Time-Resolved Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Spectroscopy Part I. Photophysics of Coumarin 343 at Liquid/Liquid Interface

Pico-second time-resolved time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) technique under the total internal reflection (TIR) condition has been used to study the photophysical properties of Coumarin 343 (C343) dye molecules adsorbed at the water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. The fluorescence decay profile of C343 under TIR condition at the water/DCE interface was non-exponential and fitted to the double exponential decay function with the fluorescence lifetimes 0.3 and 3.6 ns, which proved the existence of two different forms of C343 species having largely different lifetimes at the interface. The longer fluorescence lifetime component of C343 at the interface is attributed to the emission from the monomeric form of the dye molecules and the shorter lifetime component is due to the aggregation of dye molecules. The penetration depth dependence of decay curves indicated no change in the fluorescence lifetime components, however, the amplitude corresponding to the lifetime of aggregate increased and the amplitude corresponding to the lifetime of monomer decreased with the decrease in penetration depth of the aqueous phase from the interface. Aggregation is significant in the interfacial layer. The decrease in monomer lifetime at the interface compared to that in the bulk solution is interpreted in terms of excitation energy migration between the dye molecules

Diagonal chromatographic selection of cysteinyl peptides modified with benzoquinones

The derivatization of cysteine-containing peptides with benzoquinone compounds is rapid, quantitative and specific in acidic media. The conversion of cysteines into hydrophobic benzoquinone-adducted residues in peptides is used here to alter the chromatographic properties of cysteinyl peptides during liquid chromatography separation. The benzoquinone derivatization is shown to allow the accurate selection of cysteine-containing peptides of bovine serum albumin tryptic digest by diagonal reversed-phase chromatography, which consists of one primary and a series of secondary identical liquid chromatographic separations, before and after a cysteinyl-targeted modification of the peptides by benzoquinone compounds

Procedimiento conciliatorio en Colombia

La conciliación es uno de los mecanismos alternativos de solución de conflictos más importantes y desarrollados en Colombia. Pese a que las normas legales que rigen la materia son las mismas, en la práctica parece que los conciliadores y centros de conciliación aplican el procedimiento de manera diferente. El presente texto tiene como objetivo poner a disposición de las personas interesadas en la conciliación una descripción de las etapas que integran el procedimiento conciliatorio. El análisis jurídico del procedimiento empieza con los requisitos de la solicitud de conciliación y termina con el seguimiento que se debe hacer al resultado del servicio ofrecido. Para el desarrollo de la presente obra, se integra la legislación, la jurisprudencia y los conceptos de línea institucional del Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia con ejemplos sencillos que permiten un mejor entendimiento de los conceptos que se quieren dar a conocer

Molecular electrocatalysis at soft interfaces

The fundamental aspects of electrochemistry at liquid–liquid interfaces are introduced to present the concept of molecular electrocatalysis. Here, a molecular catalyst is adsorbed at the interface to promote a proton coupled electron transfer reaction such as hydrogen evolution or oxygen reduction using lipophilic electron donors

On-line Electrogeneration of Copper-Peptide Complexes in Microspray Mass Spectrometry

The interaction of copper ions with peptides was investigated by electrospray mass spectrometry. Two electrospray micro-emitters were compared, the first one with a platinum electrode using a copper(II) electrolyte solution containing a peptide sample, and the second one with a sacrificial copper anode in a water/methanol solution containing only a peptide (i.e., angiotensin III, bradykinin, or Leu-enkephalin). The former yielded mainly Cu2 complexes either with histidine residues or with the peptide backbone (Cu complexes can be also formed due to gas-phase reactions), whereas the latter can generate a mixture of both Cu and Cu2 aqueous complexes that yield different complexation patterns. This study shows that electrospray emitters with soluble copper anodes enable the study of Cu(I)–peptide complexes in solution

Absolute Standard Redox Potential of Monolayer-Protected Gold Nanoclusters

The redox properties of monolayer-protected gold nanoclusters (MPCs) are considered from both the theoretical and experimental viewpoints. The “absolute standard redox potential” ([ ]abs) of MPCs is first derived from electrostatic considerations. A linear dependence of the absolute standard redox potential on the valence state of MPCs is theoretically predicted and verified experimentally. By employing ferricinium/ferrocene (Fc+/Fc) as a reference redox couple, the average valence state of MPCs at a given potential can be estimated