The non-covalent bindings of CF2Cl2 with NO and SO2

Ab initio calculations have been performed on the complexes of CF₂Cl₂ with NO and SO₂, and a set of stable configurations for CF₂Cl₂–NO and CF₂Cl₂–SO₂ were found with no imaginary frequencies by the MP2 method. In addition, the binding energy and the NBO analysis were used to evaluate the relative stability of the complexes. The calculated results indicate that the weak interactions in the CF₂Cl₂–NO and CF₂Cl₂–SO₂ systems involved are enhanced with the increase of the number of non-covalent bonds. Further studies predict that the CF₂Cl₂–SO₂ system may play a more important role than the CF₂Cl₂–NO system in environmental problem because the former offers a stronger interaction than the latter. Furthermore, the non-covalent binding interactions of Cl···N and Cl···O for CF₂Cl₂–NO system, Cl···O, Cl···S and F···S for CF₂Cl₂–SO₂ system, are the dominant forces, which seem to be very significant as a driving force influencing the arrangement of molecules, especially in CF₂Cl₂–SO₂ system.     

A DFT study of cage compounds: 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12-hexanitro-3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12-hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.1.12,6.04,9] dodecane and its derivatives as high energetic materials

A new cage compound, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12-hexanitro-3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12-hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.1.1^2,6.0^4,9] dodecane (HNHATCD, I) as well as its –ONO₂ (II) and –N₃ (III) derivatives were proposed in the present work. Their molecular structures were optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of density functional theory. Heat of formation, strain energy, detonation performance, and thermal stability were studied. Results show that the –N₃ group greatly increases the heat of formation, but decreases the strain energy and density, and it is much more helpful for enhancing the detonation energy than the –NO₂ and –ONO₂ groups. An analysis of bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of the weakest bonds implies that the BDE of –N₃ derivatives is the smallest but it is still larger than 120 kJ mol^?1, revealing that these designed compounds have a high thermal stability. Considering the detonation performance and thermal stability, I and II may be potential candidates of high energy density materials.     

Mass Spectrometry Study of Multiply Negatively Charged, Gas-Phase NaAOT Micelles: How Does Charge State Affect Micellar Structure and Encapsulation?

We report the formation and characterization of multiply negatively charged sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (NaAOT) aggregates in the gas phase, by electrospray ionization of methanol/water solution of NaAOT followed by detection using a guided-ion-beam tandem mass spectrometer. Singly and doubly charged aggregates dominate the mass spectra with the compositions of [Na_n-zAOT_n]^z– (n?=?1–18 and z?=?1–2). Solvation by water was detected only for small aggregates [Na_n-1AOT_nH₂O]^– of n?=?3–9. Incorporation of glycine and tryptophan into [Na_n-zAOT_n]^z– aggregates was achieved, aimed at identifying effects of guest molecule hydrophobicity on micellar solubilization. Only one glycine molecule could be incorporated into each [Na_n-zAOT_n]^z– of n?≥?7, and at most two glycine molecules could be hosted in that of n?≥?13. In contrast to glycine, up to four tryptophan molecules could be accommodated within single aggregates of n?≥?6. However, deprotonation of tryptophan significantly decrease its affinity towards aggregates. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) was carried out for mass-selected aggregate ions, including measurements of product ion mass spectra for both empty and amino acid-containing aggregates. CID results provide a probe for aggregate structures, surfactant-solute interactions, and incorporation sites of amino acids. The present data was compared with mass spectrometry results of positively charged [Na_n+zAOT_n]^z+ aggregates. Contrary to their positive analogues, which form reverse micelles, negatively charged aggregates may adopt a direct micelle-like structure with AOT polar heads exposed and amino acids being adsorbed near the micellar outer surface.      

Quantitative LC–MS/MS method in urine for the detection of drugs used to reverse the effects of chemical castration

The chemical castration law, which targets child molesters with recidivism, was introduced in Korea in 2011. For this, leuprolide, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, is used to decrease testosterone production and suppress libido. In order to achieve efficient law enforcement, it is necessary to monitor intentional ingestion of drugs that antagonize the effect of leuprolide. Therefore, an analytical method for the simultaneous detection of mirodenafil, sildenafil, tadalafil, udenafil, vardenafil, icariin, alprostadil, and yohimbine, which are the major impotence treatment drugs, legitimately or otherwise, in Korea, as well as their selected metabolites, in human urine was established and validated using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). First, different sample preparation methods, two solid-phase extractions with different cartridges and protein precipitation, were compared and protein precipitation was chosen for the entire study because it showed better matrix effects and recoveries. Thus, the drugs and metabolites in urine were extracted by protein precipitation and then filtered and analyzed by LC–MS/MS with polarity switching electrospray ionization. The validation results of selectivity, matrix effect, recovery, linearity, intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy were satisfactory. The limits of detection ranged from 0.25 to 10 ng/mL, and the limits of quantification were 2.5 to 50 ng/mL. The drugs and metabolites in urine did not show any degradation under storage for 7 and 15 days at 4 and ?20 °C as well as after three freeze–thaw cycles. The developed method will be very useful for monitoring the illegal use of impotence treatment drugs.     

