Chromium speciation study in polluted waters using catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry and tangential flow filtration

The catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) has been applied to physico-chemical chromium speciation study in the upper Dunajec catchment, severely polluted by the tannery wastewater. The method is based on the adsorptive preconcentration of the Cr(III)-diethylenetriammine-N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) complex and the utilization of the catalytic reaction in the presence of nitrate. Under optimized conditions the CAdSV enables the oxidation state speciation study of Cr content by direct determination of Cr(VI) in the presence of the predominant Cr(III) concentration with the detection limit for chromium(VI) of 0.08 nM and the linearity range from 0.1 to 80 nM obtained for 20 s of accumulation, as well as the determination of total Cr after UV oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI). Due to the difference in the chemical properties of different chromium species the CAdSV method makes possible a speciation study of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) oxidation state. The RSD of the determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) varies from 0.5 to 5%. It has been proved that in natural water in which strong complexants of Cr(III) such a humid acids are presented, Cr(VI) can be determined accurately in the presence of high excess of Cr(III). Fractionation of selected water samples with tangential flow filtration (TFF, cut-off 10 and/or 1 kDa) provides insight into physical Cr speciation, i.e. partitioning of the Cr(VI) and Cr(III) between the colloidal and the dissolved fractions. It has been shown that the content of the Cr species in the Dunajec river depends on the season, and is significantly higher in autumn and winter during the most intensive tanneries production processes. The concentration of total Cr exceeds occasionally the legally admissible level. A large fraction of total Cr(III) concentration is associated with the colloidal material, while Cr(VI) occurs solely in the truly dissolved form.     

Homogeneous fluorescence assay for cyclic AMP

The objective of these studies was to develop a new homogeneous fluorescence assay for determining the concentrations of cAMP in biological samples. The assay is based on a novel general concept of using ligand-dependent sequence-specific DNA binding proteins as sensors for their respective ligands. CAP protein, a bacterial DNA binding protein whose DNA binding activity depends on cAMP, was used to develop the assay. In the presence of cAMP, DNA binding activity of CAP is greatly increased. Signaling of cAMP presence was achieved by detecting cAMP-dependent formation of CAP-DNA complex using a recently developed fluorescence assay for DNA binding proteins (Heyduk, T., and Heyduk, E. Nature Biotechnology 20,171-176, 2002). Both 96-well and 384-well black microplate formats of the assay were developed and used to detect cAMP in low nanomolar concentrations. The assay involves mixing of the sample with the assay solution containing all necessary components for cAMP determination followed by fluorescence intensity readout; no washing or reagent addition steps are necessary. Excellent reproducibility of fluorescence signal change as a function of cAMP concentration was observed. Experiments with HEK 293 cells stimulated with forskolin were performed to demonstrate that the assay could be used for cAMP determination in cellular extracts. In summary, the obtained data fully validated the new homogenous assay for measuring cAMP based on cAMP-dependent DNA binding activity of CAP protein. It is expected that the development of assays for many other ligands of DNA binding proteins will be possible using the same overall assay design developed for cAMP.     

Annealing effects on the thermal properties of liquid crystalline polyurethanes

This work is a continuation of our earlier investigations of liquid crystalline polyurethanes prepared from 4,4′-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy) biphenyl (BHBP), 2,4-tolylene diisocyanate (TDI), and poly (oxytetramethylene) diols (PTMO). The annealing effects on the thermal properties of the investigation polyurethanes are presented for three samples with the same BHBP content, different flexible spacer length, and different molecular weight of the polyurethanes. The annealed polyurethanes were investigated by means of DSC, and polarizing microscopy. The results of the thermal analysis show that the temperatures of phase transitions depend on the annealing temperature and time. These dependences are different for different molecular weights. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A kinetic study on the iron(III)-promoted aquation of [Cr(C2O4)2(picolinato)]2− and [Cr(C2O4)2(2-pyridineacetato)]2− complexes

Two [Cr(C₂O₄)₂(AB)]^2– type complexes, obtained from the reaction of cis-[Cr(C₂O₄)₂(H₂O)₂]^– with the AB ligand, [AB = picolinic (pyac) or 2-pyridine-ethanoic acid (pyeac) anions], were converted into [Cr(C₂O₄)(pyac)(H₂O)₂]⁰ and [Cr(C₂O₄)(pyeac)(H₂O)₂]⁰ compounds, respectively via Fe^III-induced substitution of the oxalato ligand. The aquation products were separated chromatographically and their spectral characteristics and acid dissociation constants determined. The kinetics of the oxalato ligand substitution were studied with a 10–40 fold excess of Fe^III over [Cr^III] at [H⁺] = 0.2 M and at constant ionic strength 1.0 M (Na⁺, H⁺, Fe³⁺, ClO^– ₄). The reaction rate law is of the form: r = k _obs[Cr^III], where k _obs = kQ[Fe^III]/(1 + Q[Fe^III]). The first-order rate constants (k), preequilibria quotients (Q) and activation parameters derived from the k values have been determined. The reaction mechanism is discussed in terms of a Lewis acid catalyzed (induced) ligand substitution.     

