Crystallization and dissolution temperatures of poly(vinyl alcohol) crystal lamellae

Poly(vinyl alcohol) single crystal platelets having a stepheight of approximately 100 A. were obtained by isothermal crystallization from dilute triethylene glycol solution. Material crystallized at temperature T_c redissolved in the same solvent at a higher temperature T_s. A plot of T_c versus T_s gave a straight line of slope 0.47. Extrapolation of this line to T_c = T_s gave (T_m)∞, which may be regarded as the dissolution temperature of the crystal of infinite stepheight. (T_m)∞ for this sample in triethylene glycol was 220°C. The crystalline nature of the platelets was established by electron and x-ray diffraction techniques. A total of three Bragg d spacings having the values of 3.9, 4.4, and 4.6 A. (±0.05 A.) were measured. These spacings were indexed as the (200), (101), and (101 ) reflections, respectively, of the monoclinic unit cell of Bunn. The x-ray diffractogram exhibits sharp intensities of the (101 ) and (101) reflections. The crystallinity calculated from the density of the poly(vinyl alcohol) precipitated from dilute solutions in triethylene glycol was 42%. Although the overall degree of crystalline perfection of this poly(vinyl alcohol) is low, the linear relationship between T_s and T_c and the formation of definite shaped single crystals when crystallized from dilute solution suggest that poly(vinyl alcohol) crystallizes in the same manner as other semicrystalline polymers.     

Transition Metal Atom Sites in Ternary ZrO2-TiO2-SiO2 Xerogels

There has been much work on the binary TiO₂-SiO₂ and ZrO₂-SiO₂ materials prepared by sol-gel because of the beneficial properties resulting from incorporation of Ti and Zr. In contrast the ternary TiO₂-ZrO₂-SiO₂ xerogels have been relatively little studied. We report the results of a study of those xerogels having Zr:Ti:Si ratios of 5:15:80, 10:10:80 and 15:5:80 heated to 750°C and to 1000°C. The study includes X-ray diffraction, small angle X-ray scattering, X-ray absorption spectroscopy at Ti and Zr K-edges, and ¹⁷O MAS-NMR. The study has benefited from close comparison with similar previous studies of the binary systems. The metal atoms in the ternary systems are shown to be predominantly homogeneously mixed in the silica network, as observed for the respective binary systems. The clear exception is for the sample with a minority of Zr, which after heat treatment at 750°C shows the presence of phase separation attributed to the formation of an amorphous precursor of ZrTiO₄; at 1000°C this phase crystallises. In samples with higher Zr content the crystallisation of a ZrO₂ tetragonal phase was observed. The data obtained illustrate well the strength of a research methodology in which a common batch of samples is studied using a coherent suite of modern structural probes.     

The spectrophotometric determination of zirconium with disodium 3-hydroxy-4-[(6-methyl-2-pyridyl)azo]-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonate N-oxide

Summary The application of the reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of traces of zirconium is described. The effects due to acid concentration, reagent concentration, time and diverse ions are reported. Beer's law is obeyed and the molar absorbance coefficient at 577 nm is 3.2×10⁴.

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Die spektrophotometrische Bestimmung von Zirkonium mit Natrium-3-hydroxy-4-[(6-methyl-2-pyridyl) azo]-2,7-naphthalindisulfonat-N-oxid

Zusammenfassung Die Anwendung des genannten Reagens auf die spektrophotometrische Bestimmung von Zirkoniumspuren wurde beschrieben. Der Einfluß der Säurekonzentration, der Reagenskonzentration, der Zeit und verschiedener Fremdionen wurde untersucht. Das Beersche Gesetz wird befolgt; der molare Extinktionskoeffizient bei 577 nm beträgt 3,2 · 10⁴.

     

Beam deflection for temporal encoding in time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The pulsed ion sources used in conventional time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) generally do not provide adequate resolving power across the mass range required for applications such as gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Theoretical and experimental aspects of beam deflection techniques, which provide time encoding for TOFMS with continuous ions sources, are explored here. In this approach, ion source conditions do not affect resolving power, allowing for a greater variety of ionization modes to be used. Theoretical predictions for the resolving power attainable with beam deflection, which are satisfactory for GC/MS applications, agree well with experimentally determined values. The combination of GC-beam deflection-TOFMS with time-array detection is evaluated, and the capabilities of this system are compared to those of scanning mass spectrometers.     

