Formation of polymeric toroidal-spiral particles

Compared to spherical matrices, particles with well-defined internal structure provide large surface to volume ratio and predictable release kinetics for the encapsulated payloads. We describe self-assembly of polymeric particles, whereby competitive kinetics of viscous sedimentation, diffusion, and cross-linking yield a controllable toroidal-spiral (T-S) structure. Precursor polymeric droplets are splashed through the surface of a less dense, miscible solution, after which viscous forces entrain the surrounding bulk solution into the sedimenting polymer drop to form T-S channels. The intricate structure forms because low interfacial tension between the two miscible solutions is dominated by viscous forces. The biocompatible polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA), is used to demonstrate the solidification of the T-S shapes at various configurational stages by UV-triggered cross-linking. The dimensions of the channels are controlled by Weber number during impact on the surface, and Reynolds number and viscosity ratio during subsequent sedimentation. We anticipate applications of the T-S particle in drug delivery, wherein diffusion through these T-S channels and the polymer matrix would offer parallel release pathways for molecules of different sizes. Polyphosphate, as a model macromolecule, is entrained in T-S particles during their formation. The in vitro release kinetics of polyphosphate from the T-S particles with various channel length and width is reported. In addition, self-assembly of T-S particles occurs in a single step under benign conditions for delicate macromolecules, and appears conducive to scaleup.     

High-speed chiral separations on a microchip with UV detection

Fast chiral separations of a variety of basic and acidic compounds could be realized on microfluidic quartz chips. A microchip electrophoresis instrument equipped with a linear imaging UV-detector was used. The usually applied but troublesome fluorescence tagging in order to enable fluorescence detection could be omitted. Using sulfated cyclodextrins as chiral selectors baseline separation of 19 compounds could be achieved in less than 1 min with high reproducibility. The relative standard deviation of migration time was below 7%. The fastest separation could be performed in 2.5 s which is to date the fastest separation of enantiomers reported. It was possible to apply microchip electrophoresis (MCE) for the determination of high enantiomeric excess (ee) values, as exemplarily shown for pseudoephedrin where 2% of the minor enantiomer could reliably be determined beside high amount of the other isomer. Successful separation of a mixture of 3 chiral drugs could be performed in a single run in less than 11 s utilizing a separation length of only 12 mm. These results show that MCE has great potential for fast chiral analysis and high-throughput screening.     

Microchip electrophoresis for chiral separations

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE) is a promising new technique for the separation of enantiomers. This recently introduced technique enables chiral separations to be performed in seconds on tiny micromachined devices. This review is intended to give a brief introduction into the principles of chiral separations with MCE with regard to methodology and instrumentation. Different approaches to realize chiral separations in microfluidic devices are described and discussed. This review gives an overview of original work done in this field with emphasis on approaches to improve detection and resolution in chiral MCE.     

Metal/Metal Redox Isomerism Governed by Configuration

A pair of diastereomeric dinuclear complexes, [Tp′(CO)BrW{μ-η²-C,C′-κ²-S,P-C₂(PPh₂)S}Ru(η⁵-C₅H₅)(PPh₃)], in which W and Ru are bridged by a phosphinyl(thiolato)alkyne in a side-on carbon P,S-chelate coordination mode, were synthesized, separated and fully characterized. Even though the isomers are similar in their spectroscopic properties and redox potentials, the like-isomer is oxidized at W while the unlike-isomer is oxidized at Ru, which is proven by IR, NIR and EPR-spectroscopy supported by spectro-electrochemistry and computational methods. The second oxidation of the complexes was shown to take place at the metal left unaffected in the first redox step. Finally, the tipping point could be realized in the unlike isomer of the electronically tuned thiophenolate congener [Tp′(CO)(PhS)W{μ-η²-C,C′-κ²-S,P-C₂(PPh₂)S}Ru(η⁵-C₅H₅)-(PPh₃)], in which valence trapped W^III/Ru^II and W^II/Ru^III cationic species are at equilibrium.     

Dynamics of the dissociation of hydrogen on stepped platinum surfaces using the ReaxFF reactive force field

