Metabolic analysis of CR6 interacting factor 1 (Crif1) deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts with impaired oxidative phosphorylation has been carried out using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS methods. Metabolic profiles of the Crif1 deficient cells were comprehensively obtained for the first time. Loss of oxidative phosphorylation functions in mitochondria resulted in cancer-like metabolic reprogramming with consumption of majority of glucose carbon from up-regulated glycolysis to produce lactate, suppressed utilization of glucose carbon in the TCA cycle, increased amounts of amino acids. The changes in metabolic profile of the Crif1 deficient cells are most probably a consequence of metabolic reprogramming to meet the needs of energy balance and anabolic precursors in compensation for the loss of major oxidative phosphorylation functions.

Potassium N-heterobiaryltrifluoroborates were successfully prepared via a selective Cu-catalyzed C-N coupling reaction. The $BF_3K$ moiety was well tolerated under the reaction conditions involving CuI and dimethyl-ethylenediamine (DMEDA) in the presence of DMSO. The Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross couplings of potassium N-heterobiaryltrifluoroborates with bromoarenes were studied to prepare the N-heterotriaryl compounds. Moreover, homocoupling, iodination, and hydroxylation of potassium N-heterobiaryltrifluoroborates provided the corresponding products in high yields.

Second-order rate constants have been measured spectrophotometrically for the reactions of phenyl Y-substituted-phenyl carbonates 7a-g with butane-2,3-dione monoximate ($Ox^-$) in 80 mol % $H_2O$/20 mol % DMSO at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The ${\alpha}$-nucleophile $Ox^-$ is 53-95 times more reactive than the corresponding normal-nucleophile 4-$ClPhO^-$ toward 7a-g, indicating that the ${\alpha}$-effect is operative. The magnitude of the ${\alpha}$-effect (e.g., the $k_{Ox^-}/k_{4-ClPhO^-}$ ratio) is independent of the electronic nature of the substituent Y. The cause of the ${\alpha}$-effect for the reactions of 7a-g has been suggested to be ground-state (GS) effect rather than transition-state (TS) stabilization through a six-membered cyclic TS, in which $Ox^-$ behaves a general acid/base catalyst. This idea is further supported by the result that $OH^-$ exhibits negative deviation from the linear Br${\o}$nsted-type plot composed of a series of aryloxides, while $Ox^-$ deviates positively from the linearity. Differential solvation of the GS of $Ox^-$ and 4-$ClPhO^-$ has been suggested to be responsible for the ${\alpha}$-effect exerted by $Ox^-$.

Licochalcones, derived from the dried roots of Glycyrrhiza inflata, have been reported to show various biological activities including antitumor, antiparasitic, antileishmanial, antioxidative, superoxide scavenging, antibacterial, and PTP1B activity. Licochalcone D has an allyl group on ring A instead of ring B, however, most other natural licochalcones possess the group on ring B. Total synthesis of licochalcone D has not been reported even possessing the strongest anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, the first total synthesis of licochalcone D has been developed by using water-accelerated [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement method.

Spinel $LiMn_{1.5}Ni_{0.5}O_4$ cathode powders with different morphologies were synthesized by a co-precipitation method using oxalic acid. The calcination temperature affected the morphologies, crystalline structure and electrochemical properties of the $LiMn_{1.5}Ni_{0.5}O_4$ powders. The $LiMn_{1.5}Ni_{0.5}O_4$ powders obtained at a calcination temperature of $850^{\circ}C$ exhibited the highest initial discharge capacity with good capacity retention and high rate capability.

A bottom-modified (4-position) naphthalimide derivative 1 with 1,8-naphthyridine as binding site has been designed and synthesized. Compound 1 is the first 1,8-naphthyridine-modified naphthalimide-based sensor that can detect $Hg^{2+}$ selectively with respect to ratiometric fluorescent change and blue shift in organic aqueous solution. The Job's plot and FAB mass indicate that 1 formed a 1:1 complex with $Hg^{2+}$. A top-modified naphthalimide derivative 2 with 1,8-naphthyridin as binding site has also been synthesized for comparison.

