Polystyrene nanoparticles based on poly(butyl methacrylate-g-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)) and poly(methyl methacrylate-g-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)) graft copolymers

The solubilization of styrene by poly(butyl methacrylate-g-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)) and poly(methyl methacrylate-g-methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)) graft copolymers has been examined. From turbidity measurements the solubility limit of the monomer in the micelles was obtained and the distribution coefficients were evaluated. Dynamic light scattering revealed that below the solubility limit, solubilization leads to a slight increase in micelle size, while above the solubility limit, there is a dramatic increase in particle size and turbidity as oil-in-water emulsions are formed through coalescence of monomer-swollen micelles. Polymerizations carried out below the solubility limit using the graft copolymer micelles as templates resembled microemulsion polymerizations in nature and led to very fine sterically stabilized polystyrene latex particles. Through careful control of the monomer concentration and the polymerization temperature it was possible to obtain spherical nanosize latex particles with similar size to those of the micelle precursors (10 nm) up to 11% monomer by weight. Polymerizations above the solubility limit, on the other hand, showed similarities with emulsion polymerizations and resulted in larger particles with higher polydispersity.     

Comment: 2004's fastest organic and biomolecular chemistry!

In January 2004, the Royal Society of Chemistry launched Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC) - a journal promising to provide high quality research from all aspects of synthetic, physical and biomolecular organic chemistry. The journal was set to build upon the foundations laid down by its predecessor publications (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1 and J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2) as well as complement the subject coverage already published in prestigious general chemistry journals such as Chemical Communications and Chemical Society Reviews. Nearly two years on, just how is the programme developing and what can the community expect to see from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)?     

Helicity‐Encoded Molecular Strands: Efficient Access by the Hydrazone Route and Structural Features

Control over the folding of molecular strands may be achieved by appropriate choice of the constituting subunits, in particular for chains of specific heterocycles such as sequences of directly connected pyridine (py) and pyrimidine (pym) rings, which are known to fold into extended helical structures. Since the hydrazone (hyz) group represents an isomorphic analogue of a py site, the condensation of hydrazine and carboxaldehyde derivatives of pym offers a very efficient approach to strands incorporating hyz instead of py units and constituted by sequences of alternating hyz and pym groups. A series of such strands of different lengths, up to ten hyz units, i.e., 1 – 7 , were synthesized. Their spectral properties indicate that they fold indeed into helical shapes. Extensive characterization was performed in solution by ¹HNMR spectroscopy and in the solid state by determination of the crystal structures of eight such strands. They all display the expected helical geometry with up to 3 ¹/₃ turns and direct stacking contacts. The efficiency and flexibility of the synthetic approach as well as its wide potential for generation of diversity through lateral decoration make the (hyz? pym) subunit a particularly attractive helicity codon.     

Reversible $$G^k$$ G k -codes with applications to DNA codes

Designs, Codes and Cryptography - In this paper, we give a matrix construction method for designing DNA codes that come from group matrix rings. We show that with our construction one can obtain...     

Austauscher mit cyclischen Polyethern als Ankergruppen—II: Anwendungen

Exchangers with cyclic polyethers as anchor groups have a large range of applications such as separations of cations with a common anion, of anions with a common cation, and of neutral organic compounds, and the determination of water by elution chromatography. Some crown ether monomers, especially 4- and 4,4′-alkyl-substituted benzo-derivatives are suitable for extractions and their adducts with heteropoly acids are used as liquid ion-exchangers. The exchangers are also applied in thin-layer chromatography and thin-layer electrophoresis. Furthermore the exchangers are successfully used in preparative chemistry, e.g., in salt conversions in order to isolate salts which are difficult to prepare by other means, in isolation and purification of organic compounds, and for anion activation in organic reactions.     

Carbon Participation in the Solvolysis of 6-exo-substituted 2-exo- and 2-endo-Norbornyl p-Toluenesulfonates. Norbornanes part 5

The solvolysis rates and products of the 6-exo-substituted 2-exo- 1a - 1u , and 2-endo-norbornyl p-toluenesulfonates 2a - 2u , have been determined. In general, the rate constants for 1 and 2 (log k) correlate well with the inductive constants σ of the substitutents at C(6); however, their sensitivity to σ is much larger in the 2-exo-series 1 than in the 2-endo-series 2 . This differential transmission of polar effects is the cause of decreasing 2-exo/2-endo rate ratios from 2388 for R = t-C₄H₉ to 0.37 for R = Br, i. e. with increasing electron attraction by the substituent. The high sensitivity of the rate constants for the 2-exo-p-toluenesulfonates 1 to σ indicates an unusually strong inductive interaction between C(6) and the incipient cationic center at C(2). This interaction is ascribed to the participation of the pentacoordinate C(6)-atom, i. e. to 1,3-bridging, a consequence of steric hindrance of nucleophilic solvent participation in norbornanes. Donor substituents enhance 1,3-bridging, lead to faster reactions and to the formation of 2-exo substitution products. Conversely, acceptor substituents reduce 1,3-bridging, decrease rates and facilitate the formation of 2-endo substitution products. Graded 1,3-bridging is discussed in the light of Winstein's nonclassical ion concept.     

Existence of rank 3 vector bundles with given chern classes on homogeneous rational 3-folds

One proves that any rank 3 topological vector bundle on a homogeneous rational 3-fold has an algebraic structure. The proof uses extensions of ideals by rank 2 vector bundles. The paper also contains a construction of rank 3 vector bundles on 3-folds using extensions of ideals by rank 2 reflexive sheaves.     

One-Step Synthesis of Monolithic Silica Nanocomposites in Fused Silica Capillaries

The ideal way to prepare efficient, yet robust stationary phases for microanalytical high-resolution methods such as capillary chromatography and electrochromatography remains to be defined. In this contribution a one step sol-gel process is proposed for the production of monolithic, macroporous nanocomposite phases in fused silica capillaries, which require no additional derivatization, since they already bear the interactive (C8) moieties. The effect of the catalyst, the water content, the pH, as well as that of certain additives on monolith formation and porosity is investigated. Volume shrinkage and a tendency to crack were the major obstacles to overcome. Homogeneous stationary phases could be produced by applying a pH gradient during sol formation, thereby changing the catalytic principle from acidic (0.1 M HCl) to basic (gradual formation of OH^– as a consequence of the hydrolysis of N-methylformamide). Gelation/coacervation of suchgels could be induced by the addition of N,N-diethylamine. The water content during sol formation was determined as decisive for pore formation, with 250% of the amount theoretically needed for complete hydrolysis of all precursors giving optimal results. The volume shrinkage problem during xerogel formation was resolved by integrating dialkyldialkoxysilane units (dimethyldiethoxysilane 35 mol%) into the silica network.     

Rydberg-London potential for diatomic molecules and unbonded atom pairs

We propose and test a pair potential that is accurate at all relevant distances and simple enough for use in large-scale computer simulations. A combination of the Rydberg potential from spectroscopy and the London inverse-sixth-power energy, the proposed form fits spectroscopically determined potentials better than the Morse, Varnshi, and Hulburt-Hirschfelder potentials and much better than the Lennard-Jones and harmonic potentials. At long distances, it goes smoothly to the London force appropriate for gases and preserves van der Waals's "continuity of the gas and liquid states," which is routinely violated by coefficients assigned to the Lennard-Jones 6-12 form.