Influence of the central metal on the crystal structures and electronic structures of biferrocene trinuclear complexes

Five metal-bridged biferrocene complexes of the Schiff-base ligand (HL = S-benzyl-N-(ferrocenyl-1-methyl-methylidene)dithiocarbazate) have been studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the complexes show that the central metal ions are tetra-coordinated by two ligands in two modes: the central d⁸ transition metal ions (Ni²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Pt²⁺) are nearly square-planar coordinated and the d¹⁰ transition metal ions (Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) are tetrahedrally coordinated. Interestingly, the isomer shifts in ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy are also of two kinds: d⁸ transition metal ions (0.097-0.247 mm/s) and d¹⁰ transition metal ions (0.416-0.435 mm/s).     

Metabolite identification of artemether by data-dependent accurate mass spectrometric analysis using an LTQ-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer in combination with the online hydrogen/deuterium exchange technique

Artemether (ARM), the O-methyl ether prodrug of dihydroartemisinin (DHA), is a first-line antimalarial drug used in areas of multi-drug resistance. Artemisinin drugs can be metabolized extensively in vivo and this seems related to their autoinduction pharmacokinetics. In the present study, the metabolite identification of ARM was performed by the generic data-dependent accurate mass spectrometric analysis, using high-resolution (HR) liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) LTQ-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer in conjunction with online hydrogen (H)/deuterium (D) exchange for rapid structural characterization. The LC separation was improved allowing the separation of ARM parent drugs and their metabolites from their diastereomers. A total of 77 phase I metabolites of ARM were identified in rat liver microsomal incubates and rat urine, including dihydroartemisinin and artemisinin. In rat bile, 12 phase II metabolites were found. Accurate mass data were obtained in both full scan and HR-MS/MS mode to support assignments of metabolite structures. Online H/D exchange LC/HR-ESI-MS experiments provided additional evidence in differentiating dihydroxylated deoxy-ARM from mono-hydroxylated ARM. The results showed the main phase I metabolites of artemether are hydroxylated, dehydro, demethylated and deoxy products, and they will undergo subsequent phase II glucuronidation processes. Most metabolites were reported for the first time. This study also demonstrated the effectiveness of high-resolution mass spectrometry in combination with an online H/D exchange LC/HR-MS(n) technique in rapid identification of drug metabolites.     

低氧含量KAlF4:Ce3+制备、表征及荧光性质的研究

采用乙二醇回流法合成了复合氟化物KAlF4和KAlF4:Ce3+纳米粒子,并利用X射线衍射(XRD),透射电子显微镜(TEM),X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等技术对其结构、形貌、粒径大小以及表面含氧量进行了表征.结果表明,采用回流法在适当的反应条件下可制得单一晶相的KAJF4和KAlF4:Ce3+纳米粒子,其平均粒径为32.5nm.KAlF4的O1s的XPS分峰谱图表明,其表面只有一种氧种为化学吸附氧(α氧),且表面氧的含量小于5%.KAlF4:Ce3+的发射光谱中最大发射峰位于330nm处,归属于Ce3+的5d→4f跃迁.     

Using a TEMPO-based fluorescent probe for monitoring oxidative stress in living cells

Generation of too many reactive oxygen species (ROS) in relation to available antioxidants in living cells can cause oxidative stress, which is involved in the development and progression of several serious diseases. 2',7'-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCFH) and its diacetate form, DCFH-DA, are widely used probes for monitoring general oxidative stress in cells, but DCFH oxidation is not always related to ROS. We report here a new method for quantifying cellular oxidative stress using a 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl- piperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-based probe. We tested and verified the probe both in cell-free solutions and in living cells under conditions of increased or reduced oxidative stress. The probe revealed the oxidative stress status in living cells and may be a useful complement to DCFH fluorescent probes.     

Preparation of Ag nanoparticle-decorated poly(m-phenylenediamine) microparticles and their application for hydrogen peroxide detection

The chemical oxidation polymerization of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) by ammonium persulfate (APS) at room temperature results in the formation of poly(m-phenylenediamine) (PMPD) microparticles. The subsequent treatment of such microparticles with an aqueous AgNO(3) solution produces Ag nanoparticle (AgNP)-decorated PMPD microparticles. It was found that as-formed AgNPs exhibited remarkable catalytic performance toward the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). The enzymeless H(2)O(2) sensor constructed with such composites showed a fast amperometric response time of less than 5 s, and the corresponding linear range and detection limit were estimated to be from 0.1 to 30 mM and 4.7 μM, respectively, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.     

