Sedimentation–diffusion profiles and layered sedimentation of charged colloids at low ionic strength

We report the formation of strongly inflated sedimentation–diffusion concentration profiles for charged monodisperse colloidal spheres in absolute ethanol. Various additional experiments, such as light scattering, confirm that the very dilute supernatants, left behind by the majority of settling colloids, contain spheres that repel each other at distances of micrometers. We attribute these unusual profiles to a significant counter-ion contribution to the osmotic pressure and to the Debye screening length. An approximate osmotic equation-of-state at the level of the second virial coefficient for dispersions at very low ionic strength indeed implies an algebraic long-distance decay of sedimentation–diffusion profiles, together with significant lowering of the effective colloid mass by an entropic lift due to counter-ions. We have also observed that sedimenting dispersions sometimes demix into two layers, which are both disordered fluids. Since the colloids are clearly repulsive on the DLVO pair level, this layering possibly manifests a phase transition driven by many-body attractions.     

Theoretical study of direct dissociative charge exchange at low energy (1–100 eV)

A theoretical investigation of the direct dissociative charge exchange process in ion—molecule collisions at low energy (1–100 eV) is presented. The process is described within the semiclassical impact parameter framework in terms of transitions between vibronic states. The initial vibrational state ν of the molecule undergoing dissociation decays owing to interaction with the vibrational continuum ϵ in which it is embedded. In view of the nearly resonant characteristics of the process, the ν−ϵ interaction h_ν(ϵ) is assumed to behave like a function of the relative ion—molecule coordinates R and γ of the form A(ϵ)f(γ)R exp(− λR. Both isotropic (f(γ) = 1) and anisotropic (f(γ) = cos γ or sin γ) interactions are investigated. The problem is first solved in closed analytical form for model cases in the weak and strong coupling limits. Computer simulations are then performed on various prototype cases in order to provide examples illustrating the role of both the discrete—continuum energy differences Δ_ν(ϵ, R) and the coupling strength, as well as to illustrate typical dependences of the direct dissociative charge exchange spectra on collision energy, impact parameter and orientation of the molecular axis with respect to the incident beam direction.     

The inhibition of hydrogen peroxide reduction at low potentials on Pt(111): Hydrogen adsorption or interfacial charge?

The hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction (HPRR) on Pt(111) has been studied for the first time in acid to neutral pH values in the absence of anion specific adsorption using the HMRDE configuration. The onset for the reduction is ca. 0.95 V (RHE) for the Pt(111), irrespective of the pH value. At more negative potential values, the reduction is inhibited. It has been found that the diminution of the activity on Pt(111) occurs at the same potential value in the SHE scale for the different pH values. This indicates that this deactivation is not dependent on the hydrogen adsorption process, as has been previously suggested. However, it appears to be related to the interface water reorganization and the potential of zero free charge of the metal surface. In addition, studies in alkaline conditions suggest that the presence of adsorbed OH species promotes the total conversion of hydrogen peroxide to water.     

Analysis of hen egg white lysozyme adsorption on Si(Ti)O2 ∣ aqueous solution interfaces at low ionic strength: a biphasic reaction related to solution self-association

Adsorption kinetics of hen-egg white lysozyme at concentrations of 10⁻⁷, 10⁻⁶, 10⁻⁴ M and at pH 8.0 have been measured on Si_0.8Ti_0.2O₂ surfaces by means of optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy and were found to proceed in two distinct kinetic régimes: a fast and quasi linear increase of the surface concentration followed by slower kinetics that could be described qualitatively by the theory of random sequential adsorption. The transition between these two kinetic régimes was correlated with abrupt changes in the values of the mean refractive index and of the thickness of the adsorbed layer as well as in the desorption kinetics performed either before or after the transition from the first régime to the second. Experiments carried out at the same ionic strength but at different pH values showed that the adsorption behaviour of lysozyme is related to its self-association properties in highly concentrated solutions.     

Sorption of Am(Ⅲ) on Na-bentonite:Effect of pH,ionic strength,temperature and humic acid

Sorption of Am(Ⅲ) on Na-bentonite as a function of contact time,pH,ionic strength,humic acid(HA) and temperature was investigated under ambient conditions.The results showed that the sorption was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. Am(Ⅲ) sorption can be described well by pseudo-second-order model.The presence of HA takes a positive effect at low pH;but a negative influence under high pH range.Enthalpy,entropy and Gibbs free energy(i.e.,△H~0,△S~0 and△G~0) calculated from sorption isotherms suggested that sorption process of Am(Ⅲ) was spontaneous and endothermic.     

