We propose a novel principle of velocity mass analysis of a micro-particle using magnetophoretic force. The new method can determine the mass of a particle from its magnetophoretic velocity change in a high magnetic field gradient in a low viscous medium such as air. In the present study, the new principle was demonstrated by the magnetophoretic acceleration of an aqueous manganese(II) chloride micro-droplet and the deceleration of a water micro-droplet in the atmosphere. The observed velocity change was analyzed taking into account the mass of the droplet through the acceleration term of the equation of motion. The experimental results proved that the inertia force in the magnetophoretic velocity of a micro-particle could be detected in air. The present method provided an innovative mass analysis method without any ionization of the sample.

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The direct measurement of the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of liquid/liquid interface has been achieved for the first time by the centrifugal liquid membrane (CLM) method combined with a conventional CD spectropolarimetry. In the sample chamber of the CD spectropolarimeter, a cylindrical glass cell containing small amounts of organic and aqueous phases was rotated at ca. 7000 rpm to generate a two-phase liquid membrane with a high specific interfacial area. The CD spectra of the J-aggregate of protonated 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin formed at the toluene/sulfuric acid interface in the rotating cell have been measured. The results demonstrated the novelty and advantages of this method.

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Molecules in inhomogeneous liquid environments, such as air/liquid, liquid/liquid, solid/liquid interfaces interact with each other specifically, and sometimes form characteristic structures and emerge unique properties. Here, we introduce two newly developed spectroscopic techniques, the total-internal-reflection ultrafast transient lens method (TIR-UTL) and second harmonic generation-coherent vibrational spectroscopy (SHG-CVS), to investigate the characteristic behaviors of molecules in such inhomogeneous environments. TIR-UTL probes the refractive-index change with sub-picosecond resolution and provides information on ultrafast changes in the population, density, and thermal properties, such as temperature increase and energy transfer from the solute molecules to the surrounding solvent molecules. On the other hand, SHG-CVS probes nonlinear susceptibility changes at the interfacial areas, and is expected to provide spectroscopic information on the low-frequency vibrational modes that reflect the corrective motion of the molecules in such an inhomogeneous environment. These new approaches are based on pump-probe techniques utilizing (ultra) short laser pulses. They are expected to provide further information on inhomogeneous environments from the viewpoints of solute-solvent interactions, changes in the molecular orientation, and the corrective motion of molecules at liquid interfaces.

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The dynamic behaviors of molecular assemblies at two immiscible liquid interfaces are intriguing topics in many fields of science and technology. However, it is generally difficult to investigate the dynamic behaviors of such molecular assemblies because of the buried nature of liquid/liquid interfaces. In the present paper, our recent investigations on dynamic behaviors of various molecular self-assemblies at liquid/liquid interfaces are reviewed. We monitored dynamic behaviors of the molecular assemblies by time-resolved quasi-elastic laser scattering (TR-QELS) and fluorescent spectroscopy. The former method allows us to monitor the change in interfacial tension with millisecond time-resolution. As molecular assemblies, bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) microemulsion, phospholipid biomembrane models, and liposome-DNA complexes have all been studied, since they are relevant in material sciences and biological technologies. At liquid/liquid interfaces, these molecular assemblies showed characteristic behaviors. We review the finding of rebound response of the interfacial tension at the liquid/liquid interface induced by the adsorption of the AOT microemulsion. We monitored the hydrolysis reaction of phospholipid biomembrane models formed at oil/water interfaces, observing the different types of behavior of liposome-DNA complexes at biomembrane models with different kinds of phospholipids.

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Chemical oscillations with periodic adsorption and desorption of surfactant ions, alkyl sulfate ions, at a water/nitrobenzene interface have been investigated. The interfacial tension was measured with a quasi elastic laser scattering (QELS) method and the interfacial electrical potential was obtained. We found that this oscillation consists of a series of abrupt adsorptions of ions, followed by a gradual desorption. In addition, we observed that each abrupt adsorption was always accompanied by a small waving motion of the liquid interface. From the analysis of the video images of the liquid interface or bulk phase, we could conclude that each abrupt adsorption is caused by nonlinear amplification of mass transfer of ions from the bulk phase to the liquid interface by a Marangoni convection, which was generated due to local adsorption of the surfactant ions at the liquid interface that resulted in the heterogeneity of the interfacial tension. In the present paper, we describe the mechanism of the chemical oscillation in terms of the hydrodynamic effect on the ion adsorption processes, and we also show the interfacial chemical reaction with ion exchange during the ion desorption process.

