Formation of protonic defects in perovskite-type oxides with redox-active acceptors: case study on Fe-doped SrTiO(3)

The thermodynamics of water incorporation into Fe-doped SrTiO(3) was investigated by thermogravimetric measurements. Changes in valence states of redox-active dopant ions (Fe(3+)/Fe(4+)) with water vapor pressure were taken into account in the defect chemical analysis. The proton solubility was significantly enhanced by the presence of the redox centers. The hydration enthalpies and entropies were -60 kJ mol(-1) and -122 J mol(-1) K(-1). The defect chemical model was applied to describe the water vapor dependence of the electrical conductivity in mixed ionic and electronic conducting Fe-doped SrTiO(3) single crystals.     

Time-resolved investigations of singlet oxygen luminescence in water, in phosphatidylcholine, and in aqueous suspensions of phosphatidylcholine or HT29 cells

Singlet oxygen was generated by energy transfer from the photoexcited sensitizer, Photofrin or 9-acetoxy-2,7,12,17-tetrakis-(beta-methoxyethyl)-porphycene (ATMPn), to molecular oxygen. Singlet oxygen was detected time-resolved by its luminescence at 1270 nm in an environment of increasing complexity, water (H2O), pure phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine in water (lipid suspensions), and aqueous suspensions of living cells. In the case of the lipid suspensions, the sensitizers accumulated in the lipids, whereas the localizations in the cells are the membranes containing phosphatidylcholine. By use of Photofrin, the measured luminescence decay times of singlet oxygen were 3.5 +/- 0.5 micros in water, 14 +/- 2 micros in lipid, 9 +/- 2 micros in aqueous suspensions of lipid droplets, and 10 +/- 3 micros in aqueous suspensions of human colonic cancer cells (HT29). The decay time in cell suspensions was much longer than in water and was comparable to the value in suspensions of phosphatidylcholine. That luminescence signal might be attributed to singlet oxygen decaying in the lipid areas of cellular membranes. The measured luminescence decay times of singlet oxygen excited by ATMPn in pure lipid and lipid suspensions were the same within the experimental error as for Photofrin. In contrast to experiments with Photofrin, the decay time in aqueous suspension of HT29 cells was 6 +/- 2 micros when using ATMPn.     

Chemical diffusion of oxygen in tin dioxide: Effects of dopants and oxygen partial pressure

Tin dioxide SnO_2−δ is a pronounced n-type electron conductor due to its oxygen deficiency. This study investigates the rate of chemical diffusion of oxygen in SnO_2−δ single crystals, which is a crucial step in the overall stoichiometry change of the material. The chemical diffusion coefficient D^δ was determined from conductivity- and EPR-relaxation methods. The temperature dependence was found to be . The dependence on crystal orientation, dopant content and oxygen partial pressure was below experimental error. The latter observation leads to the conclusion that the chemical diffusion coefficient is close to the diffusion coefficient of oxygen vacancies. Along with the relaxation process resulting from the chemical diffusion of oxygen, additional processes were observed. One of these was attributed to complications in the defect chemistry of the material. The relevance of the results for the kinetics of drift processes of Taguchi sensors is discussed.     

Determination of an aldosterone antagonist in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography using automated column switching

An automated high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for the determination of an aldosterone antagonist (I) is described using column switching for direct injection of urine samples. After dilution with buffered internal standard solution, the sample was injected onto a clean-up column (17 X 4.6 mm I.D.), dry-packed with C18 reversed-phase material (particle size 30 micron). Polar urine components were removed by flushing the clean-up column with water. Retained substances, including I and the internal standard, were desorbed by backflush elution onto a 5-micron ODS-silica analytical column (125 X 4 mm I.D.), separated with water-methanol-tetrahydrofuran, and detected at 295 nm. After backflushing the analytical column and re-equilibrating the clean-up column, the system was ready for the next injection. The limit of quantification was ca. 100 ng/ml, using a 100-microliter specimen of diluted urine. The mean inter-assay precision of the method up to 25.6 micrograms/ml was 2%. Practicability and accuracy of the new method were demonstrated by the application to excretion studies performed with human volunteers.     

Hyperfine structure and isotope shift of some even parity levels in the YbI spectrum

Using laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy the hyperfine structure of the even parity levels 4f ¹⁴6s6d ³ D ₁, 4f ¹⁴ 6s8s ³ S ₁ and 4f ¹³ 5d6s6p (7/2, 5/2)J=1,2,3 as well as of the odd parity level 4f ¹⁴ 6s6p ³ P ₂ in neutral ytterbium has been investigated. The isotope shift of the transitions 4f ¹⁴6s6p ³ P ₀ → 4f ¹⁴ 6s6p ³ D ₁ and 4f ¹⁴ 6s6p ³ P ₂ → 4f ¹⁴ 6s8s ³ S ₁, 4f ¹³ 5d6s6p (7/2, 5/2)J=1,2,3 could be measured with high accuracy. The results for the 4f ¹⁴ 6s6p ³ D ₁ level show a considerable influence of second order effects of the hyperfine interaction. The isotope shifts of the 4f ¹⁴ 6s8s ³ S ₁ and 4f ¹³ 5d6s6p (7/2, 5/2)J=1 levels indicate a possible configuration mixing for these levels.     

Synthesis of Rhodomyrtone Analogs Modified at C7

We developed a route to rhodomyrtone analogs that feature different acyl groups at C7. Since electrophilic substitution reactions on the aryl part of the rhodomyrtone core led to C5 derivatives, the C5 position was blocked by a chlorine. Subsequent Duff type formylation followed by Grignard addition to the aldehyde group and oxidation gave various phenones. The benzyl protecting groups were removed by hydrogenation or boron tribromide. Some derivatives turned out to be quite active against multiple resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains and a rhodomyrtone resistant mutant (Rom^R). The chlorine at C5 seems to have a beneficial effect on the antibacterial activity.     

Exposing the Oxygen-Centered Radical Character of the Tetraoxido Ruthenium(VIII) Cation [RuO4]+

The tetraoxido ruthenium(VIII) radical cation, [RuO₄]⁺, should be a strong oxidizing agent, but has been difficult to produce and investigate so far. In our X-ray absorption spectroscopy study, in combination with quantum-chemical calculations, we show that [RuO₄]⁺, produced via oxidation of ruthenium cations by ozone in the gas phase, forms the oxygen-centered radical ground state. The oxygen-centered radical character of [RuO₄]⁺ is identified by the chemical shift at the ruthenium M₃ edge, indicative of ruthenium(VIII), and by the presence of a characteristic low-energy transition at the oxygen K edge, involving an oxygen-centered singly-occupied molecular orbital, which is suppressed when the oxygen-centered radical is quenched by hydrogenation of [RuO₄]⁺ to the closed-shell [RuO₄H]⁺ ion. Hydrogen-atom abstraction from methane is calculated to be only slightly less exothermic for [RuO₄]⁺ than for [OsO₄]⁺.