The surface enhanced Raman spectrum of juglone, a traditional natural dye, has been observed by a custom-built micro-Raman setup. The spectral features of juglone significantly differ from those of lawsone, a structural isomer of juglone; only small red shifts of the double bond stretching bands are observed, and strong SERS bands are observed in the lower frequency regions as well. The DFT computations reveal that juglone coordinated to an $Ag^+$ adatom with $H^+$ release best correlates with the observed vibrational characteristics in the SERS spectrum among the plausible configurations of juglone coordinated to an adatom on the Ag surface, in line with the previously studied lawsone case. The differences in the SERS spectra of juglone and lawsone are attributed to the different locations of the hydroxyl group in the two isomers.

Asymmetric synthesis of (+)-trans-aerangis lactone was achieved from commercially available 1-hexanol or 1-hexanal in four steps via iridium-catalyzed diastereoselective and enantioselective carbonyl crotylation from the alcohol or aldehyde oxidation level, and ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis.

$LiFePO_4$ is a promising active material (AM) suitable for use in high performance lithium-ion batteries used in automotive applications that require high current capabilities and a high degree of safety and reliability. In this study, an optimization of the electrode design parameters was performed to produce high capacity lithium-ion batteries based on $LiFePO_4$/graphite electrodes. The electrode thickness and porosity (AM density) are the two most important design parameters influencing the cell capacity. We quantified the effects of cathode thickness and porosity ($LiFePO_4$ electrode) on cell performance using a detailed one-dimensional electrochemical model. In addition, the effects of those parameters were experimentally studied through various coin cell tests. Based on the numerical and experimental results, the optimal ranges for the electrode thickness and porosity were determined to maximize the cell capacity of the $LiFePO_4$/graphite lithium-ion batteries.

Layered $Li_{1+x}(Mn_{0.4}Ni_{0.4}Fe_{0.2})_{1-x}O_2$ (0 < x < 0.3) solid solutions were synthesized using solgel method with adipic acid as chelating agent. Structural and electrochemical properties of the prepared powders were examined by means of X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling. All powders had a phase-pure layered structure with $R\bar{3}m$ space group. The morphological studies confirmed that the size of the particles increased at higher x content. The charge-discharge profiles of the solid solution against lithium using 1 M $LiPF_6$ in EC/DMC as electrolyte revealed that the discharge capacity increases with increasing lithium content at the 3a sites. Among the cells, $Li_{1.2}(Mn_{0.32}Ni_{0.32}Fe_{0.16})O_2$ (x = 0.2)/$Li^+$ exhibits a good electrochemical property with maximum initial capacity of 160 $mAhg^{-1}$ between 2-4.5 V at 0.1 $mAcm^{-2}$ current density and the capacity retention after 25 cycles was 92%. Whereas, the cell fabricated with x = 0.3 sample showed continuous capacity fading due to the formation of spinel like structure during the subsequent cycling. The preparation of solid solutions based on $LiNiO_2-LiFeO_2-Li_2MnO_3$ has improved the properties of its end members.

The photoluminescence (PT) properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films grown by the sol-gel dip-coating method have been investigated. At 12 K, nine distinct PL peaks were observed at 2.037, 2.592, 2.832, 3.027, 3.177, 3.216, 3.260, 3.303, and 3.354 eV. The deep-level emissions (2.037, 2.592, 2.832, and 3.027 eV) were attributed to native defects. The near-band-edge (NBE) emission peaks at 3.354, 3.303, 3.260, 3.216, and 3.177 eV were attributed to the emission of the neutral-donor-bound excitons ($D^0X$), two-electron satellite (TES), free-to-neutral-acceptors (e,$A^0$), donor-acceptor pairs (DAP), and second-order longitudinal optical (2LO) phonon replicas of the TES (TES-2LO), respectively. According to Haynes' empirical rule, we calculated the energy of a free exciton (FX) to be 3.374 eV. The thermal activation energy for $D^0X$ in the nanocrystalline ZnO thin film was found to be ~25 meV, corresponding to the thermal dissociation energy required for $D^0X$ transitions.

