Green polymers from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans DSM465--candidates for molecularly imprinted materials

Novel molecular recognition materials were prepared from water soluble proteins from thermophile G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 by an alternative molecular imprinting method. Water soluble proteins from G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 were converted into the molecularly imprinted materials by adopting 9-EA as a print molecule. The molecularly imprinted protein membranes recognized As in preference to Gs. The adsorption isotherms led to the conclusion that molecular recognition sites toward As were constructed by the presence of 9-EA during the membrane preparation process. The affinity constant between As and the molecular recognition site thus constructed was determined to be 1.75 x 10(5) mol(-1) dm(3). The results obtained in the present study suggest that water soluble proteins from G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 is one of environmentally-friendly 'green' polymers to be converted into molecular recognition materials by applying an alternative molecular imprinting method.     

Regio-controlled ring-opening polymerization of perfluoroalkyl-substituted epoxides

Highly fluorinated epoxides were polymerized under mild conditions regioregularly, which gave easy access to isotactic polymers by using optically pure epoxides.     

On the validity and properties of the atom-atom potential as a function of intermolecular separation,configuration, and partial wave order

The intermolecular partial wave expansion of the atom-atom potential U is reviewed briefly and developed, by using results due to Sack, so that the radial components of the expansion can be evaluated to arbitrary accuracy for all relevant partial wave orders and values of the intermolecular distance r. These results are used to study the convergence of the partial wave expansion of U as a function of partial wave order, r, intermolecular orientation, and the anisotropy of the interacting molecules. In marked contrast to previous work it is found that many of the higher order partial wave components of U are important relative to the isotropic term even for the interaction of relatively spherical molecules and that the results obtained from a truncated partial wave expansion depend significantly upon the method of summation due to the generally poor convergence of the expansion. The validity of the atom-atom potential as a representation of the correct attractive intermolecular potential is also discussed in some detail. There are basic problems associated with the representations furnished by both the isotropic and the anisotropic parts of the atom-atom potential at intermediate and large r. The different convergence properties of the r ^-1 expansions of the partial wave expansions of U and of the correct potential for these values of r is illustrated by using model interactions. While it appears that it may be possible to obtain a qualitatively reasonable representation of the attractive part of an intermolecular potential over a useful range of r from atom-atom results, this apparently cannot be achieved for wider ranges of r or for the purely anisotropic part of the potential.     

Quantitative comparison of a corona-charged aerosol detector and an evaporative light-scattering detector for the analysis of a synthetic polymer by supercritical fluid chromatography

A corona-charged aerosol detector (CAD) was developed to improve the sensitivity, reproducibility and quantitativeness of detection as compared to evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) for liquid chromatography. Our laboratory used the corona CAD as a detector for supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and evaluated its performance compared to the ELSD by using a certified reference material of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and a well-defined equimass mixture of uniform PEG oligomers. The corona CAD was able to detect a 10 times more dilute solution of uniform oligomers compared to the ELSD. Although the original data of molecular mass by ELSD was 4.6% smaller than the certified value of PEG 1000, molecular mass distribution obtained by corona CAD was virtually almost the same as the certified value without any calibrations.     

Determination and purification of sesamin and sesamolin in sesame seed oil unsaponified matter using reversed‐phase liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and tandem mass spectrometry and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

In Asian countries, sesame seed oil unsaponified matter is used as a natural food additive due to its associated antioxidant effects. We determined and purified the primary lignans sesamin and sesamolin in sesame seed oil unsaponified matter using reversed‐phase liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and tandem mass spectrometry and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography. Calibration curves showed good correlation coefficients (r² > 0.999, range 0.08 and/or 0.15 to 5 μg/mL) with a limit of detection (at 290 nm) of 0.02 μg/mL for sesamin and 0.04 μg/mL for sesamolin. Sesame seed oil unsaponified matter contained 2.82% sesamin and 2.54% sesamolin, respectively. Direct qualitative analysis of sesamin and sesamolin was achieved using quadrupole mass spectrometry with positive‐mode electrospray ionization. Pure (>99%) sesamin and sesamolin standards were obtained using high‐speed countercurrent chromatographic purification (hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water; 7:3:7:3). An effective method for determining and purifying sesamin and sesamolin from sesame seed oil unsaponified matter was developed by combining these separation techniques for standardized food additives.