An efficient method for the preparation of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole compounds is described using polymeric quaternary ammonium salts having azide or alkyne functionality to remove unreacted excess starting molecules (azide/alkyne). Copper metal could easily be removed by simple filtration with a short $Na_2SO_4$/silica cartridge, affording highly regioselective products in high yield and excellent purity without the need for work-up, extraction and chromatographic purification.

Phenylaminopyrimidines represent a large group of new selective anticancer agents, the majority of which exert their action through the inhibition of specific kinases. In this study, a new series of N-substituted-2-aminopyrimidines has been designed and synthesized. A selected group of the synthesized derivatives was screened at a single dose concentration of 10 ${\mu}M$ over a panel of 60 cancer cell-lines. Compound 12e has showed great inhibitory and strong lethal effect over almost all of the 60 cell-lines and accordingly was further tested in a 5-dose testing mode to determine its $IC_{50}$ values, where it showed great efficacies with intermediate potencies over the tested cell-lines. The compound was also tested over a panel of 52 kinases to explore its kinase inhibitory profile, and was found to be a selective but moderate inhibitor over FLT3 kinase.

A convenient one-pot condensation route has been developed for obtaining 5-[(2-(piperidin-1-yl) quinolin-3-yl) methylene]-2,4-thiazolidinediones using multicomponents, 2-chloro-3-formyl quinolines, piperidine, 2,4-thiazolidinedione and safer medium/mediator, polyethylene glycol-400.

A simple and efficient synthesis of various $\alpha$-aminophosphonates (3a-l) by the reaction of substituted aromatic/heterocyclic aldehydes, 2-amino-6-methoxy-benzothiazole and dibutyl/diphenyl phosphites under microwave irradiation without catalyst was accomplished. The phosphonates were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, $^1H$, $^{13}C$- and $^{31}PNMR$ spectra. They showed promising antimicrobial, anti-oxidant activities depending on the nature of bioactive groups at the $\alpha$-carbon.

By reducing PVP with $H_2NOH$.HCl and NaOH 2:2:1 mass ratios in aqueous ethanol, poly-N-vinyl pyrrolidone oxime [PVPO] was prepared with 92% yield. Applying the sol-gel concept, orthosilicic acid [OSA] was made by hydrolyzing TEOS with ethanol in 1:0.5 molar ratios using 1 N KOH aqueous solution as a catalyst. The OSA + PVPO + $_L$-Valine ($\alpha$-amino acid) were mixed with pure ethanolic medium in 1:2:2 mass ratios and refluxed at $78^{\circ}C$ and 6 pH for 6.5 h. A white residue of poly-N-vinyl pyrrolidone oximo-L-valyl-siliconate [POVS] appeared after 5 h. The heating of reaction mixture was stopped and the contents were brought to NTP. The residue formation of POVS was intensified with lowering a temperature and completely solidified within 5 h, was filtered using a vacuum pump with Whatmann filter paper no. 42. The residue of POVS was washed several times with 20% aqueous cold ethanolic solution and dried in vacuum chamber at $25^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. The MP was noted above $350^{\circ}C$. Structural and internal morphology were analyzed with IR and $^1H$-NMR, and SEM respectively. A drug loading and transporting ability of the POVS in water and at pH = 5 and 8 was determined chromatographically.

A dicycle pyrazoline derivative, 1-phenyl-5-(p-fluorophenyl)-3,4-($\alpha$-p-fluoro-tolylenecyclohexano) pyrazoline, was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-vis, fluorescence spectra and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Density function theory (DFT) calculations were performed by using B3LYP method with 6-$311G^{**}$ basis set. The optimized geometry can well simulate the molecular structure. Vibrational frequencies were predicted, assigned and compared with the experimental values, which suggest that B3LYP/6-$311G^{**}$ method can well predict the IR spectra. Both the experimental electronic absorption spectra and the predicted ones by B3LYP/6-$311G^{**}$ method reveal three electron-transition bands, with the theoretical ones having some red shifts compared with the experimental data. Natural bond orbital analyses indicate that the absorption bands are mainly derived from the contribution of n $\rightarrow\pi^*$ and $\pi\rightarrow\pi^*$ transitions. Fluorescence spectra determination shows that the title compound can emit blue-light at about 478 nm. On the basis of vibrational analysis, the thermodynamic properties of title compound at different temperature have been calculated, revealing the correlations between $C^0_{p,m}$, $S^0_m$, $H^0_m$ and temperature.

