ICP-MS multielement determination in fly ash after microwave-assisted digestion of samples

A microwave assisted digestion procedure has been developed for dissolution of fly ash samples prior to the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric determination of their elemental composition. The developed methodology was validated by carrying out the analysis of two high-silicate containing reference materials (CRM 134R sewage amended soil and NIES JR 1 rock) and by means of the comparison between results found by microwave-assisted digestion and ICP-MS of fly ash samples with those found by neutron activation analysis (NAA) for Sb, Cs, Cr, Co, Fe, U and Zn determination. The method developed can be recommended for routine multielement analysis of fly ash.     

1,8-Dihydroxyanthraquinone anchored on silica gel: synthesis and application as solid phase extractant for lead(II), zinc(II) and cadmium(II) prior to their determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A new chelating matrix has been prepared by immobilizing 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ) on silica gel modified with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. After characterizing the matrix with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), cross polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR and diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transformation (DRIFT) spectroscopy, it has been used to preconcentrate Pb(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) prior to their determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The optimum pH ranges for quantitative sorption are 6.0-7.5, 7.0-8.0 and 6.0-8.0 for Pb, Zn, and Cd, respectively. All the metal ions can be desorbed with 2 mol l(-1) HCl/HNO(3). The sorption capacity of the matrix has been found to be 76.0, 180.0 and 70.2 mumol g(-1) for Pb, Zn and Cd, respectively, with the preconcentration factor of approximately 200. The limits upto which electrolytes NaNO(3), NaCl, NaBr, Na(2)SO(4), Na(3)PO(4) sodium citrate, EDTA, glycine and humic acid and cations Ca(II), Mg(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) Al(III), Cr(III) and Fe(III) can co-exist with the metal ions during their sorption without any adverse effect are reported. The lowest concentration of metal ions for quantitative recovery is 5.0 ng ml(-1) The simultaneous enrichment and determination of all the metals is possible if total load of metal ions is less than sorption capacity. The flame AAS was used to determine these metal ions in underground, tap and river water samples (relative standard deviation (R.S.D.)相似文献   

In vivo lifetimes of the three color-sectors in bioluminescence emissions of the firefly Luciola praeusta at different temperatures

Bioluminescence emissions from fireflies have been well-studied for over a century. From the apparent features of the emitted light, conclusions have been drawn and hypotheses put forward on the characteristics of the highly efficient light emitting system. The basic emitter oxyluciferin, being chemically unstable, is difficult to study in isolation and, therefore, its analogs have been prepared and analyzed. In this letter, the lifetimes of the excited-state emitter oxyluciferin are measured, and an inference is drawn on the chemiluminescence reaction in vivo. The light from the Indian species of firefly Luciola praeusta contains three color-sectors: green, yellow, and red, and hence three optical filters are used to study time-resolved emissions from these sectors at different temperatures. All the three color-sectors are observed to be temperature sensitive in the time domain. An exponential variation of lifetime with temperature is observed for the emissions in these three regions.     

Upper Bounds on Liouville First-Passage Percolation and Watabiki's Prediction

Given a planar continuum Gaussian free field h^𝒰 in a domain 𝒰 with Dirichlet boundary condition and any δ > 0, we let be a real-valued smooth Gaussian process where is the average of h^𝒰 along a circle of radius δ with center v. For γ > 0, we study the Liouville first-passage percolation (in scale δ), i.e., the shortest path distance in 𝒰 where the weight of each path P is given by . We show that the distance between two typical points is for all sufficiently small but fixed γ > 0 and some constant c^* > 0. In addition, we obtain similar upper bounds on the Liouville first-passage percolation for discrete Gaussian free fields, as well as the Liouville graph distance, which roughly speaking is the minimal number of euclidean balls with comparable Liouville quantum gravity measure whose union contains a continuous path between two endpoints. Our results contradict some reasonable interpretations of Watabiki's prediction (1993) on the random distance of Liouville quantum gravity at high temperatures.© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synthesis and formulation of self-immolative PEG-aryl azide block copolymers and click-to-release reactivity with trans-cyclooctene

