Colourants and opacifiers in seventh and eighth century glass investigated by spectroscopic techniques

Glass fragments dating from the seventh and eighth century AD were excavated in the Crypta Balbi in Rome. They were studied to detect agents involved in colour development and opacification. Reflectance spectra recorded on powdered samples revealed the contribution of Fe(II), Fe(III), Mn(III), Cu(II), and Co(II) ions in determining colour hues. The effect of the Mn/Fe atomic ratio on glass colour is discussed. It is apparent that medieval glassmakers in Italy could obtain a wide range of colours by exploiting the presence of iron and manganese as contaminants of sand and flux and controlling the amount of oxygen let into the furnace. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis were used to study opaque fragments. The presence of calcium antimonate was detected in white, blue, and blue-green fragments, and elemental copper was detected in a red glass.     

Effect of bending and torsion rigidity on self-diffusion in polymer melts: a molecular-dynamics study

Extensive molecular-dynamics simulations have been performed to study the effect of chain conformational rigidity, controlled by bending and torsion potentials, on self-diffusion in polymer melts. The polymer model employs a novel torsion potential that avoids computational singularities without the need to impose rigid constraints on the bending angles. Two power laws are traditionally used to characterize the dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient on polymer length: D proportional to N(-nu) with nu=1 for NNe (reptation regime), Ne being the entanglement length. Our simulations, at constant temperature and density, up to N=250 reveal that, as the chain rigidity increases, the exponent nu gradually increases towards nu=2.0 for NNe. The value of Ne is slightly increased from 70 for flexible chains, up to the point where the crossover becomes undefined. This behavior is confirmed also by an analysis of the bead mean-square displacement. Subsequent investigations of the Rouse modes, dynamical structure factor, and chain trajectories indicate that the pre-reptation regime, for short stiff chains, is a modified Rouse regime rather than reptation.     

Synthese monodisperser linearer und cyclischer Oligomere der (R)-3-Hydroxybuttersäure mit bis zu 128 Einheiten

Monodisperse Linear and Cyclic Oligo[(R)-3-hydroxybutanoates] Containing up to 128 Monomeric Units Using benzyl ester/(tert-butyl)diphenylsilyl ether protection, (COCl)₂/pyridine esterification conditions, and a fragment-coupling strategy (with H₂/Pd-C debenzylation and HF · pyridine desilylation), linear oligomers of (R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid (3-HB) containing up to 128 3-HB building blocks (mol. weight > 11 000 Da) are assembled (Schemes 1,2,5, and 6). In contrast to the previously employed protecting-group combination, and due to the low-temperature esterifying conditions, this procedure leads to monodisperse oligomers: all steps occur without loss of single 3-HB units. The product oligomers with two, one, and no terminal protecting groups (mostly prepared in multi-gram amounts) are characterized by all standard spectroscopic methods, especially by mass spectroscopy (Figs. 2 and 3), by their optical activity, and by elemental analyses. Cyclization of the oligo[(R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acids] with up to 32 3-HB units, using thiopyridine activation and CuBr₂ for the ring closure, produces oligolides consisting of up to 128 ring atoms (Scheme 7). Mixed oligolides containing 3-HB and (R)-3-hydroxypentanoic units are prepared from the corresponding linear trimers, using Yamaguchi's method for the ring closure (Scheme 8 and Fig.4 (X-ray crystal structures of two folded conformers)). Comparisons of melting points (Table 1), of [α] values (Tables 2 and 3), of ¹H-NMR coupling constants (Table 3), and of molecular volume/hydroxyalkanoate unit (Table 4) of linear and cyclic oligomer derivatives and of the high-molecular-weigh polymer show that the monodisperse oligomers appear to be surprisingly good models for the polymer. Besides this insight, our synthesis is supplying the samples to further test the role of P(3-HB) (ca. 140 units) as a component of complexes forming channels through cell-wall phospholipid bilayers.     

