Indirect determination of the sum of chelons in drinking- and ground-waters by anodic stripping voltammetry

The complexing ligand EDTA can be determined as its complex with bismuth by indirect anodic stripping voltammetry down to 0.1 μg/L without a concentration step. Interfering copper and excess bismuth have to be removed by cation exchange, although in presence of these metals EDTA can be determined down to 0.5 μg/L only. If NTA, EDTA, and DTPA are present simultaneously, the accumulation curves for the corresponding bismuth-complexes can overlap, preventing a separate determination of the three chelons. Due to the interaction of NTA and DTPA with soil normally only EDTA is present in ground-waters. Similarly, EDTA also dominates in surface-waters. Thus it seems to be sufficient to determine the sum of the three chelons as EDTA (index of bismuth-complexation) using suitable electrochemical conditions.     

Racematspaltung von chiralen Ferrocenderivaten durch Gegenstromverteilung

Optical resolution by counter-current distribution has been demonstrated on a preparative scale for two chiral ferrocene derivatives, e.g. 1.2-(α-oxotetramethylene)ferrocene (1), and 1.2-(α-butenylene)ferrocene (2), resp., in the system cyclohexane—(+)-diethyltartrate. The optical yields were 12 and 1%, resp., and are in good agreement with the values calculated from the partition coefficients of the enantiomers. The optical purity of1 could be increased to 40% by crystallization from cyclohexane. A resolution of1 with an optical yield of 14% was also possible by thin layer partition chromatography on silica gel using the same solvents.     

Hexaphosphapentaprismane: a new gateway to organophosphorus cage compound chemistry

Several independent synthetic routes are described leading to the formation of a novel unsaturated tetracyclic phosphorus carbon cage compound tBu4C4P6 (1), which undergoes a light-induced valence isomerization to produce the first hexaphosphapentaprismane cage tBu4C4P6 (2). A second unsaturated isomer tBu4C4P6 (9) of 1 and the bis-[W(CO)5] complex 13 of 1 are stable towards similar isomerization reactions. Another starting material for the synthesis of the hexaphosphapentaprismane cage tBu4C4P6 (2) is the trimeric mercury complex [(tBu4C4P6)Hg]3 (11), which undergoes elimination of mercury to afford the title compound 2. Single-crystal X-ray structural determinations have been carried out on compounds 1, 2, 9, 11, and 13.     

Direct Identification of the Carbon Skeleton of Organic Compounds using Double Quantum Coherence 13C-NMR Spectroscopy. The INADEQUATE Pulse Sequence

NMR spectroscopy plays an important part in the determination of the structures of organic compounds. The parameters of importance here are the chemical shifts of the ¹H and ¹³C nuclei and the spin-spin interactions both between ¹H nuclei and between ¹H and ¹³C nuclei. Couplings between ¹³C nuclei were almost completely neglected until a few years ago, since they were extremely difficult to observe because of the low natural abundance of ¹³C. However, it is these couplings which afford information directly on the carbon-carbon connectivities in the molecule. It is now possible to use a special NMR pulse sequence to make these couplings more readily visible: the result of using this sequence is a ¹³C-NMR spectrum from which the carbon skeleton concerned can be directly read off. Two-dimensional spectra in particular are very easy to evaluate. The pulse sequence involved, which bears the somewhat puzzling name INADEQUATE, produces double-quantum coherences from which the NMR signals of the coupled carbon nuclei can be obtained. In this article the principle of double-quantum coherence is described and a number of examples for the application of the INADEQUATE pulse sequences to problems in synthetic organic chemistry, biosynthesis and natural products chemistry are presented; in addition, the possibility of applying the INADEQUATE method to other nuclei is considered.     

The chemistry of the azanonaborane cluster RNH2---B8H11NHR

The preparation and properties of the R¹R²NH---B₈H₁₁NHR cluster are described. The cluster is stable to aqueous solutions and can be made water-soluble by the introduction of a few hydrophilic groups. This makes the cluster a good candidate as the boron moiety in compounds for boron neutron capture therapy. The chemistry of the cluster preparation, the stability of the cluster, and conditions for reactions of the organic moieties are reviewed. Pyridine derivatives of the cluster show electronic interaction between the cluster and the pyridine.     

