Facile preparation of potassium 32P-phosphonate

Simple and easy to operate experimental assemblies were for the first time designed for the successful preparation of potassium ³²P-phosphonate from ³²P-orthophosphate. Phosphate was first converted to phosphoryl chloride by reacting with phosphorus pentachloride. Then the phosphoryl chloride formed was reduced to phosphorus trichloride by heating with charcoal at 650 °C. The latter was absorbed in aqueous potassium hydroxide to obtain potassium ³²P-phosphonate at a yield of about 75%. The chemical purity of ³²P-phosphonate was assayed using ion-chromatography and the radiochemical purity was also determined.The authors thank Shri. J. K. Ghosh, Chief Executive, BRIT and Dr. N. Sivaprasad, General Manager, RPh & ILCJ, BRIT for their support and encouragement throughout this work.     

Combined computational and experimental study of substituent effects on the thermodynamics of H(2), CO,arene, and alkane addition to iridium

The thermodynamics of small-molecule (H(2), arene, alkane, and CO) addition to pincer-ligated iridium complexes of several different configurations (three-coordinate d(8), four-coordinate d(8), and five-coordinate d(6)) have been investigated by computational and experimental means. The substituent para to the iridium (Y) has been varied in complexes containing the (Y-PCP)Ir unit (Y-PCP = eta(3)-1,3,5-C(6)H(2)[CH(2)PR(2)](2)Y; R = methyl for computations; R = tert-butyl for experiments); substituent effects have been studied for the addition of H(2), C-H, and CO to the complexes (Y-PCP)Ir, (Y-PCP)Ir(CO), and (Y-PCP)Ir(H)(2). Para substituents on arenes undergoing C-H bond addition to (PCP)Ir or to (PCP)Ir(CO) have also been varied computationally and experimentally. In general, increasing electron donation by the substituent Y in the 16-electron complexes, (Y-PCP)Ir(CO) or (Y-PCP)Ir(H)(2), disfavors addition of H-H or C-H bonds, in contradiction to the idea of such additions being oxidative. Addition of CO to the same 16-electron complexes is also disfavored by increased electron donation from Y. By contrast, addition of H-H and C-H bonds or CO to the three-coordinate parent species (Y-PCP)Ir is favored by increased electron donation. In general, the effects of varying Y are markedly similar for H(2), C-H, and CO addition. The trends can be fully rationalized in terms of simple molecular orbital interactions but not in terms of concepts related to oxidation, such as charge-transfer or electronegativity differences.     

Characterization of polychloroprenes and cationically modified polychloroprenes by thermal dehydrochlorination

Thermal dehydrochlorination of polychloroprenes and modified polychloroprenes was studied and was found to be rapid, readily reproducible, and reliable for the characterization of these rubbers. The rates of thermal dehydrochlorination of polychloroprenes and modified polychloroprenes are first order at 190°C under nitrogen. Significantly, the plot of dehydrochlorination rate (V_HCl) versus dehydrochlorination extent (ζHCl) for polychloroprenes shows three regions. These data may be attributed to three dehydrochlorination regimes associated with four contributing repeat structures that have been identified by ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy: In contrast to polychloroprene, V_HCl vs. ζ_HCl plots for modified (cyclopentadienylated and grafted) polychloroprenes, i.e., polychloroprenes that do not contain allylic chlorines, exhibit only one region suggesting only one dehydrochlorination mechanism in these materials. The slopes of the V_HCl vs. ζ_HCl plots of the modified polychloroprenes are virtually identical. Moreover, the slopes of the V_HCl vs. ζ_HCl plots for modified polychloroprenes and that of the latest of the three regions for unmodified polychloroprene are indistinguishable. This similarity in the V_HCl vs. ζ_HCl curves suggests dehydrochlorination by a fundamentally similar mechanism in these materials, most likely one involving the ? CH₂? C(Cl)?CH? CH₂? structure common to all of them. Concentration of labile chlorines in polychloroprene may be estimated by the differences in the dehydrochlorination kinetics of polychloroprene and modified polychloroprenes.     

Introduction to time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry application in chromatographic analysis

New on-line analytical system coupling thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high selective identification unit-time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is introduced in this article. Chromatographic mixture separation and analyte surface deposition followed with surface TOF-SIMS analysis on-line allows to identify the analytes at trace and ultratrace levels. The selected analytes with different detectability and identification possibility were analysed in this hyphenated unit (Methyl Red indicator, Terpinolen and Giberrelic acid). Here, the chromatographic thin layer plays a universal role: separation unit, analyte depositing surface and TOF-SIMS interface, finally. Two depositing substrates and TOF-SIMS compatible interfaces were tested in above-mentioned interfacing unit: modified aluminium backed chromatographic thin layer and monolithic silica thin layer. The sets of positive and negative ions TOF-SIMS spectra obtained from different SIMS modes of analysis were used for analyte identification purposes. SIMS enables analyte detection with high mass resolution at the concentration level that is not achieved by other methods.     

