Interaction of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) with methyl orange and its homologs in aqueous solution over the temperature range 60–90°c

The binding of methyl orange, ethyl orange, propyl orange, and butyl orange by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) has been examined by a technique of equilibrium dialysis over a high temperature range (60–90°C). The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters in the course of the binding were evaluated. The results obtained at these temperatures were compared to those at lower ones (5–35°C) described previously in order to estimate the contribution of hydrophobic bonds to the binding. It was found that at the 60–90°C range complex formation between the dye and the macromolecule is associated with an exothermic enthalpy change and a positive entropy change. The enthalpy and entropy changes of the binding are of the order of ?4.5 kcal/mole and 6 eu, respectively, for each dye measured. Thus the binding is mainly enthalpy-controlled. Furthermore the effect of the alkyl chain length of the dye on both the ΔH° and ΔS° values is not pronounced. Also temperature dependences of the ΔH° and ΔS° terms were not observed. All these observations in the higher temperature range can be explained as a result of the disruption of water structure in the binding environment and hence a decrease in hydrophobic bond formation between the dye and the polymer.     

Electrochemical Detection of Asymmetric PCR Products by Labeling with Osmium Tetroxide

Single stranded DNA‐targets from asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of a sequence of the gram positive, spore forming bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum were detected by square‐wave voltammetry after labeling with osmium tetroxide bipyridine and hybridization with DNA capture probes immobilized on gold electrodes. The asymmetric PCR, performed with a 10‐fold excess of the forward‐primer, was used without any further purification for hybridization with protective strands and covalent labeling with osmium tetroxide bipyridine. Square‐wave voltammetric signals of 20 nmol/L targets were significantly higher at 50 °C compared with 23 °C hybridization temperature. A fully noncomplementary protective strand yielded thoroughly modified targets unable for further hybridization. Coupling this with thermal discrimination opens new opportunities for sequence specific DNA detection.     

Kinetic of Patent Blue VF Adsorption from Aqueous Solution on Activated Bone Charcoal

The effect of temperature of activation on bone charcoal, used as adsorbent for the removal of Patent Blue VF from water solutions was studied. The adsorbent was characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDS. The kinetic of adsorption of dye was carried out at 10 °C and 45 °C. Carbonization temperature (600–1000 °C) of the adsorbent has significant effect on the removal of dye from water solutions. The first order kinetic, Elovich, Bangham, parabolic diffusion and power function equations were found to fit the kinetic data. Activation energies of adsorption (Δ≠) have higher values for the charcoal activated at high temperatures and the other thermodynamic parameters like ΔH≠, ΔS≠ and ΔG≠ were also found.     

Dynamic light-scattering study of an ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymer and its salt

Dynamic light-scattering experiments were performed on an ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymer and its sodium salt. The in-phase ΔI′ and out-of-phase ΔI″ components of the light scattering were measured in a temperature range between 25 and 65°C for both samples. No transition is seen in this temperature interval for the acid, but a clear transition occurs around 40°C for the salt. This transition is associated with the softening point of the ionic domains present in the sample.     

Temperature dependence on the binding of butyl orange by bovine serum albumin

The binding of 4′-dibutylaminoazobenzene-4-sulfonate anion (butyl orange) by bovine serum albumin has been examined quantitatively by an equilibrium dialysis method at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 35°C. The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters for the formation of the first dye anion-protein complex have been calculated. The peculiar temperature dependence of the first binding constant could be observed. That is, the value of the first binding constant increases with increasing temperature until it reaches a maximum value at approximately 18°C and then decreases with raising temperature. Accordingly, this binding process is exothermic above 18°C and is endothermic below 18°C. Near 18°C the process exhibits athermal reaction. From the thermodynamic data obtained, it is evident that the favorable free energy of the binding is accompanied by an entropy gain and that the enthalpies of the binding vary from a positive (unfavorable) value below 18°C to a negative (favorable) one above 18°C. Furthermore an apparent temperature dependence of the thermodynamic functions was observed. That is, ΔF° becomes larger in absolute magnitude as the temperature increases. The positive quantity of ΔS° tends to decrease with increasing temperature. All these facts can be interpreted satisfactorily in terms of hydrophobic interactions between hydrophobic portions of the dye and nonpolar parts of the albumin.     

