Kinetics of grafting acrylonitrile onto starch

Acrylonitrile (AN) was graft copolymerized onto gelatinized and granular wheat starch in aqueous media in the presence of ceric ammonium nitrate initiator at 91-364 anhydroglucose units (AGU) per cerium (IV) and at 1.08-4.33 AN to AGU ratios. Molecular weights and dispersities of polyacrylonitrile side chains were determined by gel-permeation chromatography. Conversion-time plots of AN polymerizations in both gelatinized and granular starch systems show characteristics common to heterogeneous polymerizations that could be explained on the basis of buried polymer radicals. The rates of polymerizations were directly related to the square root of the corrected cerium(IV) concentration and to the 1.3 power of the AN concentration. Graft copolymerization of AN onto starch, at least during initial stages, is not suitably explained by a kinetic scheme involving termination by polymer radical with cerium(IV) ion.     

Kinetic study of anhydride formation during thermal degradation of isotactic and atactic polymethacrylic acid

A kinetic study of anhydride formation in isotactic and atactic polymethacrylic acids (PMA) has been performed at about 200° using a vacuum thermobalance. The results obey first order kinetics and show that the rate of water loss is about four times higher for the isotactic PMA than for the atactic isomer. The activation energies are almost identical (42 ± 1 kcal per mole); it is concluded that the arrangement of neighbouring carboxyl groups is more favourable for the formation of a cyclic anhydride by intramolecular reaction in the case of the isotactic PMA.     

Mass spectra of benzotriazinones and the first loss of 28 mass units

Mass spectra of five benzotriazinone derivatives are reported and the fragmentation mechanisms are discussed. That the first loss of 28 mass units is a nitrogen molecule appears to be characteristic of the molecules.     

The determination of all the platinum group elements and gold in rocks and ore by neutron activation analysis after preconcentration by a nickel sulphide fire-assay technique on large samples

The noble metals are inhomogeneously distributed in sulphide ores and their host rocks. It is therefore necessary to analyse large sample sizes to obtain representative analyses. A nickel sulphide fire assay technique has been adapted to extract the noble metals from a large sample size (50 g) into a nickel sulphide button. Subsequently the fire assay button is dissolved in hydrochloric acid and the solution is filtered. The noble metal residue retained on the filter paper is analysed quantitatively by i.n.a.a. techniques. This method is rapid, relatively inexpensive and has better sensitivities for all the noble metals than other analytical techniques.     

Fabrication and characterization of high-temperature microreactors with thin film heater and sensor patterns in silicon nitride tubes

In this paper the fabrication and electrical characterization of a silicon microreactor for high-temperature catalytic gas phase reactions, like Rh-catalyzed catalytic partial oxidation of methane into synthesis gas, is presented. The microreactor, realized with micromachining technologies, contains silicon nitride tubes that are suspended in a flow channel. These tubes contain metal thin films that heat the gas mixture in the channel and sense its temperature. The metal patterns are defined by using the channel geometry as a shadow mask. Furthermore, a new method to obtain Pt thin films with good adhesive properties, also at elevated temperatures, without adhesion metal is implemented in the fabrication process. Based on different experiments, it is concluded that the electrical behaviour at high temperatures of Pt thin films without adhesion layer is better than that of Pt/Ta films. Furthermore, it is found that the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and the resistivity of the thin films are stable for up to tens of hours when the temperature-range during operation of the microreactor is below the so-called "burn-in" temperature. Experiments showed that the presented suspended-tube microreactors with heaters and temperature sensors of Pt thin films can be operated safely and in a stable way at temperatures up to 700 degrees C for over 20 h. This type of microreactor solves the electrical breakdown problem that was previously reported by us in flat-membrane microreactors that were operated at temperatures above 600 degrees C.     

Influence of neutral cyclodextrin concentration on plate numbers in capillary electrophoresis

