Chronocoulometric study of the electrochemistry of Prussian blue

During the electrochemical oxidation of Prussian blue (PB) to Prussian yellow (PY), an electrocatalytic oxygen production proceeds at the electrode when aqueous electrolyte solutions are used. The formed oxygen is scavenged by the PY, probably by absorption, and it is consumed during the electrochemical reduction of PY to PB by a heterogeneous chemical reaction of PB with oxygen to PY and hydrogen peroxide. Because of this catalytic regeneration of PY, it is impossible to determine the amount of low-spin iron by chronocoulometry using a potential program in which PB is first oxidized to PY and then the charge is measured to reduce PY to PB. The latter charge is biased by the electrocatalytic PY regeneration.     

Isoelectric focusing of basic proteins: the problem of oxidation of cysteines

Isoelectric focusing of human globin chains in polyacrylamide gels dried in the ambient atmosphere and rehydrated in the presence of 8 mol/L urea produces artefactual doublets of zones as a result of oxidation by the gel. This oxidation can be avoided in separations of short duration by adding a reducing agent (e.g. 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol to the rehydration solution (Altland, K. and Rossmann, U., Electrophoresis 1985, 6, 314-325). We now demonstrate that the observed zone doublets can be explained by assuming neutralization of the contribution of dissociated sulfhydryl group of cysteine to pI by partial and reversible formation of globin dimers held together by disulfide bridges. Long time separations, requiring e.g. more than 4 h at greater than or equal to 500 V/cm, in pH gradients exceeding pH 7.5, are accompanied by artefactual oxidation from both the atmosphere and the gel matrix. Oxidation from the atmosphere as well as the effect of carbon dioxide can be eliminated by overlayering the gel with paraffin oil. Oxidation from the gel matrix can only partially be inhibited by rehydration of gels in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol. Nearly complete protection against oxidation by the gel matrix was achieved by adding a permanent supply of 2-ME to the gel or by adding DTT to the cathodic wick towards the end of the experiment. Alkylation with iodoacetamide or iodoacetic acid resulted in stable globin patterns, which, however, displayed additional artefactual zones. Our experimental data indicate that the polyacrylamide gels function as an electron acceptor for dissociated sulfhydryl groups in proteins, even after pretreatment with strong reducing agents for proteins.     

The influence of the addition of electrolytes on the degree of dispersion of silver iodide hydrosol

The changes in the degree of dispersion of AgI hydrosols produced by reaction of AgNO₃ and KI with the addition of other electrolytes (1–60 min after addition of AgNO₃ to KI) were investigated by photometric methods. The results obtained suggest that in the process of rapid condensation (caused by a sudden increase in concentration to a value considerably higher than the critical one) colloidal particles do not form by continuous growth of individual nuclei but through disaggregation of loose and amorphous, i. e. thermodynamically unstable clusters of previously formed embryos. This disaggregation process, termed protopeptization by the authors in order to underline its analogy with the peptization process, increases in magnitude with the strengthening adsorption of potential-determining ions (protopeptizing agents) by the particles formed in the precipitation process.     

Oxidations and reductions of iron-cyanogen compounds of cobalt,nickel, cadmium and zinc

I. Cobalt ferrocyanide is oxidized by bromine water, by nitrous acid or by hydrogen peroxide in presence of acids to cobalt ferroferricyanide (cobalt Prussian blue), while cobalt ferricyanide is reduced by sulfurous acid to cobalt Prussian blue.II. Nickel ferrocyanide is oxidized by nitrous acid or by hydrogen peroxide in presence of acids to nickel ferricyanide.III. Nickel ferrocyanide and cadmium ferrocyanide are oxidized by bromine water to the ferricyanides.IV. The ferricyanides of nickel, cadmium and zinc are reduced by sulfurous acid to the ferrocyanides.     

