Oxidations and reductions of iron-cyanogen compounds of cobalt,nickel, cadmium and zinc

I. Cobalt ferrocyanide is oxidized by bromine water, by nitrous acid or by hydrogen peroxide in presence of acids to cobalt ferroferricyanide (cobalt Prussian blue), while cobalt ferricyanide is reduced by sulfurous acid to cobalt Prussian blue.II. Nickel ferrocyanide is oxidized by nitrous acid or by hydrogen peroxide in presence of acids to nickel ferricyanide.III. Nickel ferrocyanide and cadmium ferrocyanide are oxidized by bromine water to the ferricyanides.IV. The ferricyanides of nickel, cadmium and zinc are reduced by sulfurous acid to the ferrocyanides.     

Oxidation of quinazoline and quinoxaline by xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase

Quinazoline is oxidized by xanthine oxidase initially (and rapidly) to 4-hydroxyquinazoline which subsequently is oxidized more slowly to 2,4-dihydroxyquinazoline. Both oxidative reactions are inhibited strongly by allopurinol. Quinazoline is oxidized by aldehyde oxidase to 4-hydroxyquinazoline but within a short time (3–5 minutes) the reaction ceases; the proposal that cessation of reaction is due to product inhibition is rendered untenable by our observation that 4-hydroxyquinazoline is rapidly oxidized by aldehyde oxidase to 2,4-dihydroxyquinazoline. Preincubation of aldehyde oxidase with quinazoline results in complete inhibition of the ability of the enzyme to oxidize 4-hydroxyquinazoline and the standard substrate N-methylnicotinamide. It appears therefore that quinazoline is able to react with aldehyde oxidase and inactivate it. Quinoxaline and 2-hydroxyquinoxaline are not oxidized by xanthine oxidase but are converted by aldehyde oxidase to 2,3-dihydroxyquinoxaline; all oxidations mediated by aldehyde oxidase are inhibited completely by menadione.     

Determination of Mg, Ti and Cl in Ziegler-Natta catalysts by WDXRF

A method for determination of Mg, Ti and Cl in Ziegler-Natta (ZN) catalysts by wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometry was developed. For comparative reasons, Ti was determined by spectrophotometry, Mg by complexometry and Cl by argentometric titration. Direct pressing was shown to be unsuitable for sample preparation due to catalyst decomposition. For Ti and Mg measurements, catalyst samples were calcinated at 1000 °C and pressed at 275 MPa. Their determination by the fundamental parameters based on the Ti Ka line measurement was shown to be equivalent to those results obtained by univariate calibration or by the classical methods. Cl was determined by aqueous extraction, followed by deposition on a support. Chloride loss was observed. Fixation of Cl as AgCl on polytetrafluoroethylene (FHLC) millipore membrane afforded the best results. Nevertheless, measurements by WDXRF were shown to be inferior to those obtained by argentometric titration.     

Comparison study of several numerical integration schemes used in calculations of density functional theory

Several numerical integration schemes for the evaluation of matrix elements in density functional theory calculations have been studied and compared by computational practice. The best scheme was found to be the combination of the atomic partition function proposed by Becke with the scaled generalized Gauss-Laguerre quadrature formula for radial integration suggested by Yang, which achieve the highest convergence rate to the numerical integration. With the same number of integration points, the accuracy of the calculated results by this scheme is higher by 1 to 2 orders of magnitudes than that by other schemes. The reason for achieving higher accuracy by this scheme has been proposed preliminarily.     

Photochemistry of 3- and 5-phenylisothiazoles. Competing phototransposition pathways

5-Phenylisothiazole undergoes phototransposition via the electrocyclic ring closure-heteroatom migration pathway and by the N(2)-C(3) interchange reaction pathway. The latter route is enhanced by the addition of triethylamine (TEA) to the reaction medium and by increasing the polarity of the solvent. In addition to phototransposition, 5-phenylisothiazole also undergoes photocleavage to 2-cyano-1-phenylethenethiol which was trapped by reaction with benzyl bromide to yield 2-cyano-1-phenylethen-1-ylbenzyl thioether. 3-Phenylisothiazole also phototransposes by both reaction pathways, but the product distribution is not affected by the addition of TEA or by changing the solvent polarity.     

