Some electroanalytical aspects of using pulse polarography for determination of Ge(IV)

Summary Presented data give some informations of analytical importance as a result of pulse polarographic investigations of Ge(IV) in KCl solutions within pH range 3–12 at Ge concentration from 1×10^–4 to 2.5×10^–6 M. It was shown that Ge(IV) can be polarographically active in acidic solution but its reduction interferes with hydrogen gas development. The addition ofp-quinone enables the determination of Ge(IV) without this interfering effect.Suggested explanation of the observed changes in polarographic curves dependent on pH and Ge concentration based on the existence of several polarographically active forms.

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Elektroanalytische Bemerkungen zur pulspolarographischen Bestimmung von Ge(IV)

Zusammenfassung Unsere Ergebnisse bieten einige Informationen über die pulspolarographische Bestimmung von Ge(IV) in KCl-Lösungen innerhalb pH 3–12 und bei Ge-Konzentrationen zwischen 10^–4 und 2,5×10^–6 M. Es wurde gezeigt, daß Ge(IV) in saurer Lösung polarographisch aktiv ist, seine Reduktion aber durch Wasserstoff-Entwicklung gestört wird. Der Zusatz vonp-Chinon beseitigt diese Störung. Die Änderung der polarographischen Kurven je nach Ge-Konzentration und pH beruht vermutlich auf der Existenz verschiedener polarographisch aktiver Formen.

     

The lock-in and reorientational phase transitions in metallic superlattices

We show that in the metallic magnetic superlattices, along with the bilinear RKKY-like exchange, there is significant biquadratic contribution arising from intrinsic and fluctuational mechanisms. Within the phenomenological approach, we postulate a particular form of free energy density functional and study the thermodynamic behaviour of the system under consideration. The model permits a transparent interpretation of the phase transitions, observed in metallic multilayers, with multiple oscillation periods and biquadratic exchange effects taken into account.     

The impact of a carbon nanotube on the cholesterol domain localized on a protein surface

The influence of a single walled carbon nanotube on the structure of a cholesterol cluster (domain) developed over the surface of the endothelial protein 1LQV has been investigated using the classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique. We have observed a substantial impact of carbon nanotube on the arrangement of the cholesterol domain. The carbon nanotube can drag out cholesterol molecules, remarkably reducing the volume of the domain that settles down on the protein.     

Fluorescence Anisotropy Controlled by Light Quenching*

We demonstrated that fluorescence anisotropy can be effectively decreased or increased in the presence of light quenching, depending on relative polarizations of excitation and quenching pulses. For parallel light quenching, anisotropy decreases to 0.103 and z-axis symmetry is preserved. In the presence of perpendicular light quenching, the steady-state anisotropy of a pyridine-2-glycerol solution increases from 0.368 for an unquenched sample to 0.484 for a quenched one. We show that the angular distribution of transition moments loses z-axis symmetry in the presence of perpendicular light quenching. In these cases we used more general definitions of anisotropy. Induced by light quenching, anisotropy can be applied in both steady-state and time-resolved measurements. In particular, the systems with low or no anisotropy can be investigated with the proposed technique.     

Distillation preconcentration and clean-up of aqueous samples for direct aqueous injection-gas chromatographic determination of volatile polar organic pollutants

The applicability of distillation to concentrate and clean up heavily loaded aqueous samples for the analysis of volatile polar organic compounds by means of direct aqueous injection-gas chromatography was studied. Recoveries for acetone, acetonitrile, acrolein, acrylonitrile, butanone, 1,4-dioxane, ethyl acetate, and 3-pentanone were in the range of 60.6 to 73.4% with relative standard deviations of 3.6 to 5.5%. The corresponding enrichment factors were in the order of 200. The recovery did not depend on the concentration in the studied range of 0.70 to 89 μg/kg. The detection limits with the mass selective detector operating in the selected ion monitoring mode were in the order of 0.1 μg/kg. The method was successfully applied to treated waste water from a pharmaceutical factory. The content of the above analytes in the real sample ranged from below 0.1 to ca. 83 μg/kg. Received: 16 December 1996 / Revised: 9 April 1997 / Accepted: 16 April 1997     

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Electronic Structure of YN: The XΣ Ground State and the New B1, C1 and D1 Excited Electronic States

