Radiation graft post-polymerization of sodium styrene sulfonate onto polyethylene

Post-irradiation grafting of sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) in the presence of acrylic acid (AA) has been investigated on polyethylene (PE) pre-exposed to gamma radiation at room temperature in the air. Special attention was paid to the effect of low molecular weight salt additives on the kinetics of graft copolymerization of SSS and AA. The presence of SSS links in the grafted PE copolymers was detected by the methods of UV and FTIR spectroscopy. Based on the FITR spectroscopy and element analysis data, a mechanism was proposed for graft copolymerization of SSS and AA onto PE. The mechanical properties of the graft copolymers were studied. It was established that PE copolymers grafted with sulfonic acid and carboxyl groups have higher strength characteristics (16.3 MPa) compared to the samples containing only carboxyl groups (11 MPa).     

Procedure of determination of volatile trihalomethanes in human urine with pervaporation and gas chromatography

This work presents the development of a novel procedure for the determination of trihalomethanes (THMs) in human urine samples based on: (1) pervaporation (PV) of analytes from urine samples as a convenient analyte isolation/enrichment technique; (2) direct aqueous injection of the extracts onto the column of a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector (DAI-GC-ECD). Basic parameters of the new PV-DAI-GC-ECD procedure were evaluated. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range examined. Intermediate precision of the procedure was good, at the same level of about 20% for all analytes. The method detection limits were below 0.10?µg?L^?1 for all analytes. The enrichment factors did not differ significantly for water and urine samples, indicating little or no matrix effects.     

Induction of Motion in a Synthetic Molecular Machine: Effect of Tuning the Driving Force

Rotaxane molecular shuttles were studied in which a tetralactam macrocyclic ring moves between a succinamide station and a second station in which the structure is varied. Station 2 in all cases is an aromatic imide, which is a poor hydrogen‐bond acceptor in the neutral form, but a strong one when reduced with one or two electrons. When the charge density on the hydrogen‐bond‐accepting carbonyl groups in station 2 is reduced by changing a naphthalimide into a naphthalene diimide radical anion, the shuttling rate changes only slightly. When station 2 is a pyromellitimide radical anion, however, the shuttling rate is significantly reduced. This implies that the shuttling rate is not only determined by the initial unbinding of the ring from the first station, as previously supposed. An alternative reaction mechanism is proposed in which the ring binds to both stations in the transition state.     

On the role of longitudinal momenta in high energy hadron-hadron scattering

We demonstrate a new method to calculate inelastic scattering cross-sections, which in contrary to the Regge-based methods takes into account the energy momentum conservation law. It is shown that the main contribution to integral expressing inelastic scattering cross-sections does not come from the multi-Regge domain. In particular, accounting for the longitudinal momenta contribution to virtualities is sufficient and results in the new mechanism of cross-section growth. The reasons for taking into account the sufficiently high number of interference contributions are shown and the approximate method for this purpose is developed. By fitting single free parameter of the model achieved a qualitative agreement of the total and inelastic cross sections with experimental data.     

Thermal properties of mixed-ligand magnesium complexes with beta-diketonates and diamimes as potential MOCVD precursors

The series of adducts of magnesium beta-diketonates with diamimes namely Mg(thd)₂(tmeda) 1 and four new complexes Mg(thd)₂(tmpda) 2, Mg(thd)₂(pda) 3, Mg(ptac)₂(tmeda) 4, Mg(tfac)₂(tmeda) 5 [beta-diketonates = R₁C(O)CHC(O)R₂: thd (R₁ = R₂ =  ^t Bu), ptac (R₁ =  ^t Bu, R₂ = CF₃), tfac (R₁ = Me, R₂ = CF₃); diamines = R₂N(CH₂) _n NR₂: tmeda (n = 2, R = Me), tmpda (n = 3, R = Me), pda (n = 3, R = H)] were synthesized in order to investigate the influence of both ligand types on the thermochemical properties of these compounds. The thermal behavior of the complexes in the condensed phase was investigated by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry; the thermodynamic parameters of phase transitions were determined. The saturated vapor pressure of solid complexes Mg(thd)₂(tmeda) and Mg(tfac)₂(tmeda) were measured by the transmission method giving the enthalpies and entropies of sublimation processes. The reliable thermodynamic data for compound Mg(thd)₂(tmeda) were obtained with the assistance of X-ray diffraction and the static method of saturated and unsaturated vapor pressure measurements.     

Tumor suppressor Fhit protein interacts with protoporphyrin IX in vitro and enhances the response of HeLa cells to photodynamic therapy

Fhit, the product of tumor suppressor fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene, exhibits antitumor activity of still largely unknown cellular background. However, it is believed that Fhit-Ap(3)A or Fhit-AMP complex might act as a second class messenger in cellular signal transduction pathway involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis. We demonstrate here for the first time that the photosensitizer, protoporphyrin IX (which is a natural precursor of heme) binds to Fhit protein and its mutants in the active site in vitro. Furthermore, PpIX inhibits the enzymatic activity of Fhit. Simultaneously, PpIX shows lower binding capacity to mutant Fhit-H96N of highly reduced hydrolase activity. In cell-based assay PpIX induced HeLa cell death in Fhit and Fhit-H96N-dependent manner which was measured by means of MTT assay. Moreover, HeLa cells stably expressing Fhit or mutant Fhit-H96N were more susceptible to protoporphyrin IX-mediated photodynamic therapy (2J/cm(2)) than parental cells.     

