Determination of cobalt in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry employing nickel as an internal standard.

In addition to the electric field and pH gradient used in isoelectric focusing, a recently introduced technique, isoelectric focusing (or electrical hyperlayer) field-flow fractionation, employs the flow of the liquid carrier through a thin separation channel as a third factor affecting separation. Focusing of cytochrome c (CYTC) in a trapezoidal cross-section channel of 0.875 ml volume and 25 cm length was investigated as a function of the injection procedure, relaxation time, flow-rate of the carrier ampholyte solution and applied electric power. The influence of different initial conditions was also investigated by computer simulation. Both computed and experimental data showed an important contribution of the injection procedure and relaxation time on the retention and shape of the CYTC zone. It follows from these data that the sample should be injected as a narrow zone into the centre of the stream rather than homogeneously together with the carrier solution. For the described experimental set-up it could be demonstrated that the time necessary for zone formation should be at least 15 min and that relaxation times in excess to 20 min do not influence the final shape of the CYTC zone. It could further be shown experimentally that the sample must be injected under an applied electric field, that the relaxation time should be about 10 min, that the elution flow-rate should not be larger than 100 μl/min, that focusing becomes more efficient with increasing electric fields and that, for a given assembly and specified flow conditions, there is an electric power window only within which proper operation is possible.     

Reverse isotope dilution alpha spectrometry using plutionium-239 spike for determining plutonium concentration in high burn-up fuel samples without purification from americium-241 and a bulk of other impurities

A reverse isotope dilution alpha spectrometric /R-IDAS/ method using²³⁹Pu as a spike is described for the determination of plutonium concentration in high burn-up fuel samples wth²³⁸Pu/(²³⁹Pu+²⁴⁰Pu) alpha activity ratio >0.5, without resorting to any purification from²⁴¹Am and a bulk of other impurities. It involves the addition of a pre-clibrated spike solution to a known aliquot of the plutonium sample solution followed by source preparation using TEG as a spreading agent. The results obtained on a number of plutonium samples containing 20–80% of²⁴¹Am /alpha activity wise/ using this method are compared with those achieved by R-IDAS using purification with TTA, with respect to precision and accuracy. Precision and accuracy of 0.5% are demonstrated. This method eliminates the need of any separation and purification of plutonium from²⁴¹Am and a bulk of other impurities like uranium.     

The complexity of catalysis: origins of enantio- and diastereocontrol in sulfur ylide mediated epoxidation reactions

The reaction of chiral sulfur ylides with aldehydes and ketones has emerged as a useful asymmetric process for the synthesis of epoxides. Processes employing either catalytic or stoichiometric amounts of sulfides have been developed. Although a large number of chiral sulfur ylides have been tested in the epoxidation process, only a few have delivered high diastereo- and enantio- selectivity. This review examines the factors that influence stereocontrol (steric hindrance of the sulfide, ylide conformation, ylide face selectivity, reversibility of betaine formation, solvent, and metal salts). This analysis leads to the conclusion that high reversibility in betaine formation leads to high diastereoselectivity but low enantioselectivity, and non-reversible betaine formation leads to low diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity (provided that other criteria are met). To achieve both high diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity simultaneously, requires non-reversible formation of the anti-betaine and reversible formation of the syn-betaine. Thus, factors that influence the degree of reversibility in betaine formation are critically important since with subtle changes in reaction conditions (solvent, temperature, metal ions) both high enantio- and diastereoselectivity can often be achieved.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of cyclopropane amino acids using diazo compounds generated in situ

A simple and high-yielding method for the preparation of cyclopropane amino acids is described. The novel method involves the one-pot cyclopropanation of readily available dehydroamino acids using aryl and unsaturated diazo compounds generated in situ from the corresponding tosylhydrazone salts. It was found that thermal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by nitrogen extrusion gave the cyclopropane amino acid derivatives with good E selectivity, while reactions in the presence of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin iron chloride gave predominantly the corresponding Z isomers. The synthetic utility of this process was demonstrated in the synthesis of (+/-)-(Z)-2,3-methanophenylalanine [(+/-)-(Z)-1], the anti-Parkinson (+/-)-(E)-2,3-methano-m-tyrosine [(+/-)-(E)-2], and the natural product (+/-)-coronamic acid [(+/-)-3].     