Quantum chemical topology at the spin–orbit configuration interaction level: Application to astatine compounds

We report a methodology that allows the investigation of the consequences of the spin–orbit coupling by means of the QTAIM and ELF topological analyses performed on top of relativistic and multiconfigurational wave functions. In practice, it relies on the “state-specific” natural orbitals (NOs; expressed in a Cartesian Gaussian-type orbital basis) and their occupation numbers (ONs) for the quantum state of interest, arising from a spin–orbit configuration interaction calculation. The ground states of astatine diatomic molecules (AtX with X = At F) and trihalide anions (IAtI⁻ , BrAtBr⁻ , and IAtBr⁻ ) are studied, at exact two-component relativistic coupled cluster geometries, revealing unusual topological properties as well as a significant role of the spin–orbit coupling on these. In essence, the presented methodology can also be applied to the ground and/or excited states of any compound, with controlled validity up to including elements with active 5d, 6p, and/or 5f shells, and potential limitations starting with active 6d, 7p, and/or 6f shells bearing strong spin–orbit couplings.     

Intramolecularly coordinated azobenzene selenium derivatives: effect of strength of the Se···N intramolecular interaction on luminescence

A series of selenium derivatives (6-12) of 2-phenylazophenyl have been synthesized using o-lithiation route. The effect of the strength of the intramolecular Se···N interaction on the absorption spectra as well as emission spectra has been studied. The studies suggest that the secondary bonding Se···N interaction give rise to fluorescence, however, the strength of Se···N interaction cannot be directly correlated with the intensity of the fluorescence. TD-DFT calculations show that the main transition involved in the absorption spectra of the compound is the ligand based π-π* type.     

Experiments with proteins at low temperature: what do we learn on properties in their functional state?

The authors compared the spectral response of Zn-substituted horseradish peroxidase in a glycerol/water solvent to hydrostatic pressure at 2 K and ambient temperature. The low temperature experiments clearly demonstrate the presence of at least three different conformations with drastically different elastic properties. However, the main conformation, which determines the fluorescence spectrum at ambient temperature, did not show any significant difference between low and high temperature and pressure. The authors conclude that the local compressibility of the heme pocket of the protein depends only very weakly on temperature.     

Sorption of radiocobalt on a novel γ-MnO2 hollow structure: effects of pH, ionic strength, humic substances and temperature

A novel γ-MnO₂ hollow structure has been synthesized using a simple chemical reaction between MnSO₄ and KMnO₄ in aqueous solution without using any templates, surfactants, catalysts, calcination and hydrothermal processes. As an example of potential applications, γ-MnO₂ hollow structure was used as adsorbent in radionuclide ⁶⁰Co(II) treatment, and showed an excellent ability. The effect of pH, contact time, ionic strength, humic acid (HA)/fulvic acid (FA), and temperature was investigated using batch techniques. The results indicated that the sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on γ-MnO₂ was obviously dependent on pH values but independent of ionic strength. The presence of HA/FA enhanced the sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on γ-MnO₂ at low pH, whereas reduced ⁶⁰Co(II) sorption on γ-MnO₂ at high pH. The kinetic sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on γ-MnO₂ can be well fitted by the pseudo-second-order rate equation. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH ⁰, ΔS ⁰, ΔG ⁰) were also calculated from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms, and the results suggested that the sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on γ-MnO₂ was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on γ-MnO₂ was attributed to surface complexation rather than ion exchange.     