PalladiumII and platinumII complexes with heteroditopic 10-(aryl)phenoxarsine (aryl = 2-C6H4OR, R = H, Me, Pr(i)) ligands: solvent-oriented crystallization of cis isomers

The synthesis and characterization of 10-(o-alkoxyphenyl)phenoxarsines 2-ROC6H4As(C6H4)2O (R = H, Me, and Pri, As(C6H4)2O = phenoxarsine) and their platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes cis-[PtCl2{2-PriOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (1), trans-[PdCl2{2-PriOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (2), cis-[PtCl2{2-HOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (3), cis-[PdCl2{2-HOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (4), cis-[PtI2{2-MeOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (5), and trans-[PdCl2{2-MeOC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs}2] (6) are reported. The chelate complex cis-[Pt{2-OC6H4As(C6H4)2O-kappaAs,O}2] (7) is also described. The molecular structures of 1-4 and 7 were determined. The short As...O intramolecular interaction found in complexes 1-4 in the solid state was also verified by calculations at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level for complex 2 and for 10-(o-isopropoxyphenyl)phenoxarsine in the gas phase, and this suggests that the interaction is a characteristic of the ligand rather than a packing effect. Calculations at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ and Oniom(B3LYP/LANL2DZ:uff) levels for complexes 1-4 showed that the solvent plays a crucial role in the crystallization (through geometry constraints) of the kinetically stable cis isomers.     

Structure reassignment and absolute configuration of 9-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol

Reevaluation of ¹³C NMR data in combination with X-ray diffraction and VCD studies led us to reassign the structure of (−)-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol (1), isolated from Anemia tomentosavar.anthriscifolia, to (−)-9-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol (2) and to establish its absolute configuration as 1S,4S,7R,8R,9S.     

Highly sensitive detection of five typical fluoroquinolones in low‐fat milk by field‐enhanced sample injection‐based CE in bubble cell capillary

Fluoroquinolones are a group of synthetic antibiotics with a broad activity spectrum against mycoplasma, Gram‐positive, and Gram‐negative bacteria. Due to the extensive use of fluoroquinolones in farming and veterinary science, there is a constant need in the analytical methods able to efficiently monitor their residues in food products of animal origin, regulated by Commission Regulation (European Union) no. 37/2010. Herein, field‐enhanced sample injection for sample stacking prior the CZE separation was developed inside a bubble cell capillary for highly sensitive detection of five typical fluoroquinolones in bovine milk. Ethylenediamine was proposed as the main component of BGE for the antibiotics separation. The effect of BGE composition, injection parameters, and water plug length on the field‐enhanced sample injection‐based CE with UV detection was investigated. Under the optimized conditions, described field‐enhanced sample injection‐based CE‐UV analysis of fluoroquinolones provides LODs varying from 0.4 to 1.3 ng/mL. These LOD values are much lower (from 460 to 1500 times) than those obtained by a conventional CE in a standard capillary without bubble cell. The developed method was finally applied for the analysis of fluoroquinolones in low‐fat milk from a Swiss supermarket. Sample recovery values from 93.6 to 106.0% for different fluoroquinolones, and LODs from 0.7 to 2.5 μg/kg, were achieved. Moreover, the proposed ethylenediamine‐based BGE as volatile and compatible with MS system, enabled the coupling of the field‐enhanced sample injection‐based CE with a recently introduced electrostatic spray ionization MS via an iontophoretic fraction collection interface for qualitative fluoroquinolones identification.     

The role of medium radiation dose on microbiological safety and shelf-life of some traditional soups

Irradiation at medium doses in combination with cryogenic condition along the process to ensure the safety, quality and to extend the shelf-life of prepared meals have been investigated. Semi-concentrated black, ox-tail, chicken vegetable and chicken sweet corn soups were individually packed in a dry laminate pouch of PET 12 μ/LDPE adh.2 μ/Al–foil 7 μ/LDPE adh/LLDPE (C₄) 50 μ under vacuum followed by freezing for 24 h at −18 °C prior to irradiation with doses of 1, 3, 5 and 7 kGy at cryogenic condition (−79 °C), respectively. Both the non-irradiated and irradiated prepared meals were then stored in refrigerator at 5±2 °C. Non-irradiated and the irradiated samples at 1 kGy were mostly damaged after a week of storage. Gamma irradiation at doses of 5–7 kGy for the soups could reduce microbial load by about 2–3 log cycles, respectively, without affecting the physical–chemical parameters and palatability within 2–3 months while the unirradiated samples could only withstand for 1 month storage time.