Effects of common metal ions on the determination of anions by suppressed ion chromatography

A rapid and sensitive method for the determination of domperidone in plasma was developed, using high-performance liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometry detection. The samples were rendered basic with 1 M Na2CO3 and the domperidone extracted using tert.-butyl methyl ether, followed by back-extraction into formic acid (2% in water). Chromatography was performed on a Phenomenex Luna C8 (2), 5 microm, 150x2 mm column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.02% formic acid (300:700, v/v), delivered at 0.2 ml/min. Detection was performed using an Applied Biosystems Sciex API 2000 mass spectrometer set at unit resolution in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. TurbolonSpray ionisation was used for ion production. The mean recovery of domperidone was +/- 100%, with a lower limit of quantification set at 0.189 ng/ml. This assay method makes use of the increased sensitivity and selectivity of tandem mass spectrometric detection resulting in a rapid (extraction and chromatography) and sensitive method for the determination of domperidone in human plasma, which is more sensitive than previously described methods.     

Electrodeposition of nanocrystalline zinc from acidic sulfate solutions containing thiourea and benzalacetone as additives

Nanocrystalline zinc coatings were produced by pulse electrodeposition in acid sulfate bath containing thiourea and benzalacetone additives and characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The influence of benzalacetone concentration and pulse peak current density on the grain size and crystallographic orientation of zinc deposits was investigated. Zinc electrodeposited from additive-free solutions or with one of the two additives is not composed of nanosized crystals. The mixture additives of thiourea and benzalacetone give rise to the formation of particle-like nanocrystalline zinc with a (10ī1) random orientation. A change in peak current density from 2 to 1 A/cm² only increases the grain size from 60 to 62 nm.     

Low-temperature growth and photoluminescence property of ZnS nanoribbons

At a low temperature of 450 degrees C, ZnS nanoribbons have been synthesized on Si and KCl substrates by a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with a two-temperature-zone furnace. Zinc and sulfur powders are used as sources in the different temperature zones. X-ray diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SEAD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis show that the ZnS nanoribbons are the wurtzite structure, and there are two types-single-crystal and bicrystal nanoribbons. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum shows that the spectrum mainly includes two parts: a purple emission band centering at about 390 nm and a blue emission band centering at about 445 nm with a weak green shoulder around 510 nm.     

Fluorescence Probe Studies of Ionic Micelles in Concentrated Salt Solutions

We have investigated the effect of salt concentration and temperature on the average aggregation number and micro-polarity of the interior of micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STDS) and lithium dodecyl sulfate (LiDS). The transient fluorescence decay of micelle-solubilized pyrene has been measured and analyzed. An exponent weighted average aggregation number <n>_e was obtained by this technique. For SDS and STDS in NaCl solution, <n>_e increases as the temperature is lowered or salt concentration is increased <n>_e increased from ～ 50 to ～ 250 over [NaCl] = 0 to 0.8 M. Due to the strong counterion binding of lithium in the micellar solution, the LiDS micelle is much, smaller and does not increase appreciabily even at [LiCl] =0.8 M. From the fluorescence spectrum fine structure of pyrene and the fluorescence decay of the monomer and excimer, we can understand the local polarity and the water penetration to the interior of the micelle upon addition of salts and with changing temperature. The interior of the micelle becomes more nonpolar as the salt concentration is increased and the temperature is lowered. A complete kinetic analysis of the time–dependence of the fluorescence is given. The kinetic analysis is in agreement with the results reached by fluorescence spectral analysis.     

Superheating Limit of Boiling n-Hexane Spinodal Decomposition Versus Nucleation Process

Two predicative theories for superheating limits of a boiling liquid are considered in this work. In the nucleation picture, classical homogeneous nucleation theory is used to calculate superheating temperature at various pressures. In spinodal decomposition picture, stability limits are taken as the superheating temperature. A perturbed-hard chain equation of state was developed and used for the purpose of calculating mechanical stability limit. Calculations are done for the case of normal hexane at different pressures and compared with experimental results. Classical nucleation theory gives good prediction at negative and smaller pressures. While near critical pressure, spinodal picture seems to be more accurate.     

