Monitoring chemotherapeutic response in RIF-1 tumors by single-quantum and triple-quantum-filtered (23)Na MRI, (1)H diffusion-weighted MRI and PET imaging

The effects of 5-fluorouracil (5FU, 150 mg/kg, ip) on subcutaneously implanted radiation-induced fibrosarcoma (RIF-1) tumors were monitored by in vivo (1)H MRI to evaluate the water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), by single-quantum (SQ) and triple-quantum-filtered (TQF) (23)Na MRI to evaluate compartmental Na(+) content and by positron emission tomography (PET) to evaluate 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) uptake in the tumor. The MRI experiments were performed on untreated control and treated mice once before and then daily for 3 days after treatment. The PET experiments were performed on separate groups of age- and tumor-volume-matched animals once before and then 3 days after treatment. Tumor volumes significantly decreased in treated animals 2 and 3 days posttreatment. At the same time points, in vivo MRI measurements showed an increase in both total tissue SQ (23)Na signal intensity (SI) and water ADC in treated tumors while control tumors showed no change in these parameters. TQF (23)Na SI and FDG uptake were significantly lower in treated tumors compared with control tumors 3 days after 5FU treatment. The correlated increases in total tissue (23)Na SI and water ADC following chemotherapy reflect an increase in extracellular space, while the lower TQF (23)Na SI and FDG uptake in treated tumors compared with control tumors suggest a shift in tumor metabolism from glycolysis to oxidation and/or a decrease in cell density.     

23Na TQF NMR imaging for the study of spinal disc tissue

A method for acquiring triple quantum filtered (TQF) (23)Na NMR images is proposed that takes advantage of the differences in transverse relaxation rates of sodium to achieve positive intensity, PI, NMR signal. This PITQF imaging sequence has been used to obtain spatially resolved one-dimensional images as a function of the TQF creation time, tau, for two human spinal disc samples. From the images the different parts of the tissue, nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus, can be clearly distinguished based on their signal intensity and creation time profiles. These results establish the feasibility of (23)Na TQF imaging and demonstrate that this method should be applicable for studying human disc tissues as well as spinal disc degeneration.     

MAS NMR with and without double-quantum filtration at and near the n=0 rotational resonance condition

Spectral lineshapes of MAS NMR spectra of dipolar (re)coupled spin pairs exhibiting considerable chemical shielding anisotropies at and near the so-called n=0 rotational resonance (R2) condition are considered. The n=0 R2 condition is found to be not extremely sharp. Anisotropic interaction parameters such as chemical shielding tensor orientations and the magnitude of the dipolar coupling constant remain sensitively encoded in such lineshapes even when differences in isotropic chemical shielding values of up to 400 Hz (corresponding to ca. half the size of the dipolar coupling constant) are present. Additional double-quantum filtration (DQF) may enhance the sensitivity of spectral lineshapes to anisotropic interaction parameters for even larger differences in isotropic chemical shielding values. The dependence of the DQF efficiency on spin-system parameters as well as on external parameters (Larmor and MAS frequencies) is investigated. Away from R2 conditions a trend to lower DQF efficiencies is found whereas some spin-system parameters are more sensitively encoded in the corresponding spectral lineshapes. Our study is based on numerical simulations, with the known parameters of the 31P spin pair in Na4P2O7.10H2O representing our model case.     

Microscopic evidence for co-ionic conductivity in (Na,Li) β-alumina

Measurements of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times T₁ as a function of temperature are reported for ⁷Li in Liβ-alumina and mixed (Na,Li) β-alumina at several frequencies. In the mixed case the T₁ data exhibit a nearly symmetric minimum below room temperature. For Liβ-alumina the T₁ curve has, in addition, a high-temperature “shoulder” or unresolved secondary minimum which corresponds to the activation energy and attempt frequency obtained from tracer diffusion and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. We conclude that the addition of Na eliminates this high-barrier diffusional motion of the Li ions, in accord with electrochemical studies. Our results are discussed in terms of competing models which describe nuclear spin-lattice relaxation.     

Facile synthesis of group-I elements (K,Li and Na)-doped nanostructured CdO films

In this study, we report an application of facile and low-cost successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method to investigate nanostructured CdO films. We have tried to enhance some physical properties of nanostructured CdO films by group-I (K, Li and Na) elements doping. The crystal structures, morphology, absorption, transmittance, reflectance behaviour and optical band gap values of CdO films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy techniques. XRD analysis reveals formation of CdO cubic crystalline structure. From these characterizations, it was seen that there are important distinctions in the structural, morphological and optical properties of undoped and K-, Li- and Na-doped nanostructured CdO films.     