The stereochemistry of thiane oxidation : Participation of neighboring groups

Thianes not containing 4-OH or 4-CO groups are oxidized by wet bromine predominantly to equatorial thiane 1-oxides. The reaction is assumed to proceed by way of an equatorial electrophilic attack by hypobromous acid at the S atom. An electronic interpretation is given of the steric course of electrophilic reactions at the S atom in thianes. With thianes containing 4-OH or 4-CO groups, oxidation to thiane 1-oxides by wet bromine or by t-butyl hypochlorite resulted in a reversal of the usual stereospecificities of these reagents. A two step process involving participation by the 4-substituents is given to account for the different steric course of the reactions in these cases.     

Recognition of hepatotoxic homologues of Microcystin using a combination of selective adsorption media

Microcystin, a hepatotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, was chromatographically discriminated with newly prepared selective adsorption media. Since the name Microcystin refers to up to 70 different homologues, we have developed a novel technique to prepare selective recognition sites, based on the "Fragment Imprinting Effect". The homologues of Microcystin can be individually discriminated from each other by antigen-antibody assay as well as by C18-based HPLC. This is mainly due to differences in the three dimensional structure of Microcystin homologues; however, differences in toxicity are relatively small among the homologues. Therefore we have to measure the total amount of Microcystin homologues present to determine contamination by Microcystins. We have demonstrated the first group recognition for Microcystin homologues through combination of two different selective adsorption media prepared by a fragment imprinting technique.     

Effects of diffusion of a naturally-derived plasticizer from soft PVC

Soft PVC was obtained by using a new plasticizer, based on cardanol, a renewable resource characterized by chemical and physical properties very close to those of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Cardanol acetate (CA) was obtained by solvent free esterification of cardanol, and used as secondary plasticizer, by partial substitution of DEHP in soft PVC formulations. Ageing tests were performed in order to study the stability of properties of the soft PVC formulations related to plasticizer diffusion. Tensile properties and hardness changes were used to monitor the macroscopic effects of plasticizer diffusion. Soft PVC obtained by partial substitution of DEHP by CA showed a significant modification of mechanical properties related to a higher plasticizer evaporation during ageing tests. Migration tests confirmed that CA is characterized by a higher diffusivity in soft PVC compared to DEHP.     

Redox机理动力学内扩散影响的特征

在Pb_0.88Bi_0.06La_0.02Mo/SiO₂催化剂上,反应在动力学区域进行时,甲醇氧化制甲醛服从Redox机理动力学方程:r=(k₁k₂P甲醇Po₂)/(0.5k₁P甲醇+k₂Po₂)当催化剂颗粒增大至3mm时,内扩散影响严重,催化剂有效因子在0.38-0.73之间,其内扩散区域的速度方程为r内=(Do₂/RTKL)2φ_M[K(Po₂-Po_2.o)-ln(1+Kpo₂/1+Kpo_2.o)]^1/2测定了反应受O₂内扩散控制时的反应活化能E内为74.5kJ/mol。     

Acid hydrolysis of carboxymethylcellulose of low degree of substitution

Cotton cellulose was swollen in a sodium hydroxide solution and carboxymethylated by a two-bath method for different periods of time for each process. The kinetics of acid hydrolysis and the crystallinity of the swollen and carboxymethylated samples were measured. The proportion of broken bonds, rate constants for hydrolysis, and permeability of cellulose to hydrolyzing agents were calculated. The susceptibility of glycosidic linkages to acid hydrolysis was improved by carboxymethylation more than by swelling in alkali. The increased accessibility of carboxymethylcellulose to acid was regarded as a consequence of increased intra-and intercrystalline swelling and of the glycosidic bonds' weakness caused by the electron-attracting carboxymethyl group on the C-6 position.     

Effects of pulses of current on the cationic electropolymerization of isobutylvinylether

The cationic electropolymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether was induced and controlled by sequences of pulses of current of various lengths and of similar or opposite polarity. A remarkable degree of control over the rate of the reaction was demonstrated for a system that is subject to “flash” polymerization by conventional chemical initiators. The mechanism is shown definitively not to correspond to the electric field effects proposed by Tanaka, Ise and Sakurada as applicable to all such electropolymerizations.     

