Hydrophobic hydration of some different types of quaternary ammonium bromides in mixtures of water andN,N-dimethylformamide

Enthalpies of solution of methyltributylammonium bromide, tetraethanolammonium bromide, and three azoniaspiroalkane bromides in binary solvent mixtures of water and N,N-dimethylformamide have been measured calorimetrically at 298.15^oK over the whole mole fraction range. The results are interpreted in terms of a simple hydration model with two parameters and compared with those of the corresponding tetraalkylammonium bromides. Enthalpic studies with different types of quaternary ammonium bromides are useful in reexamining the assumptions and limitations of the hydration model.     

Laser spectroscopy in analytical chemistry:light on the next millennium

To date, lasers are widely accepted tools in analytical spectroscopy, involved in various stand-alone and hyphenated techniques. Furthermore, significant progress can be noted in this field. In this paper, first of all some laser characteristics are discussed. Subsequently, five selected topics are outlined to illustrate recent achievements and future developments:

1. Laser-induced fluorescence for detection in capillary electrophoresis, including the use of ultraviolet, continuous-wave lasers in combination with wavelength-resolved emission detection; the use of diode laser-induced fluorescence in the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum and the use of Ti:sapphire lasers for multiphoton-excited fluorescence detection.

2. Degenerate four-wave mixing for detection in liquid microseparation systems (based on the coherence of laser light).

3. Fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy for identification purposes, a cryogenic high-resolution molecular fluorescence technique with a high potential in environmental analysis.

4. Recent developments in Raman spectroscopy (including ultraviolet-Resonance Raman and hyphenation of liquid chromatography and Raman spectroscopy).

5. Use of lasers for sample introduction in inorganic analysis based on controlled material ablation.

Influence of multivalent ions on power production from mixing salt and fresh water with a reverse electrodialysis system

Reverse electrodialysis is a membrane-based technique for production of sustainable electricity from controlled mixing of a diluted electrolyte solution (e.g., river water) and a concentrated electrolyte solution (e.g., sea water). Reverse electrodialysis has been investigated with pure sodium chloride solutions. In practice, however, in most cases also other ions are present in both feed solutions. In the present paper, the effect of multivalent ions on the performance of a reverse electrodialysis stack was investigated. Results show that, besides a higher stack resistance in presence of multivalent ions, especially the presence of multivalent ions in the dilute solution has a lowering effect on the stack voltage. This can be explained by an observed transport of these ions from the diluted electrolyte solution to the concentrated electrolyte solution. In order to prevent or hamper this transport against the activity gradient, monovalent-selective membranes can be used. This shows indeed better results with respect to the stack voltage. Therefore, it would be beneficial to use monovalent-selective membranes in reverse electrodialysis, especially in the case of a relatively high content of multivalent ions in the dilute (i.e., in the first stages of the installation where the sodium chloride content in the dilute is still relatively low).     

Characterization of a phosphorylated peptide and peptoid and peptoid-peptide hybrids by mass spectrometry

Nano-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (nano-ES-MS/MS) was used to record collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of a set of peptoid-peptide hybrids and the complete peptoid derived from the phosphopeptide Ac-pTyr-Glu-Thr-Leu-NH(2) (1). The presence of B and Y'-type fragment ions in the tandem mass spectra of the protonated molecular ions [M + H](+) allowed confirmation of sequence similar to mass spectrometric sequence analysis in peptides. In the isomeric peptoid compounds studied, one or several amino acid residues were replaced by peptoid residues (N-substituted glycine residues), which resulted in characteristic tandem mass spectra with differently increased relative abundances of Y'-and B-type fragment ions. The increment of a particular Y'-ion was directly correlated to the position of a peptoid residue present. In addition to these increased peak intensities, other characteristic peaks were also observed compared with the spectrum of reference peptide 1. When a peptoid phosphotyrosine was incorporated, the presence of this residue was apparent from the occurrence of a relatively intense peak at m/z 187 representing the positively charged side-chain of phosphotyrosine, which was almost absent in the spectrum of the reference peptide 1. Since the threonine side-chain had to be translated into the homo peptoid analog this substitution was apparent from the presence of [M + H](+) and fragment ions 14 mass units higher than observed in the spectrum of the reference phosphopeptide 1. The presence of an NLeu peptoid residue could be confirmed by the specific fragmentation of the immonium ion showing an intense peak in its tandem mass spectrum at m/z 57, which results from the loss of an neutral imine molecule leading to a positively charged [C(4)H(9)](+) ion. By means of these mass spectrometric characteristics, all isomeric peptoid compounds could be distinguished from each other and characterized. The methods used appear to be very useful in future studies of peptoids and peptoid-peptide hybrids.     