Hydrothermal reaction of zinc(II) salts with 5-sulfoisophthalic acid monosodium salt ($NaO_3SC_6H_3$-1,3-(COOH)$_2$, $NaH_2$-SIP) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) led to two new compounds, [Zn(phen)$_3$$\cdot2H_2SIP\cdot4H_2O$ (1) and [Zn(phen)$_2(H_2O)_2]\cdot2H_2SIP\cdot2H_2O$ (2). They were characterized by element analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermalgravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both compounds 1-2 represent the first example of Zn/phen/SIP system. The Zn (II) ion in 1 is six-coordinated by six nitrogen atoms from three phen molecules, and the $H_2SIP^-$ ligands engage in the formation of hydrogen bond. The Zn(II) ion in 2 is coordinated by four nitrogen atoms from two phen molecules and two oxygen atoms from two water molecules. Moreover, both 1 and 2 are assembled into 3D supramolecular architectures by hydrogen bonds (O-H$\ldots$O) and $\pi-\pi$ interactions. Solvent water molecules occupying voids of the compounds serve as receptors or donors of the extensive O-H$\ldots$O hydrogen bonds.

Cross-linked polystyrene supported aluminium triflate (Ps-Al(OTf)$_3$) was found to be an efficient and chemoselective heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyst for the direct conversion of arenes to sulfones using sulfonic acids as sulfonylating agents. The solid acid catalyst is stable (as a bench top catalyst) and can be easily recovered and reused without appreciable change in its efficiency.

Submicron-sized polymeric colloidal particles can self assemble into 3-dimensional (3D) opal structure which is a useful template for photonic crystal. Narrowly dispersed polymer microspheres can be synthesized by emulsion polymerization in water using water-soluble radical initiator. In this report, we demonstrate a facile and reproducible emulsion polymerization method to prepare various polymeric microspheres within 200 - 400 nm size ranges which can be utilized as colloidal photonic crystal template. By controlling the amount of monomer and surfactant, monodisperse polymer colloids of polystyrene (PS) and acrylates with various sizes were successfully prepared without complicated synthetic procedures. Such polymer colloids self-assembled into 3D opal structure exhibiting bright colors by reflection of visible light. The colloidal particles and the resulting opal structures were rigorously characterized, and the wavelength of the structural color from the colloidal crystal was confirmed to have quantitative relationship with the size of constituting colloidal particles as predicted by Bragg equation. The tunability of the structural color was achieved not only by varying the particle size but also by infiltration of the colloidal crystal with liquids having different refractive indices.

Multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT)-modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) were prepared for simultaneous determination of rutin and quercetin. Microbial carbohydrates, $\alpha$-cyclosophorohexadecaose ($\alpha$-C16) and succinoglycan monomer M3 (M3) were doped into MWNTs to prepare a $\alpha$-C16-doped MWNT-modified GCE (($\alpha$-C16 + MWNTs)/GCE) and a M3-doped MWNT-modified GCE ((M3 + MWNTs)/GCE), respectively. The sensitivities of the ($\alpha$-C16 + MWNTs)/GCE to rutin and quercetin were 34.7 ${\mu}A\cdot{\mu}M^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ and 18.3 ${\mu}A\cdot{\mu}M^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-2}$, respectively, in a linear range of $2\sim8{\mu}M$ at pH 7.2. The sensitivities of the (M3 + MWNTs)/GCE was 2.44 ${\mu}A\cdot{\mu}M^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ for rutin and 7.19 ${\mu}A\cdot{\mu}M^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ for quercetin without interference.

A microchip electrophoresis (ME) method was developed using a programmed field strength gradients (PFSG) for the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based fast identification of cattle breeds. Four different Korean cattle (Hanwoo) and Holstein SNP markers amplified by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction were separated in a glass microchip filled with 0.5% poly(ethyleneoxide) ($M_r$ = 8 000 000) by PFSG as follows: 750 V/cm for 0 - 14 s, 166.7 V/cm for 14 - 31 s, 83.3 V/cm for 31 - 46 s, and 750 V/cm for 46 - 100 s. The cattle breeds were clearly distinguished within 45 s. The ME-PFSG method was 7 times and 5 times faster than the constant electric field ME method and the capillary electrophoresis- PFSG method, respectively, with a high resolving power ($R_s$ = 5.05 - 9.98). The proposed methodology could be a powerful tool for the fast and simultaneous determination of SNP markers for various cattle breeds with high accuracy.

