Simultaneous determination of60Co,131I and137Cs in model radioactive waste water by reverse radiometric flow injection analysis with the aid of a multichannel analyzer

Reverse radiometric flow injection analysis was used for the simultaneous determination of⁶⁰Co,¹³¹I and¹³⁷Cs in model radioactive waste water. A NaI (Tl) scintillation detector coupled to a Canberra MCA was used for measuring the activity of¹³⁷Cs at 662 keV,⁶⁰Co at 1173 keV and 1332 keV, and¹³¹I at 364 keV.     

The reaction of fluorine-containing compounds with conjugated dienoic acids initiated by sodium dithionite

The reaction of fluorine-containing halides and acetamides with conjugated dienoic acids initiated by sodium dithionite gave halide-free 1,4-adducts in 40-80% yields, with the E configuration as the major products.     

3-Dimethylarsino-propylamin, (CH3)2As?(CH2)3?NH2, und Bis-[3-amino-propyl]-methylarsan,CH3As[(CH2)3?NH2]2

3-Dimethylarsino-propylamine, (CH₃)₂As? (CH₂)₃? NH₂, and Bis-[3-aminopropyl]-methylarsane, CH₃As[(CH₂)₃? NH₂]₂ The reduction of the nitriles Me₂As(CH₂)₂? CN (Me?CH₃) and MeAs(CH₂CH₂? CN)₂ results in the formation of the arsines Me₂As(CH₂)₃? NH₂ and MeAs[(CH₂)₃? NH₂]₂, respectively. The reactivity of these compounds, especially the formation of carbonyl complexes and heterocyclic compounds are described.     

Single-site mutation and secondary structure stability: an isodesmic reaction approach. The case of unnatural amino acid mutagenesis Ala-->Lac

A method is described to evaluate backbone interactions in proteins via computational unnatural amino acid mutagenesis. Several N-acetyl polyalanyl amides (AcA(n)NH(2)) were optimized in the representative helical (3(10)-, 4(13)-, and a "hybrid" kappa-helix, n = 7, 9, 10, 14) and hairpin (two- and three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheets with type I turns betaalphaalphaepsilon, n = 6, 9, 10) conformations, and extended conformers of N-acetyl polyalanyl methylamides (n = 2, 3) were used to derive multistranded beta-sheet fragments. Subsequently, each residue of every model structure was substituted, one at a time, with l-lactic acid. The resulting mutant structures were again optimized, and group-transfer energies DeltaE(GT) were obtained as heats of the isodesmic reactions: AcA(n)NHR + AcOMe --> AcA(x)LacA(y)NHR + AcNHMe (R = H, CH(3)). These group-transfer energies correlate with the degree of charge polarization of the substituted peptide linkages as measured by the difference Deltae in H and O Mulliken populations in HN-C=O and with the H-bond distances in the "wild-type" structures. A good correlation obtains for the HF/3-21G and B3LYP/6-31G* group-transfer energies. The destabilization effects are interpreted in terms of loss of interstrand and intrastrand H-bonds, decrease in Lewis basicity of the C=O group, and O...O repulsion. On the basis of several comparisons of Ala --> Lac DeltaE(GT)'s with heats of the NH --> CH(2) substitutions, the latter contribution is estimated (B3LYP/6-31G*) to range between 1.5 and 2.4 kcal mol(-1), a figure close to the recent experimental DeltaDeltaG(o) value of 2.6 kcal mol(-1) (McComas, C. C.; Crowley, B. M.; Boger, D. L. J. Am.Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 9314). The partitioning yields the following maximum values of the electronic association energy of H-bonds in the examined sample of model structures (B3LYP/6-31G* estimates): 3(10)-helix D(e) = -1.7 kcal mol(-1), alpha-helix D(e) = -3.8 kcal mol(-1), beta-sheet D(e) = -6.1 kcal mol(-1). The premise of experimental evaluations of the backbone-backbone H-bonding that Ala --> Lac substitution in proteins is isosteric (e.g., Koh, J. T.; Cornish, V. W.; Schultz, P. G. Biochemistry 1997, 36, 11314) is often but not always corroborated. Examination of the integrity of H-bonding pattern and phi(i), psi(i) distribution identified several mutants with significant distortions of the "wild-type" structure resulting inter alia from the transitions between i, i + 3 and i, i + 4 H-bonding in helices, observed previously in the crystallographic studies of depsipeptides (Ohyama, T.; Oku, H.; Hiroki, A.; Maekawa, Y.; Yoshida, M.; Katakai, R. Biopolymers 2000, 54, 375; Karle, I. L.; Das, C.; Balaram, P. Biopolymers 2001, 59, 276). Thus, the isodesmic reaction approach provides a simple way to gauge how conformation of the polypeptide chain and dimensions of the H-bonding network affect the strength of backbone-backbone C=O...HN bonds. The results indicate that the stabilization provided by such interactions increases on going from 3(10)-helix to alpha-helix to beta-sheet.     

The use of bathoferroine for extraction-spectrophotometric determinations of microamounts of perchlorate and perrhenate

Bathoferroine can be used for anion determinations by a method based on selective ion-pair extraction if the selectivity of extraction has been enhanced by addition of nonelectrolyte to the water phase. The method of perchlorate and perrhenate determinations characterizes parameters similar to those obtained by methods in which other cation complexes have been used. The advantage of the proposed method is the possibility of considerable concentration of ion association compound extracts by nitromethane reextraction.     

