A simple, highly efficient and environmentally benign method for the synthesis of 3-styrylchromones from 3-formylchromones and 4-nitrophenylacetic acid/4-nitrotolune in the presence of catalytic amount of basic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydroxide [(bmim)OH] carried out under the influence of microwave irradiation. This method gives remarkable advantages such as, short reaction times, simple work-up procedure and moderate to good yields. The ionic liquid was successfully reused for four cycles without significant loss of activity.

An efficient and easy method for one-pot three-component synthesis of amidoalkyl naphthols by the condensation of aromatic/heteroaromatic/aliphatic aldehydes, 2-naphthol and amides or urea under thermal condition at $60^{\circ}C$ in the presence of acidic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate ([bmim]$HSO_4$) has been described.

The larch-fruit-like acetylferrocene micro-nanomaterials and beltlike acetylferrocene micro-nanomaterials have been cross-correspondingly prepared in bidirection by the top-down and bottom-up approach, respectively, and characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. UV-Vis absorption spectra show that the redshift was found in the acetylferrocene micro-nanomaterials compared to that in solution. The formation mechanism of the acetylferrocene micro-nanomaterials is also proposed. This work provides a new strategy for the material synthesis and preparation and may realize the reuse of organometallic materials.

The complete structural characterization of dehydrodivanillin, an important natural product of interest to the food, cosmetics and aroma industries, has been carried out using multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopic techniques, and its previously $reported^{13}$C-NMR values have been reassigned. Dense and granular thin films of dehydrodivanillin have been grown by sublimation under high vacuum and studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), electrical and optical techniques. The transmittance spectra of the films indicate a wide optical band gap of more than 3 eV. Typical J-V characteristics of Glass/ITO/dehydrodivanillin/Al structure exhibited moderate current densities ${\sim}10^{-4}\;A/cm^2$ at voltages > 25 V with an appreciable SCLC mobility of the order of $10^{-6}\;cm^2$/V-s.

Esterification is an important class of reactions in the preparation of perfumery and flavor chemicals, wherein homogeneous, solid acidic, and superacidic catalysts are normally used. Now, an efficient and selective protocol for protection of various functionalized alcohols employing carboxylic acids as protecting agents is realized through the catalytic mediation of simple heteropolyoxometallates. In this methodology, water is the only by-product and notably the aspect of effluent treatments does not arise. The advantages include the operational simplicity, recycle ability of the catalyst and mild reaction conditions. The present catalytic system may be a potential candidate not only for laboratory practice but also for commercial applications and offers an environmentally safer alternative to the existing processes.

Immuno-sensing for high accurate and selective sensing was performed by fluorescence spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), respectively. Engineered assembly of two fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti-BSA was fabricated in PBS buffer for fluorescence analysis of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Furthermore, the same bio-moieties were immobilized on Au plates for SPR analysis. Naturally-driven binding affinity of immuno-moieties induced FRET and plasmon resonance angle shift in the nanoscale sensing system. Interestingly, the sensing ranges were uniquely different in two systems: e.g., SPR spectroscopy was suitable for highly accurate analysis to measure in the range of 10$^{-15{\sim}-10$ng/mL while the QD fluorescent sensing system was relatively lower sensing ranges in 10$^{-10{\sim}-6$ng/mL. However, the QD sensing system was larger than the SPR sensing system in terms of sensing capacity per one specimen. It is, therefore, suggested that a mutual assistance of FRET and SPR combined sensing system would be a potentially promising candidate for high accuracy and reliable in situ sensing system of immune-related diseases.

The amines studied in this study are less reactive toward ethyl propiolate (3) in MeCN than in H$_2$O although they are 7 to 9 pK$_a$ units more basic in the aprotic solvent. The reactivity of morpholine and deuterated morpholine toward 3 is found to be identical, indicating that proton transfer occurs after rate-determining step (RDS). The fact that kinetic isotope effect is absent excludes a stepwise mechanism in which proton transfer occurs in RDS as well as a concerted mechanism in which nucleophilic attack and proton transfer occur concertedly through a 4-membered cyclic transition state (TS). Thus, the reactions have been concluded to proceed through a stepwise mechanism in which proton transfer occurs after RDS. Brønsted-type plots are linear with small ${\beta}_{nuc}$ values, i.e., ${\beta}_{nuc}$ = 0.29 in H$_2$O and ${\beta}_{nuc}$ = 0.51 in MeCN, indicating that bond formation is not advanced significantly in RDS. The small ${\beta}_{nuc}$ value also supports the conclusion drawn from the study of kinetic isotope effect.