Effects of Pressure and pH on the Physical Stability of an I-Motif DNA Structure

The thermodynamic stability of a cytosine(C)-rich i-motif tract of DNA, which features pH-sensitive [C..H..C]⁺ moieties, has been studied as function of both pressure (0.1–200 MPa) and pH (3.7–6.2). Careful attention was paid to correcting citrate buffer pH for known variations that stem from changes in pressure. Once pH-corrected, (i) at pH >4.6 the i-motif becomes less stable as pressure is increased (K_D decreases), giving a small negative volume change for dissociation (Δ_DV°) of the i-motif – a conclusion opposite to that which would be drawn if the buffer pH was not corrected for the effects of pressure; (ii) the i-motif's melting temperature increases by more than 30 K between pH 6.5 and 4.5, the consequence of an enthalpy for dissociation (Δ_DH°) of 77(3) and 90(3) kJ (mol H⁺)⁻¹ at 0.1 and 200 MPa, respectively; (iii) below pH 4.6 at 0.1 MPa (pH 4.3 at 200 MPa) the melting temperature decreases as a result of double protonation of cytosine pairs, and Δ_DH° and Δ_DV° change signs; and (iv) the combination of Δ_DH° and Δ_DV° lead to the melting temperature at pH 4.3 being 3 K higher at 200 MPa than at 0.1 MPa.     

Equilibrium anionic polymerization of β-methoxypropionaldehyde

Anionic polymerization of β-methoxypropionaldehyde (MPA) was carried out in tetrahydrofuran (THF) by using benzophenone–monolithium complex as an initiator. An equilibrium between polymerization and depolymerization was observed at a temperature range of ?90 to ?70°C. From the temperature dependence of the equilibrium monomer concentration, thermodynamic parameters for the polymerization of MPA in THF were evaluated as follows: ΔH_ss = ?4.8 ± 0.2 kcal/mole, ΔH_SS = ?22.4 ± 1.3 cal/mole-deg, and (T_c)_ss = ?59°C. The thermodynamic change upon the conversion of liquid monomer to condensed polymer was computed from both the partial mixing energy of MPA with THF and the linear relationship between the equilibrium volume fraction of MPA monomer and that of the resulting polymer: ΔH_1c = ?4.7 ± 0.2 kcal/mole, ΔS_1c = ?19.5 ± 1.3 cal/mole-deg, and (T_c)_1c = ?35°C.     

The synthesis and some properties of nylon 4,T

The synthesis of nylon 4,T from tetramethylenediamine and a terephthalic acid derivative was studied in a two step-process: prepolymerization, followed by postcondensation in the solid state (4 h, 290°C). The prepolymers were prepared by the nylon salt method, ester polymerization method, interfacial method, and a low temperature solution method. A maximum η_inh of 1.52 was obtained. From a solution in trifluoroacetic acid, films were cast and on these films we studied its IR spectrum, WAXS, and melting behavior with DSC. A boiled up sample had a double melting transition at 434 and 475°C and a ΔH₀ of 130 J/g.     

Stress-optical behavior of cycloaliphatic polyesters

Stress-strain-birefringence measurements were carried out on elastomeric networks of poly(oxymethylene-1,4-cis-cyclohexylenemethyleneoxysebacoyl) at several temperatures between 5 and 80°C. The dependence of both the birefringence Δn and the true stress f/A on temperature was found to be linear for T > 30°C; for T < 30°C an anomalous increase in the birefringence and a sharp decrease in the stress was observed. This behavior suggests that crystallinity is developed in the strained networks at low temperatures, and the crystallites are oriented in the direction of the elongation. Values of the optical configuration parameter Δa ranged from 9.15 to 8.28 in units of 10²⁴ cm³ in the temperature range studied. The value at 40°C of 10²⁴Δa, obtained from experiments performed on swollen networks, amounted to 7.47 cm³. These results suggest that intermolecular interactions enhance the birefringence of the strained networks. The quantities Δa and d In Δa/dT were calculated by using the valence optical scheme. Although the calculations reproduce the temperature coefficient fairly well, the theoretical values of Δa are smaller than the experimental ones. The agreement between theory and experiment is better assuming that the CH₂CH₂? COOCH₂ segment is freely rotating.     

