We present a brief review for theoretical/computational studies of proton transfer processes of some simple biomolecules promoted by microsolvating water molecules. Focus is given on the relative stability of the canonical vs. zwitterionic forms of amino acids, tautomeric forms of the DNA base adenine, and the biologically active vs. inactive forms of nicotine. The biochemical implications of these findings are also discussed.

Ordered array of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) over ITO glass was investigated in terms of ITO pretreatment, particle size, and diamines with different chain length. Owing to the indium-tin-oxide (ITO) layer coated on the glass, the substrate surface has a limited number of hydroxyl groups which can produce functionalized amine groups for Au binding, which resulted in the loosely-packed array of Au NPs on the ITO surface. Diamine ligand as a molecular linker was introduced to enhance the lateral binding of adjacent Au NPs immobilized on the amine-functionalized ITO glass, consequently leading to the densely-packed array of Au NPs over the ITO substrate. The molecular bridging effect was strengthened with the increase of chain length of diamines: C-12 > C-8. The packing density of small Au NPs (< 40 nm) was significantly increased with the increase of C-8 diamine, but large Au NPs (> 60 nm) did not produce densely-packed array on the ITO glass even for the dosage of C-12 diamine.

Kinetic studies for the reactions of Y-aryl phenyl chlorothiophosphates with X-pyridines have been carried out in acetonitrile at $35.0^{\circ}C$. The Hammett and Bronsted plots for substituent X variations in the nucleophiles are biphasic concave upwards with a break point at X = 3-Ph, while the Hammett plots for substituent Y variations in the substrates are biphasic concave downwards (and partially upwards) with a break point at Y = H. The signs and magnitudes of the cross-interaction constant (${\rho}_{XY}$) are strongly dependent upon the nature of substituents, X and Y. The proposed mechanism is a stepwise process with a rate-limiting step change from bond breaking with the weaker electrophiles to bond formation with the stronger eletrophiles. The nonlinear free energy correlations of biphasic concave upward plots for substituent X variations in the nucleophiles are rationalized by a change in the attacking direction of the nucleophile from a backside with less basic pyridines to a frontside attack with more basic pyridines.

The synthesis of novel iminecalix[4]arenes and further modification thereafter is described using a synthetic strategy. The reaction of the benzaldehyde derivatives with tetraamine functions on the calix[4]arene easily afforded the pure compounds in 92.4-95.7% yields, regardless of the effect of the substituents on the benzaldehyde derivatives. These compounds were stable under the conditions to obtain their analogue dialkylated in the narrow rim, with 83.2-89.9% yields. Characterization of the newly synthesized iminecalix[4]arene derivatives by spectroscopic methods revealed that all compounds are in the cone conformations.

The discovery of 2'-spirocyclopropyl-ribocytidine (J. Med. Chem. 2010, 53, 8150-8160) as a potent inhibitor of RNA synthesis by NS5B ($IC_{50}=7.3{\mu}M$), the RNA polymerase encoded by hepatitis C Virus (HCV), has led to the synthesis and biological evaluation of several carbocyclic versions of 2'-spiropropyl-nucleosides. The cyclopentenol intermediate 7 was successfully constructed via ring-closing metathesis (RCM) from divinyl 6. Spirocyclopropanation of enone 8 was effected by using (2-chloroethyl)-dimethylsulfonium iodide and potassium tert-butoxide to form the desired intermediate 9. The synthesized nucleoside analogues 21-24 were assayed for their ability to inhibit HCV RNA replication in a subgenomic replicon Huh7 cell line. Among them, the cytosine nucleoside analogue 22 exhibited significant anti-HCV activity ($EC_{50}= 8.2{\mu}M$).

