Drastically Increase in Atomic Nitrogen Production Depending on the Dielectric Constant of Beads Filled in the Discharge Space.

Nitrogen activation, especially dissociation (production of atomic nitrogen), is a key step for efficient nitrogen fixation, such as nitrogen reduction to produce ammonia. Nitrogen reduction reactions using water as a direct hydrogen source have been studied by many researchers as a green ammonia process. We studied the reaction mechanism and found that the nitrogen reduction could be significantly improved via efficient production of atomic nitrogen through electric discharge.

Reactive Oxygen Species Penetrate Persister Cell Membranes of for Effective Cell Killing.

Persister cells are difficult to eliminate because they are tolerant to antibiotic stress. In the present study, using artificially induced persister cells, we found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) have greater effects on persister cells than on exponential cells. Thus, we examined which types of ROS could effectively eliminate persister cells and determined the mechanisms underlying the effects of these ROS.

Contribution of Discharge Excited Atomic N, N *, and N to a Plasma/Liquid Interfacial Reaction as Suggested by Quantitative Analysis.

Electric-discharge nitrogen comprises three main types of excited nitrogen species-atomic nitrogen (N ), excited nitrogen molecules (N *), and nitrogen ions (N ) - which have different lifetimes and reactivities. In particular, the interfacial reaction locus between the discharged nitrogen and the water phase produces nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and nitrate ions (denoted as N-compounds generically); this is referred to as the plasma/liquid interfacial (P/L) reaction. The N amount was analyzed quantitatively to clarify the contribution of N to the P/L reaction.

Shape Transformations of Lipid Vesicles by Insertion of Bulky-Head Lipids.

Lipid vesicles, in particular Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs), have been increasingly important as compartments of artificial cells to reconstruct living cell-like systems in a bottom-up fashion. Here, we report shape transformations of lipid vesicles induced by polyethylene glycol-lipid conjugate (PEG lipids). Statistical analysis of deformed vesicle shapes revealed that shapes vesicles tend to deform into depended on the concentration of the PEG lipids.