Determination of various inorganic anions and organic acids in the atmospheric particulate matter using capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection was developed for the simultaneous analysis of inorganic anions and organic acids using a mixed solution of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid and cetyltrimethylammonium hydroxide as the background electrolyte (BGE). The parameters which influence the separation, such as indirect UV detection wavelength, BGE conditions, applied voltage and extraction conditions were investigated. Thirteen inorganic anions and organic acids were detected within 20 min. The calibration curves of each analyte were linear with correlation coefficients greater than 0.991. The relative standard deviations (n = 10) of the peak areas ranged from 0.6% to 3.3%. The detection limits for these species ranged from 0.4 to 1.4 mg/L at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The recovery rate of each analyte was more than 80% under optimised extraction conditions, except for nitrite. The proposed method was applied towards the analysis of inorganic anions and organic acids in the atmospheric particulate matter using an Andersen sampler. The particle size of the particulate matter was determined, but not the size of the anions.     

Ru-catalyzed ring-opening and substitution reactions of heteroaromatic compounds using propargylic carboxylates as precursors of vinylcarbenoids

[reaction: see text] The reaction of heteroaromatic compounds with propargylic carboxylates in the presence of a catalytic amount of [RuCl(2)(CO)(3)](2) or PtCl(2) gives trienes in good yields. The key intermediate is an electrophilic (1-acetoxylvinyl)carbene complex generated from the activated propargylic acetates with transition metals.     

Metal-Support Interaction Which Controls the Oxidation State, Structure and Catalysis of Pd

A metal-support interaction between Pd and various kinds of zeolite and metal oxide supports was studied, which were active in the catalytic combustion and selective reduction of NO. The acid-base properties of supports affected the oxidation state, structure and catalytic activity of Pd. The acid sites of zeolite played the role to anchor the dispersed PdO as evidenced by the dynamic structural change of Pd. It was found that the metal-support interaction is an important factor, affecting the oxidation state, structure and catalytic performance of Pd.     

Quantitative estimation of interaction between carbohydrates and concanavalin A by surface plasmon resonance biosensor

We measured the affinity of more than 20 sugars with concanavalin A (ConA) by an optical biosensor (surface plasmon resonance sensor) using asialofetuin (ASF) as an immobilized binding partner of ConA. We determined kinetic parameters of the effects of sugars on the dissociation of ConA from ASF quantitatively, and the structural requirements of the functional groups of sugars for binding with ConA. We found that the affinity of ConA for sugars is dependent on its conformation induced by interaction with the binding partner. In addition, the results showed that optical biosensor system is well mimics the interaction of ConA with sugars in biomembrane.     

Determination of 4-alkylphenols by novel derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method for the determination of alkylphenols in water samples has been developed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Alkylphenols were determined after the extractive derivatization with pentafluoropyridine. The derivatization of alkylphenols efficiently proceeded to give the corresponding 4-tetrafluoropyridyl derivatives under the biphasic reaction system. The derivatization conditions including the phase-transfer catalyst, the amount of pentafluoropyridine, the reaction time, the concentration of NaOH and organic solvent were optimized. On the mass spectra of these derivatives, intense specific ion peaks were observed: m/z 256 for 4-n-alkylphenols and m/z 284 for 4-tert.-alkylphenols. Calibration curves were linear in the range of 20-1000 ng/l (200-10,000 ng/l for nonylphenol), and the detection limits varied between 6.93 and 15.7 ng/l (85.2 ng/l for nonylphenol). The average recoveries of the alkylphenols in a fortified river water sample (100 ng/l except for nonylphenol: 1000 ng/l) ranged from 91.1 to 112%. The relative standard deviations were found to be between 5.6 and 16%. This method was successfully applied to the determination of alkylphenols in river water.     

