Polarographic determination of indium in lead and zinc metals

A rapid polarographic method for determining low milligram quantities of indium in lead metal containing 2% of zinc and in zinc metal containing 2% of lead is described. In a supporting electrolyte of 10% D-tartaric acid adjusted to pH 2.0, a well-defined wave for indium is obtained after the precipitation of lead as the sulfate.     

Studies on some microbiological and chemical aspects of irradiated vanilla beans

Vanilla bean is a valuable food additive used in many branches of food industry as a source of natural vanillin. The influence of⁶⁰Co -radiation in the dose range of 5–50 kGy has been investigated on: (1) the survival of contaminating microflora, and (2) more important vanilla constituents like vanillin and sugars. It has been found that the main vanilla contamination is connected with mesophylic microorganisms in the amount of 8.4·10⁴/g. The dose of 15 kGy is sufficient for decontamination of commercial raw material. The samples under investigation on account of sensory properties and chemical composition were in agreement with country regulations. Doses up to 50 kGy do not cause undesirable changes in the content of sugars and vanillin, which has been confirmed by studies on model compounds.     

Effect of60Co radiation on some chemical changes in potato starch pastes and gels

The effect of ionizing radiation /-⁶⁰Co/ on some chemical changes in potato starch pastes stored for 14 d at 4–5 °C and prepared from the starch irradiated in the range of doses 1.5–15 kGy has been studied. It was found that along with the increase in the doses used, the viscosity of pastes as well as the pH of solutions decreased. On the other hand, the increase in the concentration of reducing sugars was observed. The retrogradation of pastes was found to be inhibited by increasing doses of radiation pointing out that ionizing radiation has a favourable effect on their stability during the time of storage.     

Determination of indium and thallium in indium-thallium alloys

The thallium-indium alloys were dissolved in sulphuric acid (1 + 1). In this medium thallium remained in the univalent state and could be determined directly, without a separation, by an oxidation-reduction titration with potassium bromate. The indium was determined directly with an EDTA titration. Ascorbic acid was added to maintain the thallium in the univalent state, which did not interfere. Ascorbic acid also masked any interfering tervalent thallium by effectively reducing it to the univalent state. Sharp end-points were obtained for both titrations, which were carried out in the temperature range of 50-95 degrees . The method offers excellent precision and accuracy.     

Production of a NiO/Al primary battery employing powder-based electrodes

This paper describes the use of aluminum and zinc as anodic materials for a battery employing nickel (II) oxide (NiO) as cathode. Comparison of both materials resulted in the development of a compact, cost effective, and easy to use primary NiO/Al battery employing an alkaline electrolyte. The system features electrodes composed of powder forms of the active materials on modified paper substrates that are contained in a simple multilayer design utilizing thin laminated plastic materials to provide structure and flexibility to the battery as well as a paper separator. Various concentrations of potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte were examined and maximum performance was observed at 6 M KOH. A maximum current density and power density of 1.94 mA/cm² and 1 mW/cm², respectively was achieved. This user-friendly device was able to produce a maximum capacity of 2.33 mAh/g when 2 mA/g was applied. This work demonstrates the viability of a paper-based battery featuring powder electrodes as a possible power source for microelectronic devices.     

Cross-linked coatings for electrophoretic separations in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchannels

We have developed a strategy using ultraviolet light to polymerize mixed monomer solutions onto the surface of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microdevice. By including monomers with different chemical properties, electrophoretic separations were optimized for a test set of analytes. The properties of surfaces grafted with a single neutral monomer, a neutral and a negative monomer, or a neutral, negative, and cross-linking monomer were assessed. The highest quality separations were achieved in channels with cross-linked coatings. The separation efficiency for biologically relevant peptides (kinase substrates) on these surfaces was as high as 18 600 theoretical plates in a 2.5 cm channel. The test peptides were fluorescein-AEEEIYGEFEAKKKK, fluorescein-GRPRAATFAEG, fluorescein-GRPRAA(T-PO(3))FAEG, fluorescein-DLDVPIP GRFDRRVSVAAE, and fluorescein-DLDVPIPGRFDRRV(S-PO(3))VAAE. Separations between two different peptides occurred in as little as 400 ms after injection into the separation channel. The simultaneous separation of five kinase and phosphatase substrates was also demonstrated. By carefully selecting mixtures of monomers with the appropriate properties, it may be possible to tailor the surface of PDMS for a large number of different electrophoretic separations.     

