The trapping of indoor air contaminants

The removal of indoor air contaminants by reactivity with air filters coated with reagents has been found to be effective for aldehydes, acidic and basic vapours as well as isocyanates Coatings of polymeric amines were used for formaldehyde trapping as well as for the removal of acidic vapours and for the removal of isocyanates. The addition of glycerol as a plasticizer for the coating can also be an effective reagent.     

High resolution detection of high mass proteins up to 80,000 Da via multifunctional CdS quantum dots in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

CdS quantum dots (∼5 nm) are used as multifunctional nanoprobes as an effective matrix for large proteins, peptides and as affinity probes for the enrichment of tryptic digest proteins (lysozyme, myoglobin and cytochrome c) in laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF MS). The use of CdS quantum dots (CdS QDs) as the matrix allows acquisition of high resolution LDI mass spectra for large proteins (5000-80,000 Da). The enhancement of mass resolution is especially notable for large proteins such as BSA, HSA and transferrin (34-49 times) when compared with those obtained by using SA as the matrix. This technique demonstrates the potentiality of LDI-TOF-MS as an appropriate analytical tool for the analysis of high-molecular-weight biomolecules with high mass resolution. In addition, CdS QDs are also used as matrices for background-free detection of small biomolecules (peptides) and as affinity probes for the enrichment of tryptic digest proteins in LDI-TOF-MS.     

New cleft-like molecules and macrocycles from phosphonate substituted spirobisindanol

We have synthetized medium-sized cyclophanes and macrocycles containing phosphonic groups, directly linked to the aromatic rings of the phanes or as pendant arms,for use as specific receptors for the selective complexation of neutral guests or for complexing lanthanides, as luminescent sensors and for diagnostic bioassays in medicine.Furthermore, because it would be of great interest for biochemistry as well as for pharmacological studies to dispose of preorganized rigid chiral hosts for biorelevant molecules we designed inter alia, some new chiral macrocycles capable of a triple binding mode and we used them for constructing macrocycles that could also be of interest for chiral recognition and chiral separations. Thus, in this paper we shall review the salient aspects of some macrocycles synthetized in our laboratory, all possessing the phosphonate moiety and a spirobisindanol scaffold and able to act as complexing agents for cations and organic substrates. In particular, we shall describe their NMR characterization, their stereochemistry in solution and in the solid state, and their use as chiral receptors for biorelevant molecules. Chiral HPLC resolution of some of them is also reported.     

The evidence of proteases in sprouted seeds and their application for animal protein digestion

It has been experimentally proven that germinated plant seeds, such as leek, red clover, broccoli, and others contain proteases, which are able to digest animal protein such as gelatin, bovine albumin, casein, and egg albumin. Preliminary tests were carried out with the use of a semi-qualitative gelatin test, which is often applied to prove the presence of fruit enzymes. Quantitative examinations were carried out with the use of a ninhydrin reaction for amino acid determination as well as the Bradford and Smith methods for protein determination. Respective calibration curves were obtained for glycine (amino acid analysis) as well as for egg albumin, bovine albumin, and gelatin (protein analysis), with a full statistical evaluation including Mandel and Lack-of-Fit tests to check for linearity. It has been proven that the selected germinated seeds containing proteases can be applied as an effective aid for animal protein digestion.     

Advances and challenges of MOF derived carbon-based electrocatalysts and photocatalyst for water splitting: A review

Environmental pollution and energy shortage are substantial fears to the modern world's long-term sustainability. Water splitting is an essential technique for eco - friendly and sustainable energy storage, as well as a pollution-free method to produce hydrogen. In this regards Metal–organic frameworks have emerged as the most competent multifunctional materials in recent times, due to its large surface areas, adjustable permeability, easy compositional alteration, and capability for usage as precursors with a wide range of morphological forms. Further, MOF-derived carbon-based nanomaterials also offer significant benefits in terms of tunable morphological features and hierarchical permeability, as well as ease of functionalization, making them extremely effective as catalysts or catalysts supports for a wide variety of important reactions. Recent developments in carbon-based MOFs as catalysts for overall water splitting are discussed in this review. We explore how MOFs and carbon-based MOFs might well be beneficial, as well as which methods should be explored for future development. We divided our review into two sections: photocatalytic and electrocatalytic water splitting, and we gathered published literature on carbon-based MOFs materials for their outstanding activity, offers helpful methods for catalysts design and analysis, as well as difficulties This study highlights the developments in MOF derived materials as photo and electro catalysts by explaining respective approaches for their use in overall water splitting.     

