C. Tsukada

Spectroscopic and morphological studies on interaction between gold nanoparticle and liposome constructed with phosphatidylcholine

The gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) colloidal solution and the phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposome aqueous solution are fabricated by the solution plasma method and the extrusion procedure, respectively. When the Au NPs colloidal solution and the PC liposome aqueous solution are mixed, considering the TEM image, we think that the Au NPs firstly are covered with the PC molecules, which do not contribute to form the PC liposome, and subsequently the Au NPs covered with the PC adsorb on the PC liposome surface. We propose that the PC molecule adsorbs on the Au sheet surface at the methyl group of N-CH3 and the oxygen atoms of P-O, P=O, C-O and C=O bonds, because each peak intensity of N, O and P K-edges NEXAFS spectra for the PC/Au sheet is reduced in comparison with that for the PC multilayer. Furthermore, the Au NPs covered with PC seem to be aggregated each other through the hydrophobic groups of PC on Au NPs.

Vulcanization reaction of squalene and S8 powder studied by Sulfur K-edge NEXAFS under liquid phase

Vulcanized rubber materials are useful in our surroundings. However, detail structure and reaction are not revealed even in present. Since squalene molecule possesses some same properties compared with natural rubber, we have prepared the samples of vulcanized squalene at 140 °C for several hours. To understand the vulcanization reaction,sulfur K-edge NEXAFS measurements have been carried out for the vulcanized squalene under liquid phase with He-path system and fluorescence detection mode. Moreover, we have tried curve fitting analysis of NEXAFS spectra. The results indicate that the squalene has been vulcanized by the S8 molecule at 140 °C and the S8 molecule length is shortened from 8 to 5-6 after the vulcanization reaction.