On the definition of the excess permittivity of a fluid mixture

It is shown that under the assumption of no intermolecular interaction, the permittivity of a homogeneous linear and isotropic fluid mixture is the sum of the individual permittivities weighted with the mole fractions of the components. For definiteness, a proof is given for gasses under standard temperature and pressure; it is, however, easy to generalize it to other conditions, as well as to liquids, as long as the assumption of no intermolecular interaction is retained. Also, although the proof is given for a binary mixture, it is a simple exercise to extend it to any multicomponent mixture.     

Dimensional analysis of chronoamperometry: proof and verification of Cottrellian behavior of systems with composition-dependent diffusion coefficients

Chronoamperometry with a Dirichlet boundary condition and semi-infinite linear diffusion exhibits Cottrellian behavior, that is, the product it1/2 is constant as a function of time as long as the system is initially homogeneous, a conclusion that can be reached using only dimensional analysis; no detailed mathematical analysis is required. The generality of this result is known to include purely diffusional systems and systems in which transport also involves migration. In the present work, it is shown that Cottrellian behavior obtains, even when the system diffusion coefficients are a function of system composition, regardless of the exact form of that function. These conclusions are confirmed by simulations of examples for purely diffusional systems as well as for systems with migration. Some experimental examples from the literature are cited.     

Direct Visualization of Electromagnetic Microfields by Superposition of Two Kinds of Electron Holograms

A new electron holographic method is presented to directly visualize pure phase objects such as electromagnetic microfields, which is achieved by superposition of two kinds of electron holograms. The method is very simple and is twice as sensitive as the conventional double-exposure electron holography and the four-electron-wave interference. Using this technique, an electric field around a charged latex sphere and a magnetic field around a barium ferrite particle have been directly observed.     

Determination of traces of fluorine or sulfur by x-ray analysis

New X-ray methods have been developed for the determination of as little as 1 μg of fluorine or as little as 0.1 μg of sulfur. Fluorine as fluoride is precipitated as lanthanum fluoride in 75% ethanol-water mixture and determined by measuring the amount of lanthanum present in the precipitate. Sulfur as sulfate is precipitated as barium sulfate from a barium sulfate saturated 50% ethanol-buffer mixture, using selenate as a coprecipitant, and determined by measuring the amount of sulfur present. Sulfur as sulfide is precipitated as cadmium sulfide and determined by measuring the amount of sulfur or cadmium in the precipitate.     

Influence of the convective term in the Nernst-Planck equation on properties of ion transport through a layer of solution or membrane

The one-dimensional boundary-value problem of steady-state ion transport, which takes into account the convective component, is formulated and solved in terms of the Nernst-Planck model. This problem is investigated in connection with the diffusion layer, which is understood in a broad sense. This can be the diffusion layer as it is usually understood, i.e., located adjacent to a hydraulically permeable membrane. In another context it can be regarded as a capillary connecting two reservoirs filled with solutions of different concentration or as an uncharged macropore permeating the membrane and separating two solutions. Finally, the solution to the problem is applied to the membrane itself, which is represented as a quasi-homogeneous gel. In the latter case, a virtual electroneutral solution in local equilibrium with a small volume of membrane is considered. The problem is investigated in dimensionless form as a function of the Peclet number. It is shown that the Peclet number is numerically equal to the absolute value of the dimensionless convection velocity. The limiting current, concentration profiles, distributions of the field strength and potential, and effective transport numbers are analyzed as functions of the convective component.     

Scattering of two-dimensional analogs of disordered lamellae

Optical Fourier transformation is used to study some two-dimensional (2D) analogs of disordered lamellae microstructure. A connected network of thick lines is used as the 2D representation of the disordered lamellar structures which have been observed in surfactant solutions. It is shown that, in these amorphous structures, the position of the scattering peak is still given by the underlying lattice and the observed scattering can be decomposed as a fair approximation, as a product of a local form factor and a structure factor due to the correlations of the underlying lattice.     

Identification of Mixtures of Synthetic Organic Pigments Using UV-VIS Spectrophotometry and Kalman Filtering

Abstract

A Kalman filter is used to determine the number of components and their concentrations in mixtures of synthetic organic pigments. In this way, a quantitative identification of mixtures of these pigments is possible as is shown with a simulated as well a real mixture. The dataset used in the experiments, consisted of as much as 27 candidate pigments.     

