1H, 13C, and 73Ge NMR spectral analysis of substituted aryltrimethylgermanes

NMR chemical shifts of 1H, 13C, and 73Ge are reported for a series of monosubstituted aromatic trimethylgermanes of the type XC6H4Ge(CH3)3; X = p-N(CH3)2, p-OCH3, p-OC2H5, p-C(CH3)3, p-Si(CH3)3, p-Ge(CH3)3, p-Sn(CH3)3, p-CH3, m-CH3, -H, m-OCH3, p-Cl, p-Br, m-F, m-CF3, p-CF3, o-OCH3, and o-CH3. The relatively narrow 73Ge resonances show a strong correlation with Hammett sigma constants, with a correlation coefficient of 0.976 and 0.876 for 73Ge chemical shifts in meta- and para-substituted derivatives, respectively. The 13C chemical shifts of the methyl carbons bonded to germanium also display a relationship, with correlation coefficients of 0.904, 0.993, and 0.911 for para-, meta- and all derivatives, respectively. Comparisons of the Hammett plots for the homologous series XC6H4M(CH3)3; M = C, Si, Ge, Sn, show that, in general, correlation coefficients decrease while slopes increase significantly down the group, presumably reflecting the corresponding increase in chemical shift range of the group 14 atom. The Hammett constant derived for the p-Ge(CH3)3 group of +0.13 compares with the NMR-derived constants of -0.12 for p-C(CH3)3, +0.14 for p-Si(CH3)3, and -0.14 for p-Sn(CH3)3. The indication of electron release by carbon and tin can be rationalized through traditional hyperconjugative arguments for carbon and by the low electronegativity and consequent inductive effect of tin. The small electron attraction suggested by the positive constants for silicon and germanium can be simply, and perhaps naively, attributed to pi-acceptor interactions with the benzene ring.     

Phase transitions and microstructure of emulsion systems prepared with acylglycerols/zinc stearate emulsifier

The emulsification processes, during which acylglycerols/zinc stearate emulsifier, water, and oil phase formed ternary systems, such as water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions, oil-in-water (O/W) dispersions, and unstable oil-water mixtures, were investigated in order to characterize the progressive transformations of the dispersed systems. The type, structure, and phase transitions of the systems were found to be determined by temperature and water phase content. Crystallization of the emulsifier caused the destabilization and subsequent phase inversion of the emulsions studied, at a temperature of 60-61 degrees C. The observed destabilization was temporary and led, at lower temperature, to W/O emulsions, "O/W + O" systems, or O/W dispersions, depending on the water content. Simultaneous emulsification and cooling of 20-50 wt % water systems resulted in the formation of stable W/O emulsions that contained a number of large water droplets with dispersed oil globules inside them ("W/O + O/W/O"). In water-rich systems (60-80 wt % of water), crystallization of the emulsifier was found to influence the formation of crystalline vesicle structures that coexisted, in the external water phase, with globules of crystallized oil phase. Results of calorimetric, rheological, and light scattering experiments, for the O/W dispersions obtained, indicate the possible transition of a monostearoylglycerol-based alpha-crystalline gel phase to a coagel state, in these multicomponent systems.     

Iron incorporated heterogeneous catalyst from rice husk ash

Silica supported iron catalyst was prepared from rice husk ash (RHA) via the sol-gel technique using an aqueous solution of iron(III) salt in 3.0 M HNO3. The sample was dried at 110 degrees C and labeled as RHA-Fe. A sample of RHA-Fe was calcined at 700 degrees C for 5 h and labeled as RHA-Fe700. X-ray diffraction spectrogram showed that both RHA-Fe and RHA-Fe700 were amorphous. The SEM/EDX results showed that the metal was present as agglomerates and the Fe ions were not homogeneously distributed in RHA-Fe but RHA-Fe700 was shown to be homogeneous. The specific surface areas for RHA-Fe and RHA-Fe700 were determined by BET nitrogen adsorption studies and found to be 87.4 and 55.8 m(2) g(-1), respectively. Both catalysts showed high activity in the reaction between toluene and benzyl chloride. The mono-substituted benzyltoluene was the major product and both catalysts yielded more than 92% of the product. The GC showed that both the ortho- and para-substituted monoisomers were present in about equal quantities. The minor products consisting of 16 di-substituted isomers were also observed in the GC-MS spectra of both catalytic products. The catalyst was found to be reusable without loss of activity and with no leaching of the metal.     

