Large-scale separation of metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

In the applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), it is extremely important to separate semiconducting and metallic SWNTs. Although several methods have been reported for the separation, only low yields have been achieved at great expense. We show a separation method involving a dispersion-centrifugation process in a tetrahydrofuran solution of amine, which makes metallic SWNTs highly concentrated to 87% in a simple way.     

C-H to N substitution dramatically alters the sequence-specific DNA alkylation, cytotoxicity, and expression of human cancer cell lines

We designed and synthesized sequence-specific alkylating conjugates 1 and 2, which selectively alkylate matched sequences at nanomolar concentrations. Conjugates 1 and 2 differ only in that the C-H is substituted by an N in the second ring, which precisely recognizes and effectively alkylates DNA according to the recognition rule of Py-Im polyamides. We investigated sequence-specific DNA alkylation, cytotoxicity in 39 human cancer cell lines, and the effect on expression levels in cancer cell lines by Py-Im conjugates 1 and 2. The COMPARE analysis of the mean graphs showed that conjugates 1 and 2 did not correlate well with each other (r = 0.65) despite having a common DNA alkylating mechanism (purine N3 alkylation). Array-based gene expression analysis demonstrated that there are several oppositely regulated genes. The results suggest the intriguing possibility that DNA alkylating agents recognizing longer base-pair sequences may provide a promising approach for developing new types of antigene agents.     

Diffusion-controlled stress-relaxation in polymers,I

Summary The “chemical” relaxation of stress either in Amilan (6-Nylon) or polyvinyl alcohol caused by penetration of water vapor was studied at 40% R. H. and temperatures 15, 30, and 50° C. A theory was presented of the chemical relaxation in a polymer which comprises penetrant-sensitive bonds as the crosslinkages between the molecular chains. This theory assumes the diffusion coefficient of penetrant in the polymer to he independent of concentration and any other factors. It was found that the system Amilan-water behaves in exact conformity with the theory over the ranges of elongation and temperature studied. The diffusion coefficient,D, of water in Amilan could thus be evaluated from the chemical relaxation data, using the theory presented, as functions of elongation and temperature. An ordinary sorption experiment was carried out for this system at 40% R. H. and 16.8° C and demonstrated that the diffusion of water in Amilan was Fickian with a constant diffusion coefficient. Both diffusion coefficients from the chemical relaxation data and the sorption. data were found to agree quite well when the former was extrapolated to zero-strain. The chemical relaxation behavior in the system polyvinyl alcohol-water was markedly different from that expected from the theory, suggesting primarily that the diffusion coefficient of water in this polymer was not constant. A parallel evidence for this fact was obtained from sorption measurements on this system, which demonstrated the diffusion in this system to be dependent both on concentration and time. From these results it may be concluded that the chemical relaxation technique, when combined properly with an adequate theory, can be used not only to evaluate the diffusion coefficient of penetrant in a given polymer solid but also to investigate, at least qualitatively, the type of sorption behavior characteristic of the system under given experimental conditions.

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Zusammenfassung Die chemische Spannungsrelaxation in Amilan (6-Nylon) und Polyvinylalkohol, verursacht durch Eindringen von Wasserdampf, wurde bei 40% r. F. und Temperaturen von 15, 30 und 50° C untersucht. Es wird eine Theorie der chemischen Relaxation von Polymeren vorgelegt, die als empfindliche Bindungen auf das eindringende Niedermolekulare die Vernetzungen zwischen den molekularen Ketten betrachtet. Diese Theorie setzt voraus, da? der Diffusionskoeffizient im Polymeren für die eindringende Substanz unabh?ngig von Konzentration und anderen Faktoren ist. Das System Amilan-Wasser benimmt sich vollkommen entsprechend dieser Theorie in den studierten Verstreckungs- und Temperaturbereiche. Der Diffusionskoeffizient von Wasser in Amilan konnte daher aus der chemischen Relaxation als Funktion von Dehnung und Temperatur ausgewertet werden. Ein normales Quellungsexperiment wurde für das System bei 40% r. F. und 16,8° C ausgeführt und zeigte, da? die Diffusion von Wasser in Amilan dem Fickschen Gesetz mit konstantem Diffusionskoeffizienten folgt. Beide Diffusionskoeffizienten, der aus chemischer Relaxation und der aus Quellungsdaten gewonnene, stimmten sehr gut überein, falls der erstere auf die Dehnung 0 extrapoliert wurde. Die chemische Relaxation des Systems Polyvinylalkohol-Wasser war merklich anders als nach der Theorie erwartet und lie? in erster Linie vermuten, da? der Diffusionskoeffizient von Wasser in diesem Polymeren nicht konstant ist. Eine entsprechende Andeutung wurde aus Quellungsmessungen an diesem System erhalten. Die Diffusion h?ngt von Konzentration und Zeit ab. Aus diesen Resultaten kann gefolgert werden, da? die Technik der Untersuchungen der chemischen Relaxation unter Verwendung einer geeigneten Theorie nicht nur dazu angewendet werden kann, Diffusionskoeffizienten von kleinen Molekülen in einem gegebenen festen Polymeren zu messen, sondern zumindest auch qualitativ den Typ des Quellungsverhaltens festzustellen, der das System unter den gegebenen experimentellen Bedingungen charakterisiert.