Second-order rate constants (k$_{Nu–}$) have been measured for nucleophilic substitution reactions of Y-substituted phenyl benzoates (1a-i) with butane-2,3-dione monoximate ($Ox^-\;an\;\alpha$-nucleophile) and Z-substituted phenoxides in 80 mol% H$_2$O/20 mol% DMSO at 25.0${\pm}$0.1$^{\circ}C$. Hammett plots correlated with ${\sigma}^o$ and ${\sigma}^-$ constants for reactions of 1a-h with Ox$^–$ exhibit many scattered points. In contrast, the Yukawa-Tsuno plot results in a good linear correlation with ${\rho}_Y$ = 2.20 and r = 0.45, indicating that expulsion of the leaving group occurs in the rate-determining step (RDS). A stepwise mechanism with expulsion of the leaving-group being the RDS has been excluded, since Y-substituted phenoxides are less basic and better nucleofuges than Ox$^–$. Thus, the reactions have been concluded to proceed through a concerted mechanism. Ox$^–$ is over 10$^2$ times more reactive than its reference nucleophile, 4-chlorophenoxide (4-ClPhO$^–$). One might suggest that stabilization of the transition-state (TS) through intramolecular general acid/base catalysis is responsible for the ${\alpha}$-effect since such general acid/base catalysis is not possible for the corresponding reactions with 4-ClPhO$^–$. However, destabilization of the ground-state (GS) of Ox$^–$ has been concluded to be mainly responsible for the ${\alpha}$-effect found in this study on the basis of the fact that the magnitude of the ${\alpha}$-effect is independent of the nature of the substituent Y.

Various indan-1,3-dione derivatives were synthesized from the reaction of different phthalic anhydrides with diethylmalonate using montmorillonite KSF clay as a recyclable heterogeneous acidic catalyst and microwave irradiation in good yields and short reaction times.

Cu-BTC[$Cu_3(BTC)_2(H_2O)_3$, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate], one of the most well-known metal-organic framework materials (MOF), has been synthesized under atmospheric pressure and room temperature by using ultrasound. The Cu-BTC can be obtained in 1 min in the presence of DMF (N,N-dimethylformamide), suggesting the possibility of continuous production of Cu-BTC. Moreover, the surface area and pore volume show that the concentration of DMF is important for the synthesis of Cu-BTC having high porosity. The morphology and phase also depend on the concentration of DMF : Cu-BTC cannot be obtained at room temperature in the absence of DMF and aggregated Cu-BTC (with low surface area) is produced in the presence of high concentration of DMF. It seems that the deprotonation of benzenetricarboxylic acid by base (such as DMF) is inevitable for the room temperature syntheses.

The hydricities of d$^6$ metal hydride complexes in aqueous solution were calculated by using density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations coupled with a Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) solvent model. Hydricity describes the hydride donor ability of the metal-hydrogen bond, which assists in the study of the mechanism of many catalytic processes and chemical reactions that involve transition metal hydrides. The calculation scheme produced hydricity values that were in good agreement with experimental estimation. The inclusion of a water molecule as a weakly bound ligand to five-coordinate metal complexes gave an improved correlation result.

Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is applied to the study of the adsorption of benzoimidazolic fungicides benzimidazole (BIZ) and thiabendazole (TBZ) on silver mirrors. The influence of pH on the adsorption mechanism was investigated. In case of BIZ, two different adsorption mechanisms are deduced depending on the experimental conditions: via the $\pi$ electrons of the ring in neutral conditions and through an ionic pairing of protonated nitrogen atom with the chloride adsorbed on the metal surface. The SERS spectra of TBZ revealed that most molecules were adsorbed on silver surface by the ${\pi}$ electrons in neutral and acidic conditions but in acid conditions, some molecules were adsorbed via the sulfur and nitrogen atoms tilted slightly to the surface.