Solvent Extraction of Uranium(VI), Plutonium(VI) and Americium(III) with HTTA/HPMBP Using Mono- and Bi-Functional Neutral Donors: Synergism and Thermodynamics

Synergistic extraction of hexavalent uranium and plutonium as well as trivalent americium was studied in HNO₃ with thenoyl, trifluoro-acetone (HTTA)/1-phenyl, 3-methyl, 4-benzoyl pyrazolone-5 (HPMBP) in combination with neutral donors viz, DPSO, TBP, TOPO (mono-functional) and DBDECMP, DHDECMP, CMPO (bi-functional) with wide basicity range using benzene as dileunt. A linear correlation was observed when the equilibrium constant log Ks for the organic phase synergistic reaction of both U(VI) and Pu(VI) with either of the chelating agents HTTA or HPMBP was plotted vs. the basicity (log Kh) of the donor (both mono- and bi-functional) indicating bi-functional donors also behave as mono-functional. This was supported by the thermodynamic data (G ⁰, H ⁰, S ⁰) obtained for these systems. The organic phase adduct formation reactions were identified for the above systems from the thermodynamic data. In the Am(III) HTTA system log K _s values of bi-functional donors were found to be very high and deviate from the linear plot (log K _s vs. log K _h ) obtained for mono-functional donors, indicating that they function as bi-functional for the Am(III)/HTTA system studied. This was supported by high +ve S ⁰ values obtained for this system.     

Lithiation and reactions of stilbene oxides: synthetic utility

The lithiation of trans- and cis-stilbene oxides (+/-)-1 and 8 has been investigated. While with 8, lithiation occurred exclusively at the benzylic position, with the trans isomer (+/-)-1, ortho-lithiation competed with alpha-lithiation depending upon the experimental conditions. The configurational stability of the alpha-lithiated cis- and trans-stilbene oxides (+/-)-2 and (+/-)-9, respectively, was proved as well as that of scalemic stilbene oxide (R,R)-2.     

Synthesis of 2- and 4-substituted 5,12-dihydroxy-6,11-dioxo-1-azanaphthacenes from 2-aminoquinizarine

The reaction of 2-aminoquinizarine with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in presence of 10N-hydrochloric acid gives 2- and 4-substituted 5,12-dihydroxy-6,11-dioxo-1-azanaphthacenes.     

Determination of <Superscript>241</Superscript>Am/<Superscript>243</Superscript>Am ratios

Determination of ²⁴¹Am/²⁴³Am ratios is required for vanous purposes including assay of Am by isotope dilution techniques. Alpha-spectrometry on electrodeposited sources is a preferred technique for this determination. However, there is an inherent problem of tail contribution which necessitates the use of suitable algorithms to account for the same. Recently, in the frame of a Coordinated Research Program (CRP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), WinALPHA software has been developed which is a combination of an asymmetrical Gaussian for the main part of the peak and a low energy function. Therefore, it was of interest to compare the use of this algorithm with the routinely used method, in our laboratory, based on geometric progression (G. P.) decrease. Since, there are no reference materials available commercially for ²⁴¹Am/²⁴³Am ratios, synthetic mixtures covening a wide range (0.3 to 2.0) of ²⁴¹Am/²⁴³Am α-activity ratios were used and un-ignited electrodeposited sources were prepared for α-spectrometry. The α-spectra obtained using PIPS detector, were evaluated using the two algonthms The ²⁴¹Am/²⁴³Am α-activity ratios obtained were also compared with those determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). An agreement of about 1% was obtained in the ²⁴¹Am/²⁴³Am ratios determined by the two methods and also by using the two algorithms for α-spectrum evaluation.     

Comparative Studies of Tridentate Sulfur and Nitrogen‐Containing Ligands as Ionophores for Construction of Cadmium Ion‐Selective Membrane Sensors

New polymeric membrane cadmium‐ion selective sensors have been prepared by incorporating nitrogen and sulfur containing tridentate ligands as the ionophores into the plasticized PVC membranes. Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) based membranes of potassium hydrotris[N‐(2,6‐xylyl)thioimdazolyl) borate] (KTt^2,6‐xylyl) and potassium hydrotris(3‐phenyl‐5‐methylpyrazolyl) borate (KTp^Ph,Me) with sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) as an anionic excluder and dibutylphthalate (DBP), tributylphthalate (TBP), dioctylsebacate (DOS), and o‐nitrophenyloctyl ether (o‐NPOE) as plasticizing solvent mediators were investigated in different compositions. KTt^2,6‐xylyl was found to be a selective and sensitive ion carrier for Cd(II) membrane sensor. A membrane composed of KTt^2,6‐xylyl:NaTPB:PVC:DBP with the % mole ratio 2.3 : 1.1 : 34.8 : 61.8 (w/w) works well over a very wide concentration range (7.8×10^?8–1.0×10^?2 M) with a Nernstian slope of 29.4±0.2 mV/decades of activity between pH values of 3.5 to 9.0 with a detection limit of 4.37×10^?8 M. The sensor displays very good discrimination toward Cd(II) ions with regard to most common cations. The proposed sensor shows a short response time for whole concentration range (ca. 8 s). The effects of the cationic (tetrabutylammonium chloride, TBC), anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) and nonionic (Triton X‐100) surfactants were investigated on the potentiometric properties of proposed cadmium‐selective sensor. The proposed sensor based on KTt^2,6‐xylyl ionophore has also been used for the direct determination of cadmium ions in different water samples and human urine samples.