On the Validity of Stokes–Einstein and Stokes–Einstein–Debye Relations in Ionic Liquids and Ionic‐Liquid Mixtures

Stokes–Einstein (SE) and Stokes–Einstein–Debye (SED) relations in the neat ionic liquid (IL) [C₂mim][NTf₂] and IL/chloroform mixtures are studied by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For this purpose, we simulate the translational diffusion coefficients of the cations and anions, the rotational correlation times of the C(2)? H bond in the cation C₂mim⁺, and the viscosities of the whole system. We find that the SE and SED relations are not valid for the pure ionic liquid, nor for IL/chloroform mixtures down to the miscibility gap (at 50 wt % IL). The deviations from both relations could be related to dynamical heterogeneities described by the non‐Gaussian parameter α(t). If α(t) is close to zero, at a concentration of 1 wt % IL in chloroform, both relations become valid. Then, the effective radii and volumes calculated from the SE and SED equations can be related to the structures found in the MD simulations, such as aggregates of ion pairs. Overall, similarities are observed between the dynamical properties of supercooled water and those of ionic liquids.     

Electrophoresis of soft particles at high electrolyte concentrations: an interpretation by the Henry theory

The existence of electrophoretic mobility at high electrolyte concentrations defines a remarkable peculiarity in the electrosurface characteristics of soft particles. According to Ohshima [H. Ohshima, Colloids Surf. 103 (1995) 249], this effect is caused by the electroosmotic flow within the soft particle shell. An explanation supporting Ohshima's conclusion can be derived from classic electrokinetic theories. Based on the Henry theory [D.C. Henry, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 133 (1931) 106], we demonstrate that the electrophoretic mobility of soft particles does not disappear at decinormal concentration.     

Thermophysical properties and material modelling of acrylic bone cements used in vertebroplasty

The stabilization of osteoporotic vertebrae with acrylic bone cement, called vertebroplasty, is a common procedure in modern surgery. However, the thermomechanical-chemically coupled material behaviour of curing bone cements makes the application even for experienced surgeons difficult and can lead to potential complications like heat necrosis, leaking bone cement, embolisms and postoperative load shifting. In order to reduce these potential complications, to minimize the risks and to better understand the occurring effects, the thermophysical properties of a commercial acrylic bone cement were investigated in detail using differential scanning calorimetry, volumetric dilatometry and temperature controlled rheometry. More specifically, the reaction kinetics, the specific heat, the thermal conductivity, the thermal expansion, the chemical shrinkage as well as the mechanical behaviour was studied during the reaction process of the bone cement. Furthermore, the explored material behaviour is described by a customized material model that takes into account all observed effects. With the aid of this model the inhomogeneous chemical, thermal and mechanical states that appear during the application and curing of acrylic bone cements, can be studied by finite element treatment.     

Transient innermolecular carbene-hemicarcerand complex of fluorophenylcarbene

Laser flash photolysis of fluorophenyldiazirine incarcerated in hemicarcerand 2 affords incarcerated fluorophenylcarbene [2⊙3], which forms a metastable, innermolecular π-complex with aryl moieties of 2. This carbene complex can be observed spectroscopically. Extensive computational studies provide insights into the structure, spectroscopy, energetics, and kinetics of the 2⊙3 carbene complex.     

Extending ligand field molecular mechanics to modelling organometallic π-bonded systems: applications to ruthenium-arenes

The ligand field molecular mechanics method has been extended to treat η(6)-arene ligands coordinated to a ruthenium(II) centre by employing a dummy atom located at the centroid of the arene ring and distributing the forces on the dummy to the arene carbon atoms. Angular overlap model parameters based on orbital energies derived from Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) calculations show that, relative to the Ru-dummy vector, the arene behaves as a very strong π donor and weak σ donor. Based on KS-DFT geometries, partial atomic charges and potential energy scans for a series of homoleptic and half sandwich complexes spanning arene, am(m)ine, imine, pyridyl, hydride and chloride ligands, a new LFMM force field has been developed which accurately reproduces the KS-DFT data. This FF was validated against 47 half-sandwich complexes obtained from the Cambridge Structural Database which, after minor corrections to account for the systematic errors between our chosen functional (BP86) and the experimental structures, yields a 'structurally tuned' FF where 93% of the Ru-L contacts are reproduced to 0.05 ? or better and all bar two bond lengths are within 0.1 ? of experiment. Over half the systems have non-hydrogen-atom rmsds of less than 0.5 ?. Larger differences are usually due to rotation of the arene moiety which is shown by ligand field molecular dynamics (LFMD) simulations to be an inherently low-energy process. Comparisons between LFMD and Car-Parrinello MD for [Ru(p-cymene)(ethylenediamine)Cl](+)show that LFMD is equally accurate but much faster enabling modelling of dynamic properties which occur on a timescale beyond the scope of CPMD.     