Asymmetric glycolate alkylation reactions in the solid phase were investigated for the first time with good stereoselectivities being obtained by using a Wang resin supported 2-imidazolidinone chiral auxiliary.

New receptors 1-3 that bind stereoselectively amino alcohols and convert chirality of amino acidsvia imine bond formation were synthesized. The receptors have uryl (1), thiouryl (2) and guanidinium (3) groups all with additional phenylcarbonyl motifs, which are effective hydrogen bonding donors and play a key role in the stereoselective recognitions. The stereoselectivities were measured from the integration of $^1HNMR$ peaks. Compound 1 and 2 showed the stereoselectivities for the imine formation with amino alcohols ($K_R/K_S$) in the range of 2${\sim}$4, and compound 3 in the range of 4${\sim}$8. Chirality conversion efficienciesof 1-3 for amino acids, i.e. D/L ratio at equilibrium, are in the range of 1.5${\sim}$5.6, showing a little higher efficiency with 3. The additional phenylcarbonyl motifs in 1-3 were revealed not to contribute to significant enhancement of the selectivities.

Copper-dimethylglyoxime complex (CuDMG) modified Copper electrode (Cu/CuDMG) showed a catalytic activity towards cyclohexanol oxidation in NaOH solution. The modified electrode prepared by the dimethylglyoxime anodic deposition on Cu electrode in the solution contained 0.20 M $NH_4Cl\;+\;NH_4OH\;(pH\;9.50)\;and\;1\;{\times}\;10^{-4}$ M dimethylglyoxime. The modified electrode conditioned by potential recycling in a potential range of -900${\sim}$900 mV vs. Ag/AgCl by cyclic voltammetry in alkaline medium (1 M NaOH). The results show that the CuDMG film on the electrode behaves as an efficient catalyst for the electro-oxidation of cyclohexanol in alkaline medium via Cu (III) species formed on the electrode.

Massive deguanylation of guanine based-nucleosides induced by halogenated alkanes at the physiological condition have been observed. For the study of deguanylation effects by the different substituents and/or functionality in halogenated alkanes, diverse kinds of halogenated alkanes were incubated with guanine based-nucleosides (ddG, dG and guanosine) for 48 h at the physiological condition (pH 7.4, 37$^{\circ}C$), which were analyzed by HPLC and further confirmed by LC-MS. Among the sixteen different halogenated alkanes, we observed massive deguanylation of nucleosides by 2-bromo-2-methylpropane, 2,3-dibromopropene, 2-bromopropane, bromoethane and 2-iodopropane. The order of deguanylation rate was highest in 2-bromo-2-methylpropane followed by 2,3-dibromopropene, 2-bromopropane, bromoethane and 2-iodopropane. In addition, time and dose response relationship of deguanylation in guanine basednucleosides induced by 2-bromo-2-methylpropane, 2,3-dibromopropene, 2-bromopropane, bromoethane and 2-iodopropane at the physiological condition were investigated. Deguanylation of calf thymus DNA induced by halogenated alkanes was also investigated. These results suggest that the toxic effect of certain halogenated alkanes might be from the depurination of nucleosides.

Total synthesis of (${\pm}$)-licochalcone E (1), an allyl retrochalcone isolated from roots of Glycyrrhiza inflata, has been achieved from 4-tetrahydropyranyloxyacetophenone (7) with (E)-2-methoxy-4-(2-methyl-2-butenyloxy)benzaldehyde (6) or (Z)-2-methoxy-4-(2-methyl-2-butenyloxy)-benzaldehyde (11) through a convergent strategy involving aldol condensation and Claisen rearrangement as key steps.

