A polymer, polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD), is hybridized within the pores of activated carbon (AC) that has micropores and mesopores of ∼4 nm. The hybridization is performed via gas-phase adsorption of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) on AC and subsequent thermal polymerization. It is confirmed from a variety of analytical techniques, such as scanning and transmittance electron microscopies, a nitrogen adsorption− desorption analysis, and electrochemical measurements, that there is little PDCPD on the particle surfaces of AC. The nitrogen adsorption−desorption measurement of the resulting AC/PDCPD hybrids reveals that the micropore and mesopore volumes decrease with the increasing amount of the hybridized PDCPD. Moreover, the electric double-layer capacitance decreases and the diffusion resistance increases with the increasing amount of the hybridized PDCPD. These results cannot be explained by a micropore filling model where micropores are first filled with PDCPD. Our experimental results reveal that PDCPD does not exist as layers covering the pore walls of AC but exists as agglomerates uniformly distributing inside both micropores and mesopores.

Benzoquinone derivatives are hybridized inside the pores of activated carbon via gas-phase adsorption. Alkylbenzoquinones have strong interaction with the carbon pore surface while the intermolecular interaction is dominant for halobenzoquinones.

As congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the major cause of developmental abnormalities in children, the development of effective vaccines is critical to public health. Recent studies have demonstrated that the pentameric complex (Pentamer) of glycoproteins, which is required for human CMV infection of endothelial and epithelial cells, could be a potent vaccine antigen. As guinea pig CMV (GPCMV) infects congenitally and encodes homologues of all Pentamer components, GPCMV models are considered to be useful for the development of vaccine strategies. Here, to clarify the precise requirement of GP131, one of the GPCMV Pentamer components, for the infection of epithelial cells and macrophages, we prepared several mutants with a charged amino acid-to-alanine alteration in GP131 and found some differences in the effects of the mutations on the infection of the two cell types, suggesting the existence of cell type-dependent recognition or function of Pentamer in GPCMV infection.

Norbornadiene (NBD) is adsorbed on activated carbon (AC), and the adsorbed NBD is polymerized within the pores of AC. Two kinds of ACs�AC-2 with only micropores of ∼2 nm and AC-4 with not only micropores but also mesopores below 4 nm�are examined to study the effects of the hybridized polynorbornadiene (PNBD) on the electric double-layer capacitor and hydrogen adsorption performance. Various measurements are performed to determine the form of the hybridized PNBD inside the pores of AC. Scanning and transmittance electron microscopy observations of the AC/PNBD hybrids confirm that PNBD is hybridized inside the pores of AC, and there is little PNBD on the surface of AC particles. The nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurement for the hybrids of AC-4 reveals that PNBD is not hybridized preferentially inside micropores rather than mesopores irrespective of the amount of PNBD. In addition, both micropore and mesopore volumes decrease at a constant rate with increasing amounts of PNBD. These results suggest that PNBD is hybridized not as a layer but as an agglomerate for both ACs, and the agglomerate delocalizes over the whole AC pores, which is supported by the results of electrochemical measurements and hydrogen adsorption behavior of the hybrids.

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