Polyaniline-yttrium trioxide (PAni-$Y_2O_3$) composites were synthesized by the in-situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of $Y_2O_3$ The composite formation and structural changes in these composites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The direct current (DC) electrical conductivity of the order of $0.51{\times}10^{-2}\;S\;cm^{-1}-0.283\;S\;cm^{-1}$ in the temperature range 300 K-473 K indicates semiconducting behavior of the composites. Room temperature AC conductivity and dielectric response of the composites were studied in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 1 MHz. The variation of AC conductivity with frequency obeyed the power law, which decreased with increasing weight percentage (wt %) of $Y_2O_3$. Studies on dielectric properties shows the relaxation contribution coupled by electrode polarization effect. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss in these composites depend on the content of $Y_2O_3$ with a percolation threshold at 20 wt % of $Y_2O_3$ in PAni. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the composites in the frequency range 100 Hz to 2 GHz was in the practically useful range of -12.2 dB to -17.2 dB. The observed electrical and shielding properties were attributed to the interaction of $Y_2O_3$ particles with the PAni molecular chains.

A new green-emitting material with donor-acceptor architecture, 3,7-bis(1'-phenylbenzimidazole-2'-yl)-10-phenylphenothiazine (BBPP) was synthesized and its thermal, optical, and electroluminescent characteristics were investigated. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with four different multilayer structures were prepared using BBPP as an emitting layer. The optimized device with the structure of [ITO/2-TNATA (40 nm)/BBPP (30 nm)/TPBi (30 nm)/Alq3 (10 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (100 nm)] exhibited efficient green emission. Enhanced charge carrier balance and electron mobility in the organic layers enabled the device to demonstrate a maximum luminance of 31,300 cd/$m^2$, a luminous efficiency of 6.83 cd/A, and an external quantum efficiency of 1.62% with the CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates of (0.21, 0.53) at a current density of 100 mA/$cm^2$.

Surface modification of montmorillonite (MMT) with 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (3GTO) in mild methanol/water mixture has been investigated in detail. The influence of reaction conditions (including silane concentration in feed, reaction time and reaction temperature) on the grafting amount and yield of silane, and further on the grafting pattern of silanes was studied by thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET. Higher silane concentration, longer reaction time and higher reaction temperature are all benefit to higher grafting amount. When the grafting reaction was performed with 3 mmol/g silane concentration, at $90^{\circ}C$ for 24 h, the grafted amount and yield of silane reached 1.4443 mmol/g and 30%, respectively. Based on the XRD and BET data analysis, a speculation that the grafting pattern of silanes was concentration dependence was proposed.

The reactions of indole with carbonyl groups have been efficiently carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin under solvent-free conditions and corresponding bis(indolyl)-mathanes were obtained in good to excellent yields. Synthesis of di[bis(indolyl)methyl]benzene was also accomplished by this catalyst. Furthermore, chemoselective conversion of aromatic aldehydes to their corresponding bis(indolyl)methanes in the presence of aliphatic aldehydes or ketones was achieved by this method.

New types of monocyclic ${\beta}$-lactams constitute an important class of compounds due to their unique structures and natures. Here, the design and synthesis of new 4-alkylthio monocyclic ${\beta}$-lactams 2a and 3a are reported. Significantly, compounds 2a and 3a, while keeping a monocyclic system, were designed to contain all of the substructures provided by the cleavage of C(2)-C(3) bond in penicillins. Efficient synthetic pathways for compounds 2a and 3a were established based on two different strategies. Compound 2a was synthesized from raw materials, using 4-acetoxyazetidin-2-one as a key intermediate, through a ten-step synthetic sequence in 3% overall yield. Compound 3a was synthesized from potassium salt of penicillin G (17), using the degraded product 20 as a key intermediate, through a six-step synthetic sequence in 11% overall yield. 4-Alkylthioazetidin-2-one derivatives, introduced in this study, could serve as valuable intermediates for the development of new monocyclic ${\beta}$-lactams.