Temperature dependence of molecular motions in bulk polystyrene

Time-resolved optical spectroscopy is used to investigate the reorientation of three rigid probes and one labeled chain in bulk polystyrene. Orientational correlation times for these probes and labels are found to be in the range of 10^?8–10^?10 s at temperatures of 180–300°C. Consistent with previous studies, the attachment of a chromophore into the chain backbone slows its dynamics by about an order of magnitude. The temperature dependences of the correlation times are similar to the temperature dependence of the viscosity. When combined with probe reorientation times near and below T_g, these results indicate that probe reorientation tracks the temperature dependence of the viscosity quite well over twelve decades in time. In contrast, literature results for the translational diffusion of similarly sized probes indicates a substantially weaker temperature dependence near T_g. Thus it appears that a fundamental change in the mechanism of probe motion occurs near T_g. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Highly fluorinated liquid crystals with wide nematic phase interval and good solubility

A series of new liquid crystal compounds with both ethylene and difluoromethyleneoxy linking groups have been synthesised and their physical properties were measured. The compounds exhibit lower melting points and broader nematic mesophase temperature range than that of corresponding four-rings compound. Their anisotropic properties are Δε of about 25 and Δn of 0.135. The investigation shows that their solubilities are much better than that of reference compound. A mixture made by equivalent mass ratio of the compounds with side chain of ethyl, propyl and pentyl is found to keep nematic phase from 12°C°C to 109°C, which is rarely observed in highly fluorinated liquid crystals.     

Investigation of the hybrid molecular probe for intracellular studies

Monitoring gene expression in vivo is essential to the advancement of biological studies, medical diagnostics, and drug discovery. Adding to major efforts in developing molecular probes for mRNA monitoring, we have recently developed an alternative tool, the hybrid molecular probe (HMP). To optimize the probe, a series of experiments were performed to study the properties of HMP hybridization kinetics and stability. The results demonstrated the potential of the HMP as a prospective tool for use in both hybridization studies and in vitro and in vivo analyses. The HMP has shown no tendency to produce false positive signals, which is a major concern for living cell studies. Moreover, HMP has shown the ability to detect the mRNA expression of different genes inside single cells from both basal and stimulated genes. As an effective alternative to conventional molecular probes, the proven sensitivity, simplicity, and stability of HMPs show promise for their use in monitoring mRNA expression in living cells. Figure Hybrid molecular probe (HMP). HMPs consist of two single strands of DNA (green) and a polyethylene glycol (PEG, purple) linker that is used to tether these two sequences together. When a target (orange strand) containing the complementary sequences to both probes at adjacent positions is added, each strand binds to its corresponding target sequence, thus bringing the two fluorophores into close proximity, which allows energy transfer to occur     

The Study of Separation and Thermodynamics of Adsorption of the Enantiomers of Ethofumasate on a Modified Cellulose

Abstract

Cellulose and cellulose derivatives are biopolymers that are often used as stationary phases for the separation of enantiomers. Describing the mechanism of such separations is a difficult task due to the complexity of these phases. In the present study, direct enantiomeric resolution of ethofumesate has been achieved, using hexane as the mobile phase with various alcoholic modifiers on cellulose tri(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase (CDMPC CSP). The influence of the mobile phase composition and the column temperature on the chiral separation was studied. It was found that at a constant temperature and within a certain range of alcohol modifier concentration, the conformation of the polymeric phase, and the selective adsorption sites were not affected by alcohol modifier concentration. The type and the concentration of the alcoholic modifiers influenced the retention factor and the separation factor. Ethofumesate gained the best enantioseparation using sec‐butanol as alcoholic modifier at 25°C with α‐value 1.70. And the separation factor decreased with the increase of the column temperature. The van't Hoff plots were linear (R ²>0.96) for ethofumesate from 25°C to 50°C. That showed the enantioselective interactions do not change over the temperature range studied. Furthermore the values of ΔH° and ΔS° were both negative, which indicated an enthalpy‐driven separation. And the possible chiral recognition mechanism of the analyte and CDMPC was discussed. It was found that hydrogen bonding plays an important role on enantioseparation of CDMPC CSP. The inclusion and fitness of solute shape in the chiral cavity significantly contributed to the enantioseparation of solute.     

