Effects of cosolvent on formation and morphology of microspheres in precipitation polymerization of divinylbenzene in supercritical carbon dioxide

Precipitation polymerizations of divinylbenzene(DVB) in pure supercritical carbon dioxide,and parallel runs with presence of a cosolvent were carried out.The results showed that use of acetone as the cosolvent contributed greatly to the formation of the monodisperse microspheres.PDVB microspheres,with obviously higher uniformity than reported up to date,were achieved using 6-7 mL of acetone in a reactor of 50 mL with DVB concentration of 0.4 mol/L under 16 MPa,a much lower pressure than previously reported without use of cosolvent.     

Platinum nanoparticle-catalyzed lucigenin–hydrazine chemiluminescence

It was found that lucigenin alkaline solution could react with hydrazine in the presence of Pt nanoparticles to generate strong chemiluminescence (CL) centered at 480 nm. In order to explore the CL mechanism, UV–visible spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra studies before and after the CL reaction were carried out. The effects of O₂ and superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the CL reaction were examined. The catalytic effect of Pt NPs on the hydrazine–O₂ reaction was studied. A possible mechanism is proposed to be due to that Pt NPs catalyzed the reaction between hydrazine and the dissolved oxygen under alkaline conditions to yield hydroperoxide species and superoxide radical anion, which further oxidized lucigenin to produce CL emission. Moreover, the effects of some organic compounds containing hydroxyl (OH), carboxyl (COOH), carbonyl (CO), amino (NH₂), or sulfur groups on the lucigenin–hydrazine–Pt NPs CL system were tested. Thiol-containing compounds such as cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH), homocysteine (Hcy), and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) were observed to greatly enhance the CL intensity. It is suggested that the CL enhancement might be due to the fact that thiol-containing compounds could facilitate the electron transfer process under the catalysis of Pt nanoparticles and accelerate the generation of OH and O₂^? radicals, leading to the strong CL.     

Investigation of Zn<Subscript>m</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>n</Subscript>X<Subscript>y</Subscript> (y = m + n; X = Te,Se and S) Clusters with TDDFT Method

Based on zinc blende and wurtzite structures of experimental ZnTe and CdTe nanocrystals, Zn_mCd_nX_y (X = Te, Se and S) clusters were investigated using DFT/B3LYP/LANL2DZ. From analyses of their characters of conformations, HOMO–LUMO gaps, Raman and absorption spectra, Mulliken charges and WBI (Wiberg Bond Index) values, we have discovered that Zn_mCd_nTe_y, Zn_mCd_nSe_y and Zn_mCd_nS_y molecules had similar characters. In this paper, characters of Zn_mCd_nTe_y were investigated in detail. First, we have found that HOMO–LUMO gaps, Raman spectra, absorption spectra, bond lengths and Mulliken charges of doping Zn₂CdTe₃, ZnCd₂Te₃, Zn₃CdTe₄, Zn₂Cd₂Te₄ and ZnCd₃Te₄ structures were in the scope of corresponding naked ZnTe and CdTe clusters. These characters of doping Zn_mCd_nTe_y molecules show that their stabilities are good. Second, comparing with ZnTe structures, the wavelengths of the absorption peaks of doping Zn_mCd_nTe_y clusters shift to red in water environment. Moreover, with increasing of the number of Cd atom, their wavelengths of the absorption peaks gradually shift to red. This conclusion is consistent with the experimental fact. Third, Raman spectra of pure ZnTe clusters have higher frequencies than corresponding naked CdTe structures. As for doping molecules, the frequencies of their Raman spectra gradually shift to low frequencies with increasing of Cd atoms’ number.     

Adsorption of aqueous Hg (II) by a novel poly(aniline‐co‐o‐aminophenol)/mesoporous silica SBA‐15 composite

A novel poly(aniline‐co‐o‐aminophenol) (PAOA)/mesoporous silica SBA‐15 nanocomposite was synthesized and investigated for adsorption of Hg (II) from aqueous solutions of wide pH range. A chemical oxidation method was employed for polymerization of aniline and o‐aminophenol on an ordered SBA‐15 template to obtain a significantly enlarged BET surface area of the adsorbent. Efficiency study revealed that the PAOA/SBA‐15 could reach a maximum Hg (II) adsorption capacity of over 400 mg/g. Kinetic study showed that the Hg (II) adsorption by the PAOA/SBA‐15 fitted a pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model, indicating that the mercury adsorption process was predominantly controlled by chemical process. The results of this study also proved that the adsorbed Hg (II) could be effectively desorbed from the PAOA/SBA‐15 in 0.1M HCl and 5% sulfocarbonide solutions. Associated adsorption mechanism was also investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tandem MS Analysis of Selenamide-Derivatized Peptide Ions