Imprinted polymers-tailor-made mimics of antibodies and receptors

The technique of molecular imprinting allows the formation of specific recognition sites in synthetic polymers through the use of templates or imprint molecules. These recognition sites mimic the binding sites of antibodies and other biological receptor molecules. Molecularly imprinted polymers can therefore be used in applications relying on specific molecular binding events. The stability, ease of preparation and low cost of these materials make them particularly attractive. This review focuses on recent developments and advances in the field of molecularly imprinted materials, with special emphasis on applications in immunoassays and sensors recently developed by our group and by others.     

Highly effective pincer-ligated iridium catalysts for alkane dehydrogenation. DFT calculations of relevant thermodynamic, kinetic, and spectroscopic properties

The p-methoxy-substituted pincer-ligated iridium complexes, (MeO-(tBu)PCP)IrH(4) ((R)PCP = kappa(3)-C(6)H(3)-2,6-(CH(2)PR(2))(2)) and (MeO-(iPr)PCP)IrH(4), are found to be highly effective catalysts for the dehydrogenation of alkanes (both with and without the use of sacrificial hydrogen acceptors). These complexes offer an interesting comparison with the recently reported bis-phosphinite "POCOP" ((R)POCOP = kappa(3)-C(6)H(3)-2,6-(OPR(2))(2)) pincer-ligated catalysts, which also show catalytic activity higher than unsubstituted PCP analogues (Gottker-Schnetmann, I.; White, P.; Brookhart, M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 1804). On the basis of nu(CO) values of the respective CO adducts, the MeO-PCP complexes appear to be more electron-rich than the parent PCP complexes, whereas the POCOP complexes appear to be more electron-poor. However, the MeO-PCP and POCOP ligands are calculated (DFT) to show effects in the same directions, relative to the parent PCP ligand, for the kinetics and thermodynamics of a broad range of reactions including the addition of C-H and H-H bonds and CO. In general, both ligands favor (relative to unsubstituted PCP) addition to the 14e (pincer)Ir fragments but disfavor addition to the 16e complexes (pincer)IrH(2) or (pincer)Ir(CO). These kinetic and thermodynamic effects are all largely attributable to the same electronic feature: O --> C(aryl) pi-donation, from the methoxy or phosphinito groups of the respective ligands. DFT calculations also indicate that the kinetics (but not the thermodynamics) of C-H addition to (pincer)Ir are favored by sigma-withdrawal from the phosphorus atoms. The high nu(CO) value of (POCOP)Ir(CO) is attributable to electrostatic effects, rather than decreased Ir-CO pi-donation or increased OC-Ir sigma-donation.     

Food safety: screening tests used to detect and quantify GMO proteins

GMO protein content in maize flours or fresh crops can be easily assessed by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immunochromatographic (lateral flow) strip tests commercially available. Therefore, ELISA can be seen as a useful tool for screening, for control purposes and for traceability implementation. In order to highlight the importance of monitoring GMO protein presence in food products and to investigate the performance of representative ELISA commercial kits, we evaluated three commercial kits by measuring the amount of Cry1Ab/Cry1Ac in IRMM certified reference materials. Presented at AOAC Europe/Eurachem Symposium March 2005, Brussels, Belgium     

Anomalous adsorption of nitrogen and argon in silver exchanged zeolite A

A new adsorbent based on zeolite AgA having N2 adsorption capacity of 22.3 cc g(-1) at 101.3 kPa and N2/O2 selectivity in the range of 5 to 14.6 at 303 K, the highest known so far for any zeolite A type of adsorbent, is reported; furthermore, this adsorbent also shows argon selectivity over oxygen.     

Absolute configuration of 1β,10β-epoxydesacetoxymatricarin isolated from Carthamus oxycantha by means of TDDFT CD calculations

The absolute configuration of 1β,10β-epoxydesacetoxymatricarin 1, a sesquiterpenoid isolated from Carthamus oxycantha, was established by TDDFT CD calculations in combination with single crystal X-ray analysis. Since the solid-state CD spectrum shows contributions from intermolecular interactions in the crystal, 1 represents a test case for our solid-state CD/TDDFT approach.     

On the stability of azirinyl and diazirinyl cations

The stabilities of the experimentally unknown azirinyl and diazirinyl cations are discussed on the basis of results from ab initio molecular orbital calculations.