Silica- and alkoxysilane-coated ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particles: a promising tool to label cells for magnetic resonance imaging

In this study silica- and alkoxysilane-coated ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles were synthesized, and their ability to label immortalized progenitor cells for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was compared. USPIO particles were synthesized by coprecipitation of ferric and ferrous salts. Subsequently, the particles were coated with silica, (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS), and [N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl]trimethoxysilane (AEAPTMS). The size of the USPIO particles was about 10 nm without a significant increase in diameter after coating. The highest T2 relaxivity was achieved for silica-coated USPIO particles, 339.80 +/- 0.22 s-1 mM-1, as compared with APTMS- and AEAPTMS-coated ones, reaching 134.40 +/- 0.01 and 84.79 +/- 0.02 s-1 mM-1, respectively. No toxic effects on the cells could be detected by trypan blue, TUNEL, and MTS assays. Uptake of USPIO particles was evaluated by Prussian blue staining, transmission electron microscopy, T2-MR relaxometry, and mass spectrometry. It was found that cell uptake of the different USPIO particles increased for longer incubation times and higher doses. Maximum cellular iron concentrations of 42.1 +/- 4.0 pg/cell (silica-coated USPIO particles), 37.1 +/- 3.5 pg/cell (APTMS-coated USPIO particles), and 32.7 +/- 4.0 pg/cell (AEAPTMS-coated USPIO particles) were achieved after incubation of the cells with USPIO particles at a dose of 3 micromol/mL for 6 h. The decrease of the T2 relaxation time of the cell pellets was most pronounced for cells incubated with silica-coated USPIO particles followed by APTMS- and AEAPTMS-coated particles, respectively. In gelatin gels even small clusters of labeled cells were detected by 1.5 T MRI, and significant changes in the T2 relaxation times of the gels were determined for 10000 labeled cells/mL for all particles. In summary, as compared with APTMS- and AEAPTMS-coated particles, silica-coated USPIO particles provide the highest T2 relaxivity and most effectively reduce the T2 relaxation time of immortalized progenitor cells after internalization. This suggests silica-coated USPIO particles are most suited for cell labeling approaches in MRI.     

Liquid-crystalline and electron-deficient coronene oligocarboxylic esters and imides by twofold benzogenic Diels-Alder reactions on perylenes

Alkyl esters, imides and imido-esters of coronene-tri-, -tetra- and -octacarboxylic acids are accessible by a twofold oxidative benzogenic Diels-Alder reaction. Alkyl acrylates add to perylene, and maleic alkyl imides react twice with perylene as well as with perylene-tetracarboxylic tetraesters. Coronenes substituted with a greatly variable number of electron-withdrawing substituents are thus accessible, and di- and tetraimide derivatives are shown to be very pronounced electron-acceptor materials. The tri- and tetraalkyl esters and imidoesters self-assemble into columnar liquid-crystalline phases.     

Molar volume, excess enthalpy, and Prigogine-Defay ratio of some silicate glasses with different (P,T) histories

Structural relaxation in silicate glasses with different (p,T) histories was experimentally examined by differential scanning calorimetry and measurements of molar volume under ambient pressure. Temperature and pressure-dependent rates of changes in molar volume and generation of excess enthalpy were determined for sodium trisilicate, soda lime silicate, and sodium borosilicate (NBS) compositions. From the derived data, Prigogine-Defay ratios are calculated and discussed. Changes of excess enthalpy are governed mainly by changes in short-range structure, as is shown for NBS where boron coordination is highly sensitive to pressure. For all three glasses, it is shown how the relaxation functions that underlie volume, enthalpy, and structural relaxation decouple for changes in cooling rates and pressure of freezing, respectively. The magnitude of the divergence between enthalpy and volume may be related to differences in structural sensitivity to changes in the (p,V,T,t) space on different length scales. The findings suggest that the Prigogine-Defay ratio is related to the magnitude of the discussed decoupling effect.     

