Semiempirical calculations of TiO2 (rutile) clusters

The densities of states for small (TiO₂)_x-clusters, x = 1, 3, 6, 9, and 14, have been calculated by means of the INDO method. The shape of the valence bands' density of states (DOS ) are discussed in terms of the distribution of coordination numbers. A one-slab cluster with uniform distribution of the coordination numbers was used to compare our calculations with experimental spectra. The photoelectric DOS and DOS for a cluster with an oxygen vacancy are in very good agreement with experimental findings for the TiO₂ (001) surface. O1s core level shifts between a surfacelike and a bulklike oxygen atom have been estimated. It is concluded that the observed surface–bulk shift for the TiO₂ (001) surface contains a substantial relaxation contribution. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Determination of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in selected foods by liquid chromatography: NMKL collaborative study

Results are presented from an NMKL (Nordic Committee on Food Analysis) collaborative study of a method for the determination of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in foods. The method is based on the addition of an internal standard (vitamin D2), followed by saponification and extraction with n-heptane. The fraction that contains vitamin D2/D3 is separated by preparative normal-phase liquid chromatography (LC), and the analytes are determined by reversed-phase LC with UV detection at 265 nm. The method was tested by 8 participating laboratories. In this study 6 different matrixes were analyzed for cholecalciferol content: milk, liquid infant formula (gruel), cooking oil, margarine, infant formula, and fish oil. The contents varied from 0.4 to 12 microg/100 g. Three matrixes (milk, gruel, and margarine) were fortified with vitamin D3. In the other matrixes, vitamin D3 was added at 3 different levels at the Swedish National Food Administration. The milk was analyzed as a blind duplicate, whereas the other matrixes were analyzed as split-level pairs. The recoveries from the samples with vitamin D3 added varied from 93 to 102%. The repeatability relative standard deviation (RSDr) values for accepted results varied between 2.2% (fish oil) and 7.4% (cooking oil), whereas the reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSD(R)) values varied between 6.8% (margarine) and 24% (cooking oil).     

Methods for research on immune complement activation on modified sensor surfaces

We have developed a methodological system consisting of a new surface sensitive quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) sensor surfaces together with different surface modification methods for the investigation of surface associated complement activation in human sera. The QCM-D surface, 10 mm in diameter, was modified by spin-coating of poly(urethane urea) (PUUR) and polystyrene (PS). Some sensor surfaces were also sputtered with titanium (Ti) or modified by hydrophobic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of an 18-carbon alkane thiol with a ---CH₃ end group. The amount of surface deposited complement protein was investigated by incubation of the modified sensor surfaces in human sera, followed by incubation with antibodies directed against complement factor 3c (C3c). The amounts of bound anti-C3c were then used as an arbitrary measure of surface induced complement activation. The order of complement activation of the different surfaces, as judged by three separate measurements per surface modification, was PUUR>PS=SAM>Ti. The Ti surface had a similar low degree of anti-C3c binding as the negative controls (heat inactivated sera). The novel QCM-D methodology was found to be very simple, accurate, sensitive and well suited as a screening method for complement activation and protein adsorption on different materials. We also compared the sensitivity of QCM-D method with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for the quantification of protein adsorption and complement activation on gold sensor surfaces. The QCM-D method was equally sensitive as the SPR for the detection of protein adsorption from a solution independently if low flow rate (5 μl/min) was used. A slight increase in sensitivity was found at higher flow rate (30 μl/min). However, we found it difficult to use the SPR method on the Ti, PS and PUUR surfaces due to decreased light penetration of the modified SPR sensor chip.     

Complexometric titration of Aluminium

A procedure is given for the complexometric titration of aluminium. A known volume of a standard solution of EDTA is added to the sample solution, and the excess is back-titrated with a zinc sulphate solution, dithizone being used as indicator. The titration is performed at pH = 4.0 — 4.5 and 40 — 50% alcohol is added as solvent for the indicator.The theoretical basis of the method is developed, and the theoretical titration error with various amounts of aluminium and zinc is calculated.The results of some titrations are given.     