Cross-section for collisions of ultracold Li with Na

In a magneto-optical trap (MOT) we are able to simultaneously trap and cool ⁷Li and Na. We investigated the loading behavior of the cloud of Li atoms in presence of the overlapped cloud of cold Na atoms, and, by blocking the weak repumping beam for Na, compared it with the loading curve for Li atoms only. Out of these loading curves we calculated the collision cross-section of Na on Li to be 10^-11 cm ³ /s. Received 11 January 2002 / Received in final form 5 April 2002 Published online 24 September 2002     

Absolute quantification of Na+ bound fraction by double-quantum filtered 23Na NMR spectroscopy

A method is described for the absolute quantification of double-quantum filtered spectra of spin-3/2 nuclei ((23)Na). The method was tested on a model system, a cationic exchange resin for which the number of Na(+) binding sites was quantitatively controlled. The theoretical and experimental approaches were validated on samples with different Na(+) concentrations. An excellent agreement between the results obtained by double-quantum and single-quantum acquisitions was found. This method paves the way for absolute quantification of both bound and free fractions of Na(+), which are determining factors in the characterization of salted/brined/dried food products.     

Applications of (7)Li NMR in biomedicine

The applications of (7)Li NMR spectroscopy and imaging in biology and experimental medicine have been progressing steadily. The interest derives primarily from the clinical use of Li salts to treat mania and manic-depressive illness. One area of investigation is ionic transport across the cellular membrane and compartmentation, so as to elucidate the mechanism(s) of therapeutic action and toxicity in clinical practice. The second is the development of a noninvasive, in vivo analytical tool to measure brain Li concentrations in humans, both as an adjunct to treatment and as a mechanistic probe. Here we review progress to date in this area.     

Superalkali NM4 (M = Li,Na, K): Stabilities and electronic structures

Superatoms are clusters that mimic the chemistry of atoms and new materials with unique properties can be synthesized from them. Superalkali NM₄ clusters with homo- and hetero-alkalis M = Li, Na, K are designed, and their vertical ionization potentials (3.22 ～ 3.74 eV) are lower than that of Cs atom. The stabilities of the superalkalis are guaranteed by the binding energies and positive energies of the dissociation channel NM₃ + M, and NLi₄ is the most stable among the NM₄ clusters. The high stability and tetrahedral geometry make these species idea units for building new materials.     

Dynamic multipole polarizabilities of Li and Na atoms interacting with Debye potentials

The effects of Debye potentials on the dynamic multipole polarizabilities of Li and Na atoms are investigated using the symplectic algorithm. Frequency-dependent multipole polarizabilities of Li(2s ²S) and Na(3s ²S) are reported in terms of scaled number density of the plasma electrons for arbitrary plasma temperature.     

First-principles insight into Li and Na ion storage in graphene oxide

The structural, electronic, and adsorption properties of Li/Na ions on graphene decorated by epoxy groups are investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory.Our results show that the concentration of epoxy groups remarkably affects the structural and electronic properties of graphene.The bandgaps change monotonically from0.16 eV to 3.35 eV when the O coverage increases from 12.5% to 50%(O/C ratio).Furthermore, the highest lithiation potential of 2.714 V is obtained for the case of graphene oxide(GO) with 37.5 % O coverage, while the highest sodiation potential is 1.503 V for GO with 12.5% O coverage.This clearly demonstrates that the concentration of epoxy groups has different effects on Li and Na storage in GO.Our results provide a new insight into enhancing the Li and Na storage by tuning the concentration of epoxy groups on GO.     

Lattice dynamics and melting features of Li and Na

The high-pressure melting of Li and Na has been studied using ab initio calculations of the lattice dynamics. It has been shown that the recently discovered anomalous melting of Na is adequately explained by the phonon spectrum behavior and, accordingly, the thermal vibration amplitudes under compression. In a simple approach using the Lindemann criterion, the nonmonotonic behavior of the melting curve T _m(p) of Na has been quantitatively described within very wide pressure and temperature ranges, and, in particular, the melting temperature drop at p ～ 1 Mbar down to values lower than those at normal pressure. This approach leads to a nonphysical discontinuity of the melting curve T _m(p) of Li near the bcc-fcc-liquid triple point. This is due to the “softness” of the phonon spectrum of the bcc phase of Li that is the necessary condition for the existence of the high-temperature bcc phase. The melting of Na and Li is used as an example to determine why the Lindemann criterion is efficient in some situations and is inapplicable in the other cases.     

