Fractionation of cadmium in tobacco and cigarette smoke condensate using XANES and sequential leaching with ICP-MS/MS

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - Fractionation data for cadmium in tobacco products, as obtained by sequential leaching of cadmium species with ICP-MS/MS analysis, and separately by X-ray...     

Bias effects on the electronic spectrum of a molecular bridge

In this paper the effect of bias and geometric symmetry breaking on the electronic spectrum of a model molecular system is studied. Geometric symmetry breaking can either enhance the dissipative effect of the bias, where spectral peaks are disabled, or enable new excitations that are absent under zero bias conditions. The spectral analysis is performed on a simple model system by solving for the electronic response to an instantaneously impulsive perturbation in the dipole approximation. The dynamical response is extracted from the electronic equations of motion as expressed by the Keldysh formalism. This expression provides for the accurate treatment of the electronic structure of a bulk-coupled system at the chosen model Hamiltonian electronic structure level.     

Microscopic coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2

It is widely believed that, in contrast to its electron-doped counterparts, the hole-doped compound Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe(2)As(2) exhibits a mesoscopic phase separation of magnetism and superconductivity in the underdoped region of the phase diagram. Here, we report a combined high-resolution x-ray powder diffraction and volume-sensitive muon spin rotation study of Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe(2)As(2) showing that this paradigm does not hold true in the underdoped region of the phase diagram (0≤x≤0.25). Instead we find a microscopic coexistence of the two forms of order. A competition of magnetism and superconductivity is evident from a significant reduction of the magnetic moment and a concomitant decrease of the magnetoelastically coupled orthorhombic lattice distortion below the superconducting phase transition.     

Reactivity trends of cobalt(III) complexes towards various amino acids based on the properties of the amino acid alkyl chains

The reactivity of the cobalt(III) complexes dichlorido[tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine]cobalt(III) chloride, [CoCl₂(tren)]Cl, and dichlorido(triethylenetetramine)cobalt(III) chloride, [CoCl₂(trien)]Cl, towards different amino acids (l ‐proline, l ‐asparagine, l ‐histidine and l ‐aspartic acid) was explored in detail. This study presents the crystal structures of three amino acidate cobalt(III) complexes, namely, (l ‐prolinato‐κ²N,O)[tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine‐κ⁴N,N′,N′′,N′′′]cobalt(III) diiodide monohydrate, [Co(C₅H₈NO₂)(C₆H₁₈N₄)]I₂·H₂O, I , (l ‐asparaginato‐κ²N,O)[tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine‐κ⁴N,N′,N′′,N′′′]cobalt(III) chloride perchlorate, [Co(C₄H₇N₂O₃)(C₆H₁₈N₄)](Cl)(ClO₄), II , and (l ‐prolinato‐κ²N,O)(triethylenetetramine‐κ⁴N,N′,N′′,N′′′)cobalt(III) chloride perchlorate, [Co(C₄H₇N₂O₃)(C₆H₁₈N₄)](Cl)(ClO₄), V . The syntheses of the complexes were followed by characterization using UV–Vis spectroscopy of the reaction mixtures and the initial rates of reaction were obtained by calculating the slopes of absorbance versus time plots. The initial rates suggest a stronger reactivity and hence greater affinity of the cobalt(III) complexes towards basic amino acids. The biocompatibility of the complexes was also assessed by evaluating the cytotoxicity of the complexes on cultured normal human fibroblast cells (WS1) in vitro. The compounds were found to be nontoxic after 24 h of incubation at concentrations up to 25 mM.     

Substituent Effects in the Absorption Spectra of Phenol Radical Species: Origin of the Redshift Caused by 3,5‐Dimethoxyl Substitution

The ground‐state equilibrium geometries, electronic structures and vertical excitation energies of methyl‐ and methoxyl‐substituted phenol radical cations and phenoxyl radicals have been investigated using time‐dependent density‐functional theory (namely TD‐B3LYP) and complete‐active‐space second‐order perturbation theory (CASPT2). The “anomalous” large redshifts of the absorption maxima of the phenol radical species observed in the ultraviolet–visible spectral region upon di‐meta‐methoxyl substitution are reproduced by the calculations. Furthermore, these “anomalous” shifts which were unexplained to date can be rationalized on the basis of a qualitative molecular orbital perturbation analysis.     