Displacement solid-phase extraction on mercapto-functionalized magnetite microspheres for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric determination of trace noble metals

A flow injection online displacement solid-phase extraction (DSPE) via magnetic immobilization of mercapto-functionalized magnetite microspheres onto the inner walls of a knotted reactor (KR) coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was developed for selective preconcentration and determination of trace noble metals (Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt, Ir and Au) in complex matrices. Online DSPE of 2.7 mL aqueous solution gave the enhancement factors of 32-46 for the six noble metals in comparison with direct nebulization of aqueous sample solution, and the detection limits (3 s) of 2.1 ng L(-1) for Ru, 1.9 ng L(-1) for Rh, 2.5 ng L(-1) for Pd, 1.8 ng L(-1) for Ir, 1.9 ng L(-1) for Pt and 1.7 ng L(-1) for Au. The sample throughput of the developed method was about 20 samples h(-1), and the relative standard deviation for eleven replicate determinations of the noble metals at the 30 ng L(-1) level ranged from 1.2% to 2.1%. The recoveries of Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt, Ir and Au still maintained 90% even after successive 140 cycles of DSPE. The developed method was successfully applied to selective determination of trace Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt, Ir and Au in complex matrices.     

Chiral separation and determination of ofloxacin enantiomers by ionic liquid-assisted ligand-exchange chromatography

A simple and accurate method for the separation and determination of ofloxacin enantiomers was developed by ionic liquid-assisted ligand-exchange high performance liquid chromatography. Both achiral and chiral ionic liquids were tested for their efficiency of ofloxacin enantiomeric separation. The effects of ligands, concentration of metal ion, organic modifier, pH of the mobile phase, and temperature were also investigated and evaluated. Optimal conditions were obtained on a conventional C(18) column, where the mobile phase consisted of methanol/water (20 : 80, v/v) (containing 4.0 mmol L(-1) amino acid ionic liquid and 3.0 mmol L(-1) copper sulfate) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min(-1). Under this condition, the ofloxacin enantiomers could be baseline separated within 14 minutes; the proposed method was used to analyze different commercial ofloxacin medicines.     

Tuning the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects in TiO2 nanocrystals leads to high photocatalytic efficiency

TiO(2) nanocrystals with tunable bulk/surface defects were synthesized and characterized with TEM, XRD, BET, positron annihilation, and photocurrent measurements. The effect of defects on photocatalytic activity was studied. It was found for the first time that decreasing the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects in TiO(2) nanocrystals could significantly improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes, thus significantly enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency.     

Organization of bacteriochlorophylls in individual chlorosomes from Chlorobaculum tepidum studied by 2-dimensional polarization fluorescence microscopy

Chlorosomes are the largest and most efficient natural light-harvesting systems and contain supramolecular assemblies of bacteriochlorophylls that are organized without proteins. Despite a recent structure determination for chlorosomes from Chlorobaculum tepidum (Ganapathy Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2009, 106, 8525), the issue of a possible large structural disorder is still discussed controversially. We have studied individual chlorosomes prepared under very carefully controlled growth condition by a novel 2-dimensional polarization single molecule imaging technique giving polarization information for both fluorescence excitation and emission simultaneously. Contrary to the existing literature data, the polarization degree or modulation depth (M) for both excitation (absorption) and emission (fluorescence) showed extremely narrow distributions. The fluorescence was always highly polarized with M ≈ 0.77, independent of the excitation wavelength. Moreover, the fluorescence spectra of individual chlorosomes were identical within the error limits. These results lead us to conclude that all chlorosomes possess the same type of internal organization in terms of the arrangement of the bacteriochlorophyll c transition dipole moments and their total excitonic transition dipole possess a cylindrical symmetry in agreement with the previously suggested concentric multitubular chlorophyll aggregate organization (Ganapathy Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2009, 106, 8525).     

Determination of emulsion explosives with Span-80 as emulsifier by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A novel approach for identification and determination of emulsion explosives with Span-80 (sorbitol mono-oleate) as the emulsifier and their postblast residues by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been developed. 24 kinds of emulsion explosives collected have been processed by transesterification reaction with metholic KOH solution and the emulsifier has turned into methyl esters of fatty acids. From the peak area ratios of their methyl esters, most of these emulsion explosives can be differentiated. In order to detect the postblast residues of emulsion explosives, the sorbitols in the emulsifier Span-80 obtained after transesterification reaction have been further derivatized by silylation reaction with N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) containing 1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) as the derivatizing reagent. The derivatization conditions were optimized and the derivatives were determined by GC-MS. The results showed that the silylation derivatives of sorbitol and it isomers, combined with hydrocarbon compounds and methyl esters of fatty acids, were the characteristic components for identification of the emulsion explosives. The established approach was applied to analyze the postblast residues of emulsion explosives. It has been found that the method was sensitive and specific, especially when detecting the derivatives of sorbitol and its isomers by GC-MS in selecting ion mode. The information of the characteristic components can help probe the origin of the emulsion explosives and providing scientific evidences and clues for solving the crimes of the emulsion explosive explosion.