A two-step stimulus-response cell-SELEX method to generate a DNA aptamer to recognize inflamed human aortic endothelial cells as a potential in vivo molecular probe for atherosclerosis plaque detection

Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that are capable of binding wide classes of targets with high affinity and specificity. Their unique three-dimensional structures present numerous possibilities for recognizing virtually any class of target molecules, making them a promising alternative to antibodies used as molecular probes in biomedical analysis and clinical diagnosis. In recent years, cell-systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) has been used extensively to select aptamers for various cell targets. However, aptamers that have evolved from cell-SELEX to distinguish the “stimulus-response cell” have not previously been reported. Moreover, a number of cumbersome and time-consuming steps involved in conventional cell-SELEX reduce the efficiency and efficacy of the aptamer selection. Here, we report a “two-step” methodology of cell-SELEX that successfully selected DNA aptamers specifically against “inflamed” endothelial cells. This has been termed as stimulus-response cell-SELEX (SRC-SELEX). The SRC-SELEX enables the selection of aptamers to distinguish the cells activated by stimulus of healthy cells or cells isolated from diseased tissue. We report a promising aptamer, N55, selected by SRC-SELEX, which can bind specifically to inflamed endothelial cells both in cell culture and atherosclerotic plaque tissue. This aptamer probe was demonstrated as a potential molecular probe for magnetic resonance imaging to target inflamed endothelial cells and atherosclerotic plaque detection.

Bead Cellulose

Abstract

A new polymeric structure has been developed which fills a blank in available hydrophilic supports for separation processes.

Bead cellulose is a pure regenerated cellulose which is prepared by a modified viscose procedure. It is characterized by a regular spherical shape of individual particles, controlled porosity, accessibility for high molecular weight substances, high deformation stability and adequate chemical reactivity.

Diverse uses of this new material are described, viz., physical supports, chromatographic materials, dried preparations and various derivatives with different functions like ion exchangers, metal chelating adsorbents, chemisorbents, affinity adsorbents, immobilized enzymes. Bead cellulose can also be coupled with various active substances giving composite systems.     

The use of molecularly imprinted polymers for the multicomponent determination of endocrine‐disrupting compounds in water and sediment

The method employing molecularly imprinted polymers for the extraction and clean up of endocrine‐disrupting compounds (estrogens, bisphenol A, and alkylphenols) from water and sediment is described. The identical extraction/clean‐up and LC‐MS/MS condition were used for the analysis of both types of samples. The method showed high recoveries ranging from 90 to 99% with excellent precision (intrabatch: 3.6–9.3%; interbatch: 5.6–11.4% for water; intrabatch: 4.3–8.5%; interbatch: 6.1–9.6% for sediment). The LOD was in the range of 0.7–1.9 ng/L and 0.3–0.6 ng/g for water and sediment, respectively. Overall extraction on molecularly imprinted polymers substantially enhanced sample clean‐up. The difference in efficiency of clean‐up was particularly pronounced when a large sample volume/weight was extracted and analyzed. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the analysis of 20 water and sediment samples.     

Modeling mass transfer of CO2 in brine at high pressures by chemical potential gradient

To investigate long-term CO2 behavior in geological formations and quantification of possible CO2 leaks, it is crucial to investigate the potential mobility of CO2 dissolved in brines over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and density distributions in geological media. In this work, the mass transfer of aqueous CO 2 in brines has been investigated by means of a chemical potential gradient model based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics in which the statistical associating fluid theory equation of state was used to calculate the fugacity coefficient of CO2 in brine. The investigation shows that the interfacial concentration of aqueous CO2 and the corresponding density both increase with increasing pressure and decreasing temperature; the effective diffusion coefficients decrease initially and then increase with increasing pressure; and the density of the CO2 -disolved brines increases with decreasing CO2 pressure in the CO2 dissolution process. The aqueous CO2 concentration profiles obtained by the chemical potential gradient model are considerably different from those obtained by the concentration gradient model, which shows the importance of considering non-ideality, especially when the pressure is high.