Amino Acid based cationic surfactants in aqueous solution: physicochemical study and application of supramolecular chirality in ketone reduction

The present study provides a molecular understanding of the origin of the chirality in aqueous micelles and its correlation with the proficiency of stereoselective ketone reduction. The effects of varied headgroup architecture on the surface-active properties as well as on other microstructural parameters were studied and correlated to the structural differences of these naturally occurring amino acid containing surfactants (1-4). Micropolarity sensed by pyrene showed that the micelles prepared using 1-4 are mostly hydrated; particularly large headgroup size surfactant produces more polar environment. A theoretical study was done to quantify the varied spatial dissymmetry for all four surfactants. Asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones was carried out at the aqueous micellar interface of these chiral amphiphiles by exploiting the supramolecular chirality as evidenced from a circular dichroism study. The enantioselectivity of the reduction process is rationally improved through increase in spatial dissymmetry and steric constraint imposed at the micellar interface by the polar head of surfactants.     

Separation of enzymes from Candida boidinii crude extract by continuous flow zone electrophoresis.

Separation of the enzymes formate dehydrogenase, formaldehyde dehydrogenase and methanol oxidase from Candida boidinii crude extract has been explored using continuous flow zone electrophoresis in the VaP-22 and the scaled-up VaP-220 electrophoresis apparatus. Yields up to 95% and purification factors between 3 and 7 were obtained, together with separation of cell debris from the enzymes. Multiple injections of sample were used to obtain a protein throughput of 46.2 mg/h in the VaP-22. A tenfold higher throughput was achieved using the VaP-220. Correlation of the electrophoretic mobility in continuous flow zone electrophoresis with the elution behavior in ion-exchange chromatography confirmed the primary role of net surface charge in the separation of biological molecules. Proteins and enzymes with differences greater than 0.05 M elution molarities in ion-exchange chromatography can be separated. This corresponds to a preparative scale (mg/h or g/h) separation of proteins and enzymes whose difference in apparent electrophoretic mobility is greater than 0.70 x 10(-5) cm2/(V.s).     

Photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate with the use of bromine as photoinitiator

Low concentrations of bromine (0.008–0.06M) were used to initiate photopolymerization of MMA in bulk and in diluted (near bulk) systems, the diluents or solvents used being benzene, toluene, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, methylene chloride, and methanol. Polymerization in bulk follows usual free-radical kinetics. Inert solvents (benzene, toluene) as well as the other solvents used enhance the rate of polymerization MMA even when used in the range of catalytic concentrations (0.04–0.4M). An initiation mechanism involving solvent molecules appears to be predominant in diluted systems.     

Anomalous behavior of the Nd1.84Ce0.16CuO4 superconductor

The as-prepared electron-doped system Nd_2–xCe_xCuO₄ (where x0.16) is not superconducting. It becomes superconducting only after removal of a minuscule amount of extraneous oxygen (0.02 of O per unit formula). Mössbauer effect studies were carried out for oxygenated and deoxygenated Nd_2–xCe_xCu(⁵⁷Co)O₄ with x=0.14, 0.16, and 0.18. The spectra show evidence of oxygen anions attaching to the probe⁵⁷Co in apical positions, to form 5- and 6-coordinated species. A conventional procedure for deoxygenation brings about little change in the Mössbauer spectra both above and below the optimal superconducting concentration; however, for x=0.16, a dramatic change is observed—a major fraction of the magnetically split five-coordinated species manifests itself as a paramagnetically relaxed doublet upon deoxygenation, which costitutes a microscopic measure of the superconducting volume fraction. This apparently anomalous behavior at x0.16, where the extraneous oxygen is more readily desorbed, may be related to an electronic and/or local structural change in the CuO₂ plane.     

Extraction of manganese(II) with dithizone and potassium thiocyanate on foam sorbents for spectrophotometric determination in silicates

A method for selective extraction of Mn(II) with dithizone and potassium thiocyanate has been described. The method involves formation of a Mn(II)-thiocyanate-dithizone complex in a hexamine medium containing potassium thiocyanate (2.8M), dithizone (5.5-6.5 x 10(-5)M) and hydroxylamine hydrochloride (0.25%) at pH approximately 6 followed by extraction of the complex on polyurethane foam using batch squeezing mode within 1 hr. The sorbed Mn-thiocyanate-dithizone complex is eluted with acetone and made alkaline with 0.5 ml of a stabilizer solution (19 ml 2M NH(3) solution + 1 ml 5% hydroxylamine hydrochloride). The absorbance of the solution is measured at 506 nm. The adverse effect due to Pb may be obviated by separating the Pb as the sulphate during decomposition of sample and that due to iron may be removed before extraction of Mn by any suitable method. The other interfering elements (Cd, Zn, Ni, Co, Cu, etc.) are masked with KCN (6 x 10(-3)M optimum) solution. The method obeys Beer's Law from 0.1 to 2.0 mug Mn/ml. The method has been applied to various silicates, carbonates and glasses.     

