Structural, Photophysical, and Conductive Properties of n-Hexyl Substituted Hybrid Polysilylene−Polysilyne Networks

Photogeneration of Charge Carriers and Their Transport Properties in Poly[bis(p-n-butylphenyl)silane]

The photocarrier generation mechanism and mobility in poly[bis(p-n-butylphenyl)silane] (PBPS) thin films doped with a variety of electron acceptors are studied by time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements. It was found that fullerene is a suitable electron acceptor for PBPS as it provides the highest product of photocarrier generation yield phi and mobility Sigmamu under excitation at 532 and 355 nm. The observed high phiSigmamu value of 4.5 x 10(-3) cm(2)/(V s) under excitation at 193 nm (6.39 eV) can be attributed to the direct ionization of PBPS molecules. The photoinduced electron transfer between C(60) and PBPS was investigated in a solution sample by laser flash photolysis under excitation at 532 nm. On the basis of the extinction coefficient of PBPS(*+), transient absorption of PBPS(*+) provides a maximum value of phi of 0.83% for the electron-transfer reaction from PBPS to (3)C(60). On the basis of this value of phi, the intrinsic intrachain mobility of holes on the PBPS backbone is estimated to be higher than 1.7 x 10(-2) cm(2)/(V s), suggesting the presence of a high conducting path along the Si backbone of PBPS.

Short term stability of freeze-dried, lyoprotected liposomes

In the present study we examined the short term stability of liposomes in the freeze-dried state for different lipid compositions containing trehalose as a lyoprotectant. The retention of carboxyfluorescein and average vesicle size after rehydration were monitored as a function of the temperature to which the dry cakes were exposed for 0.5 h. The thermal behaviour of the cakes was analysed by modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry, and acyl chain order and interaction between trehalose molecules and the phospholipid headgroups was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Induction of leakage, suppression of the (onset) bilayer transition temperature (Tm) and enhancement of the interaction between sugar and phospholipid molecules were observed below the glass transition temperature (Tg) for all lipid compositions studied. The above changes concurred with the melting transition of the bilayer. Two out of five lipid compositions showed no significant change in average vesicle size, indicating that leakage was not necessarily caused by vesicle fusion. In addition, leakage could not be explained in terms of a phase transition during rehydration of the liposomes. We conclude that for liposomes freeze-dried in trehalose the temperature range of the bilayer melting process is a better indicator than Tg for the maximal temperature to which liposomes may be exposed for a short period of time (0.5 h) without loss of stability.