A kinetic study is reported for aminolysis of S-4-nitrophenyl X-substituted thiobenzoates 3a-g in 80 mol % $H_2O$/20 mol % DMSO at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. Thiol esters 3a-g are 7.8-47.6 fold more reactive than the corresponding oxygen esters (i.e., 4-nitrophenyl X-substituted benzoates 1a-g). Such reactivity order appears to be in accordance with the expectation that 4-nitrothiophenoxide in 3a-g is a better nucleofuge than 4-nitrophenoxide in 1a-g since the former is 2.64 pKa units less basic than the latter. Hammett plot for the reactions of 3a-g exhibit poor correlation coefficients ($R^2$ = 0.977-0.986) with negative deviation by substrates possessing an electrondonating group (EDG), while the Yukawa-Tsuno plots result in excellent linear correlation ($R^2$ = 0.995-0.997) with ${\rho}$ = 0.93-1.23 and r = 0.57-0.67, indicating that the negative deviation shown by substrates possessing an EDG is caused by ground-state stabilization through resonance interactions but not due to a change in ratedetermining step upon changing the nonleaving-group substituent X. The ${\rho}$ value increases as the incoming amine becomes more basic and more reactive, indicating that the RSP is not operative in the current reactions.

5-Methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT), a psychoactive tryptamine derivative, is a hallucinogenic drug of abuse. In this study, 5-OH-DIPT and its metabolites were identified and the quantitative method was developed and validated by using hydrophilic interaction chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HILICMS/MS). Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Atlantis HILIC silica column ($5{\mu}m$, $100{\times}2.1\;mm$). The metabolites of 5-MeO-DIPT in rat urine were characterized via Q1 scanning and product ion scanning. As a consequence, 5-MeO-IPT, 5-OH-DIPT, 6-OH-5-MeO-DIPT and their glucuronide conjugates were detected and identified as the metabolites of 5-MeO-DIPT. Subsequently, a quantitative method for 5-MeO-DIPT and its major metabolites, 5-MeO-IPT and 5-OH-DIPT, was developed in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode. The calibration curves for all analytes evidenced good linearity over the concentration range of 1-1000 ng/mL with linear correlation co-efficients ($r^2$) in excess of 0.99. The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision were 92.2-110.2% and 1.5-9.9%, respectively.

Second-order rate constants ($k_N$) have been measured spectrophotometrically for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2,4-dinitrophenyl phenyl thionocarbonate 4 with a series of Z-substituted pyridines in 80 mol % $H_2O$/20 mol % DMSO at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The Br${\o}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of 4 exhibits downward curvature (i.e., ${\beta}_1$ = 0.21 and ${\beta}_2$ = 1.04), indicating that the reactions proceed through a stepwise mechanism with a change in rate-determining step. It has been found that 4 is less reactive than its oxygen analogue, 2,4-dinitrophenyl phenyl carbonate 3, although the thionocarbonate is expected to be more electrophilic than its oxygen analogue. The $pK_a$ at the center of the Br${\o}$nsted curvature, defined as $pK_a^o$, has been analyzed to be 6.6 for the reactions of 4 and 8.5 for those of 3. Dissection of $k_N$ into the microscopic rate constants $k_1$ and $k_2/k_{-1}$ ratio has revealed that the reactions of 4 result in smaller $k_1$ values but larger $k_2/k_{-1}$ ratios than the corresponding reactions of 3. The larger $k_2/k_{-1}$ ratios have been concluded to be responsible for the smaller $pK_a^o$ found for the reactions of 4.

In the present study, the approach of high accuracy mass measurements for phospholipid identifications was evaluated using a 7 T ESI-FTMS/linear ion trap MS/MS. Experiments were carried out for porcine brain, bovine liver, and soybean total lipid extracts in both positive and negative ion modes. In total, 59, 55, and 18 phospholipid species were characterized in the positive ion mode for porcine brain, bovine liver, and soybean lipid extracts, respectively. Assigned lipid classes were PC, PE, PEt, PS, and SM. In the negative ion mode, PG, PS, PA, PE, and PI classes were observed. In the negative ion mode, for porcine brain, bovine liver, and soybean lipid extracts, 28, 34, and 29 species were characterized, respectively. Comparison of our results with those obtained by other groups using derivatization-LC-APCI MS and nano-RP-LC-MS/MS showed that our approach can characterize PC species as effectively as those methods could. In conclusion, we demonstrated that high accuracy mass measurements of total lipid extracts using a high resolution FTMS, particularly, 7T FTMS, plus ion-trap MS/MS are very useful in profiling lipid compositions in biological samples.

