Enantioselective/anion-selective incorporation of tris(ethylenediamine) complexes into 2D coordination spaces between tripalladium(II) supramolecular layers with D-penicillaminate

The formation of a cocrystallized coordination compound, [Pd(3)(D-pen)(3)](2)·[M(en)(3)](ClO(4))(3) (D-H(2)pen = D-penicillamine; M = Co(III) or Rh(III)), from [Pd(3)(D-pen)(3)] and [M(en)(3)](ClO(4))(3) is reported. In this compound, only the Δ-configurational [M(en)(3)](3+) cations were incorporated when its racemic (Δ/Λ) isomer was employed. Besides this enantioselective incorporation of complex cations, this compound was found to show the selective incorporation of ClO(4)(-) as the anion species.     

Miscibilities of methanol and ethanol with dodecylammonium chloride in the adsorbed film and micelle

The surface tension of the aqueous solutions of methanol– dodecylammonium chloride (DAC) and ethanol–DAC mixtures has been measured as a function of the total molality of the mixture m^ and the mole fraction of DAC X^₂ in the mixture at 298.15?K under atmospheric pressure. The compositions of the adsorbed film at 50, 40, and 30?mN?m^-1, and that of the micelle at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) have been evaluated by applying the thermodynamic equations derived previously and shown in the form of phase diagrams of adsorption and micelle formation. It has been found that (i) methanol is hardly miscible in M28.8nthe adsorbed film and micelle, and (ii) ethanol molecules are very slightly incorporated into adsorbed film of DAC at high-surface tension and into the micelle, although hardly miscible in the adsorbed film at low-surface tension. By comparing the corresponding phase diagrams of ethanol-2- (octylsulfinyl)ethanol (OSE) mixture, furthermore, it has been shown that there exists a difference in the miscibility of ethanol between DAC and OSE.     

The Electronic State of Flavoproteins: Investigations with Proton Electron–Nuclear Double Resonance

Electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy provides useful information on hyperfine interactions between nuclear magnetic moments and the magnetic moment of an unpaired electron spin. Because the hyperfine coupling constant reacts quite sensitively to polarity changes in the direct vicinity of the nucleus under consideration, ENDOR spectroscopy can be favorably used for the detection of subtle protein–cofactor interactions. A number of pulsed ENDOR studies on flavoproteins have been published during the past few years; most of them were designed to characterize the flavin cofactor by means of its protonation state, or to detect individual protein–cofactor interactions. The aim of this study is to compare the pulsed ENDOR spectra from different flavoproteins in terms of variations of characteristic proton hyperfine values. The general concept is to observe limits of possible influences on the cofactor’s electronic state by surrounding amino acids. Furthermore, we compare ENDOR data obtained from in vivo experiments with in vitro data to emphasize the potential of the method for gaining molecular information in complex media.     

Excellent chiralselectivity in sulfur-bridged CoIIIMCoIII (M = NiII and PdII) trinuclear complexes containing 1,2-cyclohexanediamine

The reaction of [Ni(aet)2] with [CoCl2(R,R-chxn)2]+ (aet = 2-aminoethanethiolate, R,R-chxn = 1R,2R-cyclohexanediamine) in water gave a CoIIINiIICoIII trinuclear complex, DeltaRRDeltaRR-[Ni(Co(aet)(2-)(R,R-chxn))2]4+ ([1a]4+), in which two cis(S)-[Co(aet)2(R,R-chxn)]+ units are linked by a central NiII ion through sulfur bridges. The two CoIII units in [1a]4+ uniformly adopt the Delta configuration, which is induced by the chirality of the terminal R,R-chxn ligands. The central NiII ion in [1a]4+ was replaced by a PdII ion to produce an analogous CoIIIPdIICoIII trinuclear complex, DeltaRRDeltaRR-[Pd(Co(aet)2(R,R-chxn))2]4+ ([2a]4+), with retention of the Delta configuration. When racemic R,R/S,S-chxn was employed instead of R,R-chxn, not only the chirality about two CoIII centers but also the chirality about two chxn ligands was unified in the S-bridged trinuclear structure, leading to the selective formation of a pair of enantiomers, DeltaRRDeltaRR/LambdaSSLambdaSS-[M(Co(aet)2(chxn))2]4+ (M = NiII ([1b]4+) and PdII ([2b]4+)). The stereochemical and spectroscopic features of these complexes are discussed on the basis of the electronic absorption, CD, and NMR spectroscopies, along with the crystal structures of [1a]4+ and [2a]4+.     