Effect of lipid composition on phospholipase A2-catalyzed membrane leakage in immobilized liposomes: sensitization for polychlorinated biphenyls detection with antibody affinity column tandem with fluorescent liposome column

Phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2))-catalyzed membrane leakage can be detected by immobilized liposomes containing a self-quenching fluorescent dye, calcein, on an open column using off-line analysis with a fluorescent spectrophotometer. The calcein release was found to be affected by the pH value, incubation time, and liposome compositions. The fluorescent signal from the negatively charged liposomes hydrolyzed by PLA(2) was 5 times higher than that from neutral liposomes. We utilized this enzymatic reaction to amplify signal to detect polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). To achieve this goal, we conjugated an analogue of PCB, 3,4-dichloroaniline, to PLA(2). The competitive immunoreaction between the 3,4-dichloroaniline-PLA(2) conjugate and PCB samples on the anti-PCB antibody column caused the release of the bound PLA(2) conjugates in proportion to the PCB concentration. The released PLA(2) conjugates was then passed through the tandem fluorescent liposome column causing release of fluorescent dye from the liposomes. Therefore, the signal of immunocompetitive assay was amplified on the fluorescent liposome column. The tandem column system achieves a high sensitivity by detecting the PCB concentration as low as 0.5 ng/mL in less than 20 min. It has great potential in detecting other pollutants, and has been used for sensitive immunoassays.     

Large Eddy Simulation of a Free-Burning Arc Discharge in Argon with a Turbulent Cross Flow and External Field

In most of the numerical approaches proposed for modeling high-intensity plasma-arcs, the effects of turbulence on the arc structure are often excluded because of the intricate physics originating from the interaction of turbulent scales, high-temperature gas dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and chemical kinetics. The goal of this study is threefold: to develop a generic turbulent MHD model to simulate free-burning arc discharges, to validate the code with available experimental data, and to investigate the effect of an external field and turbulent cross flow on the free-burning arc configuration. The governing equations are solved in conservative form using a hybrid scheme that combines a high-order monotonic upwind scheme with a second-order central scheme. The fluid and MHD turbulence are resolved using a large eddy simulation (LES) approach with a recently developed sub-grid closure model. An implicit scheme is used to compute the magnetic diffusion term appearing in the magnetic induction equation to alleviate the severe time-step constraint. The comparison of the model prediction with experimental data for Argon arcs at different current intensities shows generally good agreement. When an external field is applied, the overall shape of the free-burning arc drastically changes. The straightening of the arc indicates the potential for stabilization of a free-burning arc by magnetic forces. Even though the turbulence is significantly attenuated as a result of the thermal expansion near the cathode, it adds an unsteady characteristic to the arc and, in general, has a negative impact on the stabilization of the electrical discharge.     

NMR and MO Studies on the Molecular Structure of a Fluoranthene-Benzene Complex

Summary. Fluoranthene (FA) forms a 1:1 van der Waals complex with benzene in cyclohexane. The ¹H NMR spectrum of this complex shows that the FA moiety in the complex state has five kinds of hydrogen atoms and that the ¹H NMR peaks assigned to the protons attached to the naphthalene skeleton are largely shifted to higher magnetic field on complex formation with benzene. These observations indicate that the complex takes the structure of C_S symmetry, in which the benzene molecule mainly interacts with the electronic system localized on the naphthalene moiety of FA. The present ab initio calculations reproduce well the ¹H NMR spectral shifts mentioned above and the experimentally predicted C_S structure of the complex. According to the PPP calculations for the electronic absorption spectral changes on the complex formation, the FA-benzene complex is considered to take a sandwich type structure.     

Self-organized glycoclusters along DNA: effect of the spatial arrangement of galactoside residues on cooperative lectin recognition

We describe herein the relationship between the spatial arrangement of self-organized galactose clusters and lectin recognition. beta-Galactose-modified deoxyuridine phosphoramidite was synthesized and applied to solid-phase synthesis to provide 18-, 20-, and 22-mers of site-specifically galactosylated oligodeoxynucleotides (Gal-ODNs). These Gal-ODNs were self-organized through hybridization with the corresponding 18-, 20-, and 22-mers of half-sliding complementary ODNs (hsc-ODNs) to give periodic galactoside clusters. The self-organization of ODNs was confirmed by size exclusion chromatography and gel electrophoresis. The binding of the Gal-clusters to the FITC-labeled RCA(120) lectin was analyzed by monitoring the change in fluorescence intensity. The assembly of 20-mer Gal-ODN with the 20-mer hsc-ODN was strongly and cooperatively recognized by the lectin. The 18-mer assembly was bound more weakly and less cooperatively, and the 22-mer assembly was minimally bound to the lectin. RCA(120) lectin recognized not only the density of galactoside residues, but also the spatial arrangement. The size of the Gal cluster was estimated from the association constant of Gal-ODN with hsc-ODN. The relationship between lectin-recognition and Gal-cluster size is also discussed.