A novel catalytic kinetic method is proposed for the determination of Se(IV), Se(VI) and total inorganic selenium in water based on the catalytic effect of Se(IV) on the reduction of bromate by p-nitrophenylhydrazine at pH 3.0. The generated bromine, $Br_2$ or $Cl_2$ plus $Br_2$ in 0.1 M NaCl (or NaBr) environment efficiently decolorized Calmagite and the reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically at 523 nm as a function of time. In this indicator reaction, bromide acted as an activator for the catalysis of selenium (IV) and a reducing agent for selenium (VI) at pH 3.0, which allowed the determination of total selenium. The fixed time method was adopted for the determination and speciation of inorganic selenium. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration graph are linear in the range 1 - 35 ${\mu}gL^{-1}$ of Se(IV) for the fixed time method at $25^{\circ}C$. The detection limit based on statistical $3S_{blank}$/m-criterion was 0.215 ${\mu}gL^{-1}$ for the fixed time method (7 min). All of the variables that affect the sensitivity at 523 nm were investigated, and the optimum conditions were established. The interference effect of various cations and anions on the Se (IV) determination was also studied. The selectivity of the selenium determination was greatly improved with the use of the strongly cation exchange resin such as Amberlite IR120 plus. The proposed kinetic method was validated statistically and through recovery studies in natural water samples. The RSDs for ten replicate measurements of 5, 15 and 25 ${\mu}gL^{-1}$ of Se(IV) and Se(VI) was changed between 2.1 - 4.85%. Analyses of a certified standard reference material (NIST SRM 1643e) for selenium using the fixed-time method showed that the proposed kinetic method has good accuracy. Se(IV), Se(VI) and total inorganic selenium in environmental water samples have been successfully determined by this method after selective reduction of Se(VI) to Se(IV).

Second-order rate constants $(k_N)$ have been measured for reactions of 2,4-dinitrophenyl phenyl carbonate (2) with a series of pyridines in 80 mol % $H_2O$/20 mol % DMSO at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$ and compared with the $k_N$ values reported for the corresponding reactions of 2,4-dinitrophenyl benzoate (1) to investigate the effect of nonleaving group on reactivity and mechanism. The reactions of 2 result in larger $k_N$ values than those of 1. The Br${\o}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of 2 exhibits a downward curvature (i.e., ${\beta}2$ = 0.84 and ${\beta}1$ = 0.16), which is typical for reactions reported to proceed through a stepwise mechanism with a change in rate-determining step. The $pK_a$ at the center of the Br${\o}$nsted curvature, defined as $pK_a{^{\circ}}$, has been found to be 8.5 and 9.5 for the reactions of 2 and 1, respectively. Dissection of $k_N$ into the microscopic rate constants (e.g., $k_1$ and $k_2/k_{-1}$ ratio) has revealed that the reactions of 2 result in larger k1 values than those of 1, indicating that PhO behaves as a stronger electron-withdrawing group than Ph. However, the $k_2/k_{-1}$ ratio has been found to be independent of the electronic nature of Ph and PhO.

Yoon et $al.^1$ presented an approximate mathmatical model to describe ammonia removal from an experimental batch reactor system with gaseous headspace. The development of the model was initially based on assuming instantaneous equilibrium between ammonia in the aqueous and gas phases. In the model, a "saturation factor, $\beta$" was defined as a constant and used to check whether the equilibrium assumption was appropriate. The authors used the trends established by the estimated $\beta$ values to conclude that the equilibrium assumption was not valid. The authors presented valuable experimental results obtained using a carefully designed system and the model used to analyze the results accounted for the following effects: speciation of ammonia between $NH_3$ and $NH^+_4$ as a function of pH; temperature dependence of the reactions constants; and air flow rate. In this article, an alternative model based on the exact solution of the governing mass-balance differential equations was developed and used to describe ammonia removal without relying on the use of the saturation factor. The modified model was also extended to mathematically describe the pH dependence of the ammonia removal rate, in addition to accounting for the speciation of ammonia, temperature dependence of reactions constants, and air flow rate. The modified model was used to extend the analysis of the original experimental data presented by Yoon et $al.^1$ and the results matched the theory in an excellent manner.

