Synthesis and characterisation of molecularly imprinted catalytic microgels for carbonate hydrolysis

Novel molecularly imprinted microgels incorporating arginine and tyrosine side chains as functional monomers have been designed and synthesised with percentages of cross-linker ranging from 70 to 90%. Full chemico-physical characterisation including M_r, coil density and size particle determination concluded that all polymer preparations obtained can be classified as microgels. Molecular imprinting using a phosphate template was used to generate catalytic microgels for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl carbonates. Kinetic characterisation of the catalytic activity of the different preparations indicated that values of critical monomer concentration (C_M) and percentage of cross-linker play an important role in determining the catalytic efficiency of the different preparations. Microgels containing 70% cross-linker were the only ones following the Michaelis-Menten saturation model and kinetic parameters were obtained using 4 mg/ml of M397: V_max = 1.34 × 10⁻⁶ M s⁻¹ (S.E. 1.28 × 10⁻⁷) and K_M = 2.38 × 10⁻³ M (S.E. 3.1 × 10⁻⁴).     

N‐(2‐Amino­benz­yl)‐N,N‐bis­(quinolin‐2‐ylmeth­yl)amine

The title new diquinaldine derivative, C₂₇H₂₄N₄, forms mol­ecular assemblies organized by inter­molecular quinoline π–π stacking [3.356 (3) and 3.440 (3) Å] and both inter‐ and intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds [3.039 (3)–3.104 (3) Å and 129 (2)–172 (2)°]. The combination of such inter­actions provides readily definable contacts that propagate along each crystallographic axis.     

EXAFS spectroscopic evidence for an Fe=O unit in the Fe(IV) intermediate observed during oxygen activation by taurine:alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase

The Fe(II)- and alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases catalyze hydroxylation reactions of considerable biomedical and environmental significance. Recently, the first oxidized iron intermediate in the reaction of a member of this family, taurine:alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase (TauD), was detected and shown to be a high-spin Fe(IV) complex. In this study we have used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to demonstrate the presence of a short (1.62 A) interaction between the iron and one of its ligands in the Fe(IV) intermediate but not in the Fe(II) starting complex. The detection of this interaction strongly corroborates the hypothesis that the intermediate contains an Fe=O structural motif.     

Hydrido cyclopentadienyliron dicarbonyl and its role in olefin hydroformylation

The compound hydrido cyclopentadienyliron dicarbonyl has been shown by infrared and proton NMR to be present in substantial quantities during hydroformylation of propene and 1-pentene in the presence of [(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(CO)₂]₂. This and related observations strongly suggest that the hydride is an important link in the catalytic cycle as is HCo(CO)₄ in Co₂(CO)₈-catalyzed olefin hydroformylation.     

Polymer films on electrodes: Part II. Film structure and mechanism of electron transfer with electrodeposited poly(vinylferrocene)

The structure and properties of electrodeposited poly(vinylferrocene) (PVF) films on platinum electrodes (PVF/Pt) were examined by electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, various electrochemical techniques and measurements of the film resistance. The data were consistent with a mechanism in which the polymer films are permeable to dis-solved reactants. A theoretical treatment of this situation for chronoamperometry is presented. The oxidation and reduction of a variety of dissolved reactants with redox potentials far removed from that of the PVF/PVF⁺ system at PVF/Pt occurred by diffusion of the electroactive species through the polymer film and subsequent reaction at the platinum surface.     

Evaluation of food emergency response laboratories’ capability for <Superscript>210</Superscript>Po analysis using proficiency test material with verifiable traceability

Measurement capability and data comparability are essential for emergency response when analytical data from cooperative laboratories are used for risk assessment and post incident decision making. In this study, the current capability of food emergency response laboratories for the analysis of ²¹⁰Po in water was evaluated using a proficiency test scheme in compliance with ISO-43 and ILAC G13 guidelines, which comprises a test sample preparation and verification protocol and an insightful statistical data evaluation. The results of performance evaluations on relative bias, value trueness, precision, false positive detection, minimum detection limit, and limit of quantification, are presented.