Development and validation of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method quantitative determination of polymyxin B1, polymyxin B2, polymyxin B3 and isoleucine-polymyxin B1 in human plasma and its application in clinical studies.

Polymyxin B (PB) is an antibiotic consisting of a cyclic heptapeptide and a tripeptide side chain used in treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Commercial formulations of PB contain multiple structurally related components with major constituents of PB1, PB2, PB3 and ile-PB1. To understand the pharmacokinetics of these major components, we have developed and validated a LC-MS/MS method to quantify PB1, PB2, PB3 and ile-PB1 in human plasma. PB was extracted from plasma by protein precipitation using trichloroacetic acid followed by chromatographic separation on Zorbax Bonus-RP column (100mm×2.1mm, 1.8µm) using stepwise gradient elution of water containing 0.1% of formic acid and 0.1% of trichloroacetic acid (mobile phase A) and 90% acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid (mobile phase B). Despite of structural similarities, these PBs were completely resolved in the analytical run time of 6.5min. Detection and quantification of PBs were performed by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) under positive ionization mode in the mass spectrometer. Separation of PB1 and ile-PB1, as well as PB2 and PB3, before quantification is crucial because they are structural isomers detected based the same SRM. Excellent linearity was achieved (r2>0.99) in the calibration curves of PB. The developed method was accurate (95.3-111.7%) and precise (CV<5.1%). Recovery of PB from the plasma extraction was between 53 and 76% and reproducible (CV<4.5%). Matrix effect was not observed by post-column infusion of PB in the mass spectrometer. This methodology has been successfully applied to clinical study of patients dosed with intravenous infusions of PB.

Coupling of air/metal and substrate/metal surface plasmon polaritons in Au slit arrays fabricated on quartz substrate.

We report on the coupling of the air/metal mode and the substrate/metal mode surface plasmon polaritons in one-dimensional metallic slit arrays fabricated on a dielectric substrate. Anti-crossing is exhibited at an incident angle where the two independent modes can be resonantly excited at a specific wavelength. The size of the anti-crossing gap was measured while changing the metal thickness.

Gain recovery in a quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier and corresponding pattern effects in amplified optical signals at 1.5 µm.

Fast gain recovery observed in quantum-dot semiconductor-optical-amplifiers (QDSOAs) is useful for amplifying high-speed optical signals. The small but finite slow recovery component can deteriorate the signal amplification due to the accumulation of gain saturation during 10 Gb/s operation. A study of the gain recoveries and pattern effects in signals amplified using a 1.5 µm InAs/InGaAsP QDSOA reveals that the gain recovery is always fast, and pattern-effect-free amplification is observed at the ground state. However, at the excited state, the slow component increases with the current, and significant pattern effects are observed. Simulations of the pattern effects agreed with the observed experimental trends.

Estimation of relative defect densities in InGaN laser diodes by induced absorption of photoexcited carriers.

Defects are one of the most important factors influencing the optical properties of groups III-V nitride semiconductor materials and thereby their applicability to light-emitting diodes. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is possible to estimate the presence of defects in InGaN laser diodes by performing pump-probe measurements and observing the induced absorptions. We have confirmed that the induced absorption originates from defects by performing experiments in which the pump intensity is varied. We believe that our method provides a powerful tool for evaluating the optical quality of InGaN materials before processing them into device fabrications.

Chirality-selective excitation of coherent phonons in carbon nanotubes by femtosecond optical pulses.

Using predesigned trains of femtosecond optical pulses, we have selectively excited coherent phonons of the radial breathing mode of specific-chirality single-walled carbon nanotubes within an ensemble sample. By analyzing the initial phase of the phonon oscillations, we prove that the tube diameter initially increases in response to ultrafast photoexcitation. Furthermore, from excitation profiles, we demonstrate that an excitonic absorption peak of carbon nanotubes periodically oscillates as a function of time when the tube diameter undergoes coherent radial breathing mode oscillations.

Microscopic origin of surface-plasmon radiation in plasmonic band-gap nanostructures.

We report spatial domain measurements of the damping of surface-plasmon excitations in metal films with periodic nanohole arrays. The measurements reveal a short coherent propagation length of a few microm inside nanohole arrays, consistent with delays of about 10 fs in ultrafast transmission experiments. This implies that the transmission spectra of the entire plasmonic band-gap structure are homogeneously broadened by radiative damping of surface-plasmon excitations. We show that a Rayleigh-like scattering of surface plasmons by the periodic hole array is the microscopic origin of this damping, allowing the reradiation rate to be controlled.

Coherent optical phonon oscillations in bulk GaN excited by far below the band gap photons.

We report on generation of coherent optical phonon oscillations in 150 microm thick bulk GaN. With photon energy far below the band gap, the generation mechanisms of coherent phonon modes of A1(LO), high- and low-frequency E2 are revealed to be the impulsive stimulated Raman scattering. We find that one among the two degenerate E2 modes is selectively detected with a proper choice of probe polarization. Dephasing times range from 1.5 to 70 ps for different modes, and phonon-three-photon absorbed carrier interactions are compared between the A1(LO) and the E2 mode.

Mechanisms for the generation of coherent longitudinal-optical phonons in GaAs /AlGaAs multiple quantum wells.

We show that coherent optical phonons in GaAs multiple quantum wells are generated in a completely different way as compared to bulk GaAs. Unlike in bulk GaAs where the ultrafast screening of electric fields by photogenerated charge carriers is known to be dominant, three distinctive generation mechanisms contribute simultaneously in multiple quantum wells. The interplay between impulsive Raman scattering, forbidden Raman scattering, and screening of surface electric fields, whose relative strengths are determined by laser intensity, detuning from the exciton resonance, and the barrier width, generates a rich variety of new phenomena.

Two-color femtosecond experiments by use of two independently tunable Ti:sapphire lasers with a sample-and-hold switch.

We performed femtosecond two-color experiments (four-wave mixing and pump probe) using two independently tunable, partially synchronized femtosecond lasers. Despite the fact that the jitter is of the order of 5-10 ps, the time resolution is limited only by the pulse width when a homemade sample-and-hold switch is used.