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A microscopic system for the observation of reactions at a liquid-liquid interface was established, to which strong magnetic fields (0 - 0.4 T) could be applied with permanent magnets. In situ observation for the interfacial extraction of fluorescent and paramagnetic Eu(III) ion with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (Htta) in dodecane was carried out. In the presence of oxalate (ox^2-), micro-aggregates of Eu(III)-tta-ox complexes were generated in the aqueous phase before its extraction. When the micro-aggregates diffused to the dodecane-water interface, Eu(tta)₃ was extracted with excess Htta in the dodecane phase. The microextraction process of the aggregates was observed as random flashes of Eu(tta)₃ fluorescence at the dodecane-water interface. The single flash contained about 10^-16 - 10^-14 mol of Eu(III). An application of magnetic fields made the flash frequency increase, which corresponded to an enhancement of interfacial Eu(III) extraction rate. The enhancement effect was attributable to the magnetophoresis of the paramagnetic micro-aggregates to the dodecane-water interface.

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Interfacial tensiometry and second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy were applied to examine the adsorption behavior of lauric acid (LA) at a heptane/water interface. From interfacial tensiometry measurements, the adsorption kinetics of LA was revealed to be diffusion-controlled, and the adsorption constant of LA was estimated to be 9.6 × 10⁴ M^-1. The adsorption isotherms obtained by SHG measurements were analyzed by taking account of both the molecular orientation of LA at the interface and a surface electric field generated by the adsorbed LA layer. It was confirmed that the carboxylic groups of adsorbed LA molecules were well ordered at the heptane/water interface and the orientation of the carboxylate group was invariant during the adsorption process.

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The distribution of anthracene-9-carboxylic acid across dibutyl phthalate/gelatin-membrane/water interface of a single microcapsule was analyzed using microcapillary manipulation and microabsorption methods. The partitioning ratio and the distribution rate in the microcapsule/water system were measured for various pH values in the water phase. Results were compared with those in the dibutyl phthalate/water system in the absence of the gelatin membrane. The distribution rate could be analyzed on the basis of a first-order type reaction. The observed rate constant was linearly proportional to the inverse of the microcapsule radius, indicating that the distribution rate is limited by interfacial mass transfer. Analysis of the pH dependence of the interfacial mass transfer rate suggests that the mass transfer of the neutral species of anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (AnH) competes with the ion transfer of the dissociated species (An^-) at the liquid/liquid interface in the gelatin membrane of the microcapsule.

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Analysis by reflection spectrometry was performed to clarify the interfacial adsorption of protonated lipophilic tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives in a dodecane-aqueous sulfuric acid system, and to confirm the utility of partial reflection spectroscopy. Interfacial adsorption was not observed for porphyrins substituted at the 2,6 positions of meso-phenyl groups, suggesting that the substituents prevent porphyrins from forming aggregates by steric hindrance. Polymorphous J-aggregates of acid dications were produced by tetra-p-tolylporphyrin with a saturated interfacial molecular density of 1.0 × 10^-10 mol cm^-2, which could yield 48° as a mean tilting angle of the pyrrole ring plane from the interface normal. Partial-reflection spectrometry can provide sensitive detection and molecular orientation analysis of interfacial adsorbates.

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The dynamic behaviors of cationic liposome-DNA complexes in inside and outside biomembrane models upon lipofection were investigated using the time-resolved quasi-elastic laser scattering (QELS) method. Inside and outside biomembrane models with similar phospholipid compositions to those in living cells were formed at a tetradecane/phosphate buffered saline (TD/PBS) interface. Cationic liposome-DNA complexes were injected into the buffer subphase, and their adsorption/desorption behaviors at the biomembrane models were monitored through changes in the interfacial tension. We found that the adsorption rate of the complexes increased 2.6 times more in the outside model than in the inside one. The adsorption rate of DNA alone did not show a remarkable difference from one side to the other; however, the adsorption rate of the cationic liposome alone showed a similar tendency to that of the liposome-DNA complex. These results indicated that the difference in lipid composition induced a different dynamic behavior of exogenous biomolecules and that the cationic liposomes played an important role in the faster incorporation of DNA into cells upon lipofection.