The photodissociation dynamics of 1,2-bromochloroethane ($C_2H_4BrCl$) was investigated near 234 nm. A two-dimensional photofragment ion-imaging technique coupled with a [2+1] resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization scheme was utilized to obtain speed and angular distributions of the nascent Br($^2P_{3/2}$) and Br${\ast}($^2P_{1/2}$) atoms. The total translational energy distributions for the Br and Br${\ast}$ channels were well characterized by Gaussian functions with average translational energies of 100 and 84 kJ/mol, respectively. The recoil anisotropies for the Br and Br${\ast}$ channels were measured to be ${\beta}$ = 0.49 ${\pm}$ 0.05 for Br and 1.55 ${\pm}$ 0.05 for Br${\ast}$. The relative quantum yield for Br${\ast}$ was found to be ${\Phi}_{Br{\ast}}$ = 0.33 ${\pm}$ 0.03. The probability of nonadiabatic transition between A' states was estimated to be 0.46. The relevant nonadiabatic dynamics is discussed in terms of interaction between potential energy surfaces in Cs symmetry.

A mild and efficient method has been developed for condensation of substituted phenol with ${\beta}$-ketoester in the presence of catalytic amount of ammonium metavanadate (10 mol%) at ambient temperature to afford the corresponding substituted 4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one in high yields under mild conditions. Utilization of commercially available inexpensive catalyst makes this manipulation very interesting from an economic perspective.

The decomposition reaction mechanism of $CH_3CF_2O$ radical formed from hydroflurocarbon, $CH_3CHF_2$ (HFC-152a) in the atmosphere has been investigated using ab-initio quantum mechanical methods. The geometries of the reactant, products and transition states involved in the decomposition pathways have been optimized and characterized at DFT-B3LYP and MP2 levels of theories using 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. Calculations have been carried out to observe the effect of basis sets on the optimized geometries of species involved. Single point energy calculations have been performed at QCISD(T) and CCSD(T) level of theories. Out of the two prominent decomposition channels considered viz., C-C bond scission and F-elimination, C-C bond scission is found to be the dominant path involving a barrier height of 12.3 kcal/mol whereas the F-elimination path involves that of a 28.0 kcal/mol. Using transition-state theory, rate constant for the most dominant decomposition pathway viz., C-C bond scission is calculated at 298 K and found to be 1.3 ${\times}$ 10$^4s{-1}$. Transition states are searched on the potential energy surfaces involving both decomposition channels and each of the transition states are characterized. The existence of transition states on the corresponding potential energy surface are ascertained by performing Intrinsic Reaction Coordinate (IRC) calculation.

Nanowires of polytetrakis(o-aminophenyl)porphyrin (PTAPPNW) were fabricated by electrochemical polymerization with the cyclic voltammetric method in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. The glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified by PTAPPNW, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and Nafion as a binder was investigated with voltammetric methods in a phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution at pH 7.4. The PTAPPNW + SWNT + Nafion/GCE exhibited strongly enhanced voltammetric and amperometric sensitivity towards hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), which shortened the response time and enhanced the sensitivity for $H_2O_2$ determination at an applied potential of 0.0 V by amperometric method. The PTAPPNW + SWNT + Nafion/GCE can be used to monitor $H_2O_2$ at very low concentrations in biological pH as an efficient electrochemical $H_2O_2$ sensor.

A gene (PH0311) encoding a hypothetical protein from the genome sequence data of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 was cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant protein was found to possess FAD-dependent NADH oxidase activity, although it lacked sequence homology to any other known general NADH oxidase family. The product of the PH0311 gene was thus designated PhNOX (NADH oxidase from Pyrococcus horikoshii), with an estimated molecular weight of 84 kDa by gel filtration and 22 kDa by SDS-PAGE, indicating it to be a homotetramer of 22 kDa subunits. PhNOX catalyzed the oxidation of reduced ${\beta}$-NADH with subsequent formation of $H_2O_2$ in the presence of FAD as a cofactor, but not ${\alpha}$-NADH, ${\alpha}$-NADPH, or ${\beta}$-NADPH. PhNOX showed high affinity for ${\beta}$-NADH with a Km value of 3.70 ${\mu}$M and exhibited optimum activity at pH 8.0 and 95$^{\circ}C$ as it is highly stable against high temperature.

