Determination of myo-inositol in a flow-injection system with co-immobilized enzyme reactors and amperometric detection

A selective and sensitive flow-injection system for the determination of myo-inositol (hexahydroxycyclohexane) is described. Inositol dehydrogenase, IDH, lactate dehydrogenase, LDH, and lactate oxidase, LOD, are co-immobilized on porous glass and used in a packed-bed enzyme reactor. myo-Inositol reacts to produce an equivalent amount of hydrogen peroxide, which oxidizes hexacyanoferrate(II) to hexacyanoferrate(III) in a second reactor containing immobilized peroxidase. The hexacyanoferrate(III) is then detected amperometrically at 0 mV vs. SCE in a flow-through detector. The system responds linearly to injected samples of myo-inositol (25 μl) in the concentration range 1–300 μM. The maximum throughput was 90 samples per hour. The IDH/LDH/LOD reactor was stable for at least 5 weeks.     

The maximal solution of a restricted subadditive inequality in numerical analysis

For a fixed non-negative integerp, letU _2p = {U _2p (n)},n ≥ 0, denote the sequence that is defined by the initial conditionsU _2p (0) =U _2p (1) =U _2p (2) = =U _2p (2p) = 1 and the restricted subadditive recursion $$U_{2p} (n + 2p + 1) = \mathop {\min }\limits_{0 \leqslant l \leqslant p} (U_{2p} (n + l) + U_{2p} (n + 2p - l)),n \geqslant 0$$ U _2p is of importance in the theory of sequential search for simple real zeros of real valued continuous 2p-th derivatives In this paper, several closed form expressions forU _2p (n), n > 2p, are determined, thereby providing insight into the structure ofU _2p Two of the properties thus illuminated are (a) the existence of exactlyp + 1 limit points (1 + 1/(p + 1 +i), 0 ≤i ≤p) of the associated sequence {U _2p (n + 1)/U _2p (n)},n ≥ 0, and (b) the relevance toU _2p of the classic number theoretic function ord     

Partitioning Boolean lattices into chains of subsets

We prove that the Boolean lattice of all subsets of an n-set can be partitioned into chains of size four if and only if n9.Research supported in part by N.S.F. grant DMS-8401281.Research supported in part by N.S.F. grant DMS-8406451.     

Thermodynamics of the dissociation of 2-aminopyridinium ion in synthetic seawater and a standard for pH in marine systems

Buffer solutions composed of 2-aminopyridinium chloride and 2-aminopyridine in synthetic seawater are useful as a supplement to buffers of Tris (pH 8.2) and Bis (pH 8.8) in standardizing measurements of hydrogen ion concentration (pm _H or pH(SWS)) in oceanography. The dissociation constant of 2-amino-pyridinium ion over the range of salinities (S) from 30 to 40 has now been determined from the emf of cells without liquid junction at eight temperatures (T) from 278.15 to 313.15 K. The results fit the equation pK=2498.31/T–15.3274+2.4050 lnT+S(0.012928–2.9417×10^–5T) with a standard deviation of 0.0023. Thermodynamic constants for the dissociation process and standard reference values of pm _H and pH(SWS) were derived from the data. The pm _H of the buffer consisting of 2-aminopyridinium chloride and 2-aminopyridine (each 0.04 molal) in synthetic seawater of salinity 35 varies from 7.356 at 278.15 K to 6.601 at 313.15 K.     

Applications of chalcogenide glass optical fibers

Chalcogenide-glass fibers based on sulfide, selenide, telluride and their rare-earth-doped compositions are being actively pursued worldwide. Great strides have been made in reducing optical losses using improved chemical purification techniques, but further improvements are needed in both purification and fiberization technology to attain the theoretical optical losses. Despite this, chalcogenide-glass fibers are enabling numerous applications that include laser power delivery, chemical sensing, and imaging, scanning near field microscopy/spectroscopy, IR sources/lasers, amplifiers and optical switches.     