Mechanisiertes thermometrisches Analysenverfahren zur Bestimmung von Substanzen in weiten Konzentrationsbereichen

A procedure for mechanised thermometric analysis is described which can be used for the continuous analysis of sample streams as well as for the determination of components in individual samples. In contrast to thermometric methods of analysis previously used, this new procedure is particularly applicable for substances present in medium to high concentrations, and is therefore suitable for many industrial purposes. The analytical exploitation of enthalpy changes as for example with neutralisation, redox and precipitation reactions as well as with dilution, opens wide application possibilities. The precision of the results is generally very good.     

光诱导钌配合物的几何异构和结构异构反应研究进展

金属钌(Ru)的配合物具有丰富的基态和激发态的光物理、光化学性质,在太阳能转换、光催化以及分子识别等方面都得到了广泛深入的研究.光诱导的钌配合物的异构反应是其颇具特色的一类光反应,研究光异构反应对于光能量转化、信息储存以及"分子光开关"和"分子马达"的设计具有重要的意义.本文小结和综述了钌配合物的光诱导几何异构和结构异构反应的特性和机理以及最新的研究进展.     

Hydrides compounds for electrochemical applications

Hydrides have been used since a long time for solid-state hydrogen storage and electrochemical nickel-metal hydride batteries. Besides these applications, growing attention has been devoted to their development as anode materials, as well as solid electrolytes for Li-ion and other ion batteries. Herein, we review and summarize the recent advances of hydrides as negative electrodes for Ni-MH and A-ion batteries (A = Li, Na), and as electrolyte for all solid-state batteries (ASSB). Metallic hydrides such as intergrowth compounds are highlighted as the best compromise up to now for Ni-MH. Regarding anodes of Li-ion batteries, MgH₂, especially its combination with TiH₂, provides very promising results. Complex hydrides such as Li-borohydride and related closo-borates and monovalent carborate boron clusters appear to be very attractive as solid electrolytes for Li-based ASSB, whereas closo-hydroborate sodium salts and closo-carboborates are investigated for Na- and Mg-ASSB. Finally, further research directions are foreseen for hydrides in electrochemical applications.     

The QCHB model of fluids and their mixtures

The essentials of the QCHB (quasi-chemical hydrogen-bonding) equation-of-state model are presented along with some applications for calculations of phase equilibria and interfacial properties of fluids and their mixtures. This is a model applicable to non-polar systems as well as to highly non-ideal systems with strong specific interactions, to systems of small molecules as well as to macromolecules, including polydisperse polymers, glasses, and gels, to liquids as well as to vapours including supercritical systems, to homogeneous as well as to inhomogeneous systems. A quasi-thermodynamic approach of inhomogeneous systems is used for modeling the fluid–fluid interface. Consistent expressions for the interfacial tension and interfacial profiles for various properties are presented. A satisfactory agreement is obtained between experimental and calculated surface tensions. Extension of the approach to mixtures is examined along with the associated problems for the numerical calculations of the interfacial profiles. A new equation is derived for the chemical potentials in the interfacial region, which facilitates very much the calculation of the composition profiles across the interface. The relation of the model with the COSMO-RS approach is also discussed.     

Dendritic Polymers in Biomedical Applications: From Potential to Clinical Use in Diagnostics and Therapy

Dendrimers are characterized by a combination of high end‐group functionality and a compact, precisely defined molecular structure. These characteristics can be used in biomedical applications, for example, for the amplification or multiplication of effects on a molecular level, or to create extremely high local concentrations of drugs, molecular labels, or probe moieties. A brief summary of the current state of the art in the field is given, and focuses on the application of dendrimers both in diagnostics as well as in therapy. In diagnostics, dendrimers that bear Gd^III complexes are used as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. DNA dendrimers have potential for routine use in high‐throughput functional genomic analysis, as well as for DNA biosensors. Dendrimers are also being investigated for therapeutics, for example, as carriers for controlled drug delivery, in gene transfection, as well as in boron neutron‐capture therapy. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of dendrimers has been studied.     

