Thermal characteristics of solid-solid phase transitions in long-chain dialkyl ammonium salts

A series of symmetrical dialkyl ammonium salts, DC_nX, has been prepared and characterized with respect to temperature and enthalpy of solid-solid phase transitions, temperature of melting, thermal stability as well as the reversibility of the phase transitions. The number of carbon atoms, C_n, was varied between 8 and 18 and as anions X halides, nitrate, chlorate, perchlorate and hydrogen sulphate had been chosen. In dependence on chain length and anion type transition temperatures from 20 to 100 °C were observed. Mass specific solid-solid transition enthalpies reach values of 185 J g⁻¹, which makes this class of substances attractive for heat storage applications. The influence of anion type on the transition enthalpies is explained in terms of packing requirements, hydrogen bond network formation and contributions from hindered anion rotation.     

Immunosensor for estrone with an equal limit of detection as common analytical methods

Immunoanalytical methods at a very low limit of detection (LOD) and a low limit of quantification (LOQ) are becoming more and more important for environmental analysis and especially for monitoring drinking water quality. Biosensors have suitable characteristics such as efficiency in allowing very fast, sensitive, and cost-effective detection. Here we describe a fully automated immunoassay for estrone with a LOD below 0.20 ng L^–1 and a LOQ below 1.40 ng L^–1. In contrast to common analytical methods such as GC-MS or HPLC-MS, the biosensor used requires no sample pre-treatment and pre-concentration. The basis of our sensitive assay is the antibody with a high affinity constant towards estrone. The very low amount of antibody per sample results in low validation parameters (LOD, LOQ, and IC50), but this assay for estrone represents the current device-related limitation of the River Analyser (RIANA).     

Noniterative biexponential fluorescence lifetime imaging in the investigation of cellular metabolism by means of NAD(P)H autofluorescence.

The cofactors NADH and NADPH, hereafter NAD(P)H [NAD(P)= nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate)], belong to the principal endogenous indicators of energetic cellular metabolism. Since the metabolic activity of cells is given by the ratio between the concentrations of free and protein-bound NAD(P)H, the development of autofluorescence techniques which accurately measure the modifications to this ratio is particularly significant. Hitherto the methods applied in the monitoring of cellular metabolism have provided either imprecise results, due to interference of the NAD(P)H signal by perturbing factors, or they have required a complicated internal calibration. We employ biexponential fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) in order to discriminate between the free and protein-bound NAD(P)H without any previous calibration. Thus, we have obtained directly, and for the first time, a high-resolution map of cellular metabolism, that is, an image of the contribution of the protein-bound NAD(P)H to the cumulative NAD(P)H fluorescence signal. Moreover, we demonstrate that protein-NAD(P)H complexes characterised by different fluorescence lifetimes are not uniformly distributed all over the cell, as assumed until now, but are concentrated in certain cellular regions. The different fluorescence lifetimes indicate either different protein-NAD(P)H complexes or different bond strengths between NAD(P)H and the protein in these complexes. Since an important aspect in biological applications is to monitor the dynamics of the relevant processes (such as cellular metabolism), rapid dynamical techniques, for example, rapid biexponential fluorescence lifetime imaging, are needed. Furthermore, it is necessary to reduce the evaluation effort as much as possible. Most of the evaluation techniques in multiexponential FLIM are time-expensive iterative methods. The few exceptions are connected with a loss of information, for example, global analysis; or a loss in accuracy, for example, the rapid evaluation technique (RLD). We implement for the first time in FLIM a noniterative, nonrestrictive method originally developed by Prony for approximations of multiexponential decays. The accuracy of this method is verified in biexponential FLIM experiments in time-domain on mixtures of two chromophores both in homogenous and in heterogeneous media. The resulting fluorescence lifetimes agree (within error margins) with the lifetimes of the pure substances determined in monoexponential FLIM experiments. The rapidity of our evaluation method as compared to iterative pixel-by-pixel methods is evidenced by a reduction of the evaluation time by more than one order of magnitude. Furthermore, the applicability of this method for the biosciences is demonstrated in the investigation of cellular metabolism by means of NAD(P)H endogenous fluorescence.     

The Synthesis of Dibenzo[3n]crown-n by Novel Methods and their Cation Binding Studied by Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Part IV

The dibenzo[3n]crown-n were synthesised from1,2-bis(o-hydroxyphenoxy)ethane obtained from 1,2-bis(o-formylphenoxy)ethane via Bayer-Willigeroxidations with H₂O₂/CH₃COOH in good yields. The cyclic condensation of 1,2-bis(o-hydroxyphenoxy)ethanewith dichlorides, and ditosylates of polyethylene glycols in DMF/Me₂CO₃ gave the macrocyclesdibenzo[15]crown-5, dibenzo[18]crown-6, dibenzo[21]crown-7 anddibenzo[24]crown-8. The structures were identified using IR, mass, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Therecognition of the molecules for the cations, Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺ and Zn²⁺were conducted quantitatively with steady state fluorescencespectroscopy. The 1:1 association constants in acetonitrileshowed a good relation of the appropriate size of the macrocyclic ether towards the fitting cationradii. Namely, dibenzo[15]crown-5 was the best for Li⁺ binding and more than 100 times better thanNa⁺ and K⁺. Dibenzo[21]crown-7 was excellent for Rb⁺ binding while K⁺ is 100 timesless preferred. The largest crown ether studied, dibenzo[24]crown-8, exhibited the order of binding power,Rb⁺ > K⁺ > Na⁺. Zn²⁺ displayed, however, a marked binding with only dibenzo[18]crown-6.p>     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as a tool for estimating odour concentrations of biofilter effluents at aerobic composting and rendering plants

