Electrochemical Sensors Continuously Monitor Magnesium Biodegradation under Cell Culture Conditions

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have increasingly been considered as implant materials for orthopedic, craniofacial, and cardiovascular applications. These materials generally have mechanical properties close to those of human bone and they biodegrade in aqueous environments. The biodegradation properties can be tailored to fit the desired application by changing the alloying elements and/or by addition of surface coatings. To test and compare the biodegradation properties of different materials, immersion tests in solutions ranging from simple salt solutions to complex biological media are commonly done that yield some information about the biodegradation rate and the biodegradation products on the surface after completion of the test. Here we report on a method that allows the continuous real‐time monitoring of the biodegradation process using electrochemical sensors for pH and H₂ during immersion of Mg samples in the cell culture medium DMEM/F12 with different concentrations of fetal bovine serum and in the presence of living cells. The sensors effectively indicated the biodegradation behavior of Mg samples in real‐time. This system could be very useful for immersion tests and even supporting biocompatibility testing of implant materials.     

Response of Propionate-Degrading Methanogenic Microbial Communities to Inhibitory Conditions

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Propionate is a crucial intermediate during methane fermentation. Investigating the effects of different kinds of inhibitors on the propionate-degrading...     

Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Diesel Carbon Soot Combustion under Simulated Catalytic‐Reaction Conditions

Environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) is used to monitor the catalytic combustion of diesel carbon soot upon exposure to molecular oxygen at elevated temperatures by using a gas‐injection specimen heating holder. The reaction conditions simulated in the ETEM experiments reconstruct real conditions effectively. This study demonstrated for the first time that soot combustion occurs at the soot–catalyst interface for both Ag/CeO₂ and Cu/BaO/La₂O₃ catalysts.     

Application of Plasma Fuel Reformer to an On-Board Diesel Burner

A conventional diesel burner has arisen several shortcomings, such a large supply of air for a stoichiometric combustion, and a long heat-up time to reach the light-off temperature of catalyst in a diesel after-treatment system. This study shows a promising potential of using a plasma reformer for staged diesel combustion with minimized air and fuel consumption, and increased the flame stability with low NOx emission. A working principle of a plasma fuel reformer for staged combustion is explained in detail by both visualizing the plasma-assisted flame and analyzing the gas products. The concentrations of H₂, CO, NOx and the unburned total hydrocarbons were measured by gas chromatography and a commercial gas analyzer. Considering the operating condition of diesel exhaust gas is too harsh to maintain a stable diesel flame with a conventional diesel burner, plasma fuel reformer has distinctive advantages in stable flame anchoring under the condition of low oxygen concentration and fast flow speed. The re-ignition and stable flame anchoring by entrapment of oxygen in exhaust gas is mainly attributed to the low ignition energy and high diffusion velocity of hydrogen molecule. From an economic point of view, plasma reformer is also the only technology which can use only 1/3–1/8 of the air required for the stoichiometric burning of a conventional diesel burner. A conventional burner was simulated and analyzed to consume up to 30 % more fuel compared to the plasma reformer with the staged combustion to get the same level of temperature elevation in a real diesel engine scale.     

不同浓度比的硫酸根和氯离子溶液中钝化膜的半导体特性转变机制研究

800合金作为核电站蒸汽发生器的一种关键材料,服役环境下其表面钝化膜的特性一直是人们研究的热点. 本文用Mott-Schottky方法研究了800合金在不同硫酸根离子和氯离子浓度比的溶液中钝化膜的半导体特性,并结合电化学阻抗谱（EIS）、扫描电镜（SEM）、扫描电化学显微镜（SECM）研究了钝化膜的耐蚀性和表面活性. Mott-Schottky结果表明,800合金表面钝化膜的半导体特性与溶液中硫酸根、氯离子的浓度比有关,随硫酸根与氯离子浓度比的降低,半导体特性发生转变. 当硫酸根与氯离子的浓度比较高时,钝化膜为p型半导体;而当硫酸根与氯离子的浓度比较低时,钝化膜为n型半导体. EIS、SECM、SEM结果表明,随浓度比的降低钝化膜由过钝化溶解转为明显的点蚀特征,钝化膜表面活性增加. 钝化膜特性的改变与其半导体类型的转变密切相关,而半导体特性的转变由氯离子、硫酸根离子在800合金钝化膜表面的竞争吸附所致,其在表面的竞争吸附直接影响钝化膜表面发生的化学反应,改变电极/溶液界面电势差,使钝化膜中的空位类型改变,最终决定半导体类型.     

