Self-assembly of components larger than molecules into ordered arrays is an efficient way of preparing microstructured materials with interesting mechanical and optical properties. Although crystallization of identical particles or particles of different sizes or shapes can be readily achieved, the repertoire of methods to assemble binary lattices of particles of the same sizes but with different properties is very limited. This paper describes electrostatic self-assembly of two types of macroscopic components of identical dimensions using interactions that are generated by contact electrification. The systems we have examined comprise two kinds of objects (usually spheres) made of different polymeric materials that charge with opposite electrical polarities when agitated on flat, metallic surfaces. The interplay of repulsive interactions between like-charged objects and attractive interactions between unlike-charged ones results in the self-assembly of these objects into highly ordered, closed arrays. Remarkably, some of the assemblies that form are not electroneutral-that is, they possess a net charge. We suggest that the stability of these unusual structures can be explained by accounting for the interactions between electric dipoles that the particles in the aggregates induce in their neighbours.

We describe an analytical system for in situ measurement of the charge that develops by contact electrification when a ferromagnetic sphere rolls on the surface of a polymer. This system makes it possible to survey the ability of polymeric surfaces to charge by contact electrification. Because the measurement of charge using this tool does not require physical contact of the charged sphere with the measuring electrode, it also enables the kinetics of charging to be examined. The research has focused on the contact charging of spheres having a core-and-shell geometry (a common core of ferromagnetic steel, and a variable shell of thin films of metals, or metals with surface oxides) rolling on the surface of polymeric slabs; it has generated an internally consistent set of data that include the polarity and magnitude of charging for a homologous series of polymers that differ chemically in the pendant group on a polyethylene backbone.

This report is a study of the kinetics of contact charging resulting from the rolling of millimeter-sized metallic spheres on flat surfaces of polystyrene (PS). Charging was studied (i) for different values of the relative humidity (RH) of the air in contact with the system, (ii) in acidic and basic atmospheres, and (iii) for a series of PS surfaces oxidized to different degrees. The rates of charging increased with increasing RH; they were higher in basic atmospheres than in neutral or acidic ones and correlated with the numbers of hydrophilic groups on the surface of the polymer. These findings are consistent with a mechanism that implicates a thin film of water on the surface of PS as an important element of tribocharging in this system.

We describe the biological evaluation of isothiazoloquinolones (ITQs) having structural modifications at the 6-, 7-, and 8-positions. Addition of a methoxy substituent to C-8 effected an increase in antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and a decrease in cytotoxic activity against Hep2 cells. Removal of fluorine from C-6 or replacement of the C-8 carbon with a nitrogen compromised anti-MRSA activity. When the groups attached at C-7 were compared, the anti-MRSA activity decreased in the order 6-isoquinolinyl > 4-pyridinyl > 5-dihydroisoindolyl > 6-tetrahydroisoquinolinyl. The compound with the most desirable in vitro biological profile was 9-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-8-methoxy-7-(2-methylpyridin-4-yl)-9H-isothiazolo[5,4-b]quinoline-3,4-dione (7g). This ITQ demonstrated (i) strong in vitro anti-MRSA activity (MIC90 = 0.5 microg/mL), (ii) strong inhibitory activities against S. aureus DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, with weak activity against human topoisomerase II, (iii) weak cytotoxic activities against three cell lines, and (iv) efficacy in an in vivo murine thigh model of infection employing MRSA.