Accreditation of reference material producers: the example of IRMM's Reference Materials Unit

The potential approaches for third-party assessment of reference material producers are revisited and the activities of the Reference Materials (RM) Unit of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) to obtain accreditation to ISO Guide 34 and ISO 17025 are described. Accreditation was related to the Unit as all matrix RM activities of the institute are concentrated there. A management system was established that allows sufficient flexibility to be applicable to a wide range of RMs while being precise enough to ensure compliance with ISO Guides 30, 31 and especially 34 and 35. Accreditation was achieved in 2004 with independent scopes for testing and RM production and was confirmed and extended in 2005. The key aspects of the RM Unit's management system for RM production are presented. Presented at BERM-10, April 2006, Charleston, SC, USA     

Quantitation of amorphicity by microcalorimetry

The amorphous state of solids is characterized by a higher chemical and physical reactivity and a hygroscopic behaviour. Furthermore processing of amorphous powders is often difficult, because of the instability. Fast crystallizations, precipitations and milling favour the formation of the amorphous state. Galenical processes like granulation, drying, lyophilization, mixing, may also induce amorphous regions in the drug products.X-ray diffraction techniques can be used for the determination of the amorphicity of drug raw materials or drug products. Unfortunately, 10% is the detection limit, which in normal cases can be attained. Amorphous substances undergo an exothermic crystallization at temperatures above the glass transition point. Water which is a plasticizer decreases the temperature of the glass transition point, allowing the crystallization to occur at lower temperatures. The crystallization energy is measure of by microcalorimetry.Examples show the influence of the choice of the experimental conditions, especially the influence of the amorphicity on the kinetic of the reaction. Critical steps are discussed for three different drug substances. Limits of detection in the magnitude of 1 % are possible using microcalorimetry.     

FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic study of hydrated rubidium (cesium) borates and alkali double borates

FT-IR and Raman spectra of five hydrated alkali borates and five hydrated alkali double borates have been recorded at room temperature in the range 400 to 4000 cm⁻¹, and analyzed. Fundamental vibrational modes have been identified and assignments tentatively made in comparison with the work of Janda and Heller, and Li Jun. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Preparation of solutions of amidomagnesium chlorides in poly(ethylene oxide) and their characterization by conductivity measurements

Polymer electrolyte systems were prepared for the first time by dissolution of amidomagnesium chlorides in poly(ethylene oxide), (PEO). For the preparation, solutions of (hexamethyldisilylamido)magnesium chloride, (dimethylpyrrolyl)magnesium chloride, (diisopropylamido)magnesium chloride, piperidinomagnesium chloride and morpholinomagnesium chloride were chosen. The composition of these polymer electrolyte systems corresponds to the general formula R₂NMgCl·P(EO)_n·THF. Most work has been done with the system (hexamethyldisilylamido)magnesium chloride in PEO, (Me₃Si)₂NMgCl·P(EO)_n·THF, with n= 3, 4, 5, or 7. The electrolytes have a soft rubber-like consistency. At 30 °C, electrical conductivities of 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁵ S/cm were found. The conductivities were measured in the temperature range 20–60 °C. Within this temperature range a linear dependence of the logarithms of the conductivity on the inverse temperature was found and activation energies for the conducting process of 30–60 kJ/mol were calculated. Using those polymer electrolytes with a high content of the amidomagnesium compound, a reversible magnesium deposition takes place by cathodic reduction at potentials below −1.9 V vs. a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. These polymer electrolytes were found to be stable against oxidation up to about −0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Electronic Publication     

The 6Li,6Li-INADEQUATE Experiment: A New Tool for 1D- and 2D-NMR Studies of Organolithium Compounds

The 1D- and 2D-⁶Li, ⁶Li-INADEQUATE experiments are described as new tools for the detection of scalar coupled nonequivalent ⁶Li nuclei in organolithium clusters. Practical applications of these sequences are demonstrated for the ⁶Li-NMR spectra of (E)-1-lithio-2-(2-lithiophenyl)-1-phenylhex-1-ene ( 1 ) and (E)-2-lithio-1-(2-lithiophenyl)-1-phenylpent-1-ene ( 2 ), where signals due to dimers and monomers can be distinguished. The performance of the 2D-⁶Li, ⁶Li-INADEQUATE and the ⁶Li, ⁶Li-COSY-45-LR experiment are compared. The ⁶Li chemical shifts of 1 and 2 are discussed.     

