Physical/chemical separations in the break-up of highly charged droplets from electrosprays

Highly-charged droplets, as formed by an electrospray process, are known to undergo asymmetric fission to form smaller droplets. We have observed a chemical and physical separation phenomenon that occurs in the droplet break-up process and is related to a compound's surface activity in solution. Two experimental approaches demonstrated that the smaller satellite droplets and the progeny droplets generated by the spray formation and asymmetric fission processes to be surfactant-enriched. These smaller droplets were also effectively separated from the larger primary and residual droplets because of their smaller inertia and high surface charge density, and a region attributed to the initially formed smaller satellite droplets was found to be strikingly confined in a narrow periphery region of the electrospray. The phenomenon may have utility for chemical separations and have significant implications for the sensitivity and selectivity of electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.     

Intriguing self-assembly of large granules of F-actin facilitated by gelsolin and alpha-actinin

We report microscopic observations and a structural determination of actin granules self-assembled in concentrated solutions of actin filaments (F-actin). Optical microscopy shows reproducible formation of numerous and stable granules of densely packed F-actin of variable sizes on the order of 10 microm. These granules coexist with a uniform network of F-actin of a lower concentration. The microscopic segregation of F-actin into two distinct states is assisted by an actin cross-linking protein, alpha-actinin. The rapid on and off rates and temperature sensitivity of the alpha-actinin/F-actin interaction facilitate the formation of multi-micrometer-sized granules of well-defined shapes. Additional physical factors such as the excluded volume effect and the minimization of surface energy act in concert with the specific molecular interactions to define the intriguing granular formation. Both the biochemical specificity of alpha-actinin and the thermodynamics of phase transitions are required for understanding such large scale self-assembly.     

Electronic structures of dihedral (D5h, D5d, D6h, D6d) fullerenes

By means of our proposed method for Hückel theory calculation, we have calculated the electronic structures of dihedral (D_5h, D_5d, D_6h, D_6d) fullerences, which are generated from icosahedral C₂₀, C₆₀, C₈₀, C₁₈₀, C₂₄₀ and C₅₄₀, respectively. From the calculated results of 1224 fullerence molecules, certain rules on the stability and chemical reactivity have been drawn for such types of dihedral fullerenes.     

The structure and magnetic properties of μ3-oxotriiron(III) complex [Fe3O(OBz)6(CH3OH)3](NO3)(CH3OH)2

A new μ₃-O triiron(III) complex [Fe₃O(OBz)₆(CH₃OH)₃](NO₃)(CH₃OH)₂ (HOBZ = benzoic acid) has been synthesized, its structure has been determined and variable temperature magnetic susceptility has also been measured. In the molecule, three iron atoms formed an equilateral triangle with μ₃-O in center. The fitting to the magnetic susceptibility showed that an intramolecular antiferromagnetic exchange interaction occurred between iron atoms with J=-25.51 cm^?1, and a weaker intermolecular autiferromagnetic exchange interaction occurred with zJ' = ?2.30 cm^?1.     

Anion-assisted trans-cis isomerization of palladium(II) phosphine complexes containing acetanilide functionalities through hydrogen bonding interactions

The anion-assisted shift of trans-cis isomerization equilibrium of a palladium(II) complex containing acetanilide functionalities brought about by allosteric hydrogen bonding interactions has been established by UV/Vis, 1H NMR, 31P NMR and ESI-MS studies.     

Direct electrochemistry and enzymatic activity of hemoglobin in positively charged colloid Au nanoparticles and hemoglobin layer-by-layer self-assembly films

Alternate adsorption of positively charged colloid-Au nanoparticles (nano-Au⊕) and negatively charged hemoglobin (Hb) on L-cysteine (L-cys) modified gold electrode resulted in the assembly of {Hb/nano-Au⊕}n layer-by-layer films/L-cys modified gold electrode. The nano-Au⊕ was characterized by transmission electron micrograph (TEM) and microelectrophoresis. The modified electrode interface morphology was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), atomic force mi- croscopy (AFM), cyclic voltammograms (CV) and chronoamperometry. Direct electron transfer between hemoglobin and gold electrodes was studied, and the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant ( km app) of the modified electrode was evaluated to be 0.10 mmol·L?1. Moreover, the higher activity of proteins in the nano-Au⊕ films could be retained compared with the electropolymerization membrane, since the pro- teins in nano-Au⊕ films retained their near-native structure. Direct electron transfer between hemoglo- bin and electrode and electrochemically catalyzed reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a modified elec- trode was studied, and the linear range was from 2.1×10-8 to 1.2 ×10?3 mol·L-1 (r = 0.994) with a detection limit of 1.1×10-8 mol·L-1 H2O2.     

Binding of brucine to human serum albumin

The feature of brucine binding to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated via fluorescence and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy. The results revealed that brucine caused the fluorescence quenching of HSA by the formation of brucine–HSA complex. The hydrophobic interaction plays a major role in stabilizing the complex; the binding site number n and apparent binding constant K_A, corresponding thermodynamic parameters the free energy change (ΔG), enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) at different temperatures were calculated. The distance r between donor (HSA) and acceptor (brucine) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The effect of brucine on the conformation of HSA was analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy.     

High pressure Raman studies of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and CuTCNQ

The high-pressure Raman studies of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) single crystals and polycrystalline CuTCNQ are presented in this paper. TCNQ shows a phase transition at 22 kbar, a pressure higher than reported earlier. CuTCNQ undergoes a first order phase transition at 30 kbar, which is characterized by the abrupt disappearance of all the Raman bands.     

A photometric detector driven by beta radiation

It was recently found that typical Chromatographic carrier gases such as argon or nitrogen could be used in a modified flame photometric detector for general or selective determination of eluted molecules. The detector was powered not by a flame but by a radioactively stimulated, mild discharge. The luminescence arose from the second positive system of nitrogen (in argon), and various emissions from aroyl-containing molecules (in nitrogen).This study describes experiments that take away not only the flame but also the discharge: The energy that produces the luminescence is derived solely from the beta decay of⁶³Ni. Because of this low power input, the sensitivity of the present beta-driven photometric detector (-PD) is limited to about 25 ppm of nitrogen (in argon), and to about 5 pg/s for benzaldehyde and other well-responding aroyl compounds (in nitrogen). In accordance with mechanisms postulated earlier, other types of molecules do not produce significant responses in the absence of an electrical field.Material taken from doctoral thesis     

MH—Ni电池封口化成及其性能

在硼氢化钾碱性溶液中对金属氢化物（ＭＨ）电极的表面进行化学还原处理，提高了ＭＨ电极的放电容量、活化性能和电催化活性．用其为负极组装的ＡＡ型ＭＨ－Ｎｉ电池进行了封口化成，电池放电容量达到１１５０ｍＡｈ，５Ｃ下电池的放电容量达到０．２Ｃ下容量的８０％以上，电池在１Ｃ１００％ＤＯＤ（放电深度）充放电条件下，循环寿命由原来的１００次左右提高到２００次以上