A new insight into the vibrational analysis of pyridine

A new proposal of vibrational assignment for pyridine is reported. Infrared spectra for the liquid and gas phases as well as Raman spectra for the liquid have been recorded and analyzed for -d(0), -d(5) and, for the first time to our knowledge, for 15N isotopomers as well. The proposal of assignment has been assessed by the calculation of a number of force fields, theoretical (ab initio, density functional theory) approaches as well as by a set of simple valence internal coordinates force constants transferred from benzene using the pure vibrational force field approximation. In all cases, the root mean square (rms) for the wavenumbers turn out to be lower than the best obtained so far, i.e. 6.6 cm(-1), as stated by Wiberg et al.     

Reaction of Oximes of α-Diketones with Diphosphorous Tetraiodide for Preparation of Oxadiazoles and Nitriles

The utility of diphosphorous tetraiodide as a new, mild, condensing agent for synthesis of oxadiazole is described. These data indicate the simple dehydration of oximes to 1,2,5-oxadiazole as well as the rearrangements of oximes to normal Beckmann product 1,2,4-oxadiazole. However, mono-oxime of benzil undergoes abnormal Beckman rearrangement to benzaldehyde as major product. The described method is simple and important for the synthesis of the oxadiazoles as well as for nitriles.     

Aptamers: molecular tools for analytical applications

Aptamers are artificial nucleic acid ligands, specifically generated against certain targets, such as amino acids, drugs, proteins or other molecules. In nature they exist as a nucleic acid based genetic regulatory element called a riboswitch. For generation of artificial ligands, they are isolated from combinatorial libraries of synthetic nucleic acid by exponential enrichment, via an in vitro iterative process of adsorption, recovery and reamplification known as systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). Thanks to their unique characteristics and chemical structure, aptamers offer themselves as ideal candidates for use in analytical devices and techniques. Recent progress in the aptamer selection and incorporation of aptamers into molecular beacon structures will ensure the application of aptamers for functional and quantitative proteomics and high-throughput screening for drug discovery, as well as in various analytical applications. The properties of aptamers as well as recent developments in improved, time-efficient methods for their selection and stabilization are outlined. The use of these powerful molecular tools for analysis and the advantages they offer over existing affinity biocomponents are discussed. Finally the evolving use of aptamers in specific analytical applications such as chromatography, ELISA-type assays, biosensors and affinity PCR as well as current avenues of research and future perspectives conclude this review.     

Interactions and uses of antisense peptides in affinity technology.

Antisense peptides, amino acid sequences encoded in the antisense strand of DNA, can interact with significant affinity and selectivity with their corresponding sensepeptides. Experimentally, sense-antisense peptide recognition has been observed repeatedly. However, skepticism about the biological relevance of this phenomenon has persisted. This is due in part to the unexpected and somewhat couterintutive nature of the interaction as well as to its non-universality as an empirical observation. Nonetheless, antisense peptides in several cases investigated so far have been used as immobilized ligands for the successful affinity chromatographic separation of native (sense) peptides and proteins. For example, immobilized antisense peptides corresponding to Arg8-vasopressin (AVP) have been used to separate vasopressin from oxytocin chromatographically as well as to affinity capture AVP-receptor complex. These results, together with improved understanding of the general features of amino acid sequence which drive antisense-sense peptide interactions as well as new ideas for making antisense peptides chimeras, are beginning to suggest improved ways to make antisense-related peptides as affinity agents for separation as well as for other biotechnology applications.     

An extension of Barker's method for reduction of VLE data

A set of P vs. x data for vapor-liquid equilibrium properly contains the pure-component vapor pressures. These values are as uncertain as the values for other measured pressures, and data reduction should yield smoothed values for these as well as for the other pressures. However, the vapor pressures also appear as constants in the reducing equation; here they must have assigned values. This paper shows how the results of data reduction are influenced by different treatments of the vapor pressure.     

