159 research outputs found

    Incompatibility-Driven Self-Organization in Polycatenar Liquid Crystals Bearing Both Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Chains

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    The synthesis and liquid crystal properties are reported for tri-and tetra-catenar mesogens in which both hydrocarbon and semiperfluorocarbon chains have been incorporated. In the tricatenar mesogens, the lamellar spacing in the smectic C phase of the all-hydrocarbon mesogen almost doubles when the isolated hydrocarbon chain is replaced by a semiperfluorinated chain on account of the localized segregation in different sublayers between the two chain types. In the tetracatenar materials, the replacement of at least one hydrocarbon chain by semiperfluorocarbon chains is sufficient to promote columnar phase formation, but when the molecule has two hydrocarbon chains at one end and two semiperfluorocarbon chains at the other, the requirement for localized phase segregation leads to the formation of a rectangular phase with very large lattice parameters. The juxtaposition of terminal chains of different nature within the same molecular structure thus leads to a reduction in mesophase symmetry and the emergence of more complex supramolecular organization

    Comparative analysis of self-aggregation of liquid crystalline Pt(II) complexes in solution and in neat films

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    Two novel cycloplatinated complexes that differ by the presence/absence of a lateral fused cyclopenteno ring, respectively, were prepared. Although contributing to only a few percentage of the whole molecular volume, the presence of this aliphatic protuberance appears to be essential for the emergence of liquid crystalline behaviour. This pair of two similar compounds, non-mesomorphic complex and mesomorphic complex, was prepared as a model to assess the possible link of the self-aggregation in solution with the appearance of the liquid crystallinity in molten state. NMR dilution studies in CDCl3 solution and X-ray diffusion study in neat films show qualitative similarity of the aggregated structures formed by liquid crystalline complex. Solution studies may therefore be a useful additional tool to the characterization of the liquid crystalline properties and other self-association processes of Pt(II) complexes

    Comparative Analysis of Self-Aggregation of Liquid Crystalline Pt(II) Complexes in Solution and in Neat Films

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    Two novel cycloplatinated complexes that differ by the presence/absence of a lateral fused cyclopenteno ring, respectively, were prepared. Although contributing to only a few percentage of the whole molecular volume, the presence of this aliphatic protuberance appears to be essential for the emergence of liquid crystalline behaviour. This pair of two similar compounds, non-mesomorphic complex and mesomorphic complex, was prepared as a model to assess the possible link of the self-aggregation in solution with the appearance of the liquid crystallinity in molten state. NMR dilution studies in CDCl3 solution and X-ray diffusion study in neat films show qualitative similarity of the aggregated structures formed by liquid crystalline complex. Solution studies may therefore be a useful additional tool to the characterization of the liquid crystalline properties and other self-association processes of Pt(II) complexes. © 2021We thank Northumbria University, CNRS, University of Strasbourg and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 18-03-00232A ) for the support of this work

    Methicillin-Susceptible ST398 Staphylococcus aureus Responsible for Bloodstream Infections: An Emerging Human-Adapted Subclone?

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    In the course of an annual 3-month bloodstream infections (BSI) survey conducted during a four-year period in 31 healthcare institutions located in three noncontiguous French regions, we report 18 ST398 Staphylococcus aureus BSI. ST398 BSI incidence showed a seven-fold increase during the study period (0.002 per 1,000 patient days in 2007 vs. 0.014 in 2010). ST398 BSI isolates differed from the pig-borne multiresistant clone: 17/18 BSI isolates were methicillin susceptible and none was of t011, t034 or t108 pig-borne spa-types. ST398 BSI isolates had homogenous resistance patterns (15/18 with only Eryr) and prophagic content (all harboured the hlb-converting Sau3int phage). The clustering of BSI and pig-borne isolates by spa-typing and MLVA, the occurrence of Sau3int phage in BSI isolates and the lack of this phage in pig-borne isolates suggest that the emergence of BSI isolates could have arisen from horizontal transfer, at least of the Sau3int phage, in genetically diverse MSSA ST398 isolates. The acquisition of the phage likely plays a role in the increasing ability of the lysogenic ST398 isolates to colonize human. The mode of acquisition of the non pig-borne ST398 isolates by our 18 patients remains unclear. ST398 BSI were diagnosed in patients lacking livestock exposure and were significantly associated with digestive portals of entry (3/18 [16.7%] for ST398 vs. 19/767 [2.5%] for non ST398 BSI; p = .012). This raises the question of possible foodborne human infections. We suggest the need for active surveillance to study and control the spread of this human-adapted subclone increasingly isolated in the hospital setting

    CC9 Livestock-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Emerges in Bloodstream Infections in French Patients Unconnected With Animal Farming

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    We report 4 bloodstream infections associated with CC9 agr type II Staphylococcus aureus in individuals without animal exposure. We demonstrate, by microarray analysis, the presence of egc cluster, fnbA, cap operon, lukS, set2, set12, splE, splD, sak, epiD, and can, genomic features associated with a high virulence potential in human

    Molecular Typing and Phenotype Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Blood in Taiwan

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    BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of severe infections such as bacteremia and sepsis. At present, 60-80% of S. aureus isolates from Taiwan are methicillin resistant (MRSA). It has been shown that certain MRSA clones circulate worldwide. The goals of this study were to identify MRSA clones in Taiwan and to correlate the molecular types of isolates with their phenotypes. METHODS: A total of 157 MRSA isolates from bacteremic patients were collected from nine medical centers. They were typed based on polymorphisms in agr, SCCmec, MLST, spa, and dru. Phenotypes characterized included Panton-Valentine leucocidin (pvl), inducible macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance (MLSBi), vancomycin (VA) and daptomycin (DAP) minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC), and superantigenic toxin gene profiles. Difference between two consecutive samples was determined by Mann-Whitney-U test, and difference between two categorical variables was determined by Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Four major MRSA clone complexes CC1, CC5, CC8, and CC59 were found, including 4 CC1, 9 CC5, 111 CC8, and 28 CC59 isolates. These clones had the following molecular types: CC1: SCCmecIV and ST573; CC5: SCCmecII and ST5; CC8: SCCmecIII, ST239, and ST241, and CC59: SCCmecIV, SCCmecV(T), ST59, and ST338. The toxin gene profiles of these clones were CC1: sec-seg-(sei)-sell-selm-(seln)-selo; CC5: sec-seg-sei-sell-selm-(seln)-selp-tst1; CC8: sea-selk-selq, and CC59: seb-selk-selq. Most isolates with SCCmecV(T), ST59, spat437, and dru11 types were pvl(+) (13 isolates), while multidrug resistance (≥4 antimicrobials) were associated with SCCmecIII, ST239, spa t037, agrI, and dru14 (119 isolates) (p<0.001). One hundred and twenty four isolates with the following molecular types had higher VA MIC: SCCmecII and SCCmecIII; ST5, ST239, and ST241; spa t002, t037, and t421; dru4, dru10, dru12, dru13, and dru14 (p<0.05). No particular molecular types were found to be associated with MLSBi phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Four major MRSA clone complexes were found in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to delineate the evolution of MRSA isolates
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