Dünnschicht-Chromatographie anorganischer Salze auf Silicagel

Reactions of aquo-, hydroxo- and acido-complexes with silica gel surfaces can be compared and illustrated by means of thin-layer chromatography. In the case of non-hydrolyzing cations (K⁺), these reactions are ion-exchange reactions, and in the case of hydrolyzing cations (Al³⁺), they are adsorption processes with hydroxo-complexes. Formation of acido-complexes with high stability suppresses cation hydrolysis in aqueous solutions and—in consequence—adsorption on silica gel surfaces. Chromatograms on silica gel therefore also illustrate reactions in solutions.     

Evaluation of process parameters of ultrasonic treatment of bacterial suspensions in a pilot scale water disinfection system

In this study, several process parameters that may contribute to the efficiency of ultrasound disinfection are examined on a pilot scale water disinfection system that mimics realistic circumstances as encountered in an industrial environment. The main parameters of sonication are: (i) power; (ii) duration of treatment; (iii) volume of the treated sample. The specific energy (E_s) is an indicator of the intensity of the ultrasound treatment because it incorporates the transferred power, the duration of sonication and the treated volume. In this study, the importance of this parameter for the disinfection efficiency was assessed through changes in volume of treated water, water flow rate and electrical power of the ultrasonic reactor. In addition, the influences of the initial bacterial concentration on the disinfection efficiency were examined. The disinfection efficiency of the ultrasonic technique was scored on a homogenous and on a mixed bacterial culture suspended in water with two different types of ultrasonic reactors (Telsonic and Bandelin). This study demonstrates that specific energy, treatment time of water with ultrasound and number of passages through the ultrasonic reactor are crucial influential parameters of ultrasonic disinfection of contaminated water in a pilot scale water disinfection system. The promising results obtained in this study on a pilot scale water disinfection system indicate the possible application of ultrasound technology to reduce bacterial contamination in recirculating process water to an acceptable low level. However, the energy demand of the ultrasound equipment is rather high and therefore it may be advantageous to apply ultrasound in combination with another treatment.     

All-optical noninvasive control of unstable steady states in a semiconductor laser

All-optical noninvasive control of a multisection semiconductor laser by means of time-delayed feedback from an external Fabry-Perot cavity is realized experimentally. A theoretical analysis, in both a generic model as well as a device-specific simulation, points out the role of the optical phase. Using phase-dependent feedback we demonstrate stabilization of the continuous-wave laser output and noninvasive suppression of intensity pulsations.     

Natural products in combinatorial chemistry: an andrographolide-based library

The generation of a natural-product-based library starting from andrographolide is described. Utilizing andrographolide itself in parallel solution-phase synthesis leads to a 360-membered library. The initial transformation of the starting material via ozonolysis is followed by the conversion into a suitable template by introduction of a thiazole moiety. Subsequent decoration at two points of diversity yields the desired natural product derivatives. The selection of actually synthesized compounds is based on a virtually generated library and the assessment of its members with respect to physicochemical parameters, thus ensuring pharmacological relevance of the compounds.     

Structure of sodium glycodeoxycholate micellar aggregates from small-angle X-ray scattering and light-scattering techniques