Synthesis of a bicyclic analogue of AZT restricted in an unusual O4'-endo conformation.

The [3.2.0]bicyclic beta-nucleoside analogue 5 has been designed as a conformationally restricted analogue of the anti-HIV drug AZT. The synthesis of 5 as well as its alpha-anomer 29 is hereby described. The synthesis was accomplished from D-arabinose via a modified Corey-Link procedure stereoselectively incorporating the azide moiety as well as a methyl ester function. When the tert-butyldiphenylsilyl group was used as a permanent protecting group, a selective formation of an oxetane ring failed. When using the p-methoxyphenyl group as a permanent protecting group, 5 and 29 were efficiently obtained via a selective reduction of the ester, a nucleobase coupling followed by separation of the anomers and ring-closing procedures. The nucleoside 5 is conformationally restricted in an unusual O4'-endo (East) conformation, which is an intermediate between the North- and South-type conformations. Nevertheless, neither 5 nor 29 displayed any anti-HIV activity.     

Review and Perspectives of the Use of Alginate as a Polymer Matrix for Microorganisms Applied in Agro-Industry

Alginate is a polysaccharide with the property of forming hydrogels, which is economic production, zero toxicity, and biocompatibility. In the agro-industry, alginate is used as a super absorbent polymer, coating seeds, fruits, and vegetables and as a carrier of bacteria and fungi as plant-growth promoters and biocontrol. The latter has a high impact on agriculture since the implementation of microorganisms in a polymer matrix improves soil quality; plant nutrition, and is functional as a preventive measure for the appearance of phytopathogenic. Additionally, it minimizes losses of foods due to wrong post-harvest handling. In this review, we provide an overview of physicochemical properties of alginate, some methods for preparation and modification of capsules and coatings, to finally describe its application in agro-industry as a matrix of plant-growth-promoting microorganisms, its effectiveness in cultivation and post-harvest, and its effect on the environment, as well as the prospects for future agro-industrial applications.     

A convergent Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of dl- and meso-divinylethylene carbonate: enantioselective synthesis of (+)-australine hydrochloride and formal synthesis of isoaltholactone

The use of a mixture of dl- and meso-divinylethylene carbonate as an electrophile in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation reactions is reported. From the diastereomeric mixture of meso and chiral racemic starting materials, a single product is obtained in high optical purity employing either oxygen or nitrogen nucleophiles. The resulting dienes have proven to be versatile synthetic intermediates as each carbon is functionalized for further transformation and differentiated by virtue of the reaction. A mechanism for this intriguing transformation is proposed and a concise enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-australine hydrochloride is reported as well as a formal synthesis of isoaltholactone.     

Aspects of Electrochemical Behavior of Aldehydes and Ketones in Protic Media

Reduction of carbonyl group in aldehydes and ketones, as well as oxidation of numerous aldehydes is discussed, as well as those reductions of organic compounds where the C?O group activates cleavage of an adjacent C? X bond where X is a good leaving group like halogen, OH, NH₂ or SR or activates hydrogenation of an adjacent C?C group. Survey involves aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes, aryl alkyl and diaryl ketones, as well as α‐ketoacids, 1,2‐diketones and compounds where the carbonyl group is a part of a ring. The role of acid–base, hydration–dehydration and in some cases keto–enol equilibria on electrochemical behavior is pointed out, as well as the role of buffer kind and concentration and the nature of the cation of supporting electrolyte. Better understanding of these factors promises finding of best conditions for electroanalytical procedures.     

Effect of form of reagent on particle sizes of precipitates

The particle size of an ionic precipitate is much smaller when one of the reactants is introduced as a solid rather than as a solution The effect is enhanced as the particle size of the solid reagent is decreased. The presence of a freshly dissolved inert electrolyte also influences the particle size of a precipitate The affects are not attributable merely to the degree of supersaturation but rather to the provision by the freshly dissolved material of sites upon which nucleation can be induced.     

The use of ozone as a titrimetric agent for the quantitative determination of olefinic unsaturation

A new method is described for the determination of olefinic unsaturation, using a constant stream of ozone as the titrimetric agent. A dye is employed as the end-point indicator. The ozone is prepared by electrolysis of dilute sulphuric acid.The method is shown to possess a number of advantages over the methods so far in use for determining unsaturation. It may be satisfactorily applied to a wide variety of substituted as well as unsubstituted unsaturates.     