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The complex formation of Cu(II) and Fe(II) with a hydrophobic ligand, 5-(octadecyloxy)-2-(2-thiazolylazo)phenol (TARC18), was investigated in the heptane/water system by the high-speed stirring spectrometry and the micro-two phase flow ESI/MS method. At first, the dissociation constant of TARC18 at the heptane/water interface was determined as pK_a = 7.11. The interfacial complexation of the ligand with Cu(II) and Fe(II) under stirred conditions progressed with an increase of the pH. The experimental results showed that a 1:1 complex of Cu(II) and TARC18 was formed at the interface, but was hardly extracted into the heptane phase. On the other hand, the 1:2 complex of Fe(II) with TARC18 formed at the interface was significantly extracted into the heptane phase. The extraction constants and interfacial complex formation constants were estimated for the two systems from the experimental results, and all of the reaction schemes, including the interfacial reactions, were elucidated.

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We utilized oil/water interfaces as a new field to produce lipid nanotubes (LNTs), which are formed by the self-assembly of lipid molecules, and possess hollow nanometer-wide cylindrical structures. Compared to the self-assembling field in bulk water, oil/water interfaces produced shorter lipids nanotubes less than 10 µm long more efficiently. In addition, we found that the oil/water interface accumulates lipid nanotubes spontaneously. This methodology is favorable to fabricate LNTs as new nano-fluidic devices, or sensors that require accumulation and alignment in two dimensions.

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The electrode reaction of decamethylferrocene (DMFc) dissolved in a thin layer of a room-temperature molten salt (RTMS), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (C₈mimC₁C₁N) or 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(pentafluoroethylsulfonyl)imide (C₈mimC₂C₂N), on a self-assembled monolayer-modified gold electrode is coupled with the ion transfer across the interface between the RTMS and the outer aqueous solution (W) to give a voltammogram whose shape resembles a voltammogram of a simple one-electron transfer process. The electroneutrality of the RTMS layer during the oxidation of DMFc to decamethylferricenium ion is maintained by the concomitant dissolution of C₈mim⁺ ion from the RTMS phase to the W phase, and the reduction of decamethylferricenium ion to DMFc is accompanied by the transfer of either C₁C₁N^- or C₂C₂N^- from RTMS to W. The midpoint potential of the voltammogram varies with the concentration of the salt in the aqueous phase, C₈mimCl or LiC_nC_nN (n = 1 or 2), in a Nernstian manner, showing that the phase-boundary potential between the RTMS and the W is controlled by the partition of these ions. Although the phase-boundary potential across the RTMS | W interface is Nernstian with respect to the ions common to both phases at the equilibrium, the polarization at the RTMS | W interface under current flow distorts the shape of the voltammograms, resulting in a wider peak separation in the voltammogram.

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Facilitated SO₄^2- transfers by hydrogen bond-forming ionophores are investigated across the nitrobenzene (NB)-water interface by using polarography with a dropping electrolyte electrode. Bis-thiourea 1, α,α′-bis(N′-p-nitrophenylthioureylene)-m-xylene, is found to significantly facilitate the transfer of the highly hydrophilic SO₄^2- whereas its counterpart, N-(p-nitrophenyl)-N′-propylthiourea (ionophore 2), cannot. In contrast to the predominant formation of a 1:1 complex with SO₄^2- in the bulk NB phase, the SO₄^2- transfer assisted by 1 is indeed based on the formation of a 1:2 complex between SO₄^2- and ionophore, even under the condition of [SO₄^2-]_aq » [1]_org. Such an exclusive formation of the 1:2 (SO₄^2- to ionophore) complex at the NB-water interface is not observed with structurally similar bis-thiourea 3, α,α′-bis(N′-phenylthioureylene)-m-xylene, where p-nitrophenyl moietes of bis-thiourea 1 are simply replaced by phenyl groups. The facilitated transfer of SO₄^2- with bis-thiourea 1 is further compared to that of HPO₄^2- and H₂PO₄^- across the NB-water interface, which was previously shown to be assisted by 1 through the formation of the 1:1 and 2:1 (anion to ionophore) complexes, respectively. On the basis of these examinations, unique binding behaviors of hydrogen bond-forming ionophores at the NB-water interface are discussed, with a view towards development of ionophore-based anion-selective chemical sensors.