Self-immolative aryl azides can react with trans-cyclooctenes (TCO), triphenylphosphines or hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) to activate prodrugs, imaging probes and drug delivery systems. To date, the synthesis of polymers containing these aryl azide self-immolative linkers and their reactivity with a strained alkene (i.e., in a bioorthogonal reaction) has not been explored. Also, due to the instability of aryl azides towards light and high temperatures, the polymerization methods compatible with aryl azides are limited. Through systematic investigation of the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methods, a self-immolative PEG-aryl azide block copolymer (PEG₄₅-b-ABOC₂₈ 2 ) and a non-responsive 4-fluoroaryl block copolymer (PEG₄₅-b-FBOC₂₄ 3 ) was prepared. ATRP provided the desired polymers in a highly controlled manner, whereas the RAFT conditions led to higher levels of aryl azide polymer degradation. The ATRP derived polymers 2 and 3 were formulated into nanoparticles of approximately 200 nm diameter, and particle triggering was demonstrated by the [3+2]-cycloaddition reaction of TCO with PEG₄₅-b-ABOC₂₈ 2 in solution (pure polymer) and as a formulated nanoparticle. Preliminary in vitro cell viability studies suggested that the stimuli-responsive aryl azide polymers/nanoparticles are not cytotoxic up to 200 μg/ml concentrations.     

Investigating Two-Photon-Induced Fluorescence in Rhodamine-6G in Presence of Cetyl-Trimethyl-Ammonium-Bromide

We investigate the effect of cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium-bromides (CTAB) concentration on the fluorescence of Rhodamine-6G in water. This spectroscopic study of Rhodamine-6G in presence of CTAB was performed using two-photon-induced-fluorescence at 780 nm wavelength using high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses. We report an increment of ～10 % in the fluorescence in accordance with ～12 % enhancement in the absorption intensity of the dye molecule around the critical micellar concentration. We discuss the possible mechanism for the enhancement in the two-photon fluorescence intensity and the importance of critical micellar concentration.     

A turn on ESIPT probe for rapid and ratiometric fluorogenic detection of homocysteine and cysteine in water with live cell-imaging

5(Benzothiazol-2-yl)-4-hydroxyisophthalaldehyde (BHI), an intense ESIPT containing molecule in mixed media loses its properties due to resonance-assisted H-bond (RAHB) in absolute water. Due to resonance-assisted H-bond the o-aldehyde is more reactive than the other one. With addition of cysteine/homocysteine into this solution the o-aldehyde group gets transformed into thiazolidine/thiazine ring, respectively, and the phenolic proton becomes free enough for transfer to nitrogen of the benzothiazole ring in excited state, that is, the ESIPT of BHI is turned on. Thus we can detect cysteine/homocysteine in water as well as in live cells.     

Study of indoor radon and thoron progeny levels in surrounding areas of Nalbari, Assam, India

With the growing understanding of the role of radon and its daughter products as major sources of radiation exposure, the importance of large number of estimation of radon concentration in various parts of the country is realized. Inhalation of radon, thoron and their decay products is the major source of the total radioactive dose received by the human population from natural radiation. The indoor radon and thoron progeny levels in Nalbari area of Assam are studied by using the LR-115 (type II) Solid State Nuclear Track Detector in Plastic Twin Chamber dosimeter. Radon and thoron progeny levels in different types of dwellings for one full calendar year are presented in this paper. For Assam Type (A.T.) houses, indoor radon progeny concentrations vary from 0.17 to 0.64 mWL with an annual geometric mean of 0.27 mWL and that for Reinforced Cement Concrete (R.C.C.) houses vary from 0.22 mWL to 0.60 mWL with the annual geometric mean of 0.37 mWL. The thoron progeny levels in A.T. houses also vary from 0.01 to of 0.05 mWL with an annual geometric mean of 0.02 mWL and that for R.C.C. houses vary from 0.02 to 0.08 mWL with the annual geometric mean of 0.04 mWL.