An efficient synthetic route of novel 2′(${\alpha}$)-C-fluoro-2′(${\beta}$)-C-methyl carbocyclic nucleoside analogues is described. The key fluorinated intermediate 7 was prepared from the epoxide intermediate 5 via selective ring-opening of epoxide. Coupling of 7 with nucleosidic bases under the Mitsunobu reactions followed by deprotection afforded the target carbocyclic nucleoside analogues. The synthesized compounds were evaluated as inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Huh-7 cell line in vitro.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-on-a-chip (EOC) biosensor combined with cell concentration technology based on immuno-magnetic separation (IMS) was investigated for use as a potential tool for early screening of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in food products. The target analyte is a well-known pathogenic foodborne microorganism and outbreaks of the food poisoning typically occur due to contamination of normal food products. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a rapid and reliable sensor that could be utilized on a daily basis to test food products for the presence of this pathogenic microorganism. The sensor was optimized to provide a high detection capability (e.g., 5.9 ${\times}\;10^3$ cells/mL) and, to eventually minimize cultivation time. The cell density was condensed using IMS prior to analysis. Since the concentration rate of IMS was greater than 100-fold, this combination resulted in a detection limit of 54 cells/mL. The EOC-IMS coupled analytical system was then applied to a real sample test of fish intestines. The system was able to detect L. monocytogenes at a concentration of 2.4 CFU/g after pre-enrichment for 6 h from the onset of cell cultivation. This may allow us to monitor the target analyte at a concentration less than 1 CFU/g within a 9 h-cultivation provided a doubling time of 40 min is typically maintained. Based on this estimation, the EOC-IMS system can screen and detect the presence of this microorganism in food products almost within working hours.

Among the more than 120 different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), types 16 and 18 have been known to be high risk agents that cause cervical cancer. We examined, in an immuno-chromatographic analysis, the potential of using the early gene product, E7 protein, as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer caused by HPV. We developed monoclonal antibodies specific to HPV-16 and 18 E7 proteins that were produced from bacterial cells using gene recombinant technology. For each E7 protein, the optimal antibody pair was selected using the immuno-chromatographic sandwichtype binding system based on the lateral flow through membrane pores. Under these conditions, this rapid testing assay had a detection capability as low as 2 ng/mL of E7 protein. Furthermore, since viral analysis required the host cell to be lysed using chemicals such as detergents, it was possible that the E7 protein was structurally damaged during this process, which would result in a decrease in detection sensitivity. Therefore, we examined the detrimental effects caused by different detergents on the E7 protein using HeLa cells as the host. In these experiments, we found that the damage caused by the detergent, nonylphenylpolyethylene glycol (NP-40), was minimal relative to Triton X-100 commonly used for the cell lysis. Temperature also affected the stability of the E7 protein, and we found that the E7 protein was stabilized at 4$^{\circ}C$ for about 2 h, which was 4 times longer than at room temperature. Finally, a HPV-infected cervical cancer cell line, which was used as a real sample model, was treated using the optimized conditions and the presence of E7 proteins were analyzed by immuno-chromatography. The results of this experiment demonstrated that this rapid test could specifically detect HPV-infected samples.

We have performed long time REMD simulation on 15-19 residues of human calcitonin hormone (DFNKF) which is known to form highly ordered amyloid fibril. The simulation started from randomly oriented multiple DFNKF strand. Using all-atom level simulations with the generalized Born solvation (GB) model (param99MOD3), we observed spontaneous formation of ${\beta}$-sheet for tetramer. Interestingly, the current simulation gives anti-parallel sheet as a major conformation, consistent with experiments. The major interaction stabilizing the anti-parallel sheet seems to be the inter-strand hydrogen bond.

Structural and thermo-analytical studies were carried out to understand the phase formation kinetics of the single phase $Bi_5Ti_3FeO_{15}$ (BTFO) nanocrystals in $Bi_2O_3-Fe_2O_3-TiO_2$, during the polymerized complex (PC) synthesis method. The crystallization of Aurivillius phase $Bi_5Ti_3FeO_{15}$ layered perovskite was found to be initiated and achieved under the temperature conditions in the range of ${\sim}$800 to 1050$^{\circ}C$. The activation energy for grain growth of $Bi_5Ti_3FeO_{15}$ nanocrystals (NCs) was very low in case of NCs formed by PC (2.61 kJ/mol) than that formed by the solid state reaction (SSR) method (10.9 kJ/mol). The energy involved in the phase transformation of Aurivillius phase $Bi_5Ti_3FeO_{15}$ from $Bi_2O_3-Fe_2O_3-TiO_2$ system was ${\sim}$ 69.8 kJ/mol. The formation kinetics study of $Bi_5Ti_3FeO_{15}$ synthesized by SSR and PC methods would not only render a large impact in the nanocrystalline material development but also in achieving highly efficient visible photocatalysts.

