Sensitive spectrophotometric determination of gallium with eriochrome Cyanine R and cetyltrimethylammonium ions

Summary A new sensitive, spectrophotometric determination of gallium, based on the ternary gallium-Eriochrome Cyanine R-cetyltrimethylammonium system has been developed. At _max=588 nm the molar absorptivity is 1.20×10⁵l·mole^–1·cm^–1. The maximum absorbance is attained in 5 min in the presence of a 10-fold molar ratio of Eriochrome Cyanine R and an approx. 50-fold ratio of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (to Ga). Citrate, EDTA and to a lesser extent tartrate, interfere. Interference by metals can be eliminated by a preliminary extraction of gallium with di-isopropyl ether from 7 M hydrochloric acid in the presence of ascorbic acid as reductant. The results for gallium (at a concentration level of 1×10^–4%) in aluminium metal and chloride indicate good precision and accuracy.

---

Empfindliche spektrophotometrische Bestimmung von Gallium mit Eriochromcyanin-R- und Cetyltrimethylammonium-Ionen

Zusammenfassung Ein neues, empfindliches spektrophotometrisches Verfahren zur Galliumbestimmung wurde ausgearbeitet. Es beruht auf der Verwendung des ternären Systems Gallium — EriochromcyaninR — Cetyltrimethylammonium. Bei _max=588 nm beträgt die molare Extinktion 1,20·10⁵ 1·Mol^–1·cm^–1. Die maximale Absorption wird innerhalb von 5 min bei Gegenwart der 10fachen molaren Menge EriochromcyaninR und der etwa 50fachen Menge Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromid erreicht. Citrat, ÄDTA und in geringerem Maß Tartrat stören. Störende Wirkung durch Metalle kann durch vorhergehende Extraktion des Galliums mit Diisopropyläther aus 7 M Salzsäure in Gegenwart von Askorbinsäure als Reduktionsmittel vermieden werden. Die Ergebnisse (im Konzentrationsbereich von 10^–4% Ga) in metallischem Aluminium und AICI₃ sind genau.

     

Complexation of aluminium, yttrium, lanthanum and lanthanides with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (par)

The sensitive reactions between 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) and yttrium, lanthanum and the lanthanides can be used for the spectrophotometric determination of these elements. The method has no advantage over other methods for the determination of aluminium and lanthanum. Only M(PAR)H and M(PAR) complexes are formed in solutions where the molarity of the metal ion is greater than or nearly equal to the molarity of the ligand at pH < 7-5. If there is molar excess of PAR, 1:2 complexes may be formed but this is certain only for the yttrium-PAR system. Errors in analysis may result from the simultaneous occurrence of optically different complexes; close control of pH and reagent concentration is essential. Optical and equilibrium data are given for the systems investigated.     

Determination of some trace elements in human tooth enamel

Determination of seven elements (Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Sr and Zn) in whole enamel and surface layers of extracted non-carious human teeth by FAAS, ETA AAS, ICP-AES and ICP-MS (Pb) is demonstrated. Techniques are described for obtaining whole enamel and its acid dissolution. Fifty microm width enamel layers from outer enamel surface to a 200 microm depth were successively etched in 1 mL of 3 M HClO4 for 3 min dissolution periods. Enamel samples were analyzed for populations under and over 20 years of age and enamel from Bronze Age teeth. Concentrations of microelements in the whole enamel and in the first surface layer (50 microm depth) were compared. With exception of Sr and Mg, all elements show significantly higher concentrations in the first layer than in whole enamel and higher concentration in teeth of individuals over 20 years, which demonstrate the cumulative effect of these elements. The Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations in four layers of erupted and non-erupted teeth decreased while Mg and Sr concentrations increased toward enamel-dentine junction. The concentrations of most elements were almost constant as they approached the 150 microm layer. This concentration gradient may result from interaction between saliva and teeth and supports the hypothesis that the surface de- and re-mineralization process is effective at most to 150 microm from the enamel surface.     

