Theoretical and experimental X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigation of ion-implanted nafion

The membrane properties of a Nafion surface can be modified by ion implantation with N⁺ or F⁺. The results are presented of an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of implanted surfaces. For the interpretation of the XPS spectra, calculations using a semiempirical quantum chemical formalism (AM1) have been applied, in conjunction with a charge-potential model, to predict the C_1s core electron binding energies. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 551–556, 2004     

Nature-inspired dimerization as a strategy to modulate neuropeptide pharmacology exemplified with vasopressin and oxytocin

Vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) are cyclic neuropeptides that regulate fundamental physiological functions via four G protein-coupled receptors, V_1aR, V_1bR, V₂R, and OTR. Ligand development remains challenging for these receptors due to complex structure–activity relationships. Here, we investigated dimerization as a strategy for developing ligands with novel pharmacology. We regioselectively synthesised and systematically studied parallel, antiparallel and N- to C-terminal cyclized homo- and heterodimer constructs of VP, OT and dVDAVP (1-deamino-4-valine-8-d-arginine-VP). All disulfide-linked dimers, except for the head-to-tail cyclized constructs, retained nanomolar potency despite the structural implications of dimerization. Our results support a single chain interaction for receptor activation. Dimer orientation had little impact on activity, except for the dVDAVP homodimers, where an antagonist to agonist switch was observed at the V_1aR. This study provides novel insights into the structural requirements of VP/OT receptor activation and spotlights dimerization as a strategy to modulate pharmacology, a concept also frequently observed in nature.

Structural and pharmacological study of parallel, antiparallel and N- to C-terminal cyclized homo- and heterodimers of vasopressin and oxytocin. This study spotlights dimerization as a strategy to modulate the pharmacology of neuropeptides.     

Performance of a new nebulizer system for simultaneous determination of Sb,Sn (hydride generation), V,and Zn by ICP–OES

A new nebulizer system is described that extends the analytical capability of the inductively coupled plasma technique to include the simultaneous determination of two elements Sb and Sn (hydride-forming), with two conventional elements, V and Zn. The main advantage of this system is its simultaneous determination of elements that form volatile hydrides and elements that do not, without any instrumental changes. Optimization of reaction and instrumental conditions was performed to characterize the new system. The performance of the new nebulizer system was evaluated by studying the effect of some transition metals (Ni, Cu, Co, and Fe, 1–1000 mg L^–1) on the Sb, Sn, V, and Zn emission signals (1 mg L^–1). Interferences from transition metal ions were found to be insignificant for determination of the four elements in presence of L-cysteine. Long-term and short-term stability was also evaluated. The precision, expressed as RSD for 15 replicate measurements was 0.7% for Sb, 1.7% for Sn, 2.5% for V, and 2.3% for Zn at 200 g L^–1 of each analyte. The detection limits obtained were 0.52, 1.3, 3.2, and 4.7 g L^–1 for Sb, Sn, V, and Zn, respectively. Spike and recovery experiments were performed on the NIST 1643c trace metals in water standard reference material and results were in agreement with the certified values.     

Enantiomeric separation of chiral theophylline derivatives by liquid chromatography on cellulose-based sorbents

The enantiomeric resolution of seven closely related theophylline racemates by high-performance liquid chromatography on cellulose-based sorbents, in particular Chiralcel-OD, -OC and -OJ, is described. Although all chiral stationary phases (CSPs) are suitable for the enantioseparation of all racemates investigated, it is obvious that method development is different for each stationary phase. The screenings with the above-mentioned CSP included variation of mobile phase and temperature. It turned out that Chiralcel-OD should be used with 2-propanol in n-hexane as the mobile phase at higher temperatures, whereas Chiralcel-OC performed best with methanol at ambient temperature. Improved enantioseparations were observed for Chiralcel-OJ with increased modifier concentrations in n-hexane at increased temperature.     

Dielectric response of modified Hubbard models with neutral-ionic and Peierls transitions

The dipole P(F) of systems with periodic boundary conditions in a static electric field F is applied to one-dimensional Peierls-Hubbard models for organic charge-transfer (CT) salts. Exact results for P(F) are obtained for finite systems of N=14 and 16 sites that are almost converged to infinite chains in deformable lattices subject to a Peierls transition. The electronic polarizability per site, alpha(el)=(partial differential P/partial differential F)0, of rigid stacks with alternating transfer integrals t(1+/-delta) diverges at the neutral-ionic transition for delta=0 but remains finite for delta>0 in dimerized chains. The Peierls or dimerization mode couples to charge fluctuations along the stack and results in large vibrational contributions alpha(vib) that are related to partial differential P/ partial differential delta and that peak sharply at the Peierls transition. The extension of P(F) to correlated electronic states yields the dielectric response kappa of models with neutral-ionic or Peierls transitions, where kappa peaks >100 are found with parameters used previously for variable ionicity rho and vibrational spectra of CT salts. The calculated kappa accounts for the dielectric response of CT salts based on substituted TTF's (tetrathiafulvalene) and substituted CA's (chloranil). The role of lattice stiffness appears clearly in models: soft systems have a Peierls instability at small rho and continuous crossover to large rho, while stiff stacks such as TTF-CA have a first-order transition with discontinuous rho that is both a neutral-ionic and Peierls transition. The transitions are associated with tuning the electronic ground state of insulators via temperature or pressure in experiments, or via model parameters in calculations.     

