Reduction of hexavalent chromium at solid electrodes in acidic media: reaction mechanism and analytical applications

The electrochemical detection of hexavalent chromium species was investigated. It was found that Cr(VI) can undergo chemically irreversible reduction in acidic solutions at gold, glassy carbon and boron-doped diamond electrodes. The process was found to be diffusionally controlled at all three electrodes studied. The response obtained at a gold electrode towards the reduction of chromium(VI) produced an electrochemically reversible wave in contrast to those recorded at glassy carbon and boron-doped diamond electrodes. The analytical response of the hexavalent species was studied at gold electrodes in the presence of common environmental interferences: Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺ and Triton X-100 (surfactant), with an LoD of 4.3 μM obtained in the presence of 5 mM Cr(III).     

N,N'-Ethylenedi-L-cysteine (EC) and Its Metal Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Crystal Structures, and Equilibrium Constants

N,N'-ethylenedi-L-cysteine (EC) and its indium(III) and gallium(III) complexes have been synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures of the ligand and the complexes have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. EC.2HBr.2H(2)O (C(8)H(22)Br(2)N(2)O(6)S(2)) crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2 with a = 12.776(3) ?, b = 13.735(2) ?, c = 5.1340 (10) ?, Z = 2, and V = 900.9(3) ?(3). The complexes Na[M(III)EC].2H(2)O (C(8)H(16)MN(2)O(6)S(2)Na) are isostructural for M = In and Ga, crystallizing in the tetragonal space group P4(2)2(1)2 with the following lattice constants for In, (Ga): a = 10.068(2) ?, (9.802(2) ?), b = 10.068(2) ?, (9.802(2) ?), c = 14.932(2) ?, (15.170(11) ?), Z = 4 (4), and V = 1513.6(5) ?(3), (1457.5(11) ?(3)). In both metal complexes, the metal atoms (In and Ga) are coordinated by six donor atoms (N(2)S(2)O(2)) in distorted octahedral coordination geometries in which two sulfur atoms and two nitrogen atoms occupy the equatorial positions, and the axial positions are occupied by two oxygen atoms of two carboxylate groups. The structures of the complexes previously predicted by molecular mechanics are compared with the crystal structures of the Ga(III) and In(III) complexes obtained experimentally. In contrast to the oxygen donors in phenolate-containing ligands, such as 1,2-ethylenebis((o-hydroxyphenyl)glycine) (EHPG) and N,N'-bis(o-hydroxybenzyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (HBED), the thiolate donors of EC enhances affinity for In(III) relative to Ga(III). The following stability sequence has been obtained: In(III) > Ga(III) > Ni(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II) > Pb(II) > Co(II). Evidence was also obtained for several protonated and hydroxo species of the complexes of both divalent and trivalent metals, where the corresponding protonation constants (K(MHL)) decrease with increasing stability of the chelate, ML(n)(-)(4), where M(n)()(+) represent the metal ion.     

Development of a graduate curriculum in nuclear and radiochemistry and the research interactions with US Department of Energy national laboratories

Summary In the past few years there has been renewed worldwide interest in the re-establishment of various nuclear and radiochemistry disciplines in the hope of training the next generation of skilled researchers in this area. In the United States there continues to be an acute shortage of MSc and PhD level trained students, particularly at the Department of Energy national laboratories. As a result of this critical need the Department of Energy established a Radiochemistry Education Award Program (REAP) in the late 1990's to address this issue. Several universities were awarded funding to establish various complimentary programs. One of the main goals of the REAP at the University of Texas was to establish a web-based graduate level course with associated labs and to have interactions with the national laboratories.     

Discovery of a quorum sensing modulator pharmacophore by 3D small-molecule microarray screening

The screening of large arrays of drug-like small-molecules was traditionally a time consuming and resource intensive task. New methodology developed within our laboratories provides an attractive low cost, 3D microarray-assisted screening platform that could be used to rapidly assay thousands of compounds. As a proof-of-principle the platform was exploited to screen a number of quorum sensing analogs. Quorum sensing is used by bacterium to initiate and spread infection; in this context its modulation may have significant clinical value. 3D microarray slides were probed with fluorescently labeled ligand-binding domains of the LuxR homolog CarR from Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora. The 3D microarray platform was used to discover the biologically active chloro-pyridine pharmacophore, which was validated using a fluorometric ligand binding assay and ITC. Analogs containing the chloro-pyridine pharmacophore were found to be potent inhibitors of N-acyl-homoserine-lactone (AHL) mediated quorum sensing phenotypes in Serratia (IC(50) = ～5 μM) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (IC(50) = 10-20 μM).