Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

Exceptional kinetic propensity of hydroxymethyl phosphanes toward Rh(III) stabilization in water

The reactions of (HOCH2)2P(C6H4)P(CH2OH)2 (HMPB) and P(CH2OH)3 (THP) with RhCl3.xH2O in aqueous media gave water-soluble complexes cis-[RhCl2{eta2-(HOCH2)2P(C6H4)P(CH2OH)2}2]Cl (3) and fac-[RhCl3(P(CH2OH)3)3] (4) respectively in good yields, X-ray crystal structures of 3 and 4 confirmed their molecular constitution. These reactions provide the first examples demonstrating the kinetic propensity of hydroxymethyl phosphanes to stabilize Rh in +3 oxidation state in water.     

The influence of a transverse magnetic field on a subnormal glow discharge in air

In subnormal glow discharge under d.c. excitation at different pressure in a varying transverse magnetic field (0 to 30 G) some measurements have been carried out for various initial average tube currents. The voltage across the discharge increases and average tube current and residual current decreases in the magnetic field. With the help of Beckman’s expression [4] for the axial field and the electron density distribution in a transverse magnetic field the observed variation of current and voltage can be satisfactorily explained. The variation of axial electric field with transverse magnetic field can be represented to a fair degree of accuracy by the derived equation. The behaviour of residual current with magnetic field has been observed in these oscillations.     

Integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems

An integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems is developed and illustrated. Buoyancy-driven convection in a bounded cylindrical geometry with a free surface is studied for a range of aspect ratios and Nusselt numbers. The critical Rayleigh number, the nature of the cellular motion, and the heat transfer enhancement are computed using linear theory. Green's functions are used to convert the linear problem into linear Fredholm integral equations. Theorems are proved which establish the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the linear integral operator which appears in these equations.     

Determination of isoniazid and hydrazine by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a Pt-particle modified carbon fiber microelectrode

Capillary electrpphoresis (CE)/electrochemical detection (EC) for the simultane-ous determination of hydrazine and isoniazid has been developed.The electrochemical method uses a novel modified electrode dispersed with ultrafine platinum particles on the surface of a 30μm carbon fiber microelectrode.The unique characteristic of the Pt-particles modified carbon fiber microelectrode is its excellent stability.The current measurement for hydrazine is more sensitive than that of isoniazid.Selective determination of trace amount of free hydrazine in isoniazid and its formulation can be achieved at applied potential of 0.5V.     

Structural determination of <Superscript>99</Superscript>Tc radiopharmaceuticals and compounds using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Summary ^99mTc compounds play a very important role in modern medicine. These compounds are among the most widely used radiopharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, due to the necessity of working with small quantities of materials, the chemistry of these materials is not completely understood. Currently, the structure of the ^99mTc-DTPA (a common renal imaging agent) is unknown. In this paper, we show that X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) can be used to determine the structure of Tc ycompounds b comparing XAS results to those from X-ray diffraction (XRD). Specifically, XAS data and fits for TcCl₆^2-, TcOCl_4-, and TcNCl_4- were found to be in excellent agreement with the known structures from XRD. Finally, we show the XAS spectrum from a 77 ng sample of ⁹⁹Tc-DTPA. To our knowledge this is the first XAS spectrum taken from this material. The near-edge region (XANES) was visible after a single scan on this material. This clearly indicates that we will be able to determine the local atomic structure of this material.     

Investigating the vortex melting phenomenon in BSCCO crystals using magneto-optical imaging technique

Using a novel differential magneto-optical imaging technique we investigate the phenomenon of vortex lattice melting in crystals of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (BSCCO). The images of melting reveal complex patterns in the formation and evolution of the vortex solid-liquid interface with varying field (H)/temperature (T). We believe that the complex melting patterns are due to a random distribution of material disorder/inhomogeneities across the sample, which create fluctuations in the local melting temperature or field value. To study the fluctuations in the local melting temperature/field, we have constructed maps of the melting landscape T _m(H, r), viz., the melting temperature (T _m) at a given location (r) in the sample at a given field (H). A study of these melting landscapes reveals an unexpected feature: the melting landscape is not fixed, but changes rather dramatically with varying field and temperature along the melting line. It is concluded that the changes in both the scale and shape of the landscape result from the competing contributions of different types of quenched disorder which have opposite effects on the local melting transition.     

Design and synthesis of a bombesin peptide-conjugated tripodal phosphino dithioether ligand topology for the stabilization of the fac-[M(CO)3]+ core (M=(99 m)Tc or Re)

A new tumor-seeking tridentate topology consisting of a phosphino dithioether ((HOCH(2))(2)PCH(2)CH(2)S(CH(2))(n)CH(2)SR; PS(2)) ligand framework for the production of kinetically inert and in vivo stable facial [(99m)Tc(CO)(3)(PS(2))](+) or [Re(CO)(3)(PS(2))](+) is described. The X-ray crystal structure of fac-Re(CO)(3)(PS(2))PF(6) is reported. The bioconjugation strategies for incorporating bombesin (BBN) peptides on to the PS(2) tripodal framework and, thereby, de novo designing of GRP receptor-seeking Tc(PS(2)-BBN)(CO)(3) are developed.     

Re(V) and Re(III) complexes with sal2phen and triphenylphosphine: rearrangement, oxidation and reduction

Reactions of Re(V), tetradentate Schiff base complexes with tertiary phosphines have previously yielded both rearranged Re(V) and reduced Re(III) complexes. To further understand this chemistry, the rigid diiminediphenol (N(2)O(2)) Schiff base ligand sal(2)phen (N,N'-o-phenylenebis(salicylaldimine)) was reacted with (n-Bu(4)N)[ReOCl(4)] to yield trans-[ReOCl(sal(2)phen)] (1). On reaction with triphenylphosphine (PPh(3)), a rearranged Re(V) product cis-[ReO(PPh(3))(sal(2)phen*)]PF(6) (2), in which one of the imines was reduced to an amine during the reaction, and the reduced Re(III) products trans-[ReCl(PPh(3))(sal(2)phen)] (4) and trans-[Re(PPh(3))(2)(sal(2)phen)](+) (5) were isolated. Reaction of sal(2)phen with [ReCl(3)(PPh(3))(2)(CH(3)CN)] resulted in the isolation of [ReCl(2)(PPh(3))(2)(salphen)] (3). The compounds were characterized using standard spectroscopic methods, elemental analyses and single crystal X-ray crystallography.     

Direct analysis of whole blood by internal surface reversed-phase chromatography: an examination of the binding and metabolism of technetium dioxime complexes.

We have developed a method using internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) packing for rapid on-line separation of small hydrophobic compounds from cellular whole blood components. This is achieved by the use of 75-microns ISRP chromatographic material packed into a small high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) column, in conjunction with column switching. We have applied this analytical method to study the in vitro metabolism of 99mTc-BATO (boronic acid adducts of technetium dioxime) cerebral and myocardial perfusion tracers in whole blood. The results from the ISRP procedure were compared with a conventional centrifugation method of analysis. This novel HPLC methods provides a rapid, convenient and reliable method for the analysis of radioactive and non-radioactive lipophilic components in whole blood.