Ab initio potential energy surface, variational transition state theory, and quasiclassical trajectory studies of the F+CH4-->HF+CH3 reaction

In this work we present a study of the F+CH(4)-->HF+CH(3) reaction (DeltaHdegrees(298 K)=-32.0 kcal mol(-1)) using different methods of the chemical reaction theory. The ground potential energy surface (PES) is characterized using several ab initio methods. Full-dimensional rate constants have been calculated employing the variational transition state theory and using directly ab initio data. A triatomic analytical representation of the ground PES was derived from ab initio points calculated at the second- and fourth-order M?ller-Plesset levels with the 6-311+G(2df,2pd) basis set, assuming the CH(3) fragment to be a 15 a.m.u. pseudoatom in the fitting process. This is suggested from experiments that indicate that the methyl group is uncoupled to the reaction coordinate. A dynamics study by means of the quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) method and employing this analytical surface was also carried out. The experimental data available on the HF internal states distributions are reproduced by the QCT results. Very recent experimental information about the reaction stereodynamics is also borne out by our QCT calculations. Comparisons with the benchmark F+H(2) and analogous Cl+CH(4) reactions are established throughout.     

Plasma quantification of quazepam and its 2-oxo and N-desmethyl metabolites by capillary gas chromatography

The authors have developed a gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous quantification of quazepam in plasma and its two main metabolites, 2-oxoquazepam and N-desmethylquazepam. This method involves an extraction from plasma using butyl acetate, and an analysis by electron-capture detection on a CP-Sil 5 WSCOT capillary column. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were better than 10% for each of these three compounds, even near their detection limit estimated at 0.2 ng/ml. Linearity proved satisfactory between 0.2 and 60-70 ng/ml. For endogenous plasma components, adequate specificity was achieved. Despite some inconveniences, a long analysis time, a progressive saturation of the column owing to a low oven temperature, and a relatively short life-span of the CP-Sil 5 columns, this method was the only one available in the literature for the quantification of quazepam and its metabolites from the same plasma sample. It was successfully applied to phase I studies in healthy volunteers.     

Biocompatible hydrogels based on chitosan,cellulose/starch,PVA and PEDOT:PSS with high flexibility and high mechanical strength

Fabricating mechanically strong hydrogels that can withstand the conditions in internal tissues is a challenging task. We have designed hydrogels based on multicomponent systems by combining chitosan, starch/cellulose, PVA, and PEDOT:PSS via one-pot synthesis. The starch-based hydrogels were homogeneous, while the cellulose-based hydrogels showed the presence of cellulose micro- and nanofibers. The cellulose-based hydrogels demonstrated a swelling ratio between 121 and 156%, while the starch-based hydrogels showed higher values, from 234 to 280%. Tensile tests indicated that the presence of starch in the hydrogels provided high flexibility (strain at break?>?300%), while combination with cellulose led to the formation of stiffer hydrogels (elastic moduli 3.9–6.6 MPa). The ultimate tensile strength for both types of hydrogels was similar (2.8–3.9 MPa). The adhesion and growth of human osteoblast-like SAOS-2 cells was higher on hydrogels with cellulose than on hydrogels with starch, and was higher on hydrogels with PEDOT:PSS than on hydrogels without this polymer. The metabolic activity of cells cultivated for 3 days in the hydrogel infusions indicated that no acutely toxic compounds were released. This is promising for further possible applications of these hydrogels in tissue engineering or in wound dressings.

Graphical abstract

     

Elimination of SAS Interferences in Catalytic Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Cr(VI) by Means of Fumed Silica

In the work the procedure of chromium(VI) determination by catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) with application of fumed silica, is presented. Two variants of the method are proposed: in the first fumed silica is put directly to the electrolytic cell containing tested solution, in the second the silica is shaken with the sample and next centrifuged. The effectiveness of many surface‐active substances removal from synthetic solutions as well as natural water samples, is studied. In the experiments the fumed silica (Sigma‐Aldrich) of the specific surface area in the range 200–390 m² g^?1 was used. Two types of the working electrodes were applied, i.e., hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and cyclic renewable mercury film electrode (Hg(Ag)FE). In the silica presence i) the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 0.1 μg L^?1 Cr(VI) is <2% (HMDE) and <5% (Hg(Ag)FE), n=7, ii) the detection limits estimated deposition time 20 s were respectively 14 ng L^?1 (HMDE) and 22 ng L^?1 (Hg(Ag)FE). The accuracy of the method was tested by studying the recovery of Cr(VI) from spiked natural water samples.     

Highly efficient three-component synthesis of protected homoallylic amines by bismuth triflate-catalyzed allylation of aldimines

Bismuth triflate catalyzes the allylation of a variety of in situ generated protected aldimines using aldehydes, primary carbamates, and allyltrimethylsilane in a three-component reaction. The reaction proceeds rapidly and affords the corresponding protected homoallylic amine in good yield (up to 86%). Scope and limitations of the aldehyde and carbamate components are reported.