Atomic emission and atomic absorption spectrometric analysis of high-purity powders for the production of ceramics

Summary Direct analysis methods and multistage combined analytical procedures for the determination of impurities at the g/g level and the upper ng/g level in high-purity powders of Al₂O₃, AlN, Si₃N₄ and SiC are described. Results obtained with a novel direct slurry-atomization technique using a Babington nebulizer and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) are presented. A comparison of analysis results of combined analytical procedures including wet chemical decomposition and determinations with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) or ICP-OES with those of slurry-atomization ICP-OES show the capabilities of this technique for routine analysis in production control. Detection limits for Al, B, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Si, Ti, W, V, and Zn in the matrices mentioned are between 0.03 and 2.5 g/g. For elemental concentrations 10 g/g relative standard deviations of the measurements are generally below 10%. The technique is shown to be a powerful tool for trace determinations in powder samples. This is shown by its use for analysis of a series of the ceramic powders mentioned and comparative results of other direct techniques such as total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and instrumental neutron activation analysis.

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OES und AAS von hochreinen Pulvern für die Keramikherstellung

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Herrn Prof. Dr. G. Tölg zum 60. Geburtstag von seinen Mitarbeitern gewidmet     

Chromatographic molecular recognition for catechol-related compounds using thiacalix[4]arene as an effective selector

Thiacalix[4]arene (5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,26,27,28-tetrahydroxy-2,8,14,20-tetrathiacalix[4]arene) is an amphiphilic molecule comprising four p-tert-butylphenol-like groups ortho-linked by single sulfur atoms. This molecule has a high electron density area owing to the close proximity of the hydroxyl groups and sulfur atoms. We studied the applicability of this interesting compound as a selector for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) thereby presumably exploiting this feature. Firstly, uniformly sized polymer particles were prepared by using a multi-step swelling and polymerization method with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as a cross-linker. Methacrylic acid (MAA) was introduced onto the surface of the resulting polymer particles through a new modification method. Thiacalix[4]arene was chemically bonded through the MAA group by using 1,4-dibromobutane as a spacer to reduce steric hindrance around the MAA and the polymer particle itself. The performance of the prepared polymer-based thiacalix[4]arene-modified stationary phase was evaluated with HPLC. Specific chromatographic retention behavior was observed for catechol relative to positional isomers of xylene, cresol, and benzene-diol. Catecholamine and catechol showed specific chromatographic retention behavior.     

DNA Hydrolysis by Homo- and Heteronuclear Cu(II)–Ni(II) Complexes of Two Diester-type Ligands

Nucleolytic activities of novel mononuclear Cu(II), homo- and heterodinuclear Cu(II)–Ni(II) complexes with two diester-type ligands were investigated on pCYTEXP by neutral agarose gel electrophoresis. The analyses of the cleavage products obtained electrophoretically indicate that the examined complexes induce very similar conformational changes on supercoiled DNA by converting supercoiled form to nicked form. At concentrations greater than 100M, the complexes possessed effective nucleolytic activities for 10min of incubation time. However, their nucleolytic activities did not increase significantly with longer periods of incubation. The pH-nucleolytic activity profiles of the complexes differed significantly. Metal complex induced DNA cleavage was also tested for inhibition by various radical scavengers. It could be proposed from the data that diffusible intermediate oxidants are not involved in these reactions or they are not necessary for DNA cleavage since none of antioxidants inhibited DNA cleaving activities of the complexes.     

Separation of biomolecules by μ-high-performance anion-exchange chromatography using a tentacle-like stationary phase

A variety of biomolecules and their variants, which have previously been problematic to separate, have been analysed using a novel anion-exchange resin based on a non-porous polystyrene polymeric support with a hydrophilic coating and grafted tentacular quaternary ammonium functional groups. The hydrophilic coating results in minimal interaction between the support and the biomolecule, while the highly flexible tentacular-like anion-exchange groups increase the ionic interaction potential and act as an umbrella to hold the proteins away from the surface. Because of the removal of silanophilic interactions, minimisation of hydrophobic interactions, and the highly flexible nature of the tentacle-like ion exchangers, ionic interactions can therefore dominate the separation. As such this phase is highly suited to the separation of highly charged biomolecules and their variants. This polymeric strong anion-exchange (SAX) support was packed into a fused-silica capillary column and, using a salt concentration gradient, various recombinant proteins were analysed by -HPLC resulting in baseline resolution.Awarded a poster prize on the occasion of the Euranalysis XIII conference, Salamanca, Spain, 5–10 September 2004     

Formation of Iron Macro-Spheres in Plasma

In this paper the formation mechanism of iron macro-spheres in a plasma medium is dealt with, including the conditions under which such spheres are formed. The geometry of the spheres referred to above depends on the main technological parameters involved in the production of pores. Conditions under which pores occur within macro-spheres are also established. The radii of these pores are sensitive to the velocity distribution within the plasma jet section     

Studies on the Phase Properties of Winsor Ⅰ-Ⅲ Type Microemulsions with Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy

The dielectric relaxation spectroscopy （DRS） of Winsor I -Ⅲ microemulsions for nonionic surfactant octyl polyglucoside CsG1.46/1-butanol/cyclohexanedwater system was studied. The experiment shows that the permittivity decreases with the increase in the frequency and clear dielectric relaxation phenomena were observed. Permittivity obviously decreases with the change of the microstructure of the microemulsion, W/O, B.C. and O/W can be distinguished by the permittivity.     

Pulsed remote Raman system for daytime measurements of mineral spectra

A remote Raman system has been developed utilizing a 532nm pulsed laser and gated intensified charged couple device (ICCD) detector in the oblique geometry. When the system is set for 50m sample distance it is capable of measuring Raman spectra of minerals located at distances in the range of 10-65m from the telescope. Both daytime and nighttime operations are feasible and the spectra of minerals can be measured in a short period of time, of the order of a few seconds. In oblique geometry, measured sampling depth is more than 30m, during which the system maintains very high performance without any adjustments. Much longer sampling depth (0.1-120m) has been observed when the system is configured in the coaxial geometry. Clear advantages of using a gated detection mode over the continuous (CW) mode of operation in reducing the background signal and eliminating long-lived fluorescence signals from the Raman spectra are presented. The performance of the pulsed Raman system is demonstrated by measuring spectra of Raman standards including benzene (C(6)H(6)) and naphthalene (C(10)H(8)), a low Raman cross section silicate mineral muscovite (KAl(2)(Si(3)Al)O(10)(OH)(2)), and a medium Raman cross section mineral calcite (CaCO(3)).     

A Restudy of Direct Chelatometric Titration of Vanadium(IV) with N-Benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine as Indicator

This paper restudies the method of direct chelatometric titration of V(IV) with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) as indicator. The indicator functions entirely differently from indicators hitherto used in chelatometry. The solution contains two independent systems – the indicator and the titrand-titrant system – without any color changing species. The BPHA-V(V) chelate once formed as the result of aerial oxidation constitutes the indicator system and does not react with EDTA. Its color therefore remains unchanged throughout titration. It is not a metallochromic indicator. Its function is that of color-screening. The color of the titrant system deepens during titration, but does not change. The end-point is indicated by one color completely covering up the other. Hence, this method is of purely empirical nature.Received July 5, 2002; accepted February 11, 2003 Published online July 16, 2003     

The Role of Carnitine Acyltransferases in the Maintenance of Cell Function

Summary. Carnitine acyltransferases catalyse equilibria between acyl-CoA esters and the respective acylcarnitines. Therefore, they act not only as pathway enzymes, but also as modulators of acyl-CoA concentrations within individual sub-cellular compartments. Because acyl-CoA esters are potent biologically active metabolites, carnitine acyltransferase activities are potentially able to affect a diverse range of physiological processes, ranging from insulin secretion, to appetite control, and insulin sensitivity of tissues. The distinctive subcellular distributions of the different types of carnitine acyltransferases also enables them to participate in the transfer of acyl moieties across intracellular membranes, and of particular acylcarnitine esters across the plasma membrane and into the plasma. Pharmacological strategies that make use of these properties to improve cell function are discussed.     

Determination of binding sites in carboplatin-bound cytochrome c using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry

Interaction of carboplatin with cytochrome c (Cyt. c) has been investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). ESI-MS studies revealed that the ring-opened adducts of carboplatin with Cyt. c were formed in the stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 and 2:1 at pH 5.0 and 37 degrees C and in the stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 only at pH 7.0 and 37 degrees C. It was also found that Cyt. c could be cleaved by carboplatin at pH 2.5 and 50 degrees C. The cleaved fragments of Cyt. c were determined by ESI-MS and MS/MS analysis to be Glu66 approximately Met80, Ac-Gly01 approximately Met65, Glu66 approximately Glu104, Ac-Gly01 approximately Met80 and Ile81 approximately Glu104. The carboplatin prefers to anchor to Met65 first, then to Met80. To further confirm the binding site of Met, AcMet-Gly was used as the model molecule to investigate its interaction with carboplatin and its hydrolysis reaction. On the basis of species detected during the reaction monitored by ESI-MS, a possible pathway of the cleavage reaction was proposed.