EDXRF as an analytical tool in art: Case studies from pigment identification and treatment assessment

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was employed for the identification of pigments decorating Hellenistic figurines, and the assessment of the efficiency of a treatment with barium hydroxide applied to stone. Elements present in the colored areas of the figurines, as well as the treated stone was identified by EDXRF. These data together with complementary information obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) led to the identification of several precious pigments. As far as the treatment efficiency is concerned, EDXRF analysis revealed that barium is unevenly distributed on the treated surface and reaches a maximum depth of 2.5 mm.     

Voltammetric studies of the Kolbe synthesis with perfluorocarboxylic acids prepared from hexafluoropropene oxide oligomers

Carboxylic acids prepared from hexafluoropropene oxide CF₃CF₂CF₂O[CF(CF₃)CF₂O]_nCF (CF₃)COOH [n = 0, 2,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-3,6-dioxaperfluorononanoic acid; n = 1, 2,5,8- tris(trifluoromethyl)-3,6,9-trioxaperfluorododecanoic acid], according to voltammetric data, enter the Kolbe reaction both at the Pt anode and at anodes from carbon materials in H₂O-CH₃CN and CH₃OH-CH₃CN solutions. The critical potential appreciably depends both on the anode material and on the solvent composition. Favorable effect of pyridine additions in H₂O-CH₃CN solutions is due to replacement of water molecules from the electrical double layer. The sodium ions exert a negative effect on the Kolbe synthesis.Translated from Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii, Vol. 74, No. 11, 2004, pp. 1842–1846.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Chechina, Sokolov, Tomilov.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Plasmon hybridization in spherical nanoparticles

We show that the plasmon resonances in single metallic nanoshells and multiple concentric metallic shell particles can be understood in terms of interaction between the bare plasmon modes of the individual surfaces of the metallic shells. The interaction of these elementary plasmons results in hybridized plasmons whose energy can be tuned over a wide range of optical and infrared wavelengths. The approach can easily be generalized to more complex systems, such as dimers and small nanoparticle aggregates.     

Solid-phase reagent for molecular spectroscopic determination of heavy metal speciation in natural water

A solid-phase reagent based on 1-(4-adamantyl-2-thiasolylazo)-2-naphthol adsorbed onto silica gel was prepared for Co(II) recovery and preconcentration prior to its sorption-spectroscopic detection. The immobilized reagent was applied to the determination of free cobalt ions in natural water. The solid-phase reagent and chemiluminescent method coupled with membrane filtration, gel-permeation and ion-exchange chromatography were applied to the study of the speciation of iron and cobalt in water from the Dnieper reservoirs and lakes of Kyiv City; their predominant forms were complexes of Fe(III) and Co(II) with dissolved organic matter and fulvic acids play a main role in their complexation.     

A prenyloxycoumarin from Psiadia dentata

A new coumarin identified as 5-hydroxy-6-methoxy-7-(3-methyl-but-2-enyloxy)-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one (isoobtusitin) was isolated from Psiadia dentata. This compound showed, in vitro, a moderate inhibitory activity against poliovirus and a very weak activity against (HIV), whereas it was inactive against (HSV1), (VSV), and murine tumoral cell lines (3LL, L1210).     

Automated protein design and sequence optimisation: scoring functions and the search problem

Advances in molecular biology may mean that almost any protein sequence can be synthesised, but perhaps this has served to highlight the inadequacy of theoretical work. For a given protein fold, it is probably not possible to reliably predict an "ideal" sequence. We identify and survey several aspects of the problem. Firstly, it is not clear what is the best way to score a sequence-structure pair. Secondly, there is no consensus as to what the score function should represent (free energy or some abstract measure of sequence-structure compatibility). Finally, the number of possible sequences is astronomical and searching this space poses a daunting optimisation problem. These problems are discussed in the light of recent experimental successes.     

Heterometallic nickel(II) samarium(III) diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, a starting material for the preparation of samarium nickelate films

A reaction of samarium oxide, nickel oxocarbonate, and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (H₅DTPA) taken in stoichiometric proportions in water gave SmNiDTPA · 10H₂O as a glassy solid. The formation of this heterometallic complex was confirmed by data from elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and X-ray fluorescence analysis. An aqueous solution of the complex was used to deposit SmNiO₃ films onto a single-crystal SrTiO₃(001) substrate. The SmNiO₃ phase in films obtained upon 3-h annealing at 500°C was identified by powder X-ray diffraction. Films deposited from a solution of an equimolar mixture of monometallic samarium and nickel diethylenetriaminepentaacetates contained no samarium nickelate.     

N,N′-bis(2-Vinyloxyethyl)carbodiimide

Previously unreported N,N-bis(2-vlnyloxyethyl)carbodiimide was synthesized by the reaction of N,N -bis(2-vinyloxyethyl)thiourea with yellow mercuric oxide in CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1897–1898, August, 1990.     

Air-gap sulfide sensor with super-nernstian response in the low concentration range

An air-gap sulfide sensor is presented which operates on the basis of selective extraction of H₂S from an acidified sample into a small alkaline electrolyte film containing the dicyanoargentate (I) complex. This complex is partly decomposed during the measurement by the absorbed sulfide, and the potential of a silver sulfide-based indicator electrode which is in direct contact only with the electrolyte, then depends on the sulfide concentration of the sample. Because of the extraction and dissociation equilibria, the sensor responds in the low sulfide concentration range with a slope four times larger than that of a normal sulfide electrode. The lower limit of linearity is 10^?8 mol l^?1, because sulfide accumulates in the electrolyte film.