Effects of diffusion of a naturally-derived plasticizer from soft PVC

Soft PVC was obtained by using a new plasticizer, based on cardanol, a renewable resource characterized by chemical and physical properties very close to those of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Cardanol acetate (CA) was obtained by solvent free esterification of cardanol, and used as secondary plasticizer, by partial substitution of DEHP in soft PVC formulations. Ageing tests were performed in order to study the stability of properties of the soft PVC formulations related to plasticizer diffusion. Tensile properties and hardness changes were used to monitor the macroscopic effects of plasticizer diffusion. Soft PVC obtained by partial substitution of DEHP by CA showed a significant modification of mechanical properties related to a higher plasticizer evaporation during ageing tests. Migration tests confirmed that CA is characterized by a higher diffusivity in soft PVC compared to DEHP.     

Investigation of copolymers of styrene and ethyl methacrylate by size exclusion chromatography and gradient HPLC

Summary Copolymers of styrene and ethyl methacrylate have been separated according to composition by gradient HPLC on silica columns or CN bonded phase columns. This mode of separation according to composition was applied to fractions obtained by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). From viscosity and molecular mass data of copolymers with a styrene content ranging from 7.5 to 95.3 mass-% it can be concluded that SEC separates mainly by molecular mass even in this copolymer system. Thus, chromatographic cross-fractionation is possible by prefractionation by SEC and subsequent separation according to composition by gradient HPLC.

---

Untersuchung von Copolymeren von Styrol und Ethylmethacrylat durch Ausschluß-Chromatographie und Gradienten-HPLC

     

Catalase and epoxidation activity of manganese salen complexes bearing two xanthene scaffolds

A series of manganese Hangman salen ligand platforms functionalized by tert-butyl groups in the 3 and 3' positions using the Suzuki cross-coupling methodology are presented. The Hangman platforms support multielectron chemistry mediated by proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), as demonstrated by their ability to promote the catalytic disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water via a high-valent metal oxo. The addition of the steric groups to the salen macrocycle leads to enhanced catalase activity by circumventing side reactions that sequester the catalyst off pathway. The stereochemistry imposed by the cyclohexanediamine backbone of the salen platform is revealed by the epoxidation of 1,2-dihydronapthalene by a variety of oxidants. Improved enantiomeric excess and catalase activity as compared to sterically unmodified counterparts establishes the efficacy of the tert-butyl groups in promoting PCET catalysis on the Hangman platform.     

Water-soluble nanodiamond

Reduction of the graphenic edges of annealed nanodiamond by sodium in liquid ammonia leads to a nanodiamond salt that reacts with either alkyl or aryl halides by electron transfer to yield radical anions that dissociate spontaneously into free radicals and halide. The free radicals were observed to add readily to the aromatic rings of the annealed nanodiamond. Nanodiamonds functionalized by phenyl radicals were sulfonated in oleum, and the resulting sulfonic acid was converted to the sodium salt by treatment with sodium hydroxide. The solubility of the salt in water was determined to be 248 mg/L. Nanodiamond functionalized by carboxylic acid groups could be prepared by reacting 5-bromovaleric acid with the annealed nanodiamond salt. The solubility of the sodium carboxylate in water was found to be 160 mg/L.     

Chronocoulometric study of the electrochemistry of Prussian blue

During the electrochemical oxidation of Prussian blue (PB) to Prussian yellow (PY), an electrocatalytic oxygen production proceeds at the electrode when aqueous electrolyte solutions are used. The formed oxygen is scavenged by the PY, probably by absorption, and it is consumed during the electrochemical reduction of PY to PB by a heterogeneous chemical reaction of PB with oxygen to PY and hydrogen peroxide. Because of this catalytic regeneration of PY, it is impossible to determine the amount of low-spin iron by chronocoulometry using a potential program in which PB is first oxidized to PY and then the charge is measured to reduce PY to PB. The latter charge is biased by the electrocatalytic PY regeneration.     

Photosmog im Modell

A new experiment to show and to explain the supposition sfo air pollution by tropospheric ozone in summer is introduced. Nitrogen oxides are produced by a sparking plug, followed by UV-irradiation including high temperature. The reaction of the hydrocarbons is simulated by a circulation incited by a gas pump. The determination of ozone by cracking rubber was used for the first time in the forties to investigate the Los Angeles smog. The result can be obtained within twelve minutes.     