Anchored palladium bipyridyl complex in nanosized MCM-41: a recyclable and efficient catalyst for the Kumada-Corriu reaction

A palladium bipyridyl complex anchored onto nanosized mesoporous silica MCM-41 catalyzed the cross-coupling of aryl iodides or bromides with Grignard reagents to provide the corresponding biaryls in high yields. The reaction proceeded smoothly with an equal molar amount of substrate and Grignard reagent in the presence of 0.2-0.02 mol % of catalyst in THF at 50 °C or under refluxing conditions. The catalyst prepared may be used in a very low percentage, recovered after reaction, and re-used.     

Determination of several sugars in serum by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

In this paper, a sensitive, simple and direct method for simultaneous determination of glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose in serum sample by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with integrated pulsed amperometric detection was developed. The four target analytes were easily and completely separated on an anion-exchange column at a flow-rate of 0.25 mL/min by binary step gradient elution in about 16 min and the two eluents were deionized water and 500 mM sodium hydroxide, respectively. The separated four analytes were detected directly by using a gold electrode and quadruple-potential waveform integrated pulsed amperometry without derivatization. Under the optimized conditions, when the injection volume was 25 microL, the detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio equal to 3) for glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose were 0.92, 7.50, 12.9 and 10.3 ng/mL, respectively. The calibration graphs of peak area for the four analytes were linear over two to three orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients greater than 0.998. R.S.D. of peak areas of the four analytes for five determinations were no more than 5.6%. The analytical method had been applied to the determination of glucose, ribose, isomaltose and maltose in real serum samples and good results with low relative standard deviation not more than 5.3% were obtained. The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by recovery measurements on spiked samples and good recovery results (98.1-107.9%) were obtained.     

Optimizing the quadruple-potential waveform for the pulsed amperometric detection of neomycin

Determination of neomycin is important for quality control of the pharmaceutical preparation. A quadruple-potential waveform used for pulsed amperometric detection of neomycin was investigated. The waveform cleans the electrode by application of a potential more negative than the potential limit to avoid the formation of gold oxide during applying positive potential to clean gold electrode, thus decreasing the dissolution resulting recession of the gold working electrode within gold oxide formation/reduction cycles in the triple-potential waveform. Waveform parameters were optimized to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). The detection limit of neomycin B is lower than 0.01 microg/ml. The linearity of framycetin (plotted as peak area of neomycin B) ranges from 0.05 to 100 microg/ml with correlation coefficient 0.9998. R.S.D. (n = 60) of the peak area of neomycin B is lower than 2%. The quadruple-potential waveform shows low detection limits and long-term reproducibility.     

A Novel Simplified Column-Switching Technique for the Determination of Traces of Bromate in High Concentration Matrices

The column-switching technique has been widely used to determine trace level ions in the presence of high concentration matrix. A novel simplified column-switching method is proposed where bromate (as a model compound) was determined using this technique. The switching time window was confirmed by the retention time of determined ions. This technique can completely carry out the same function as the other column-switching technique do, but only one extra ten-way injection valve coupled to ion chromatograph was used. By using column-switching technique, it is possible to determine 0.2 μg L⁻¹ bromate in the presence of 100 mg L⁻¹ chloride by direct injection of 2000 μL without any pretreatment and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the peak height for the eleven successive injections of 0.2 μg L⁻¹ bromate solution is 23.1%. The detection limit for bromate is 0.09 μg L⁻¹, which showed the method was very sensitive. The technique has been applied to the determination of bromate in drinking water, and the spike recovery is in the range of 96–104%.     

Theoretical prediction of noble gas containing anions FNgO- (Ng = He, Ar, and Kr)

The structures and energies of the noble gas containing anions FNgO- (Ng = He, Ar, and Kr) have been calculated by high-level ab initio calculations. The FNgO- anions were found to be deep-energy minima at the singlet electronic state, and their energies are significantly lower than those at the triplet state. High dissociation energy barriers to Ng + OF- were also predicted. The unexpected stability of the FNgO- was due to the dramatic ion-induced O=Ng bond formation. The calculated results suggested possible experimental identification of the anionic species and even some related "ionic compounds" under cryogenic conditions.