不同浓度比的硫酸根和氯离子溶液中钝化膜的半导体特性转变机制研究

800合金作为核电站蒸汽发生器的一种关键材料,服役环境下其表面钝化膜的特性一直是人们研究的热点.本文用Mott-Schottky方法研究了800合金在不同硫酸根离子和氯离子浓度比的溶液中钝化膜的半导体特性,并结合电化学阻抗谱(EIS)、扫描电镜(SEM)、扫描电化学显微镜(SECM)研究了钝化膜的耐蚀性和表面活性.Mott-Schottky结果表明,800合金表面钝化膜的半导体特性与溶液中硫酸根、氯离子的浓度比有关,随硫酸根与氯离子浓度比的降低,半导体特性发生转变.当硫酸根与氯离子的浓度比较高时,钝化膜为p型半导体;而当硫酸根与氯离子的浓度比较低时,钝化膜为n型半导体.EIS、SECM、SEM结果表明,随浓度比的降低钝化膜由过钝化溶解转为明显的点蚀特征,钝化膜表面活性增加.钝化膜特性的改变与其半导体类型的转变密切相关,而半导体特性的转变由氯离子、硫酸根离子在800合金钝化膜表面的竞争吸附所致,其在表面的竞争吸附直接影响钝化膜表面发生的化学反应,改变电极/溶液界面电势差,使钝化膜中的空位类型改变,最终决定半导体类型.     

Transition-Metal-Free TEMPO Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols to Carbonyls Using an Efficient Br2 Equivalent under Mild Conditions

An effective transition‐metal‐free catalytic system is developed for aerobic oxidations of alcohols. Using catalytic amount of bromide‐bromate coupling, H₂SO₄, and NaNO₂, together with 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine N‐oxyl radical (TEMPO) in the presence of air, various alcohols could be converted into the corresponding aldehydes or ketones in good to excellent isolated yields under mild conditions.     

Effect of Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin and Culture Conditions on Production of Bacterial l-Asparaginase,an Oncolytic Enzyme

l-asparaginase is a widely used cancer chemotherapy enzyme. The source for the enzyme with this property is mainly bacterial and its synthesis is strongly regulated by oxygen. In this study, we utilized two recombinant systems: one carried the gene (vgb) for the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb), a protein of prokaryotic origin which confers a highly efficient oxygen uptake to its host and the other carried the l-asparaginase gene (ansB). The host bacteria were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of these three bacteria, all gram-negative, E. coli and its recombinant strain showed up to sevenfold higher l-asparaginase activity in lactose than in other carbon sources. Although, in this bacterium glycerol was the poorest source for l-asparaginase synthesis, it supported the highest biomass production. In glucose medium, l-asparaginase activity of E. aerogenes was about threefold higher than its vgb and ansB recombinants. ansB recombinant showed significantly higher enzyme levels than both host and vgb recombinants in glycerol and lactose media. In this bacterium, VHb/vgb clearly caused a decrease in the enzyme synthesis under all conditions. As seen for E. aerogens, glycerol was the most favorable carbon source for P. aeruginosa and its vgb strain in terms of both l-asparaginase synthesis and biomass production. The cultures grown in glycerol had more than two- and threefold biomass than in glucose and lactose, respectively, and up to elevenfold than in mannitol. Indeed, the highest biomass production for all bacteria and their recombinants was in glycerol. The VHb/vgb system is clearly advantageous for production of l-asparaginase in P. aeruginosa. The same, however, does not hold true for E. aerogenes.     

