Optical transition rates of a meso-substituted thiacarbocyanine in methanol-in-oil reverse miscelles

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We report the photophysical properties of 3,3′-diethyl-5,5′-dichloro-9-phenylthiacarbocyanine (DDPT) in methanol-in-oil (m/o) reverse micellar systems which form methanol droplets stabilized with anionic surfactant aerosol-OT (AOT) in n-heptane. The fluorescence quantum yield of DDPT is enhanced by a factor of 17 in the methanol droplet in comparison with bulk methanol. The fluorescence lifetimes of DDPT in m/o reverse micelles are prolonged up to 2.2 ns with increasing molar ratio of methanol to surfactant (w0=[MeOH]/[AOT]), whereas the fluorescence lifetime of DDPT in bulk methanol is 75 ps. The non-radiative rate constants of DDPT in the droplets are decreased by a factor of 40, resulting in a remarkable enhancement in quantum yields, indicating that internal motions of DDPT in the droplets are significantly reduced due to strong electrostatic interactions between the positively charged DDPT and the negatively charged sulfonate head-groups of AOT and the spatial confinement induced by the reverse micellar structure. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Concave Plasmonic Particles: Broad-Band Geometrical Tunability in the Near Infra-Red

Optical resonances spanning the Near and Short Infra-Red spectral regime were exhibited experimentally by arrays of plasmonic nano-particles with concave cross-section. The concavity of the particle was shown to be the key ingredient for enabling the broad band tunability of the resonance frequency, even for particles with dimensional aspect ratios of order unity. The atypical flexibility of setting the resonance wavelength is shown to stem from a unique interplay of local geometry with surface charge distributions

Resonances On-Demand for Plasmonic Nano-Particles

A method for designing plasmonic particles with desired resonance spectra is presented. The method is based on repetitive perturbations of an initial particle shape while calculating the eigenvalues of the various quasistatic resonances. The method is rigorously proved, assuring a solution exists for any required spectral resonance location. Resonances spanning the visible and the near-infrared regimes, as designed by our method, are verified using finite-difference time-domain simulations. A novel family of particles with collocated dipole-quadrupole resonances is designed, demonstrating the unique power of the method. Such on-demand engineering enables strict realization of nano-antennas and metamaterials for various applications requiring specific spectral functions

Mode imaging and selection in strongly coupled nanoantennas

The number of eigenmodes in plasmonic nanostructures increases with complexity due to mode hybridization, raising the need for efficient mode characterization and selection. Here we experimentally demonstrate direct imaging and selective excitation of the bonding and antibonding plasmon mode in symmetric dipole nanoantennas using confocal two-photon photoluminescence mapping. Excitation of a high-quality-factor antibonding resonance manifests itself as a two-lobed pattern instead of the single spot observed for the broad bonding resonance, in accordance with numerical simulations. The two-lobed pattern is observed due to the fact that excitation of the antibonding mode is forbidden for symmetric excitation at the feedgap, while concomitantly the mode energy splitting is large enough to suppress excitation of the bonding mode. The controlled excitation of modes in strongly coupled plasmonic nanostructures is mandatory for efficient sensors, in coherent control as well as for implementing well-defined functionalities in complex plasmonic devices.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 supplementary informatio

Macrophage-derived Extracellular Vesicle packaged WNTs rescue intestinal stem cells 2 and enhance survival after radiation injury

WNT/β-catenin signalling is crucial for intestinal homoeostasis. The intestinal epithelium and stroma are the major source of WNT ligands but their origin and role in intestinal stem cell (ISC) and epithelial repair remains unknown. Macrophages are a major constituent of the intestinal stroma. Here, we analyse the role of macrophage-derived WNT in intestinal repair in mice by inhibiting their release using a macrophage-restricted ablation of Porcupine, a gene essential for WNT synthesis. Such Porcn-depleted mice have normal intestinal morphology but are hypersensitive to radiation injury in the intestine compared with wild-type (WT) littermates. Porcn-null mice are rescued from radiation lethality by treatment with WT but not Porcn-null bone marrow macrophage-conditioned medium (CM). Depletion of extracellular vesicles (EV) from the macrophage CM removes WNT function and its ability to rescue ISCs from radiation lethality. Therefore macrophage-derived EV-packaged WNTs are essential for regenerative response of intestine against radiation

Gender Inequality in a Globalizing World

Emphasis on market-friendly macroeconomic and development strategies in recent years has resulted in deleterious effects on growth and well-being, and has done little to promote greater gender equality. This paper argues that the example of East Asia states, which recognized their position as late industrializers, relied on a managed-market approach with the state that employed a wide variety of policy instruments to promote industrialization. Nevertheless, while Asian growth was rapid, it was not enough to produce greater gender equality. A concentration of women in mobile export industries that face severe competition from other low-wage countries reduces their bargaining power and inhibits closure of gender-wage gaps. Gender-equitable macroeconomic and development policies are thus required, including financial market regulation, regulation of trade and investment flows, and gender-sensitive public sector spending

Interactions of nanorod particles in the strong coupling regime

The plasmon coupling in a nanorod dimer obeys the exponential size dependence according to the Universal Plasmon Ruler Equation. However, it was shown recently that such a model does not hold at short nanorod distance (Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 1651). Here we study the nanorod coupling in various cases, including nanorod dimer with the asymmetrical lengths and symmetrical dimer with the varying gap width. The asymmetrical nanorod dimer causes two plasmon modes: one is the attractive lower- energy mode and the other the repulsive high-energy mode. Using a simple coupled LC-resonator model, the position of dimer resonance has been determined analytically. Moreover, we found that the plasmon coupling of symmetrical cylindrical (or rectangular) nanorod dimer is governed uniquely by gap width scaled for the (effective) rod radius rather than for the rod length. A new Plasmon Ruler Equation without using the fitting parameters has been proposed, which agrees well with the FDTD calculations. The method has also been extended to study the plasmonic wave-guiding in a linear chain of gold nanorod particles. A field decay length up to 2700nm with the lateral mode size about 50nm (~wavelength/28) has been suggested.Comment: 31 pages, 6 figures, 58 reference

Teaching the Academic Word List in Foreign Language Speaking Classes

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