On the Criteria of Instability for Electrochemical Systems

Both cyclic-voltammetry-based and impedance-based experimental criteria that have been developed recently for the oscillatory electrochemical systems are critically appraised with two typical categories of oscillators.Consistent conclusions can be drawn by the two criteria for the category of oscillators that involve the coupling of charge transfer mainly with surface steps(e.g.ad-and desorption)such as in the electrooxidation of C1 organic molecules.Whereas,impedance-based criterion is not applicable to the category of oscillators that involve the coupling of charge transfer mainly with mass transfer(e.g.diffusion and convection) such as in the Fe(CN)6^3- reduction accompanying periodic hydrogen evolution.The reason is that the negative impedance cannot include the feedback information of convection mass transfer induced by the hydrogen evolution.However,both positive and negative nonlinear feedbacks,i.e., the diffusion-limited depletion and convection-enhanced replenishment of the Fe(CN)6^3- surface concentration,that coexist between the bistability,i.e.,Fe(CN)6^3- reduction with and without hydrogen evolution at lower and higher potential sides respectively,are all reflected in the crossed cyclic voltammogram(CCV).It can be concluded that the voltammetry-based criterion(in time domain)is more intuitive,less time-consuming and has a wider range of applications than the impedancebased one (in frequency domain).     

Electrocatalytic properties of surface oxides on gold,platinum, and stainless steel electrodes in electrooxidation of malic acid

Electrocatalytic properties of oxides formed at gold, platinum, and stainless steel electrodes in the malic acid electrooxidation in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ are studied. Gas chromatographic analysis of the electrolyte after holding the potential at 1.0 V for 8 h shows that on platinum and gold electrodes 2 mmol of acetaldehyde are produced and on stainless steel, 45 mmol. The acetaldehyde yield is the highest on stainless steel.From Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 304–309.Original English Text Copyright © 2005 by Avramov Ivi, Popi, Antonovi.This article was submitted by the authors in English.     

Slow internal dynamics in proteins: application of NMR relaxation dispersion spectroscopy to methyl groups in a cavity mutant of T4 lysozyme

Recently developed carbon transverse relaxation dispersion experiments (Skrynnikov, N. R.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 4556-4566) were applied to the study of millisecond to microsecond time scale motions in a cavity mutant of T4 lysozyme (L99A) using methyl groups as probes of dynamics. Protein expressed in E. coli cells with (13)CH(3)-pyruvate as the sole carbon source contained high levels of (13)C enrichment at a total of 80 Val gamma, Leu delta, Ile gamma (2), Ala beta, and Met epsilon methyl positions with little extraneous incorporation. Data for 72 methyl groups were available for analysis. Dispersion profiles with large amplitudes were measured for many of these residues and were well fit to a two-state exchange model. The interconversion rates and populations of the states, obtained from fitting relaxation dispersion profiles of each individual probe, were remarkably homogeneous and data for nearly all methyl groups in the protein could be collectively fit to a single cooperative conformational transition. The present study demonstrates the general applicability of methyl relaxation dispersion measurements for the investigation of millisecond time scale protein motions at a large number of side-chain positions. Potential artifacts associated with the experiments are described and methods to minimize their effects presented. These experiments should be particularly well suited for probing dynamics in high molecular weight systems due to the favorable NMR spectroscopic properties of methyl groups.     

Preparation of weak cation exchange packings based on monodisperse poly(glycidyl methacrylate-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads and their chromatographic properties

The monodisperse, macroporous poly(glycidyl methacrylate- co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads were synthesized by a single-step swelling and polymerization method. Based on this media, a weak cation exchange (WCX) stationary phase for HPLC was synthesized by a new chemically modified method. The prepared resin has advantages for biopolymer separation, high column efficiency, low column backpressure, high protein mass recovery, and good resolution for proteins. The measured bioactivity recovery for lysozyme was 98+/-5%. The dynamic protein loading capacity of the WCX packings was 17.3 mg g(-1). The experimental results show that the synthesized WCX resin has very weak hydrophobicity.     

Analysis of steroids. XLI. Ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of quaternary ammonium steroids on silica.

A normal-phase ion-pair chromatographic system has been developed for the high-performance liquid chromatographic investigation of pipecuronium bromide (2 beta,16 beta-bis-(N'-dimethyl-l-piperazinyl)-3 alpha,17 beta-diacetoxy-5 alpha-androstane dibromide) and related quaternary ammonium steroids. The use of silica as the stationary phase and a 96:4 mixture of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1 mol/dm3 sodium perchlorate as the eluent with detection at 213 nm enable the potential impurities as well as the hydrolytic and oxidative degradation products of pipecuronium bromide to be separated and detected down to the 0.01% level. The above system is also applicable to the high-performance liquid chromatographic investigation of other quaternary ammonium steroids (pancuronium bromide, vecuronium bromide).     

