Electrospray mass spectrometry of borane salts: The electrospray needle as an electrochemical cell

Two borane salts ([(Me)₄N][B₃H₈] and Cs[B₃H₈]) were examined by electrospray mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode. Acetonitrile solutions provided the most informative spectra; the salts exhibited a remarkable degree of clustering under electrospray conditions, and virtually all signals corresponded to cationic cluster ions of the general formula {[cation ^m+] _x [anion ^n?] _y }^{(mx ? ny)+}. In contrast, methanol solutions of these salts produced only B(OCH₃) ₄ ^? cluster ions under otherwise identical conditions. ¹¹B NMR analyses corroborate the identities of the methanol solution species that enter the electrospray source and the reaction product generated during the electrospray process.     

One-dimensional photonic crystal design

In this article we present a method to determine the band spectrum, band gaps, and discrete energy levels, of a one-dimensional photonic crystal with localized impurities. For one-dimensional crystals with piecewise constant refractive indices we develop an algorithm to recover the refractive index distribution from the period map. Finally, we derive the relationship between the period map and the scattering matrix containing the information on the localized modes.     

Polar decompositions and related classes of operators in spaces ∏κ

Polar decompositions with respect to an indefinite inner product are studied for bounded linear operators acting on a space. Criteria are given for existence of various forms of the polar decompositions, under the conditions that the range of a given operatorX is closed and that zero is not an irregular critical point of the selfadjoint operatorX ^[*]X. Both real and complex spaces are considered. Relevant classes of operators having a selfadjoint (in the sense of the indefinite inner product) square root, or a selfadjoint logarithm, are characterized.The work of this author was partially supported by INdAM-GNCS and MURSTThe work of this author was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-9988579.     

Excitation pulse deconvolution in luminescence lifetime analysis for oxygen measurements in vivo

Oxygen-dependent quenching of phosphorescence has been proven to be a valuable tool for the measurement of oxygen concentrations both in vitro and in vivo. For biological measurements the relatively long lifetimes of phosphorescence have promoted time-domain-based devices using xenon arc flashlamps as the most common excitation light source. The resulting complex form of the excitation pulse leads to complications in the analysis of phosphorescence lifetimes and ultimately to errors in the recovered pO2 values. Although the problem has been recognized, the consequences on in vivo phosphorescence lifetime measurements have been neglected so far. In this study, the consequences of finite excitation flash duration are analyzed using computer simulations, and a method for the recovery of phosphorescence decay times from complex photometric signals is presented. The analysis provides an explanation as to why different calibration constants are reported in the literature and presents a unified explanation whereby calibration constants are not solely a property of the dye but also of the measuring device. It is concluded that complex excitation pulse patterns without appropriate analysis methods lead to device-specific calibration constants and nonlinearity and can be a potent source of errors when applied in vivo. The method of analysis presented in this article allows reliable phosphorescence lifetime measurements to be made for oxygen pressure measurements and can easily be applied to existing phosphorimeters.     

The EC networking on elemental speciation revisited

In Europe, the EC-funded Thematic Network Speciation 21 was instrumental in disseminating the existing knowledge about chemical speciation of trace elements. It created a forum in which analytical chemists working in method development were mixed with potential users from industry and representatives of legislative bodies. This endeavour is continuing in the currently established European Virtual Institute for Speciation Analysis (EVISA). Although there already exists substantial know-how in Europe for the speciation of a number of substances, such as organo-arsenic, organo-tin and organo-mercury compounds, to name just these three groups, there is an urgent need to enforce the analytical potential in speciation analysis on a much wider scope of compounds capable of providing data of a suitable quality. The ensuing need for quality assurance of the analytical procedures requires the analysis of representative reference materials, certified for the relevant species. Last but not least, where applicable, the European-wide legislation should be adapted to focus on toxic species of the elements, rather than the total element.Presented at BERM-9—Ninth International Symposium on Biological and Environmental Reference Materials, June 15–19, 2003, Berlin, Germany. Disclaimer The opinions expressed in the present article are entirely those of the authors. They do not represent the opinion of the European Community.     

Vortex fluctuations in underdoped Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) crystals

Vortex thermal fluctuations in heavily underdoped Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) (T(c)=69.4 K) are studied using Josephson plasma resonance. From the zero-field data, we obtain the c-axis penetration depth lambda(L,c)(0)=230+/-10 micrometer and the anisotropy ratio gamma(T). The low plasma frequency allows us to study phase correlations over the whole vortex solid state and to extract a wandering length r(w) of vortex pancakes. The temperature dependence of r(w) as well as its increase with dc magnetic field is explained by the renormalization of the vortex line tension by the fluctuations, suggesting that this softening is responsible for the dissociation of the vortices at the first order transition.     

Electron delocalization in cross-conjugated p-phenylenevinylidene oligomers

The synthesis, structure, and electronic properties of a series of cross-conjugated p-phenylenevinylidene oligomers with one to four double bonds are reported. The X-ray crystal structure of the compound with two double bonds reveals a nonplanar conformation with torsion angles about the C(phenylene)-C(vinylidene) and C(phenyl)-C(vinylidene) formal single bonds of 39.5(2) degrees and 30.5(2) degrees, respectively. Admixture of quinoid character in the ground state is observed. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy do not provide a clear picture of the degree of electron delocalization in the series, since the C=C stretching mode does not adequately reflect the C=C bond order and has a local nature. In contrast, electronic spectra and electrochemical data, as well as AM1 and PPP/SCF calculations, reveal that the cross-conjugated compounds basically behave as linearly pi-conjugated systems in the sense that molecular orbitals are delocalized over the entire structure and systematically change in energy. The electronic interaction between the repeating units is, however, not very strong, which has the consequence that spatial extension of the molecular orbitals does not lead to a red shift of the highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) electronic transition. This is related to the feature that the modest narrowing of the HOMO-LUMO gap with the chain length is accompanied by a relatively large reduction of electron repulsion. This finding implies that care should be taken in the use of electronic spectra for the evaluation of conjugation phenomena.     

Rigid pyridyl substituted NHC ligands,their Pd(0) complexes and their application in selective transfer semihydrogenation of alkynes

The synthesis of an air‐stable series of Pd⁰ complexes with unsymmetric bidentate N‐pyridine N‐heterocyclic carbene ligands has been described. The carbenes were generated by synthesis of the silver(I) complexes from the imidazolium salts, followed by transmetallation of the C‐N ligands to obtain the target electron‐rich zerovalent palladium compounds. The bidentate coordination behaviour of the ligands was confirmed by ¹H, ¹³C NMR and X‐ray spectroscopy. The complexes are active precatalysts for the selective transfer semihydrogenation of alkynes to Z‐alkenes, with selectivities up to 99%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A SEROLOGICAL STUDY OF REMOVAL OF UV-INDUCED PHOTOPRODUCTS IN THE DNA OF TETRANYMEN A PYRIFORMIS GL: INFLUENCE OF CAFFEINE, QUINACRINE AND CHLOROQUINE

Abstract—Antisera that recognize specifically UV-photoproducts in DNA have been used to follow the elimination of photolesions in UV irradiated Tetrahymena pyriformis . The amount of bound tritiumlabelled antibodies to nuclei has been estimated by autoradiography. Curves of dose-response of DNA photoproducts, their elimination by dark repair, and effect of caffeine, quinacrine and chloroquine on the disappearance of UV-lesions have been evaluated.