In the present work, successful implementation of ultrasound irradiations for the rapid synthesis of 1,5-benzodiazepine derivatives under solvent-free conditions is demonstrated. Use of a novel catalyst i.e. camphor sulphonic acid in combination with ultrasound technique is reported for the first time. Comparative study for the synthesis of 1,5-benzodiazepines using conventional as well as ultrasonication method is discussed.

The unique Br signature was utilized for C-terminal amino acid sequencing of model peptides. C-terminal carboxyl group was selectively derivatized in peptides, containing side chain carboxyl group, using 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and Br was introduced using 4-bromophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (BPH) in a one pot reaction. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) tandem mass spectra were obtained carrying the Br signature in the y-series ions. The Br signature facilitated C-terminal sequencing and discrimination of C-terminal carboxyl groups in the free acid and amide forms.

The hydrogen abstraction reaction of $CF_3CH_2CHO$ + OH has been studied theoretically by dual-level direct dynamics method. Two stable conformers, trans- and cis-$CF_3CH_2CHO$, have been located, and there are four distinct OH hydrogen-abstraction channels from t-$CF_3CH_2CHO$ and two channels from c-$CF_3CH_2CHO$. The required potential energy surface information for the kinetic calculation was obtained at the MCG3-MPWB//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The rate constants, which were calculated using improved canonical transitionstate theory with small-curvature tunneling correction (ICVT/SCT) were fitted by a four-parameter Arrhenius equation. It is shown that the reaction proceeds predominantly via the H-abstraction from the -CHO group over the temperature range 200-2000 K. The calculated rate constants were in good agreement with the experimental data between 263 and 358 K.

The catalytic enantioselective Mannich-type reaction promoted by chiral binaphthyl-modified bifunctional organocatalysts is described. The treatment of ${\alpha}$-fluoro-${\beta}$-ketoesters with N-Boc imines under mild reaction conditions afforded the corresponding ${\beta}$-aminated ${\alpha}$-fluoro-${\beta}$-ketoesters with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee).

A one-pot conversion of tertiary thioamides to S-2-oxo thioesters is reported. Hence, tertiary thioamides were reacted with ${\alpha}$-halo ketones or acids under solvent-free conditions to produce the corresponding oxo-thioesters in good to excellent yields.

Nanoscopic $Co_3O_4$ particles were prepared using avian egg membrane as a template at $800^{\circ}C$. The prepared materials were subjected to XRD, SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopic studies. Cyclic voltammetry study shows a single step oxidation and reduction process. Electrochemical lithium insertion behavior of the materials was examined in coin cells of the 2032 configuration. The material showed a discharge capacity 600mAh/g even after 20 cycles.

The synthesis of the series of pyrimidinylamines 1a-d and pyrimidinylureas 1e-u bearing a novel pyridinylcarbonylpyrimidine scaffold and their antiproliferative activities against A375 human melanoma cell line were described. Among them, three compounds 1e, 1h, and 1o showed superior antiproliferative activities to Sorafenib ($IC_{50}=5.5{\mu}M$) as a reference compound. In our series, urea compound 1o having 4-chloro-3-trifluoromethyl moiety on the benzene nucleus exhibited very good antiproliferative activity with $IC_{50}$ value of $1.4{\mu}M$.

An electrochemically-modified electrode [P(EDOP-SWNTs)/GCE] was prepared by electropolymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxy pyrrole (EDOP) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and characterized by SEM, CV, and DPV. This modified electrode was employed as an electrochemical biosensor for the selective determination of serotonin concentrations at pH 7.4 and exhibited a typical enhanced effect on the current response of serotonin with a lower oxidation overpotential. The linear response was in the range of $1.0{\times}10^{-7}$ to $1.0{\times}10^{-5}$ M, with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 on the anodic current. The lower detection limit was calculated as 5.0 nM. Due to the relatively low currents and difference of potentials in the electrochemical responses of uric acid (UA), ascorbic acid (AA), and dopamine (DA), the modified electrode was a useful and effective sensing device for the selective and sensitive serotonin determination in the presence of UA, AA, and DA.