A fast, efficient, and high yielding method for the preparation of amines by reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones using sodium borohydride in the presence of cellulose sulfuric acid in EtOH and under solvent-free conditions at room temperature is described.

Discovery and isolation of compounds capable of blocking the interactions between VCAM-1 and VLA-4, a major pair of adhesion molecules contributing to the different steps of leukocyte migration across the endothelium in inflammatory responses, has been a major goal of this lab. Through bioactivity-guided fractionation, five saikosaponins were subsequently isolated from the methanol extracts of the roots of Bupleurum falcatum L. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis ($^1H-$, $^{13}C$-NMR and 2D-NMR), as follows, saikosaponins: A (1); D (2); C (3); B3 (4); B4 (5). Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited interaction of sVCAM-1 and VLA-4 of THP-1 cells with respective $IC_{50}$ values of 7.8 and 1.7 ${\mu}M$. The aglycone structure of 2 also showed cell adhesion inhibitory activity with an $IC_{50}$ value of 21.1 ${\mu}M$. With these results, we suspect these two saikosaponins from the Bupleurum falcatum L. roots to be prime candidates for therapeutic strategies towards inflammation.

Ionic liquids with halide anions were prepared and the dependency of halide anions on the $SO_2$ solubility of ILs was investigated. The study shows that the $SO_2$ solubility of ionic liquids lies in the range 1.91~2.22 $SO_2$/ILs mol ratio. $SO_2$ solubility in ionic liquids with varying halide anions follows the order Br > Cl > I. Theoretical investigation was also conducted at the B3LYP level using the Gaussian 03 program. From the theoretical consideration of the interaction between $SO_2$ and [EMIm]X (where X = Cl, Br, and I), it has been proposed that primary interaction of halide occurs with $C_2$-H of the imidazolium and S of $SO_2$. Experimental results further shows that the absorption and desorption process of $SO_2$ in ILs was reversible by the three cycles of the absorption at $50^{\circ}C$ and desorption at $140^{\circ}C$. The reversibility of $SO_2$ absorption was confirmed by FT-IR studies.

The heterojunction structures of BiOCl/$Bi_3O_4Cl$, exhibiting considerable visible-light photocatalytic efficiency, were prepared by a simple wet-chemical process at ambient condition. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, TEM, and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra. Under visible light (${\lambda}\geq$420 nm) irradiation, BiOCl/$Bi_3O_4Cl$ exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic activity in decomposing 2-propanol (IP) in gas phase and salicylic acid (SA) in aqueous solution, whereas the bare BiOCl and $Bi_3O_4Cl$ showed negligible activities. It is deduced that the remarkable visible-light photocatalytic activity of the BiOCl/$Bi_3O_4Cl$ originates from the hole $(h^+)$ transfer between VB of the $Bi_3O_4Cl$ and BiOCl semiconductors.

Solvent extraction experiments of Pt(IV), Pd(II) and Rh(III) by Alamine336 were performed from the mixed chloride solutions. In the HCl concentration range from 1 to 5 M, most of Pt and Pd were extracted from the mixed solutions. However, the extraction percentage of Rh was much smaller than that of Pt and Pd. Lower concentration of Alamine336 in strong HCl solution led to higher separation factor of Rh from Pt and Pd. Adding $SnCl_2$ to the mixed solutions increased the extraction percentage of Rh, while the extraction percentage of Pt and Pd was little affected. Our results showed that selective separation of Rh or coextraction of the three platinum group metals from the mixed solution would be possible by adjusting the extraction conditions.

A new blue light emitting anthracene derivative, 9,10-bis-(9',9'-diethyl-7'-t-butyl-fluoren-2'-yl)anthracene (BETF), has been designed and synthesized by a palladium catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling. A theoretical calculation of the three-dimensional structure of BETF supports that it has a non coplanar structure and inhibited intermolecular interactions resulting in high luminescent efficiency and high color purity. BETF has good thermal stability with glass-transition temperature (Tg) of $131^{\circ}C$. The PL maximum of BETF in solution and film were 438 nm and 440 nm, respectively, showing pure blue emission. A multilayer device using BETF as emitting material exhibits maximum luminescence efficiency of 2.2 cd/A and a pure blue emission (Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of x = 0.15, y = 0.10).

