Simultaneous fermentation and separation of lactic acid in a biparticle fluidized-bed bioreactor

A bioreactor configuration has been tested for simultaneous fermentation and separation of the desired inhibitory product, lactic acid. The bioreactor is a fluidized bed of immobilized Lactobacillus delbreuckii. Another solid phase of denser sorbent particles (a poly-vinyl pyridine resin) was added to this fluidized bed. These sorbent particles fell through the bed, absorbed the product, and were removed. In test fermentations, the addition of the sorbent enhanced the fermentation and moderated the fall of the pH. The biparticle fluidized-bed bioreactor utilizing immobilized microorganisms and adsorbent particles has been shown to enhance the production of lactic acid fourfold in this nonoptimized system.

     

Consistent propagator approximations

A propagator approximation scheme is presented in the context of an abstract*-algebra approach. The representation theory of such algebras is shown to play a crucial role in the definition of consistent approximations, i.e., approximate propagators based on model time evolutions and states. This procedure places superoperator methods of approximation on a sound Hilbert space footing. A generalization of the Fock vacuum property is introduced which leads to a simplification in the form of the model propagators. Finally a concrete example is considered that fulfills the conditions developed in this article showing that a consistent approximation to the electron propagator results in the Hartree–Fock–Boguliubov equations.     

Novel metal-linked face-to-face porphyrazine dimer

We report the synthesis and physical studies of a novel porphyrazine (pz) dimer [1[Ni,Cu]]2, which has Ni(II) ions incorporated into the pz cores and is linked by two Cu(II) ions coordinated to bis(picolinamide) chelates attached to the pz periphery. [1[Ni,Cu]]2 was prepared from precursor pz 2 with a selenodiazole ring fused to the pz core. This ring was deprotected to form the diamino-pz 3, which reacted with 2 mol of picolinoyl chloride hydrochloride to form pz 1[2H,2H], with peripheral bis(picolinamide) chelates; this was metalated to form [1[Ni,Cu]]2. The crystal structures of 1[2H,2H] and [1[Ni,Cu]]2 are presented. The latter is a dimer in which parallel, face-to-face pz's with an average separation of 3.30 angstroms are linked through the peripheral picolinamide ligands by a pair of peripheral Cu(II) ions. Each Cu(II) is coordinated with distorted square-planar geometry by a picolinamide from each pz. In this report, we focus on the interaction of these two peripheral Cu(II) ions. We discuss the preparation and magnetic properties of the pz dimer complex [1[Ni,Cu]]2 with two Cu(II) ions in the peripheral chelate but a diamagnetic metal ion Ni(II) in the pz core. Although [1[Ni,Cu]]2 contains two Cu(II) ions (S = 1/2), we could detect no electron paramagnetic resonance signal, which suggests very strong antiferromagnetic exchange between those two Cu(II) ions. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurement gives an exchange splitting between the S = 0 ground state and the excited triplet state of delta = 660 cm(-1).     

Competition between N and O: use of diazine N-oxides as a test case for the Marcus theory rationale for ambident reactivity

The preferred site of alkylation of diazine N-oxides by representative hard and soft alkylating agents was established conclusively using the ¹H–¹⁵N HMBC NMR technique in combination with other NMR spectroscopic methods. Alkylation of pyrazine N-oxides (1 and 2) occurs preferentially on nitrogen regardless of the alkylating agent employed, while O-methylation of pyrimidine N-oxide (3) is favoured in its reaction with MeOTf. As these outcomes cannot be explained in the context of the hard/soft acid/base (HSAB) principle, we have instead turned to Marcus theory to rationalise these results. Marcus intrinsic barriers (ΔG^‡₀) and Δ_rG° values were calculated at the DLPNO-CCSD(T)/def2-TZVPPD/SMD//M06-2X-D3/6-311+G(d,p)/SMD level of theory for methylation reactions of 1 and 3 by MeI and MeOTf, and used to derive Gibbs energies of activation (ΔG^‡) for the processes of N- and O-methylation, respectively. These values, as well as those derived directly from the DFT calculations, closely reproduce the observed experimental N- vs. O-alkylation selectivities for methylation reactions of 1 and 3, indicating that Marcus theory can be used in a semi-quantitative manner to understand how the activation barriers for these reactions are constructed. It was found that N-alkylation of 1 is favoured due to the dominant contribution of Δ_rG° to the activation barrier in this case, while O-alkylation of 3 is favoured due to the dominant contribution of the intrinsic barrier (ΔG^‡₀) for this process. These results are of profound significance in understanding the outcomes of reactions of ambident reactants in general.