YN molecules were produced in a free jet molecular beam apparatus by a laser vaporizing yttrium metal in the presence of He doped with NH₃. Laser excitation spectra were observed in the range 18 250-19 850 cm⁻¹. The ground state was confirmed to have ¹Σ⁺ symmetry. The fundamental vibration in the ground state was measured to be 650.6(1) cm⁻¹. Three new electronic states, B1, C1, and D1, were observed at 18 974.7(1), 19 023.3(1), and 19 824.0(1) cm⁻¹, respectively. The fundamental vibrations and equilibrium internuclear distances were found to be 718.3(1) cm⁻¹ and 1.939(8) for the B1 state and 723.5(1) cm⁻¹ and 1.9194(3) for the C1 state. Two additional electronic states were identified with the help of a deperturbation procedure, one of which is either the ¹Σ⁺ or the ³Σ₀⁻ state. The newly observed electronic states cannot be accounted for based on the existing ab initio results. We expect that these states correlate with the excited asymptote Y(4d¹5s²²D)+N(²D).     

Surface-plasmon-coupled emission of quantum dots

We studied surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). These QDs are water-soluble ZnS-capped CdSe nanoparticles stabilized using lysine cross-linked mercaptoundecanoic acid. The QDs were spin-coated from 0.75% PVA solution on a glass slide covered with 50 nm of silver and a 5-nm protective SiO(2) layer. Excited QDs induced surface plasmons in a thin silver layer. Surface plasmons emitted a hollow cone of radiation into an attached hemispherical glass prism at a narrow angle of 48.5 degrees. This directional radiation (SPCE) preserves the spectral properties of QD emission and is highly p-polarized irrespective of the excitation polarization. The SPCE spectrum depends on the observation angle because of the intrinsic dispersive properties of SPCE phenomenon. The remarkable photostability can make QDs superior to organic fluorophores when long exposure to the intense excitation is needed. The nanosize QDs also introduce a roughness near the metal layer, which results in a many-fold increase of the coupling of the incident light to the surface plasmons. This scattered incident illumination transformed into directional, polarized radiation can be used simultaneously with SPCE to develop devices based on both quantum dot emission and light scattered from surface plasmons on a rough surface.     

Synthesis of Phosphonates and Oligodeoxyribonucleotides Derived from 2′-Deoxyisoguanosine and 2′-Deoxy-2-haloadenosines

Oligonucleotides containing 2′-deoxyisoguanosine ( 1 ) or 2-chloro-2′-deoxyadenosine ( 2a ) have been prepared by solid-phase synthesis. Suitably protected phosphonates 3a, 4a , and 4b as well as the phosphoramidite of 1 have been obtained from the nucleosides 1, 2a , or 2b via the (dimethylamino)methylidene derivatives 5–7 . 4,4′-Dimethoxytrityl groups were introduced to yield the base-protected derivatives 8–10 . Alternatively to the direct incorporation of 1 into oligonucleotides, they were also obtained by the photochemical conversion of a 2a residue within the oligonucleotide chain.     

First Observation of Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission Due to LED Excitation

Detection limitations for fluorescence methods are normally determined by the phenomenon itself rather than the sensitivity of the instrumentation. These limitations make it necessary to have high sensitivity, high cost equipment causing fluorescence methods to remain lab-oriented. Alleviation of the limitations can be achieved through the phenomenon of surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE), which displays enhanced, directional, polarized fluorescence. Here we present the excitation of SPCE from Rhodamine B with a light-emitting diode (LED). Incorporating the gains in sensitivity due to SPCE with LED excitation, it could be possible to design low-cost, high-sensitivity sensors that would allow measurements to be performed in the field.     

Anisotropy Spectra of the Solvent-Sensitive Fluorophore 4-Dimethylamino-4′-Cyanostilbene in the Presence of Light Quenching

We examined the emission wavelength-dependent anisotropies of the solvent-sensitive fluorophore 4-dimethylamino-4-cyanostilbene (DCS) under conditions of light quenching by polarized time-delayed quenching pulses. Illumination on the long-wavelength side of the emission spectrum with time-delayed light pulses resulted in a progressive decrease in the emission anisotropy as the observation wavelength increased toward the stimulating wavelength. The anisotropy changes of DCS were most wavelength dependent when spectral relaxation occurred during the excited-state lifetime. Light quenching of DCS in a low-viscosity solvent revealed no wavelength-dependent anisotropies. Control measurements using a solvent-insensitive fluorophore did not show any wavelength-dependent anisotropy with light quenching. The data for DCS can be explained by a model which allows wavelength-selective quenching of the long-wavelength emission formed by time-dependent spectral relaxation. These results indicate that polarized light quenching can be used to study systems which display multiple emissions and/or time-dependent spectral shifts.