Isolation and partial purification of carthamine: an instrumentation manual

Summary Crude carthamine was obtainable through alkaline extraction, acidification, and cellulose adsorption. It was purified by column chromatography on Avicel cellulose and Toyo Pearl HW-40f. Using these techniques, the dye was purified up to about 3.5-fold at a final yield of 28.4% (mg carthamine·g dry flower^–1: 5.221.48). On the basis of the experimental model data, an instruction manual for isolation and purification of carthamine is presented in order to standarize the bio-dye preparation at an economically pertinent cost.

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Isolierung und teilweise Reinigung des Carthamin durch manuellen Betrieb

Zusammenfassung Rohes Carthamin kann durch alkalische Extraktion, Säuerung und Adsorption an Cellulose gewonnen werden. Der Farbstoff wird durch Säulenchromatographie auf Avicel-Cellulose und Toyo Pearl HW-40f gereinigt. Mit dieser Technik wird der Farbstoff 3,5fach konzentriert (auf rund 28,4%). Auf der Basis dieser experimentellen Daten ist die Isolierung und Reinigung des Carthamin zu standardisieren, und die Farbstoffgewinnung zu einem wirtschaftlichen Preis möglich.

     

Light-induced gene transfer from packaged DNA enveloped in a dendrimeric photosensitizer

The control of gene transfection in the body is a core issue in gene therapy. Photochemical internalization is a technology that allows light-induced delivery of DNA, drugs or other biological factors directly inside cells. Usually it requires that a photosensitizer be added to the drug-delivery system to photochemically destabilize the endosomal membrane. Here we present a system for in vivo DNA delivery in which these two components are assembled into one structure. This is a ternary complex composed of a core containing DNA packaged with cationic peptides and enveloped in the anionic dendrimer phthalocyanine, which provides the photosensitizing action. The ternary complex showed more than 100-fold photochemical enhancement of transgene expression in vitro with reduced photocytotoxicity. In an animal experiment, subconjuctival injection of the ternary complex followed by laser irradiation resulted in transgene expression only in the laser-irradiated site. This work demonstrates a new biomedical application for dendrimers, and the first success in the photochemical-internalization-mediated gene delivery in vivo.     

The Critical Condition for the Transition from HL to ML in Water-Lubricated SiC

Silicon carbide (SiC) with water lubrication is being considered as the most promising combination to replace metals and oil for sliding bearings and mechanical seals of machines working in water. The basic properties of the Stribeck curves of water lubricated SiC in parallel contact, especially, the critical conditions for the transition from HL to ML were studied experimentally. The hydrodynamic lubrication regions and minimum friction coefficients of metal pair in oil and SiC pair in water are compared to give a quantitative value of the oil viscosity range, in which metal/oil can be directly replaced by SiC/water for triboelements.In order to improve the load-carrying capacity of SiC sliding bearings for the increasing strict demands from industry, a surface texture was introduced to one of the contact surfaces by means of reactive-ion etching. The effect of surface texture on the lubrication regimes and the minimum friction coefficient were evaluated experimentally.     

Static and dynamic characteristics of active-head sliders

Active-head sliders with a unimorph piezoelectric actuator for flying height control were experimentally evaluated. It was found that the stroke of the actuator is 1.3 to 1.5 nm/V without flying over the disk. The adjustment amount of flying height is about 1.4 nm/V when the active-head slider is flying over the disk. It was found that flying height could be reduced and decrease from 24 to 10 nm by applying 10 V to the actuator under flying condition. Both the air pressure generated at the active-pad and the impact pressure due to the head/disk contact must be taken into account for precise control of flying height.     

The roughness effect on the frequency of frictional sound

Dry sliding of two bodies in contact generates a wide range of effects like friction, wear, heat and sound among others. The main interest of this study is in the frequency characteristics of the generated sound.In the past, frequency spectrum and sound pressure level with relation to surface topography (surface roughness in particular), have been studied mainly for concentrated contacts like stylus or hemispherical tip pin on a rough surface. Studies on flat–flat contacts were mainly focused on the topography of contacting surfaces and its relation to occurrence or non-occurrence of squeal (high pitch, high sound pressure level sound) in brake systems.The present study aims to clarify the effect of surface roughness on the frequency of non-squealing frictional sound generated in dry flat–flat sliding contact.Sound was generated by the dry contact in rubbing by hand of two rectangular cross-section stainless-steel plates having similar surface roughness. The roughness of the contacting surfaces varied in the range R_z=0.8–12.4 μm. The sound spectra had 5 peaks (P₁, P₂, P₃, P₄ and P₅) in order of increasing frequency and it was found that the peak frequency was shifted when the roughness of the rubbed surfaces changed. The first peak P₁ was most sensitive to change of surface roughness and it shifted from 3.0 to 4.5 kHz when the maximum surface roughness changed from R_z=10.9 to . When the surface was relatively rough, this peak was close to the first bending natural frequency of the plate at 2.377 kHz.     

