Surface modification of nanoporous alumina surfaces with poly(ethylene glycol)

Nanoporous alumina surfaces have a variety of applications in biosensors, biofiltration, and targeted drug delivery. However, the fabrication route to create these nanopores in alumina results in surface defects in the crystal lattice. This results in inherent charge on the porous surface causing biofouling, that is, nonspecific adsorption of biomolecules. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is known to form biocompatible nonfouling films on silicon surfaces. However, its application to alumina surfaces is very limited and has not been well investigated. In this study, we have covalently attached PEG to nanoporous alumina surfaces to improve their nonfouling properties. A PEG-silane coupling technique was used to modify the surface. Different concentrations of PEG for different immobilization times were used to form PEG films of various grafting densities. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to verify the presence of PEG moieties on the alumina surface. High-resolution C1s spectra show that with an increase in concentration and immobilization time, the grafting density of PEG also increases. Further, a standard overlayer model was used to calculate the thickness of PEG films formed using the XPS intensities of the Al2p peaks. The films formed by this technique are less than 2.5 nm thick, suggesting that such films will not clog the pores which are in the range of 70-80 nm.     

Studies on226Ra and210Pb activities and the concentration factors of226Ra in the surface organic layers of the estuarine sediments of Mindola and Purna rivers in India

The sediment samples have been collected from estuarine regions of Mindola and Purna of Gujarat State. These samples are found to contain less than 3% of organic matter which scavange and carry most of the activity of²²⁶Ra, etc., to the sediment floor. The activities of²²⁶Ra are found to vary from 0.1 to 0.5 pCi/g, while²¹⁰Pb activities lie in the range of 3 to 8 pCi/g. These activities find their way into the organisms present in sea water and then into fish which is finally consumed by humans. This paper gives in detail the sampling techniques, experimental procedures and the distribution of the isotopes of²²⁶Ra and²¹⁰Pb in the estuarine regions and the concentration factors of²²⁶Ra in the region.     

Electron transfer. 138. Potentials involving chelated chromium(V)

The bis(chelated) complex of Cr^V(0) derived from the dianion (L^{2 −}) of 2-ethyl-2-hydroxybutanoic acid is readily reduced to a bis(chelate of Cr^III, featuring the monoanion (LH⁻) [Cr ^V(0)(L²⁻)₂]⁻+4H⁺+H₂O+2e⁻→[Cr^III(OH₂)₂(LH⁻ ₂]⁺ of this acid. Potentials estimated by Ghosh in 1993 for this 2e⁻ change, E⁰ (pH 0) 1.32 V, E^eff (pH 3.3) 0.93 V, are in accord with the nearly irreversible reductions of the Cr(V) species (in 1∶1 ligand buffer) by Fe²⁺, V0²⁺, IrCl₆ ^{3 −} and I⁻, whereas lower values reported by Bose in 1996, E⁰ (pH 0) 0.84 V, E^eff (pH 3.3) 0.45 V, are potentiometrically inconsistent with these conversions. A similar discrepancy is noted for potentials for Cr(V,IV) estimated in 1996, E⁰ (pH 0) 0.84 V, E^eff (pH 3.3) 0.46 V, which, wholly contrary to observation, predict that the reductions of excess Cr(V) to CR(IV) by Fe²⁺, V0²⁺, and I⁻ are thermodynamically disfavored.     

Determination of rhenium in the URe2 binary compound by differential spectrophotometry

A differential spectrophotometric determination of rhenium in its binary compound with uranium is described; the method is based on the action of tin(II) chloride on perrhenate in the presence of dimethylglyoxime with measurement at 445 nm. Uranium does not interfere. For solutions containing about 1 mg of rhenium, the coefficient of variation was 0.08%.     

Use of a carboxylate exchanger in the determination of copper in distilled water by neutron activation analysis

Copper in distilled water is collected on Zeokarb 226(NH ₄ ⁺ ) and irradiated with thermal neutrons. By comparison of the induced activity of 0.51 MeV photopeak of⁶⁴Cu with that of a standard, irradiated under comparable conditions, copper at ppb levels is easily determined.     

Microwave-assisted ring-closing metathesis revisited. On the question of the nonthermal microwave effect

The ring-closing metathesis reactions (RCM) of six standard diene substrates leading to five-, six-, or seven-membered carbo- or heterocycles were investigated under controlled microwave irradiation. RCM protocols were performed with standard Grubbs type II and a cationic ruthenium allenylidene catalyst in neat and ionic liquid-doped methylene chloride under sealed vessel conditions. Very rapid conversions (15 s) were achieved utilizing 0.5 mol % Grubbs II catalyst under microwave conditions. Careful comparison studies indicate that the observed rate enhancements are not the result of a nonthermal microwave effect.     

Rare earth impurities in high purity lanthanum oxide determined by neutron activation analysis

Individual rare earth impurities in high purity La₂O₃ (99.9%) have been determined by NAA after pre-separation of the matrix (La). The separation is carried out on an anion exchanger (Dowex 1×8) using different mixtures of methanol/nitric acid as eluants. The rare earth elements from Dy to Lu are eluted quantitatively using a 10% 1M HNO₃-90% methanol mixture, while the light rare earths from Ce to Gd are eluted quantitatively using a 10% 0.05M HNO₃-90% methanol mixture. La, which is retained on the column, is eluted using 0.1M HNO₃. The recoveries of the various rare earth elements have been checked using radiotracers and also by spiking the sample with known amount of elements, and the recoveries are found to be quantitative. Results obtained on a typical high purity lanthanum oxide are reported here.     

Translational hydrodynamics for binary mixtures: Memory from internal molecular relaxation

We consider a binary fluid mixture made up of a monatomic species and a two level molecular species and investigate the decay of correlations in the hydrodynamic variables. By restricting our considerations to the translationally hydrodynamic situations, we deduce a set of generalised hydrodynamic equations in which the frequency, ω, and wavenumber, k, dependent memory arises solely from the internal molecular relaxation. From these generalised hydrodynamic equations, we identify various (k, ω) dependent transport coefficients and the relaxation time which depends on k. We also compute the spectrum of (polarised) light scattered from such a binary mixture. We illustrate the dependence on k, ω and concentration in the problem by a numerical calculation of the generalised transport coefficients, the Rayleigh-Brillouin spectrum and the dispersion of various modes in this spectrum for the case of thermal relaxation in a parahydrogen-helium mixture.     

Porous Tungsten Oxide: Recent Advances in Design,Synthesis, and Applications

Tungsten oxide (WO₃) has received ever more attention and has been highly researched over the last decade due to its being a low-cost transition metal semiconductor with tunable, yet widely stable, band gaps. This minireview briefly highlights the challenges in the design and synthesis of porous WO₃ including methods, precursors, solvent effects, crystal phases, and surface activities of the porous WO₃ base material. These topics are explored while also drawing a connection of how the morphology and crystal phase affect the band gap. The shifts in band gap not only impact the optical properties of tungsten but also allow tuning to operate on different energy levels, which makes WO₃ highly desirable in many applications such as supercapacitors, batteries, solar cells, catalysts, sensors, smart windows, and bioapplications.