The chemical bond parameters of Y-123, Eu-123, Pr-123 and Gd-123 compounds have calculated using the chemical bond theory of complex crystals. Their hardness have been predicted by the chemical bond definition of hardness. The calculated results indicate that the Ba-O and RE-O types of bond have a lower covalent character and the Cu-O types of bond have greater covalency. The hardness values increase as the unit cell volume of the rare earth superconductor structures decrease.

$Zn_2Ti_{1-x}Fe_xO_4\;(0\;{\leq}\;x\;{\leq}\;0.7)$ photocatalysts were synthesized by polymerized complex (PC) method and investigated for its physico-chemical as well as optical properties. $Zn_2Ti_{1-x}Fe_xO_4$ can absorb not only UV light but also visible light region due to doping of Fe in the Ti site of $Zn_2TiO_4$ lattice because of the band transition from Fe 3d to the Fe 3d + Ti3d hybrid orbital. The photocatalytic activity of Fe doped $Zn_2TiO_4$ samples for hydrogen production under UV light irradiation decreased with an increase in Fe concentration in $Zn_2TiO_4$. Consequently, there exists an optimized concentration of iron for improved photocatalytic activity under visible light (${\lambda}{\leq}$420 nm)

Novel poly(aspartic acid) derivatives conjugated with $\gamma$-amino butyric acid, GABA, moieties, and their amphiphilic analogs were synthesized and characterized. The chemical structures of these polymers were confirmed by FT-IR and $^1H$ NMR spectroscopy. Their physicochemical properties in aqueous media were characterized by electrophonetic light scattering spectrophotometry (ELS), acid-base titration, and UV-spectroscopy. In addition, the in vitro cell activity of the GABA-conjugated polymer was examined. These results indicated that GABA-conjugated poly(aspartic acid) derivatives showed cell-growth activity and nanoparticle formation of a suitable size within aqueous media. These polymers have potential application in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields.

A new colorimetric anion sensor 1 has been synthesized based on both Fat brown RR dye and a nitrophenyl group. This new receptor 1 could recognize the presence of fluoride ion effectively and selectively by the change of color of solution. In addition, receptor 1 shows higher affinity for acetate, dihydrogenphosphate, and hydrogensulfate than the other anions such as chloride, bromide, iodide, perchlorate, and nitrate in acetonitrile.

A simple, rapid, practical and sensitive spectofluorimetric method was developed for the determination of trace amount of heparin (Hep). Under the Optimum conditions, we studied the interaction between NFLX-Ce$^{3+}$-Hep complex by using absorption and fluorescence spectra. It was observed that Hep remarkably enhance the fluorescence intensity of the NFLX-Ce$^{3+}$ complex at ${\lambda}$= 356 nm in the buffer solution of pH = 7.60 and the enhancement effect is shown to relate with the concentration of Hep. The linear range and detection limit for the determination of Hep was obtained. By the Rosenthal graphic method, the association constant (K) and binding numbers (N) of Hep with probe were investigated. This method is relatively free of interference from coexisting substances and successfully applied for the determination of heparin in heparin sodium injection samples. A suitable mechanism of fluorescence enhancement between NFLX-Ce$^{3+}$ and the NFLX-Ce$^{3+}$-Hep systems were proposed and discussed.