Free-radical copolymerizations of 1,2-dichloroethylenes. Evidence for chain transfer by chlorine atom elimination

Trialkylboron–oxygen, an active, low-temperature free-radical initiator, has been employed to investigate the effects of very low temperatures on the copolymerizations of vinyl acetate with cis and trans-1,2-dichloroethylenes. The low temperatures favor the propagation rate relative to the transfer rate, such that high molecular weight copolymers containing substantial quantities of 1,2-dichloroethylene can be prepared. The molecular weights of the copolymers depend only on the amounts of 1,2-dichloroethylene in the copolymers, regardless of the isomer which takes part in the copolymerization. Since the double bond of the trans isomer is about six times as reactive as that of the cis isomer, this indicates that the dominating chain transfer reaction occurs by chlorine atom elimination subsequent to the addition of the dichloroethylene unit to the growing free radical chain. It is suggested that a similar chain-transfer mechanism occurs in the polymerization of vinyl chloride, wherein an infrequent head-to-head placement of monomer unit is followed by ejection of a chlorine atom to form an olefinic bond and termination of that growing chain. The presence of the 1,2-dichloroethylene unit in the copolymer increases the glass transition temperature approximately 1°C per weight per cent copolymerized with the vinyl acetate.     

Perturbation bounds for theLDL H andLU decompositions

LetA andA+A be Hermitian positive definite matrices. Suppose thatA=LDL ^H and (A+A)=(L+L)(D+D)(L+L)^H are theLDL ^H decompositons ofA andA+A, respectively. In this paper upper bounds on |D| _F and |L| _F are presented. Moreover, perturbation bounds are given for theLU decomposition of a complexn ×n matrix.     

Chip-Firing Games on Directed Graphs

We consider the following (solitary) game: each node of a directed graph contains a pile of chips. A move consists of selecting a node with at least as many chips as its outdegree, and sending one chip along each outgoing edge to its neighbors. We extend to directed graphs several results on the undirected version obtained earlier by the authors, P. Shor, and G. Tardos, and we discuss some new topics such as periodicity, reachability, and probabilistic aspects.Among the new results specifically concerning digraphs, we relate the length of the shortest period of an infinite game to the length of the longest terminating game, and also to the access time of random walks on the same graph. These questions involve a study of the Laplace operator for directed graphs. We show that for many graphs, in particular for undirected graphs, the problem whether a given position of the chips can be reached from the initial position is polynomial time solvable.Finally, we show how the basic properties of the probabilistic abacus can be derived from our results.     

Regiochemical Control and Suppression of Double Bond Isomerization in the Heck Arylation of 1-(Methoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrole

Arylation of 1-(methoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrole under standard Heck reaction conditions produces a mixture of compounds. The olefin undergoes two types of palladium-catalyzed reactions: (a) arylation to provide C-3 arylated derivatives and (b) competing double bond isomerization. Addition of silver carbonate and thallium acetate fully suppressed the isomerization, and good yields of C-3 substituted compounds were achieved after arylation with aryl halides. With regard to aryl triflates as arylating agents, addition of lithium chloride was necessary to promote the Heck reaction. This additive excluded the use of silver and thallium salts, but high regioselectivity and good yields could be obtained by employing tri-2-furylphosphine as ligand. Arylation was rendered both regioselective and enantioselective (58% ee) with 1-naphthyl triflate as substrate utilizing a (R)-BINAP/thallium acetate combination. The C-3 arylated enamides were converted further into the corresponding 3-arylpyrrolidines.     

Agreement between experiment and hybrid DFT calculations for O--H bond dissociation enthalpies in manganese complexes

Information on the accuracy of DFT functionals for redox reactions in transition metal systems is rather limited. To analyze the performance of some popular functionals for redox reactions in manganese systems, calculated O--H bond dissociation enthalpies for Mn-ligands in six different complexes are compared to experimental results. In this benchmark, B3LYP performs well with a mean absolute error of 3.0 kcal/mol. B98 gives similar results to B3LYP (error of 3.8 kcal/mol). B3LYP* gives lower O--H bond strengths than B3LYP and has a mean error of 5.0 kcal/mol. Compared to B98 and B3LYP, B3LYP* has an error trend for the manganese ligands that is more similar to the error for a free water molecule. The nonhybrid functional BLYP consistently and significantly underestimates the O--H bond strengths by approximately 20 kcal/mol. HCTH407 has a rather large mean error of 9.4 kcal/mol and shows no consistent trend. The results support the use of hybrid functionals and the present computational method for large model systems containing manganese. An example is the oxygen evolving complex in photosystem II where hybrid functionals predict the appearance of a Mn(IV)-oxyl radical before the O--O bond formation step.