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Now showing 1 - 10 of 1271
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    Optimizing the Geometry of Photoacoustically Active Gold Nanoparticles for Biomedical Imaging
    (Washington, DC : ACS, 2020) García-Álvarez, Rafaela; Chen, Lisa; Nedilko, Alexander; Sánchez-Iglesias, Ana; Rix, Anne; Lederle, Wiltrud; Pathak, Vertika; Lammers, Twan; von Plessen, Gero; Kostarelos, Kostas; Liz-Marzán, Luis M.; Kuehne, Alexander J.C.; Chigrin, Dmitry N.
    Photoacoustics is an upcoming modality for biomedical imaging, which promises minimal invasiveness at high penetration depths of several centimeters. For superior photoacoustic contrast, imaging probes with high photothermal conversion efficiency are required. Gold nanoparticles are among the best performing photoacoustic imaging probes. However, the geometry and size of the nanoparticles determine their photothermal efficiency. We present a systematic theoretical analysis to determine the optimum nanoparticle geometry with respect to photoacoustic efficiency in the near-infrared spectral range, for superior photoacoustic contrast. Theoretical predictions are illustrated by experimental results for two of the most promising nanoparticle geometries, namely, high aspect ratio gold nanorods and gold nanostars. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
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    Crystal structure of diethyl (E)-2-[(benzofuran-2-yl)methylidene]succinate
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2015) Schirmer, Marie-Luis; Spannenberg, Anke; Werner, Thomas
    The title compound, C17H18O5, was synthesized by a base-free catalytic Wittig reaction. The mol­ecule consists of a diethyl itaconate unit, which is connected via the C=C double bond to a benzo­furan moiety. The benzo­furan ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.007 Å) forms dihedral angles of 79.58 (4) and 12.12 (10)° with the mean planes through the cis and trans eth­oxy­carbonyl groups, respectively. An intra­molecular C-H...O hydrogen bond involving the O atom of the benzo­furan moiety is observed. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into ribbons running parallel to the b axis by C-H...O hydrogen bonds.
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    Hierarchical fibrous guiding cues at different scales influence linear neurite extension
    ([Amsterdam] : Elsevier, 2020) Omidinia-Anarkoli, Abdolrahman; Ephraim, John Wesley; Rimal, Rahul; De Laporte, Laura
    Surface topographies at micro- and nanoscales can influence different cellular behavior, such as their growth rate and directionality. While different techniques have been established to fabricate 2-dimensional flat substrates with nano- and microscale topographies, most of them are prone to high costs and long preparation times. The 2.5-dimensional fiber platform presented here provides knowledge on the effect of the combination of fiber alignment, inter-fiber distance (IFD), and fiber surface topography on contact guidance to direct neurite behavior from dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) or dissociated primary neurons. For the first time, the interplay of the micro-/nanoscale topography and IFD is studied to induce linear nerve growth, while controlling branching. The results demonstrate that grooved fibers promote a higher percentage of aligned neurite extension, compensating the adverse effect of increased IFD. Accordingly, maximum neurite extension from primary neurons is achieved on grooved fibers separated by an IFD of 30 μm, with a higher percentage of aligned neurons on grooved fibers at a large IFD compared to porous fibers with the smallest IFD of 10 µm. We further demonstrate that the neurite “decision-making” behavior on whether to cross a fiber or grow along it is not only dependent on the IFD but also on the fiber surface topography. In addition, axons growing in between the fibers seem to have a memory after leaving grooved fibers, resulting in higher linear growth and higher IFDs lead to more branching. Such information is of great importance for new material development for several tissue engineering applications. Statement of Significance: One of the key aspects of tissue engineering is controlling cell behavior using hierarchical structures. Compared to 2D surfaces, fibers are an important class of materials, which can emulate the native ECM architecture of tissues. Despite the importance of both fiber surface topography and alignment to direct growing neurons, the current state of the art did not yet study the synergy between both scales of guidance. To achieve this, we established a solvent assisted spinning process to combine these two crucial features and control neuron growth, alignment, and branching. Rational design of new platforms for various tissue engineering and drug discovery applications can benefit from such information as it allows for fabrication of functional materials, which selectively influence neurite behavior. © 2020
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    Crystal structure of bis{μ2-[(2-iminocyclopentylidene)methylidene]azanido-κ2 N:N'}bis[(η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)zirconium(IV)] hexane monosolvate
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2015) Becker, Lisanne; Spannenberg, Anke; Arndt, Perdita; Rosenthal, Uwe
    The title compound, [Zr2(C10H15)4(C6H6N2)2]·C6H14, was obtained by the stoichiometric reaction of adipo­nitrile with [Zr(C10H15)2([eta]2-Me3SiC2SiMe3)]. Intra­molecular nitrile-nitrile couplings and deprotonation of the substrate produced the (1-imino-2-enimino)­cyclo­pentane ligand, which functions as a five-membered bridge between the two metal atoms. The ZrIV atom exhibits a distorted tetra­hedral coordination sphere defined by two penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dienyl ligands, by the imino unit of one (1-imino-2-enimino)­cyclo­pentane and by the enimino unit of the second (1-imino-2-enimino)­cyclo­pentane. The cyclo­pentane ring of the ligand shows an envelope conformation. The asymmetric unit contains one half of the complex and one half of the hexane solvent mol­ecule, both being completed by the application of inversion symmetry. One of the penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dienyl ligands is disordered over two sets of sites with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.8111 (3):0.189 (3). In the crystal, the complex mol­ecules are packed into rods extending along [100], with the solvent mol­ecules located in between. The rods are arranged in a distorted hexa­gonal packing.