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were accomplished on sodium glycodeoxycholate (NaGDC) aqueous electrolyte solutions as a function of NaGDC and NaCl concentrations with the aim to determine with satisfactory approximation the NaGDC micellar aggregate structure at a gross molecular level, assuming monodispersity. Different conditions of interparticle interactions by varying ionic strength (NaCl concentration from 0 to 0.70 M) and NaGDC concentration (from 0.02 to 0.10 M) were studied. Smeared scattering intensities and electron pair distance distribution functions, radii of gyration, and aggregate heights are in satisfactory agreement with the corresponding functions calculated using a 2(1) helix as model. It is formed by trimers, each one composed by three NaGDC and nine H2O molecules related by a 3-fold rotation axis, and can be described by a hollow cylinder, probably filled by water molecules, characterized by a conventional radius of 23.7 A and a trimer repeat along the helical axis of 3.6 A. The helix is considerably inhomogeneous since the volume of the cylinder occupied by NaGDC molecules is less than one-third of the total. On the other hand, calculations performed with the average radial electronic density of the helix without water molecules or totally filled by water molecules (a NaGDC/H2O molecular ratio of about 1/50) or by using a three-shell average radial electronic density, independently evaluated on absolute scale, do not show significant differences, thus supporting the helical model. The aggregate size increases for all the samples by increasing either the NaCl or NaGDC concentration. The NaGDC low concentration (0.02 M) samples with NaCl within the range 0.30-0.70 M are characterized by short cylindrical aggregates that do not give rise to sensible interference effects. This assertion is supported by the satisfactory fit between the observed apparent mean hydrodynamic radii and the calculated ones by means of the method of Ortega and Garcia de la Torre (J. Chem. Phys. 2003, 119, 9914), valid for rods with a length-to-diameter ratio > or = 0.1 in dilute solution (noninteracting rods). The NaGDC moderate concentration (0.10 M) samples with NaCl within the range 0.20-0.60 M are characterized by cylindrical aggregates that, in the presence of repulsive Coulombic interactions progressively more and more screened, produce interference effects, due to the hard-body repulsion and attractive forces, but the agreement between observed and calculated SAXS data is satisfactory. The results of the low and moderate NaGDC concentration samples seem to indicate that the aggregation number increase, produced by adding 0.10 M NaCl, is constant within an ionic strength range and occurs by the addition of oligomers formed by trimers. The samples with a variable NaGDC concentration (0.02-0.10 M) at a fixed and high NaCl concentration (0.6 M) contain cylindrical aggregates that give rise to an attractive term effect prevailing on the hard-body repulsive one. The same situation seems to occur in the NaGDC moderate concentration samples.     

Bacteria counting with impedance spectroscopy in a micro probe station

A method to quantify the density of viable biological cells in suspensions is presented. The method is implemented by low-frequency impedance spectroscopy and based on the finding that immobilized ions are released to move freely in the surrounding suspension when viable Escherichia coli cells are killed by a heat shock. The presented results show that an amount of ions corresponding to approximately 2 x 10(8) unit charges are released per viable bacterium killed. A micro probe station with coplanar Ti electrodes was electrically characterized and used as a measuring unit for the impedance spectroscopy recordings. This unit is compatible with common microfabrication techniques and should enable the presented method to be employed using a flow-cell device for viable bacteria counting in miniaturized on-line monitoring systems.     

Finite domination, Novikov homology and nonsingular closed 1-forms

Let X be a finite connected CW-complex and ρ: a regular covering space with free abelian covering transformation group. For ξ ∈ H¹ (Xℝ) we define the notion of ξ-contractibility of X. This notion is closely related to the vanishing of the Novikov homology of the pair (X,ξ). We show that finite domination of is equivalent to X being ξ-contractible for every nonzero ξ with ρ*ξ =0  ∈ H¹(; ℝ). If M is a closed connected smooth manifold the condition that M is ξ-contractible is necessary for the existence of a nonsingular closed 1-form representing ξ. Also ξ-contractibility guarantees the definition of the Latour obstruction τ_L(M,ξ) whose vanishing is then sufficient for the existence of a nonsingular closed 1-form provided  dim M≥6. Now if ρ: is a finitely dominated regular ℤ^k-covering space we get that τ_L(M,ξ) is defined for every nonzero ξ with ρ*ξ=0 and the vanishing of one such obstruction implies the vanishing of all such τ_L(M,ξ).     

Full counting statistics for a single-electron transistor: nonequilibrium effects at intermediate conductance

We evaluate the current distribution for a single-electron transistor with intermediate strength tunnel conductance. Using the Schwinger-Keldysh approach and the drone (Majorana) fermion representation, we account for the renormalization of system parameters. Nonequilibrium effects induce a lifetime broadening of the charge-state levels, which suppress large current fluctuations.     

Direct observation of the Aharonov-Casher phase

Ring structures fabricated from HgTe/HgCdTe quantum wells have been used to study Aharonov-Bohm type conductance oscillations as a function of Rashba spin-orbit splitting strength. We observe nonmonotonic phase changes indicating that an additional phase factor modifies the electron wave function. We associate these observations with the Aharonov-Casher effect. This is confirmed by comparison with numerical calculations of the magnetoconductance for a multichannel ring structure within the Landauer-Büttiker formalism.