Theoretical study of the effect of frit quality on chromatography using computational fluid dynamics

Summary Frits at both ends of a chromatographic column, especially for a preparative column, have significant influence on the flow distribution within the column and thus the column efficiency. However, frits have received little attention from chromatographers in the past. Here a theoretical study was conducted with the aid of CFD software FLUENT to investigate the effect of frits on the performance of homogeneous and heterogeneous chromatographic columns. A dimensionless number,FQ, was applied to characterize frit quality. This study visualized how frit quality affects the flow distribution and the concentration band, the shape of eluted pulse at the colum exit and column efficiency. Simulation results show that the development length of the flow distribution is related toFQ but has nothing to do with the packing heterogeneity. The curvature of the concentration band in a column depends onFQ and packing quality. This study shows column efficiency can be improved significantly by increasingFQ and/or frit permeability.     

Determination of panaxadiol and panaxatriol in ginseng and its preparations by capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC).

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatographic (SFC) method has been developed for the determination of panaxadiol and panaxatriol in ginseng and its preparations. 0.1 g ginseng or an appropriate amount of its preparations was hydrolysed by 15% H2SO4 in an ethanol:water (1:1 v/v) solution for 4 h followed by 15% NaOH for 0.5 h. The mixture was extracted by cyclohexane. The cyclohexane extracts were purified by a partition column and concentrated by an adsorption column and then analysed by SFC. Methyltestosterone was used as the internal standard.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of sulfide M2S3 (m = Bi, Sb) nanorods using an ionic liquid

Single-crystalline Bi(2)S(3) and Sb(2)S(3) nanorods have been successfully synthesized by the microwave-assisted ionic liquid method. The starting reagents were Bi(2)O(3) or Sb(2)O(3), HCl, Na(2)S(2)O(3), and ethylene glycol (EG) or ethanolamine, and the ionic liquid used was 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF(4)]). Our experiments showed that the ionic liquid played an important role in the morphology of M(2)S(3) (M = Bi, Sb). Single-crystalline Bi(2)S(3) nanorods could be prepared in the presence of [BMIM][BF(4)]. However, urchinlike Bi(2)S(3) structures consisting of nanorods were formed without using [BMIM][BF(4)]. Single-crystalline Sb(2)S(3) nanorods were obtained in the presence of [BMIM][BF(4)]. However, single-crystalline Sb(2)S(3) nanosheets could be prepared in the absence of [BMIM][BF(4)]. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron diffraction (ED).     

Electron transport across the alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer/Au(111) interface: role of the chemical anchor

Alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111) are model systems for molecular electronics. We probe the role of the chemisorption bond on electron dynamics at the SAM/Au interface using time-resolved two-photon photoemission. Formation of the Au-S bond is evidenced by a localized sigma resonance, which broadens and shifts upward in energy when the lying-down chemisorbed molecules stand up. The localized chemisorption bond does not affect the electronic coupling between delocalized image resonances and the metal substrate. Instead, lifetimes of image resonances are decreased due to scattering with S atoms within the thiol or thiolate monolayer.     

富烯碳原子簇的石墨层间闭合形成机理

本文提出了富烯碳原子簇的石墨层间闭合形成机理，由该机理推出的许多结果与实验事实符合很好。我们认为碳原子簇自由基的快速淬灭及其淬灭速度是富烯碳原子簇形成及其丰度的决定因素。由此得出富烯碳原子簇在给定实验条件下产生的必然性，并预言不同大小的富烯碳原子簇可以通过优化实验条件选择性地合成。     

Macromolecule encapsulation in diazoresin-based hollow polyelectrolyte microcapsules

A stable enzyme encapsulation technique based on the conversion of weak interactions between diazo resin/poly(styrene sulfonate) to covalent bonds was explored. Photosensitive diazoresin-based polyelectrolyte microcapsules were prepared via layer-by-layer electrostatic self-assembly of poly(styrene sulfonate) and diazoresin on MnCO(3) templates. UV-vis and zeta-potential measurements confirmed the alternate deposition of {PSS/DAR} multilayers on the micrometer-sized dissolvable templates. The DAR-based microcapsules were demonstrated to be permeable to enzymes prior to UV irradiation, while the permeability of the multilayer wall was changed substantially after photo-cross-linking. Encapsulated molecules were stably entrapped after UV irradiation, as shown by confocal microscopy and atomic force microscopy images. Activity assays revealed that encapsulated glucose oxidase possessed 52.8% of the catalytic activity exhibited by the same amount of free enzyme, proving the preservation of native conformation and accessibility of substrate. This encapsulation technique is promising for many biomedical and biotechnological applications, particularly enzyme biosensors, which require stable immobilization of functional components while allowing sufficient transport rates for substrate molecules.     