Temperature-rise fractionation of poly(3-alkyl thiophenes)

In this article, we have investigated a temperature-rise fractionation procedure for poly(3-hexyl thophene) (P3HT) and poly(3-octyl thophene) (P3OT) that provides well-defined molecular weight (MW) fractions with improved molecular weight distributions (MWD) when compared with Soxhlet extraction. This process involves dispersing the material over C18-boned silica stationary phase in a jacketed column and using incremental rises in column temperature (T_col) to gradually improve solvent quality and selectively dissolve higher molecular weight samples with a narrow polydispersity (PDI). Fractionation of P3HT with ΔT_col = 5 °C in methylene chloride (MC) yielded 7 fractions ranging from M_p of 20 to 53 kg/mol with an average PDI of 1.80 compared with a mother sample of 3.10. Predominant recovery of P3HT was acquired for fractions with T_col > 20 °C (30 wt %). Subsequent separation of P3OT in methylene chloride, with a reduced ΔT_col of 3 °C per fraction, due to increased solubility from the longer alkyl chain, generated 8 fractions with a weight range of M_n = 22 to 57 kg/mol with an mean PDI of 1.23 with the mother sample having PDI = 2.34, demonstrating the tunability of this method. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2547–2555, 2009     

Temperature dependence of the activation volume in a nonlinear optical polymer: Evidence for chromophore reorientation induced by sub-Tg relaxations

Second harmonic generation (SHG) was used to measure the temperature dependence of the reorientation activation volume of 4-(diethylamino)-4′-nitrotolane (DEANT) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The decay of the SHG signal from films of DEANT/PMMA was recorded at hydrostatic pressures up to 3060 atm and at different temperatures between 25°C below the glass transition temperature to 35°C above it. The activation volume, ΔV*_αβ associated with the long range α-type motion of the polymer remained constant at 213 ± 10 ų between T_g − 25°C and T_g + 10°C. At higher temperatures, ΔV*_αβ decreased linearly with increasing temperature. The activation volume, ΔV*_αβ, associated with short range secondary relaxations was constant over the entire temperature range with a value of 77 ± 10 ų. The data suggest that above T_g chromophore reorientation is coupled to both the long range and local motions of the polymer; whereas, well below T_g chromophore reorientation is closely coupled to the local relaxations of the polymer. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 901–911, 1998     

Equilibrium anionic polymerization of 4,7-dioxaoctanal and n-octanal

Equilibrium anionic polymerization of 4,7-dioxaoctanal (DOA) and n-octanal (OA) was carried out in tetrahydrofuran in the temperature range of ?90 to ?68°C, and thermodynamic parameters were evaluated as follows: ΔH_ss = ?4.0 ± 0.1 kcal/mole, ΔS_ss = ?18.4 ± 0.5 cal/mole-deg, and T_c,ss = ?56°C for the DOA system; ΔH_sc = ?3.4 ± 0.1 kcal/mole, ΔS_sc = ?15.7 ± 0.4 cal/mole-deg, and T_c,sc = ?59°C for the OA system. Comparison of these values with those in the cases of β-methoxypropionaldehyde and n-valeraldehyde made it clear that the aliphatic aldehyde having a longer alkyl group polymerizes with smaller changes of enthalpy and entropy and that the polar-substituted aldehydes have higher polymerizability than the corresponding unsubstituted aliphatic aldehydes in the temperature range studied. These effects of substituents are interpreted from the viewpoint of the intermolecular interactions of polar groups in monomers and their polymers.     