Inducible stable DNA replication (iSDR) and the uvr-dependent tolerance of pyrimidine dimers in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli are two uncoupled processes

Inducible stable DNA replication (iSDR) is dependent on recombination and is supposed to play a role in DNA repair of Escherichia coli. Our previous data suggested that iSDR may be involved in the tolerance of UV lesions, which remain unexcised in excision-proficient E. coli exposed to some UV pretreatments. Now, the tolerance of unexcised lesions has been followed in E. coli recB21 and in E. coli priA1 sup mutants, incapable of iSDR. The obtained data do not confirm the previous hypothesis about the involvement of iSDR in the putative uvr-dependent lesion tolerance. They rather suggest that iSDR and the uvr-dependent lesion tolerance are two uncoupled processes.     

Strong cooperativeness in the mononuclear iron(II) derivative exhibiting an abrupt spin transition above 400 K

The spin crossover system, [Fe(bzimpy)(2)](ClO(4))(2).0.25H(2)O, was reinvestigated above room temperature (bzimpy = 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine). The system exhibits an abrupt low-spin to high-spin transition at T(c) = 403 K. Liberation of a fractional amount of water does not affect the spin crossover: the system is perfectly reversible with a hysteresis width of DeltaT = 12 K. The existence of the hysteresis at such high temperature determines that the lowest limit of the solid-state cooperativity parameter is J/k > 403 K despite long iron(II) separations (10 A). The high cooperativeness has been assigned to a perfect pi-stacking of the benzimidazole rings in the crystal lattice at a distance as short as 3.6 A. Variable-temperature IR data and the heat capacity measurements match well the magnetic data. The thermodynamic properties are DeltaH = 17 kJ mol(-)(1), DeltaS = 43 J K(-)(1) mol(-)(1), so that the entropy of the spin transition shows a considerable contribution from the molecular vibrations. A theoretical model has been applied in fitting the magnetic data along the whole hysteresis path. A statistical distribution of the cooperativity parameter led to the feature that angled walls of the hysteresis loop are well reproduced.     

Electrophoretic analysis of oxidatively modified eye lens proteins in vitro: implications for diabetic cataract

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) profiles of eye lens proteins showed that both progression of diabetic cataract in rats in vivo and precipitation of soluble eye lens proteins stressed by free radicals in vitro were accompanied by significant protein cross-linking. There was a noticeable contribution of disulfide bridges to protein cross-linking in diabetic eye lens in vivo. In contrast, under conditions in vitro, when eye lens proteins were exposed to hydroxyl or peroxyl radicals, we showed that the participation of reducible disulfide linkages in the formation of high molecular mass products was markedly lower. These in vivo--in vitro differences indicate that the generally accepted role of reactive oxygen species in diabetic cataractogenesis may be overestimated in connection with the processes of protein cross-linking.     

Insoluble eggshell matrix proteins--their peptide mapping and partial characterization by capillary electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography

Avian eggshell matrix proteins were studied by two analytical approaches. Peptide mapping was done by trypsin and pepsin followed by collagenase cleavage; analyses were carried out by capillary electrophoresis and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Comparison of peptide maps obtained by both methods revealed a complex mixture of peptides in the insoluble layers of the eggshell; it was concluded that there are at least three different insoluble protein/peptide layers in the avian eggshell (cuticle, palisade, and mammillary layer). Partial characterization of peptides in each layer was made by HPLC-mass spectrometry analysis. There is an evidence that the eggshell insoluble proteins contain species susceptible to collagenase cleavage, however, the sequences split by this enzyme probably are not those typical for the main triple-helical core of collagenous proteins. It is proposed that the action of collagenase upon eggshell proteins is caused by the side effect of collagenase described previously with synthetic peptides. Some of the proteins present are probably glycosylated. Fatty acid content in the insoluble eggshell layers (after decalcification) was in the range of 2-4% (which reflected both lipid and lipoproteins bound fatty acids). Porphyrin pigments are dominant in the cuticle layer.     

