Mix-mode TiO-C18 monolith spin column extraction and GC-MS for the simultaneous assay of organophosphorus compounds and glufosinate, and glyphosate in human serum and urine

A rapid, specific, and sensitive method for the simultaneous quantitation of organophosphates (fenitrothion (MEP), malathion, and phenthoate (PAP)), glufosinate (GLUF), and glyphosate (GLYP) in human serum and urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been validated. All of the targeted compounds together with the internal standard were extracted from the serum and urine using a mix-mode TiO-C(18) monolithic spin column. The recovery of organophosphates from serum and urine ranged from 12.7 to 49.5%. The recovery of GLUF and GLYP from serum and urine ranged from 1.9 to 7.9%. The intra- and inter-accuracy and precision (expressed as relative standard deviation, %RSD) were within 96.7-107.7% and 4.0-13.8%, respectively. The detection and quantitation limits for serum and urine were 0.1 and 0.1 μg/ml, respectively, for organophosphates, 0.1 and 0.5 μg/ml, respectively for GLUF and GLYP. The method had linear calibration curves ranging from 0.1 to 25.0 μg/ml for organophosphates and 0.5-100.0 μg/ml for GLUF, and GLYP. The validated method was successfully applied to a clinical GLYP poisoning case.     

Efficient catalytic decomposition of sulfuric acid with copper vanadates as an oxygen-generating reaction for solar thermochemical water splitting cycles

Copper pyrovanadate (Cu(2)V(2)O(7)) was found for the first time to achieve the high catalytic activity for the decomposition of sulfuric acid to evolve O(2) at moderate temperatures around 650 °C, which is essential for the development of solar thermochemical water splitting cycles.     

Enzyme-immobilized microfluidic process reactors

Microreaction technology, which is an interdisciplinary science and engineering area, has been the focus of different fields of research in the past few years. Several microreactors have been developed. Enzymes are a type of catalyst, which are useful in the production of substance in an environmentally friendly way, and they also have high potential for analytical applications. However, not many enzymatic processes have been commercialized, because of problems in stability of the enzymes, cost, and efficiency of the reactions. Thus, there have been demands for innovation in process engineering, particularly for enzymatic reactions, and microreaction devices represent important tools for the development of enzyme processes. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of microchannel reaction technologies especially for enzyme immobilized microreactors. We discuss the manufacturing process of microreaction devices and the advantages of microreactors compared to conventional reaction devices. Fundamental techniques for enzyme immobilized microreactors and important applications of this multidisciplinary technology are also included in our topics.     

Retrieving angular distributions of high-order harmonic generation from a single molecule

We present a novel method to retrieve angular distributions of high-order harmonic generation from a single molecule. This technique uses an iterative procedure based only on experimental results of time and angle-dependent harmonic signals, and no actual shape of molecular orbital is assumed. The molecular axis distribution in a target gas can simultaneously be deduced in this procedure. The angle-dependent signal retrieved for a single N2 and O2 molecule is demonstrated to reflect the highest occupied molecular orbital, excluding the ambiguity due to the imperfect alignment.     

Electronic-structure-driven magnetic ordering in a Kondo semiconductor CeOs2Al10

We report the anisotropic changes in the electronic structure of a Kondo semiconductor CeOs(2)Al(10) across an anomalous antiferromagnetic ordering temperature (T(0)) of 29 K, using optical conductivity spectra. The spectra along the a and c axes indicate that an energy gap due to the hybridization between conduction bands and nearly local 4f states, namely the c-f hybridization gap, emerges from a higher temperature continuously across T(0). Along the b axis, on the other hand, another energy gap with a peak at 20 meV becomes visible at 39 K (>T(0)) and fully opens at T(0) because of a charge instability. This result implies that the appearance of the energy gap, as well as the change in the electronic structure along the b axis, induces the antiferromagnetic ordering below T(0).     

Hybrid Molecular Systems Containing Tetrathiafulvalene and Iron‐Alkynyl Electrophores: Five‐Component Functional Molecules Obtained from C?H Bond Activation