Biomacromolecular quantitative structure–activity relationship (BioQSAR): a proof-of-concept study on the modeling, prediction and interpretation of protein–protein binding affinity

Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR), a regression modeling methodology that establishes statistical correlation between structure feature and apparent behavior for a series of congeneric molecules quantitatively, has been widely used to evaluate the activity, toxicity and property of various small-molecule compounds such as drugs, toxicants and surfactants. However, it is surprising to see that such useful technique has only very limited applications to biomacromolecules, albeit the solved 3D atom-resolution structures of proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes have accumulated rapidly in past decades. Here, we present a proof-of-concept paradigm for the modeling, prediction and interpretation of the binding affinity of 144 sequence-nonredundant, structure-available and affinity-known protein complexes (Kastritis et al. Protein Sci 20:482–491, 2011) using a biomacromolecular QSAR (BioQSAR) scheme. We demonstrate that the modeling performance and predictive power of BioQSAR are comparable to or even better than that of traditional knowledge-based strategies, mechanism-type methods and empirical scoring algorithms, while BioQSAR possesses certain additional features compared to the traditional methods, such as adaptability, interpretability, deep-validation and high-efficiency. The BioQSAR scheme could be readily modified to infer the biological behavior and functions of other biomacromolecules, if their X-ray crystal structures, NMR conformation assemblies or computationally modeled structures are available.     

Vibrational sum-frequency generation at protein modified air–water interfaces: Effects of molecular structure and surface charging

Protein and surfactant modified air–water interfaces are an important model system for colloid science as many applications for example aqueous foams in food products rely on our knowledge and ability to tune molecular structures at these interfaces. That is because interfaces are a fundamental building block in the hierarchical structure of foam, where in fact the molecular level can determine properties on larger length scales. For that reason it is of great importance to increase our ability to study air–water interfaces with molecular level probes and to obtain not only information on coverage but also direct information on interfacial composition, molecular order, orientations as well as information on the charged state of an interface. Vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful tool that can help to address these issues and is inherently surface sensitive. In this contribution we will review recent developments in the use of SFG for studies of biomolecules at aqueous interfaces and discuss current issues with the interpretation of SFG spectra from electrified interfaces. In order to guide interpretations from interface spectroscopy we invoke the use of complementary methods such as ellipsometry and zetapotential measurements of bulk molecules.     

Watson–Crick versus imidazopyridopyrimidine base pairs: theoretical study on differences in stability and hydrogen bonding strength

Matsuda and coworkers demonstrated that imidazopyridopyrimidine nucelobases (N ^N , O ^O , N ^O , tO ^O , and O ^N ) can mimic Watson–Crick nucleobase in forming H-bonds in DNA double helix. In the present study, we address the question about the strengths of the H-bonds in imidazopyridopyrimidine base pairs compared to those in Watson–Crick ones by focusing particularly on the nature of these interactions. Optimized structures of imidazopyridopyrimidine, imidazopyridopyrimidine–Watson–Crick, and Watson–Crick base pairs are obtained at the DFTB3LYP/6-311++G (d,p). The nature and strength of the intramolecular H-bonds in these base pairs have been investigated based on natural bond orbital (NBO method) to consider the effect of charge transfer, “atoms-in-molecules” (AIM) topological parameters, and decomposition of the interaction energies using the energy decomposition analysis (EDA). These investigations imply that N ^N –O ^O and N ^O –O ^N can form base pairs with four H-bonds (most stable than those of Watson–Crick base pairs) when they incorporated into DNA double helix. Furthermore, it can be deduced that O ^N and N ^N nucleobases form energetically more favorable pairs with adenine and guanine than the normal Watson–Crick counter parts. These results can be helpful for the stabilization and regulation of a variety of new base-pairing motif of DNA structures.     

Drug–protein interaction with Vpu from HIV-1: proposing binding sites for amiloride and one of its derivatives

Vpu is an 81-amino-acid auxiliary protein of the genome of HIV-1. It is proposed that one of its roles is to enhance particle release by self-assembling to form water-filled channels enabling the flux of ions at the site of the plasma membrane of the infected cell. Hexamethylene amiloride has been shown to block Vpu channel activity when the protein is reconstituted into lipid bilayers. In a docking approach with monomeric, pentameric and hexameric bundle models of Vpu corresponding to the transmembrane part of the protein, a putative binding site of hexamethylene amiloride is proposed and is compared with the site for the nonpotent amiloride. The binding mode for both ligands is achieved by optimizing hydrogen bond interactions with serines. Binding energies and binding constants are the lowest for protonated hexamethylene amiloride in the pentameric bundle. Figure The proposed binding site of the Vpu channel blocker hexamethylene amiloride within the lumen of the Vpu bundle. The bundle is a homo-pentamer with each monomer consisting of the first 32 amino acids of Vpu including the transmembrane part of the protein which is encoded by HIV-1. The bundle atoms are shown in their van der Waals representation and the helix backbone in a ribbon representation. Residues Trp-23 and Ser-24 are highlighted as sticks. Hexamethylene amiloride is shown in yellow (C atoms) and blue (N atoms)     