L-Arginine semi-oxalate (LASO) single crystal has been grown by solution growth technique at room temperature. The crystal structure and lattice parameters were determined for the grown crystal by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Photoluminescence studies confirm the violet fluorescence emission peak at 395 nm. Optical constants like band gap, refractive index, reflectance, extinction coefficient and electric susceptibility were determined from UV-VIS-NIR spectrum. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and ac conductivity of the compound were calculated at different temperatures and frequencies to analyze the electrical properties. The solid state parameters such as plasma energy, Penn gap, Fermi energy and polarizability were calculated to analyze second harmonic generation (SHG). Nonlinear optical property was discussed to confirm the SHG efficiency of the grown crystal.

An efficient synthesis of phospha-Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts was carried out in good yields via the Michaelis-Arbuzov reaction of the DABCO salts of MBH bromides. Instead of a DABCO salt, a phosphonium salt could be effectively used for some substrates which showed some problems in the presence of DABCO.

A study was carried out to evaluate the solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) for formaldehyde emission analysis of uncoated plywood. In SPME, formaldehyde was on-fiber derivatized through headspace extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The SPME was compared with desiccators (DC-JAS 233), small-scale chamber (SSC-ASTM D6007) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE-EPA 556) methods which were performed in accordance with their respective standards. Compared to SSC (RSD 4.3%) and LLE (RSD 5.0%), the SPME method showed better repeatability (RSD 1.8%) and not much difference from DC (RSD 1.4%). The SPME has proven to be highly precise (at 95% confidence level) with better recovery (REC 102%). Validation of the SPME method for formaldehyde quantitative analysis was evidenced. In addition, the SPME by air sampling directly from plywood specimens (SPME-W) correlated best with DC ($r^2$ = 0.983), followed by LLE ($r^2$ = 0.950) and SSC ($r^2$ = 0.935).

Novel titanium containing solid core mesoporous shell silica has been synthesized by using octadecyltrichloro silane and triethylamine. The synthesized material was characterized by various physicochemical techniques. The mesoporous character of the material has been revealed from PXRD studies. The presence of octadecyltrichloro silane and triethylamine in the sample has been confirmed from EDAX studies. TG/DTA analysis reveals the thermal characteristics of the synthesized material. The presence of titanium in the frame work and its coordination state has been studies by UV-vis DR studies and XPS analysis. Chemical environment of Si in the framework of the material has been studied by $^{29}SiMASNMR$ studies. The surface area of the material is found to be around $550\;m^2g^{-1}$ and pore radius is of nano range from BET analysis. The spherical morphology and particle size of the core as well as shell has been found to be 300 nm and 50 nm respectively from TEM analysis. The catalytic application of this material towards the synthesis of caprolactam from cyclohexanone in presence of hydrogen peroxide through ammoxidation reaction has been investigated. The optimum conditions for the reaction have been established. The plausible mechanism for the formation of core silica and conversion of cyclohexanone has been proposed.

The chemical functionalization of carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) by creatinine (MWCNT-Amide) and latter modification with 2-aminobenzophenone for producing 1-methyl-9-phenyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-b]quinolin-2-amine (MWCNT-quino) have been investigated. All products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetric and cellular investigations. The interesting point is that MWCNT-quino can be homogeneously dispersed in dimethylformamide and to some extent in ethyl alcohol without sonication. Also, MTT assay was used to examine the behavior of cell proliferation after 48 h of cell culture experiments. Cellular results showed high toxicity of MWCNT-quino on the cancer cells. These functionalizations have been chosen due to active sites of carbonyl and methylene groups in MWCNT-Amide and the creating quinoline derivative on the MWCNTs for future application.

Development of dual functional liposome has been studied for cancer theragnostics. Therefore, we focused on ultrasound-sensitive liposomes with doxorubicin (DOX) and gadolinium (Gd) as a theragnostic carrier having a potential for cancer therapy and diagnosis. In this study, Gd(III)-DOTA-modified sonosensitive liposomes (GL) was developed using chemically synthesized Gd(III)-DOTA-DPPE lipid. Sonosensitivity of GL to 1 MHz ultrasound induced 25% of DOX release. The relaxivities ($r_1$) of GL were $7.33-10.34\;mM^{-1}s^{-1}$, which was higher than that of MR-bester$^{(R)}$. Intracellular delivery of DOX from GL by ultrasound irradiation was evaluated according to ultrasound intensity, resulting in increase of uptake of DOX released from ultrasound-triggered GLs compared to GL3 or Doxil$^{(R)}$ without ultrasound. Taken together, this study shows that the paramagnetic and sonosensitive liposomes, GL, is a novel and highly effective delivery system for drug with the potential for broad applications in human disease.