We report the first electric field dependence IR spectra of three cytosine tautomers solvated in helium nanodroplets. By using an electric field dependence on the three lowest energy tautomers of cytosine and ab initio calculations, we are able to measure the vibrational transition moment angles (VTMAs), specifically for the $NH_2$ symmetric stretch (SS) mode in this study, with more precision; thus we have reassigned the previous $NH_2$ (SS) VTMA of 74$^{\circ}$ for the C1 tautomer to 85$^{\circ}$, which the latter is in excellent agreement with the ab initio value. Nonplanarity of the three lowest energy tautomers of cytosine has been investigated by measuring the VTMA of each vibrational mode for the tautomers.

Graphene sheets formed by the reaction of carbon monoxide (CO) with aluminum sulfide ($Al_2S_3$) at reaction temperatures ${\leq}$ 800 $^{\circ}$ were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The graphene sheets, formed as CO was reduced to gaseous carbon by the reaction with $Al_2S_3$, in the temperature range 800 - 1100 $^{circ}C$, did not exhibit their characteristic XRD peaks because of the small number of graphene layers and/or low crystallinity of graphene sheets. Raman spectra of graphene sheets showed that the intensity ratio of the D band to the G band decreased and the 2D band was shifted to higher frequencies with increasing reaction temperature, indicating that the number of graphene layers increased with increasing reaction temperature.

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is added to gasoline to enhance the octane number of gasoline, tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) is major degradation intermediate of MTBE in environment, and benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) are also major constituents of gasoline. In this study, a simplified headspace analysis method was adapted for simultaneous determination of MTBE, TBA and BTEX in ground water samples. The sample 5.0 mL and 2 g NaCl were placed in a 10 mL vial and the solution was spiked with fluorobenzene as an internal standard and sealed with a cap. The vial was placed in a heating block at 85 $^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. The detection limits of the assay were 0.01 ${\mu}$g/L for MTBE and BTEX, and 0.02 ${\mu}$g/L for TBA. The method was used to analyze 110 ground water samples from various regions in Korea, and to survey the their background concentration in ground water in Korea. The samples revealed MTBE concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 0.45 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 57.3%), TBA concentrations in the range of 0.02 - 0.08 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 5.5%), and total BTEX concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 2.09 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 87.3%). The developed method may be used when simultaneously determining the amount of MTBE, TBA and BTEX in water.

The title compound, ${\alpha},{\alpha}$-dichloro-o-methylacetophenone, was prepared and its photochemical behavior was investigated. Addition of an extra chlorine at alpha position to the carbonyl showed many different features from photochemical reactivities of mono chloro analogue, 2,5-dimethylphenacyl chloride. In benzene, a rearrangement product with a formal 1,5-Cl shift and a reduction product were formed beside indanone. In methanol, solvolysis and cyclization of a common dienol intermediate occurred at comparable reaction rates.

Ionic palladium(II) complex, [($Me_4en)Pd(L)]_2(ClO_4)_4\;(Me_4$en = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine; L = bis-(4-(4-pyridylcarboxyl)phenyl)methane), allows to form a monodisperse submicrosphere without any template or additive. Surface-perchlorates on the submicrosphere have been exchanged by anionic pH indicators such as thymol blue, bromothymol blue, and bromocresol green. The ionic and amphiphilic properties of the palladium(II) complex appear to be primarily associated with the formation and easy surface-anion exchange of submicrosphere. The surface-anion exchange through the electrostatic interaction is a very good tool for the surface-modification. The color of the pH indicator-exchanged submicrospheres is very sensitive to pH and Hg$^{2+}$ cation, and thus they are promising to submicrospherical indicators.

A series of mono- and 1,1'-bis(heteroaryl)-substituted ferrocenes were prepared by employing Frielander reaction of acetyl- and 1,1'-diacetylferrocene with a series of o-aminoaldehydes. Reactions of 1,1'-diacetylferrocene with two equivalents of 1-aminonaphthalene-2-carbaldehyde and 8-aminoquinoline-7-carbaldehyde afforded a mixture of mono- and 1,1'-bis(heteroaryl)-substituted ferrocenes in a ratio of 1 : 3.1 - 3.8, while the reaction with 4-aminoacridine-3-carbaldehyde did not provide any characterizable product presumably due to the redox instability of the product induced by low reduction potential of benzo[b]-1,10-phenanthroline. Structural and optical properties of the compounds prepared were described.