DSC analysis of human fat tissue in alcohol-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head

Avascular necrosis of human femoral head (ANFH) causes incongruity in the joint that leads to disability in patients requires total hip arthroplasty (THA). Several etiological factors of ANFH have been proposed in the literature but there are cases of idiopathic origin. We observed macroscopic variation in quality of the subcutaneous fat tissue in patients with ANFH compared to patients with osteoarthritis or hip fracture during THA procedures. The samples were analysed by histology, gas chromatography (GC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Conclusion: the alteration in the fatty acid profile did not cause histological changes, however we could detect biochemical changes using DSC and GC.     

Compensation voltage shifting in high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry

The separation and ion focusing properties of High-Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) depend on desolvated ions entering the device, leading to a compound-specific, reproducible compensation voltage (CV) for each ion. This study shows that the conditions identified for stable spray and satisfactory ion desolvation in normal electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) operation might significantly differ from those required for FAIMS-MS. In a typical setup with high-flow electrospray conditions, ions could be incompletely desolvated, resulting in the formation of unidentified clusters with differing behavior in a FAIMS environment. This causes compound-specific shifts of as much as 10 V in CV values when the mobile phase composition and/or flow rate are varied. The shifts diminish and finally disappear when the flow rate of methanol, used as mobile phase, is reduced to 40 microL/min and that of acetonitrile to 20 microL/min. The reproducibility of the observed CV was determined by scanning the CV while infusing a five-component mixture into a 400 microL/min flow of methanol or 50:50 acetonitrile/water. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for these multiple scans ranged from 0.7% to 6%. Therefore, under a constant set of experimental parameters, the CV does not shift appreciably. These observations have an impact on method development strategies. High flow rates can be used with the FAIMS device, since the CV values are reproducible, but it is likely that clusters are forming. Therefore, CV scans should be performed under conditions which mimic the chromatographic elution or flow injection analysis conditions, including matrix composition, to minimize errors in CV determination. An alternative approach is to determine the liquid flow rate at which the CV becomes compound-specific and to split the mobile phase stream accordingly. These experimental results may be specific to the setup used for this study and may not be directly applicable to other instrument FAIMS devices.     

Equilibrium and formation/dissociation kinetics of some Ln(III)PCTA complexes

The protonation constants () of 3,6,9,15-tetraazabicyclo[9.3.1]pentadeca-1(15),11,13-triene-3,6,9-triacetic acid (PCTA) and stability constants of complexes formed between this pyridine-containing macrocycle and several different metal ions have been determined in 1.0 M KCl at 25 degrees C and compared to previous literature values. The first protonation constant was found to be 0.5-0.6 log units higher than the value reported previously, and a total of five protonation steps were detected (log = 11.36, 7.35, 3.83, 2.12, and 1.29). The stability constants of complexes formed between PCTA and Mg2+, Ca2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ were also somewhat higher than those previously reported, but this difference could be largely attributed to the higher first protonation constant of the ligand. Stability constants of complexes formed between PCTA and the Ln3+ series of ions and Y3+ were determined by using an "out-of-cell" potentiometric method. These values ranged from log K = 18.15 for Ce(PCTA) to log K = 20.63 for Yb(PCTA), increasing along the Ln series in proportion to decreasing Ln3+ cation size. The rates of complex formation for Ce(PCTA), Eu(PCTA), Y(PCTA), and Yb(PCTA) were followed by conventional UV-vis spectroscopy in the pH range 3.5-4.4. First-order rate constants (saturation kinetics) obtained for different ligand-to-metal ion ratios were consistent with the rapid formation of a diprotonated intermediate, Ln(H(2)PCTA)(2+). The stabilities of the intermediates as determined from the kinetic data were 2.81, 3.12, 2.97, and 2.69 log K units for Ce(H(2)PCTA), Eu(H(2)PCTA), Y(H(2)PCTA), and Yb(H(2)PCTA), respectively. Rearrangement of these intermediates to the fully chelated complexes was the rate-determining step, and the rate constant (k(r)) for this process was found to be inversely proportional to the proton concentration. The formation rates (k(OH)) increased with a decrease in the lanthanide ion size [9.68 x 10(7), 1.74 x 10(8), 1.13 x 10(8), and 1.11 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for Ce(PCTA), Eu(PCTA), Y(PCTA), and Yb(PCTA), respectively]. These data indicate that the Ln(PCTA) complexes exhibit the fastest formation rates among all lanthanide macrocyclic ligand complexes studied to date. The acid-catalyzed dissociation rates (k1) varied with the cation from 9.61 x 10(-4), 5.08 x 10(-4), 1.07 x 10(-3), and 2.80 x 10(-4) M(-1) s(-1) for Ce(PCTA), Eu(PCTA), Y(PCTA), and Yb(PCTA), respectively.     

Receding-Horizon Control Method for the Stabilization of an Unpredictably Changing Discrete-Time Uncertain System

The paper is concerned with the applicability of the receding-horizon control method for stabilizing a discrete-time uncertain system with a time-varying linear nominal part. The specific feature of the problem is that the nominal system is supposed to be known only up to the actual time. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated by an example.