Experimental measurements of vapor–liquid equilibria at low pressure: Systems containing alcohols,esters and organic acids

In this work the vapor–liquid equilibria for nine binary mixtures (methanol + acetic acid, methanol + methyl acetate, methanol + water, methyl acetate + acetic acid, water + acetic acid, ethyl acetate + acetic acid, ethanol + acetic acid, ethanol + ethyl acetate and ethanol + water) at subatmospherical pressure (580 mmHg) is presented. Peng–Robinson Stryjek–Vera equation of state coupled with the Wong–Sandler mixing rules were used for predicting phase equilibria of these mixtures. The measurements were developed using an apparatus with recirculation that can also be employed for liquid–vapor equilibrium with chemical reaction.     

Liquid–liquid equilibrium in ternary ionic liquid systems by UNIFAC: New volume,surface area and interaction parameters. Part I

Ternary liquid–liquid equilibria (LLE) data in systems involving ionic liquids has been investigated by several years, mainly due to the innovative role of ionic liquids as extraction solvents. The thermodynamic modeling of these systems has been performed almost invariably with the well-known NRTL model. In recent years, the UNIQUAC model has also been used, with structural parameters for ionic liquids determined either by empirical correlations or, more recently, through quantum mechanics calculations. In this work, the structural group volume and area parameters for the group-contribution UNIFAC method have been calculated for six ionic liquids following the quantum mechanics approach. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) was used to optimize the molecular geometry and the Polarizable Continuum Method (PCM) was used to calculate the area and volume. The obtained parameters were used to correlate LLE data for twenty-four ternary systems, totalizing 169 tie-lines. New interaction parameters were also estimated between the solvent and ionic liquid functional groups. The results are very satisfactory, with root mean square deviations between experimental and calculated compositions about 1.6%.     

Molar conductivities of concentrated lithium chloride–glycerol solutions at low and high temperatures: application of a quasi-lattice model

Conductivities of concentrated solutions of lithium chloride in glycerol were measured for concentrations ranging from 0.005 to 1.5 mol.dm^?3. The conductivity dependencies were analysed successively using the Debye–Huckel–Onsager limiting law (DHO) at very low concentrations, the Fuoss equation of 1978 up to 0.1 mol.dm^?3, the Casteel–Amis empirical equation and the quasi-lattice model (QLM) at moderate and higher concentrations. The molar conductivities at infinite dilution, obtained using DHO and QLM were quite different from each other, because the salt forms contact pairs which were underestimated in the Λ = f(C^1/3) in QLM, as it may well be proved by Raman spectroscopy. Besides, the value of Madelung constant suggests that LiCl crystallises face centred cubic (FCC) at higher concentrations. On the basis of Raman spectroscopy analysis of previous lithium salts, we assume that the dissociation coefficient varies slightly with concentration and fraction of paired ion constant, the QLM equation is applied successfully in the concentration range used in this study. The temperature dependency of conductivity was also described using the Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher (VTF) empirical equation where the Arrhenius type was found. The results also suggest that as NaCl, LiCl can be considered as a structure maker electrolyte.     

Isomeric pyridylcarbenes and their Si and Ge heavier analogues at DFT: stabilization through π–p or n–p interaction

To realize the effects of the pyridyl group on the stability, multiplicity, and geometry of isomeric pyridylcarbenes and their heavier Si and Ge analogues, a theoretical study was performed at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d). The behavior of nitrogen atom was totally different in each multiplicity (singlet and triplet), structural isomer (ortho-, meta-, and para-), and divalent center (C, Si, and Ge). All pyridylcarbenes have triplet ground states, while the stable silylene and germylene analogues are singlet. The pyridyl group stabilizes both singlet and triplet states divalent centers with more pronounced effects on the singlet states in the order: carbene>germylene>silylene. While all planar species benefit from common π–p conjugative interaction of the pyridyl ring, in the ortho-isomers of 2-pyridylsilylene and 2-pyridylgermylene there is another interaction, n–p, that leads to two stable non-planar conformers. This finding is confirmed by NBO charges, calculated UV–vis spectra, philicity indices (N and ω), and isodesmic reactions.