Surface modification of imide containing polymers I: Catalytic groups

This paper describes basic studies of the surface modification of polyimide covered wires for insulation of electrical machines. Drain-off of the impregnating resin during production should be reduced by introduction of surface catalytic groups. ¹H NMR kinetic analysis of aminolytic ring opening reaction of low molecular model compounds for polyimides showed very fast modification reactions. The catalytic effect of various functional groups on unsaturated polyester imide, acrylate and epoxy resins was investigated by DSC. Co(II)-catalysts and tertiary aliphatic amines proved highest activity for double bond containing systems and epoxy resins, respectively. Aminolytic treatment of Kapton^® slides was followed by ATR-IR spectroscopy. Plate-plate rheometer measurements of epoxy resins employing tertiary amine-treated Kapton^® slides proved significantly reduced gelling temperature.     

Mixed micellization of an anionic gemini surfactant (GA) with conventional polyethoxylated nonionic surfactants in brine solution at pH 5 and 298 K

The micellization behavior of an anionic gemini surfactant, GA with nonionic surfactants C₁₂E₈ and C₁₂E₅ in presence of 0.1 M NaCl at 298 K temperature, has been studied tensiometrically in pure and mixed states, and the related physicochemical parameters (cmc, γ _cmc, pC ₂₀, Γ _max, and A _min) have been evaluated. Tensiometric profile (γ vs log [surfactant]), for conventional surfactants, generally consists of a single point of intersection; a gradually decreasing line (normally linear, or with slight curvature) ultimately saturates in γ at a particular [surfactant], corresponding to complete monolayer saturation. The gemini, in this report, led to two unequivocal breaks in the tensiometric isotherm. An attempt to the interpretation of the two breaks from molecular point of view is provided, depending solely on the chemical structure of the surfactant. The gemini, even in mixed state with the conventional nonionic surfactants C₁₂E₅ and C₁₂E₈, manifested the dual breaks; of course, the dominance of the feature decreases with increasing mole fraction of the nonionics in the mixture. Theories of Clint, Rosen, Rubingh, Motomura, Georgiev, Maeda, and Nagarajan have been used to determine the interaction between surfactants at the interface and micellar state of aggregation, the composition of the aggregates, the theoretical cmc in pure and mixed states, and the structural parameters according to Tanford and Israelachvili. Several thermodynamic parameters have also been predicted from those theories.     

Surface Modification of Fine Particles with a SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Film by Using a Polyhedral-Barrel Sputtering System

Fine particles were modified with a thin film of SnO₂ by using a barrel sputtering system that is a dry process. The conditions for the preparation of SnO₂ were studied by reactive sputtering onto a glass plate substrate. The optimal conditions for the preparation of tetragonal SnO₂ were identified as 60% partial oxygen pressure and 1.0 Pa total gas pressure with the substrate at room temperature. Under the optimized conditions, the surfaces of Al flake particles were modified with a thin film of SnO₂. XRD and SEM/EDS analysis of the prepared samples showed that the Al particle surfaces were uniformly modified by a thin film of SnO₂ in all cases. The film thicknesses were 80, 130, and 180 nm at RF outputs of 195, 350, and 490 W. These measured thicknesses coincided with the values estimated from the interference colors of the samples.     

Silver(I) 1,3-butadiynediide and two related silver(I) double salts containing the C4(2-) dianion

Ag2C4, the second silver carbide to be fully characterized, has been synthesized as a light-gray powder (contaminated with metallic silver) that is explosive at high temperature (130 degrees C) and sensitive to mechanical shock, rather like the well-known prototype Ag2C2. In the pair of hydrated double salts Ag2C4.6AgNO3.nH2O (n = 2, 3), the nearly linear, centrosymmetric 1,3-butadiyne-1,4-diyl dianion C42-exhibits an unprecedented mu8-coordination mode, each terminal being capped by four sigma-bonded silver(I) atoms with pi-interaction to one of them.