Determination of traces of fluorine or sulfur by x-ray analysis

New X-ray methods have been developed for the determination of as little as 1 μg of fluorine or as little as 0.1 μg of sulfur. Fluorine as fluoride is precipitated as lanthanum fluoride in 75% ethanol-water mixture and determined by measuring the amount of lanthanum present in the precipitate. Sulfur as sulfate is precipitated as barium sulfate from a barium sulfate saturated 50% ethanol-buffer mixture, using selenate as a coprecipitant, and determined by measuring the amount of sulfur present. Sulfur as sulfide is precipitated as cadmium sulfide and determined by measuring the amount of sulfur or cadmium in the precipitate.     

Catalytic enantioselective Strecker reaction of ketoimines using catalytic amount of TMSCN and stoichiometric amount of HCN

Catalyst loading as low as 0.1 mol % was achieved in the enantioselective Strecker reaction of ketoimines. Excellent enantioselectivity was obtained with a combined use of a catalytic amount of TMSCN and a stoichiometric amount of HCN as a reagent, and a chiral gadolinium complex as a catalyst.     

GC-MS Determination of an Unknown Pesticide. II. An Experiment Investigating Quality of Analysis Using Random Sampling and Estimation of Variance

Newly devised components are described which significantly enhance both the scientific and pedagogical components of a previously published, qualitatively oriented experiment for students in an undergraduate instrumental analysis course. To provide a laboratory exercise containing as much real-world experience as possible, the earlier experiment was modified in such a way as to allow its use as a quantitative experiment illustrating such principles as sampling, experimental design, analysis of variance, and the use of internal standards.     

Oriented immobilization of a fully active monolayer of histidine-tagged recombinant laccase on modified gold electrodes

The formation of a dense monolayer of histidine-tagged recombinant laccase on gold electrodes by using a short thiol-NTA linker is described, as well as a kinetic analysis of the process by cyclic voltammetry. From a detailed analysis of the catalytic reduction of dioxygen by laccase in the presence of a one-electron redox mediator it can be concluded that the immobilized enzyme remains as active as in homogeneous solution.     

Molecular fundamentals of enzyme nanogels

The assembly of a monomer around an enzyme as the essential step in the fabrication of enzyme nanogel by in situ polymerization was illustrated by molecular dynamics simulation and evidenced by a fluorescence resonance energy transfer spectrum, using lipase/acrylamide as a model system. The subsequent polymerization generated a hydrophilic gel network which not only strengthened the protein structural integrity via multipoint linkage but also increased the number of intramolecular H-bonds of the encapsulated protein, as suggested by the blue shift of the fluorescence spectrum of the encapsulated lipase. This greatly enhanced the stability of lipase at high temperature, as experimentally demonstrated. The exclusion of polar solvent molecules from the encapsulated enzyme, in contrast to the enrichment of water molecules, due to the presence of a hydrophilic gel network was displayed. This established a hydrophilic microenvironment for the encapsulated protein and thus gave the encapsulated protein an enhanced tolerance to the organic solvent, as experimentally observed in the present study and reported elsewhere. These results have given a molecular insight into the enzyme nanogel as well as its high potential as a robust enzyme model for an expended application spectrum of enzymatic catalysis.     

Photochemistry of aromatic compounds : Mechanism of the amine-accelerated photodebromination of 5-bromo-2-methoxypyrimidine

Triethylamine accelerates the photodebromination of 5-bromopyrimidines, and much more so in methanol than in acetonitrile. The quantum yield in methanol is as high as 4, and additional data suggest that the amine-catalysed debromination is a photo-initiated free-radical chain reaction, the carrier being the .CH₂OH radical; triethylamine acts as an electron donor in the initiation step and as a base catalyst in the chain reaction.     

Electron group functions for the analysis of the electronic structures of molecules

The electronic structure of a vast majority of molecular systems can be understood in terms of electron groups and their wave functions. They serve as a natural basis for bringing intuitive chemical and physical concepts into quantum chemical calculations. This article considers the general electron group functions formalism as well as its simple geminal version. We try to characterize the wave function with the group structure and its capabilities in actual calculations. For this purpose we implement a variational method based on the wave function in the form of an antisymmetrized product of strongly orthogonal group functions and perform a series of electronic structure calculations for small molecules and model systems. The most important point studied is the relation between the choice of electron groups and the results obtained. We consider energetic characteristics as well as optimal geometry parameters. In view of practical importance, the structure of variationally optimized local one-electron states is considered in detail as well as intuitive characteristics of chemical bonds.     

A reinterpretation of the hydration of micelles of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide and chloride in aqueous solution

The hydration of dodecyltrimethylammonium (DTAB) micelles is reinterpreted in light of the results of the companion paper (immediately preceding this paper) that showed that the location of the spin probe 16-doxylstearic acid methyl ester (16DSE) changes as a function of the aggregation number, N, of anionic micelles, i.e, that it does not conform to the zero-order model (ZOM). The ZOM requires that the NO(*) moiety diffuse throughout the Stern layer of the micelle and nowhere else. By using the ZOM as a working hypothesis, the previous interpretation (J. Phys. Chem. B 2002, 106, 1926) of 16DSE data proposed that an increasing number of alkyl chain methyl groups occupied the Stern layer as N increased. In this work, the spin probe 5-doxylstearic acid methyl ester that was found to fulfill the ZOM in anionic micelles was measured as a function of N in DTAB and was found to obey the ZOM in this cationic micelle as well. Thus, a simple model of the hydration of micelles that is successful in anionic micelles is also successful in DTAB. The previous results for 16DSE are reinterpreted here as being due to small displacements of the NO(*) moiety as a function of N.     

