Bioluminescent reporter bacteria detect contaminants in soil samples

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Reporter strains of bacteria were tested using soil samples from several sites near a leaking fuel oil storage facility. The reporter bacteria utilized the...     

Imaging of the formerly bonded area of individual fibre to fibre joints with SEM and AFM

Besides the determination of the force and the energy needed to break individual fibre to fibre joints, the investigation of the formerly bonded area (FBA) is of essential importance to learn more about the failure mechanisms of fibre–fibre bonds in general. In this study the surfaces of paper fibres and the FBA of fibre–fibre joints after the determination of the breaking force as well as the bonding energy were analysed by means of low voltage scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. A comparison between the contact zone of fibres broken at different loading rates as well as under cyclic loading showed that there seems to be no significant difference in the appearance of the FBA in these cases. Only minor delamination of the cell wall could be found in the bonding zone, which indicates no mechanical interlocking of fibrils in the bonding zone. Furthermore, it is shown that some glues used for specimen preparation of fibre–fibre bond strength measurement are forming a glue film on the fiber surface and migrate into the bonding region.     

Synthese und Kristallstrukturen der Nitrido‐Chloro‐Molybdate [Mg(THF)4{NMoCl4(THF)}2] · 4 CH2Cl2 und [Li(12‐Krone‐4)(NMoCl4)]2 · 2 CH2Cl2

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of the Nitrido‐chloro‐molybdates [Mg(THF)₄{NMoCl₄(THF)}₂] · 4 CH₂Cl₂ and [Li(12‐Crown‐4)(NMoCl₄)]₂ · 2 CH₂Cl₂ Both the title compounds as well as [Li(12‐crown‐4)₂]⁺MoNCl₄^– were made from MoNCl₃ and the chlorides MgCl₂ and LiCl, respectively, in dichloromethane suspensions in the presence of tetrahydrofuran and 12‐crown‐4, respectively. They form orange‐red moisture‐sensitive crystals, which were characterized by their IR spectra and partly by crystal structure analyses. [Mg(THF)₄{NMoCl₄(THF)}₂] · 4 CH₂Cl₂ ( 1 ): space group C2/m, Z = 2, lattice dimensions at –50 °C: a = 1736.6(1), b = 1194.8(1), c = 1293.5(2) pm; β = 90.87(1)°; R₁ = 0.037. In 1 the magnesium ion is coordinated octahedrally by the oxygen atoms of the four THF molecules and in trans‐position by the nitrogen atoms of the two [N≡MoCl₄(THF)]^– ions. [Li(12‐crown‐4)(NMoCl₄)]₂ · 2 CH₂Cl₂ ( 2 ): space group P 1, Z = 1, lattice dimensions at –70 °C: a = 930.4(1), b = 957.9(1), c = 1264.6(1) pm; α = 68.91(1)°, β = 81.38(1)°, γ = 63.84(1)°; R₁ = 0.0643. 2 forms a centrosymmetric ion ensemble in the dimeric cation of which, i. e. [Li(12‐crown‐4)]₂²⁺, the lithium ions on the one hand are connected to the four oxygen atoms each of the crown ether molecules in a way not yet known; and in addition, each of the lithium ions enters into a intermolecular Li–O bond with neighboring crown ether molecules under formation of a Li₂O₂ four‐membered ring. The two N≡MoCl₄^– counterions are loosely coordinated to one oxygen atom each of the crown ether molecules with Mo–O distances of 320.2 pm.     

Konstitution und absolute Konfiguration der Rhoeadin-Alkaloide (+)-Alpinigenin und (+)-cis-Alpinigenin

The constitution and absolute configuration of the rhoeadine alkaloids (+)-alpinigenine and (+)-cis-alpinigenine. The fundamental structure of the hemi-acetal phenylbenzazepine alkaloid (+)-alpinigenine ( 1 ), isolated from Papaver bracteatum LINDL ., was derived essentially from ¹H-NMR.- and mass-spectra of 1 and its derivatives 7, 10 and 14 (cf. Scheme 2). The positioning of the four methoxy groups in the two aromatic rings could be deduced from the ¹H-NMR.-spectra of the N-oxides 14 and 15 in which, as a result of favourable sterical and conformational behaviour, an interaction exists between the N-oxide oxygen atom and one of the two ortho protons in ring C. The B/D-trans-fused 1 undergoes isomerization in 1N HCl to cis-alpinigenine ( 16 ). A stereochemical correlation between bases in the trans-and cis-series was enabled via an Emde degradation of the corresponding methylacetal-methyliodides 21 resp. 19 leading to the enantiomeric isochroman derivatives 22 resp. 23 which are achiral at C (2) (Scheme 4). The configuration at C (14) in the hemi-acetals (eg. 1 and 16 ) and the methyl ethers (eg. 7 and 8 ) is discussed in detail (cf. Scheme 7). (+)-Alpinigenine ( 1 ) has the (1S, 2R, 14R) configuration and (+)-cis-alpinigenine ( 16 ), in chloroform or acetone solution, the (1R, 2R, 14R) configuration.