Phases in the Ba3Fe1+xS5 series: The structure of β-Ba9Fe4S15 and its low-temperature α polymorph

The crystal structure of β-Ba₉Fe₄S₁₅ shows that it is a phase in the infinitely adaptive series of compounds Ba₃Fe_1+xS₅, 0 ? x ? 1. The material is synthesized by reacting a slightly sulfur-rich mixture at 900°C in a sealed quartz ampoule. Lattice constants are a = 25.212(3), Å, b = 9.594(1), Å, c = 12.575(1), Å, Pnma, z = 4. Three thousand thirty-three structure amplitudes were refined to R = 0.049. BaS₆ trigonal prisms share triangular faces to form infinite columns; the columns in turn share edges and create nearly hexagonal enclosures. Within these rings are additional Ba and S and tetrahedral interstices are created which can be occupied by Fe. The variation of the Fe occupancy from ring to ring gives rise to phases in which one dimension is an integral multiple of the 8.5-Å repeat observed in one end member of the series, Ba₃FeS₅. The other end member is Ba₃Fe₂S₅. At temperatures below 900°C a polymorphic phase is formed. Its lattice constants are a = b = 9.634(1), Å, c = 34.311(3)Å, $\text{I4}{}_1\text{a}\text{, z = 4}$. One thousand five hundred eighty-three structure amplitudes were refined to R = 0.0483. Trigonal prisms and bisdisphenoids articulate to form a complex three-dimensional structure. Two of the S atoms in the structure have statistical site occupancies.     

Spectrofluorimetric Study of an Inclusion Complex of 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin with the Antitumour 11-Methyl Benzophenothiazine. Analytical Application to Urine

The electronic absorption and fluorescence spectral properties of 11-methyl-12H-benzo[a]phenothiazine (11-MeBPHT) were investigated in various media (water, ethanol, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) aqueous solutions). Fluorescence quantum yields were respectively about 20 and 2 times larger in HP-β-CD and β-CD than in water. The formation of a 1:1 stoichiometry inclusion complex between 11-MeBPHT and HP-β-CD (association constant K _f=118±3 M⁻¹ at 20 °C) was studied in aqueous medium by fluorescence spectroscopy. Analytical figures of merit were satisfactory for 11-MeBPHT with linear dynamic ranges over at least two orders of magnitude and limits of detection (LODs) between 0.2 and 1 ng/ml according to the medium. An analytical application to the determination of 11-MeBPHT in human urine samples by the standard addition procedure led to satisfactory recovery percentages (91–108%).     

Effect of flow and surface conditions on human lymphocyte isolation using microfluidic chambers

Phenotypically pure subpopulations of lymphocytes can provide valuable insights into the immune response to injury and disease. The isolation of these subpopulations presents unique challenges, particularly when preprocessing incubation to attach fluorescent or antibody tags is to be minimized. This paper examines the separation of T and B lymphocytes from mixtures using microfluidic chambers coated with antibodies, focusing on flow conditions and surface chemistry. The adhesion of both cell types decreases as shear stress increases irrespective of the surface chemistry. The incorporation of poly(ethylene glycol) chains along with the antibodies on the chamber surface is shown to significantly improve the reproducibility of cell adhesion and is thus an important part of the overall system design. Furthermore, this technique is shown to be an effective way of isolating highly pure subpopulations of lymphocytes from model mixtures, even when the target cell concentration is low.     

Direct observation of an acyl nitroso species in solution by time-resolved IR spectrocopy

Benzoyl nitroside (5) was generated in solution by laser photolysis of 3,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole-4-oxide (4) and studied by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy. The second-order rate constants for reaction of 5 with diethylamine and 1,3-cyclohexadiene were determined to be (1.3 +/- 0.5) x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) and (6.0 +/- 0.5) x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The formation of nitroxyl (HNO), a product of the reaction of 5 with diethylamine, was also observed.     

NMR difference spectroscopy with a dual saddle-coil difference probe

A new difference probe for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is presented. The difference probe uses two saddle-shaped coils to excite and detect two samples simultaneously. The samples are held in a specially modified 3-mm NMR tube with an Ultem plastic disk to separate the samples. The probes resonant circuit contains two crossed diodes that passively switch the relative phase of each coil during the NMR experiment. The result is a difference spectrum from the two samples. The degree of cancellation of common signals was determined to be approximately 90%, and the application of the probe to relaxation-edited difference spectroscopy for identifying protein–ligand interactions was demonstrated using glutathione and glutathione S-transferase binding protein.     