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The ability of some metal complexes of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) to give a voltammetric wave due to the heterogeneous electron transfer (ET) at a nitrobenzene (NB)/water (W) interface has been examined. The previously-proposed, electron-conductor separating oil-water (ECSOW) system has been successfully employed to find that the TPP complex with cadmium(II) added to NB gives a well-defined, reversible wave for the heterogeneous (i.e., “true”) ET with the hexacyanoferrate couple in W. A digital simulation analysis has entirely excluded the possibility of the ion-transfer mechanism due to the homogeneous ET in W. The a.c. impedance method has then been used to determine the kinetic parameters including the standard rate constant k₀ (= 0.10 cm M^-1 s^-1) and the transfer coefficient α(= 0.53 at the half-wave potential). These values are in good agreement with those predicted from the Marcus theory with the assumption that the heterogeneous ET due to molecular collision occurs at the “sharp” NB/W interface.

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The photocurrent at the polarized water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface was successfully observed in the presence of a lipophilic sensitizer, 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinato zinc (ZnTPP), in the organic phase. The photocurrent transient responses were apparently affected by the employed organic supporting electrolyte: tetrapenthylammonium tetraphenylborate (TPnATPB) or tris(tetraoctylammonium)tungstophosphate ((TOcA)₃PW₁₂O₄₀). The photocurrent measured in the TPnATPB system exhibited rather slow responses associated with the ion transfer of photoproducts. On the other hand, the photoinduced heterogeneous electron transfer could be observed in the use of (TOcA)₃PW₁₂O₄₀. The photocurrent intensity in the (TOcA)₃PW₁₂O₄₀ system exhibited an apparent pH dependence and the photoreduction of hydrogen ions probably took place at the water/DCE interface. By analyzing the real and imaginary components of the photocurrent depending on the photoexcitation frequency, we roughly estimated the phenomenological rate constants of the product separation (k_ps) and recombination (k_rec) processes as log(k_ps/s^-1) = 1.5 ± 0.2 and log(k_rec/s^-1) = 1.8 ± 0.1, respectively.

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The transfer of polyammonium ions, poly[(dimethylimino)-1,6-hexanediyl] (n = 140, n being the degree of polymerization) ion and poly[(dimethylimino)(2-oxo-1,2-ethanediyl)imino-α,ω-alkanediylimino(1-oxo-1,2-ethanediyl)(dimethylimino)-α′,ω′-alkanediyl] ([-N⁺(CH₃)₂CH2CONH(CH₂)_xNHCOCH₂N⁺(CH₃)₂(CH₂)_y-]_n, x = 2, 3, 4, or 6, y = 3 or 6, and n = 30 - 130) ions, at a polarizable nitrobenzene | water interface has been studied by normal pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. Despite the polydispersity of the preparations, by normal pulse voltammetry, an S-shaped current-potential curve with a well-defined limiting current, and, by cyclic voltammetry, a pair of anodic and cathodic peak currents due to the transfer of polyammonium ions across the interface were observed within the potential window. The voltammetric behavior is described. Also, the effect of ion-pair formation of the polyammonium ions with supporting electrolyte anions in nitrobenzene- and water-phases on the half-wave or midpoint potential of the ion-transfer, and the relation between the structure of the polyammonium ions and the transfer potentials are discussed.

