Production of232Pa from thorium

A procedure is described for the accelerator production of²³²Pa and its isolation in radiochemically pure form, suitable for isotope tracing of protactinium/thorium chemical separations.     

Splitless injection of up to hundreds of microliters of liquid samples in capillary GC: Part II,experimental results

Sample evaporation in splitless injection of large volumes is rapid: depending on the experiment, results indicate that 200 μl of hexane, for instance, evaporates in 2–10 s, producing vapor at a rate of many hundreds of milliliters per minute. A 60 × 4 mm packed bed of 20–35 mesh Tenax TA enabled injection of 200 μl volumes of all solvents tested, and even 1 ml injections were possible provided they were performed over a period of 30 s. Retention of volatile sample components depends on the sample solvent, the injection volume, and the injection speed, but only little on the injector temperature. Losses of n-tridecane varied from hardly 15 % (when dissolved in pentane) to ca 60 % (ethyl acetate); losses of n-heptadecane were usually below 20 %. The column temperature during injection should be at least ca 20–30°C above the standard solvent boiling point.     

Metal‐Xenon Complexes

Long after the first isolation of a xenon compound in 1962 the first compounds with metal‐xenon bonds are prepared. The metal atoms are so far Au and Hg. The most stable metal xenon compounds decompose under loss of xenon slightly above room temperature. They can only exist if solvents and counter ions are weaker bases than atomic xenon. Solvents and counter ions used so far are HF, (SbF₆)^—, and (Sb₂F₁₁)^—.     

The platinum catalyst [bpyrPtCl2] in superacidic solution

The methane oxidation catalyst [bpyrPtCl(2)] (bpyr = bis-pyrimidine) dissolves in superacidic HF/SbF(5) solution under formation of a dinuclear cation [H(2)bpyrPt(mu-Cl)(2)PtbpyrH(2)](6+). Two crystal forms are isolated, [Pt(2)Cl(2)bpyr(2)H(4)](6+)(SbF(6)(-))(4)(Sb(2)F(11)(-))(2).2HF (I) (triclinic, Ponemacr;, a = 814.8(2) pm, b = 1444.8(3) pm, c = 2300.5(5) pm, alpha = 89.627(4) degrees, beta = 84.285(4) degrees, gamma = 84.665(4) degrees, Z = 2) and [Pt(2)Cl(2)bpyrH(4)](6+)(Sb(2)F(11)(-))(6).4HF (II) (triclinic, Ponemacr;, a = 879.4(2) pm, b = 1170.4(3) pm, c = 1789.9(5) pm, alpha = 95.37(2) degrees, beta = 99.97(2) degrees, gamma = 100.41(2) degrees, Z = 1). The cation in I has an angle of 148.4(1) degrees between the two square plane platinum environments, while the cation in II is fully planar. The non-platinum-bound nitrogen atoms are all protonated in the superacidic medium.     

Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance study of streptavidin film structure effects on biotinylated DNA assembly and target DNA hybridization

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy is employed for the study of biotinylated DNA assembly on streptavidin modified gold surfaces for target DNA hybridization. Two immobilization strategies are involved for constructing streptavidin films, namely, (1) physical adsorption on biotin-containing thiol treated surfaces through biotin-streptavidin links and (2) covalent attachment to 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) treated surfaces through amine coupling. To understand the structural properties of the streptavidin films, a quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is used to monitor the streptavidin immobilization procedures. The simultaneously measured frequency (Deltaf) and dissipation factor (DeltaD) changes, together with the SPR angle shifts (Deltatheta), suggest that the streptavidin film assembled on the biotin-containing surface is highly rigid with a well-ordered structure while the streptavidin film formed through amine coupling is highly dissipative and less structured. The subsequent biotinylated DNA (biotin-DNA) assembly and target hybridization results show that the streptavidin film structure has distinct effects on the biotin-DNA binding amount. On the streptavidin matrix, not only the probe DNA density but also the strand orientation mediated by the streptavidin films has distinct effects on hybridization efficiency. Particularly, the molecularly ordered streptavidin films formed on the biotin-containing surfaces ensure a well-ordered DNA assembly, which in turn allows for a higher efficiency in target DNA capture and for a higher sensitivity in the hybridization analysis when compared to the biotin-DNA assembled on the less structured streptavidin films formed through amine coupling.     

About the ratio of the size of a maximum antichain to the size of a maximum level in finite partially ordered sets

LetP be a finite partially ordered set. The lengthl(x) of an elementx ofP is defined by the maximal number of elements, which lie in a chain withx at the top, reduced by one. Letw(P) (d(P)) be the maximal number of elements ofP which have the same length (which form an antichain). Further let . The numbers and as well as all partially ordered sets for which these maxima are attained are determined.     

High-pressure phase studies on fluid mixtures of low-volatile organic substances with supercritical carbon dioxide

Two high-pressure phase equilibrium cells working according to the analytical method in the temperature range 300 to 450 K and up to 200 MPa have been developed. In the first cell p,T,x,y equilibrium data can be determined by sampling and GC analysis. With this cell the gas-liquid phase behaviour of the ternary systems carbon dioxide + tridecane + hexadecane and carbon dioxide + tridecane + 1-hexadecanol were determined at 423.4 K and between 8 and 35 MPa. For the second apparatus a spectroscopic high-pressure cell fitted with two pairs of sapphire windows was developed. Molar absorptivities are obtained from calibration runs in the homogeneous region. Gasliquid phase equilibria in the system decane + CO₂ were investigated from 342.8 to 400.2 K and between 10 and 20 MPa; here absorption data were measured in the NIR region.