In Situ Amperometric Characterization of Liposome Suspensions with Concomitant Oxygen Reduction

Amperometry of oxygen reduction at the dropping mercury electrode (DME) was applied for in situ characterization of liposome suspensions in terms of concentration, level of polydispersity and potential range of adhesion. Liposomes prepared from egg‐phosphatidylchloline/cholesterol/dicetylphosphate in the molar ratio of 7 : 5 : 1 were suspended in phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS). Adhesion signals of single liposomes in air‐saturated suspensions were detected in the broad potential range (from ?100 to ?1200 mV vs. 0.1 M Ag/AgCl reference electrode) as transient enhacements of oxygen reduction. Measured concentration range in air‐saturated suspensions was 10⁶–10⁸ liposomes/L.     

The tungsten-188/rhenium-188 generator: Effective coordination of tungsten-188 production between the HFIR and BR2 reactors

The rapidly increasing therapeutic applications of ¹⁸⁸Re in nuclear medicine, oncology and interventional cardiology require routine production of large, multi-Curie levels of the ¹⁸⁸W parent. The capability and effective coordination of back-up production sites is important to insure that high level ¹⁸⁸W/¹⁸⁸Re generators are continually available. We have coordinated ¹⁸⁸W production at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR - Oak Ridge, US) with production at the BR2 Reactor (Mol, Belgium) characterized by peak thermal neutron fluxes of 2.51·0¹⁵ (HFIR) and 1·10¹⁵ (BR2) neutrons/cm²·sec, respectively. The long 69-day physical half-life permits receipt of ¹⁸⁸W from BR2 within 0.25 T _1/2's, even after the 12-day post irradiation cooling required for ¹⁸⁷W decay (T _1/2 = 24 hours). Since ¹⁸⁸W production by double neutron capture of enriched ¹⁸⁶W is a function of the square of the thermal neutron flux, HFIR production (4-5 Ci ¹⁸⁸W/g ¹⁸⁶W/cycle) is higher than at the BR2 (1.0-1.1 Ci/g ¹⁸⁶W/cycle). However, the specific activity (SA) of BR2-produced ¹⁸⁸W is still about 0.8-0.9 Ci/g after processing at ORNL following shipment from Belgium. This SA is sufficiently high to permit fabrication of 1 Ci generators suitable for clinical use, since simple post elution concentration of the saline bolus (30-50 ml) obtained from the generator can provide samples with high specific volume (1 ml volume). The time periods from reactor push in Mol and completion of processing, fabrication and shipment of generators from Oak Ridge have been 19-21 days. Six campaigns have been successfully completed since 1998, with processed levels of ¹⁸⁸W in Oak Ridge from 8-26 Curies/campaign. ¹⁸⁸W has been provided to MAP Medical technologies Oy (Tikkakoski, Finland) for fabrication and distribution of generators for use at IAEA-supported research projects in developing countries. We have thus established and demonstrated an effective collaboration between the Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie-Centre d'Etude de l'Energie Nucléaire (SCK·CEN) and ORNL for back-up production of ¹⁸⁸W. This collaboration continues to be especially helpful during periods when interruption of HFIR operation is necessary for maintenance and upgrades.     

Preparation of spiro-cyclic organic polysulfanes of type C6H10Sn and x-ray structural analysis of C6H10S11, a derivative of cyclo-dodecasulfur

By reaction of (C₅H₅)₂Ti(μ-S₂)₂C₆H₁₀ 3 with S₂Cl₂ 7,8,9,10,11,12-hexathiaspiro-[5.6]dodecane 4 is prepared (yield 51%) and characterized by UV, IR, Raman, mass, and NMR spectra (¹H, ¹³C). The seven-membered CS₆ ring undergoes pseudorotation in solution. With S₇Cl₂ the complex 3 yields 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-undecathiaspiro[5.11]heptadecane 5 (yield 23%). The yellow, monoclinic crystals of 5 consist of spirocyclic C₆H₁₀S₁₁ molecules with the C₆ ring in a chair-conformation while the CS₁₁ ring is of the same conformation as cyclododecasulfur S₁₂. UV, IR, Raman, mass and NMR-spectra of 5 are reported. A mixture of dichlorosulfanes S_nCl₂ (n = 1 -8) reacts with 3 to give the homologous series C₆H₁₀S_m which was characterized by reversed-phase HPLC for m = 5 – 14.     

A modified Hamilton-Jacobi approach in the generalized problem of Bolza

We are concerned with developing sufficiency criteria for the generalized problem of Bolza, where the Hamiltonian is neither concave-convex nor differentiable. The core of the approach is the modified Hamilton-Jacobi inequality which leads to a new type of sufficient conditions. This latter is then used to derive new first order and known second order sufficient conditions.The publication of this report has been made possible due to a grant of the Fonds FCAC for the help and support of research.     

