Electrochemical mapping reveals direct correlation between heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetics and local density of states in diamond electrodes

Conducting carbon materials: a multi-microscopy approach shows that local heterogeneous electron-transfer rates at conducting diamond electrodes correlate with the local density of electronic states. This model of electroactivity is of considerable value for the rational design of conducting diamond electrochemical technologies, and also provides key general insights on electrode structure controls in electrochemical kinetics.     

An investigation of methods for the analysis of zinc concentrates for their total fluoride contents

Accurate determination of trace fluoride down to 6.6 mug/g in zinc concentrate samples is found to be most expediently performed potentiometrically with a fluoride ion-selective electrode and a single-point standard addition after decomposition of the sample by potassium hydroxide fusion. The lower limit of measurement may be reduced to 1.8 mug/g if distillation from tungsten oxide flux is used in place of the fusion, but the analysis takes longer. The need for reliable fluoride data for zinc concentrate standard reference materials is exemplified and results for CANMET zinc concentrate MP-1 are given. The failure of some of the methods used to analyse standard siliceous materials is discussed.     

Chromosomally depleted interspecific hybrid cell clones selected with cytotoxic antisera: utilization in the study of control of murine leukemia virus host-range.

A chromosomally stable mouse-Chinese hamster hybrid cell line was subjected to five rounds of selection with cytotoxic antisera raised in rabbits against either the parental mouse 3T3 cells or the parental Chinese hamster Wg-1 cells. Routine karyological analysis of clones isolated at each stage of serum selection revealed that treatment with either serum resulted in a limited loss of chromosomes (compared to the untreated hybrid cell cultured in parallel) and that the pattern of chromosome loss could not be correlated with the particular antiserum used for selection. However, more detailed analysis with the SSC-formamide C-banding technique, which identifies chromosomes containing a mouse centromere region, demonstrated that while large-scale chromosome loss was not achieved as a result of antiserum selection, the limited loss of chromosomes did, in fact, reflect a specific depletion of chromosomes in response to treatment with cytotoxic antiserum. Specific chromosomal elimination was shown to occur as early as the first round of antiserum treatment. Antigenic analysis of the serum-selected clones revealed a quantitative decrease in the expression of the species-specific surface antigens selected against, but no qualitative loss of antigens was detected. The results suggest that treatment with cytotoxic antiserum may select for clones that have lost specific chromosomes bearing genes regulating the expression of species-specific surface antigens, rather than for those demonstrating large-scale depletion of chromosomes bearing the corresponding structural genes. Some of these chromosomally depleted hybrid cell clones have been used (along with pseudotype viruses containing the genome of vesicular stomatitis virus within the envelope of murine leukemia virus, VSV [MuLV]), to study the mechanisms regulating MuLV replication in Chinese hamster cells. The results indicate that the restriction of MuLV replication in Chinese hamster cells operates at two levels: (a) an inability to adsorb to or penetrate Chinese hamster cells; and (b) an additional intracellular block which is dominant in the mouse-Chinese hamster hybrid cell clones examined. This latter block is presently under study.     

Studies of the biosynthesis of DTX-5a and DTX-5b by the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum maculosum: regiospecificity of the putative Baeyer-Villigerase and insertion of a single amino acid in a polyketide chain

The biosynthetic origins of the diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins DTX-5a and DTX-5b have been elucidated by supplementing cultures of the producing organism Prorocentrum maculosum with stable isotope labeled precursors and determining the incorporation patterns by 13C NMR spectroscopy. The amino acid residue in the sulfated side chain is found to originate from glycine, and oxygen insertion in the chain is shown to occur after polyketide formation.     

The pressure and temperature dependence of the rate constant for methyl radical recombination over the temperature range 296–577 K

The rate constant for methyl radical recombination has been measured over the temperature range 296–577 K and at pressures between 5 and 500 Torr using laser flash photolysis, coupled with absorption spectroscopy at 216.36 nm. Analysis of the fall-off curves gives k_∞ = (2.78 ± 0.18) × 10^?11 exp(154 ± 22 K/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 and k₀ = (6.0 ± 3.3) × 10^?29 exp(1680 ± 300 K/T) cm⁶ molecule^?2 s^?1. The quoted errors (two standard deviations) do not include the present uncertainty in the absorption cross section, which is a major source of error (± 30%).     

Oxidation of mixed-valence Co(III)/Fe(II) complexes reversed at high pH: a kinetico-mechanistic study of water oxidation

The outer-sphere oxidation of Fe(II) in the mixed-valence complex trans-[L(14S)Co(III)NCFe(II)(CN)(6)](-), being L(14S) an N(3)S(2) macrocylic donor set on the cobalt(III) center, has been studied. The comparison with the known processes of N(5) macrocycle complexes has been carried out in view of the important differences occurring on the redox potential of the cobalt center. The results indicate that the outer-sphere oxidation reactions with S(2)O(8)(2-) and [Co(ox)(3)](3-) involve a great amount of solvent-assisted hydrogen bonding that, as a consequence from the change from two amines to sulfur donors, are more restricted. This is shown by the more positive values found for DeltaS(#) and DeltaV(#). The X-ray structure of the oxidized complex has been determined, and it is clearly indicative of the above-mentioned solvent-assisted hydrogen bonding between nitrogen and cyanide donors on the cobalt and iron centers, respectively. trans-[L(14S)Co(III)NCFe(III)(CN)(6)], as well as the analogous N(5) systems trans-[L(14)Co(III)NCFe(III)(CN)(6)], trans-[L(15)Co(III)NCFe(III)(CN)(6)], and cis-[L(13)Co(III)NCFe(III)(CN)(6)], oxidize water to hydrogen peroxide at pH > 10 with a rather simple stoichiometry, i.e., [L(n)()Co(III)NCFe(III)(CN)(5)] + OH(-) --> [L(n)()Co(III)NCFe(II)(CN)(5)](-) + (1)/(2)H(2)O(2). In this way, the reversibility of the iron oxidation process is achieved. The determination of kinetic and thermal and pressure activation parameters for this water to hydrogen peroxide oxidation leads to the kinetic determination of a cyanide based OH(-) adduct of the complex. A second-order dependence on the base concentration is associated with deprotonation of this adduct to produce the final inner-sphere reduction process. The activation enthalpies are found to be extremely low (15 to 35 kJ mol(-1)) and responsible for the very fast reaction observed. The values of DeltaS(#) and DeltaV(#) (-76 to -113 J K(-1) mol(-1) and -5.5 to -8.9 cm(3) mol(-1), respectively) indicate a highly organized but not very compressed transition state in agreement with the inner-sphere one-electron transfer from O(2-) to Fe(III).