The formation of diverse spiral waves was studied in a polyacrylamide gel membrane with ruthenium(4-vinyl-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine)bis(2,2'-bipyridine)bis(hexafluorophosphate) by a gas-free Belousov-Zhabotinisky (BZ) reaction system containing 1,4-cyclohexanedione (1,4-CHD). The gel membrane was found to be receptive for observing propagating waves since a clearer wave-train is obtained during a long reaction time without any disturbance from the immobilized metal catalyst which can be dissolved into the highly acidic solution of the BZ system. The distinctive waves in the system basically depend on both $BrO_3$ and 1,4-CHD in the initial phase, and are influenced by the intensity of illumination of visible light.

The rates of solvolysis of 4-morpholinecarbonyl chloride (MPC) have measured at $35.0^{\circ}C$ in water, $D_2O$, $CH_3OD$, and in aqueous binary mixtures of acetone, ethanol, methanol, and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. An extended (two-term) Grunwald-Winstein equation correlation gave sensitivities towards changes in solvent nucleophilicity and solvent ionizing power as expected for a dissociative $S_N2$ and/or $S_N1$(ionization) pathway. For nine solvents specific rates were determined at two additional temperatures and higher enthalpies and smaller negative entropies of activation were observed, consistent with the typical dissociative $S_N2$ or $S_N1$(ionization) pathway. The solvent deuterium isotope effect values for the hydrolysis of MPC of $k_{H_2O}/k_{D_2O}$ = 1.27 and for the methanolysis of MPC of $k_{MeOH}/k_{MeOD}$ = 1.22 are typical magnitudes of the $S_N1$ or ionization mechanism.

Pt-Co alloy nanowire array was directly synthesized by electrochemical deposition with polycarbonate template at -1.0V and subsequent chemical etching of the template. The use of Pt-Co alloy nanowire array-modified electrode (Pt-Co NAE) for the determination of morphine (MO) is described. The morphology of the Pt-Co alloy nanowire array has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy disperse X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis), respectively. The resulting Pt-Co NAE offered a linear amperometric response for morphine ranging from $2.35\times10^{-5}$ to $2.39\times10^{-3}$ M with a detection limit of $7.83\times10^{-6}$ M at optimum conditions. This sensor displayed high sensitivity and long-term stability.

The electronic and adsorption structure of o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) on the H-Si(100) surface was investigated by using Near Edge X-ray Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and high resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES). We confirmed that the OPA grown on the H-Si(100) surface showed good dependency with about 60 degree tilting angle using NEXAFS and a single O 1s peak by using HRPES. Hydrogen atom passivated on the Si(100) surface was found to be a seed for making one dimensional organic line that uses a chain reaction as the H-Si(100) surface was compared with the hydrogen free Si(100) surface.

A simple and reliable method has been developed to selectively separate and concentrate trace amounts of Fe(III) ions from water and food samples by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. A new reagent, 5-hydroxy-4-ethyl-5,6-di-pyridin-2-yl-4,5-dihydro-2H-[1,2,4] triazine-3-thione, was synthesized and characterized by using FT-IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Effects of pH, concentration and volume of elution solution, sample flow rate, sample volume and interfering ions on the recovery of Fe(III) were investigated. The optimum pH was found to be 5. Eluent for quantitative elution was 10 mL of 2 M HCl. The preconcentration factor of the method, detection limit (3s/b, ${\mu}gL^{-1}$) and relative standard deviation values were found to be 25, 4.59 and 1%, respectively. In order to verify the accuracy of the method, two certified reference materials (TMDA 54.4 lake water and SRM 1568a rice flour) were analyzed. The results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Fe(III) ions in water and food samples.

A novel composite (Ag-CNT/$TiO_2$) of silver treated carbon nanotubes (Ag-CNT) and $TiO_2$ was synthesized via wet chemistry followed by a heat treatment. The dispersion and structure of the silver in the synthesized composites determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). XRD patterns of the composites showed that the composites contained a mixing anatase and rutile phase. The EDX spectra showed the presence of C, O, Ti and Ag peaks. The $TiO_2$ particles were distributed uniformly in the CNT network, and silver particles were virtually fixed on the surface of the tube. The photocatalysis degraded behaviors of the Ag-CNT/$TiO_2$ composites of the methylene blue, which increased with an increase of the silver component. The Ag-CNT/$TiO_2$ composites have excellent antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli (E. Coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. Aeru) and Bacillus subtilis (B. Sub) under visible light.