The relationship between chemical concentrations (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis) and odour concentrations (olfactometry) was studied for biofilter emissions from four aerobic vegetable, fruit and garden waste (VFG) composting plants and one animal rendering plant. For the VFG composting plants, the study revealed a good linear relationship of the odour concentration with the total volatile organic compounds (VOC) concentration (R²=0.97, n=16) as well as with the concentration of esters and ketones (R²=0.9, n=19). For biofilter emissions of the animal rendering plant, the total VOC concentration was a poor estimator for odour concentration. However, for this type of odour, concentrations of organic sulphur containing compounds correlated well with odour concentrations (R²=0.94, n=8). The results of the study also showed that the relationship between chemical and odour concentrations is specific for each type of odour and cannot be generalized.     

Perdeuterated Conjugated Polymers for Ultralow‐Frequency Magnetic Resonance of OLEDs

The formation of excitons in OLEDs is spin dependent and can be controlled by electron‐paramagnetic resonance, affecting device resistance and electroluminescence yield. We explore electrically detected magnetic resonance in the regime of very low magnetic fields (<1 mT). A pronounced feature emerges at zero field in addition to the conventional spin‐ Zeeman resonance for which the Larmor frequency matches that of the incident radiation. By comparing a conventional π‐conjugated polymer as the active material to a perdeuterated analogue, we demonstrate the interplay between the zero‐field feature and local hyperfine fields. The zero‐field peak results from a quasistatic magnetic‐field effect of the RF radiation for periods comparable to the carrier‐pair lifetime. Zeeman resonances are resolved down to 3.2 MHz, approximately twice the Larmor frequency of an electron in Earth's field. However, since reducing hyperfine fields sharpens the Zeeman peak at the cost of an increased zero‐field peak, we suggest that this result may constitute a fundamental low‐field limit of magnetic resonance in carrier‐pair‐based systems. OLEDs offer an alternative solid‐state platform to investigate the radical‐pair mechanism of magnetic‐field effects in photochemical reactions, allowing models of biological magnetoreception to be tested by measuring spin decoherence directly in the time domain by pulsed experiments.     

综合有机化学实验:提取丁香花中的丁香酚多步合成香兰素

介绍了一个综合型有机化学实验，作为一个整体项目大约安排12周时间来完成。以不含香兰素的丁香花为原料，提取其中的丁香酚来多步合成香兰素，并进行物理和化学性质检验，整个实验技术路线包含了蒸馏、合成、重结晶等多种操作，同时在纯化和结构鉴定过程中还用到红外、紫外-可见和高效液相色谱等多种大型仪器分析技术。     

瓜环与2,2''''-联吡啶衍生物的相互作用

利用~1H NMR技术、紫外吸收光谱及荧光光谱方法,考察了对六、七以及八元瓜环与多种2,2'-联吡啶衍生物相互作用形成的主客体配合物结构及光学性质.研究结果显示,不同的2,2'-联吡啶衍生物与瓜环作用不仅形成多种不同包结比的稳定包结配合物,且所形成的主客体包结配合物的结构及光谱性质也各不相同;同时用几种方法协同考察起到了互为补充、互为验证的良好效果.     

多壁碳纳米管-炭复合泡沫材料的制备和吸附性能

通过在聚氨酯泡沫模板中沉积多壁碳纳米管，用炭的预制体酚醛树酯将碳纳米管粘接固定在一起，经过高温碳化过程制备了碳纳米管-炭复合泡沫材料。红外光谱结果表明利用浓硫酸和浓硝酸的混合溶液处理可以使复合泡沫表面活化形成羧基和羟基，从而使复合泡沫具备较强的分子吸附能力。扫描电镜和氮吸附实验表明这种复合泡沫同时具备大孔和介孔，大孔能够满足流体自由流动的通畅性，介孔可以满足中分子的吸附需要。对标定物维生素B12的吸附实验证明这种复合泡沫对中分子量的生化分子具有有效的吸附能力。这种宏观尺寸的泡沫材料与传统的颗粒状活性炭相比具有简化工艺，提高吸附效率的应用潜力。     

肽核酸骨架分子键联卟啉的合成及结构表征

以5,10,15-三苯基-20-(4-羧基苯基)卟啉和5,10,15-三苯基-20-(4-羟基苯基)卟啉为原料, 分别与N-(Boc-氨乙基)甘氨酸乙酯(3)及其衍生物4作用, 得到了两种肽核酸骨架分子键联卟啉化合物6和8. 中间体和目标化合物均由紫外-可见光谱、红外光谱、核磁共振光谱、质谱及元素分析所确证. 目标化合物的荧光光谱测试结果表明, 肽核酸单元分子的链接对卟啉分子的荧光波长和强度影响不大.