Electrochemical polymerization of acetylene on a surface of platinum

Polyacetylene (PA) deposited on a platinum surface is synthesized by electrochemical polymerization of acetylene in a cell with platinum strip as cathode, nickel strip as anode, and nickel bromide in acetonitrile as electrolyte. The electrolytic solution is presaturated with acetylene. The PA so produced has a granular morphology and high surface area (79 m²/g), and is insoluble. Polymerization at lower temperature gives higher content in cis units. It has the same chemical structure as that produced using the Shirakawa method as examined by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Direct fluorescence monitoring of the delivery and cellular uptake of a cancer-targeted RGD peptide-appended naphthalimide theragnostic prodrug

Presented here is a multicomponent synthetic strategy that allows for the direct, fluorescence-based monitoring of the targeted cellular uptake and release of a conjugated therapeutic agent. Specifically, we report here the design, synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and preliminary in vitro biological evaluation of a RGD peptide-appended naphthalimide pro-CPT (compound 1). Compound 1 is a multifunctional molecule composed of a disulfide bond as a cleavable linker, a naphthalimide moiety as a fluorescent reporter, an RGD cyclic peptide as a cancer-targeting unit, and camptothecin (CPT) as a model active agent. Upon reaction with free thiols in aqueous media at pH 7.4, disulfide cleavage occurs. This leads to release of the free CPT active agent, as well as the production of a red-shifted fluorescence emission (λ(max) = 535 nm). Confocal microscopic experiments reveal that 1 is preferentially taken up by U87 cells over C6 cells. On the basis of competition experiments involving okadaic acid, an inhibitor of endocytosis, it is concluded that uptake takes place via RGD-dependent endocytosis mechanisms. In U87 cells, the active CPT payload is released within the endoplasmic reticulum, as inferred from fluorescence-based colocalization studies using a known endoplasmic reticulum-selective dye. The present drug delivery system (DDS) could represent a new approach to so-called theragnostic agent development, wherein both a therapeutic effect and drug uptake-related imaging information are produced and can be readily monitored at the subcellular level. In due course, the strategy embodied in conjugate 1 could allow for more precise monitoring of dosage levels, as well as an improved understanding of cellular uptake and release mechanisms.     

Modeling competitive reaction mechanisms of peroxynitrite oxidation of guanine

5-Guanidino-4-nitroimidazole is a stable product from the peroxynitrite induced one-electron oxidation of guanine. Reaction mechanisms to form the 5-guanidino-4-nitroimidazole as well as 8-nitroguanine, through the combination of the guanine radical cation and nitrogen dioxide radical and through the combination of the deprotonated neutral guanine radical and nitrogen dioxide radical, have been investigated by the use of the B3LYP method of density functional theory. Our calculations suggest that the guanine radical cation mechanism is preferred over the neutral guanine radical mechanism and that a water molecule is involved in the reaction as a catalyst or as a reactant.     

非经典碳正离子问题

本文论述了非经典碳正离子这一问题的有关争论,是根据近期评论译述的。争论的中心是,全去甲莰正离子是在C—C或C—H键电子的σ-参与下形成非经典的离子,还是如Brown所指出的那样,是一个定域的经典离子,但受到立体的张力效应,从而加速了它在溶剂解中的形成。     

Solution decomposition of the layered double hydroxide of Co with Fe: phase segregation of normal and inverse spinels

The nitrate-intercalated layered double hydroxide of Co with Fe decomposes on hydrothermal treatment to yield an oxide residue at a temperature as low as 180 degrees C. The oxide product is phase segregated into a Co(3)O(4)-type normal spinel and a CoFe(2)O(4)-type inverse spinel. Phase segregation is facilitated as decomposition in a solution medium takes place by dissolution of the precursor hydroxide followed by reprecipitation of the oxide phases. In contrast, thermal decomposition takes place at 400 degrees C. This temperature is inadequate to induce diffusion in the solid state whereby phase segregation into the thermodynamically stable individual spinels is suppressed. The result is a single-phase metastable mixed spinel oxide. This is rather uncommon in that a hydrothermal treatment yields thermodynamically stable products where as thermal decomposition yields a metastable product.