Precipitation and characterization of hollow calcite nanoparticles

A method for preparation of significant amount of hollow rhombohedral calcite nanoparticles, based on carbonation of calcium hydroxide suspension, is described. The mineralogical and morphological analyses of the precipitate confirmed the existence of exclusively stable polymorphic modification, calcite, with the mean particle size of about 100 nm and the diameter of the holes observed at the surfaces that are about 50 nm. The analysis of carbonation kinetics pointed out to a complex mechanism of hollow particles formation at high initial supersaturation, that assumed nucleation of amorphous precursor calcium carbonate phase and its solution mediated transformation into nanosized crystalline calcite. The holes obtained at the calcite surfaces are most probably the imprints remained after the dissolution of amorphous calcium carbonate particles.     

Rate constant for the reaction of the t-butoxyl radical with Fe(II) ion

The rate of the reaction of the tert-butoxyl radical (t-BuO^√) with Fe²⁺ was measured using laser flash photolysis of methanolic solutions at room temperature. t-BuO^√ were generated by homolytic photodecomposition of di-tert-butyl peroxide. The rate constant for oxidation of Fe²⁺ with t-BuO^√ radicals was studied under pseudo-first order conditions. On the basis of competitive kinetics the quantum yield of oxidation, Φ(Fe³⁺), was determined as function of Fe²⁺ concentration by measuring the absorbance of Fe³⁺ as [FeCl]²⁺ complex. By using the literature values of the rate constants of relevant competing reactions, the desired rate constant was determined to be 3.0×10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Laser spectroscopy investigation of the hyperfine structure of highly excited 2P32 states in alkali atoms

Highly excited ²P_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} levels in alkali atoms were populated using a multi-step excitation, involving a tunable dye laser. The hyperfine structure of the 9 ²P_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} level in ⁸⁷Rb and the 11, 12 ²P_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} levels in ¹³³Cs was determined with optical double resonance.     

Photochemical Reactivity of Naphthol-Naphthalimide Conjugates and Their Biological Activity

Quinone methide precursors 1a–e, with different alkyl linkers between the naphthol and the naphthalimide chromophore, were synthesized. Their photophysical properties and photochemical reactivity were investigated and connected with biological activity. Upon excitation of the naphthol, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to the naphthalimide takes place and the quantum yields of fluorescence are low (Φ_F ≈ 10⁻²). Due to FRET, photodehydration of naphthols to QMs takes place inefficiently (Φ_R ≈ 10⁻⁵). However, the formation of QMs can also be initiated upon excitation of naphthalimide, the lower energy chromophore, in a process that involves photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from the naphthol to the naphthalimide. Fluorescence titrations revealed that 1a and 1e form complexes with ct-DNA with moderate association constants K_a ≈ 10⁵–10⁶ M⁻¹, as well as with bovine serum albumin (BSA) K_a ≈ 10⁵ M⁻¹ (1:1 complex). The irradiation of the complex 1e@BSA resulted in the alkylation of the protein, probably via QM. The antiproliferative activity of 1a–e against two human cancer cell lines (H460 and MCF 7) was investigated with the cells kept in the dark or irradiated at 350 nm, whereupon cytotoxicity increased, particularly for 1e (>100 times). Although the enhancement of this activity upon UV irradiation has no imminent therapeutic application, the results presented have importance in the rational design of new generations of anticancer phototherapeutics that absorb visible light.     

Electronic structure of substituted bicycloheptanones (camphors)

He I photoelectron spectra of some camphor derivatives have been recorded and are assigned on the basis of correlations with the spectra of related molecules. The spectra reported in this work together with those reported previously form a camphor database for study of electronic structure interactions between functional groups themselves and between groups and the bicycloalkane skeleton. The unsymmetrical camphor skeleton is found to be a poor relay for σ−π interactions.     

Characterization of a new substrate for tunneling spectroscopy

An insulating layer is produced on aluminum by glow discharge in CF₄. This substrate, used as the insulator of metal-insulator-metal diodes is characterized by Inelastic Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy as an aluminum trifluoride AlF₃. The adsorption of ammonia, benzylamine. formic and propiolic acid on this substrate is investigated. A comparison between spectra of samples obtained on this insulator and on alumina for the same dopant molecules shows significant differences which are interpreted as revealing an enhanced Lewis acidity of AlF₃ relative to Al₂O₃, determined — at least in part — by an enhanced electronegativity of surface Al⁺ cations of AlF₃.     