A quantitative theory of plate number N in capillary electrophoresis was developed for buffers containing neutral cyclodextrins (CDs) capable of forming inclusion complexes. In the theory, N was modeled by longitudinal diffusion, injection extent, width of the detection window, and the detector time constant. The apparent mobility was modeled as a weighted sum of the mobilities of the free-solution analyte and the inclusion complex. The apparent diffusion coefficient was modeled as a similarly weighted sum. Both the apparent mobility and diffusion coefficient were corrected by functions that compensated for increases of buffer temperature caused by Joule heat. The experimental N's and apparent mobilities of neutral thiourea and of the anions, dansyl D- and L-leucine, dansyl D- and L-aspartic acid, benzoate, and 4-nitrophenolate, were determined in buffers containing from 0 to 15 mM beta-CD. The binding constants, and mobilities and diffusion coefficients of the free-solution analyte and inclusion complex, were calculated as regression coefficients by fitting theory to these determinations. The regression coefficients were shown to have physicochemical meaning, as assessed by literature values, independent measurements, and theoretical predictions. The assessment showed the Nernst-Einstein equation does not relate mobilities and diffusion coefficients at the electrolyte concentration used. The interdependence of mobilities, diffusion coefficients, binding constants, and other dispersion sources was interpreted to evaluate the factors affecting the variation of N with CD concentration. From the interpretation, an approximate equation for N in low-concentration CD buffers was derived. The equation depends on free-solution and inclusion-complex mobilities and diffusion coefficients, the binding constant, the potential difference over the effective capillary length, and the number of plates in a CD-free buffer.     

Strategies for locating disulfide bonds in a monoclonal antibody via mass spectrometry

The location of the disulfide bonds in a recombinant monoclonal antibody was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS). A non-reduced Endoproteinase Lys-C (Endo Lys-C) digest of the antibody was analyzed directly by MALDI-TOFMS. The sample was then reduced on-plate by depositing dithiothreitol (DTT) on the sample spot and re-analyzed by MALDI-TOFMS. The disulfide bonds were assigned based on the disappearance of certain mass ions in the non-reduced digest and the appearance of product ions in the reduced digest. A rapid LC/ESI-MS protocol was also developed to determine the location of the disulfide bonds. The peptides generated from the Endo Lys-C digest of the antibody were partially separated on a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column by utilizing a steep gradient and analyzed by ESI-MS. The masses of the partially resolved peptides were determined by deconvoluting the mass spectra.     

Structural studies of some body-centered cubic phases of mixed oxides involving Bi2O3: The structures of Bi25FeO40 and Bi38ZnO60

The structures of the compounds initially reported to be 7·Bi₂O₃·ZnO and 96·Bi₂O₃·4Fe₂O₃, have been determined by X ray methods. Three dimensional, absorption corrected diffractometer data were used and atomic parameters were refined by least-squares procedures. The structures are isomorphous, cubic witha = 10.194(3)and10.179(3)A?, respectively, and space group I23. Each Bi³⁺ ion is surrounded by five oxygen atoms that form an incomplete octahedral arrangement with BiO distances ranging from 2.07–2.60A?. The6s²inert electron pair completes the octahedron. The Bi³⁺ ions are vibrating anisotropically. Tetrahedral sites in the structures contain 61 and 46 electrons, respectively. These values are consistent with a statistical distribution of Zn²⁺ and Bi⁵⁺ ions or Fe³⁺ and Bi⁵⁺ ions on these sites. Molar ratios are derived that agree with the observed distributions of electron density and give rise to perfectly stoichiometric systems, devoid of cationic or anionic vacancies. The compositions studied correspond to Bi³⁺₂₄Bi⁵⁺Fe³⁺O₄₀ and Bi³⁺₃₆Bi⁵⁺₂ZnO₆₀ and they are optical enantiomorphs.It is proposed that a reduction in the percentage composition of Bi₂O₅ leads to metastable phases, in which all atomic positions remain fully occupied but some tetrahedral sites contain Bi³⁺ ions. The end product of the series is γ-Bi₂O₃ in which 50% of these sites contain Bi³⁺ and the remainder Bi⁵⁺ ions. We believe that γ-Bi₂O₃ is Bi³⁺₂₅Bi⁵⁺O₄₀.     

Folic acid analogs. Modifications in the benzene-ring region. 5. 2′,6′-diazafolic acid

The synthesis of 2′,6′-diazafolic acid was accomplished by the condensation of 2-acetylamino-4(3H)pteridinone-6-earboxaldehyde (XIV) with diethyl N-[(5-amino-2-pyrimidinyl)carbonyl]-L-glutamate (XIII) followed by reduction of the anil double bond and alkaline hydrolylic cleavage of the N²-acetyl and ethyl ester protecting groups. Intermediate XIII was prepared by starling with 5-nitro-2-styrylpyrimidine (VI) and proceeding via 5-arnino-2-styrylpyrimidine (IX). The henzyloxycarbonyl derivative of IX was prepared and oxidized to the corresponding 5-benzyloxycarbonylaminopyrimidine-2-carboxylic acid (XI). The coupling of XI with diethyl L-glutamate followed by hydrogenolysis of the henzyloxycarbonyl function afforded the desired intermediate XIII. 2′,6′-Diazafolic acid was a potent inhibitor of Streptococcus faecium and displayed marginal activity against leukemia 1,1210 in mice.