The comparisons of sliding speed and normal load effect on friction coefficients of self-mated Si3N4 and SiC under water lubrication

The effects of sliding speed and normal load on friction coefficients of self-mated Si₃N₄ and SiC sliding in water after running-in in water were investigated with pin-on-disk apparatus at sliding speeds of 30 to 120 mm/s, normal loads of 1 to 14 N in ambient condition. The results showed that, after running-in in water, for two kinds of self-mated ceramics, friction coefficient increases with both decreasing sliding speed and increasing normal load when normal load is larger than a critical normal load. Friction coefficient was independent of normal load when normal load is smaller than the critical load. The lubrication film of Si₃N₄ under water lubrication exhibited larger load carrying capacity than that of SiC did. Stribeck curves indicated that, for self-mated Si₃N₄ ceramics, hydrodynamic lubrication will change into boundary lubrication abruptly when the sommerfeld number is less than a critical value; while for self-mated SiC ceramics, hydrodynamic lubrication will change into mixed lubrication and then into boundary lubrication gradually when the sommerfeld number is below critical value.     

Generation and spatiotemporal evolution of optical vortices in femtosecond laser pulses

Topology has become one of the key concepts allowing one to understand the intrinsic, qualitative properties of phenomena throughout various scientific fields. To date, this concept has been extended to the field of material science and technology. On the other hand, we can now utilize the spatially controlled light defined by the topology (so‐called “optical vortices”) in order to characterize the topological properties of materials. In particular, optical vortices in femtosecond pulses will be invaluable for advanced topological spectroscopy. In this work, the authors created femtosecond optical vortices using a spatial light modulator. Their spatiotemporal properties were evaluated using interferogram and correlation measurements. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(4): 39–46, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20791     

New diagnostic spray reagents for detecting precarthamin in aqueous extracts from dyer''s saffron flowers

Summary Potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide were found to be useful chromo-specific spray reagents for detecting precarthamin on air-dried chromatograms. Upon spraying them at relatively low levels, a royal red colour developed almost instantly without perceptible effect from traces of organic solvents on the chromatograms. The data proved that potassium permanganate is superior to hydrogen peroxide in its efficacy.

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Neue Sprühreagentien zum Nachweis von Precarthamin in wäßrigen Extrakten von Safranblüten

Zusammenfassung Kaliumpermanganat und Wasserstoffperoxid eignen sich zum chromatographischen Nachweis von Precarthamin auf luftgetrockneten Chromatogrammen. Schon beim Besprühen mit relativ geringen Reagenzmengen entwickeln sich unverzüglich leuchtendrote Flecken, wobei organische Lösungsmittelreste ohne Einfluß sind. Permanganat ist noch effizienter als Wasserstoffperoxid.

     

Field-effect transistors of the block co-oligomers based on thiophene and pyridine

We have investigated the structural and electrical characteristics of two kinds of block co-oligomers, 5,5″-Bis(2-pyridyl)-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (5A) and 2,5-Bis(2-(2′-thienyl)-pyridine-5-yl)thiophene (5B), which are composed of electron-donating thiophene and electron-withdrawing pyridine rings. At the view of building block units, the amount of the module units included in these molecules is completely equivalent to each other. X-ray diffraction patterns of 5A and 5B thin films grown on atomically flat α-Al₂O₃ (0001) substrates indicated a high degree of orientation along the c-axis. Field-effect transistors (FETs) of 5A and 5B thin films were fabricated and evaluated without exposure to air. The FETs based on 5A active layers exhibited p-type behavior with a mobility of ~ 10⁻³ cm²/V·s and an on-off ratio of 10⁴, while no switching behavior was observed in FETs based on 5B active layers. The lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of 5B than that of 5A in the quantum-chemical calculation might explain these FET behaviors. Thus, HOMO, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels and FET actions of the co-oligomer molecules that consist of the same amount of building blocks can be controlled by the sequence of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing building blocks.     

Low temperature oxidation of methane over Pd/SnO2 catalyst

Catalytic activities of supported Pd were investigated for low temperature oxidation of methane. Pd/SnO₂ catalysts demonstrated excellent activity for methane oxidation in spite of their low surface area. The catalytic activity of Pd/SnO₂ was strongly affected by the preparation procedure. Impregnation of Pd on SnO₂ using aqueous solution of Pd(CH₃COO)₂ was most effective in enhancing the catalytic activity. The catalytic activity was also improved when well-crystallized SnO₂ was employed as a support material. TEM observations revealed that catalytic activity is strongly influenced by the dispersion state of Pd. For the active catalysts, strong interaction between Pd and SnO₂ support was observed in the adsorption of oxygen.