A differential scanning calorimetric study on the irreversible thermal unfolding of concanavalin A

A differential scanning calorimetry study on the thermal denaturation of concanavalin A at pH 5.2 where it exists in the dimeric form was carried out. The calorimetric transitions were observed to be irreversible and the transition temperature of the protein increased with increasing scan rate, indicating that the thermal denaturation process is under kinetic control. The thermal unfolding, and its scan rate dependence could be explained according to the kinetic scheme with k as first-order kinetic constant whose change with temperature is given by the Arrhenius equation. Using this model, rate constant as a function of temperature and activation energy of the process have been calculated. The average activation energy of the kinetic process using different approaches is 129±10 kJ mol⁻¹. The differential scanning calorimetric results on transition temperatures and calorimetric enthalpies supported by intrinsic fluorescence indicate that the irreversibility in the calorimetric transitions of concanavalin A includes a combination of post-transition aggregation, chain separation and loss of cofactor.     

Non-isothermal crystallization and melting behavior of compatibilized polypropylene/recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) blends

Binary blends of polypropylene (PP)/recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (r-PET), r-PET/maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-MA), r-PET/glycidyl methacrylate grafted PP (PP-g-GMA), and ternary blends of PP/r-PET (80/20 w/w) compatibilized with various amounts (2-10 wt%) of PP-g-MA or PP-g-GMA were prepared on a twin-screw extruder. The non-isothermal crystallization and melting behavior, and the crystallization morphology were investigated by DSC and POM. The chemical reactions of r-PET with PP-g-MA and PP-g-GMA were characterized by FT-IR. DSC results show that the crystallization peak temperatures of r-PET and PP increased when blending them together, due to the heterogeneous nucleation effect on each other. The of r-PET increased with increasing the content of PP-g-MA while slightly influenced by the content of PP-g-GMA in the binary blends of r-PET with grafted PP, implying different reactivity of r-PET with PP-g-MA and PP-g-GMA. The of PP in the ternary blends retained or slightly decreased, dependent on the compatibilizers and their contents. The melting peak temperature of r-PET in PP/r-PET blends compatibilized by PP-g-MA was lower than that of compatibilized by PP-g-GMA, indicating that PP-g-MA had stronger reactivity towards r-PET compared to PP-g-GMA. The crystallization and melting behavior of blends was influenced by the pre-melting temperature, especially the melting behavior of r-PET in the blends. The crystallization behavior of PP in the blends was also evaluated by Mo’s method. POM confirmed the heterogeneous nucleation effect of r-PET on PP.     

(p, Vm, T) measurements of (cyclohexane + nonane) at temperatures from 298.15 K to 328.15 K and at pressures up to 40 MPa

The densities and speeds of sound of (cyclohexane + nonane) were measured at four temperatures from 298.15 K to 328.15 K, and the respective values of excess volumes and adiabatic compressibility were calculated. Thereafter, the densities for the last system were measured at elevated pressures (0.1 to 40) MPa at four temperatures over the range 298.15 K to 328.15 K with a high-pressure apparatus. The high-pressure density data were fitted to the Tait equation and the isothermal compressibilities were calculated with a novel procedure with the aid of this equation. The low- and high-pressure values of calculated from the density data show that the deviations from ideal behaviour in the system decrease slightly as the temperature and pressure are raised. The data were fitted to the fourth-order Redlich-Kister equation, with the maximum likelihood principle being applied for the determination of the adjustable parameters.     

Effect of temperature on the volumetric properties of (cyclohexanone + an aromatic hydrocarbon)

The excess molar volume of (cyclohexanone + benzene, or toluene, or ethylbenzene, or styrene) were obtained from the densities measured by means of a vibrating-tube densimeter over the whole composition range at temperatures (293.15, 303.15, 313.15, 323.15, 333.15, 343.15, 353.15) K and atmospheric pressure. The excess molar volume provide the temperature dependence of in the temperature range of (293 to 353) K. The results were correlated using the fourth-order Redlich-Kister equation, with the maximum likelihood principle being applied for the determination of the adjustable parameters. It was found that the in the systems studied increase with rising temperature.     