Gels of hydrophobically modified ethyl(hydroxyethyl) cellulose cross-linked by amylose: effects of hydrophobe architecture

Previous work has shown that amylose (AM) can cross-link hydrophobically modified polymers by inclusion complexation, whereby thermoreversible cold-setting gels are formed. Here we investigate the complexation of AM with different samples of hydrophobically modified ethyl(hydroxyethyl) cellulose (HMEHEC), distinguished by differences in the architecture of the hydrophobes (the hydrophobic side chains). All hydrophobes, except one, were based on linear alkyl chains, but with varying chain lengths (C12-C14). In addition, some samples contained short hydrophilic "spacers", consisting of 2-5 ethylene oxide units, between the alkyl chains and the EHEC backbone. Gels of varying strength were obtained for the different AM/HMEHEC samples. The alkyl chain length seemed to be the major factor affecting the gel strength, with longer alkyl chains giving stronger gels. For similar alkyl chain lengths, stronger gels were obtained when a spacer was present. Addition of AM caused a small increase of the cloud points of HMEHECs with C14 hydrophobes in water. Time-dependent effects and effects of the sample preparation procedure were also investigated. The reversibility of the gelation with respect to shear was confirmed. A gel destroyed by added surfactant was shown to reform on removal of the surfactant by dialysis.     

Voltammetric studies of a psychotropic drug with nitro groups. Determination of flunitrazepam in urine using HMDE

The adsorption behaviour of flunitrazepam at the hanging mercury drop electrode was studied by staircase voltammetry and by adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetry. Flunitrazepam is adsorbed in the whole potential range, from the most positive values up to the reduction potential. Flunitrazepam reduction product is also adsorbed. The time dependence of the voltammetric response proves that a diffusion-controlled adsorption takes place. Flunitrazepam can be determined (down to nanomolar levels) by using adsorptive preconcentration prior to the differential pulse voltammetric scan. An application of such a method to flunitrazepam determination in human urine is described. The detection limit was 30 ng per milliliter of urine with a 20-sec accumulation time; the mean relative standard deviation was lower than 3.2% and the mean recovery 97.8%.     

Evidence for a two-step mechanism in electronically selective single-walled carbon nanotube reactions

Covalent and noncovalent chemistries that are selective to single-walled carbon nanotubes of a particular electronic type have become increasingly important for electronic structure separation and on-chip modification of nanoelectronic devices. By monitoring transient Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) during a reaction with 4-chlorobenzene diazonium in aqueous solution, evidence for a characteristic two-step mechanism with two distinct time constants is uncovered. A long-lived intermediate selectively and noncovalently binds and partially dopes the nanotube surface (tau = 2.4 min). A slower, covalent reaction is tracked using the time-dependent increase in the disorder mode in Raman (tau = 73 min). The transient Raman and PL data are well described using a series of two first-order reactions. The covalent bonding step can be deactivated by changing the structure of the surfactant adsorbed phase, further supporting the mechanism.     

Preparation and self-assembly of chiral porphyrin diads on the gold electrodes of quartz crystal microbalances: a novel potential approach to the development of enantioselective chemical sensors

Porphyrin diad 1 was synthesized by reaction of the acyl chloride of porphyrin 2 and trans-1,2-dithiane-4,5-diol. The Co complex of this diad was studied as a potential enantioselective receptor for chiral recognition in solution and in the solid state. In solution both enantiomers of limonene induce significant changes in the visible and circular dichroism (CD) spectra of [Co2(1)], while a different behavior is observed in the case of the enantiomeric pair of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. A different efficiency of [Co2(1)] chiral recognition is obtained for these compounds, with a remarkable degree of enantiodiscrimination observed in the case of limonene. Self-assembled monolayers of [Co2(1)] were deposited onto the gold electrodes of quartz crystal microbalances to be used as sensing materials of nanogravimetric sensors operating in the gas phase. The enantiodiscrimination properties of these sensors towards the enantiomeric pairs of chiral analytes have been studied. While in the case of analytes bearing donor ligand atoms we did not observe a remarkable enantioselectivity, a significant degree of chiral discrimination was observed in the case of limonene; this result is particularly encouraging for the potential development of enantioselective chemical sensors for use in an array configuration.     

Synthesis and evaluation of stereopure α-trifluoromethyl-malic hydroxamates as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases

The total synthesis of trifluoromethyl (Tfm) analogs of known nanomolar matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) inhibitors has been performed. The synthetic protocol is based on a moderately stereoselective aldol reaction of trifluoropyruvate with an N-acyl-oxazolidin-2-thione for the construction of the core α-Tfm-malic unit. Both the diastereomeric forms of the target α-Tfm-malic hydroxamates showed micromolar inhibitory potency toward MMP-2 and 9, with a substantial drop with respect to the parent unfluorinated compounds.