Li and Na Co-decorated carbon nitride nanotubes as promising new hydrogen storage media

The capacity of Li and Na co-decorated carbon nitride nanotube (CNNT) for hydrogen storage is studied using first-principles density functional theory. The results show that with two H₂ molecules attached to per Li and four H₂ molecules per Na the Li and Na co-decorated CNNT gains a gravimetric density of H₂ as high as 9.09 wt% via electrostatic interaction without the clustering of the deposited metal atoms (at T=0 K). The average adsorption energy of hydrogen molecule is in the range of 0.09-0.22 eV/H₂, which is suitable for practical hydrogen storage at ambient temperatures.     

Rotational and vibrational relaxation of the NO3 - ion in molten binary systems (M,Ag)NO3 (M = Li,Na and K) by Raman spectroscopy

Polarized and depolarized Raman scattering spectra for the totally symmetric stretching υ₁ mode of nitrate ions (D_3h symmetry) in the molten binary systems (M1,Ag)NO₃(M1= Li, Na, and K) have been measured. Vibrational and rotational autocorrelation³ functions, C_v(t) and C_r(t), respectively, have been evaluated from Fourier transformation of the spectra. The shifts in the peak frequencies are deeply correlated with the polarizability of silver in these mixtures. The vibrational relaxation rate increases with increasing mole fraction of silver nitrate in (K,Ag)NO₃, but does not vary so much in (Li,Ag)NO₃ and (Na,Ag)NO₃. The vibrational relaxation time negatively deviates from additivity on the order of (Na,Ag)NO₃< (Li,Ag)NO₃< (K,Ag)NO₃. In the systems (Na,Ag)NO₃ and (K,Ag)NO₃ rotational relaxation time becomes slower with increasing concentration of AgNO₃. The Ag⁺ coordinating to several nitrate ions in these mixtures appreciably restricts the rotational motion of the nitrate ions. On the other hand, rotational motion becomes easier in the mixture system (Li,Ag)NO₃ mainly because the different preferential sites of the two cations coordinating to an NO₃ ^-ion, and partly because the exchange rates of these cations around the NO_-3 ^-ion are high.     

Triple-quantum-filtered (23)Na NMR spectroscopy of subcutaneously implanted 9l gliosarcoma in the rat in the presence of TmDOTP(5-1)

The utility of triple-quantum (TQ)-filtered (23)Na NMR spectroscopy for discriminating between intra- and extracellular Na(+)(Na(i)(+) and Na(e)(+), respectively) in a solid tumor in vivo was evaluated using TmDOTP(5-) as a (23)Na shift reagent. Infusion of 80 mM TmDOTP(5-) without added Ca(2+) produced baseline-resolved Na(i)(+) and Na(e)(+) peaks in both single-quantum (SQ) and TQ-filtered (23)Na spectra. The Na(i)(+) signal represented 22+/-4% of the SQ spectrum, but 59+/-10% of the TQ-filtered spectrum. Therefore, the Na(i)(+) contribution in TQ-filtered spectra is much higher than in SQ spectra. Both SQ and TQ-filtered Na(i)(+) signals increased by about 75% 1 h after sacrificing the animal. The TQ-filtered relaxation times did not change during this time, indicating that changes observed in TQ-filtered spectra collected with a preparation time of 3 ms represent changes in the concentration of sodium ions contributing to the TQ-filtered signal. Similar experiments were conducted without TmDOTP(5-) to determine changes in the Na(e)(+) signal in the absence of the shift reagent. The changes in total SQ and TQ-filtered signals 1 h after sacrificing the animal showed that the SQ Na(e)(+) signal decreased by approximately 35%, while the TQ-filtered Na(e)(+) signal did not change significantly. This demonstrates that the TQ-filtered (23)Na signal is relatively insensitive to changes in Na(e)(+) content. To our knowledge, this work represents the first evaluation of multiple-quantum-filtered (23)Na spectroscopy to discriminate between intra- and extracellular Na(+) in a solid tumor in vivo.     