Ethyl pyruvate (EP) is known as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the body through its role in the donation of diketone groups to metals to form an EP-metal complex. In order to develop a method for the quantification of EP in biological media, a sensitive and specific, high-performance liquid chromatographyelectrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MS) method is used to determine the EP-alkali metal ion binding species. The analyte was separated on a ZORBOX SB-C8 ($3.5{\mu}m$, $30mm{\times}2.1mm$ I.D.) column and analyzed in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode with a positive ESI interface using the m/z 255 $[2M + Na]^+$ ion. The method was validated over the concentration range of $0.5-60.0\;{\mu}g$/mL under 1/9 (v/v) of acetonitrile/methanol solvent system with flow rate 0.05 mL/min. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was $0.5{\mu}g$/mL.

A new amine receptor 2 utilizing anthracene and nitrophenyl group as signaling group was designed and synthesized. The receptor 2 only utilizes four amine N-H's and 9-anthracenyl hydrogen to bind anions. The receptor 2 can bind anions through hydrogen bonds with a selectivity of $CH_3CO_2^-$ > $H_2PO_4^-$ > $F^-$ > $C_6H_5CO_2^-$ > $Cl^-$ in highly polar solvent such as DMSO without protonation of amine.

Chiral discrimination is the ability to distinguish one enantiomeric form over another. The differential binding interaction between two molecules with the same helicity and those with the opposite helicity was investigated by using dispersion-corrected density functional theory. [5]helicene, tetrahydro[5]helicene and the polar D-${\pi}$-A compounds, 3,12-dimethoxy-7,8-dicyano-[5]helicene and 3,12-dimethoxy-7,8-dicyano-tetrahydro[5]helicene were the monomers considered in this study. In gas phase, the dimeric interaction from two helical molecules with the opposite handedness is greater than from those with the same handedness. The stable configurations of such dimers were identified. The most stable configuration tends to be the one with maximum contact between monomers.

In this study, we have developed a ligand-based in-silico prediction model to classify chemical structures into hERG blockers using Bayesian and random forest modeling methods. These models were built based on patch clamp experimental results. The findings presented in this work indicate that Laplacian-modified naive Bayesian classification with diverse selection is useful for predicting hERG inhibitors when a large data set is not obtained.

Three dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSARs) between new thiosemicarbazone analogues (1-31) as a substrate molecule and their inhibitory activity against tyrosinase as a receptor were performed and discussed quantitatively using CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) and CoMSIA (comparative molecular similarity indices analysis) methods. According to the optimized CoMSIA 2 model obtained from the above procedure, inhibitory activities were mainly dependent upon H-bond acceptor favored field (36.5%) of substrate molecules. The optimized CoMSIA 2 model, with the sensitivity of the perturbation and the prediction, produced by a progressive scrambling analysis was not dependent on chance correlation. From molecular docking studies, it is supposed that the inhibitory activation of the substrate molecules against tyrosinase (PDB code: 1WX2) would not take place via uncompetitive inhibition forming a chelate between copper atoms in the active site of tyrosinase and thiosemicarbazone moieties of the substrate molecules, but via competitive inhibition based on H-bonding.

Inhibition of BACE 1 activity is considered as a promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Synthesis and inhibitory activities of (4-arylpiperazinyl)piperidines by bioisosteric replacement of a biaryl group with an arylpiperazine as BACE 1 inhibitors are described. The resulting (4-arylpiperazinyl)piperidines represent novel nonpeptide BACE 1 inhibitors with improved in vitro potency.

The surface structures, adsorption conditions, and thermal desorption behaviors of cyclopentanethiol (CPT) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). STM imaging revealed that although the adsorption of CPT on Au(111) at room temperature generates disordered SAMs, CPT molecules at $50^{\circ}C$ formed well-ordered SAMs with a $(2{\surd}3{\times}{\surd}5)R41^{\circ}$ packing structure. XPS measurements showed that CPT SAMs at room temperature were formed via chemical reactions between the sulfur atoms and gold surfaces. TDS measurements showed two dominant TD peaks for the decomposed fragments ($C_5H_9^+$, m/e = 69) generated via C-S bond cleavage and the parent molecular species ($C_5H_9SH^+$, m/e = 102) derived from a recombination of the chemisorbed thiolates and hydrogen atoms near 440 K. Interestingly, dimerization of sulfur atoms in n-alkanethiol SAMs usually occurs during thermal desorption and the same reaction did not happen for CPT SAMs, which may be due to the steric hindrance of cyclic rings of the CPT molecules. In this study, we demonstrated that the alicyclic ring of organic thiols strongly affected the surface structure and thermal desorption behavior of SAMs, thus providing a good method for controlling chemical and physical properties of organic thiol SAMs.