乙烷在金属铁表面还原NO的实验研究

温度300~1 100 ℃时,由程序控温电加热水平陶瓷管反应器在N₂气氛和模拟气氛下,对乙烷在金属铁表面还原NO的特性进行了实验研究。结果表明,乙烷在金属铁表面能够高效地还原NO。在N₂气氛中,温度高于900 ℃时,乙烷在金属铁表面的脱硝效率超过95%。在模拟烟气条件下,当温度超过900 ℃,且过量空气系数小于1.0时,乙烷在金属铁表面还原NO的效率能够达到90%以上。相同条件下,乙烷在金属铁表面脱硝效率高于甲烷的脱硝效率。SO₂对乙烷在金属铁表面还原NO的效率影响可以忽略。对反应后的铁样品的组分进行了XRD表征,在此基础上对反应机理进行了分析。结果表明,在模拟烟气条件下NO的还原通过乙烷的再燃脱硝和金属铁直接还原两个机理完成。金属铁直接还原NO时生成的氧化铁则被乙烷还原为金属铁,从而使得金属铁能够持续对NO进行直接还原。乙烷再燃还原NO的中间产物HCN被氧化铁氧化为N₂,同时氧化铁也被HCN还原为金属铁。这一过程增强了NO的持续还原反应,同时避免了在燃尽时HCN二次氧化重新生成NO,从而保证了较高的NO还原效率。     

Tripodal borate ligands from tris(dimethylamino)borane: the first synthesis of a chiral tris(methimazolyl)borate ligand, and the crystal structure of a single diastereomer pseudo-C3-symmetric Ru(II) complex

The activation of tris(dimethylamino)borane towards reaction with a chiral methimazole by N-methylimidazole has been used to prepare the first example of a chiral tris(methimazolyl)borate ligand. Coordination of this neutral ligand to Ru(II) has been achieved by reaction with [(p-cymene)RuCl(2)](2) to provide a single diastereomer complex in which the chirality of the methimazolyl substituents dictate the chirality of the bicyclo[3.3.3]cage formed by the ligand on coordination to the metal. The alternative approach to chiral tris(methimazolyl)borate ligands involving the introduction of a chiral group onto the boron atom has been explored by replacing N-methylimidazole in the above reaction by chiral oxazolines as activating bases in reaction with simple methimazole. However, although the B(NMe(2))(3) is activated to reaction with methimazole by these oxazolines, an intramolecular oxazoline ring-opening by a coordinated methimazolyl sulfur occurs and prevents the successful synthesis of these ligands.     

Photochemical micropatterning of carbohydrates on a surface

In this report, we demonstrate a versatile method for the immobilization and patterning of unmodified carbohydrates onto glass substrates. The method employs a novel self-assembled monolayer to present photoactive phthalimide chromophores at the air-monolayer interface. Upon exposure to UV radiation, the phthalimide end-groups graft to surface-adsorbed carbohydrates, presumably by a hydrogen abstraction mechanism followed by radical recombination to form a covalent bond. Immobilized carbohydrate thin films are evidenced by fluorescence, ellipsometry and contact-angle measurements. Surface micropatterns of mono-, oligo-, and polysaccharides are generated by exposure through a contact photomask and are visualized by condensing water onto the surface. The efficiency of covalent coupling is dependent on the thermodynamic state of the surface. The amount of surface-grafted carbohydrate is enhanced when carbohydrate surface interactions are increased by the incorporation of amine-terminated molecules into the monolayer. Glass substrates modified with mixed monolayers of this nature are used to construct carbohydrate microarrays by spotting the carbohydrates with a robot and subsequently illuminating them with UV light to covalently link the carbohydrates. Surface-immobilized polysaccharides display well-defined antigenic determinants for antibody recognition. We demonstrate, therefore, that this novel technology combines the ability to create carbohydrate microarrays using the current state-of-the-art technology of robotic microspotting and the ability to control the shape of immobilized carbohydrate patterns with a spatial resolution defined by the UV wavelength and a shape defined by a photomask.     

