Sb(III) and Sb(V) separation and analytical speciation by a continuous tandem on-line separation device in connection with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A sensitive, precise and automated non-chromatographic method for Sb(III) and Sb(V) analytical speciation based on a continuous tandem on-line separation device in connection with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission (ICP-AES) detection is proposed. Two on-line successive separation steps are included into this method: a continuous liquid-liquid extraction of Sb(III) with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) into methylisobuthylketone (MIBK), followed by direct stibine generation from the organic phase. Both separation steps are carried out in a continuous mode and on-line with the ICP-AES detector. Optimization of experimental conditions for the tandem separation and ICP-AES detection are investigated in detail. Detection limits for Sb(III) were 3 ng.mL^–1 and for Sb(V) 8 ng.mL^–1. Precisions observed are in the range ± 5%. The proposed methodology has been applied to Sb(III) and Sb(V) speciation in sea-water samples.     

Phase transition in a plasma with anisotropic electron distribution in an external magnetic field

A phase transition is discussed that can occur in a plasma with substantially different transverse and longitudinal temperatures of electrons moving in a magnetic field, ?. The Debye cloud surrounding an ion sharply contracts as T_∥ decreases or the magnetic field increases. The effect of larger radiative electron-ion recombination cross sections compared with their theoretical values is explained; this effect is observed in storage rings with electron cooling systems (coolers). The role played by the phase transition in the crystallization of ion beams is discussed.     

The mechanism of interlayer exchange coupling in iron-chromium type nanostructures

A mechanism of the interlayer exchange coupling in layered structures of the Fe/Cr(001) type with rough interfaces is proposed. The theory is based on a model of the charge-induced spin density wave (SDW) formed in the chromium layer. It is shown that the effective magnetic coupling between thick ferromagnetic layers arises due to variations of the SDW vector orientation in the antiferromagnetic layer over a characteristic length ζ determined by the exchange stiffness of chromium. A general expression for the effective magnetic coupling energy E(ψ) as a function of the angle ψ between magnetic moments of the ferromagnetic layers is obtained and numerically analyzed for an arbitrary value of the parameter ρζ, where ρ is the density of monoatomic steps on the interface. For ρζ?1, the form of E(ψ) is typical of a model with the “ biquadratic” interaction, while in the case of ρζ?1, the dependence obtained differs significantly. The proposed mechanism is used to interpret the results of measurements of the interlayer exchange coupling in Fe/Cr(001) structures.     

A sorbent tube for oral malodour monitoring

Volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) and particularly hydrogen sulphide are considered as the predominant gases causing oral malodour. In this paper, a simple alarm sensor has been developed for VSCs determination in mouth air. The device consists of a glass tube packed with a solid sensing phase. The VSCs react with the sensing phase to produce a change in the colour of the sensor visible with a naked eye.Different “reagents” were investigated to develop the sensing phase (neocuproine + Cu(II), bathocuproine + Cu(II), resazurin, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol and lead acetate), finding the neocuproine + Cu(II) as the best for our purposes. Also, different substrates such as Amberlite XAD-4 and XAD-7 and different trademarks of silica gel were tested as solid supports, being selected the silica gel.A device consisting of a glass tube packed with the sensing phase was optimized and tested with halitosis patients as a rapid illness test and the results compared with those obtained with a commercially available instrument, the Halimeter™, used for the determination of VSCs in mouth air. The results exhibited acceptable agreement between the proposed “qualitative” alarm sensor and a commercially available technique selected as reference, showing the possibility of using this “visual sensor” to control the halitosis and its evolution with an eventual treatment, by the own patient.     

Binding of protein to polystyrene particles in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the surface layer

Adsorption and chemisorption of bovine serum albumin on polystyrene particles obtained by dispersion polymerization and containing graft polystyrene/polyvinylpyrrolidone copolymers and carboxy groups of the initiator in the surface layer were studied.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii, Vol. 77, No. 12, 2004, pp. 2036–2041.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Menshikova, Skurkis, Evseeva, Shkarubskaya, Tennikova, Ivanchev.     

Spectroscopy of homogeneous deuterated hydrocarbon films redeposited from a T-10 tokamak plasma discharge

Homogeneous deuterated hydrocarbon films redeposited from a deuterium plasma discharge inside the T-10 tokamak vacuum chamber are studied using photoluminescence methods; EXAFS, EPR, and IR spectroscopies; and temperature measurements. The photoluminescence excitation spectra of sp ³-sp ² nanostructures of tokamak films are compared with those of sp ² nanostructures of C60 fullerite films. The effect of defect states on photoluminescence and its temperature quenching is discussed. It is concluded that the model of temperature luminescence quenching for homogeneous deuterated tokamak films is similar to that for amorphous a-C:H films.     

Transverse cooling of electron beams

The possibility of cyclotron maser cooling of the transverse motion of electrons in a beam with the oblate velocity distribution characteristic of the setups with electron cooling has been analyzed.     

Characterization of isomers of oleuropein aglycon in olive oils by rapid‐resolution liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray time‐of‐flight and ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

In this work, rapid‐resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) coupled to electrospray ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (ESI‐TOF‐MS) and ion trap multiple mass spectrometry (IT‐MSⁿ) has been applied to separate and characterize eleven isomers of oleuropein aglycon in fourteen Spanish extra‐virgin olive oils. After the extra‐virgin olive oil sample had been dissolved in hexane and cleaned up by a diol‐bonded phase solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, the eluting extract was resolved in methanol and analyzed on an Angilent 1200 system with a 4.6 × 150 mm, 1.8 µm Zorbax Eclipse plus C18 column. Mass spectrometry was carried out on a Bruker Daltonics microTOF mass spectrometer and a Bruker Daltonics ion trap mass spectrometer. The characterization of isomers of oleuropein aglycon was based on accurate mass data and the isotope function of characteristic fragment ions in the studied compounds by TOF‐MS, and the fragment ions were further confirmed by IT‐MSⁿ. The fragmentation pathway of oleuropein aglycon was successfully elucidated and all possible transformations among isomers of oleuropein aglycon were suggested. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.