A new organogelator, L-Alanine dihydrazide derivative can self-assemble in various organic solvents and turned them into thermally reversible physical supramolecular organogels at extremely low concentrations (< 2 wt %). The gel-sol phase transition temperatures ($T_{GS}$) were determined as a function of gelator concentration and the corresponding enthalpies (${\Delta}H_g$) were extracted. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements revealed that the interspaces of fiber-like network structures were diminished with the increasing of the LMOG concentration. FT-IR spectroscopy studies revealed that hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interaction were the driving forces for the formation of the gels. Based on the data of XRD and molecular modeling, the possible packing modes for the formation of organogelator aggregates were proposed.

Novel binol-based uryl and guanidinium receptors having higher ring conjugation at the periphery of the hydrogen bonding donor sites have been synthesized and utilized to study the enantioselective recognition of 1,2-aminoalcohols and chirality conversion of natural amino acids via imine bond formation. There is a remarkable decrease in the stereoselectivites as the conjugation increases at the periphery of hydrogen bonding donor sites. The guanidinium-based receptors show more selectivity towards the amino alcohol than that of the uryl based ones due to its charge reinforced hydrogen bonds. The conversion efficiency of L-amino acids to Damino acids by the uryl-based receptors is higher than that of the guanidinium-based ones.

The specific rates of solvolysis of phenyl fluorothionoformate (PhOCSF, 1) have been determined in 22 pure and binary solvents at $10.0^{\circ}C$. The extended Grunwald-Winstein equation has been applied to the specific rates of solvolysis of 1 over the full range of solvents. The sensitivities (l = $1.32{\pm}0.13$ and m = $0.39{\pm}0.08$) toward the changes in solvent nucleophilicity and solvent ionizing power, and the $k_F/k_{Cl}$ values are similar to those previously observed for solvolyses of acyl haloformate esters, consistent with the addition step of an additionelimination pathway being rate-determining. The large negative values for the entropies of activation are consistent with the bimolecular nature of the proposed rate-determining step. The results are compared with those reported earlier for phenyl chloroformate and chlorothionoformate esters and mechanistic conclusions are drawn.

Laponite samples intercalated with $Tb^{3+}$ or $Tb^{3+},Ce^{3+}$ ions were prepared by exchange of Na+ ions in interlayers with $Tb^{3+}$ or $Ce^{3+}$ ions. Strong green and weak blue emissions under vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excitation (${\lambda}$ = 158 nm) were observed due to the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ and $^5D_3{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ emission lines, respectively. $Tb^{3+}$ ions in an interlayer of laponite mainly existed in ion pairs or clusters, as evidenced by the concentration-dependent luminescence of the $Tb^{3+}$ ions on the relative intensities of the $^5D_3{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ and the $^5D_4{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ emission lines, due to the action of a cross-relaxation process. The addition of $Ce^{3+}$ ions increased the thermal stability of $Tb^{3+}$ intercalated laponite up to $650^{\circ}C$ and quenched the $^5D_3{\rightarrow}^7F_J$ emission lines, probably by promoting the formation of $Tb^{3+}$ ion pairs at relatively low $Tb^{3+}$ concentrations.

Making use of chitosan (CS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a reaction system, CS-EDTA nanoparticles were synthesized through a facile counterion complex coacervation method. $Ag^+$ could enter porous CS nanoparticles synthesized with this method, allowing Ag nanoparticles within chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized by reducing silver nitrate with chitosan. Because of the noncovalent interaction between CS and EDTA, the EDTA could be easily removed via dialysis against water, and pure core/shell-type Ag/CS nanoparticles could be obtained. The nanoparticles showed higher antibacterial activity toward E. coli than the active precursor Ag nanoparticles and CS.