     

Force in scf theories

A new force approach is reported in which we improve the wavefunction so that the Hellmann-Feynman theorem is satisfied. A sufficient condition for the Hellmann-Feynman theorem to be satisfied is that the basis set includes AO derivatives ?x_r/?x_rfor any basis x_r. Here we test a procedure in which only the first derivative AOs are added to the “parent” AOs. The results are very encouraging.     

An MO-theoretical calculation of solvent effect upon the NH3 + HF = NH4F reaction

An ab initia molecular orbital calculation was done as to a reacting system, NH₃+HF=NH₄F, with the inclusion of the solvent effect as the origin of dipolar field. The reactants were assumed to stay in dimers, (NH₃)₂ and (HF)₂, in advance to the reaction, and the respective partners of two reactants were regarded as point dipoles. The system was stabilized to some extent by two dipoles adopted. A study of configuration analysis on this system was made with and without the dipoles. Their effect was found to be favorable for proceeding of the reaction.     

Melting behavior of highly stretched isotactic polypropylene film

Isotactic polypropylene film was stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 140°C and its melting behavior was investigated by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC-1B). The shape of the melting curve depends largely on the stretching ratio, v. A sample stretched to moderate extension (1 < v < 3.5–4) has only a single melting peak (163°C) in the thermogram. When the sample is stretched beyond v = 3.5–4, the thermogram becomes more and more complex with increase of v, and some peaks appear when stretched to 10 < v < 13. The lowest peak which is considered to be the melting peak of the intermolecular crystals produced by the unfolding of chain molecules in the lamellae develops gradually with increase of v. In the thermogram for v = 18 the lowest temperature peak is most pronounced, in contrast to the highest temperature peak which decreases markedly in intensity. The phenomenon shows that large amounts of lamellar crystals are converted to intermolecular crystals in this region. On further stretching (v > 20) a very sharp high temperature peak appears, whose half-width is about 1°C. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for the samples stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 150°C and in air at 140 and 150°C.     

Liquid-phase hydration process of cyclohexene with zeolites

The liquid-phase hydration process of cyclohexene into cyclohexanol with zeolite is described. The characteristic of this industrial process is that fine particles of zeolite are used in a slurry system, which offers high productivity and a simple separation system. In this process, the hydrophobic property and shape selectivity of ZSM-5 are fully utilized so as to realize an economical industrial process.     

Enantioselective Oxidation of Sulfides Catalyzed by Chiral MoV and CuII Complexes of Catechol-Appended β-Cyclodextrin Derivatives in Water

The two modified β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) derivatives having catechol-type ligand (2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxy groups on the benzoate ring) were synthesized. The chiral catalytic activity of their Mo^V and Cu^II complexes was examined in the asymmetric oxidation of aromatic sulfides using hydrogen peroxide in water (pH 6.0). The oxidation with the Mo^V complexes of two β-CD derivatives were more accelerated than that with the Cu^II complexes. The sign of the optical rotation of the sulfoxides obtained in the above two cases showed the opposite configuration in the oxidation of the same sulfide. The difference of the enantioselectivity appeared also between the two complexes of the 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate derivatives with the same metal ion. While the use of the Mo^V complexes with the catechol derivatives yielded the sulfoxides with 35–65% ee, the use of the Cu^II complexes gave the products with the␣opposite configuration at 26–52% ee. The chiral induction in the oxidation, observed conversely between the␣catalysts, was reflected on the chiral conformation of the respective metal catalysts, showed in Induced Circular Dichroism (ICD) spectra. The highest optical yield, 65%, was observed in the oxidation of butyl phenyl sulfide using the catalytic amount (0.1 equiv) of the Mo^V complex with mono-6-O-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)-β-CD. The reaction gave predominantly the (S)-sulfoxide in 95% chemical yield.     

Vacancy ion-exclusion chromatography of aromatic carboxylic acids on a weakly acidic cation-exchange resin

Determination of aromatic carboxylic acids by conventional ion-exclusion chromatography is relatively difficult and methods generally rely on hydrophobic interaction between the solute and the resin. To overcome the difficulties in determining aromatic carboxylic acids a new approach is presented, termed vacancy ion-exclusion chromatography, which is based on use of the sample as mobile phase and an injection of aqueous 10% methanol onto a weakly acidic cation-exchange column (TSKgel OApak-A). Highly sensitive conductivity detection occurred with sharp and well-shaped peaks, leading to very efficient separations. The effects of sulfuric acid concentration added to the mobile phase, flow-rate, and column temperature on the retention volume of tested aromatic carboxylic acids was investigated. Retention times were found to be affected by the concentration of the analytes in the mobile phase and to some extent also by the addition of an organic modifier such as methanol to the injected water sample. Separation of sulfuric acid (SA), naphthalenetetracarboxylic acid (NTCA), phthalic acid (PA) and benzoic acid (BA) was satisfactory using this new approach. Detection limits were 0.66, 0.67, 0.42 and 0.86 microM and detector responses were linear in the range 1-100, 1-80, 2.5-100 and 10-40 microM, for SA, NTCA, PA and BA, respectively. Precision for retention times was 0.36% and for peak areas was 1.5%.