Aqueous solution behavior of thermosensitive (N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-ethyl methacrylate) terpolymers

A series of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)-acrylic acid–ethyl methacrylate terpolymers with varied monomer compositions was prepared by radical polymerization. The solution behavior of these polymers was studied in dilute aqueous solution using spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy and high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry. The results obtained revealed that the lower critical solution temperatures depend strongly on the copolymer composition, solution pH and ionic strength. At a high pH, the ionization of acrylic acid (AA) units leads to an increase in solution cloud points (T_c). Solutions of polymers containing 10% or less of AA display a constant T_c for pH above 5.5, with 15% there is a continuous increase in T_c with pH and, for higher AA contents, no clouding was observed within the studied temperature range. Fluorescence probe studies were conducted by following the I ₁/I ₃ ratio of pyrene vibronic bands and the emission of anilinonaphtalene sulfonic acid, sodium salt (ANS), both approaches revealing the existence of hydrophobic domains for polymers with higher ethyl methacrylate content at temperatures lower than T_c, suggesting some extent of aggregation and/or a coil-to-globule transition. Scanning calorimetry measurements showed an endothermic transition at temperatures agreeing with the previously detected cloud points. Moreover, the transition curves became broader and with a smaller transition enthalpy, as both the AA content and the solution pH were increased. These broader transitions were interpreted to be the result of a wider molecular distribution upon polymer ionization, hence, displaying varied solution properties. The decrease in transition enthalpy was rationalized as a consequence of reminiscent hydration of NIPAM units, even after phase separation, owing to the presence of electric charges along the polymer chain.     

Largest digraphs contained in alln-tournaments

Letf(n) (resp.g(n)) be the largestm such that there is a digraph (resp. a spanning weakly connected digraph) onn-vertices andm edges which is a subgraph of every tournament onn-vertices. We prove that $$n\log _2 n - c_1 n \geqq f(n) \geqq g(n) \geqq n\log _2 n - c_2 n\log \log n.$$      

Ab initio evaluation of intramolecular electron transfer reactions in halobenzenes and stabilized derivatives

The potential energy surfaces for the fragmentation of the radical anions of p-nitrochlorobenzene and p- and m-chloroacetophenones were explored using first principle methods. The behavior of these compounds, stabilized by pi acceptors, is compared to that shown by the unsubstituted halobenzenes (PhX, X = F, Cl, Br, I). The presence of pi and sigma radical anions was inspected as well as the intramolecular electron transfer (intra-ET) from the pi to the sigma surface, responsible for the dissociation of these intermediates. The profiles obtained with the B3LYP functional in the gas phase and in the presence of a polar solvent are in agreement with the spectroscopic evidence and with the experimentally observed reactivity of the compounds under study. The stability of the radical anion of p-nitrochlorobenzene and the adiabatic and endothermic nature of its dissociation are explained. The order of the rate constants for dissociation m-chloroacetophenone < p-chloroacetophenone is interpreted on the basis of the differences in the adiabatic character of the intra-ET of both isomers which is ascribed to the nodal properties of their SOMOs. In the halobenzene family, the electronic factors responsible for the intra-ET are analyzed. The stabilization of the sigma surface exerted by the different halogens and its effect on the rate constants for dissociation are explained.     

A new access to quinazolines from simple anilines

A new synthetic pathway to quinazolines is described. This new method uses hexamethylenetetramine in TFA and potassium ferricyanide in aqueous ethanolic KOH, starting from simple N-protected anilines. The method affords substituted quinazolines with high selectivities and good yields, reducing reaction-time and work-up operations.     

Regiodirected phosphorylation of 2,2′,7,7′-tetrahydroxydinaphthylmethane

The phosphorylation of 2,2′,7,7′-tetrahydroxydinaphthylmethane was studied and the influence of molecule pre-organization on the regioselectivity of functionalization was investigated. The reactions of 2,2′,7,7′-tetrahydroxydinaphthylmethane with phosphorous amides containing 1-3 amide bonds gave oligophosphorylated derivatives differing in the number and the nature of phosphorus fragments and in the size of phosphorus rings: tetraphosphorus macrocycles containing one 24-membered and two eight-membered phosphorus rings, triphosphorus compounds containing a phosphocine ring and two acyclic phosphorus fragments, and tetraphosphorylated derivatives with four phosphorus groups in the molecule. The possibility of controlling the regioselectivity of phosphorylation by using reagents differing in the number and activity of P-N bonds was demonstrated.     

A novel equation of state for the prediction of thermodynamic properties of fluids

This work proposes a new equation of state (EOS) based on molecular theory for the prediction of thermodynamic properties of real fluids. The new EOS uses a novel repulsive term, which gives the correct hard sphere close packed limit and yields accurate values for hard sphere and hard chain virial coefficients. The pressure obtained from this repulsive term is corrected by a combination of van der Waals and Dieterici potentials. No empirical temperature functionality of the parameters has been introduced at this stage. The novel EOS predicts the experimental volumetric data of different compounds and their mixtures better than the successful EOS of Peng and Robinson. The prediction of vapor pressures is only slightly less accurate than the results obtained with the Peng-Robinson equation that is designed for these purposes. The theoretically based parameters of the new EOS make its predictions more reliable than those obtained from purely empirical forms.