HPLC-photolysis-electrochemical detection in pharmaceutical analysis: application to the determination of spironolactone and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets

To extend the applicability of electrochemical detection in pharmaceutical analysis, an on-line postcolumn photochemical reactor is used to produce electroactive photoderivatives of selected cardiovascular drugs. This system is applied to the analysis of dosage forms containing spironolactone in both single-component formulation and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide. The pH of the mobile phase and irradiation time within the reactor are optimized to produce maximum amperometric response. Spironolactone, hydrochlorothiazide, and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide, the synthetic precursor and hydrolysis product of hydrochlorothiazide, are separated by reversed-phase chromatography on a 5-microns cyano bonded phase column within nine minutes by using a methanol-phosphate buffer mobile phase. Minimum detectable levels are in the low ng range.     

Photochemical and chemical oxidation of alpha-dimine-dithiolene metal complexes: insight into the role of the metal atom

[Pd(bpy)(bdt)], 2 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, bdt = 1,2-benzenedithiolate), was prepared in good yield by the reaction of bdtNa2 with [(bpy)PdCl2] in DMSO. The analogous nickel complex, 1, was prepared in a similar reaction using MeOH/CH2Cl2 and [(bpy)NiCl2.dmf]2. Both 1 (a = 7.9920(1) A, b = 11.4385(1) A, c = 16.1415(1) A, beta = 103.327(1) degrees, V = 1435.86(2) A3, Z = 4) and 2 (a = 8.1631(5) A, b = 11.4379(7) A, c = 16.2475(10) A, beta = 103.7010(10) degrees, V = 1473.84(12) A3, Z = 4) crystallize in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c and are isostructural with their previously reported platinum analogue. In accord with the results observed for platinum but not nickel, photochemical oxidation of 2 in DMF provides the monosulfinate complex [Pd(bpy)(bdtO2)], 4, along with a minor amount of the corresponding disulfinate [Pd(bpy)(bdtO4)], 5, while chemical oxidation yields only the latter. 4 cocrystallizes with 5 in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c (a = 8.026(3) A, b = 14.600(6) A, c = 13.371(3) A, beta = 101.80(3) degrees, V = 1533.8(9) A3, Z = 4) as does pure 5 (a = 8.5611(9) A, b = 14.4586(15) A, c = 13.3677(14) A, beta = 108.122(2) degrees, V = 1572.6(3) A3, Z = 4). Comparison of spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the three complexes, [M(bpy)(bdt)], yields the following ordering for the energy of the HOMO: Pd < Ni < Pt. The observed reactivity patterns and the electronic data suggest that the "anomalous" reactivity of 1 be attributed to the greater relative flexibility of the coordination geometry for nickel(II) complexes rather than electronic differences such as the energies of the frontier orbitals.     

Reversible oxidative addition and reductive elimination of fluorinated disulfides at gold(I) thiolate complexes: a new ligand exchange mechanism

Reaction of HAuCl4 x 3 H2O with excess HSAr (Ar = C6F5 or C6F4H) in ethanol, followed by addition of [Et4N]Cl, produced [Et4N][Au(SAr)4] (Ar = C6F5 (1a) or C6F4H (1b)) as red crystalline solids in high yield. These complexes are rare examples of homoleptic gold(III) thiolate complexes. The crystal structures 1 show square planar geometry at the gold center with elongated Au-S bonds. Both complexes undergo reversible reductive elimination/oxidative addition processes in solution via thermal and photochemical pathways. Equilibrium constant and photostationary state measurements indicate that the relative importance of the two pathways depends on the nature of the aromatic groups. The metal-containing reductive elimination products, [Et4N][Au(SAr)2] (Ar = C6F5 (2a) or C6F4H (2b)), were confirmed by both independent synthesis and crystallographic characterization. Cross-reactions between either 1 or 2 and various disulfides led to ligand exchange via an addition-elimination process, a previously unknown reaction pathway for ligand exchange at gold(I) centers.