A new Rhodamine B hydrazide hydrazone 1 has been synthesized and investigated as a colorimetric and fluorescent "off-on" sensor for the recognition of $Cu^{2+}$ in $CH_3CN/H_2O$ (1:1, v/v, HEPES 10 mM, pH = 7.0) solution. Sensor 1 displayed highly selective, sensitive and rapid recognition behavior toward $Cu^{2+}$ among a range of biologically and environmentally important metal ions. Sensor 1 bind $Cu^{2+}$ via a 1:1 stoichiometry with an association constant of $1.92{\times}10^6\;M^{-1}$, and the detection limit is evaluated to be $7.96{\times}10^{-8}\;M$. The $Cu^{2+}$ recognition event is reversible and is barely interfered by other coexisting metal ions.

Using a simple random walk model, this study simulated the growth of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) pattern generated by dip-pen nanolithography (DPN). In this model, the SAM pattern grew mainly via the serial pushing of molecules deposited from the tip. This study examined various SAM patterns, such as lines, crosses and letters, by changing the tip scan speed.

A series of highly efficient red phosphorescent heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes 1-6 containing two cyclometalating 2-(2,4-substitued phenyl)quinoxaline ligands and one chromophoric ancillary ligand were synthesized: (pqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (1), (dmpqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (2), (dfpqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (3), (pqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (4), (dmpqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (5), (dfpqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (6), where pqx = 2-phenylquinoxaline, dfpqx = 2-(2,4-diflourophenyl)quinoxaline, dmpqx = 2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)quinoxaline, prz = 2-pyrazinecarboxylate and mprz = 5-methyl-2-pyrazinecarboxylate. The absorption, emission, electrochemical and thermal properties of the complexes were evaluated for potential applications to organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The structure of complex 2 was also determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex 2 exhibited distorted octahedral geometry around the iridium metal ion, for which 2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)quinoxaline N atoms and C atoms of orthometalated phenyl groups are located at the mutual trans and cis-positions, respectively. The emission spectra of the complexes are governed largely by the nature of the cyclometalating ligand, and the phosphorescent peak wavelengths can be tuned from 588 to 630 nm with high quantum efficiencies of 0.64 to 0.86. Cyclic voltammetry revealed irreversible metal-centered oxidation with potentials in the range of 1.16 to 1.89 V as well as two quasi-reversible reduction waves with potentials ranging from -0.94 to -1.54 V due to the sequential addition of two electrons to the more electron-accepting heterocyclic portion of two distinctive cyclometalated C^N ligands.

A highly reliable dealkylation protocol of alkyl aryl ethers, whose alkyl groups are longer than methyl group, has been developed. We report that various ethyl, n-propyl, and benzyl aryl ethers are successfully cleaved using an ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, [bmim][Br], under microwave irradiation. Despite many characteristics such as lower cost and less toxicity of the alkylating agents, and greater hydrophobicity of the products, longer alkyl ethers have been significantly less exploited than methyl ethers, probably due to more difficulty in the deprotection step. Since it has the same advantages as the demethylation method developed by this group including mild conditions, short reaction time, and small use of the ionic liquids, the dealkylation protocol can greatly encourage the broader use of longer alkyl groups in the protection of phenolic groups. As with our previous study of demethylation using [bmim][Br], the microwave irradiation is crucial for the deprotection of longer alkyl aryl ethers. Unlike the conventional heating, which causes either low conversion or decomposition, the microwave irradiation seems to more effectively provide energy to cleave the ether bonds and therefore suppresses the undesired reactions.