Metastable ion formation and disparate charge separation in the gas-phase dissection of protein assemblies studied by orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The dissection of specific and nonspecific protein complexes in the gas phase is studied by collisionally activated decomposition. In particular, the gas phase dissection of multiple protonated homodimeric Human Galectin I, E. Coli Glyoxalase I, horse heart cytochrome c, and Hen egg Lysozyme have been investigated. Both the Human Galectin I and E. Coli Glyoxalase I enzymes are biologically active as a dimer, exhibiting molecular weights of approximately 30 kDa. Cytochrome c and Lysozyme are monomers, but may aggregate to some extent at high protein concentrations. The gas phase dissociation of these multiple protonated dimer assemblies does lead to the formation of monomers. The charge distribution over the two concomitant monomers following the dissociation of these multiple protonated dimers is found to be highly dissimilar. There is no evident correlation between the solution phase stability of the dimeric proteins and their gas-phase dissociation pattern. Additionally, in the collisionally activated decomposition spectra diffuse ion signals are observed, which are attributed to monomer ions formed via slow decay of the collisionally activated dimer ions inside the reflectron time-of-flight. Although, the formation of these diffuse metastable ions may complicate the interpretation of collisionally activated decomposition mass spectra, especially when studying noncovalent protein complexes, a simple mathematical equation may be used to reveal their origin and pathway of formation.     

Time resolved Raman spectroscopy for depth analysis of multi‐layered mineral samples

Time resolved Raman spectroscopy (TRRS) can provide subsurface information from multi‐layered samples of transparent and translucent evaporative and silicate minerals up to several centimetres thick. Depth information was obtained using 3‐ps pulsed laser excitation at 720 nm and a gated intensified charge‐coupled device detector with stepwise increasing delay times. Blocks of different minerals were used as first, second or third layers, and Raman spectra from deeper layers could be detected through 10 mm of translucent calcite and up to 40 mm of transparent halite crystals. Measurements by conventional confocal Raman, as well as spatially offset Raman spectroscopy were also successful in distinguishing different mineral layers. This study establishes the great potential for the use of Raman spectroscopy in future planetary exploration, where TRRS could be used as a non‐invasive tool for profiling the (sub‐)surface at millimetre‐depth resolution. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Printable optical sensors based on H-bonded supramolecular cholesteric liquid crystal networks

A printable H-bonded cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) polymer film has been fabricated that, after conversion to a hygroscopic polymer salt film, responds to temperature and humidity by changing its reflection color. Fast-responding humidity sensors have been made in which the reflection color changes between green and yellow depending on the relative humidity. The change in reflection band is a result of a change in helix pitch in the film due to absorption and desorption of water, resulting in swelling/deswelling of the film material. When the polymer salt was saturated with water, a red-reflecting film was obtained that can potentially act as a time/temperature integrator. Finally, the films were printed on a foil, showing the potential application of supramolecular CLC materials as low-cost, printable, battery-free optical sensors.     

Direct spectroscopic evidence of 8- and 9-fold coordinated europium(III) species in H(2)O and D(2)O

In the present paper a detailed analysis of high-resolution luminescence spectra of Eu(III)-H(2)O species in frozen aqueous solution (T = 5 K) is presented. From the total luminescence spectra (TLS, excitation vs emission) and the luminescence decay matrixes (time vs emission), fundamental species-selective spectroscopic parameters are determined: excitation wavelength λ(exc), decay time τ, crystal field energy splitting ΔE (crystal field strength parameter N(ν)(B(2q))), crystal field parameters B(20) and B(22), asymmetry ratio r, and point symmetry group. The spectroscopic findings clearly show the presence of two distinct Eu(III) aquo species. Samples prepared with different counterions (Cl(-), ClO(4)(-)) and at different pH values (2 and 5) yielded comparable results. Furthermore, in D(2)O solutions the same two species were found, with similar spectral properties but much longer decay times. On the basis of the spectroscopic analysis, the two species were attributed to 8- and 9-fold coordinated Eu(III) aquo ions.     

Functional organic materials based on polymerized liquid-crystal monomers: supramolecular hydrogen-bonded systems

Functional organic materials are of great interest for a variety of applications. To obtain precise functional properties, well-defined hierarchically ordered supramolecular materials are crucial. The self-assembly of liquid crystals has proven to be an extremely useful tool in the development of well-defined nanostructured materials. We have chosen the illustrative example of photopolymerizable hydrogen-bonding mesogens to show that a wide variety of functional materials can be made from a relatively simple set of building blocks. Upon mixing these compounds with other reactive mesogens, nematic, chiral nematic, and smectic or columnar liquid-crystalline phases can be formed that can be applied as actuators, sensors and responsive reflectors, and nanoporous membranes, respectively.