Potentiometric, luminescence and NMR study of the interaction of Eu with glyceryl phosphates

Complexation of europium(III) with glyceryl-1- and -2-phosphates has been studied by metal ion luminescence, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and potentiometry. From the luminescence and NMR studies, the formation of a 1:1 inner-sphere complex, in which the glyceryl phosphate is directly bound to the metal, is confirmed. Similar apparent binding constants at pH 2 were obtained by the three methods. Values obtained by NMR at pH 2 are 53 M⁻¹ and 12 M⁻¹ for glyceryl-1- and -2-phosphate, respectively. By comparison with literature data on related systems it is suggested that the ligands bind through the phosphate group. To obtain structural information from the NMR data, complexation has also been studied with the lanthanide ions Dy(III), Er(III) and Gd(III) using both chemical shift and relaxation data. From this, metal-proton distance ratios have been calculated. Comparison of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral data in the presence of paramagnetic lanthanides suggests conformational equilibria in the solutions. From the potentiometric studies, global formation constants have been determined, and speciation diagrams obtained over the pH range 1.5pH7.0 for ligand/metal ratios of 1 and 30. Implications of these results on lanthanide induced fusion of phospholipid membranes are discussed.     

Carbon-carbon coupling on tetrahedral iridium clusters: X-ray molecular structures and multinuclear NMR studies of the two isomeric forms of [Ir4(CO)6(μ3-η-HCCPh)(μ2-η-C4H2Ph2)(μ-PPh2)2]

The reactions of [HIr₄(CO)₉(Ph₂PCCPh)(μ-PPh₂)] (1) or [Ir₄(CO)₈(μ₃-η²-HCCPh)(μ-PPh₂)₂] (2) with HCCPh gave two isomeric forms of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh)(μ₂-η⁴-C₄H₂Ph₂)(μ-PPh₂)₂] (3 and 4) in good yields as the only products. These compounds were characterized with analytical and spectroscopic data including ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR (1 and 2D) spectroscopy and their molecular structures were established by X-ray diffraction studies. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibit the same distorted butterfly metal polyhedral arrangement of metal atoms with two μ-PPh₂ that occupy different positions in the structures of the two isomers. Both molecules contain a HCCPh ligand bonded in a μ₃-η²-// mode to one of the wings of the butterfly and a metallacyclic ring, which resulted from head-to-tail coupling, in the case of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh){μ₂-η⁴-(H)CC(Ph)C(H)C(Ph)}(μ-PPh₂)₂] (3) and tail-to-tail coupling, in that of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh){μ₂-η⁴-(H)CC(Ph)C(Ph)C(H)}(μ-PPh₂)₂] (4), and which is linked to two metal atoms of the second wing of the butterfly.     

Computational studies of carbon nanotube-hydrocarbon bond strengths at nanotube ends: effect of link heteroatom and hydrocarbon structure

Semiempirical and density functional electronic structure theory methods were used to study SWNT-X--R bond strengths, where the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) had an armchair or zigzag structure, the link heteroatom X was O, N(H), or S and the hydrocarbon chain R was CH(2)CH(3), CH(OH)CH(3), CHCH(2), or CH(CF(3))CH(3). In all systems the hydrocarbon was bonded to the end of the nanotube. The SWNT-X--R bond (that is, the bond joining the link atom to the hydrocarbon) is more than 0.4 eV stronger for armchair than for zigzag nanotubes with the same diameters, irrespective of whether O, N, or S are used as link atoms or whether OH, C==C, or CF(3) groups are present in the hydrocarbon chain. This raises the possibility for selective manipulation of armchair/zigzag nanotubes using a variety of link atoms and hydrocarbon structures. The SWNT-O--CH(CF(3))CH(3) bond is weaker than the SWNT-O--CH(2)CH(3) bond (for both armchair and zigzag nanotubes), while inclusion of a double bond in the ethyl chain increases the bond strengths. Also, SWNT-S--CH(2)CH(3) and SWNT-N(H)--CH(2)CH(3) bonds are stronger than SWNT-O--CH(2)CH(3) bonds.