Retention characteristics of volatile compounds on tenax TA

The chromatographic separation properties of long, thin adsorption tubes enable substance-specific quantitative enrichment and reduction to be achieved when sampling and thermal desorption are carried out in the same flow direction. The specific retention volumes, and also the breakthrough and peak end volumes, of 69 compounds in the boiling range between-164 and 126°C and of a relative molecular mass between 16 and 119 were determined at temperatures between 30 and 130°C: normal alkanes, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, alkenes, polyenes, alkynes, aromatics, ethers, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and their esters, nitroalkanes, O-heterocycles, S-heterocycles, chloroalkanes, water, nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. The correlation between adsorbent temperature and specific retention volume of these components, presented in the form of diagrams, permits the required quantity of adsorbent to be determined for a given sample volume. Contrary to literature sources, even extremely volatile compounds such as propane, propene, methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, and chloromethane can be quantitatively retained on Tenax provided the operating conditions are appropriately selected.     

The effect of the source pressure on the abundance of ions of noncovalent protein assemblies in an electrospray ionization orthogonal time-of-flight instrument

The effect of elevating the pressure in the interface region of an electrospray ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometer on the ion intensity of different noncovalent protein assemblies has been investigated. Elevating the pressure in the interface region generally led to an enhanced detection of high m/z ions. The optimum pressure was found to be dependent on the m/z value of the ions. This pressure effect should be carefully addressed when relating ion abundance in the mass spectra to solution phase abundance of noncovalent protein assemblies.     

FTIR-spectroscopy as a highly sensitive technique to study adsorption and desorption on ionic film and single crystal surfaces

Sample/spectrum relationships are investigated using both a low resolution rapid-scanning NIR monochromator and a Fourier transform instrument capable of high resolution and are evaluated in terms of whether or not the resolution of the instrument is sufficient for measuring the natural bandwidths corresponding to the sample. Based on the sample/spectrum relationship a criterion is developed which must be followed in order to apply either derivative spectroscopy or deconvolution to enhance the resolution of overlapped bands without generating spectral artifacts.     

Extraction of proteins from plant tissues for two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis

To increase the number of proteins detectable by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) in plants, we present a new procedure for extracting total proteins from plant tissue. This method avoids any loss of proteins in the course of sample preparation and results in two different fractions, one comprising mainly the cytoplasmatic proteins, the other one containing predominantly structure bond proteins. 2-DE patterns obtained from these two fractions show that the total number of different protein spots detected exceeds the degree of resolution commonly reported for plant proteins threefold.     

SINGLE- and DOUBLE-STRAND BREAK FORMATION IN DOUBLE-STRANDED DNA UPON NANOSECOND LASER-INDUCED PHOTOIONIZATION

Double-stranded (ds) calf thymus DNA (0.4 mM), excited by 20 ns laser pulses at 248 nm, was studied in deoxygenated aqueous solution at room temperature and pH 6.7 in the presence of a sodium salt (10 mM). The quantum yields for the formation of hydrated electrons (phi c-), single-strand breaks (phi ssb) and double-strand breaks (phi dsb) were determined for various laser pulse intensities (IL). phi c- and phi ssb increase linearly with increasing IL; however, phi ssb has a tendency to reach saturation at high IL (greater than 5 X 10(6) Wcm-2). The ratio phi ssb/phi c-, representing the number of ssb per radical cation, is about 0.08 at IL less than or equal to 5 X 10(6) Wcm-2. For comparison, the number of ssb per OH radical reacting with dsDNA is 0.22. On going from argon to N2O saturation, phi ssb and phi dsb become larger by factors of approximately 5 and 10-15, respectively. This enhancement is produced by attack on DNA bases by OH radicals generated by N2O-scavenging of the photoelectrons. While phi ssb is essentially independent of the dose (Etot), phi dsb depends linearly on Etot in both argon- and N2O-saturated solutions. The linear dependence of phi dsb implies a square dependence of the number of dsb on Etot. This portion of dsb formation is explained by the occurrence of two random ssb, generated within a critical distance (h) in opposite strands. For both argon- and N2O-saturated solutions h was found to be of the order of 40-70 phosphoric acid diester bonds. On addition of electron scavengers such as 2-chloroethanol (or N2O plus t-butanol), phi dsb is similar to that in neat, argon-saturated solutions. Thus, hydrated electrons are not involved in the chemical pathway leading to laser-pulse-induced dsb of DNA.     