Cobalt cluster-containing carbonyl ylides for catalytic,three-component assembly of oxygen heterocycles

[reaction: see text] A dicobalt hexacarbonyl (Co(2)(CO)(6)) cluster is essential for the unusually broad dipolarophile scope and for the sense and degree of diastereoselection in a catalytic, three-component synthesis of tetrahydrofurans and dihydrofurans. Likely involving a new class of carbonyl ylide, these cycloadditions are stereospecific with respect to the dipolarophile and exhibit high diastereoselectivity and regioselectivity in most cases. Differentiation of all four positions of the tetrahydrofuran can thus be accomplished in a triply convergent manner.     

Coordination-based gold nanoparticle layers

Gold nanoparticle (NP) mono- and multilayers were constructed on gold surfaces using coordination chemistry. Hydrophilic Au NPs (6.4 nm average core diameter), capped with a monolayer of 6-mercaptohexanol, were modified by partial substitution of bishydroxamic acid disulfide ligand molecules into their capping layer. A monolayer of the ligand-modified Au NPs was assembled via coordination with Zr4+ ions onto a semitransparent Au substrate (15 nm Au, evaporated on silanized glass and annealed) precoated with a self-assembled monolayer of the bishydroxamate disulfide ligand. Layer-by-layer construction of NP multilayers was achieved by alternate binding of Zr4+ ions and ligand-modified NPs onto the first NP layer. Characterization by atomic force microscopy (AFM), ellipsometry, wettability, transmission UV-vis spectroscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy showed regular growth of NP layers, with a similar NP density in successive layers and gradually increased roughness. The use of coordination chemistry enables convenient step-by-step assembly of different ligand-possessing components to obtain elaborate structures. This is demonstrated by introducing nanometer-scale vertical spacing between a NP layer and the gold surface, using a coordination-based organic multilayer. Electrical characterization of the NP films was carried out using conductive AFM, emphasizing the barrier properties of the organic spacer multilayer. The results exhibit the potential of coordination self-assembly in achieving highly controlled composite nanostructures comprising molecules, NPs, and other ligand-derivatized components.     

Bioinert solution-cross-linked hydrogen-bonded multilayers on colloidal particles

Bioinert polyelectrolyte multilayers comprised of poly(acrylic acid) and polyacrylamide were deposited on colloidal particles (1.7 microm in diameter) at low pH conditions by layer-by-layer assembly using hydrogen-bonding interactions. The multilayer films were coated uniformly on the colloidal particles without causing any flocculation of the colloids, and the deposited films were subsequently cross-linked by a single treatment of a carbodiimide aqueous solution. The lightly cross-linked multilayer films show excellent stability at physiological conditions (pH 7.4, phosphate-buffered saline), whereas untreated multilayer films dissolved. The multilayer-coated surfaces, both on flat substrates and on colloidal particles, exhibit excellent resistance toward mammalian cell adhesion. With this new solution-based cross-linking method, bioinert H-bonded multilayer coatings offer potential for biomedical applications.     

Enhanced low-temperature CO oxidation on a stepped platinum surface for oxygen pressures above 10(-5) Torr

The rate of CO oxidation has been characterized on the stepped Pt(411) surface for oxygen pressures up to 0.002 Torr, over the 100-1000 K temperature range. CO oxidation was characterized using both temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and in situ soft X-ray fluorescence yield near-edge spectroscopy (FYNES). New understanding of the important role surface defects play in accelerating CO oxidation for oxygen pressure above 10(-5) Torr is presented in this paper for the first time. For saturated monolayers of CO, the oxidation rate increases and the activation energy decreases significantly for oxygen pressures above 10(-5) Torr. This enhanced CO oxidation rate is caused by a change in the rate-limiting step to a surface reaction limited process above 10(-5) Torr oxygen from a CO desorption limited process at lower oxygen pressure. For example, in oxygen pressures above 0.002 Torr, CO(2) formation begins at 275 K even for the CO saturated monolayer, which is well below the 350 K onset temperature for CO desorption. Isothermal kinetic measurements in flowing oxygen for this stepped surface indicate that activation energies and preexponential factors depend strongly on oxygen pressure, a factor that has not previously been considered critical for CO oxidation on platinum. As oxygen pressure is increased from 10(-6) to 0.002 Torr, the oxidation activation energies for the saturated CO monolayer decrease from 24.1 to 13.5 kcal/mol for reaction over the 0.95-0.90 ML CO coverage range. This dramatic decrease in activation energy is associated with a simple increase in oxygen pressure from 10(-5) to 10(-3) Torr. Activation energies as low as 7.8 kcal/mol were observed for oxidation of an initially saturated CO layer reacting over the 0.4-0.25 ML coverage range in oxygen pressure of 0.002 Torr. These dramatic changes in reaction mechanism with oxygen pressure for stepped surfaces are consistent with mechanistic models involving transient low activation energy dissociation sites for oxygen associated with step sites. Taken together these experimental results clearly indicate that surface defects play a key role in increasing the sensitivity of CO oxidation to oxygen pressure.