The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin

The psychedelic effects of some plants and fungi have been known and deliberately exploited by humans for thousands of years. Fungi, particularly mushrooms, are the principal source of naturally occurring psychedelics. The mushroom extract, psilocybin has historically been used as a psychedelic agent for religious and spiritual ceremonies, as well as a therapeutic option for neuropsychiatric conditions. Psychedelic use was largely associated with the “hippie” counterculture movement, which, in turn, resulted in a growing, and still lingering, negative stigmatization for psychedelics. As a result, in 1970, the U.S. government rescheduled psychedelics as Schedule 1 drugs, ultimately ending scientific research on psychedelics. This prohibition on psychedelic drug research significantly delayed advances in medical knowledge on the therapeutic uses of agents such as psilocybin. A 2004 pilot study from the University of California, Los Angeles, exploring the potential of psilocybin treatment in patients with advanced-stage cancer managed to reignite interest and significantly renewed efforts in psilocybin research, heralding a new age in exploration for psychedelic therapy. Since then, significant advances have been made in characterizing the chemical properties of psilocybin as well as its therapeutic uses. This review will explore the potential of psilocybin in the treatment of neuropsychiatry-related conditions, examining recent advances as well as current research. This is not a systematic review.     

Effects of macromolecules on the crystallization of CaCO3 the Formation of Organic/Inorganic Composites

The effects of macromolecules as soluble additives and solid matrices have been examined for the crystallization of CaCO₃. A vaterite form grows on a glass substrate in the presence of poly(glutamic acid) (PGA) containing a carboxylic acid group as a soluble additive. In contrast, no crystal growth has been observed when poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) exists as an additive though it has the same functional group. The conformation or the backbone structure of the polymers may have an influence on the crystal polymorph of CaCO₃. Thin film states of CaCO₃ crystals have been obtained as organic/inorganic composites with chitosan that acts as a solid matrix in the presence of PAA or PGA as a soluble additive.     

Extraordinary atomic mobility of Au{111} at 80 Kelvin: effect of styrene adsorption

We describe how the presence of styrene, a weakly adsorbed molecule, dramatically restructures the Au{111} surface at temperatures as low as 80 K. The restructuring manifests itself both in mobility of step-edge atoms, as well as changes in the position of the herringbone reconstruction over time. These effects are explained in terms of the preferential adsorption sites of styrene allowing it to assist in atom detachment from step edges, as well as lowering of the energetic barrier for movement of the herringbone reconstruction. This work has important consequences for studies in which Au is used as a support for or as an electrical contact to molecules.     

Study of the Acylation Reaction of 2(3H)-Benzothiazolones in the Mixture of ZnCl 2 -DMF

The use of polyphosphoric acid and the complex AlCl 3 -DMF in 6-acylation of 2(3H)-benzothiazolones previously have been reported. Instead of the frequently used AlCl 3 as a catalyst in the Friedl-Crafts reactions, we conducted the acylation of 2(3H)-benzothiazones using zinc chloride as a catalyst in DMF as solvent and acid chlorides or anhydrides as acylating agents.     

Electrochemical polymerization of acetylene on a surface of platinum

Polyacetylene (PA) deposited on a platinum surface is synthesized by electrochemical polymerization of acetylene in a cell with platinum strip as cathode, nickel strip as anode, and nickel bromide in acetonitrile as electrolyte. The electrolytic solution is presaturated with acetylene. The PA so produced has a granular morphology and high surface area (79 m²/g), and is insoluble. Polymerization at lower temperature gives higher content in cis units. It has the same chemical structure as that produced using the Shirakawa method as examined by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Use of Silicon Substituents in the Syntheses of Natural and Non-natural Molecules

Trimethylsilyl groups have been used in our research as a director as well as a bulky and lipophilic group in our quest for natural and non-natural molecules.     

毛喉萜的合成研究概况

毛喉萜(1),forskolin,具有抗高血压、抗肿瘤转移和抗青光眼等药理活性,以及复杂分子结构所具有的挑战性,引起世界上众多有机合成化学家和药物化学家的研究兴趣。本文主要综述该化合物合成研究的各种策略以及路线设计。同时也简要介绍毛喉萜衍生物的合成及其构效关系。     

Further analysis of delayed luminescence of plants

The delayed luminescence curves of biological tissues, in particular the "hyperbolic" oscillations of the form exp(-iln (1 + lambda t)) with t as the time and lambda as a constant, were subjects of further experimental and theoretical investigations. It turned out that the oscillations are solutions of a Hamiltonian that keeps coherent states coherent. In agreement to the expectations the oscillations disappear as soon as the biological system looses its integrity or its collective structure. The photocount statistics (PCS) confirms these results. The illumination itself influences the biological state under consideration. The temperature dependence displays small deviations from the Arrhenius-law with a mean activation energy of about 0.5 eV in case of plants. The results may be useful for investigating supermolecular interactions as well as for assessing the quality or quality changes of biological tissues.     

Identification of Mixtures of Synthetic Organic Pigments Using UV-VIS Spectrophotometry and Kalman Filtering

Abstract

A Kalman filter is used to determine the number of components and their concentrations in mixtures of synthetic organic pigments. In this way, a quantitative identification of mixtures of these pigments is possible as is shown with a simulated as well a real mixture. The dataset used in the experiments, consisted of as much as 27 candidate pigments.     

Scattering of two-dimensional analogs of disordered lamellae

Optical Fourier transformation is used to study some two-dimensional (2D) analogs of disordered lamellae microstructure. A connected network of thick lines is used as the 2D representation of the disordered lamellar structures which have been observed in surfactant solutions. It is shown that, in these amorphous structures, the position of the scattering peak is still given by the underlying lattice and the observed scattering can be decomposed as a fair approximation, as a product of a local form factor and a structure factor due to the correlations of the underlying lattice.