Reactions of aromatic ketones with 3-mercapto-1,2-propanediol. Synthesis of cis- and trans-2-alkyl-2-aryl-(1,3-oxathiolane-5-methanols and 1,3-dioxolane-4-methanethiols)

Aromatic ketones react with 3-mercapto-1,2-propanediol ( 1 ) in refluxing benzene under the catalytic influence of a sulfonic acid and with azeotropic removal of water to yield a mixture comprised predominantly of cis- and trans-2-alkyl-2-aryl-1,3-oxathiolane-5-methanols 7, accompanied by lesser amounts of cis- and trans-2-alkyl-2-aryl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanethiols 8 (up to 30%). It was discovered that 8 is the kinetic product and is isomerized by 4-toluenesulfonic acid in hot benzene to the thermodynamically more stable 7 . Under these conditions, ortho- and α-substituted aromatic ketones tend to produce more of 8 , which can be attributed to steric hindrance encountered by the thiol as it attacks the ketone. Ketalizations of 1-aryl-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1- as well as 1-aryl-2-(1,H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-ethanones by 1 fail under these conditions, even after 24 hours of reflux in toluene. However, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-propanone and 1-(4-bromophenyl)-4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-butanone are ketalized by 1 as expected. Interestingly, the reaction of 2-bromo-4′-chloroace-tophenone with 1 produces 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,8-dioxa-6-thiabicyclo[3.2.1]octane. Characterization of all isomers and separation of some diastereomers is described. Nuclear Overhauser enhancement experiments are utilized to establish the stereochemistry of 1,3-oxathiolanes.     

Multiplexed hybridizations of positively charge-tagged peptide nucleic acids detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a novel class of DNA analogues in which the entire sugar-phosphate backbone is replaced by a pseudopeptide counterpart. Owing to its neutral character and the consequent lack of electrostatic repulsion, PNA exhibits very stable heteroduplex formation with complementary nucleic acid that is essentially ionic strength independent and enables hybridization under minimum salt conditions. This feature as well as its superior ion stability and easy ionization compared to DNA renders PNA very attractive for hybridization-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) applications. We have developed an approach to DNA characterization that takes advantage of multiplexed PNA hybridizations analyzed by MALDI-TOFMS. Our motivation was the further development of oligonucleotide fingerprinting, an efficient technique for cDNA and genomic DNA library characterization. Through positive 'charge-tagging' of PNA the efficiency of detection in MALDI-TOFMS was considerably enhanced permitting an unparalleled degree of multiplexing. Results from the simultaneous hybridization of 21 charge-tagged PNA hexamer oligonucleotides showed that genomic DNA and cDNA clones are successfully characterized on the basis of their hybridization profiles. The degree of multiplexing achieved may render a significant increase in throughput and hence efficiency of oligonucleotide fingerprinting possible.     

Hydrogen determination by means of the1H(19F, αγ)16 O and1H(15N, αγ)12C resonance reactions

Hydrogen surface contamination and depth profiles can be measured by the resonant nuclear reactions¹H(¹⁹F, )¹⁶O and¹H(¹⁵N, )¹²C. The method was applied to study hydrogen-implanted silicon, amorphous silicon layers and silicon oxide films produced by anodic oxidation.     

Bestimmung von Iridiumspuren mit Dithizon mittels substöchiometrischer Isotopenverdünnungsanalyse

Iridium(III or IV) reacts with dithizone on heating at pH 6 to form a 1∶2 complex, which can be concentrated by extraction into chloroform. Based on this reaction, a reproducible, selective determination of iridium (1 ppb) is achieved by means of substoichiometric isotope dilution analysis based on¹⁹²Ir.     

Investigations on the use of pneumatic cross-flow nebulizers with dual solution loading including the correction of matrix effects in elemental determinations by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

The use of a so-called trihedral and a T-shaped cross-flow pneumatic nebulizer with dual solution loading for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry has been studied. By these devices analyte clouds from two solutions can be mixed during the aerosol generation step. For both nebulizers the correction of matrix effects using internal standardization and standard addition calibration in an on-line way was investigated and compared to elemental determinations using a conventional cross-flow nebulizer and calibration with synthetic standard solutions without matrix matching. A significant improvement of accuracy, both for calibration with internal standardization and standard addition, was obtained in the case of four synthetic solutions containing each 40 mmol L^− 1 Na, K, Rb and Ba as matrix elements and 300 μg L^− 1 Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb as analytes. Calibration by standard addition in the case of dual solution loading has been shown to be very useful in the determination of elements at minor and trace levels in steel and alumina reference materials. The results of analysis for minor concentrations of Cr, Cu and Ni in steel as well as for Ca, Fe, Ga, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Si and Zn in alumina powder certified reference materials subsequent to sample dissolution were found to be in good agreement with the certificates. Limits of detection were found to be only slightly above those for a conventional cross-flow nebulizer and a precision better than 3% was realized with both novel nebulizers.