Improving light absorption in organic solar cells by plasmonic contribution

Plasmonic phenomenon inside the materials composing an organic solar cell based on a photoactive poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene):(6,6)-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric-acid-methyl ester (MEH-PPV:PCBM) bulk heterojunction is studied using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method calculations and the modeling results are compared with experimental results.Enhanced absorptance of light up to 50% is experimentally obtained in a 50-nm-thick blend layer including spin-coated silver nanospheres with a diameter of 40 nm. FDTD calculations based on the design of 2D-grating of nanoparticles confirm the high values of absorptance. Spatial distributions of electromagnetic field power density in the structures show confinement of the power at the interface or in the vicinity of the nanoparticles depending on the wavelength and on the preferential directions.     

A single amino acid substitution can restore the solubility of aggregated colicin A mutants in Escherichia coli

Mutants of colicin A have been prepared in which the three tryptophanresidues (Trp86, Trpl30 and Trpl40), localized in the C-terminaldomain of the soluble wild-type protein, have been substitutedby phenylalanine. The Trpl40Phe single mutation had the effectof decreasing the percentage of protein that is expressed asinsoluble aggregates. The created hydrophobic cavity decreasedthe stability of the protein during its folding, resulting inpartial aggregation in the cytoplasm of the Escherichia coli-producingcells. Aggregation was increased when Trpl40 was substitutedby Lys, Leu or Cys, or if the Trpl40 mutation was combined withthe Trp86Phe and/ or Trpl30Phe mutations. A single mutation,Lysll3Phe, however, was able to restore the solubility of theaggregated mutants in vivo. Detailed analysis of the 3-D structureof the C-terminal domain of colicin A suggests that fillingof the hydrophobic cavity is responsible for this effect.     

Evidence for differences in the binding of drugs to the two main genetic variants of human alpha 1-acid glycoprotein

1. Human alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG), a plasma transport protein, has three main genetic variants. F1. S and A. Native commercial AAG (a mixture of almost equal proportions of these three variants) has been separated by chromatography into variants which correspond to the proteins of the two genes which code for AAG in humans: the A variant and a mixture of the F1 and S variants (60% F1 and 40% S). Their binding properties towards imipramine, warfarin and mifepristone were studied by equilibrium dialysis. 2. The F1S variant mixture strongly bound warfarin and mifepristone with an affinity of 1.89 and 2.06 x 10(6) l mol-1, respectively, but had a low affinity for imipramine. Conversely, the A variant strongly bound imipramine with an affinity of 0.98 x 10(6) l mol-1. The low degree of binding of warfarin and mifepristone to the A variant sample was explained by the presence of protein contaminants in this sample. These results indicate specific drug transport roles for each variant, with respect to its separate genetic origin. 3. Control binding experiments performed with (unfractionated) commercial AAG and with AAG isolated from individuals with either the F1/A or S/A phenotypes, agreed with these findings. The results for the binding of warfarin and mifepristone by the AAG samples were similar to those obtained with the F1S mixture: the mean high-affinity association constant of the AAG samples for each drug was of the same order as that of the F1S mixture: the decrease in the number of binding sites of the AAG samples, as compared with the F1S mixture, was explained by the smaller proportion of variants F1 and/or S in these samples. Conversely, results of the imipramine binding study with the AAG samples concurred with those for the binding of this basic drug by the A variant, with respect to the proportion of the A variant in these samples.     

Comparative study of the determination of platinum by extraction with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X from bromide media

The extraction equilibrium study of Pt(IV) was carried out with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X in toluene from hydrobromic acid media to investigate their extraction capacity, since they have different donor atoms, ‘O’ and ‘S’. Their distribution equilibria were studied as a function of extractant concentration, diluents, hydrobromic acid concentration and the effect of temperature on extraction. Pt(IV) was quantitatively extracted with 0.1 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 923 in toluene from 5.0–8.0 mol dm^?3 HBr media and was stripped with 4.0 mol dm^?3 perchloric acid. However it was also quantitatively extracted with 0.1 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 471X (with 0.1 mol dm^?3SnCl₂) in toluene from 6.0–8.0 mol dm^?3 HBr media and was stripped with 1.0 mol dm^?3 stabilized sodium thiosulfate solution at pH 9.0. The slope analysis method indicated metal complex species of 1:1 for Pt(IV) with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X in toluene from HBr media. These methods were successfully applied to the analysis of platinum in real samples. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry