Plasma pencil — A new small scale source for atmospheric surface modifications

Plasma pencil is a device which can produce plasma jet at atmospheric pressure and low power (10–200 W) from DC to HF. The jet character of the plasma makes this device very efficient in aimed local (1 – 10² mm²) modifications of surfaces. Great variability in possible power sources allow to achieve a broad range of effects on materials. We have tested bipolar discharges with a metal object and a unipolar HF discharge to burn the glazing on ceramics. Both technologies could be prospective.     

Oxidation of Metal Sulphides and Determination of Characteristic Temperatures by DTA and TG

The oxidation of metal sulphides and sulphide concentrates was studied by means of DTA, TG and DTG curves. The behaviour of ZnS, CdS, GaS, Tl₂S, Sb₂S₃ and Sb₂S₅ during thermal treatment in an oxidizing medium was investigated. The properties of these sulphides were compared and conclusions were drawn about their probable oxidation reactions and the kind of end-products obtained. The characteristic temperatures of the studied sulphides were determined on the basis of curves (DTA). The values obtained were used to compare the behaviour of the sulphides during the oxidation process in a fluid bed. The results can be used to improve the technological and economic indices in the industrial production of zinc. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tungsten(VI) and Tungsten(V) Fluoride Complexes

WF₆ reacts with phosphines R₃P forming 1:1 compounds. With R=P(CH₃)₃ the coordination around the tungsten atom is capped trigonal prismatic, with R=P(CH₃)₂C₆H₅ the coordination is capped octahedral, as established by single‐crystal structure determinations: [(CH₃)₃P? WF₆]: a=752.5(21), b=945.7(24), c=629.8(18) pm. β=110.36(13)°, space group Cm, Z=2; [(CH₃)₂(C₆H₅)P? WF₆]: a=762.2(2), b=1123.5(2), c=2647.5(6) pm, space group Pbca, Z=8. [(CF₃CH₂)₂N? WF₅] reacts smoothly with P(C₆H₅)₃ forming known P(C₆H₅)₃(F)₂ and [(CF₃CH₂)₂N? WF₄? P(C₆H₅)₃], a stable, green, molecular species, identified among other methods with an crystal structure determination: a=914.9(1), b=956.0(1), c=1449.8(2) pm, α=7.642(4), β=81.648(3), γ=81.519°, space group P$\bar 1$ , Z=2.     

Metabolic activation of chemicals: in-silico simulation

The role of metabolism in prioritising chemicals according to their potential adverse health effects is extremely important given the fact that innocuous parents can be transformed into toxic metabolites. Our recent efforts in simulating metabolic activation of chemicals are reviewed in this work. The application of metabolic simulators to predict biodegradation (microbial degradation pathways), bioaccumulation (fish liver metabolism), skin sensitisation (skin metabolism), mutagenicity (rat liver S-9 metabolism) are discussed. The ability of OASIS approach to predict metabolism (toxicokinetics) and toxicity (toxicodynamics) of chemicals resulting from their metabolic activation in a single modelling platform is an important advantage of the method. It allows prioritisation of chemicals due to predicted toxicity of their metabolites.     

Designing 129Xe NMR biosensors for matrix metalloproteinase detection

Xenon-129 biosensors offer an attractive alternative to conventional MRI contrast agents due to the chemical shift sensitivity and large nuclear magnetic signal of hyperpolarized (129)Xe. Here, we report the first enzyme-responsive (129)Xe NMR biosensor. This compound was synthesized in 13 steps by attaching the consensus peptide substrate for matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), an enzyme that is upregulated in many cancers, to the xenon-binding organic cage, cryptophane-A. The final coupling step was achieved on solid support in 80-92% yield via a copper (I)-catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition. In vitro enzymatic cleavage assays were monitored by HPLC and fluorescence spectroscopy. The biosensor was determined to be an excellent substrate for MMP-7 (K(M) = 43 microM, V(max) = 1.3 x 10(-)(8) M s(-1), k(cat)/K(M) = 7,200 M(-1) s(-1)). Enzymatic cleavage of the tryptophan-containing peptide led to a dramatic decrease in Trp fluorescence, lambda(max) = 358 nm. Stern-Volmer analysis gave an association constant of 9000 +/- 1,000 M(-1) at 298 K between the cage and Trp-containing hexapeptide under enzymatic assay conditions. Most promisingly, (129)Xe NMR spectroscopy distinguished between the intact and cleaved biosensors with a 0.5 ppm difference in chemical shift. This difference most likely reflected a change in the electrostatic environment of (129)Xe, caused by the cleavage of three positively charged residues from the C-terminus. This work provides guidelines for the design and application of new enzyme-responsive (129)Xe NMR biosensors.     

F/Cl-exchange on AlCl(3)-pyridine adducts: synthesis and characterization of trans-difluoro-tetrakis-pyridine-aluminum-chloride, [AlF2(Py)4]+Cl-

Whereas liquid CCl3F reacts with solid AlCl3 exothermically under chlorine-fluorine-exchange already above -20 degrees C, no reaction takes place between CCl3F and the pyridine complexes of AlCl3 (AlCl3.Py, AlCl3.2Py, or AlCl3.3Py) up to 100 degrees C. The desired chlorine by fluorine substitution on the monomer AlCl3-pyridine adducts occurs, however, easily using Me3SiF as fluorinating agent. By reacting AlCl3.3Py with Me3SiF (even up to 10-fold stoichiometric excess) in pyridine as a solvent, only two of the three Cl atoms can be substituted by fluorine, leading in good yield to the new "mixed aluminum halide", AlF2Cl.4Py. Actually, it represents the first example of a stable solid donor-acceptor adduct of an aluminum-III halide with two different halogens of defined stoichiometry. It was characterized by multinuclear solid-state NMR (27Al and 19F), IR spectroscopy, as well as single-crystal structure analysis. The new compound has an ionic solid-state structure with helical trans-octahedral [(Py)4AlF2]+ cations and isolated Cl- anions. The comparison of its 27Al MAS solid-state NMR spectra with those of a compound bearing the analogous [(Py)4AlCl2]+ cation reveals an extreme increase in the quadrupolar coupling constants, from 0.24 MHz in case of the chlorine cation to about 16 MHz in case of the new [(Py)4AlF2]+ cation.     

Near-threshold production of phi mesons in pp collisions

The pp-->ppphi reaction has been studied at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY-Jülich, using the internal beam and ANKE facility. Total cross sections have been determined at three excess energies epsilon near the production threshold. The differential cross section closest to threshold at epsilon=18.5 MeV exhibits a clear S wave dominance as well as a noticeable effect due to the proton-proton final-state interaction. Taken together with data for ppomega production, a significant enhancement of the phi/omega ratio of a factor 8 is found compared to predictions based on the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule.     

Ellipsometry as a rapid method of establishing a correlation between the porosity and the gas sensitivity of tin dioxide layers

It is shown for the first time that reflection ellipsometry may be an effective method of establishing a correlation between the main parameters of gas-sensitive layers and their optical characteristics, suitable for rapid monitoring. This can advance the capability of predicting the properties of a material from its preparation conditions and consequently can reduce the optimization cycle time and thus lower the cost of a technology. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 129–130 (April 1999)