Treatment of [Cp*(dppe)Fe? C?C‐TTFMe₃] ( 1 ) with Ag[PF₆] (3 equiv) in DMF provides the binuclear complex [Cp*(dppe)Fe?C?C?TTFMe₂?CH? CH?TTFMe₂?C?C=Fe(dppe)Cp*][PF₆]₂ ( 2 [PF₆]₂) isolated as a deep‐blue powder in 69 % yield. EPR monitoring of the reaction and comparison of the experimental and calculated EPR spectra allowed the identification of the radical salt [Cp*(dppe)Fe?C?C?TTFMe₂?CH][PF₆]₂ ([ 1‐CH ][PF₆]) an intermediate of the reaction, which results from the activation of the methyl group attached in vicinal position with respect to the alkynyl–iron on the TTF ligand by the triple oxidation of 1 leading to its deprotonation by the solvent. The dimerization of [ 1‐CH ][PF₆] through carbon–carbon bond formation provides 2 [PF₆]₂. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments show that 2 [PF₆]₂ is subject to two sequential well‐reversible one‐electron reductions yielding the complexes 2 [PF₆] and 2 . The CV also shows that further oxidation of 2 [PF₆]₂ generates 2 [PF₆]_n (n=3–6) at the electrode. Treatment of 2 [PF₆]₂ with KOtBu provides 2 [PF₆] and 2 as stable powders. The salts 2 [PF₆] and 2 [PF₆]₂ were characterized by XRD. The electronic structures of 2 ⁿ⁺ (n=0–2) were computed. The new complexes were also characterized by NMR, IR, Mössbauer, EPR, UV/Vis and NIR spectroscopies. The data show that the three complexes 2 [PF₆]_n are iron(II) derivatives in the ground state. In the solid state, the dication 2 ²⁺ is diamagnetic and has a bis(allenylidene‐iron) structure with one positive charge on each iron building block. In solution, as a result of the thermal motion of the metal–carbon backbone, the triplet excited state becomes thermally accessible and equilibrium takes place between singlet and triplet states. In 2 [PF₆], the charge and the spin are both symmetrically distributed on the carbon bridge and only moderately on the iron and TTFMe₂ electroactive centers.     

Sobolev Trace Theorem and the Dirichlet Problem in the Unit Disk

We give a direct and elementary proof for the trace theorem in L _p -based Sobolev spaces, when the domain is the unit disk. We also consider the Dirichlet boundary problem for the Laplace equation, where the boundary value is a function in the Besov space. The Poisson kernel enables us to solve this problem in the unit disk more easily than in a general domain.     

Solvent Migration in Microhydrated Aromatic Aggregates: Ionization‐Induced Site Switching in the 4‐Aminobenzonitrile–Water Cluster

The dependence of the preferred microhydration sites of 4‐aminobenzonitrile (4ABN) on electronic excitation and ionization is determined through IR spectroscopy of its clusters with water (W) in a supersonic expansion and through quantum chemical calculations. IR spectra of neutral 4ABN and two isomers of its hydrogen‐bonded (H‐bonded) 4ABN–W complexes are obtained in the ground and first excited singlet states (S₀, S₁) through IR depletion spectroscopy associated with resonance‐enhanced multiphoton ionization. Spectral analysis reveals that electronic excitation does not change the H‐bonding motif of each isomer, that is, H₂O binding either to the CN or the NH site of 4ABN, denoted as 4ABN–W(CN) and 4ABN–W(NH), respectively. The IR spectra of 4ABN⁺–W in the doublet cation ground electronic state (D₀) are measured by generating them either in an electron ionization source (EI‐IR) or through resonant multiphoton ionization (REMPI‐IR). The EI‐IR spectrum shows only transitions of the most stable isomer of the cation, which is assigned to 4ABN⁺–W(NH). The REMPI‐IR spectrum obtained through isomer‐selective resonant photoionization of 4ABN–W(NH) is essentially the same as the EI‐IR spectrum. The REMPI‐IR spectrum obtained by ionizing 4ABN–W(CN) is also similar to that of the 4ABN⁺–W(NH) isomer, but differs from that calculated for 4ABN⁺–W(CN), indicating that the H₂O ligand migrates from the CN to the NH site upon ionization with a yield of 100 %. The mechanism of this CN→NH site‐switching reaction is discussed in the light of the calculated potential energy surface and the role of intracluster vibrational energy redistribution.     

A “Catch‐and‐Release” Protocol for Alkyne‐Tagged Molecules Based on a Resin‐Bound Cobalt Complex for Peptide Enrichment in Aqueous Media

The development of new and mild protocols for the specific enrichment of biomolecules is of significant interest from the perspective of chemical biology. A cobalt–phosphine complex immobilised on a solid‐phase resin has been found to selectively bind to a propargyl carbamate tag, that is, “catch”, under dilute aqueous conditions (pH 7) at 4 °C. Upon acidic treatment of the resulting resin‐bound alkyne–cobalt complex, the Nicholas reaction was induced to “release” the alkyne‐tagged molecule from the resin as a free amine. Model studies revealed that selective enrichment of the alkyne‐tagged molecule could be achieved with high efficiency at 4 °C. The proof‐of‐concept was applied to an alkyne‐tagged amino acid and dipeptide. Studies using an alkyne‐tagged dipeptide proved that this protocol is compatible with various amino acids bearing a range of functionalities in the side‐chain. In addition, selective enrichment and detection of an amine derived from the “catch and release” of an alkyne‐tagged dipeptide in the presence of various peptides has been accomplished under highly dilute conditions, as determined by mass spectrometry.