ABSTRACT
Glutathione-protected Au25 clusters were used to load monodisperse gold nanoclusters (1.2 ± 0.3 nm) onto BaLa4Ti4O15 to create photocatalysts. The photocatalytic activity of the resulting material for water splitting was determined to be 2.6 times higher than that of catalysts loaded with larger gold nanoparticles (10-30 nm) via conventional photodeposition.
Subject(s)
Barium Compounds/chemistry , Glutathione/chemistry , Gold/chemistry , Lanthanum/chemistry , Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry , Oxides/chemistry , Titanium/chemistry , Catalysis , Light , Oxidation-Reduction , Water/chemistryABSTRACT
An Au(25) cluster protected by azobenzene derivative thiolates (S-Az) ([Au(25)(S-Az)(18)](-)) was synthesized with the aim of producing a photoresponsive Au(25) cluster. The matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrum of the product revealed that [Au(25)(S-Az)(18)](-) was synthesized in high purity. Optical absorption spectra of [Au(25)(S-Az)(18)](-) obtained before and after photoirradiation suggest that the azobenzenes in the ligands of Au(25)(S-Az)(18) isomerize with an efficiency of nearly 100%, both from the trans to cis conformation and from the cis to trans conformation. Furthermore, the redox potential and optical absorption of Au(25)(S-Az)(18) were found to change reversibly due to photoisomerization of azobenzenes.
ABSTRACT
To investigate the association of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) with the development of diabetic nephropathy, plasma levels of ox-LDL were measured in 70 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) using the mouse monoclonal antibody FOH1a/DLH3, which specifically recognizes oxidized phosphatidylcholine, and a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled goat anti-human apolipoprotein B IgG was used to measure ox-LDL levels. The mean age of the patients was 57.0+/-1 3.4 years, and the mean duration of diabetes was 13.4+/-8.5 years. Plasma ox-LDL levels were similar in patients with normoalbuminuria (13.7+/-3.9 U/ml), patients with microalbuminuria (12.8+/-3.9 U/ml), and normal controls (12.5+/-4.2 U/ml). However, the plasma ox-LDL level in patients with macroalbuminuria (16.8+/-7.5 U/ml) was significantly higher than those in the other groups (P<0.05). Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were similar in diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (8.2+/-2.2%), microalbuminuria (7.8+/-1.3%), or macroalbuminuria (7.2+/-1.4%). There was no significant correlation between the ox-LDL level and the HbA1c level. The significantly elevated plasma ox-LDL levels in patients with macroalbuminuria suggest that ox-LDL may play an important role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy.