Thermokinetic study of the oxidation of ZrAl3 powders

The oxidation kinetics of ball milled ZrAl₃ powder was investigated by thermogravimetry at temperatures up to 1100 ° C. The non-selective oxidation of ZrAl₃ results in the formation of -Al₂ O₃, tetragonal and monoclinic ZrO₂. Non-isothermal and isothermal measurements were simultaneously used in a multivariate non-linear regression analysis to determine the kinetic reaction parameters. The oxidation process is well described by a generalized n-dimensional Avrami type rate equation, according to a diffusion limited growth reaction with an apparent activation energy of 244 kJ/mol. Significant improvement of the fit quality of the kinetic data is achieved through a two-step kinetic model indicating a complex oxidation mechanism.     

The sublimation of argon, krypton, and xenon

In this paper, the sublimation pressure of Ar, Kr, and Xe are obtained as functions of temperature from an exactly integrated form of the Clapeyron equation. No fitting to experimental data of the equilibrium pressure has been necessary. The deviation plots of the sublimation pressure show that the results are satisfactory. The derived enthalpy of sublimation of the three rare gases from T = 0 K up to their respective triple point temperatures are asymmetric, distorted parabolas showing maxima for . The , which is a measure of the cohesion energy of the solid crystals, is easily calculated. A general equation has been obtained for as a function of temperature which also gives the enthalpies of sublimation of neon and radon. The (s + ? + g) triple point coordinates of Rn are reassessed.     

Synthesis and characterizations of well-defined dendrimer-like copolymers with the second and third generation based on polystyrene and poly(l-lactide)

Dendrimer-like copolymers with two and three generations, (polystyrene)₃-b-(poly(l-lactide))₆ (PSt₃-b-PLLA₆) and PSt₃-b-PLLA₆-b-PSt₁₂ have been successfully prepared using core-first method. The first step of this synthesis is the preparation of three-armed PSt by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of St using 1,1,1-tri(methylene-α-bromoisobutyryl)propane as initiator. Terminal divergence of the polymers obtained was achieved by the reaction of terminal bromines with branching agent, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol. After deprotection, the polymer with six terminal hydroxyl groups was used in the ring-opening polymerization of LLA. The dendrimer-like copolymer with PLLA as a second generation diverged continuously by the reaction of 6 terminal hydroxyl groups with branching agent, 2,2-bis(methylene-α-bromoisobutyryl)propionyl chloride. The resultant polymer with 12 terminal bromines was used as macroinitiator in the ATRP of St to produce the target dendrimer-like copolymer, PSt₃-b-PLLA₆-b-PSt₁₂. The structures of polymers obtained from each step were confirmed by their ¹H NMR spectra and GPC measurements. DSC results show one for the three-armed PSt, , and for the dendrimer-like copolymer with two generations, C(PSt(PLLA)₂)₃, and , and for the copolymer with three generations, C(PSt(PLLA(PSt)₂)₂)₃.     

Temperature-dependent diffraction studies on the phase evolution of tetraindium heptabromide

The mixed-valent compound In₄Br₇ undergoes a higher-order phase transition below which leads to a decrease in symmetry from the trigonal to the monoclinic (C2/c) system via . The phase transition has been monitored by X-ray powder diffraction using a linear position-sensitive detector between 15 and , and the crystal structures at room temperature and at 90 K have been refined by means of time-of-flight neutron powder-diffraction data; at , the lattice parameters are , , , and β=98.20(1)°; the new unit cell contains 88 atoms (Z=8) of which 12 are symmetry-independent. Due to their electronic instability because of a second-order Jahn-Teller effect, two of the three crystallographically independent monovalent indium cations are severely affected by the phase transition with respect to their coordination spheres; bond-valence calculations reveal significant strengthening of In⁺-Br⁻ bonding upon symmetry reduction. Structural changes and group-subgroup relationships as well as possible intermediate phases are discussed.     

