.P.A. classified 11 priority pollutant phenols, using the nitrosated parent phenol (POHNO) as a reference for calibration. The optimum mobile phase composition for this analysis was found by examining the effect of changing the percentage of acetonitrile (MeCN) in the mobile phase on retention factors (k values) and peak intensities. As MeCN percentage was increased, k values were reduced and peak intensities were generally increased. From the results obtained, it was found that the optimum mobile phase was 90%(v/v) MeCN solution at pH 8.0, the detection wavelength of 400 nm, and a detection limit (D.L., concentration at signal to noise ratio (S/N) of 3.0) of 4.5 ${\times}$ $10^{-7}$ M. In addition, 10 of the 11 phenols present in mineral or waste water were separated after the nitrosation by capillary-HPLC. The optimum mobile phase for separation was a 40%(v/v) MeCN solution at pH 5.0.

A miniaturized time-of-flight mass spectrometer with an electron impact ionization source and sheet membrane introduction has been developed. The advantages and features of this mass spectrometer include high sensitivity, simple structure, low cost, compact volume with field portability, and ease of operation. A mass resolution of 400 at m/z 78 has been obtained with a 25 cm flight path length. Under optimized conditions, the detection limits for the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) studied were 0.2-10 ppm by volume with linear dynamic ranges greater than three orders of magnitude. The response times for various VOCs using a silicone membrane of 127 $\mu$m thickness were in the range 4.5-20 s, which provides a sample analysis time of less than 1 minute. These results indicate that the membrane introduction/time-of-flight mass spectrometer will be useful for a wide range of field applications, particularly for environmental monitoring.

Single crystals of the new pentanary thiophosphate, $K_{0.5}Ag_{0.5}Nb_2PS_{10}$ has been prepared through reactions of the elements with halide fluxes. The structure of $K_{0.5}Ag_{0.5}Nb_2PS_{10}$ has been analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The structure of $K_{0.5}Ag_{0.5}Nb_2PS_{10}$ is made up of one-dimensional ${^{\infty}_1}[Nb_2PS_{10}]$ chains along the [001] direction and these chains are separated from one another by $Ag^+$ and disordered $K^+$ ions. This chain is basically built up from bicapped trigonal prismatic [Nb2S12] units and tetrahedral [PS4] groups. The [$Nb_2S_{12}$] units are connected together to form the linear chain, ${^{\infty}_1}[Nb_2S_9]$ by sharing the S-S prism edge. Short (2.885(2) $\AA$ or 2.888(2) $\AA$) and long (3.743(1) $\AA$) Nb-Nb distances are alternating along the chain, and the $S_2{^2-}]\;and\;S^{2-}$anionic species are observed. The distorted octahedral coordination around the $Ag^+$ ion can be described as [2+4] bonding interaction.