Proteinase pattern of honeybee prepupae from healthy and American Foulbrood infected bees investigated by zymography

American foulbrood disease (AFB) is the main devastating disease that affects honeybees’ brood, caused by Paenibacillus larvae. The trend of the research on AFB has addressed the mechanisms by which P. larvae bacteria kill honeybee larvae. Since prepupae could react to the infection of AFB by increasing protease synthesis, the aim of this work was to compare protease activity in worker prepupae belonging to healthy colonies and to colonies affected by AFB. This investigation was performed by zymography. In gel, proteolytic activity was observed in prepupae extracts belonging only to the healthy colonies. In the prepupae extracts, 2D zimography followed by protein identification by MS allowed to detect Trypsin‐1 and Chymotrypsin‐1, which were not observed in diseased specimens. Further investigations are needed to clarify the involvement of these proteinases in the immune response of honeybee larvae and the mechanisms by which P. larvae inhibits protease production in its host.     

竹红菌素的结构修饰

竹红菌甲素(简称甲素,HA)是一种新发现的苝醌衍生物,可作光疗药物和光敏化剂。为了筛选出更好的光疗药物,我们逐步修饰了竹红菌素的结构。痂囊腔菌素1的2位和11位甲氧基可被三氯化铝选择性地脱去甲基,而6位和7位的甲氧基不变化,但反应后产物难于分离提     

Detailed investigation of gel–sol transition temperature of κ-carrageenan studied by DSC, TMA and FBM

A broad temperature range of the gel–sol transition of κ-carrageenan was precisely examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and the falling ball method (FBM). κ-Carrageenan the transition temperature of which ranged from 290 to 350 K was used as a representative sample of a thermo-reversible hydrogel. The starting of transition attributed to dissociation of the weak cross-linking zone of aggregated double helices was detected as a change of expansion coefficient by TMA and as an endothermic deviation by DSC. Peak temperature of endotherm by DSC agreed well with the temperature where expansion changed from positive to negative value and this temperature was attributed to gel–sol transition caused by dissociation of double helices’ assembly. Transition temperature measured by FBM was observed at a temperature higher than those obtained by DSC and TMA, which was attributed to decomposition of double helices.     

Enzymatic assay technique for the determination of aspartame

An enzymatic assay technique was developed for the determination of the artificial sweetener aspartame. The peptide bond of aspartame was first cleaved by peptidase to release aspartic acid. In the presence of α-ketoglutarate, aspartic acid was then transaminated by aspartate aminotransferase to glutamate. The reaction was monitored by following the oxygen consumption during the enzymatic oxidation of glutamate by glutamate oxidase. A linear relationship between oxygen consumption and aspartame concentration up to 200 μM was obtained. The assay technique was applicable to the determination of aspartame in a variety of dietary food products. The results obtained agreed well with those determined by liquid chromatography and those reported by the product manufacturers.     

Molecular speciation of microparticles: application of pattern recognition techniques to laser microprobe mass spectrometric data

Attempts were made to enhance the ability of laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LAMMS) to identify molecular species in individual microparticles by applying pattern recognition methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis were applied to LAMMS data for nickel-containing environmental particles. Detailed comparison of the two statistical methods demonstrated the utility of PCA. The successful application was highly dependent on the use of appropriate spectral normalization and feature extraction techniques prior to PCA. Although the test system involved only a small number of standard compounds, the LAMMS data were complicated by the effects of intra-particle heterogeneity common to environmental samples and by instrumental limitations. Pattern recognition techniques provided more accurate quantitative assignments of molecular species than were available by qualitative inspection of characteristic cluster ions or by simple spectral subtraction to compare particle data with a library of standard compounds. Results were substantiated by comparison with bulk analysis studies using wet chemical techniques.     

Precision and Accuracy Studies of Impaction-Electrothermal Atomization Atomic Spectrometry

Abstract

The precision of aqueous solutions of cadmium, copper, and manganese introduced as an aerosol by an pneumatic nebulizer and electrothermal vaporizer to an impaction-electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometeric system was in the range of 1–3% which was similar to that obtained by manual introduction of similar concentrations of aqueous solutions of cadmium, copper, and manganese to the electrothermal atomizer and atomic absorption spectrometry. The precision of a laboratory air sample was 7.6–9.9%. Accuracy was assessed by comparison to conventional methods of sampling air by collection on a filter followed by digestion of the filter and analysis by flame atomic absorption spectrometry The levels were found to be 59–69% compared to the conventional method.