Marcus theory enables rationalisation and quantification of selectivities in reactions of ambident nucleophiles for which the HSAB principle cannot operate.     

p-aminophenyl phosphate: an improved substrate for electrochemical enzyme immnoassay

An alternative substrate is described for enzyme immunosaasay with electrochemical detection. Alkaline phosphatase (EC.3.1.3.1) activity is determined by using p-aminophenyl phosphate as the enzyme substrate. Enzyme-generated p-aminophenol is detected amperometrically at a glassy carbon electrody by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The oxidation potential obtained for the detectionof p-aminophenol is lower than that for phenol, the previously used substrate product. The detection limit for p-aminophenol is 0.20pmol. A detection limit of 30 pg ml^-1 for digoxin and a 5-min incubationtime for the enzyme reaction were obtained with the new system.     

Nickelocene chemistry : III. Reactions of Bromo(η5-cyclopentadienyl)triphenylphosphinenickel with phosphorus,arsenic and sulphur ylids

The phosphorus ylids Ph₃PCHR (R = Me, Et, Prⁿ, Prⁱ, Bu_n, Cl, and OMe), and the ylids Ph₃AsCH₂, Me₂SCH₂, and Me₂S(O)CH₂ react with [Ni(η⁵-C₅H₅)Br(PPh₃)] at room temperature to give the complexes [Ni(Ph₃PCHR)(η⁵-C₅H₅(PPh₃)] Br, [Ni(Ph₃AsCH₂)(η⁵-C₅H₅)(PPh₃)]Br, [Ni(Me₂SCH₂)(η⁵-C₅H₅)(PPh₃)]Br and [Ni{Me₂S(O)CH₂} (η⁵-C₅H₅)(PPh₃)]Br, respectively. These are readily converted into the corresponding hexafluorophosphate salts on reaction with ammonium hexafluorophosphate. Under more forcing conditions the stabilised ylid Ph₃PCHCOPh gives a product believed to be the complex [Ni(Ph₃PCHCOPh)₂(η⁵-C₅H₅)]Br, isolated and characterised as its PF₆^? salt.     

Pyridine-substituted oligopeptides as scaffolds for the assembly of multimetallic complexes: variation of chain length

This paper presents the synthesis and characterization of pyridine-substituted artificial oligopeptides with an aminoethylglycine backbone of varying length, which are designed to act as scaffolds for the self-assembly of multimetallic structures. The identities and purities of the oligopeptides are confirmed with mass spectrometry, (1)H NMR, HPLC, and pH titrations. The acid dissociation constants for the oligopeptides were determined and were found to decrease with increasing pyridine units. Titrations of the oligopeptides with Cu(II) and Pt(II) complexes containing the tridentate ligands 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine and pyridine 2,6-dicarboxylic acid were monitored using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and showed stoichiometric binding based on the number of pyridines on the peptide strand. Metal titrations performed using an analogous oligopeptide with methyl substituents (in place of the pyridine ligands) showed very weak or no binding. In the case of the oligopeptides containing bound Pt(terpyridine)(2+) complexes, cyclic voltammetry reveals two sequential one-electron reductions at formal potentials that do not vary as a function of oligopeptide length. The measured diffusion coefficients were measured with chronoamperometry and were found to decrease with increasing oliopeptide length.     

Forensic classification of ballpoint pen inks using high performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy with principal components analysis and linear discriminant analysis

Several varieties of blue ballpoint pen inks were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The chromatographic data extracted at four wavelengths (254, 279, 370 and 400 nm) was analyzed individually and at a combination of these wavelengths by the soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA) technique using principal components analysis (PCA) to estimate the separation between the pen samples. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) measured the probability with which an observation could be assigned to a pen class. The best resolution was obtained by HPLC using data from all four wavelengths together, differentiating 96.4% pen pairs successfully using PCA and 97.9% pen samples by LDA. PCA separated 60.7% of the pen pairs and LDA provided a correct classification of 62.5% of the pens analyzed by IR. The results of this study indicate that HPLC coupled with chemometrics provided a better discrimination of ballpoint pen inks compared to IR. The need to develop a suitable IR method for analysing blue ballpoint pen inks has been emphasized and it is hoped that the development of such a method would indeed provide a valuable tool for the non-destructive analysis of blue ballpoint pen ink samples for forensic purposes.     

Raman studies of nonlinear phenomena in fullerene crystallites

The resonant Raman scattering of C₆₀ crystallites is monitored as a function of excitation intensity at 514.5 nm. At low intensities, a strong line at 1468 cm^–1 is observed. No feature at 1459 cm^–1 is observable. With increasing intensities, the 1468 cm^–1 line shifts continuously and reversibly to lower frequencies. The mode softening is nonlinearly dependent on the input intensity and is accompanied by a nonlinear increase in the Raman intensity. The spectral changes are discussed in terms of a nonlinear reduction in force constant and increase in bond polarisability as a result of an increased intermolecular delocalisation of the -electron cloud. The nonlinear changes are associated with the nonlinear luminescence and photoconductive response observed in fullerenes and are contrasted to the irreversible phototransformation recently discussed.