Mass measurements of short-lived nuclides using the Isoltrap preparation Penning trap

For exotic nuclear species, short decay half-lives make precision mass measurements particularly challenging. Combining isobaric purification and the mass measurement in the same trap may offer an interesting compromise between losses due to half-life and measurement precision. Here we discuss a mass measurement performed in a preparation Penning trap, and perform a study of the resonance lineshape.     

Tuning the hydrogen-bonding strength in 2,6-bis(cycloalkylcarbonylamino)pyridine assemblies by variable flexibility. Association constants measured by hydrogen-bonded vs. non-hydrogen-bonded protons

The association of 2,6-bis(cycloalkylcarbonylamino)pyridines with rigid and non-rigid counterparts in chloroform solution was studied using ¹H NMR and computational methods. The angles within the cycloalkyl ring and the rotation of these substituents determine the strength of the association via triple hydrogen bonding. The dimerisation and methyl–methyl repulsion have been addressed as mechanisms restricting heterocomplexation of diacetamide. The association constants obtained by the shift changes of hydrogen-bonded protons are in agreement with those of methine protons. This ‘dual shift’ method was proposed as an additional verification of association constants obtained generally by amino protons.     

Copper complexes formed by 3,5-bis(2,2′-bipyridin-4-ylethynyl)benzoic acid and its methyl and ethyl esters as studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to study the complexes of ligands containing two bipyridine units, namely 3,5-bis(2,2-bipyridin-4-ylethynyl)benzoic acid (1) and its methyl and ethyl esters (2, 3), with copper cation, with CuCl₂ as a source of copper. It was found that the type of complexes formed strongly depends on CuCl₂ concentration. At lower CuCl₂ concentration, the detected complexes were rather simple and some of them were formed upon electrospray ionization conditions e.g. ions [2₂+Cu₂]²⁺ and [3₂+Cu₂]²⁺ (complexes ligand-Cu(I) of stoichiometry 2:2) which are analogical to the well known, for quaterpyridine, helical complexes. At higher CuCl₂ concentration, the detected complexes were more complicated, and most of them contained copper cations bridged by chlorides. The largest ions were [L₂+Cu₄Cl₆]²⁺. The CID MS/MS spectra of these ions allowed determination of their mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways and as a consequence their structure elucidation.      

Billion‐Fold Enhancement in Sensitivity of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Magnesium Ions in Solution

β‐nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is highly sensitive compared to conventional NMR spectroscopy, and may be applied for several elements across the periodic table. β‐NMR has previously been successfully applied in the fields of nuclear and solid‐state physics. In this work, β‐NMR is applied, for the first time, to record an NMR spectrum for a species in solution. ³¹Mg β‐NMR spectra are measured for as few as 10⁷ magnesium ions in ionic liquid (EMIM‐Ac) within minutes, as a prototypical test case. Resonances are observed at 3882.9 and 3887.2 kHz in an external field of 0.3 T. The key achievement of the current work is to demonstrate that β‐NMR is applicable for the analysis of species in solution, and thus represents a novel spectroscopic technique for use in general chemistry and potentially in biochemistry.     

Photophysics of Soret-excited tetrapyrroles in solution. I. Metalloporphyrins: MgTPP, ZnTPP, and CdTPP

The photophysical behavior of three Soret-excited diamagnetic meso-substituted tetraphenylmetalloporphyrins, MgTPP, ZnTPP, and CdTPP, have been examined in a wide variety of solvents using both steady-state and femtosecond fluorescence upconversion methods. The S 2 population of MgTPP decays to S 1 on the time scale of a few picoseconds with unit S 2-S 1 internal conversion efficiency, and the decay rates conform to the weak coupling case of radiationless transition theory. The energy gap law parameters characterizing the coupling of the S 2 and S 1 states of MgTPP have been obtained. The most important accepting vibrational modes in the S 1 state are multiple in-plane C-C and C-N stretches in the 1200-1500 cm (-1) range. Net S 2-S 1 decay is the dominant decay path for ZnTPP and CdTPP as well, but the process occurs at rates that exceed (in the case of CdTPP, they vastly exceed) those predicted by weak interstate coupling. Alternate mechanisms for the radiationless decay of the S 2 states of ZnTPP and CdTPP have been explored. Large spin-orbit coupling constants and the presence of multiple, near-equiergic triplet states suggest that S 2-T n intersystem crossing might occur at rates competitive with internal conversion. However, the measured efficiencies of S 2-S 1 internal conversion show that, at most, only a few percent of the S 2 population of ZnTPP and no more than about 30% of the S 2 population of CdTPP can decay by a "dark" path such as intersystem crossing.     

