Design and optimization of on-chip capillary electrophoresis

We present a systematic, experimentally validated method of designing electrokinetic injections for on-chip capillary electrophoresis applications. This method can be used to predict point-wise and charge-coupled device (CCD)-imaged electropherograms using estimates of species mobilities, diffusivities and initial sample plug parameters. A simple Taylor dispersion model is used to characterize electrophoretic separations in terms of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Detection convolutions using Gaussian and Boxcar detector response functions are used to relate optimal conditions for resolution and signal as a function of relevant system parameters including electroosmotic mobility, sample injection length, detector length scale, and the length-to-detector. Analytical solutions show a tradeoff between signal-to-noise ratio and resolution with respect to dimensionless injection width and length to the detector. In contrast, there is no tradeoff with respect to the Peclet number as increases in Peclet number favor both SNR and separation solution (R). We validate our model with quantitative epifluorescence visualizations of electrophoretic separation experiments in a simple cross channel microchip. For the pure advection regime of dispersion, we use numerical simulations of the transient convective diffusion processes associated with electrokinetics together with an optimization algorithm to design a voltage control scheme which produces an injection plug that has minimal advective dispersion. We also validate this optimal injection scheme using fluorescence visualizations. These validations show that optimized voltage scheme produces injections with a standard deviation less than one-fifth of the width of the microchannel.     

Preparation of a mercury film electrode modified by tri-n-octylphosphine oxide and the electrochemical properties of this electrode

Mercury film electrodes have been prepared on silver metal and silver-coated glassy-carbon supports and have been modified by a film of tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) in a poly(vinyl chloride) matrix. The electrodes have been characterized in detail and the effects of the modifying film parameters on their electrochemical properties have been studied. It has been shown that these electrodes permit selective and sensitive determinations of many metals. The most important parameters are the thickness of the modifying film, the modifier-to-matrix ratio in the modifying film and the base electrolyte composition. Data concerning the reactions of a number of metal ions on the modified electrode are given.     

Monoorganomercury and diorganothallium derivatives of 2-thiobarbituric acid

Compounds of type R_nMH₂Tb (R = Me, Ph; n = 1 (M = Hg), 2 (M = Tl), H₃Tb = 2-thiobarbituric acid) have been prepared, and studied by vibrational (IR and Raman) and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹⁹Hg and ²⁰⁵Tl) spectroscopy. The organomercury derivatives have the metal bound to the deprotonated thiol sulphur atom of the ligand in both the solid state and in DMSO solution. The organothallium compounds, however, while having the metal bound to the sulphur atom and possibly to one of the nitrogen atoms of the ligand pyrimidine ring in the solid state, in DMSO form conducting solutions containing H₂Tb⁻ and R₂Tl⁺ ions.     

Encrypting Chemical Reactivity in Protein Sequences toward Information‐Coded Reactions†

Controlling chemical reactivity has been the central theme in chemistry. Herein, we review the recent progress on the development of genetically encoded protein coupling reactions and their potential applications. The chemical reactivity is encoded in the protein sequences. The information is read out by folding and molecular recognition between two reactive components and subsequently translated into chemical bonding via autocatalysis. It has emerged as a unique way to tune the chemical reactivity and is regarded as one type of information‐coded reactions. Not only has it received many applications such as protein topology engineering, bioconjugation, biomaterials and synthetic biology, but also its principle may be extended beyond protein chemistry to enable new modes of supramolecular interactions that promote chemical bonding and that are simultaneously reinforced by covalent bonds.     

Topographical properties of polymer films deposited in capillaries for electrophoretic separations of large organic molecules

Topography and thickness of hydrophilic polymer coatings of fused-silica capillaries for capillary electrophoresis (CE) were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and profilometry. Three hydrogels, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)], poly(diethylene glycol monomethacrylate) [poly(DEGMA)], and poly(triethylene glycol monomethacrylate) [poly(TEGMA)], were deposited using two procedures, either by simple physical sorption of the polymers, or by derivatization of the capillary wall surface with glycidyl methacrylate (EPMA) followed by polymerization of the appropriate monomers. The performance of the modified capillaries was tested under CE conditions (decrease in the electroosmotic flow, EOF dependence on pH, separation of milk and standard proteins). It has been found that the most important property of the polymer coating is its thickness, whereas its topography and the degree of its hydrophobicity are less significant. Film deposition by physical adsorption is preferable to polymerization on the derivatized surface.     