The dissociation of hydrogen on eight platinum surfaces, Pt(111), Pt(100), Pt(110), Pt(211), Pt(311), Pt(331), Pt(332), and Pt(533), has been studied using molecular dynamics and the reactive force field, ReaxFF. The force field, which includes the degrees of freedom of the atoms in the platinum substrate, was used unmodified with potential parameters determined from previous calculations performed on a training set exclusive of the surfaces considered in this work. The energetics of the eight surfaces in the absence of hydrogen at 0 K were first compared to previous density functional theory (DFT) calculations and found to underestimate excess surface energy. However, taking Pt(111) as a reference state, we found that the trend between surfaces was adequately predicted to justify a relative comparison between the various stepped surfaces. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the force field, we performed detailed simulations on two stepped surfaces, Pt(533) and Pt(211), and compared our findings to published experimental and theoretical results. In general, the absolute magnitude of reaction rate predictions was low, a result of the force field's tendency to underpredict surface energy. However, when normalized, the simulations show the correct linear scaling with incident energy and angular dependence at collision energies where a direct dissociation mechanism is observed. Because ReaxFF includes all degrees of freedom in the substrate, we carried out simulations aimed at understanding surface-temperature effects on Pt(533). On the basis of the results on Pt(533)/Pt(211), we studied the reaction of hydrogen at normal incidence on all eight surfaces in a range of energies where we anticipated the force field to give reasonable qualitative trends. These results were subsequently fit to a simple linear model that predicts the enhanced reactivity of surfaces containing 111-type atomic steps versus 100-type atomic steps. This model provides a simple framework for predicting high-energy/high-temperature kinetics of complex surfaces not vicinal to Pt(111).     

Oxadiazole-metal interface: from isolated molecules to pi-stacking

Derivatives of 2,5-diaryl-1,3,4-oxadiazole are used widely for electron transport in organic light emitting diodes (OLED). This study addresses the structure of 2,5-diphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PPD) molecules on Cu(111) using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density function theory (DFT): at incomplete coverage, PPD molecules are found horizontally on the surface; once the surface area is insufficient to accommodate all adsorbates in this fashion, a pi-stacked film of vertically arranged molecules is formed. In contrast to bulk PPD, in this film, the molecules are arranged face-to-face at a separation of square root(3a0) = 4.4 A as imposed by the substrate interatomic spacing along the [-2 1 1] direction.     

Molecular Dynamics in 1- and 2-D Confinement as Studied for the Case of Poly(Cis-1,4-Isoprene)

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) is used to probe the molecular dynamics of Type A polymer, poly(cis-1,4-isoprene), when confined in the 1-dimensional (1D) exploring space of thin layers and the 2-dimensional (2D) constraining geometry of unidirectional anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanopores. For both cases, it was observed that the structural relaxation remains bulk-like in its mean relaxation rate, although the distribution of its relaxation times is broadened in 2D confinement. Furthermore, the fluctuation of the end-to-end vector is interrupted, with the 1D case being relatively less pronounced. By this clear-cut comparison, it is demonstrated that the effects of confinement on molecular dynamics depend, inter alia, on the dimensionality of the restricting space.     

The effect of magnetic fields on the electrodeposition of iron

The effect of a uniform magnetic field with flux density up to 1 T on the electrodeposition of Fe from sulphate electrolyte has been investigated under different field configurations relative to the electrode surface. Voltammetric and chronoamperometric experiments have been carried out coupled with an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance for in situ mass change measurements. The structure and morphology of the deposited films were determined by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. Results show that, when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the electrode surface, the limiting current density and the deposition rate are increased due to the magnetohydrodynamic effect. The nucleation process is also affected in parallel configuration; the current density of the maximum on the chronoamperograms is decreased, and an additional nucleation step might be observed. This effect is attributed to the hydrodynamic response of the electrochemical system. No significant influence on the electrochemical reaction was observed when a magnetic field was applied perpendicular to the electrode. But in this configuration, the morphology of deposited layers is changed by the magnetic field. The morphology changes are discussed. No effect of the magnetic field on the crystallographic structure was observed.     

Darstellung von Tetramethylammoniumazidsulfit und Tetramethylammoniumcyanat‐Schwefeldioxid‐Addukt, [(CH3)4N]+[SO2N3]–, [(CH3)4N]+ [SO2OCN]– und Kristallstruktur von [(CH3)4N]+[SO2N3]–

Preparation of Tetramethylammonium Azidosulfite and Tetramethylammonium Cyanate Sulfur Dioxide‐Adduct, [(CH₃)₄N]⁺[SO₂N₃]^–, [(CH₃)₄N]⁺[SO₂OCN]^– and Crystal Structure of [(CH₃)₄N]⁺[SO₂N₃]^– Tetramethylammonium azide forms with sulfur dioxide an azidosulfite salt. It is characterized by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy and the crystal structure analysis. [(CH₃)₄N]⁺[SO₂N₃]^– crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with a = 551.3(1) pm, b = 1095.2(1) pm, c = 1465.0(1) pm, β = 100.63(1)°, and four formula units in the unit cell. The crystal structure possesses a strong S–N interaction between the N^3– anions and the SO₂ molecules. The S–N distance of 200.5(2) pm is longer than a covalent single S–N bond. The structure is compared with ab initio calculated data. Furthermore an adduct of tetrametylammonium cyanate and sulfur dioxide is reported. It is characterised by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy. The structure is calculated by ab initio methods.