4-Amino-1,2,4-triazole copper complex (4-ATzCu) was synthesized, and its thermal behaviors, nonisothermal decomposition reaction kinetics were studied by DSC and TG-DTG techniques. The thermal decomposition reaction kinetic equation was obtained as: $d\alpha$ / dt =$10^{22.01}$ (1-$\alpha$)[-ln(1-$\alpha$)]$^{1/3}$ exp($-2.75\times10^4$ /T). The standard mole specific heat capacity of the complex was determined and the standard molar heat capacity is 305.66 $J{\cdot}mol^{-1}{\cdot}K^{-1}$ at 298.15 K. The entropy of activation $({\Delta}S^{\neq})$, enthalpy of activation $({\Delta}H^{\neq})$, and Gibbs free energy of activation $({\Delta}G^{\neq})$ are calculated as 171.88 $J{\cdot}mol^{-1}{\cdot}K^{-1}$ 225.81 $kJ{\cdot}mol^{-1}$ and 141.18 $kJ{\cdot}mol^{-1}$, and the adiabatic time-to-explosion of the complex was obtained as 389.20 s.

Silver nanoparticles has been prepared by the $\gamma$-irradiation and in situ reduction methods. Based on the Raman spectra, TEM images, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns and UV-vis spectra, the in situ reduction method is more stable and the average size of the silver nanoparticles is also smaller than by the $\gamma$-irradiation reduction method. It is identified that the silver ions interacting with nonbonding electrons of oxygen atom in the carbonyl group of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) by the in situ reduction method. It is also found advantages of the in situ reduction method including no additional reducing agents, without $\gamma$-irradiations treatment and the room temperature treatment suitability.

ZnSe and ZnS:Mn nanocrystals were synthesized via the thermal decomposition of their corresponding organometallic precursors in a hot coordinating solvent (TOP/TOPO) mixture. The organic surface capping agents were substituted with EDTA molecules to impart hydrophilic surface properties to the resulting nanocrystals. The optical properties of the water-dispersible nanocrystals were analyzed by UV-visible and room temperature solution photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The solution PL spectra revealed emission peaks at 390 (ZnSe-EDTA) and 597 (ZnS:Mn-EDTA) nm with PL efficiencies of 4.0 (former) and 2.4% (latter), respectively. Two-photon spectra were obtained by fixing the excitation light source wavelengths at 616 nm (ZnSe-EDTA) and 560 nm (ZnS:Mn-EDTA). The emission peaks appeared at the same positions to that of the PL spectra but with lower peak intensity. In addition, the morphology and sizes of the nanocrystals were estimated from the corresponding HR-TEM images. The measured average particle sizes were 5.4 nm (ZnSe-EDTA) with a standard deviation of 1.2 nm, and 4.7 nm (ZnS:Mn-EDTA) with a standard deviation of 0.8 nm, respectively.

A new class of halobenzyloxy or alkoxy 1,2,4-triazoles and their hydrochlorides were synthesized through cyclization starting from commercially available phenylhydrazine. The structures were characterized by MS, IR and $^1H$ NMR spectra as well as elemental analyses. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial activities in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (N315), Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli (ATCC25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella dysenteriae, Eberthella typhosa, and antifungal activities against Candida albicans (ATCC76615), Aspergillus fumigatus by broth microdilution assay method. The results of preliminary bioassay indicated that 3-(2,4-difluorobenzyloxy)-1-phenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole hydrochloride exhibited the best inhibitory activity with an MIC value of 56.25 ${\mu}M$ against P. aeruginosa superior to Chloramphenicol, and showed comparable activity with Chloramphenicol against E. coli (ATCC25922).

The fluorescence intensity of a single-stranded oligonucleotide containing a fluorene-labeled deoxyuridine $(U^{Fl})$ unit increases by only 1.5-fold upon formation of its perfectly matched duplex. To increase the fluorescence signal during hybridization, we positioned a quencher strand containing a deoxyguanine (dG) nucleobase, functioning as an internal quencher, opposite to the $U^{Fl}$ unit to reduce the intrinsic fluorescence upon hybridization with a probe. From an investigation of the optimal length of the quencher strand and the effect of the neighboring base sequence, we found that a short strand (five-nucleotide) containing all natural nucleotides and dG as an internal quencher was effective at reducing the intrinsic fluorescence of a linear beacon; it also exhibited high total discrimination factors for the formation of perfectly matched and single base-mismatched duplexes. Such assays that function based on clear changes in fluorescence in response to single-base nucleotide mutations would be useful tools for accelerating diagnoses related to various diseases.