We describe newly developed software named KPACK for relativistic electronic structure computation of molecules containing heavy elements that enables the two-component ab initio calculations in Kramers restricted and unrestricted formalisms in the framework of the relativistic effective core potential (RECP). The spin-orbit coupling as relativistic effect enters into the calculation at the Hartree-Fock (HF) stage and hence, is treated in a variational manner to generate two-component molecular spinors as one-electron wavefunctions for use in the correlated methods. As correlated methods, KPACK currently provides the two-component second-order M${\o}$ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), configuration interaction (CI) and complete-active-space self-consistent field (CASSCF) methods. Test calculations were performed for the ground states of group-14 elements, for which the spin-orbit coupling greatly influences the determination of term symbols. A categorization of three procedures is suggested for the two-component methods on the basis of spin-orbit coupling manifested in the HF level.

We have investigated the effects of formalin on the assembly of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) prepared by laser ablation of a solid gold target in deionized water. Upon addition of formalin, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band at 519 nm for pure AuNPs decreases and shifts to red while a new broad SPR band appears at ~700 nm. The red-shift is prominent with increase in the incubation time. The average size of the initial AuNPs is around 12 nm but it increases to 23 nm after addition of formalin. It turns out that formalin acts as a cationic surfactant for AuNPs with negative surface charge in the colloidal solutions. Furthermore, through analysis of the Raman spectrum of formalin and the density functional theory calculations, we confirm that methanediol is the main species in formalin which is in charge of the aggregation of AuNPs.

The bound state wave functions for all the known exactly solvable potentials can be expressed in terms of orthogonal polynomials because the polynomials always satisfy the boundary conditions with a proper weight function. The orthogonality of polynomials is of great importance because the orthogonality characterizes the wave functions and consequently the quantum system. Though the orthogonality of orthogonal polynomials has been known for hundred years, the known orthogonality is found to be inadequate for polynomials appearing in some exactly solvable potentials, for example, Ginocchio potential. For those potentials a more general orthogonality is defined and algebraically derived. It is found that the general orthogonality is valid with a certain constraint and the constraint is very useful in understanding the system.

The second-order rate constants have been measured spectrophotometrically for the reactions of paraoxon 1 and parathion 2 with a series of alicyclic secondary amines, $OH^-$ and $HOO^-$ ions in $H_2O$ at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. A linear Br${\o}$nsted-type plot with ${\beta}_{nuc}$ = 0.40 was obtained for the reactions of 1 with amines and $OH^-$. The reaction has been concluded to proceed through a concerted mechanism. $HOO^-$ deviates positively from the linear Br${\o}$nsted-type plot, implying that the ${\alpha}$-effect is operative. The magnitude of the ${\alpha}$-effect ($k_{HOO^-}/k_{OH^-}$) was found to be ca. 55 for the reaction of 1 and 290 for that of parathion 2, indicating that $HOO^-$ is highly effective in decomposition of the toxic phosphorus compounds although it is over 4 $pK_a$ units less basic than $OH^-$. Among the theories suggested as origins of the ${\alpha}$-effect (e.g., TS stabilization through an intramolecular Hbonding interaction, solvent effect, and polarizability effect), polarizability effect appears to be the most important factor for the ${\alpha}$-effect in this study, since the polarizable $HOO^-$ exhibits a larger ${\alpha}$-effect for the reaction of the more polarizable substrate 2.

We report the construction of a MALDI imaging mass spectrometer equipped with a specially designed laser focusing lens, a compact aspherical singlet lens, that obtains a high-lateral imaging resolution in the microprobe mode. The lens is specially designed to focus the ionization laser (${\lambda}$ = 355 nm) down to a $1{\mu}m$ diameter with a long working distance of 34.5 mm. With the lens being perpendicular to the sample surface and sharing the optical axis with the ion path, the imaging mass spectrometer achieved an imaging resolution of as good as $5{\mu}m$ along with a high detection sensitivity of 100 fmol for peptides. The mass resolution was about 900 (m/${\Delta}m$) in the linear TOF mode. The high-resolution capability of this instrument will provide a new research opportunity for label-free imaging studies of various samples including tissues and biochips, even for the study at a single cell level in the future.