Synthesis and structural, spectroscopic and magnetic studies of two new polymorphs of Mn(SeO3)·H2O

Two new manganese(II) selenite polymorphs with formula Mn(SeO₃)·H₂O have been synthesized by slow evaporation from an aqueous solution. The crystal structure of both compounds (1) and (2) have been solved from X-ray diffraction data. The structure of (1) was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The compound crystallizes in the Ama2 space group, with a=5.817(1), b=13.449(3), and Z=4. The structure of (2) has been solved from X-ray powder diffraction data. This phase crystallizes in the P2₁/n space group with unit-cell parameters of a=4.921(3), b=13.121(7), , β=90.03(2)° and Z=4. Both polymorphs exhibit a layered structure formed by isolated sheets of MnO₆ octahedra and (SeO₃)²⁻ trigonal pyramids in the (010) plane. These layers, which contain one manganese and selenium atom crystallographically independent, are formed by octahedra linked between them through the selenite oxoanions. The difference of both compounds consists in the stacking of the layers along the b-axis. The IR spectra show the characteristic bands of the selenite anion. Studies of luminescence performed at 6 K and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy have been carried out for both phases. The Dq and Racah (B and C) parameters, from luminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, are Dq=705, B=750, for (1) and Dq=720, B=745, for (2). The ESR spectra of both compounds are isotropic with g-values of 1.99(1). Magnetic measurements indicate the presence of antiferromagnetic couplings in both phases. The J-exchange parameters have been estimated by fitting the experimental magnetic data to a model for square-planar lattice. The values obtained are J/k=-0.83, −0.91 K and J^′/k=-0.97, −1.20 K, for polymorphs (1) and (2), respectively.     

Reactions of Molecules with Two Equivalent Functional Groups. 5. Anomalous Reactivity of 1,10-Cyclooctadecanedione. Crystal and Molecular Structures of cis,cis-1,10-Diphenyl-1,10-cyclooctadiene and the Stereoisomers of 1,10-Diphenyl-1,10-cyclooctadecanediol(1)

The reaction of the title diketone (3) with phenyl Grignard produces (with rate constant k(1)) the conjugate base (6-M) of 10-hydroxy-10-phenylcyclooctadecanone (6), which is subsequently converted (with rate constant k(2)) to the conjugate base of the title diol, as a mixture of the cis (7, 55%) and trans (8, 45%) isomers. The ratio k(2)/k(1), 2.2 +/- 0.4, indicates that the carbonyl group in 6-M is 4.4 times as reactive as each carbonyl in 3. Competition experiments further demonstrate that the relative rates (per carbonyl) for addition of phenylmagnesium bromide to 3, 10-methylenecyclooctadecanone (11), and cyclopentadecanone (12) are 1.0:0.60:1.92. Possible reasons for this order of reactivity are discussed. Diols 7 and 8 undergo facile double dehydration to form the title diene 13, which is predicted by molecular mechanics calculations to be the most stable of the four possible symmetrical diene isomers. The structures of 7, 8, and 13 were secured by single-crystal X-ray studies.     

Surface chemistry studies of (CdSe)ZnS quantum dots at the air-water interface

Trioctylphosphine oxide- (TOPO-) capped (CdSe)ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were prepared through a stepwise synthesis. The surface chemistry behavior of the QDs at the air-water interface was carefully examined by various physical measurements. The surface pressure-area isotherm of the Langmuir film of the QDs gave an average diameter of 4.4 nm, which matched very well with the value determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements if the thickness of the TOPO cap was counted. The stability of the Langmuir film of the QDs was tested by two different methods, compression/decompression cycling and kinetic measurements, both of which indicated that TOPO-capped (CdSe)ZnS QDs can form stable Langmuir films at the air-water interface. Epifluorescence microscopy revealed the two-dimensional aggregation of the QDs in Langmuir films during the early stage of the compression process. However, at high surface pressures, the Langmuir film of QDs was more homogeneous and was capable of being deposited on a hydrophobic quartz slide by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film technique. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the LB films. The PL intensity of the LB film of QDs at the first emission maximum was found to increase linearly with increasing number of layers deposited onto the hydrophobic quartz slide, which implied a homogeneous deposition of the Langmuir film of QDs at surface pressures greater than 20 mN.m(-1).