Development of Abraham model expressions for predicting the enthalpies of solvation of solutes dissolved in acetic acid

Experimental data have been compiled from the published chemical and engineering literature on the enthalpies of solvation for 92 different inorganic gases and organic vapours in acetic acid. The compiled data are used to derive mathematical correlations based on the Abraham solvation parameter model. The derived expressions describe the experimental solvation enthalpies in acetic acid to within a standard deviation (SD) of 2.2 kJ mol^?1. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the five equation coefficients from a derived Abraham model correlation shows that acetic acid does not resemble hydroxylic solvents in terms of enthalpic interactions, but is more akin to moderately polar solvents such as ethyl acetate or acetone.     

Cleavage and isomerization of UpU promoted by dinuclear metal ion complexes

The catalysis of phosphoryl transfer by metal ions has been intensively studied in both biological and artificial systems, but the status of the transient pentacoordinate phosphoryl species (as transition state or intermediate) is the subject of considerable debate. We report that dinuclear metal ion complexes that incorporate second sphere hydrogen bond donors not only promote the cleavage of RNA fragments just as efficiently as the activated analogue HPNPP but also provide the first examples of metal ion catalyzed phosphate diester isomerization close to neutral pH. This observation implies that the reaction catalyzed by these complexes involves the formation of a phosphorane intermediate that is sufficiently long-lived to pseudorotate.     

Isotope dilution quantification of ultratrace gamma-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine species using HPLC with enhanced ICP–MS detection by ultrasonic nebulisation or carbon-loaded plasma

A method for the accurate determination of ultratrace selenium species of relevance to cancer research, such as gamma-glutamyl-Se-methylselenocysteine (γ-glutamyl-SeMC), using species-specific double isotope dilution analysis (IDA) with HPLC–ICP–MS is reported for the first time. The ⁷⁷Se-enriched γ-glutamyl-SeMC spike was produced in-house by collecting the fraction at the retention time of the γ-glutamyl-SeMC peak from a chromatographed aqueous extract of ⁷⁷Se-enriched yeast, pooling the collected fractions and freeze-drying the homogenate. The Se content of this spike was characterised using reverse isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) and the isotopic composition of this spike was checked prior to quantification of the natural abundance dipeptide species in garlic using speciated IDA. The extraction of the γ-glutamyl-SeMC species in water was performed in a sonication bath for 2 h after adding an appropriate quantity of ⁷⁷Se-enriched γ-glutamyl-SeMC to 50 mg of garlic to give optimal ⁷⁸Se/⁷⁷Se and ⁸²Se/⁷⁷Se ratios of 1.5 and 0.6, respectively. The effect of ultrasonic nebulisation, in comparison with the loading of the ICP with carbon (through the addition of methane gas on-line), on the detection of Se associated with γ-glutamyl-SeMC using collision/reaction cell ICP–MS with hydrogen as collision gas was investigated. Sensitivity enhancements of approximately fourfold and twofold were achieved using USN and methane mixed plasma, respectively, in comparison with conventional nebulisation and conventional Ar ICP–MS. However, an approximately twofold improvement in the detection limit was achieved using both approaches (42 ng kg⁻¹ for ⁷⁸Se using peak height measurements). The use of species-specific IDMS enabled quantification of the dipeptide species at ng g⁻¹ levels (603 ng g⁻¹ Se) in the complex food matrix with a relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 4) of 4.5%, which was approximately half that obtained using standard addition as a confirmatory technique. Furthermore, good agreement was found between the γ-glutamyl-SeMC species concentrations obtained using both calibration methods.