Preparation and characterization of silicate gel glasses containing Cr2O3

The effect of thermal treatment on the structural incorporation of Cr₂O₃ in xCr₂O₃·(100 – x)SiO₂ and 5R _n O·xCr₂O₃·(95 – x)SiO₂ (where x=0.01–1 mol.% and R=Li, Na and Ca) gel glasses was studied by optical absorption spectrophotometry, DTA-TG, XRD and electron microscopy.Samples heat treated at 60°C have green color due to the presence of Cr³⁺ in octahedral coordination. The optical transmission, and color (yellow, orange or ambar), of the samples heat treated between 200 and 700°C prove that Cr³⁺ (octahedrally coordinated) and Cr⁶⁺ (tetrahedrally coordinated) are both present. Segregation of Cr₂O₃ take place at temperatures above 800°C.In reducing conditions the gel glasses were green due to the presence of a high content of Cr³⁺ ions. Samples containing Li or Na show crystalline phases at temperatures below 850°C.     

Stereospecific ring expansion of chiral vinyl aziridines

In this report, it is demonstrated that chiral vinyl aziridines can be stereospecifically ring expanded. This synthetic approach allows controlled access to chiral 2,5-cis- or 2,5-trans-3-pyrroline products from starting materials with the appropriate aziridine geometry. Twenty three ring expansion examples, most of which feature a stereospecific cyclization, are presented.     

Electrochemistry of Os(2,2'-bpy)2ClPyCH2NHCOPh tethered to Au electrodes by S-Au and C-Au junctions

Osmium pyridine-bipyridine redox centers have been tethered to Au electrodes by chemical modification through Au-S and Au-C bonds respectively. 4-Mercapto benzoic acid and the reduction product of the aryl diazonium salt of 4-amino benzoic acid were reacted on Au surfaces, with further post-functionalization by chemical reaction of the osmium complex amino-pyridine derivative with the surface carboxylates. The resulting modified Au surfaces were characterized by polarization modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), resonant raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.     

Influence of surface hydroxylation on 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane growth mode during chemical functionalization of GaN Surfaces: an angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Study

A comparative study of the chemical functionalization of undoped, n- and p-type GaN layers grown on sapphire substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition was carried out. Both types of samples were chemically functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) using a well-established silane-based approach for functionalizing hydroxylated surfaces. The untreated surfaces as well as those modified by hydroxylation and APTES deposition were analyzed using angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Strong differences were found between the APTES growth modes on n- and p-GaN surfaces that can be associated with the number of available hydroxyl groups on the GaN surface of each sample. Depending on the density of surface hydroxyl groups, different mechanisms of APTES attachment to the GaN surface take place in such a way that the APTES growth mode changes from a monolayer to a multilayer growth mode when the number of surface hydroxyl groups is decreased. Specifically, a monolayer growth mode with a surface coverage of approximately 78% was found on p-GaN, whereas the formation of a dense film, approximately 3 monolayers thick, was observed on n-GaN.     

Stereoselective RhI-catalyzed tandem conjugate addition of boronic acids-Michael cyclization

The first examples of the stereoselective sequence RhI-catalyzed tandem conjugate addition of boronic acids to enones-Michael cyclization, is reported. The reaction is carried out in dioxane-H2O at rt, and 1,2,3-trisubstituted indans are obtained in a highly regio- and stereoselective fashion.     

Surface and bulk cotton fibre modifications: plasma and cationization. Influence on dyeing with reactive dye

The surface of cotton fabrics was functionalized through corona plasma treatments and/or by cationising the whole of the fibre with an epihalohydrin. The effects of both treatments, individually and in combination are analyzed through wettability studies, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and also by dyeing studies with an hetero bis functional reactive dye. Plasma improved wetting properties, exhaustion of the dyebaths and K/S_corr of the fabrics through surface functionalisation. Cationising of the cotton highly increased the exhaustion of the dyebaths and produced a dramatic improvement in K/S_corr. Plasma treatment previous to cationising increased the impregnation of the fabrics, but the effects of both treatments on dyeing parameters are additive only in column water rise and generally the effects obtained by cationising with the epihalohydrin prevail. The differences between both treatments are discussed in terms of surface functionalisation of the cotton fibres.     