Effect of Headgroups on Small‐Ion Permeability across Archaea‐Inspired Tetraether Lipid Membranes

This paper examines the effects of four different polar headgroups on small‐ion membrane permeability from liposomes comprised of Archaea‐inspired glycerolmonoalkyl glycerol tetraether (GMGT) lipids. We found that the membrane‐leakage rate across GMGT lipid membranes varied by a factor of ≤1.6 as a function of headgroup structure. However, the leakage rates of small ions across membranes comprised of commercial bilayer‐forming 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐oleoyl‐sn‐glycerol (PO) lipids varied by as much as 32‐fold within the same series of headgroups. These results demonstrate that membrane leakage from GMGT lipids is less influenced by headgroup structure, making it possible to tailor the structure of the polar headgroups on GMGT lipids while retaining predictable leakage properties of membranes comprised of these tethered lipids.     

Tuning Tetrazole Photochemistry for Protein Ligation and Molecular Imaging

Photochemistry provides a wide range of alternative reagents that hold potential for use in bimolecular functionalisation of proteins. Here, we report the synthesis and characterisation of metal ion binding chelates derivatised with disubstituted tetrazoles for the photoradiochemical labelling of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The photophysical properties of tetrazoles featuring extended aromatic systems and auxochromic substituents to tune excitation toward longer wavelengths (365 and 395 nm) were studied. Two photoactivatable chelates based on desferrioxamine B (DFO) and the aza-macrocycle NODAGA were functionalised with a tetrazole and developed for protein labelling with ⁸⁹Zr, ⁶⁴Cu and ⁶⁸Ga radionuclides. DFO-tetrazole ( 1 ) was assessed by direct conjugation to formulated trastuzumab and subsequent radiolabelling with ⁸⁹Zr. Radiochemical studies and cellular-based binding assays demonstrated that the radiotracer remained stable in vitro retained high immunoreactivity. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biodistribution studies were used to measure the tumour specific uptake and pharmacokinetic profile in mice bearing SK-OV-3 xenografts. Experiments demonstrate that tetrazole-based photochemistry is a viable approach for the light-induced synthesis of PET radiotracers.     

Dynamical versus variational symmetries: understanding Noether's first theorem

It is argued that awareness of the distinction between dynamical and variational symmetries is crucial to understanding the significance of Noether's 1918 work. Special attention is paid, by way of a number of striking examples, to Noether's first theorem, which establishes a correlation between dynamical symmetries and conservation principles.     

Morphology and Crystal Structure of Wholly Aromatic All-Para Polyamide-Hydrazide Polymers

The morphology of some amide-hydrazide polymers of the type useful for high-modulus X-500 class fibers has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy of thin films crystallized from dilute solution. Selected area electron diffraction was used to characterize the crystallinity and crystal structure of the thin films and precipitated polymer. The films were cast from concentrated solutions and crystallized by heating the films. The results of these studies revealed several unique features relative to the crystal structure of the all-para polymers. Thin films of the crystallized polymer showed a distinctive crystalline texture—the molecular chains were found to be preferentially oriented parallel to the film plane and randomly oriented about an axis normal to the film plane. Electron diffraction measurements showed equatorial reflection maxima at tilt angles of = 30, ±48, and =59 when the films were tilted on an axis parallel to the film plane. From these results a tentative crystal unit cell and theoretical crystal density were determined: a = 8.5 [Agrave], b = 4.9 Å, c (chain axis) = 29.6 Å, p (density) =1.51 g/cc. The value a/b = 1.735, which is very near 3¹/², implies essentially hexagonal packing of the chains. Crystallization from dilute solution revealed lamellar structures resembling “single crystals” in the electron microscope similar to those observed in other crystalline polymers. However, in contrast to these other polymers, these “crystals” are not likely to contain folded chains because of the very rigid nature of the all-para poiyamide-hydrazide.