XY(H,Li, Na)分子基态的结构与势能函数

运用群论及原子分子反应静力学方法，推导了XY(H，Li，Na)分子基态的电子态及相应的离解极限.并采用密度泛函方法(B3LYP)和二次组态相互作用方法(QCISD)优化计算了XY(H，Li，Na)分子基态的平衡结构、振动频率和离解能.使用QCISD/6-311++G(3df,3pd)方法，对XY(H，Li，Na)分子基态进行了单点能扫描计算，采用最小二乘法拟合Murrell-Sorbie函数得到了相应的势能函数和与该基态相对应的光谱常数(B_e,α_e,ω_e和ω_eχ_e)，计算结果与实验数据符合得相当好. 关键词： 组态相关方法 基态 势能函数     

Formation of positive cluster ions Li(n) Br (n = 2-7) and ionization energies studied by thermal ionization mass spectrometry

Clusters of the type Li(n)X (X = halides) can be considered as potential building blocks of cluster-assembly materials. In this work, Li(n)Br (n = 2-7) clusters were obtained by a thermal ionization source of modified design and selected by a magnetic sector mass spectrometer. Positive ions of the Li(n)Br (n = 4-7) cluster were detected for the first time. The order of ion intensities was Li(2)Br(+) > Li(4)Br(+) > Li(5)Br(+) > Li(6)Br(+) > Li(3)Br(+). The ionization energies (IEs) were measured and found to be 3.95 ± 0.20 eV for Li(2)Br, 3.92 ± 0.20 eV for Li(3)Br, 3.93 ± 0.20 eV for Li(4)Br, 4.08 ± 0.20 eV for Li(5)Br, 4.14 ± 0.20 eV for Li(6)Br and 4.19 ± 0.20 eV for Li(7)Br. All of these clusters have a much lower ionization potential than that of the lithium atom, so they belong to the superalkali class. The IEs of Li(n)Br (n = 2-4) are slightly lower than those in the corresponding small Li(n) or Li(n)H clusters, whereas the IEs of Li(n)Br are very similar to those of Li(n) or Li(n)H for n = 5 and 6. The thermal ionization source of modified design is an important means for simultaneously obtaining and measuring the IEs of Li(n)Br (n = 2-7) clusters (because their ions are hermodynamically stable with respect to the loss of lithium atoms in the gas phase) and increasingly contributes toward the development of clusters for practical applications.     

Construction of embedded-atom-method interatomic potentials for alkaline metals （Li,Na,and K） by lattice inversion

The lattice-inversion embedded-atom-method interatomic potential developed previously by us is extended to alkaline metals including Li,Na,and K.It is found that considering interatomic interactions between neighboring atoms of an appropriate distance is a matter of great significance in constructing accurate embedded-atom-method interatomic potentials,especially for the prediction of surface energy.The lattice-inversion embedded-atom-method interatomic potentials for Li,Na,and K are successfully constructed by taking the fourth-neighbor atoms into consideration.These angular-independent potentials markedly promote the accuracy of predicted surface energies,which agree well with experimental results.In addition,the predicted structural stability,elastic constants,formation and migration energies of vacancy,and activation energy of vacancy diffusion are in good agreement with available experimental data and first-principles calculations,and the equilibrium condition is satisfied.     

Probing the wave function of shallow Li and Na donors in ZnO nanoparticles

Electron paramagnetic resonance and electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) experiments on ZnO nanoparticles reveal the presence of shallow donors related to interstitial Li and Na atoms. The shallow character of the wave function is evidenced by the multitude of 67Zn ENDOR lines and further by the hyperfine interactions with the 7Li and 23Na nuclei that are much smaller than for atomic lithium and sodium. In the case of the Li-doped nanoparticles, an increase of the hyperfine interaction with the 7Li nucleus and with the 1H nuclei in the Zn(OH)(2) capping layer is observed when reducing the size of the nanoparticles. This effect is caused by the confinement of the shallow-donor 1s-type wave function that has a Bohr radius of about 1.5 nm, i.e., comparable to the dimension of the nanoparticles.     

第一性原理计算MAlH4(M=Na,K)的结构和弹性性质

基于密度泛函理论研究并比较了两种储氢材料NaAlH₄和KAlH₄的晶格参数,弹性性质和电子结构.计算结果表明NaAlH₄和KAlH₄都是绝缘体,Al—H之间是共价键,M(M=Na,K)与AlH₄之间是离子键.NaAlH₄和KAlH₄的弹性常数都比较小而且NaAlH₄的弹性常数要大于KAlH₄的弹性常数,对此给予了解释. 关键词： 配位金属氢化物 电子结构 弹性性质