Potential of prodendronic polyamines with modulated segmental charge density as novel coating for fast and efficient analysis of peptides and basic proteins by CE and CE‐MS

In this work, the suitability of a new polymer family has been investigated as capillary coatings for the analysis of peptides and basic proteins by CE. This polymer family has been designed to minimize or completely prevent protein–capillary wall interactions and to modify the EOF. These coating materials are linear polymeric chains bearing as side cationizable moiety a dentronic triamine derived from N,N,N’,N’‐tetraethyldiethylenetriamine (TEDETA), which is linked to the backbone through a spacer (unit labeled as TEDETAMA). Four different polymers have been prepared and evaluated: a homopolymer which comprised only of those cationizable repetitive units of TEDETAMA, and three copolymers that randomly incorporate TEDETAMA together with neutral hydrosoluble units of N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) at different molar percentages (25:75, 50:50 and 75:25). It has been demonstrated that the composition of the copolymers influences the EOF and therefore the separation of the investigated biopolymers. Among the novel polymers studied, poly‐(TEDETAMA‐co‐HPMA) 50:50 copolymer was successfully applied as coating material of the inner capillary surface in CE‐UV and CE‐MS, providing EOF reversing together with fast and efficient baseline separation of peptides and basic proteins. Finally, the feasibility of the polymer‐coated capillary was shown through the analysis of lysozyme in a cheese sample.     

Absolute quantification of superoxide dismutase in cytosol and mitochondria of mice hepatic cells exposed to mercury by a novel metallomic approach

In the last years, the development of new methods for analyzing accurate and precise individual metalloproteins is of increasing importance, since numerous metalloproteins are excellent biomarkers of oxidative stress and diseases. In that way, methods based on the use of post column isotopic dilution analysis (IDA) or enriched protein standards are required to obtain a sufficient degree of accuracy, precision and high limits of detection. This paper reports the identification and absolute quantification of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) in cytosol and mitochondria from mice hepatic cells using a innovative column switching analytical approach. The method consisted of orthogonal chromatographic systems coupled to inductively coupling plasma-mass spectrometry equipped with a octopole reaction systems (ICP-ORS-MS) and UV detectors: size exclusion fractionation (SEC) of the cytosolic and mitochondrial extracts followed by online anion exchange chromatographic (AEC) separation of Cu/Zn containing species. After purification, Cu,Zn-SOD was identified after tryptic digestion by molecular mass spectrometry (MS). The MS/MS spectrum of a doubly charged peptide was used to obtain the sequence of the protein using the MASCOT searching engine. This optimized methodology reduces the time of analysis and avoids the use of sample preconcentration and clean-up procedures, such as cut-off centrifuged filters, solid phase extraction (SPE), precipitation procedures, off-line fractions insolates, etc. In this sense, the method is robust, reliable and fast with typical chromatographic run time less than 20 min. Precision in terms of relative standard deviation (n = 5) is of 3–5% and detection limits is 0.21 ng Cu g⁻¹.     

Conformational Analysis of the Anti‐obesity Drug Lorcaserin in Water: How To Take Advantage of Long‐Range Residual Dipolar Couplings

The conformational state of 8‐chloro‐1‐methyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐3‐benzazepine hydrochloride (lorcaserin) in water has been determined on the basis of one‐bond and long‐range C? H residual dipolar coupling (RDC) data along with DFT computations and ³J_HH coupling‐constant analysis. According to this analysis, lorcaserin exists as a conformational equilibrium of two crown‐chair forms, of which the preferred conformation has the methyl group in an equatorial orientation.