Volumetric behaviour of binary and ternary liquid systems composed of ethanol, isooctane, and toluene at temperatures from (298.15 to 328.15) K. Experimental data and correlation

The densities and speeds of sound of (ethanol + isooctane), (ethanol + toluene), and (ethanol + isooctane + toluene) were measured at four temperatures over the range (298.15 to 328.15) K, and the respective values of excess volumes and adiabatic compressibility κ_S were calculated. The and κ_S values for the binary systems were fitted to the Redlich–Kister equation. The respective ternary data together with corresponding binary data were then fitted to the modified Redlich–Kister equation considering various numbers of ternary constants. It was found that even for the systems containing self-associating alcohol, only one ternary parameter is sufficient to describe well the ternary system.     

Effects of branching characteristics and copolymer composition distribution on non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of metallocene LLDPEs

The effects of branch content (BC) and copolymer composition distribution (CCD) on the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of metallocene m-LLDPEs were studied using modified Avrami analysis, modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), and Crystaf. Several m-LLDPEs and an m-HDPE - all having comparable M_w and PDI - were experimented. In addition, a ZN-LLDPE was used for comparison purposes. The branch content, unlike the used cooling rates (2-6 °C/min), significantly affected the crystallization behavior. Crystallization peak temperature, , decreased linearly with increasing BC. All the m-LLDPEs showed primary and secondary crystallizations. The secondary crystallization showed to be more pronounced at high BC. The primary crystallization Avrami parameter n for m-HDPE ranged between 3.72 and 4.50, indicating spherulitic crystal growth whereas that for the m-LLDPEs, varied from 2.02 to 5.70. The ZN-LLDPE (having broader composition distribution) offered higher values of and than the m-LLDPEs with similar BC, M_w, and PDI. It, unlike the m-LLDPEs and m-HDPE, fairly agreed with the crystallization kinetic model proposed by Liu et al. The lamella thickness of the m-LLDPEs, L, calculated as per Gibbs-Thomson equation, showed to be in the range 2-16 nm, depending on BC and it decreased approximately following the relationship: L (nm) = 15.0 e^{(−0.0498BC)}.     

A selective and sensitive ‘naked eye’ anion detector based on an imine-π-TCNQ assembly

A colorimetric heterocyclic imine based chemosensor is designed for detection of and under physiological pH conditions. The charge-transfer (CT) sensor is highly coloured with and recognition giving rise to a purple-to-yellow colour change that is visible to the naked eye and is reversible upon removal of anion.     

Phase polymorphism of [Zn(DMSO)6](ClO4)2 studied by differential scanning calorimetry

Four solid phases of [Zn(DMSO)₆](ClO₄)₂ have been detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Specifically, the phase transitions were detected between: metastable phase KII ↔ supercooled phase K0 at , stable phase KIb ↔ stable phase KIa at , stable phase KIa ↔ stable phase K0 at . At T_m2 = 389 K crystals partially and at T_m1 = 465 K completely melts. From the entropy change values it was concluded that the phases: K0 and K0′ are the orientationally dynamically disordered phases, so called ODDIC crystals, and phases KIa, KIb and metastable KII are dynamically ordered but with some degree of positional disorder.     

Determination of sulfur-containing amino acids by capillary electrophoresis dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Capillary electrophoresis dynamic reaction cell™ inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CE-DRC-ICP-MS) for the determination of sulfur-containing amino acids is described. The sulfur-containing amino acids studied include l-cysteine, l-cystine, dl-homocystine and l-methionine. The species studied were well separated using a 70 cm length×75 μm i.d. fused silica capillary while the applied voltage was set at +22 kV and a 10 mmol l⁻¹ disodium tetraborate buffer (pH 9.8) containing 0.1 mmol l⁻¹ EDTA and 0.5 mmol l⁻¹ Triton X-100 was used as the electrophoretic buffer. The sulfur-selective electropherogram was determined at m/z 48 as by using its reaction with O₂ in the reaction cell. The method avoided the effect of polyatomic isobaric interferences at m/z 32 caused by and on by detecting as the oxide ion at m/z 48, which is less interfered. The detection limit of various species studied was in the range of 0.047-0.058 μg S ml⁻¹, which corresponded to the absolute detection limit of 1.3-1.6 pg S based on the injection volume of 27 nl. We determined the concentrations of selected sulfur-containing amino acids in urine and nutritive complement samples. The recovery was in the range of 92-128% for various species.