A new look at the crystallization of polyethylene. III. Crystallization from the melt at high supercoolings

Polyethylene melts normally cannot be crystallized in an isothermally controlled manner below ca. 110°C as crystallization is too fast owing to the presence of preexisting nuclei. We here present a new simple method for producing droplets enabling crystallization to be conducted isothermally down to 75°C and allowing measurements to be performed on them, together with the results of these measurements. We conclude that in contrast to the earlier claims the homogeneous nucleation regime has not been attained even at these low temperatures, the crystal nucleation being dominated by the polymer-substrate interface. The droplets crystallized at these low temperatures have a lamellar morphology as revealed by electron microscopy and grow at rates exceeding 1 m s^?1 [i.e., six orders of magnitude faster than growth at more usual crystallization temperatures previously considered as “low” (110–120°C)]. We have measured the lamellar thickness l as a function of growth temperature, thus extending the fundamentally important l vs. ΔT (supercooling) relation beyond the previously realizable limits towards high ΔT values. The implications of all these results for the existing ideas of polymer crystallization are likely to be far reaching. Further, the new method for achieving high supercoolings opens up new possibilities for the study of annealing phenomena and the effect of nucleating agents.     

Investigation of poly(trans-1,4-butadiene) crystals using the spin-probe method

The spin-probe technique has been employed to study the nature of the surface regions of poly(trans-1,4-butadiene) crystals grown from dilute heptane and toluene solutions. The narrowing of the ESR spectrum of the nitroxide radical probe added to the PTBD crystals and the activation energy for the rotational motion of the probes were found to very with the crystallization solvent and annealing temperature; in every case heptane-grown crystals showed a higher line narrowing temperature and activation energy than toluene grown crystals. Annealing at 80°C raised the narrowing temperature and the activation energy for crystal preparations from both solvents used, but annealing at high temperatures, near to but below the melting point, lowered both parameters again. These results support earlier assertions, based on infrared spectra, surface epoxidation, differential scanning calorimetry, broad-line nuclear magnetic resonance, and dynamic mechanical results concerning the nature and location of the amorphous regions in PTBD crystals.     

Studies on the thermal behavior and decomposition kinetic of drugs cetirizine and simvastatin

Understanding the response of drugs and their formulations to thermal stresses is an integral part of the development of stable medicinal products. In the present study, the thermal degradation of two drug samples (cetirizine and simvastatin) was determined by differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) and simultaneous thermogravimetery/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) techniques. The results of TG analysis revealed that the main thermal degradation for the cetirizine occurs during two temperature ranges of 165–227 and 247–402 °C. The TG/DTA analysis of simvastatin indicates that this drug melts (at about 143 °C) before it decomposes. The main thermal degradation for the simvastatin occurs during two endothermic behaviors in the temperature ranges of 238–308 and 308–414 °C. The influence of the heating rate (5, 10, 15, and 20 °C min^?1) on the DSC behavior of both the drug samples was verified. The results showed that as the heating rate was increased, decomposition temperatures of the compounds were increased. Also, the kinetic parameters such as activation energy and frequency factor for the compounds were obtained from the DSC data by non-isothermal methods proposed by ASTM E696 and Ozawa. Based on the values of activation energy obtained by ASTM E696 method, the values of activation energy for cetirizine and simvastatin were 120.8 and 170.9 kJ mol^?1, respectively. Finally, the values of ΔS ^#, ΔH ^#, and ΔG ^# of their decomposition reaction were calculated.     

Potentiometric and Thermodynamic Studies of Some Metal–Cysteine Complexes

A new and simple potentiometric method is developed to determine the stability constants of cysteine complexes with Mn(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Ce(III) metal ions using a modified Bjerrum method. Potentiometric titrations were performed in water and water/dioxane mixtures at five different temperatures. The least and highest stable complexes were those of Cu(II) and Zn(II), respectively. Furthermore, by conducting the experiments at temperatures of 15, 20, 25, 35, and 45 °C, the thermodynamic parameters ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG° for the pertinent complexes were calculated. The results show that the ΔH° values of the complexes are positive except for Zn(II). Negative values of ΔG° are evidence for the spontaneity of the reactions.