The biotin-attached G8 molecular transporter (5) was synthesized and used together with quantum dots in preparing the complexes (QD-MT). The QD-MT complexes were studied in terms of the cellular uptake and the internalization mechanism in live HeLa cells with the aid of various known endocytosis inhibitors. It has been concluded that the QD-MT complex is internalized largely by macropinocytosis. The mouse tissue distribution of the QD-MT complex by i.p. and i.v. routes showed some organ selectivity and a good ability to cross the BBB.

To improve the biological activities of rupestonic acid, 21 new rupestonic acid fatty ester derivatives (2a-2h) and aromatic ester derivatives (2i-2u) were synthesized and preliminarily evaluated for their anti-influenza activity in vitro by the national center for drug screening of China, using the Oseltamivir and Ribavirin as reference drugs. The results showed that 2l ($IC_{50}=0.5{\mu}mol/L$) exhibited potent anti-influenza $A_3$ viral activity among the synthesized compounds and was 10-fold more potent than that of the reference drug Oseltamivir ($IC_{50}=5.1{\mu}mol/L$).

This study describes the development of an electrochemical array immunochip for the detection of IgG. Interdigitated immunochip platforms were fabricated by sputtering gold on a glass wafer by using MEMS process and then were coated with Eudragit S100, an enteric polymer, forming an insulating layer over the working area of immunochips. The breakdown of the polymer layer was exemplified by the catalytic action of urease which, in the presence of urea, caused an alkaline pH change. This subsequently caused an increase of the double layer capacitance of the underlying electrode. Used in conjunction with a competitive immunoassay format, this allowed the ratio of initial to final electrode capacitance to be directly linked with the concentration of analyte, i.e. IgG. Responses to IgG could be detected at IgG concentration as low as $250\;ngmL^{-1}$ and showed good linearity up to IgG concentration as high as $20\;{\mu}gmL^{-1}$.

Melt copolymerization reactions of bis(diethylamino)tetramethyldisiloxane with several aryldiols were carried out to afford poly(carbotetramethyldisiloxane)s containing fluorescent aromatic chromophore groups in the polymer main chain: poly{oxy(4,4'-biphenylene)oxytetramethyldisiloxane}, poly{oxy(1,4-phenylene)oxytetramethyldisiloxane}, poly[oxy{(4,4'-isopropylidene)diphenylene}oxytetramethyldisiloxane], poly[oxy{(4,4'-hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphenylene}oxytetramethyldisiloxane], poly{oxy(2,6-naphthalene)oxytetramethyldisiloxane}, poly[oxy{4,4'-(9-fluorenylidene)diphenylene}oxytetramethyldisiloxane], poly{oxy(fluorene-9,9-dimethylene)oxytetramethyldisiloxane}, and poly[oxy{4,4'-(9-fluorenylidene)bis(2-phenoxyethylene)}oxytetramethyldisiloxane]. These materials are soluble in common organic solvents such as $CHCl_3$ and THF. The FTIR spectra of all the polymers exhibit the characteristic Si-O-C stretching frequencies at 1021-1082 $cm^{-1}$. In the THF solution, the polymeric materials show strong maximum absorption peaks at 215-311 nm, with strong maximum excitation peaks at 250-310 nm, and strong maximum fluorescence emission bands at 310-360 nm. TGA thermograms indicate that most of the polymers are stable up to $200^{\circ}C$ with a weight loss of less than 10% in nitrogen.

Sodium beta-alumina (SBA) nano-powders were synthesized by the citrate sol-gel process, and the effects of the cationic surfactant n-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant (CTAB) were investigated. The structure and morphology of the nano-powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques, respectively. The effects of CTAB on the citrate sol-gel process and the SBA formation were investigated by thermo gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The conductivity of ceramic pellets of SBA was measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the CTAB inhibited the agglomeration of SBA powders effectively and consequently decreased the crystallization temperature of SBA, about $150^{\circ}C$ lower than that of the sample without CTAB. The measured conductivity of SBA was $1.21{\times}10^{-2}S{\cdot}cm^{-1}$ at $300^{\circ}C$.