Low-pressure collisional narrowing in CO2

We report the observation of collisional narrowing of the Q branch of the Raman spectrum for the (000) → (100) transition in CO₂ at very low pressures. The minimum linewidth is reached at ≈250 Torr. An estimate for the difference in rotational constants of the (100) state and the ground state is obtained. The narrowing of the linewidth and the changes in line-shape are interpreted in terms of velocity changing collisions and rotationally inelastic collisions between the CO₂ molecules.     

NS and NSO-Donor ligands and their metal complexes. Synthesis and characterisation of a new low-spin iron(III) complex with 1,2-di(o-aminophenylthio)ethane and iron(III), cobalt(III) and manganese(III) complexes of 1,2-di(o-salicylaldiminophenylthio)ethane

Summary Iron(III) complexes of a quadridentate N₂S₂ donor ligand, 1,2-di(o-aminophenylthio)ethane (DAPTE) and its Schiff Base with salicylaldehyde, a hexadentate N₂S₂O₂ donor ligand,viz. 1,2-di(o-salicylaldiminophenylthio)ethane (H₂DSALPTE) have been synthesised and characterised.The Schiff base ligand (1 mol) gave a dark green tri-iron(III) [Fe₃(DSALPTE)(HDSALPTE)Cl₃]Cl₂ complex when reacted with anhydrous iron(III) chloride (1 mol). The Mössbauer data of this complex suggest the presence of three iron sites, one of which is octahedral and the other two tetrahedral. On the other hand, Fe(ClO₄)₃ reacted smoothly with H₂DSALPTE in ethanol to give a mononuclear pseudo-octahedral complex in which the ligand functions in a dibasic hexadentate fashion. Mössbauer data suggest the presence of a low-spin-high-spin equilibrium in the solid state. The manganese(III) and cobalt(III) complexes of the Schiff base, H₂DSALPTE, are also studied for the sake of comparison with the corresponding iron(III) complex. The N₂S₂ ligand, however, formed a low-spin pseudo-octahedral iron(III) complex. The complexes have been characterised by elemental analysis, molar conductance values, cryomagnetic data and i.r., electronic and Mössbauer spectral data.     

Effects of injector geometry and sample matrix on injection and sample loading in integrated capillary electrophoresis devices

The double-T injector design employed in many microchip capillary electrophoresis devices allows for the formation of very small (50-500 pL) sample plugs for subsequent analysis on-chip. In this study, we show that sample plugs formed at the channel junction can be geometrically defined. The channel width and injector symmetry prove to be of great importance to good performance. A unique pushback of solvent into the side channels can be induced when the side channels have a very low resistance to flow, and this helps to better define the injected sample plug. Samples and running buffers of differing ionic strength (e.g., 10 mM KCl buffer and 20 mM KCl sample) can yield widely variable results in terms of plug shape and amount injected (variations of 1.5 to 10x). Applying bias voltages to all the intersecting channels aids in controlling the plug shape. However, when the ionic strengths of buffer and sample are not matched, the actual amount injected (up to 10x variations) can be inconsistent with the appearance of the plug formed in the injector (up to only 30 % variations). Operating at constant pH and ionic strength produced the most consistent results. This report examines the effects of altering the injector geometry and solution ionic strengths, and presents the results of using bias voltages to control plug formation. The observed results should provide a benchmark for modeling of the fluid dynamics in channel intersections.     

Thermodynamics of silver—silver halide electrodes and thermodynamic solubility products of silver halides in glycerol + water mixtures at different temperatures

The standard potentials of silver—silver bromide and silver—silver iodide electrodes in glycerol+water mixtures containing 5, 10, 20 and 30 wt% glycerol were determined from electromotive force measurements of the cell Ag(s), AgX(s), KX(c)//KCl(c), AgCl(s), Ag(s), where X is Br or I, at seven different temperatures in the range 5–35°C. The standard potentials in each solvent are represented as a function of temperature. The standard thermodynamic functions for the electrode reactions, the primary medium effects of various solvents upon X⁻, and the standard thermodynamic quantities for the transfer of 1 g-ion of X⁻ from water to the respective glycerol + water media are evaluated and discussed in the light of ion—solvent interactions as well as the structural changes of the solvents. From the values of the Ag/Ag⁺ and Ag/AgX, X⁻ electrodes, the thermodynamic solubility product constants of silver chloride, silver bromide and silver iodide have been determined in glycerol + water solvent mixtures at different temperatures.     

Rearrangement correction to higher polarizabilities of two-electron systems

In this paper we include the rearrangement correction (discussed in the preceding paper) in a coupled Hartree–Fock (CHF) calculation of atomic hyperpolarizabilities and other related properties. We have studied the effect of these corrections on properties like electric dipole hyperpolarizabilities, uniform electric field quadrupole polarizabilities and shielding factors in two-electron ions and have noticed significant changes in the computed values over the CHF results.