An HPLC-DAD and LC-MS study of condensation oscillations with S(+)-ketoprofen dissolved in acetonitrile

In our earlier studies, a spontaneous chiral conversion of the selected low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids (i.e., amino acids, hydroxy acids, and profen drugs) dissolved in aqueous ethanol medium, running in vitro was described. Then it became clear that this spontaneous chiral conversion is accompanied by the spontaneous condensation of the discussed compounds. With several acids, it was established that this condensation is also oscillatory in nature. The theoretical models were developed aiming to give a rough explanation of the observed non-linear processes. In this paper, the results of these studies on the dynamics of condensation with S(+)-ketoprofen, a very popular profen drug, when stored for certain amount of time dissolved in a non-aqueous medium (i.e., acetonitrile) is presented. These investigations were carried out with the aid of two independent high-performance liquid chromatographic systems with the diode array detection and of a third high-performance liquid chromatographic system equipped with mass spectrometric detection. In one cycle of chromatographic measurements, it was possible to monitor condensation of S(+)-ketoprofen in 25-min intervals for 30 h, thus obtaining kinetic information on the progress of this process. Mass spectrometric detection confirmed the presence of new species in the stored solution with molecular weights much higher than that of S(+)-ketoprofen, which can be attributed to the condensation products. The obtained data show that condensation of S(+)-ketoprofen dissolved in acetonitrile progresses in a rapid manner, and that the observed oscillatory concentration changes with S(+)-ketoprofen and with the main condensation product characterize with an irregularity and shallow amplitudes. A theoretical model was referenced that jointly describes the oscillatory chiral conversion and the oscillatory condensation with the low-molecular-weight chiral carboxylic acids.     

Voltammetry as a Reference Method in the Preparation Process of Plant Control Material Containing As,Pt and Tl

Voltammetric methods are very suitable and versatile techniques for the simultaneous metal determination in complex matrices after thorough mineralization. In the presented work, voltammetric methods were used as reference methods in the preparation process of control plant material. Determination of As, Pt, Tl and other elements (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) in plant material prepared in our laboratory is described. For quantitative determination of the elements two independent analytical methods were applied. To obtain plant material containing As, Pt and Tl white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) was hydroponically cultivated under controlled conditions in a nutrient solution with addition of As, Pt and Tl salts.     

Mobile-phase pH influence on the retention of some benzoic acid derivatives in reversed-phase chromatography

Five end-capped octadecyl RP stationary phases, among which one was a polar embedded stationary phase, were tested for the analysis of benzoic acid derivatives using two mobile phases with or without addition of formic acid (water pH was measured by a common approach; pH of water with addition of formic acid was 3.0 and without formic acid 5.8). The influence of mobile-phase pH on the retention of benzoic acid derivatives was under study. Consequently, Purospher-STAR and Alltima columns provided symmetrical peaks for benzoic acid derivatives at pH 3.0 and also at pH 5.8. Reprosil and Symmetry stationary phases showed poor peak shapes at higher pH of the mobile phase. Differences between the tested columns may be caused by surface heterogeneity. Another reason may be the presence of some atoms creating additional adsorption sites on the surface of Reprosil and Symmetry stationary phases. This can lead to enhanced silanol activity resulting in peak tailing. The addition of formic acid into the mobile phase improved peak shapes. The polar embedded C18 stationary-phase Synergi-Fusion-RP appeared as not a suitable column for the analysis of benzoic acid derivatives. Synergi-Fusion-RP provided asymmetrical peaks even if formic acid was added into the mobile phase.