Assay Related Target Similarity (ARTS) - chemogenomics approach for quantitative comparison of biological targets

Computer-based chemogenomics approaches compare macromolecular drug targets based on their amino acid sequences or derived properties, by similarity of their ligands, or according to ligand-target interaction models. Here we present ARTS (Assay Related Target Similarity) as a quantitative index that estimates target similarity directly from measured affinities of a set of probe compounds. This approach reduces the risk of deducing artificial target relationships from mutually inactive compounds. ARTS implements a scoring scheme that matches intertarget similarity based on dose-response measurements. While all experimentally derived target similarities have a tendency to be data set-dependent, we demonstrate that ARTS depends less on the used data set than the commonly used Pearson correlation or Tanimoto index.     

N-(4-(di-tert-butyl[F]fluorosilyl)benzyl)-2-hydroxy-N,N-dimethylethylammonium bromide ([F]SiFANBr): A novel lead compound for the development of hydrophilic SiFA-based prosthetic groups for F-labeling

¹⁸F-labeled compounds play a major role in the development of new in vivo imaging agents for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a non invasive imaging modality depicting the biodistribution of radioactive compounds in humans. Recently we reported a new method for the introduction of fluorine-18 into a range of organic molecules exploiting the very fast ¹⁸F-¹⁹F isotope exchange of fluorosilanes (termed SiFA compounds). Here, we wish to report the labeling of the first charged SiFA molecule N-(4-(di-tert-butylfluorosilyl)benzyl)-2-hydroxy-N,N-dimethylethylammonium bromide (SiFAN⁺Br⁻) serving as a lead compound in the development of SiFA-based prosthetic groups of reduced lipophilicity for biomolecule labeling. Mild conditions for synthesis of [¹⁸F]SiFAN⁺Br⁻ and an easy purification procedure using simple C-18 solid phase cartridge have been developed yielding the [¹⁸F]SiFAN⁺Br⁻ in radiochemical yields of 34% (non-decay corrected) within 40 min. A series of kinetic experiments were performed that show high isotopic exchange rate constants. Low activation energy (15.7 kcal/mol) and a large preexponential factor (7.9 × 10¹³ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) were calculated for the isotopic exchange reaction from a corresponding Arrhenius plot. For comparison, the ¹⁸F-fluorination of ethyleneglycol-di-p-tosylate via the formation of a carbon-¹⁸F bond showed a 1.3 kcal/mol higher activation energy and a much lower preexponential factor of 2.9 × 10⁹ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. Moderate hydrophilicity (log D = 0.44), stability in aqueous media at pH up to 7.4 and a high specific activity of [¹⁸F]SiFAN⁺Br⁻ (SA = 20.4 GBq/μmol, 0.55 Ci/μmol) make this charged SiFA compound useful for the development of novel SiFA-based ¹⁸F-labeling synthons.     

Measuring nitrate concentration in wastewaters with high chloride content

The presence of chloride ions in wastewaters in concentrations above 50 mg/L poses interference in several methods used for the measurement of nitrate-nitrogen. The aim of this study was to characterise the reliability and costs of some commonly available methods for the analysis of nitrate concentration in landfill leachate which contains high chloride levels. To investigate the effect of chloride interference, several widely used methods [ion chromatography (IC), continuous flow analysis (CFA), the German standard method (DIN), cuvette test (CUV), standard addition method (SAM) and reflectometric test (REF)] were used to measure the nitrate concentration in synthetic solutions containing varying concentrations of chloride and nitrate-nitrogen. Nitrate recoveries of the various methods were found to decrease in the following rank order: CUV (>95%) > IC (>90%) > CFA (89%) > DIN (88%) > REF (70%) > SAM (<80%). In the second part of the study, the same methods were used to measure nitrate concentrations in samples of biologically nitrified landfill leachate with and without chloride elimination. For leachate samples without chloride elimination, CUV results were well correlated (linear regression) with IC results (slope = 1.02/R² = 0.99) but to lesser extents with results obtained by CFA (0.91/0.86), DIN (0.89/0.97) and REF (0.86/0.77), and not correlated with SAM (0.74/–1.3). The incurred measurement costs per sample (in Euros) for the methods were as follows: CFA (<0.1) < DIN (0.6) < REF (0.7) < SAM (3) < CUV (3.8) < IC (15). Cuvette tests are recommended as the method of choice due to their accuracy and lower cost than IC.