Reactivity of indanedioneketene dimer with amines

The highly reactive indanedioneketene 5, resulting from the thermal decomposition of phenyliodonium ylide of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (lawsone, 4), in the absence of nucleophiles dimerizes to the corresponding tetraoxo spiro oxetanone 6 in quantitative yield. This oxetanone exhibits an interesting reactivity toward amines.     

Monitoring and evaluation of dechlorination processes using compound-specific chlorine isotope analysis

A simple, quick and sensitive method for the compound-specific stable chlorine isotope analysis of chlorinated solvents by conventional quadrupole gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is presented. With this method, compound-specific stable chlorine isotope ratios of typical chlorinated solvents like tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) can be determined quantitatively within 30 min by direct injection. The chlorine isotope ratios of target substances are calculated from the peak areas of several selected molecular ions and fragment ions of the substances, using a set of unique mathematical equations. The precision of the method was demonstrated through reproducibility tests. An internal precision of +/-0.4 per thousand to +/-1.1 per thousand was obtained when analyzing PCE and TCE in the 10-1000 pmol range. The validity of the method was further demonstrated by determining the chlorine isotopic fractionation factor during the reductive dechlorination of TCE in a batch experiment using zero-valent iron. The chlorine isotopic fractionation factor was calculated as 0.9976 +/- 0.0011 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9469 (n = 38). The high correlation coefficient indicates that compound-specific stable chlorine isotope analysis can be performed with sufficient accuracy using conventional quadrupole GC/MS when significant fractionation takes place during a reaction. For the first time, the chlorine isotope fractionation factor of TCE during an abiotic anaerobic dechlorination process was determined using quadrupole GC/MS, without offline sample preparation.     

Analysis of a chlorosulfolipid from Ochromonas danica by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (ToF) mass spectrometry (MS) is an established tool for analyzing high mass molecules, such as proteins, whereas it attracts far less interest in the field of lipid analysis. In the study reported here a new chlorosulfolipid (CSL), 3,8,12,15-tetrachloroeicosane-1,17,18-triyl tris(hydrogen sulfate), was identified from the alga Ochromonas danica and de novo characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight (MALDI-QIT-ToF) MS in negative ion mode. This method provides an effective alternative for the analysis of compounds directly derived from organic cell extracts. For MALDI analyses several frequently used solid MALDI matrices as well as some ionic liquid matrices (ILMs) were tested to enhance the analyte response to UV-laser and its ionization. The molecular weight of the observed compound could be determined as Li-, Na- and K-adducts [M+Me-2H]-. The characteristic isotopic patterns of the measured ions and the well-allocated molecular fragments by MS1, MS2 and MS3 indicate the fourfold chlorination and threefold sulfation of the investigated compound. The MS fragmentation alongside of the chlorine-bearing C-atoms is accompanied by the generation of a double bond at the opposite fragment in MS1. This obtained fragmentation pattern provides an insight into the allocation of the chlorine-bearing C-atoms along the carbon chain.     

Influence of particle aspect ratio on the midinfrared extinction spectra of wavelength-sized ice crystals