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A photoinduced redox reaction cycle of Riboflavin (RF) at a water/CCl₄ interface was studied directly by means of both steady-state and time-resolved total internal reflection (TIR) fluorescence spectroscopies. The TIR fluorescence spectrum of RF observed at the water/CCl₄ interface with the maximum wavelength of 517 nm was assigned to the π-π^* transition from the excited singlet-state of the isoalloxazine chromophore in RF. Upon prolonged laser irradiation (400 nm) in the presence of N,N-dioctadecyl-[1,3,5]triazine-2,4,6-triamine (DTT) as a guest for RF in the CCl₄ phase, on the other hand, a new TIR fluorescence band appeared at around 480 nm. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity at around 480 nm increased in the presence of acetic acid in the water phase. Detailed studies demonstrated that the new fluorescence band should be ascribed to 1,5-dihydoroflavin (RFH₂). The present results indicated that RFH₂ was produced through the photoreaction of the RF-DTT hydrogen-bonded complex formed at the water/CCl₄ interface, whose reaction mechanisms were discussed on the basis of the results observed by fluorescence spectra/dynamics measurements under the TIR conditions as well as by transient absorption spectroscopy.

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Surface-imprinted polymers have been newly developed for the separation of lanthanoid elements: i.e. La(III), Ce(III), and Dy(III). The imprinted polymers were prepared by surface template polymerization with dioleylphosphoric acid, which exhibits a high affinity to lanthanoids, as a functional host molecule. Separation behavior of La(III), Ce(III) and Dy(III) was investigated with the imprinted polymers, and the imprinting effect of the polymers was evaluated in comparison with that of the unimprinted polymers and also with a conventional solvent extraction method for the same lanthanoid ions. The results indicate that the increase of selectivity for Dy(III) compared to the rest of the ions by the surface-imprinted polymers originated from a synergistic effect of both the affinity with the functional host molecule in nature and the size exclusion by the cavity formed on the polymer surface.

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Oligocarbazoles have been applied as new ionophores in liquid membrane electrodes (ISEs) destined for lead(II) determination in water samples. The oligocarbazole-containing ISEs demonstrated a close-to-Nernstian potentiometric response towards Pb²⁺ in the activity range 10^-7 - 10^-2 M. The selectivity coefficients measured by the matched potential method (MPM) confirmed their good selectivity against common interfering mono- and doubly charged cations. The oligocarbazole-containing ISEs do not respond towards protons. Their applicability has been checked by performing the recovery test while using a sample of wastewater.

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We present a new experimental system to observe reactions in biomembranes by combining laser spectroscopic techniques with phospholipid monolayers formed at oil/water interfaces. The system can monitor reactions through changes in interfacial tension at oil/water interfaces induced by the reactions under non-destructive and non-contact conditions. In addition, oil/water interfaces with defined areas can define the composition of different kinds of phospholipids. Furthermore, the system allows using, as an oil phase, alkanes whose number of carbon atoms is close to the number of the alkyl chains of phospholipids in biomembranes (C ≥ 16). We demonstrated the hydrolysis reaction in DPPC (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine)/DPPS (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylserine)-mixed monolayers by phospholipase A₂ by using the system.

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The emergence of drug-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been reported in patients with prolonged administration of lamivudine, which is a potent drug for the prevention of HBV infection. Lamivudine-resistant HBV has several types of mutations at the YMDD motif of its DNA polymerase. We successfully demonstrated that monitoring the hybridization behavior in nanostructured reverse micelles enables us to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). With the aid of reverse micelles, a model 40-mer oligonucleotide containing a single-base substitution was clearly distinguished from the normal, complementary oligonucleotide. In addition, we extended this technique to a high-throughput analysis. The results obtained with a 96-well micro-plate reader indicated the possibility of SNPs detection toward multiple samples of patients.

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The electron-transfer reaction between bis(cyclopentadienyl)iron(II) ([Fe^II(C₅H₅)₂]) in nitrobenzene and a hexacyanoferrate redox couple ([Fe^II/III(CN)₆]^-4/3-) in water at the nitrobenzene | water interface was studied using normal pulse voltammetry. The voltammetric results indicate that the electron-transfer reaction takes place by way of a so-called ion-transfer (IT) mechanism, of which the forward and backward rate constants of the homogeneous electron-transfer reaction between [Fe^II/III(C₅H₅)₂]^0/+ and [Fe^II/III(CN)₆]^4-/3- in the water phase have been determined. The electron-transfer reaction between [Fe^II(C₅H₅)₂] in 1,2-dichloroethane and [Fe^II/III(CN)₆]^4-/3- in water at the 1,2-dichloroethane | water interface was shown to also take place by the IT-mechanism.

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