Mechanism of the second sulfenylation of indole

Sulfenylation of indole using a sulfenyl chloride occurs initially at the 3-position of the ring, leading to a 3-indolyl sulfide. When an excess of sulfenyl chloride is used, a second sulfide group is introduced at the 2-position, and an indolyl 2,3-bis-sulfide results. We have demonstrated that this second sulfenylation occurs not by direct introduction of the second sulfide at the 2-position but via initial formation of an indolenium 3,3-bis-sulfide intermediate, followed by migration of one of the sulfide groups to the 2-position. This was achieved by the isolation of two examples of 3H-indole 3,3-bis-sulfides and by subsequent demonstration that they rearrange to the indolyl 2,3-bis-sulfides by treatment with sulfenyl halides.     

The use of bathoferroine for extraction-spectrophotometric determinations of microamounts of perchlorate and perrhenate

Bathoferroine can be used for anion determinations by a method based on selective ion-pair extraction if the selectivity of extraction has been enhanced by addition of nonelectrolyte to the water phase. The method of perchlorate and perrhenate determinations characterizes parameters similar to those obtained by methods in which other cation complexes have been used. The advantage of the proposed method is the possibility of considerable concentration of ion association compound extracts by nitromethane reextraction.     

Shape changes during the drying of droplets of suspensions

During drying of droplets of suspensions, several flow regimes contribute to the radial flow of powder to the periphery to leave a pile-up of powder at the rim. It is shown that the shape of the droplet residues can be controlled both by restricting evaporation and by combining high and low boiling point solvents which modify particle flows and produce a range of droplet residues varying from a concave "doughnut" shape, sometimes with a central hole, to a convex dome shape. Addition of formamide to aqueous suspensions is shown to affect powder deposition by setting up a Marangoni flow rather than by reducing evaporation at the periphery. The results find direct application in thick-film combinatorial printing of ceramics to form small disks by droplet drying.     

FT-IR study of the stabilization reaction of polyacrylonitrile in the production of carbon fibers

The stabilized fibers prepared by heating PAN and a PAN copolymer in air and under reduced pressure have been examined by FT-IR spectroscopy in order to determine their chemical structures. Three kinds of reactions, cyclization, dehydrogenation, and oxygen uptake are found to occur almost simultaneously in the stabilization process in air by digital difference spectrum method. The effect of the comonomer is confirmed to accelate the dehydrogenation reaction and also the formation of acridone ring in the thermal stabilization in air by kinetic study.     

利用两种微生物的协同作用进行柴油的深度脱硫

红串红球菌通过4S途径降解二苯并噻吩(DBT)产生 和2-羟基联苯(2-HBP). 和2-HBP的存在对红串红球菌的进一步脱硫有抑制作用, 加入脱 和2-HBP 的菌株可以解除 和2-HBP对红串红球菌脱硫反应的抑制, 使该反应继续向生成产物的方向移动, 从而提高其脱硫率. 在脱硫菌和专一性降解 的水解好氧菌(代号: PYS)的协同作用下可以使高浓度的DBT从1.142 mmol/L降到0.0468 mmol/L, 降解率达到95.9%, 比没有加PYS时提高32%的脱除率. 在油水比为1∶9的条件下, 可以将柴油中的硫从554 mg/mL降到306 mg/mL, 降解率达到44.8%.     

Comparison of cryoscopic determinations of purity of benzene by thermometric and calorimetric procedures

Workers at the National Bureau of Standards and elsewhere have been conscious of the discordant results sometimes yielded by two methods for determining purity employing the same physical principle. A comparison was made on samples of benzene by the thermometeric method, by which a stirred sample is frozen at nearly constant rate, and by the calorimetric method, by which a frozen sample is melted in stages by the addition of accurately controlled increments of energy under adiabatic conditions.Benzene, purified by single crystal formation and of very high purity, was contaminated in known amounts by n-heptane and samples of the same level of purity determined by both procedures. Great care was taken to submit samples of the same composition to the different groups employing the two different methods. Further, the actual degree of contamination of the benzene was unknown to both groups until final values of the purity were submitted. Results of this comparison showed that the large divergence between the two methods that had characterized earlier comparisons is not displayed. The differences between the analyses on all three samples are roughly of the order of the statistically estimated uncertainties of the averages and less than deviations between individual experiments by one method. Comparison of the methods with absolute values of purity could not be made because of contamination of the highly purified sample of benzene with supposedly chemically adsorbed water from the borosilicate glass walls.     