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    Phonon-Polaritonic Bowtie Nanoantennas: Controlling Infrared Thermal Radiation at the Nanoscale
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2017) Wang, Tao; Li, Peining; Chigrin, Dmitry N.; Giles, Alexander J.; Bezares, Francisco J.; Glembocki, Orest J.; Caldwell, Joshua D.; Taubner, Thomas
    A conventional thermal emitter exhibits a broad emission spectrum with a peak wavelength depending upon the operation temperature. Recently, narrowband thermal emission was realized with periodic gratings or single microstructures of polar crystals supporting distinct optical modes. Here, we exploit the coupling of adjacent phonon-polaritonic nanostructures, demonstrating experimentally that the nanometer-scale gaps can control the thermal emission frequency while retaining emission line widths as narrow as 10 cm-1. This was achieved by using deeply subdiffractional bowtie-shaped silicon carbide nanoantennas. Infrared far-field reflectance spectroscopy, near-field optical nanoimaging, and full-wave electromagnetic simulations were employed to prove that the thermal emission originates from strongly localized surface phonon-polariton resonances of nanoantenna structures. The observed narrow emission line widths and exceptionally small modal volumes provide new opportunities for the user-design of near- and far-field radiation patterns for advancements in infrared spectroscopy, sensing, signaling, communications, coherent thermal emission, and infrared photodetection. © 2017 American Chemical Society.
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    Crystal structure of (E)-dodec-2-enoic acid
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2015) Sonneck, Marcel; Peppel, Tim; Spannenberg, Anke; Wohlrab, Sebastian
    The crystal structure of (E)-dodec-2-enoic acid, C12H22O2, an [alpha],[beta]-unsaturated carb­oxy­lic acid with a melting point (295 K) near room temperature, is characterized by carb­oxy­lic acid inversion dimers linked by pairs of O-H...O hydrogen bonds. The carb­oxy­lic acid group and the following three carbon atoms of the chain of the (E)-dodec-2-enoic acid mol­ecule lie almost in one plane (r.m.s. deviation for the four C atoms and two O atoms = 0.012 Å), whereas the remaining carbon atoms of the hydro­carbon chain adopt a nearly fully staggered conformation [moduli of torsion angles vary from 174.01 (13) to 179.97 (13)°].
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    Crystal structure of (E)-undec-2-enoic acid
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2015) Sonneck, Marcel; Peppel, Tim; Spannenberg, Anke; Wohlrab, Sebastian
    In the mol­ecule of the title low-melting [alpha],[beta]-unsaturated carb­oxy­lic acid, C11H20O2, the least-squares mean line through the octyl chain forms an angle of 60.10 (13)° with the normal to plane of the acrylic acid fragment (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). In the crystal, centrosymmetrically related mol­ecules are linked by pairs of O-H...O hydrogen bonds into dimers, forming layers parallel to the (041) plane.
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    Crystal structures of two ansa-titanocene tri-fluoro-methane-sulfonate complexes bearing the Me2Si(C5Me4)2 ligand
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2016) Kessler, Monty; Godemann, Christian; Spannenberg, Anke; Beweries, Torsten
    The crystal structures of two ansa-titanocene tri-fluoro-methane-sulfonate complexes bearing the Me2Si(C5Me4)2 ligand are reported, namely [di-methylbis-(η5-tetra-methyl-cyclo-penta-dien-yl)silane](tri-fluoro-methane-sulfonato-κ2O,O')titanium(III) toluene monosolvate, [Ti(CF3O3S)(C20H30Si)]·C7H8, 1, and chlorido-[di-methyl-bis-(η5-tetra-methyl-cyclo-penta-dien-yl)silane](tri-fluoro-methane-sulfonato-κO)titanium(IV), [Ti(CF3O3S)(C20H30Si)Cl], 2. Both complexes display a bent metallocene unit, the metal atom being coordinated in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry, with the tri-fluoro-methane-sulfonate anion acting as a bidentate or monodentate ligand in 1 and 2, respectively. In 1, weak π-π stacking inter-actions involving the toluene solvent mol-ecules [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.9491 (11) Å] are observed.
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    Crystal structure of di-n-but­yl­bis­([eta]5-penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dien­yl)hafnium(IV)
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2015) Arndt, Perdita; Schubert,Kathleen; Burlakov, Vladimir V.; Spannenberg, Anke; Rosenthal, Uwe
    The crystal structure of the title compound, [Hf(C10H15)2(C4H9)2], reveals two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The diffraction experiment was performed with a racemically twinned crystal showing a 0.529 (5):0.471 (5) component ratio. Each HfIV atom is coordinated by two penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dienyl and two n-butyl ligands in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry, with the cyclo­penta­dienyl rings inclined to one another by 45.11 (15) and 45.37 (16)°. In contrast to the isostructural di(n-butyl)bis([eta]5-penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dien­yl)zirconium(IV) complex with a noticeable difference in the Zr-butyl bonding, the Hf-Cbut­yl bond lengths differ from each other by no more than 0.039 (3) Å.
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    Multiple lobes in the far-field distribution of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers due to self-interference
    (New York : American Institute of Physics, 2016) Röben, B.; Wienold, M.; Schrottke, L.; Grahn, H.T.
    The far-field distribution of the emission intensity of terahertz (THz) quantumcascade lasers (QCLs) frequently exhibits multiple lobes instead of a single-lobed Gaussian distribution. We show that such multiple lobes can result from selfinterference related to the typically large beam divergence of THz QCLs and the presence of an inevitable cryogenic operation environment including optical windows. We develop a quantitative model to reproduce the multiple lobes. We also demonstrate how a single-lobed far-field distribution can be achieved.