Qy-excitation resonance Raman spectra of chlorophyll a and bacteriochlorophyll c/d aggregates. Effects of peripheral substituents on the low-frequency vibrational characteristics

Low-frequency (80-700 cm-1) Qy-excitation resonance Raman (RR) spectra are reported for thin-solid-film aggregates of several chlorophyll (Chl) a and bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) c/d pigments. The pigments include Chl a, pyrochlorophyll a (PChl a), methylpyrochloropyllide a (MPChl a), methylbacteriochloropyllide d (MBChl d), [E,M] BChl cS, [E,E] BChl cF, and [P,E] BChl cF. The BChl c/d's are the principal constituents of the chlorosomal light-harvesting apparatus of green photosynthetic bacteria. Together, the various Chl a's and BChl c/d's represent a series in which the peripheral substituent groups on the chlorin macrocycle are varied in systematic fashion. All of the Chl a and BChl c/d aggregates exhibit rich low-frequency vibrational patterns. In the case of the BChl c/d's, certain modes in the very low-frequency region (100-200 cm-1) experience exceptionally strong Raman intensity enhancements. The frequencies of these modes are qualitatively similar to those of oscillations observed in femtosecond optical experiments on chlorosomes. The RR data indicate that the low-frequency vibrations are best characterized as intramolecular out-of-plane deformations of the chlorin macrocycle rather than intermolecular modes. The coupling of the out-of-plane modes in turn implies that the Qy electronic transition(s) of the aggregate have out-of-plane character. The RR spectra of the BChl c/d's also reveal that the nature of the alkyl substituents at the 8 and 12 positions of the macrocycle plays an important role in determining the detailed features of the low-frequency vibrational patterns. The frequencies of the modes are particularly sensitive to larger substituent groups whose conformations may be more easily perturbed in the tightly packed aggregates. These factors also make aggregates of pigments containing larger substituents more susceptible to structural, electronic, and vibrational inhomgeneities. Collectively, the RR studies of the various pigments delineate the factors which influence the low-frequency vibrational characteristics of chlorosomal aggregates.     

Estimation of the aqueous solubility of organic molecules by the group contribution approach

Several group contribution methods to estimate the aqueous solubility of organic molecules are proposed and evaluated for their ability to predict the water solubility of new molecules. The learning set consisted of 1168 organic compounds with experimental data taken from the literature after critical evaluation. The best method, based on a new fragment atom scheme, leads to a squared correlation coefficient of 0.95 and an average absolute calculation error of 0.50 log unit, which is superior to other group contribution methods currently available. One of the advantages of this model is that it has upper and lower limits so that the predicted solubilities cannot be unrealistily high or low.     

Alcaloides steroidiques—CLXVII : Synthese d'azides tertiaires en serie alicyclique—III

Treatment of steroidal tertiary alcohols or olefins with N₃H/BF₃—éthérate/benzene gave 5-azido, 13-azido and 14-azido steroids. Reaction mechanism has been discussed. Chemical degradation and ¹³C NMR study confirmed structural assignments.     

Transition state modeling and catalyst design for hydrogen bond-stabilized enolate formation

[reaction: see text] A catalyst for enolate formation was designed that incorporates an amine base along with a thiourea to bind to the oxygen atom of the substrate and enolate through hydrogen bonding. A computational model of the transition state was developed in which the thiourea (modeled initially as a urea) and amine were separate molecules. This model and models incorporating one or two methanol molecules in place of the urea showed an out-of-plane hydrogen bond, apparently to the carbonyl pi-bond, in addition to an in-plane hydrogen bond to an unshared electron pair. In contrast, optimized complexes of the ketone and the fully formed enolate showed only in-plane hydrogen bonding. The transition state model with the urea and amine was used to define a database search with the computer program CAVEAT to identify structures suitable for linking the amine and urea/thiourea moieties in the transition state. On the basis of a group of structures identified from this search, a flexible but conformationally biased linker was designed to connect the two catalytic moieties. The molecule having the amine and thiourea moieties connected by this linker was synthesized and was shown to catalyze proton exchange between methanol and deuterated acetone. The catalyst was about 5-fold more efficient than the amine and thiourea as separate molecules and relative to a similar but less conformationally biased catalyst.