Solubilization of n-alkylbenzenes into decanoyl-N-methylglucamide (Mega-10) solution

Solubilization of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, n-butylbenzene, n-pentylbenzene, and n-hexylbenzene into micelles of decanoyl-N-methylglucamide (Mega-10) was studied, where equilibrium concentrations of the above solubilizates were determined spectrophotometrically at 303.2 K. The concentration of the above solubilizates remained constant below the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and increased linearly with an increase in Mega-10 concentration above the cmc. The Gibbs free energy change of the solubilizates from the aqueous bulk to the liquid solubilizate phase was evaluated from the dependence of their aqueous solubility on the alkyl chain length of the solubilizates, which leads to -3.46 kJ mol-1 for DeltaG(0)(CH), the energy change per CH2 group of the alkyl chain. The first stepwise solubilization constant (K(overline)1 ) was evaluated from the slope of the change of solubilizate concentration versus Mega-10 concentration. The Gibbs free energy change (DeltaG(0,s)) for the solubilization decreased linearly with the carbon number of the alkyl chain of the solubilizates, from which DeltaG(0,s)(CH2) as evaluated to be -2.71 kJ mol-1. The similar values above clearly indicate that the location of the alkyl chain is a hydrophobic micellar core, which is also supported by the absorption spectrum of the solubilized molecules.     

Comparative study of the water oxidizing reactions and the millisecond delayed chlorophyll fluorescence in photosystem II at different pH

Water splitting activity, the multiline EPR signal associated with S(2)-state of the CaMn(4)-cluster and the fast and slow phases of the induction curve of the millisecond delayed chlorophyll fluorescence from photosystem II (PSII) in the pH range of 4.5-8.5 were studied in the thylakoid membranes and purified PSII particles. It has been found that O(2) evolution and the multiline EPR signal were inhibited at acidic (pK approximately 5.3) and alkaline (pK approximately 8.1) pH values, and were maximal at pH 6.0-7.0. Our results indicate that the loss of O(2) evolution and the S(2)-state multiline EPR signal associated with the decrease of the millisecond delayed chlorophyll fluorescence only in alkaline region (pH 7.0-8.5). Possible correlations of the millisecond delayed chlorophyll fluorescence components with the donor side reactions in PSII are discussed.     

Application of extraction chromatography to the separation of thorium and uranium dissolved in a solution of high salt concentration

Extraction chromatography with commercially available UTEVA resin (for uranium and tetravalent actinide) was applied for the separation of Th and U from control solutions prepared from a multi-element control solution and from sample solutions of solidified simulated waste. Thorium and U in control solutions with 1-5mol/dm(3) HNO(3) were extracted with UTEVA resin and recovered with a solution containing 0.1mol/dm(3) HNO(3) and 0.05mol/dm(3) oxalic acid to be separated from the other metallic elements. Extraction behavior of U in the sample solutions was similar to that in the control solutions, but extraction of Th was dependent on the concentration of HNO(3). Thorium was extracted from 5mol/dm(3) HNO(3) sample solutions but not from 1mol/dm(3) HNO(3) sample solutions. We conjecture that thorium fluoride formation interferes with extraction of Th. Addition of Al(NO(3))(3) and Fe(NO(3))(3), which have higher stability constant with fluoride ion than Th, does improve extractability of Th from 1mol/dm(3) HNO(3) sample solution.     

Near-Infrared Imaging Using a High-Speed Monitoring Near Infrared Hyperspectral Camera(Compovision)

This review paper reports near-infrared (NIR) imaging studies using a newly-developed NIR camera, Compovision. Compovision can measure a significantly wide area of 150 mm×250 mm at high speed of between 2 and 5 s. It enables a wide spectral region measurement in the 1 000～2 350 nm range at 6 nm intervals. We investigated the potential of Compovision in the applications to industrial problems such as the evaluation of pharmaceutical tablets and polymers. Our studies have demonstrated that NIR imaging based on Compovision can solve several issues such as long acquisition times and relatively low sensitivity of detection. NIR imaging with Compovision is strongly expected to be applied not only to pharmaceutical tablet monitoring and polymer characterization but also to various applications such as those to food products, biomedical substances and organic and inorganic materials.     

Influence of hydrofluoric acid on extraction of thorium using a commercially available extraction chromatographic resin

The dependence of Th recovery on hydrofluoric acid (HF) concentration in nitric acid (HNO₃) solutions (1–5 mol/dm³) containing 1 × 10⁻⁶ mol/dm³ of Th and various concentrations of HF and the elution behavior were studied using a commercially available UTEVA (for uranium and tetravalent actinide) resin column. Thorium recovery decreased with an increase in HF concentration in the sample solutions. The concentration of HF at which Th recovery started to decrease was ∼1 × 10⁻⁴ mol/dm³ in 1 mol/dm³ HNO₃ solution, ∼1 × 10⁻³ mol/dm³ in 3 mol/dm³ HNO₃ solution, and ∼1 × 10⁻² mol/dm³ in 5 mol/dm³ HNO₃ solution. When Al(NO₃)₃ (0.2 mol/dm³) or Fe(NO₃)₃ (0.6 mol/dm³) was added as a masking agent for F⁻ to the Th solution containing 1 × 10⁻¹ mol/dm³ HF and 1 mol/dm³ HNO₃, Th recovery improved from 1.4 ± 0.3% to 95 ± 5% or 93 ± 3%. Effective extraction of Th using UTEVA resin was achieved by selecting the concentration of HNO₃ and/or adding masking agents such as Al(NO₃)₃ according to the concentration of HF in the sample solution.