Monothiourea-3-nitrophthalic acid as a new reagent for spectrophotometric analyses : II. Determination of ruthenium(III) ions

The results of the examination of the reaction between a new reagent, MT3NF acid, and palladium(II) ions, as well as the composition of the formed complexes have been discussed. The new extraction-spectrophotometric method for the determination of palladium(II) ions by using MT3NF acid was presented. Beer's law is obeyed over the range 0.1 to 3 μg of Pd/cm³. Molar absorptivity is 2.9 × 10⁴ liter mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at the absorption maximum of 306 nm. The influence of different ions has been described.     

Lipophilic complexones,part 3. Synthesis of polyamines derived from 2-alkyl-1,3-propanediols and 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)alkanols

Lipophilic di-, tri-, tetra-, and hexaamines were synthesized from 2-alkyl-1,3-propanediols and 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)alkanols. The alcohols were converted into the sulfonate esters which were substituted with ethylenediamine or sodium azide. The azides were directly reduced to give amines. Also dioxyethylenated 2-octadecyl-1,3-propanediol yielded the corresponding amine. Some amines were converted into the salicylidene derivatives.     

High Yield Synthesis and Preliminary Spectroscopic Study of Mono-N-alkylated Cyclen Derivatives of Salicylic Acid

Selective and high yield synthesis of N-substituted salicylic acid derivatives of cyclen has been achieved by using a direct synthetic procedure under mild reaction conditions. The protonation constants of these compounds were determined by potentiometric titration. The complexing properties of the cyclen derivatives with metal cations were investigated by UV–Vis spectroscopy and ¹H NMR. The stability constants of Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺ complexes with ligands 5 and 6 were determined.     

NMR studies of mononuclear octahedral Ni(II) complexes supported by tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine-type ligands

The recent discovery of acireductone dioxygenase (ARD), a metalloenzyme containing a mononuclear octahedral Ni(II) center, necessitates the development of model systems for evaluating the role of the metal center in substrate oxidation chemistry. In this work, three Ni(II) complexes of an aryl-appended tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine ligand (6-Ph(2)TPA, N,N-bis((6-phenyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)-N-((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine), [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni(CH(3)CN)(CH(3)OH)](ClO(4))(2) (1), [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni(ONHC(O)CH(3))]ClO(4) (3), and [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni-Cl(CH(3)CN)]ClO(4) (4), and one Ni(II) complex of tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine, [(TPA)Ni(CH(3)CN)(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(2) (2), have been characterized in acetonitrile solution using conductance methods and NMR spectroscopy. In acetonitrile solution, 1-4 have monomeric cations that exhibit isotropically shifted (1)H NMR resonances. Full assignment of these resonances was achieved using one- and two-dimensional (1)H NMR techniques and (2)H NMR of analogues having deuteration of the supporting chelate ligand. COSY cross peaks were observed for pyridyl protons of the 6-Ph(2)TPA ligand in 1 and 3. This study lays the groundwork for using NMR methods to examine chemical reactions of 1 and 2 with model substrates of relevance to ARD.     

The styrylpyridine dye for the silane sol–gel transition studies by time-dependent fluorescence

A trans-4-(p-N,N-dimethylaminostyryl)-N-vinylbenzylpyridinium chloride (vbDMASP) fluorescence probe was optimized in ground and excited state as a function of change in the microenvironment polarity, using the Amsol HyperChem program package. In the calculations, protic and aprotic solvents were used. On this basis a change in the molecule geometry after excitation, depending on the surrounding solvent, was determined.Absorption and steady-state fluorescence spectra of vbDMASP in the solvent of different polarity and in the model water–glycerol solutions were also recorded. On the basis of Stokes’ shift change with the Onsager polarity scale a change in the dipole moment of the probe during transition from ground to excited state, in protic and aprotic solvents was determined.Since during the sol–gel transition of tetraethylorthosilane in the acidic environment both polarity and viscosity of the microenvironment change the vbDMASP probe was applied and fluorescence time-resolved measurements were done. On this basis the correlations between the results of time-resolved measurements for the multichromophoric probe applied in the gelation process and molecular optimization data are discussed.