Investigation of benzene-hexafluorobenzene dynamics in liquid binary mixtures

The structure and microscopic dynamics of liquid mixtures of benzene and hexafluorobenzene at room temperature and several compositions have been studied by molecular-dynamics simulations. In this implementation we have rescaled the intermolecular H-F cross potential parameters obtained from the Lorentz-Berthelot combining rules, in order to avoid the substantial overestimation of the energy of mixing predicted by the model when the usual rules are employed. We found that a reduction in the strength of cross H-F interactions by 50% relative to the geometric mean is required in order to get a good agreement with experiments. Radial-angular pair-correlation functions between like and unlike species have been computed and analyzed, by comparing them with the correlations in the corresponding neat liquids. We have also studied the microscopic intermolecular momentum transfer, by computing the time correlation function between the initial velocity of a central molecule and later velocities of neighboring molecules. Structural and dynamical information extracted from the mentioned functions seem to be consistent with the picture of relatively long-lived benzene-hexafluorobenzene (Bz-Hf) complexes present in the mixtures, which would be responsible for the considerable perturbation of the structure in the first shell of like species, and would be moving within the liquid in a parallel face-to-face configuration. Using the tools developed originally to estimate hydrogen-bond lifetimes in liquids, we have computed the lifetimes of the Bz-Hf complexes as a function of the mixture composition, by two different methods: the direct time-averaging scheme and from the autocorrelation function of bond occupation numbers. The obtained lifetimes are strongly dependent on the scheme chosen to compute the characteristic times. We have obtained for the Bz-Hf dimer in solution, at room temperature, lifetimes in the range of 30-40 ps from averaging schemes and around 60-120 ps from autocorrelation function methods. In the latter case, the longest times correspond to the equimolar mixture.     

Multielemental speciation of trace elements in estuarine waters with automated on-site UV photolysis and resin chelation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An integrated approach for the accurate determination of total, labile and organically bound dissolved trace metal concentration in the field is presented. Two independent automated platforms consisting of an ultraviolet (UV) on-line unit and a chelation/preconcentration/matrix elimination module were specifically developed to process samples on-site to avoid sample storage prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The speciation scheme allowed simultaneous discrimination between labile and organic stable dissolved species of seven trace elements including Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, U and Zn, using only 5 ml of sample with detection limits ranging between 0.6 ng l⁻¹ for Cd and 33 ng l⁻¹ for Ni. The influence of UV photolysis on organic matter and its associated metal complexes was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and validated against natural samples spiked with humic substances standards. The chelation/preconcentration/matrix elimination procedure was validated against an artificial seawater spiked sample and two certified reference materials (SLRS-4 and CASS-4) to ensure homogenous performance across freshwater, estuarine and seawater samples. The speciation scheme was applied to two natural freshwater and seawater samples collected in the Adour Estuary (Southwestern, France) and processed in the field. The results indicated that the organic complexation levels were high and unchanged for Cu in both samples, whereas different signatures were observed for Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb, U and Zn, suggesting organic ligands of different origin and/or their transformation/alteration along estuarine water mixing.     

Fully reversible procedure for silver staining improves densitometry of complex mixtures of biopolymers resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Due to its high sensitivity, silver staining is a widely popular method for the revelation of biopolymers separated by both native and denaturing electrophoresis. A step-by-step method for the destaining and restaining of overdeveloped/overloaded silver-stained bands is described that is applicable to both proteins and nucleic acids. The procedure significantly improves densitometric analysis of gels that have been silver stained with either commercial kits or solutions made in-house. The method permits reproducible densitometry of silver-stained gels and allows quantification of both main and minor components in complex mixture of molecules resolved on the same gel slab. All steps may be interrupted and are readily reversible, allowing for facile densitometric analyses and photographic recording under optimized conditions. Furthermore, common artifacts such as differential staining of the two gel surfaces, localized uneven yellow-ochre background, and the presence of fold marks and fingerprints can be easily removed.     

Solvation dynamics in reverse micelles: the role of headgroup-solute interactions

We present molecular dynamics simulation results for solvation dynamics in the water pool of anionic-surfactant reverse micelles (RMs) of varying water content, w(0). The model RMs are designed to represent water/aerosol-OT/oil systems, where aerosol-OT is the common name for sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate. To determine the effects of chromophore-headgroup interactions on solvation dynamics, we compare the results for charge localization in model ionic diatomic chromophores that differ only in charge sign. Electronic excitation in both cases is modeled as charge localization on one of the solute sites. We find dramatic differences in the solvation responses for anionic and cationic chromophores. Solvation dynamics for the cationic chromophore are considerably slower and more strongly w(0)-dependent than those for the anionic chromophore. Further analysis indicates that the difference in the responses can be ascribed in part to the different initial locations of the two chromophores relative to the surfactant interface. In addition, slow motion of the cationic chromophore relative to the interface is the main contributor to the longer-time decay of the solvation response to charge localization in this case.