Gold nanoparticles: assembly and electrical properties in 1-3 dimensions

Ligand stabilized gold nanoparticles have attracted much attention in the search for new chemically designed compounds for a future information technology, based on single-electron devices. This article gives an overview about the strategies used to synthesize and to assemble uniform gold nanoparticles in different dimensions as well as about the present status of the electrical properties of these. Examples are given for three-dimensional organisations, for the formation of self-assembled monolayers as well as for one-dimensional assemblies.     

Recent trends in atomic spectrometry with microwave-induced plasmas

The state-of-the-art and trends of development in atomic spectrometry with microwave-induced plasmas (MIPs) since the 1998s are presented and discussed. This includes developments in devices for producing microwave plasma discharges, with reference also to miniaturized systems as well as to progress in sample introduction for microwave-induced plasmas, such as pneumatic and ultrasonic nebulization using membrane desolvation, to the further development of gaseous analyte species generation systems and to both spark and laser ablation (LA). The features of microwave-induced plasma mass spectrometry (MIP-MS) as an alternative to inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS are discussed. Recent work on the use of microwave-induced plasma atomic spectrometry for trace element determinations and monitoring, their use as tandem sources and for particle sizing are discussed. Recent applications of the coupling of gas chromatography and MIP atomic spectrometry for the determination of organometallic compounds of heavy metals such as Pb, Hg, Se and Sn are reviewed and the possibilities of trapping for sensitivity enhancement, as required for many applications especially in environmental work, are showed at the hand of citations from the recent literature.     

固相萃取-高效液相色谱法测定环境水样中的三嗪类化合物

建立了固相萃取-高效液相色谱法(SPE-HPLC)测定地表水中三嗪类化合物的方法。考察了4种不同固相萃取柱对三嗪类化合物的吸附效果,最终选择ENVI-18固相萃取柱用于萃取地表水中的三嗪类化合物;系统研究了环境水样中三嗪类化合物的最佳固相萃取条件,选择洗脱溶剂为甲醇,洗脱溶剂用量5 mL,水样在萃取前不需要添加甲醇,不调节pH值。测定了方法的检测限,结果表明,扑草净、莠去津、西玛津、脱乙基莠去津、羟基化莠去津和脱异丙基莠去津的最低检测限依次为0.14 μg/L,0.12 μg/L,0.08 μg/L,0.08 μg/L,0.10 μg/L和0.18 μg/L。将该法应用于实际环境水样的分析测定,结果表明某湖水中扑草净的含量为（9.33±0.27） μg/L,某江水中莠去津和扑草净的含量分别为（5.28±0.43） μg/L和（7.12±0.54） μg/L。     

Dendrimers in drug research

Dendrimers are versatile, derivatisable, well-defined, compartmentalised chemical polymers with sizes and physicochemical properties resembling those of biomolecules e.g. proteins. The present critical review (citing 158 references) briefly describes dendrimer design, nomenclature and divergent/convergent dendrimer synthesis. The characteristic physicochemical features of dendrimers are highlighted, showing the effect of solvent pH and polarity on their spatial structure. The use of dendrimers in biological systems are reviewed, with emphasis on the biocompatibility of dendrimers, such as in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity, as well as biopermeability, biostability and immunogenicity. The review deals with numerous applications of dendrimers as tools for efficient multivalent presentation of biological ligands in biospecific recognition, inhibition and targeting. Dendrimers may be used as drugs for antibacterial and antiviral treatment and have found use as antitumor agents. The review highlights the use of dendrimers as drug or gene delivery devices in e.g. anticancer therapy, and the design of different host-guest binding motifs directed towards medical applications is described. Other specific examples are the use of dendrimers as 'glycocarriers' for the controlled multimeric presentation of biologically relevant carbohydrate moieties which are useful for targeting modified tissue in malignant diseases for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Finally, the use of specific types of dendrimers as scaffolds for presenting vaccine antigens, especially peptides, for use in vaccines is presented.