Adsorption equilibrium of binary methane/ethane mixtures in BPL activated carbon: isotherms and calorimetric heats of adsorption

The adsorption of pure methane and ethane in BPL activated carbon has been measured at temperatures between 264 and 373 K and at pressures up to 3.3 MPa with a bench-scale high-pressure open-flow apparatus. The same apparatus was used to measure the adsorption of binary methane/ethane mixtures in BPL at 301.4 K and at pressures up to 2.6 MPa. Thermodynamic consistency tests demonstrate that the data are thermodynamically consistent. In contrast to two sets of data previously published, we found that the adsorption of binary methane/ethane in BPL behaves ideally (in the sense of obeying ideal adsorbed solution theory, IAST) throughout the pressure and gas-phase composition range studied. A Tian-Calvet type microcalorimeter was used to measure low-pressure isotherms, the isosteric heats of adsorption of pure methane and ethane in BPL activated carbon, and the individual heats of adsorption in binary mixtures, at 297 K and at pressures up to 100 kPa. The mixture heats of adsorption were consistent with IAST.     

Energetics of hydroxybenzoic acids and of the corresponding carboxyphenoxyl radicals. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding in 2-hydroxybenzoic acid

The energetics of the phenolic O-H bond in the three hydroxybenzoic acid isomers and of the intramolecular hydrogen O-H- - -O-C bond in 2-hydroxybenzoic acid, 2-OHBA, were investigated by using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The standard molar enthalpies of formation of monoclinic 3- and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids, at 298.15 K, were determined as Delta(f)(3-OHBA, cr) = -593.9 +/- 2.0 kJ x mol(-1) and Delta(f)(4-OHBA, cr) = -597.2 +/- 1.4 kJ x mol(-1), by combustion calorimetry. Calvet drop-sublimation calorimetric measurements on monoclinic samples of 2-, 3-, and 4-OHBA, led to the following enthalpy of sublimation values at 298.15 K: Delta(sub)(2-OHBA) = 94.4 +/- 0.4 kJ x mol(-1), Delta(sub)(3-OHBA) = 118.3 +/- 1.1 kJ x mol(-1), and Delta(sub)(4-OHBA) = 117.0 +/- 0.5 kJ x mol(-1). From the obtained Delta(f)(cr) and Delta(sub) values and the previously reported enthalpy of formation of monoclinic 2-OHBA (-591.7 +/- 1.3 kJ x mol(-1)), it was possible to derive Delta(f)(2-OHBA, g) = -497.3 +/- 1.4 kJ x mol(-1), Delta(f)(3-OHBA, g) = -475.6 +/- 2.3 kJ x mol(-1), and Delta(f)(4-OHBA, cr) = -480.2 +/- 1.5 kJ x mol(-1). These values, together with the enthalpies of isodesmic and isogyric gas-phase reactions predicted by density functional theory (B3PW91/aug-cc-pVDZ, MPW1PW91/aug-cc-pVDZ, and MPW1PW91/aug-cc-pVTZ) and the CBS-QMPW1 methods, were used to derive the enthalpies of formation of the gaseous 2-, 3-, and 4-carboxyphenoxyl radicals as (2-HOOCC(6)H(4)O(*), g) = -322.5 +/- 3.0 kJ.mol(-1) Delta(f)(3-HOOCC(6)H(4)O(*), g) = -310.0 +/- 3.0 kJ x mol(-1), and Delta(f)(4-HOOCC(6)H(4)O(*), g) = -318.2 +/- 3.0 kJ x mol(-1). The O-H bond dissociation enthalpies in 2-OHBA, 3-OHBA, and 4-OHBA were 392.8 +/- 3.3, 383.6 +/- 3.8, and 380.0 +/- 3.4 kJ x mol(-1), respectively. Finally, by using the ortho-para method, it was found that the H- - -O intramolecular hydrogen bond in the 2-carboxyphenoxyl radical is 25.7 kJ x mol(-1), which is ca. 6-9 kJ x mol(-1) above the one estimated in its parent (2-OHBA), viz. 20.2 kJ x mol(-1) (theoretical) or 17.1 +/- 2.1 kJ x mol(-1) (experimental).     

On the representation of electrostatic fields around ab initio charge distributions

Summary We compare two methods (Mulliken charges and a distributed multipole analysis, DMA) of representing an ab initio charge distribution for calculating the electrostatic field and potential outside the molecule, using pyrimidine and the RNA base uracil as examples. This is done using a 3-D graphical display of the electrostatic fields, which, when used with real-time rotation, zooming and clipping, has many advantages for qualitatively assessing the electrostatic interactions of a molecule. The errors involved in using Mulliken point charges may be of similar magnitude to the total electrostatic field in regions which are important in recognition processes. The DMA representation automatically includes the anisotropic electrostatic effects of non-spherical features in the charge distribution of each atom, and yet the displayed electrostatic fields around the atoms which have lone-pair density do not show marked anisotropy.     

One step microelectroelution concentration method for efficient coupling of sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry for protein analysis

The coupling of the widely used separation technique of conventional sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with the mass accuracy measurement capability of mass Spectrometry (MS) provides a very powerful analytical technique. However, at present, there is no simple, definitive method for coupling the two methods. Typically, separated proteins are extracted from the gel, either as the native protein or as a peptide mixture after in-gel proteolytic digestion, and then analyzed by mass Spectrometry. However, the various extraction techniques described previously have been labor intensive and require a large number of steps. The mass Spectrometry analysis of very low concentrations of in vivo derived proteins requires minimum sample handling and on-line concentration. Therefore, we have developed an efficient microelectroelution technique that is applied in a single step manner and contains an on-line concentration device. Initial results from this system have shown a high efficiency of analyte elution from the gel and a simple, robust technique for the coupling of SDS-containing gels with MALDI-TOF-MS analysis and a capability of analyzing proteins at the subpicomole level.     