Whey protein (WP) is a mixture of proteins, and is of high nutritional values. WP has become an important source of functional ingredients in various health-promoting foods. In this study, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) were used for separation and analysis of whey proteins. It was found that a lab-prepared WP from raw milk is mostly of ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin with small amount of higher molecular weight components, while a commercial whey protein isolate (WPI) powder contains relatively larger amount of components other than ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin, including IgG and protein aggregates. Results suggest that AsFlFFF provides higher resolution for the major whey proteins than SEC in their normal operation conditions. AsFlFFF could differentiate the BSA and Albumin, despite a small difference in their molecular weights, and also was able to separate much smaller amount of aggregates from monomers. It is noted that SEC was able to show the presence of low molecular weight components other than the major whey proteins in the WP samples, which AsFlFFF could not show, probably due to the partial loss of those low molecular weight species through the membrane.

In this work, the effects of different surface functional groups on the elemental mercury adsorption of porous carbons modified by chemical treatments were investigated. The surface properties of the treated carbons were observed by Boehm's titration and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the textural properties, including specific surface area and pore structures, slightly decreased after the treatments, while the oxygen content of the ACs was predominantly enhanced. Elemental mercury adsorption behaviors of the acidtreated ACs were found to be four or three times better than those of non-treated ACs or base-treated ACs, respectively. This result indicates that the different compositions of surface functional groups can lead to the high elemental mercury adsorption capacity of the ACs. In case of the acid-treated ACs, the $R_{C=O}/R_{C-O}$ and $R_{COOH}/R_{C-O}$ showed higher values than those of other samples, indicating that there is a considerable relationship between mercury adsorption and surface functional groups on the ACs.

Dehydration of 1-phenylethanol to produce styrene has been studied in liquid phase with three solid acid catalysts such as H-ZSM-5, H-Y and Amberlyst-15. Amberlyst-15 shows the highest conversion and styrene yield, suggesting the applicability of a resin catalyst in the dehydration. The good performance of the Amberlyst-15 may be due to high acid concentration and ready diffusion of reactants and products. A possible reaction scheme (such as the formation of styrene from diphenylethylether) has also been suggested.

We report the results of the characterization of Cu oxide thin films deposited by radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering at different annealing temperatures. The deposited Cu oxide thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, Xray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. The thickness of the films was about 180 nm and the monoclinic CuO phase was detected. The $CuO_2$ and $Cu(OH)_2$ phases were grown as amorphous phase and the ratio of the three phases were independent on the annealing temperature. The surface of Cu oxide films changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic as the annealing temperature increased. This phenomenon is due to the increase of the surface roughness. The direct optical band gap was also obtained and laid in the range between 2.36 and 3.06 eV.

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the transport properties of self-diffusion coefficients in the penetrable-sphere model system. The resulting simulation data for the product of the packing fraction and the self-diffusion coefficient exhibit a transition from an increasing function of density in lower repulsive systems, where the soft-type collisions are dominant, to a decreasing function in higher repulsive systems, where most particle collisions are the hard-type reflections due to the low-penetrability effects. A modified Enskog-like equation implemented by the effective packing fraction with the mean-field energy correction is also proposed, and this heuristic approximation yields a reasonably good result even in systems of high densities and high repulsive energy barriers.

A novel ruthenium(II) complex, [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] has been synthesized by the condensation of $RuCl_2(DMSO)_4$ with (1-(1,10-phenanthrolinyl)-2,5-di(2-thienyl)-1H-pyrrole)[PhenTPy] in $CHCl_3$ solution. The [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] complex modified electrode was fabricated through the electropolymerization of the monomer in a 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP)/$CH_2Cl_2$ solution, to take advantage of the electronic communication between metal ion center by the conjugated backbone. The UV-visible spectroscopy (UV), mass spectrometry (MS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were employed to characterize the [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] complex and its polymer (poly-Ru(II)Phen complex). The poly-Ru(II)Phen complex modified electrode exhibited an electrocatalytic activity to the oxidation of acetaminophen and the catalytic property was used for the analysis of acetaminophen at the concentration range between 0.09 and 0.01 mM in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0).