The role of conjugated polymers in emerging electronic, sensor and display technologies is rapidly expanding. In spite of extensive investigations, the intrinsic spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers in precise conformational and spatial arrangements have remained elusive. The difficulties of obtaining such information are endemic to polymers, which often resist assembly into single crystals or organized structures owing to entropic and polydispersity considerations. Here we show that the conformation of individual polymers and interpolymer interactions in conjugated polymers can be controlled through the use of designed surfactant poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene) Langmuir films. We show that by mechanically inducing reversible conformational changes of these Langmuir monolayers, we can obtain the precise interrelationship of the intrinsic optical properties of a conjugated polymer and a single chain's conformation and/or interpolymer interactions. This method for controlling the structure of conjugated polymers and establishing their intrinsic spectroscopic properties should permit a more comprehensive understanding of fluorescent conjugated materials.

SummaryBackground Melasma is a common acquired symmetrical hypermelanosis characterized by irregular light to dark brown macules and patches on sun-exposed areas of the skin. Its histopathological characteristics are not fully understood. Objectives To characterize the histopathological features of facial melasma skin in comparison with adjacent normal skin. Methods Biopsies were taken from both melasma lesional skin and adjacent perilesional normal skin in 56 Korean women with melasma. The sections were stained using haematoxylin and eosin, Fontana±Masson, diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff, Masson trichrome and Verhoeff±van Gieson stains, and immunostaining for melanocytes. Data on the changes in number of melanocytes and melanin contents of the epidermis were analysed by a computer-assisted image analysis program. The ultrastructure of the skin was also examined. Results The amount of melanin was signi®cantly increased in all epidermal layers in melasma skin. The staining intensity and number of epidermal melanocytes increased in melasma lesions. Lesional skin showed more prominent solar elastosis compared with normal skin. Melanosomes increased in number and were more widely dispersed in the keratinocytes of the lesional skin. Lesional melanocytes had many more mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes in their cytoplasm. A dihydroxyphenylalanine reaction was apparent in the cisternae and vesicles of the trans-Golgi network in melanocytes from lesional skin. Conclusions Melasma is characterized by epidermal hyperpigmentation, possibly caused both by an increased number of melanocytes and by an increased activity of melanogenic enzymes overlying dermal changes caused by solar radiation.

Herein we report a rational design strategy for tailoring intermolecular interactions to enhance room-temperature phosphorescence from purely organic materials in amorphous matrices at ambient conditions. The built-in strong halogen and hydrogen bonding between the newly developed phosphor G1 and the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix efficiently suppresses vibrational dissipation and thus enables bright room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) with quantum yields reaching 24%. Furthermore, we found that modulation of the strength of halogen and hydrogen bonding in the G1-PVA system by water molecules produced unique reversible phosphorescence-to-fluorescence switching behavior. This unique system can be utilized as a ratiometric water sensor.

Polydiacetylene (PDA) liposome microarrays are developed for selective and sensitive mercury (Hg2+) detection. The PDA mercury sensors are designed to produce red fluorescence emission upon binding with Hg2+, when the ssDNA aptamers on the PDA surface recognize and wrap around mercury ions and the resulting bulky T‐Hg‐T complexes repulse each other.

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