Prediction of the crystal structure of a cyclic tetrapeptide

Prediction of the known crystal structure of cyclic-L-Ser(O-t-Bu)-β-Ala-Gly-L-β-Asp(OMe) has been attempted by establishing the low-energy conformations of the isolated molecule by conformational analysis, and then regarding each of these as a rigid molecule, by establishing the favorable crystal packing arrangements by molecular packing analysis. The theoretical model closest to the observed structure was one of the lowest-energy solutions and was recognized as essentially correct by reference to the x-ray data. The limitations of the model follow from the fact that the side chain conformations are somewhat affected by packing interactions.     

Mechanism of enhancement of sonochemical-reaction efficiency by pulsed ultrasound

The enhancement of sonochemical-reaction efficiency by pulsed ultrasound at 152 kHz has been studied experimentally through absorbance measurements of triiodide ions from sonochemical oxidation of potassium iodide at different liquid volumes to determine sonochemical efficiency defined by reacted molecules per input ultrasonic energy. The mechanism for enhancement of the reaction efficiency by pulsed ultrasound is discussed using captured images of sonochemiluminescence (SCL), and measured time-resolved signals of the SCL pulses and pressure amplitudes. The high sonochemical-reaction efficiency by pulsed ultrasound, compared with that by continuous-wave ultrasound, is attributed both to the residual pressure amplitude during the pulse-off time and to the spatial enlargement of active reaction sites.     

Pulse polarographic determination of the complexation capacity of various organic phosphonates of heavy metals with the aid of design of experiments

This study presents the determination of the complexation capacity of phosphonates (ATMP, EDTMP, and DTPMP) by differential pulse polarography. All of them are non-volatile, stable in water samples, and resistant to hydrolysis. Therefore, their decomposition rate in natural water is low. The metal complexation capacity of these phosphonates was detected for cobalt, copper, and zinc ions. DTPMP is the best of the investigated chelating agents for these three metal ions.Owing to the environmental fate of aminocarboxylates, these were often replaced by phosphonates. Therefore, we compared NTA and EDTA with ATMP and EDTMP according to their Zn-CC and could find out approximately four times higher complexation of zinc ions by phosphonates than by aminocarboxylates.Furthermore, the interaction between phosphonates and the influence of iron ions on the Zn-CC were investigated by chemometric means. The design of experiments indicated no significant interaction in phosphonate mixtures but significant influence of iron ions. Thus, the complexation capacity of a mixture of ATMP, EDTMP, and DTPMP can be calculated by the addition of several individual Zn-CC of the phosphonates according to their percentage in the mixture. A similar calculation is impossible in the presence of iron ions.     

Synthesis of syn and anti isomers of trans-cyclopropyl arginine

There is currently considerable interest in arginine and its structural analogues in the context of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) substrates and inhibitors. Of particular interest are conformationally constrained arginine analogues used to probe the active sites of the three NOS isoforms. A simple procedure is described for the preparation of syn- and anti-trans-cyclopropyl arginine starting from the alpha-OBO-protected Cbz-dehydroglutamate. Cyclopropanation is effected by diazomethane addition followed by irradiation of the resulting pyrazoline and gives a 3:1 mixture of syn:anti isomers that can be separated by crystallization. Reduction of the ester to the alcohol followed by guanylation gives the fully protected cyclopropyl arginine analogues. The CBZ protecting groups are removed by hydrogenolysis and the OBO by mild acid treatment followed by base hydrolysis.