Second-order rate constants $(k_{OH^-})$ have been measured spectrophotometrically for alkaline hydrolysis of Y-substituted phenyl phenyl carbonates (2a-j) and compared with the $k_{OH^-}$ values reported previously for the corresponding reactions of Y-substituted phenyl benzoates (1a-j). Carbonates 2a-j are 8~16 times more reactive than benzoates 1a-j. The Hammett plots correlated with $\sigma^-$ and $\sigma^o$ constants exhibit many scattered points, while the Yukawa-Tsuno plot results in excellent linear correlation with $\rho$ = 1.21 and $\gamma$ = 0.33. Thus, the reaction has been concluded to proceed through a concerted mechanism in which expulsion of the leaving group is advanced only a little. However, one cannot exclude a possibility that the current reaction proceeds through a forced concerted mechanism with a highly unstable intermediate.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP-5) plays an important role in controlling cell survival, differentiation and apoptosis. Apoptosis can be induced by an extrinsic pathway involving the ligand-mediated activation of death receptors such as tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1). To determine whether IGFBP-5 and TNFR1 interact as members of the same apoptosis pathway, recombinant IGFBP-5 and TNFR1 were isolated. The expression and purification of the full-length TNFR1 and truncated IGFBP-5 proteins were successfully performed in E. coli. The binding of both IGFBP-5 and TNFR1 proteins was detected by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (BIAcore), fluorescence measurement, electron microscopy, and size-exclusion column (SEC) chromatography. IGFBP-5 indeed binds to TNFR1 with an apparent $K_D$ of 9 nM. After measuring the fluorescence emission spectra of purified IGFBP-5 and TNFR1, it was found that the tight interaction of these proteins is accompanied by significant conformational changes of one or both. These results indicate that IGFBP-5 acts potently as a novel ligand for TNFR1.

When $Cu^{2+}$ was used as an electron acceptor, removal of $Cu^{2+}$ was achieved from the synthesized wastewater (SW) in the cathode compartment of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). By addition of $KNO_3$, the different initial pH of the SW showed no effect on the removal efficiency of $Cu^{2+}$. For $Cu^{2+}$ concentration of 50 mg/L the removal efficiencies were found to be 99.82%, 99.95%, 99.58%, and 99.97% for the $KNO_3$ concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mM, and to be 99.4%, 99.9%, 99.7%, and 99.7% for pH values of 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. More than 99% $Cu^{2+}$ was removed for the $Cu^{2+}$ concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 mg/L, while only 60.1% of $Cu^{2+}$ was removed for the initial concentration of 200 mg/L (pH 3). The maximum power density was affected by both $KNO_3$ concentration and initial concentration of $Cu^{2+}$. It was increased by a factor of 1.5 (from 96.2 to 143.6 mW/$m^2$) when the $KNO_3$ concentration was increased from 0 to 200 mM (50 mg/L $Cu^{2+}$), and by a factor of 2.7 (from 118 to 319 mW/$m^2$) when $Cu^{2+}$ concentration was increased from 10 to 200 mg/L (pH 3).

A triple-probe channel type chemosensor based on an $NO_2S_2$-macrocycle functionalized with phenyltricyanovinyl group was synthesized and its sensing characteristics were examined. The pink-red solution of L changed selectively to pale yellow upon addition of $Hg^{2+}$. The selective fluorometric response of L to all the tested metal ions was studied. The results showed that a large enhancement of the fluorescence of L was observed only in the case of $Hg^{2+}$. In addition, L showed large anodic shift (~ 0.3 V) for the addition of excess $Hg^{2+}$. Through above three observed results by the different techniques, we confirmed that the proposed chemosensor acts as the multiple-probe channel sensing material. The crystal structure of mercury(II) nitrate complexs of L which shows a 1-D polymer network with a formula $[Hg_2(L)_2(NO_3)_2({\mu}-NO_3)_2]_n$ was also reported.