Photoinduced electron transfer at liquid|liquid interfaces: dynamics of the heterogeneous photoreduction of quinones by self-assembled porphyrin ion pairs

The initial stages of the heterogeneous photoreduction of quinone species by self-assembled porphyrin ion pairs at the water|1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface have been studied by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy and dynamic photoelectrochemical measurements. Photoexcitation of the water-soluble ion pair formed by zinc meso-tetrakis(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (ZnTPPS(4)(-)) and zinc meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin (ZnTMPyP(4+)) leads to a charge-separated state of the form ZnTPPS(3)(-)-ZnTMPyP(3+) within 40 ps. This charge-separated state is involved in the heterogeneous electron injection to acceptors in the organic phase in the microsecond time scale. The heterogeneous electron transfer manifests itself as photocurrent responses under potentiostatic conditions. In the case of electron acceptors such as 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ), 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ), and tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ), the photocurrent responses exhibit a strong decay due to back electron transfer to the oxidized porphyrin ion pair. Interfacial protonation of the radical semiquinone also contributes to the photocurrent relaxation in the millisecond time scale. The photocurrent responses are modeled by a series of linear elementary steps, allowing estimations of the flux of heterogeneous electron injection to the acceptor species. The rate of electron transfer was studied as a function of the thermodynamic driving force, confirming that the activation energy is controlled by the solvent reorganization energy. This analysis also suggests that the effective redox potential of BQ at the liquid|liquid boundary is shifted by 0.6 V toward positive potentials with respect to the value in bulk DCE. The change of the redox potential of BQ is associated with the formation of hydrogen bonds at the liquid|liquid boundary. The relevance of this approach toward modeling the initial processes in natural photosynthetic reaction centers is briefly discussed.     

TATB固体与表面吸附水的相互作用研究

TATB（1，3，5-三氨基-2，4，6-三硝基苯）是最著名的耐热钝感炸药；水在 TATB表面的吸附作用研究具有理论和实用双重意义。在B3LYP/6-31G~（**）水平上 ，在对TATB晶体（001）表面作周期性计算的基础上经基组叠加误差（BSSE）校正 ，求得TATB的表面能为-19.90 kJ·mol~(-1)，与实验值良好相符；首次求得水在 TATB（001）面的吸附能为-10.25kJ·mol~(-1)；重点讨论了吸附前后能带和电子 结构的变化。     

Kinetic Spectrophotometric Determination of Ritodrine Hydrochloride in Dosage Forms

A simple and sensitive kinetic method was developed for the determination of ritodrine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based upon a kinetic investigation of the oxidation reaction of the drug with alkaline potassium permenganate at room temperature for a fixed 12.5 min; the absorbance of the colored permenganate ion was measured at 609 nm. The absorbance concentration plots were rectilinear over the range of 1.6–11.2 μg mL^?1 (r = 0.9992) with a minimum detectability of 0.096 μgmL^?1 (2.88 × 10^?7 M). The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of color were carefully studied and optimized. The determination of ritodrine hydrochloride by the fixed concentration and rate constant methods is also feasible with the calibration equations obtained, but the fixed time method has been found to be more applicable. The proposed method was applied successfully to the determination of ritodrine hydrochloride in tablets and ampoules with average recoveries of 100.37 ± 0.93% and 100.42 ± 0.87%, respectively. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using a reference method for comparison. A proposal of the reaction pathway is also presented.     

Excess enthalpies of ethylbenzene + alkane systems at 25°C. An interpretation in terms of the Prigogine-Flory-Patterson model

The molar excess enthalpies for the ethylbenzene + n-decane and ethylbenzene + n-tetradecane systems have been measured at 25°C over the complete concentration range. These results and others from the literature for alkanes + ethylbenzene, and alkanes + toluene have been discussed in terms of the Prigogine-Flory-Patterson theory.     

Qualitative and quantitative sensitivity in flame photometry

Concepts of sensitivity in flame photometry are discussed. A distinction is made between sensitivity itself, concentration limits and dilution limits applied to qualitative and quantitative analysis by flame photometry. Sensitivity values, as well as the concentration limits, are considered from two different aspects: as a function of the slope of calibration curves-percentual values-and as a function of fluctutions-fluctuational values. The concepts are applied to the two main branches of flame photometry, emission and absorption.