Influence of chloride anions on the electrodeposition and electroactivity of the polymer matrix in polypyrrole,poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-methylpyrrole) and polypyrrole derivatives functionalized by titanocene centers,in dry non-aqueous solutions

We report electrochemical studies on the influence of a small concentration of chloride ions on the electroactivity of the polymer matrix of polypyrrole (PPy), poly(N-methylpyrrole) [p(N-MePy)] and a poly(titanocene-propyl-pyrrole) derivative, p(Tc3Py) [Tc(CH₂)₃NC₄H₄; Tc=CpCpTiCl₂; Cp=C₅H₅; Cp=C₅H₄] in acetonitrile (AN), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The polymer films were obtained on Pt disc electrodes from AN solutions of the monomers containing 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF₆) as the supporting electrolyte and then transferred to the corresponding monomer-free solution. Studies in Cl^–-containing solutions have shown that the p(Tc3Py) matrix is very sensitive to the presence of Cl^– ions in all the above solvents, namely that it was subjected to electrochemical degradation at potentials above 0.1 V vs. a Ag/0.01 M Ag⁺ in AN reference electrode. Degradation of the p(Tc3Py) matrix was also observed in chloride-free DMF+TBAPF₆ solutions. Addition of chloride ions to the AN solution containing pyrrole, N-methylpyrrole or Tc3Py inhibits the deposition of the polymer films. On the other hand, we have found that PPy and p(N-MePy) matrices after their deposition in chloride-free AN solutions show much more stable redox responses in contact with chloride and/or DMF solutions. Possible mechanisms of these effects are discussed.Abbreviations AN acetonitrile - Cp cyclopentadienyl - DMF N,N-dimethylformamide - N-MePy N-methylpyrrole - p(N-MePy) poly(N-methylpyrrole) - PPy polypyrrole - p(Tc3Py) poly[Tc(CH₂)₃NC₄H₄] - Py pyrrole - Tc titanocene=bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dichloride, Cp₂TiCl₂, or its radical CpCpTiCl₂ (Cp=C₅H₄) - Tc3Py titanocene-propyl-pyrrole, Tc(CH₂)₃NC₄H₄ - THF tetrahydrofuran Contribution to the 3rd Baltic Conference on Electrochemistry, Gdansk-Sobieszewo, Poland, 23–26 April 2003Dedicated to the memory of Harry B. Mark, Jr. (28 February 1934–3 March 2003)     

Two new compounds derived from bufalin

The biotransformation of bufalin by cell suspension cultures of Platycodon grandiflorus was investigated and two new biotransformed products were obtained,which was 3-epi-telocinobufagin and 3-epi-bufalin-3-O-β-D-glucoside.     

Mild and efficient synthesis of (Z)-alpha-chloroalkylidene-beta-lactones via the PdCl2-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation of 2-alkynols

[reaction: see text] A mild and efficient methodology involving PdCl(2)-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation of 2-alkynols with CuCl(2) for the synthesis of (Z)-alpha-chloroalkylidene-beta-lactones was developed. Using the readily available optically active propargylic alcohols allows convenient synthesis of the corresponding (Z)-alpha-chloroalkylidene-beta-lactones with high ee values. cis-Chloropalladation was observed as the major pathway, which is unique as compared to the reported data.     

Effect of Ce<Superscript>3+</Superscript> on spectral characteristic of D1/D2/Cytb559 complex from spinach

It was studied by spectroscopy that PSII reaction center complex consisting of three polypeptides, D₁, D₂ and Cytb559, were purified from PSII particle of CeCl₃ treated spinach. The results of the experiment show that Ce³⁺ could improve the growth of spinach, and accelerate electron transport of PSII particles. Of chl-a of UV-Vis spectrum of D1/D2/Cytb559 complex, Soret band was blue-shifted by 3 nm and Q band by 2 nm, respectively, and the fluorescence emission peak was blue-shifted by 5 nm in CeCl₃-treated spinach compared with the one in control. By the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy methods, it has been found that Ce³⁺ is coordinated with 8 nitrogen atoms in the first coordination shell with Ce-N bond length of 0.253 nm, and Ce³⁺ with 6 oxygen atoms in the second coordination shell with Ce-O bond length of 0.32 nm. However, the secondary structure of D1/D2/Cytb559 complex by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has no significant change after CeCl₃ treated. It might be that Ce³⁺ binds to porphyrin rings of chlorophyll and oxygen of amino acid residue of polypeptide in D1/D2/Cytb559 complex, and then accelerates the primary reaction of PSII, intensifies function of P680⁺ primary electron donor of D1/D2/Cytb559, but there is little change in conformation of PSII reaction center complex.     

Hydrocarbon polymer analysis by external MALDI fourier transform and reflectron time of flight mass spectrometry

The traditional solvent-based matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) preparation method has been used to analyze nonpolar polymers of various molecular weights. High resolution silver cationized oligomers with masses of up to 12 KDa were measured using 9.4 tesla Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) with an external ionization source. It was observed that when time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used, the spectra of polyethylene polymers showed abundant low mass fragment ions. However, these fragments were absent from the FTMS spectra.