Über die dilatometrisch indizierten Titrationen

Dilatometrical indication can be employed to the neutralizing reactions of polybasic acids and is demonstrated by the following acid-base couples: H₂SO₄/NaOH, H₃PO₄/NaOH and H₅JO₆/NaOH. With amounts between 0.5 and 4 mMol several, frequently all, equivalence points can be determined with a deviation of less than 0.2%. The determination of the changes of molar volume of the reactions depending on the concentrations allow conclusions as to the course of the reactions.     

Preparation of β-hydroxyesters from isoxazolines. A selective Nibpy-catalyzed electrochemical method

An electrocatalytic method for the reductive N-O cleavage of isoxazolines is described. Ni⁰bpy, generated in situ, was used to promote selective ring opening of 3-methoxy-5-phenylisoxazoline (1a) and 3-methoxy-[4,5]cyclohexylisoxazoline (1b). DMF and NaI were used as solvent and supporting electrolyte, and β-hydroxyesters 2a and 2b were obtained in high yields respectively, after acid hydrolysis. β-Hydroxynitriles 3a and 3b were also identified as side products.     

Indications for the Occurrence of Nitric Oxide Synthases in Fungi and Plants and the Involvement in Photoconidiation of Neurospora crassa*

Indications for the occurrence of nitric oxide synthases in Dictyostelium, Neurospora, Phycomyces and the leguminous plant Mucuna hassjoo as well as a physiological role of nitric oxide in Neurospora crassa are demonstrated. An exogenous nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprus-side, inhibited light-stimulated conidiation in N. crassa. Specific inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase, like the arginine derivatives N^G-nitro-L-arginine (L-NA) and N^G-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME), enhanced conidiation in darkness and in the light, whereas the stereo-isomer D-NAME was inactive. This communication reports to our knowledge the first time the presence of enzymatic activity of nitric oxide synthase in fungi and a higher plant and an effect of nitric oxide in fungal photophysiology.     

Phototransformations of Phenols in Aqueous Solutions under Different Excitation Modes

The photolysis of aqueous solutions of two widespread environmental organic ecotoxicants—phenol and 4-chlorophenol—on excitation by UV radiation from a KrCl exciplex laser and a glow-discharge KrCl excilplex lamp was studied. The irradiated solutions were studied by spectroscopic techniques. The laser and lamp photolyses were compared.     

A combined theoretical and experimental study of efficient and fast titanocene-catalyzed 3-exo cyclizations

The mechanism of titanocene mediated 3-exo cyclizations was investigated by a combined theoretical and experimental study. A gradient corrected density functional theory (DFT) method has been scaled against titanocene dichloride, the parent butenyl radical, and in bond dissociation energy (BDE) calculations. The BP86 method using density fitting, and a basis set of triple-zeta quality emerged as a highly reliable tool for studying titanocene mediated radical reactions. The computational results revealed important kinetic and thermodynamic features of cyclopropane formation. Surprisingly, the beta-titanoxy radicals, the first intermediates of our investigations, were demonstrated to possess essentially the same thermodynamic stabilization as the corresponding alkyl radicals by comparison of the calculated BDEs. In contrast to suggestions for samarium mediated reactions, the cyclization was shown to be thermodynamically favorable in agreement with earlier kinetic studies. It was established that stereoselectivity of the cyclization is governed by the stability of the intermediates and thus the trans disubstituted products are formed preferentially. The observed ratios of products are in good to excellent agreement with the DFT results. By a combination of computational and experimental results, it was also shown that for the completion of the overall cyclopropane formation the efficiency of the trapping of the cyclopropylcarbinyl radicals is decisive.