Easy Ruthenium-Catalysed Oxidation of Primary Amines to Nitriles under Oxidant-Free Conditions

A dehydrogenation of primary amine to give the corresponding nitrile under oxidant- and base-free conditions catalysed by simple [Ru(p-cym)Cl₂]₂ with no extra ligand is reported. The system is highly selective for alkyl amines, whereas benzylamine derivatives gave the nitrile product together with the imine in a ratio ranging from 14:1 to 4:1 depending on the substrate. Preliminary mechanistic investigations have been performed to identify the key factors that govern the selectivity.     

Binding and Removal of Aluminum Ions in Waters by an Algal Biomass

Abstract

A preliminary study on the binding and removal of trace concentrations of aluminum ions in waters by two species of algae, Chlorella Pyrenoidosa and Chlorella Vulgaaris, were investigated. Binding by the former was minimal over all pH ranges, but binding by the latter was effective with a maximum binding of 68% occurring at pH 5. Binding was lowered drastically below pH 2, and this may be used to remove aluminum from the algae. Optimum binding occurred after 20 minutes exposure time of algae to aluminum solution and 450 mg algae mass to 100 mL solution. Binding was reproducible and more efficient in waters with low suspended solids. High salt concentrations interfere with binding, and the Chlorella Vulgaris could be reused 7 times with washings between each binding before a noticeable decrease in binding efficiency was found.     

Calcium Hypochlorite as an Efficient Reagent for Oxidation of Urazoles under Mild Heterogeneous Conditions

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry -     

Response of ferrogels subjected to an ac magnetic field

When a ferrogel, which is chemically cross-linked polymer networks swollen with a ferrofluid, consisting of magnetic particles having nonlinear characteristics is subjected to an alternating current (ac) magnetic field, the magnetic response will generally consist of ac fields at frequencies of the higher-order harmonics. By using a perturbation approach, we investigate nonlinear ac responses of ferrogels, under an ac magnetic field either coupled with a dc magnetic field or not. It is shown that it is possible to detect the volume fraction and shape of particles in ferrogels by measuring such ac responses. Our results are very well understood in spectral representation and are favorably compared with the experimental observations of suspensions being beyond ferrogels.     

Carbon Dioxide Reduction to Methylamines under Metal‐Free Conditions

The first metal‐free catalysts are reported for the methylation of amines with carbon dioxide. Proazaphosphatrane superbases prove to be highly active catalysts in the reductive functionalization of CO₂, in the presence of hydroboranes. The new methodology enables the methylation of N? H bonds in a wide variety of amines, including secondary amines, with increased chemoselectivity.     

Access to Enantiomerically Pure P-Stereogenic Primary Aminophosphine Sulfides under Reductive Conditions

Stereochemically pure phosphines with phosphorus-heteroatom bonds and P-centered chirality are a promising class of functional building blocks for the design of chiral ligands and organocatalysts. A route to enantiomerically pure primary aminophosphine sulfides was opened through stereospecific reductive C−N bond cleavage of phosphorus(V) precursors by lithium in liquid ammonia. The chemoselectivity of the reaction as a function of reaction time, substrate pattern, and chiral auxiliary was investigated. In the presence of exclusively aliphatic groups bound to the phosphorus atom, all competing reductive side reactions are totally prevented. The absolute configurations of all P-stereogenic compounds were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Their use as synthetic building blocks was demonstrated. The lithium salt of (R)-BINOL-dithiophosphoric acid proved to be a useful stereochemical probe to determine the enantiomeric purity. Insights into the coordination mode of the lithium-based chiral complex formed in solution was provided by NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations.     

Addition of Nucleophiles to Fragment Ions in Mass Spectrometers under Electrospray-Ionization Conditions

Mass spectra of several aromatic compounds containing an amino or thiol group were recorded under electrospray conditions with a Finnigan TSQ 700, as well as on a Bruker Esquire-LC spectrometer. The MS/MS spectra displayed two main peaks: the first one arising from the cleavage of the amino or thiol group; the second one appeared at 18 Da higher than the first one. It could be shown that the second peak resulted from a nucleophilic addition of one water molecule to the fragment ion.