We have used the T-matrix method and the discrete dipole approximation to compute the midinfrared extinction cross-sections (4500-800 cm(-1)) of randomly oriented circular ice cylinders for aspect ratios extending up to 10 for oblate and down to 1/6 for prolate particle shapes. Equal-volume sphere diameters ranged from 0.1 to 10 microm for both particle classes. A high degree of particle asphericity provokes a strong distortion of the spectral habitus compared to the extinction spectrum of compactly shaped ice crystals with an aspect ratio around 1. The magnitude and the sign (increase or diminution) of the shape-related changes in both the absorption and the scattering cross-sections crucially depend on the particle size and the values for the real and imaginary part of the complex refractive index. When increasing the particle asphericity for a given equal-volume sphere diameter, the values for the overall extinction cross-sections may change in opposite directions for different parts of the spectrum. We have applied our calculations to the analysis of recent expansion cooling experiments on the formation of cirrus clouds, performed in the large coolable aerosol and cloud chamber AIDA of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe at a temperature of 210 K. Depending on the nature of the seed particles and the temperature and relative humidity characteristics during the expansion, ice crystals of various shapes and aspect ratios could be produced. For a particular expansion experiment, using Illite mineral dust particles coated with a layer of secondary organic matter as seed aerosol, we have clearly detected the spectral signatures characteristic of strongly aspherical ice crystal habits in the recorded infrared extinction spectra. We demonstrate that the number size distributions and total number concentrations of the ice particles that were generated in this expansion run can only be accurately derived from the recorded infrared spectra when employing aspect ratios as high as 10 in the retrieval approach. Remarkably, the measured spectra could also be accurately fitted when employing an aspect ratio of 1 in the retrieval. The so-deduced ice particle number concentrations, however, exceeded the true values, determined with an optical particle counter, by more than 1 order of magnitude. Thus, the shape-induced spectral changes between the extinction spectra of platelike ice crystals of aspect ratio 10 and compactly shaped particles of aspect ratio 1 can be efficiently balanced by deforming the true number size distribution of the ice cloud. As a result of this severe size/shape ambiguity in the spectral analysis, we consider it indispensable to cross-check the infrared retrieval results of wavelength-sized ice particles with independent reference measurements of either the number size distribution or the particle morphology.     

Microwave and quantum chemical study of propa-1,2-dienyl thiocyanate (H2C=C=CHSC triple bond N)

The microwave spectrum of propa-1,2-dienyl thiocyanate (H2C=C=CHSC triple bond N) has been investigated in the 24-40 and 50-80 GHz spectral regions. The spectrum of one conformer was assigned. This rotamer, which has a C-C-S-C dihedral angle of about 134 degrees from synperiplanar, is at least 2 kJ/mol more stable than any other form. Two vibrationally excited states assumed to belong to the first excited state of the C-S torsional vibration and to a low bending mode were assigned. Their frequencies were determined to be 62(20) and 155(30) cm-1, respectively. The microwave work has been augmented by ab initio calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ and density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The B3LYP calculations are generally in better agreement with the observations than the MP2 calculations.     

A microwave and quantum chemical study of (trifluoromethyl)thiolacetic acid, CF3COSH, a compound with an unusual double-minimum potential

The microwave spectra of CF3COSH and one deuterated species, CF3COSD, have been investigated by Stark spectroscopy in the 40-80 GHz spectral range at -78 degrees C and by quantum chemical calculations using the HF, MP2, and B3LYP procedures with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. The microwave spectrum of one conformer was assigned. The conformations of the COSH and CF3 groups determine the overall conformation of this rotamer. It was not possible experimentally to find precise values for the associated dihedral angles, but it appears that the COSH group is distorted somewhat from an exact synperiplanar arrangement, while the CF3 group is rotated several degrees from a position where one of the C-F bonds eclipses the C-S bond. This rotamer tunnels through a transition state that has an exact Cs symmetry, where one C-F bond eclipses the C-S bond and the COSH group is synperiplanar. Relative intensity measurements yielded 28(15) cm-1 for the tunneling frequency. Two additional vibrationally excited states were assigned and their frequencies determined to be 94(30) and 184(40) cm-1, respectively. The theoretical calculations predict conflicting conformational properties for the identified rotamer. The B3LYP calculations find an exact synperiplanar arrangement for the COSH group, whereas the MP2 and HF calculations predict that this group is distorted slightly form this conformation. One of the C-F bonds is found to eclipse the C-S bond in the B3LYP calculations, while the MP2 calculations predict a slight deviation and the HF calculations a large deviation from the eclipsed position, as the corresponding F-C-C-S dihedral angle is calculated to be 0.9 degrees (MP2) and 27.6 degrees (HF). All three methods of calculations predict that a second rotamer coexists with the identified form but is several kJ/mol less stable. The spectrum of this form, which has overall Cs symmetry and is predicted to have an antiperiplanar conformation for the COSH group with one of the C-F bonds eclipsing the C=O bond, was not identified.