The characteristic fluorescence properties of quercetin (QCT) and apigenin (API) were studied in various $CH_3OH-H_2O$ and $CH_3CN-H_2O$ mixed solvents. The structure of QCT is completely planar. API is not planar at the ground state but becomes nearly planar at the excited state. If the molecules are excited to the $S_1$ state in organic solvents, QCT exhibits no fluorescence due to excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) between the -OH and the carbonyl oxygen, but API shows significant fluorescence because ESIPT occurs slowly. If the molecules are excited to the $S_2$ state, both QCT and API exhibit strong $S_2{\rightarrow}S_o$ emission without any dual fluorescence. As the $H_2O$ composition of both solvents increases, the fluorescence intensity decreases rapidly due to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction. The theoretical calculation further supports these results. The change in fluorescence properties as a function of the solvatochromic parameters was also studied.

Three different kinds of hydroxyapatites (HAPs) having different sizes and compositions are prepared by hydrothermal and molten salt syntheses. Using the ion exchange reactions, ruthenium ions are incorporated on the surface of HAPs. The crystallinity, morphology and ruthenium contents are investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM and ICP. We found that smaller size of HAP having large amounts of ruthenium under ion exchange reaction shows higher catalytic activity for aerobic oxidation of alcohols.

A new heteropolyanion-based ionic ($[Hmim]_5PMo_{10}V_2O_{40}$) was synthesized by the reaction of molybdovanadophosphoric acid ($H_5PMo_{10}O_{40}$) with N-methylimidazole. [$[Hmim]_5PMo_{10}V_2O_{40}$ showed a high catalytic activity in the oxidative desulfurization of sulfur-containing compounds in 1-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ($[Hmim]BF_4$) ionic liquid using 30% aqueous $H_2O_2$ as the oxidant. The catalytic system was of high activity, simplified workup and flexible recyclability. The catalytic oxidation reactivity of sulfur-containing compounds decreased in the order dibenzothiophene (DBT) > 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) > benzothiophene (BT). The influences of various parameters including reaction time (t) and temperature (T), catalyst dosage, and oxidant to sulfur molar ratio n(O)/n(S) on the desulfurization of model oil were investigated in details. 99.1% of DBT conversion in the model oil was achieved at atmospheric pressure under the optimal conditions: n(O)/n(S) = 4:1, $60^{\circ}C$, 100 min and molar ratio of catalyst to sulfur of 0.062. The ionic liquid can be recycled six times without significant decrease in activity.

Some cytotoxicity studies for the interpretation of the interaction between nanoparticles and cells are non-mechanistic and time-consuming. Therefore, non-biological screening methods, which are faster and simpler than in-vivo and in-vitro methods, are required as alternatives to current cytotoxicity tests. Here, we proposed a simple screening method for the analysis of the interaction between several AgNPs (bare-, citrate-, and polyvinylpyrrolidone-coating) and dye-containing vesicles acting as a biomimetic cell-membrane. The interaction between AgNPs and vesicles could be evaluated readily by UV-vis spectra. Absorbance deviation in UV-vis spectra revealed a large attraction between neighboring particles and vesicles. This was confirmed by (Derjagin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek) theory and DMF (dark-field microscopy) analysis. This proposed method might be useful for analyzing the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles with cell-membranes instead of in vitro or in vivo cytotoxicity tests.

This experiment was conducted for the purpose of developing such a sensor that can quickly sense dopamine concentration by using chitosan-gold nanoshell. Chitosan nano particles were reacted with gold nano particles so as to synthesize chitosan-gold nanoshell, and the size of the synthesized product was about 150 nm. When dopamine was reacted with chitosan-gold nanoshell, the size of it was not definitely changed, but dopamine was well reacted with chitosan-gold nanoshell, and it generated SERS (surface-enhanced Raman scattering), which led to a clear difference in the intensity of Raman scattering within the range of dopamine concentration (1 mM-10 mM). When Raman scattering was intensity marked on chitosan-gold nanoshell by employing a calibration curve according to dopamine concentration, a straight line whose margin of error was narrow was earned.

Rate equations are exactly solved for the reversible consecutive reaction of the first-order and the time-dependence of concentrations is analytically determined for species in the reaction. With the assumption of pseudo first-order reaction, the calculation applies and determines the concentration of product accurately and explicitly as a function of time in the unimolecular decomposition of Lindemann and in the enzyme catalysis of Michaelis-Menten whose rate laws have been approximated in terms of reactant concentrations by the steady-state approximation.