Phase separation of Lal3 inside single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Simple binary solids can be found to adopt unprecedented structures when confined into nanometre-sized cavities, such as the inner cylindrical bore of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). In the case of the discussed Lal(x)@SWNT encapsulation composite, the Lal2 "crystal" fragment adopts the structure of bulk Lal3, with one third of the iodine positions unoccupied. A complete characterisation of the encapsulation composite was achieved using an enhanced digital restoration approach of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. The resulting complex exit surface wave provides information about the precise structural data of both filling material and host SWNT, establishing the SWNT's chirality and thus enabling a prediction of the composite's overall electron-transport properties.     

UV assisted photo reactive polyether-polyesteramide resin for future applications in 3D printing

Among additive manufacturing, photocuring 3D printing technologies are very relevant because of its high printing speed and high precision. However, the limited performance of photosensitive thermoset polymers is the bottleneck for the application of photocuring 3D printing in some fields, particularly in the biomedical sector. Thus, the development of biodegradable and biocompatible materials is highly desirable and of utmost importance. In this work, a biodegradable and non-cytotoxic thermoset polymer for photocuring 3D printing is reported. It consists of an unsaturated polyesteramide bearing phenylalanine, 2-butene-1,4-diol and fumarate building blocks, which is photocured under UV irradiation using a low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as crosslinker. The main characteristics of the new thermoset are: (1) very high volumetric and mechanical integrity stabilities, comparable to that of photocured epoxides; (2) very high degradation temperature; (3) very low water absorption capacity; (4) relatively fast enzymatic degradation, reaching 16.5% after 3 months; and (5) non-cytotoxic response in presence of epithelial cells, even when soluble molecular fragments coming from biodegradation are considered. These properties favor the future utilization of the new polyether-polyesteramide resin in the manufacturing of more sustainable products via 3D printing methods, such as stereolithography, that uses UV sources.     

Analysis of 3-chlorotyrosine as a specific marker of protein oxidation: the use of N(O,S)-ethoxycarbonyltrifluoroethyl ester derivatives and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

N(O,S)-ethoxycarbonyltrifluoroethyl amino acid esters are formed by the reaction of amino acids with ethylchloroformate plus trifluoroethanol plus pyridine. The use of these derivatives for a rapid and sensitive determination of 3-chlorotyrosine, a highly specific marker of myeloperoxidase-catalyzed protein oxidation, by using standard gas chromatography/electron impact mass spectrometry, is discussed.     

Fully automated determination of parabens, triclosan and methyl triclosan in wastewater by microextraction by packed sorbents and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A fully automated method for the determination of triclosan (TCS), its derivative methyl triclosan (MeTCS) and six parabens (esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid) including branched and linear isomers of propyl (i-PrP and n-PrP) and butyl paraben (i-BuP and n-BuP) in sewage water samples is presented. The procedure includes analytes enrichment by microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) coupled at-line to large volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LVI-GC-MS). Under optimised conditions, compounds were extracted from 2 mL samples, adjusted at pH 3, using a C18 MEPS-sorbent. Adsorbed analytes were eluted directly into the Programmable Temperature Vaporizer (PTV) injector of the chromatograph with 2×25 μL of ethyl acetate. They were quantified using standard solutions in ultrapure water submitted to the same sample enrichment process as real sewage water samples. After signal normalisation using isotopic labelled species as internal surrogates, no differences were noticed among the extraction efficiency for sewage and ultrapure water; moreover, the proposed method reported lineal calibration curves from 0.1 to 10 ng mL(-1), relative standard deviations (%RSD) between 2 and 7.1% and limits of detection (LODs) varying from 0.001 to 0.015 ng mL(-1) in ultrapure water and from 0.02 to 0.59 ng mL(-1) in the most complex sample (raw wastewater).     

Zweidimensionale Polymere mit hydrophober Umhüllung: Kristallstrukturen der isostrukturellen Metallkomplexe [M{C6H4(SO2)2N}(H2O)] (M = K,Rb) und des strukturverwandten Ammoniumsalzes [(NH4){C6H4(SO2)2N}(H2O)]

Metal Salts of Benzene‐1,2‐di(sulfonyl)amine. 4. Hydrophobically Wrapped Two‐Dimensional Polymers: Crystal Structures of the Isostructural Metal Complexes [M{C₆H₄(SO₂)₂N}(H₂O)] (M = K, Rb) and of the Structurally Related Ammonium Salt [(NH₄){C₆H₄(SO₂)₂N}(H₂O)] The previously unreported compounds KZ · H₂O ( 1 ), RbZ · H₂O ( 2 ) and NH₄Z · H₂O ( 3 ), where Z^– is Ndeprotonated ortho‐benzenedisulfonimide, are examples of layered inorgano‐organic solids, in which the inorganic component is comprised of metal or ammonium cations, N(SO₂)₂ groups and water molecules and the outer regions are formed by the planar benzo rings of the anions. The metal complexes 1 and 2 were found to be strictly isostructural, whereas 3 is structurally related to them by a non‐crystallographic mirror plane ( 1 – 3 : monoclinic, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4; single crystal X‐ray diffraction at low temperatures). In each structure, the five‐membered 1,3,2‐dithiazolide heterocycle possesses an envelope conformation, the N atom lying about 40 pm outside the mean plane of the S–C–C–S moiety. The metal complexes feature two‐dimensional coordination networks interwoven with O–H…O hydrogen bonds originating from the water molecules. The metal centres adopt an irregular nonacoordination formed by five sulfonyl O atoms, two N atoms and two μ₂‐bridging water molecules; each M⁺ is connected to four different anions. When NH₄⁺ is substituted for M⁺, the metal–ligand bonds are replaced by N⁺–H…O hydrogen bonds, but the general topology of the lamella is not affected. In the three structures, the lipophilic benzo groups protrude obliquely from the surfaces of the polar lamellae and display marked interlocking between adjacent layers.     

Alkynide and acetonitrile activation by strained AlPC(2) heterocycles

Bicyclic compounds with annulated four- (AlPC(2)) and five-membered (P(2)C(3)) rings activate and capture Al-alkynides and acetonitrile at room temperature to afford bicyclic compounds with unique six-membered Al(2)PC(3) and AlNPC(3) heterocycles.     

A polarographic study of propene-maleic anhydride copolymers

The polarographic behaviour of hydrolyzed propene-maleic anhydride copolymers in the interval pH 2.0–11.0 has been investigated by differential pulse polarography in aqueous lithium chloride solution at 25°C. In dependence on the pH-value, one, two or three signals, belonging to the acid groups in the copolymer, appear in the polarograms. Three apparent polarographic acid constants have been determined graphically from the changes in the half-wave potential of the separate peaks in correlation with pH.