Chemical heterogeneity of a crystal built of nanoscale coherently twinned Yb(2-x)(Fe,Ga)(17+2x) polytypes

An X-ray study of single crystals extracted from an arc-melted Yb-Fe-Ga alloy showed that the diffraction pattern can be modeled by an intergrown crystal that has three sorts of domains: one hexagonal (1, LuFe(9.5) type) and two rhombohedral (2 a and 2 b, PrFe(7) type), the last two twinned by reticular merohedry. Crystals 1 and 2 are essentially polytypes with maximum degree of order (MDO polytypes), built up of nearly identical slabs that are stacked along [001] in ABAB em leader (1). and ABCABC em leader (2). sequences. Structure refinement was performed by a newly developed program that allowed us to refine several structures on a single data set. We found that the hexagonal and rhombohedral domains differ in chemical composition: while 1 shows a higher rate of Yb substitution by Fe(2) dumbbells, 2 shows partial substitution of Fe by Ga. Our observation of the nanoscale phase segregation is supported by latest finding of nonrandom distribution of stacking faults in a similar 2:17 alloy. An unequal distribution of chemical substitutions in 1 and 2 apparently compensates the inherent mismatch of basal plane dimensions of the individual MDO polytypes and thus constrains their cell parameters within the syntaxy. According to our knowledge this is the first example of two chemically distinct polytypes constituting a single crystal, refined on a single set of diffraction data.     

Infrared identification of matrix isolated H2O.O2

Theoretical studies of the H2O.O2 complex have been carried out over the past decade, but the complex has not previously been experimentally identified. We have assigned IR vibrations from an H2O.O2 complex in an inert rare gas matrix. This identification is based upon theoretical calculations and concentration dependent behavior of absorption bands observed upon co-deposition of H2O and O2 in argon matrixes at 11.5 +/- 0.5 K. To aid assignment, we have used a harmonically coupled anharmonic oscillator local mode model with an ab initio calculated dipole moment function to calculate the OH-stretching and HOH-bending frequencies and intensities in the complex. The high abundance of H2O and O2 makes the H2O.O2 complex likely to be significant in atmospheric and astrophysical chemistry.     

Carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation on solid phase using cationic iron carbonyl complexes

Iron-mediated methodology for the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom sp(3) bonds on solid phase has been developed. Treatment of a polymer-bound cationic iron cyclohexadienyl complex with carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus nucleophiles, followed by cleavage with amines and subsequent decomplexation, yielded 18 different cyclohexadienoic acid amides of high purity. [reaction: see text]     

Global solutions of the obstacle problem in half-spaces, and their impact on local stability

We show that there are an abundance of non-homogeneous global solutions to the obstacle problem, in the half-space, with a (fixed) homogeneous boundary condition As a consequence we obtain local instability of the free boundary under C^1,1 perturbation, of the Dirichlet data. Received: 15 December 2003, Accepted: 7 July 2004, Published online: 8 February 2005 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 35R35, 34D10 H. Shahgholian was supported in part by Swedish Research Council.     

Capillary Electrophoresis Method for the Chiral Purity Determination of Pregabalin Derivatized with Dansyl Chloride

A capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of the chiral purity of pregabalin upon derivatization with dansyl chloride was developed using design of experiment methodologies. A D-optimal design was used for the identification of the critical process parameters, while a central composite face centered design and Monte Carlo simulations were employed for defining the design space of the method. Final working conditions consisted of a background electrolyte composed of a 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 2.5, containing 40 mg mL^?1 heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin, a separation voltage of 15 kV and a capillary temperature of 25 °C. The analyses were carried out in a 40/50.2 cm fused-silica capillary with an inner diameter of 50 µm. Upon testing the robustness using a Plackett–Burman design, the method was validated according to the International Council on Harmonization guideline Q2(R1). The method allowed the detection of the (R)-enantiomer at the 0.015% level with a limit of quantitation at the 0.05% level with regard to a sample containing 1.59 mg mL^?1 pregabalin. The method was subsequently applied to the determination of the stereochemical purity of the drug in commercial capsules.     

Rapid Analysis of Cell–Nanoparticle Interactions using Single‐Cell Raman Trapping Microscopy

Iron oxide nanoparticles have been used in preclinical studies to label stem cells for non‐invasive tracking and homing. The search continues for novel particle candidates that are suitable for clinical applications. Since standard analyses to investigate cell–particle interactions and safety are labor‐intensive, an efficient procedure is required to guide future particle development and to exclude adverse health effects. The application of combined Raman trapping microscopy with fluidic chips is reported for the analysis of single cells labeled with different types of aminated iron oxide particles. Multivariate data analysis revealed Raman signal differences that could be clearly assigned to cell–particle interactions and cytotoxicity, respectively. A validation dataset verified that more than 95 % of the spectra were correctly classified. Thus, our approach enables rapid discrimination of non‐hazardous from cytotoxic nanoparticles as a prerequisite for safe clinical applications.     

Parallel nanoliter detection of cancer markers using polymer microchips

A general multipurpose microchip technology platform for point-of-care diagnostics has been developed. Real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) for detection of artificial human papilloma virus (HPV) 16 sequences and SiHa cell line samples was successfully performed in cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) microchips, incorporating supply channels and parallel reaction channels. Samples were distributed into 10 parallel reaction channels, and signals were simultaneously detected in 80 nl volumes. With a custom-made optical detection unit, the system reached a sensitivity limit of 10(-6) microM for artificial HPV 16 sequences, and 20 cells microl(-1) for the SiHa cell line. This is comparable to the detection limit of conventional readers, and clinical testing of biological samples in polymer microchips using NASBA is therefore possible.     

Evidence for formation of silenes strongly influenced by reversed Si[double bond]C bond polarity

[reaction: see text] Transient silenes that are strongly influenced by reversed Si[double bond]C bond polarization are formed upon heating of tris(trimethylsilyl)silylamides. The silenes are trapped with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene to quantitatively yield only one of the possible diastereomers of the functionalized cyclic allylsilanes.