Linear free-energy relationships and the density functional theory: an analog of the hammett equation

Density functional theory has been applied to describe electronic substituent effects, especially in the pursuit of linear relationships similar to those observed from physical organic chemistry experiments. In particular, analogues for the Hammett equation parameters (sigma, rho) have been developed. Theoretical calculations were performed on several series of organic molecules in order to validate our model and for comparison with experimental results. The trends obtained by Hammett-like relations predicted by the model were found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. The results obtained in this study suggest the applicability of similar correlation analysis based on theoretical methodologies that do not make use of empirical fits to experimental data can be useful in the study of substituent effects in organic chemistry.     

The role of post-translational modification in the photoregulation of Fe-type nitrile hydratase

The inactive, nitrosyl bound form of Fe-type nitrile hydratase (NHase) contains two active site cysteine residues that are post-translationally modified to sulfenate (SO-) and sulfinate (SO2-) ligands. DFT and INDO/S calculations support the hypothesis that these unusual modifications play a key role in modulating the electronic absorption spectra and photoreactivity of the Fe(III) centre in the enzyme.     

Mass spectrometric methods for the analysis of chlorinated and nitrated isoflavonoids: a novel class of biological metabolites

Electrospray ionization combined with tandem mass spectrometry was applied to a study of some representative chlorinated and nitrated isoflavones-potential metabolites of isoflavones in inflammatory cells. Upon collision-induced dissociation of deprotonated [M - H](-) ions of these compounds, a number of structurally characteristic product ions were produced. The product ion analysis of 3'- and 8-chlorodaidzein in the tandom mass spectra led to ready differentiation of these isomers. 3-Nitro derivatives of both genistein and daidzein have product ions due to the losses of HNO(2) and two OH groups. Chlorinated derivatives of isoflavones were detected in cell-based experiments and their structures were proposed by comparing the tandem mass spectra of their product ions with those of standards. This work provides a suitable analytical basis to aid the characterization of chlorinated and nitrated metabolites in studies in vivo and in vitro.     

Measuring the metabolome: current analytical technologies

The post-genomics era has brought with it ever increasing demands to observe and characterise variation within biological systems. This variation has been studied at the genomic (gene function), proteomic (protein regulation) and the metabolomic (small molecular weight metabolite) levels. Whilst genomics and proteomics are generally studied using microarrays (genomics) and 2D-gels or mass spectrometry (proteomics), the technique of choice is less obvious in the area of metabolomics. Much work has been published employing mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and vibrational spectroscopic techniques, amongst others, for the study of variations within the metabolome in many animal, plant and microbial systems. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, putting the current status of the field of metabolomics in context, and providing examples of applications for each technique employed.     

Mixed-metal cluster chemistry Part 20. Syntheses, crystal structures and electrochemical studies of W2Ir2(μ-L)(CO)8(η-C5H4Me)2 (L=dppe, dppf)

The 60-electron tetrahedral clusters W₂Ir₂(μ-L)(CO)₈(η⁵-C₅H₄Me)₂ [L=dppe (2), dppf (3)] have been prepared from reaction between W₂Ir₂(CO)₁₀(η⁵-C₅H₄Me)₂ (1) and the corresponding diphosphine in 52 and 66% yields, respectively. A structural study of 2 reveals that three edges of a WIr₂ face are spanned by bridging carbonyls, that the iridium-ligated diphosphine coordinates diaxially and that the tungsten-bound methylcyclopentadienyls coordinate axially and apically with respect to the plane of bridging carbonyls. A structural study of 3 reveals that the dppf ligand bridges an Ir---Ir bond which is also spanned by a bridging carbonyl; tungsten-ligated methylcyclopentadienyl ligands and terminal carbonyls result in electronic asymmetry (17e and 19e iridium atoms) in the electron-precise cluster. Both clusters show two reversible one-electron oxidation processes and an irreversible two-electron reduction; the dppf-containing cluster 3 has a further, irreversible, one-electron oxidation process. UV–vis-NIR spectroelectrochemical studies of the 2→2⁺→2²⁺ progression reveal the appearance of a low-energy transition on oxidation to 2⁺ which persists on further oxidation to 2²⁺.     

Determination of interferon-gamma in Chinese hamster ovary cell culture supernatant by coupled-column liquid chromatography

A robust tandem HPLC method coupling size-exclusion (Shodex Asahipak GS-320HQ) and reversed phase (Vydac 218TP54) columns with ultraviolet detection was developed for quantitative determination of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in Chinese hamster ovary cell culture supernatant. The 2D-HPLC system was linked up by a 6-port 2-position low hold-up volume switch valve. Compared to a commercial ELISA kit for IFN-gamma, the coupled column LC approach was able to detect and quantify soluble IFN-gamma, regardless of the glycoprotein's molecular/conformational variability and sample background. Each LC-LC analysis took 90 minutes inclusive of column regeneration. The relative standard deviation of measurements (n = 5) was less than 3%. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 0.35 microg IFN-gamma.