Our previous study showed that selenamide reagents such as ebselen and N-(phenylseleno)phthalimide (NPSP) can be used for selective and rapid derivatization of protein/peptide thiols in high conversion yield. This paper reports the systematic investigation of MS/MS dissociation behaviors of selenamide-derivatized peptide ions upon collision induced dissociation (CID) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD). In the positive ion mode, derivatized peptide ions exhibit tag-dependent CID dissociation pathways. For instance, ebselen-derivatized peptide ions preferentially undergo Se–S bond cleavage upon CID to produce a characteristic fragment ion, the protonated ebselen (m/z 276), which allows selective identification of thiol peptides from protein digest as well as selective detection of thiol proteins from protein mixture using precursor ion scan (PIS). In contrast, NPSP-derivatized peptide ions retain their phenylselenenyl tags during CID, which is useful in sequencing peptides and locating cysteine residues. In the negative ion CID mode, both types of tags are preferentially lost via the Se–S cleavage, analogous to the S–S bond cleavage during CID of disulfide-containing peptide anions. In consideration of the convenience in preparing selenamide-derivatized peptides and the similarity of Se–S of the tag to the S–S bond, we also examined ETD of the derivatized peptide ions to probe the mechanism for electron-based ion dissociation. Interestingly, facile cleavage of Se–S bond occurs to the peptide ions carrying either protons or alkali metal ions, while backbone cleavage to form c/z ions is severely inhibited. These results are in agreement with the Utah-Washington mechanism proposed for depicting electron-based ion dissociation processes.     

Phenazinolins A-E: novel diphenazines from a tin mine tailings-derived Streptomyces species

Phenazinolins A-E (1-5), which possess a carbon skeleton unique to diphenazines (the azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonadienol moiety in 1-3 and the oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonadienol moiety in 4 and 5), were isolated from tin mine tailings-derived Streptomyces diastaticus YIM DT26, with 1-3 exhibited appreciable cytotoxicity and antibiotic effects.     

Highly trans-1,4 selective (co-)polymerization of butadiene and isoprene with quinolyl anilido rare earth metal bis(alkyl) precursors

The N-R-quinolinyl-8-amino ligands HL(1-3) (R = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3) (HL(1)), 2,6-Et(2)C(6)H(3) (HL(2)), 2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3) (HL(3))) have been prepared, which reacted readily with one equiv. of rare earth metal tris(alkyl)s to afford the corresponding bis(alkyl) complexes L(1)Y(CH(2)SiMe(3))(2)(THF) (1) and L(1-3)Lu(CH(2)SiMe(3))(2)(THF) (2-4) via alkane elimination. Contrastingly, treatment of the in situ generated neodymium tri(alkyl)s with HL(1) afforded a mono(alkyl) neodymium complex (5). Complexes 1, 2 and 5 in combination with aluminium alkyls and organoborates established homogenous ternary systems that exhibited versatile catalytic activities and trans-1,4 selectivities for the polymerization of butadiene, depending on the types of aluminium alkyl, organoborate and rare earth metal used. Furthermore, the trans-1,4 selective copolymerization of butadiene and isoprene was achieved by using the ternary system of 1/AlMe(3)/[Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5))(4)]. Both the kinetics of copolymerization and the thermal behavior of the copolymers were investigated.     

Pd-catalyzed C4-olefination of oxazoles via C-H bond activation: divergent synthesis of functionalized amino alcohol and amino acid derivatives

A Pd-catalyzed C4-olefination of oxazoles via C-H bond activation under mild conditions was achieved. The reaction was shown to be general over a range of substrates. New protocols for the divergent transformation of these products to provide functionalized amino alcohol and amino acid derivatives have also been established.     

Polymeric ionic liquid-coated capillary for capillary electrophoresis

A new application of the polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) in capillary electrophoresis is reported. Poly(1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide) was physically adsorbed on silica capillary as the simple and effective coating for capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis, in which the PIL is not present in the background electrolyte. The electroosmotic flow (EOF) of the PIL-coated capillary as compared with that of the bare fused-silica capillary shows a different dependence on electrolyte pH values. The EOF is reversed over a wide pH range from 3.0 to 9.0 and shows good repeatability. It is also found that the coated capillary has a good tolerance to some organic solvents, 0.1 M NaOH and 0.1 M HCl. The PIL-coated capillary has been employed in different areas. Both the basic proteins and anionic analytes can be well separated by PIL-coated capillaries in a fast and easy way. The PIL-coated capillary is also able to separate organic acid additives in a grape juice. The results showed that this type of coating provides an alternative to the CE separation of anions and basic proteins.     

Layer-by-layer assembled multilayer films of methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(α,l-glutamic acid) and chitosan with reduced cell adhesion

A methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(α,L-glutamic acid) (mPEGGA) diblock copolymer is synthesized. Using QCM measurements, it is shown that (CS/mPEGGA)(n) film construction takes place over two build-up stages (exponential-to-linear). UV-vis spectra reveal the regular increase of the multilayer film growth at different molecular weights of mPEGGA. Contact angle and surface morphology investigation prove that the hydrophilicity of CS/mPEGGA multilayer film-modified substrate becomes better and the surface becomes rough. Significantly reduced cell adhesion is observed on the CS/mPEGGA multilayer film coated surface.