Exceptional H2 saturation uptake in microporous metal-organic frameworks

Saturation H2 uptake in a series of microporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been measured at 77 K. Saturation pressures vary between 25 and 80 bar across the series, with MOF-177 showing the highest uptake on a gravimetric basis (7.5 wt %) and IRMOF-20 showing the highest uptake on a volumetric basis at 34 g/L. These results demonstrate that maximum H2 storage capacity in MOFs correlates well to surface area, and that feasible volumetric uptakes can be realized even in highly porous materials.     

Targeting glycosylation pathways and the cell cycle: sugar-dependent activity of butyrate-carbohydrate cancer prodrugs

Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-carbohydrate hybrid molecules that target both histone deacetylation and glycosylation pathways to achieve sugar-dependent activity against cancer cells are described in this article. Specifically, n-butyrate esters of N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (But4ManNAc, 1) induced apoptosis, whereas corresponding N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (But4GlcNAc, 2), D-mannose (But5Man, 3), or glycerol (tributryin, 4) derivatives only provided transient cell cycle arrest. Western blots, reporter gene assays, and cell cycle analysis established that n-butyrate, when delivered to cells via any carbohydrate scaffold, functioned as a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), upregulated p21WAF1/Cip1 expression, and inhibited proliferation. However, only 1, a compound that primed sialic acid biosynthesis and modulated the expression of a different set of genes compared to 3, ultimately killed the cells. These results demonstrate that the biological activity of butyrate can be tuned by sugars to improve its anticancer properties.     

Crystal structure and vibrational properties of new luminescent hosts K3YF6 and K3GdF6

The luminescence hosts K₃YF₆ and K₃GdF₆ were obtained in a single-crystal form. Their crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Both crystals adopt monoclinic system with space group P2₁/n, Z=2. Lattice parameters for K₃YF₆ are refined to the following values , , , β=90.65(3) and for K₃GdF₆, , , β=90.80(3). The vibrational analysis, IR and Raman spectroscopy at room temperature, was applied to these compounds in order to study the site symmetry of Y³⁺ and Gd³⁺ ions.     

Unified total syntheses of the inositol polyphosphates: D-I-3,5,6P3, D-I-3,4,5P3, D-I-3,4,6P3, and D-I-3,4,5,6P4 via catalytic enantioselective and site-selective phosphorylation

Synthetic routes to various inositol polyphosphates have been discovered utilizing catalytic enantioselective and site-selective phosphorylation reactions. The syntheses described herein exploit a common intermediate to gain efficient access to eight unique inositol polyphosphates.     

Sacrificial layer microfluidic device fabrication methods

Over the past 15 years, research in the field of microfluidics has experienced rapid growth due to significant potential advantages such as low cost, short analysis times, and elimination of sources of contamination. Although etched and thermally bonded glass substrates have seen widespread use and offer solid performance, device fabrication still remains cumbersome. Recent advances in sacrificial layer microfabrication methods for microfluidics have overcome many disadvantages of conventional fabrication approaches. Phase-changing sacrificial layers have been implemented in making inexpensive and high-performance polymer microchips for electrophoretic analysis, protein focusing, and sample preconcentration. In addition, novel channel fabrication methods based on standard thin-film processes, which are readily integratable with microfabrication techniques used for electrical components, are being applied increasingly for the creation of microfluidic devices. These new sacrificial layer fabrication approaches will be instrumental in making low-cost and high-quality polymer microchips, and in interfacing electrical and fluidic systems on glass or semiconductor substrates.     

Matrices for capillary gel electrophoresis--a brief overview of uncommon gels

This article gives an overview of uncommon replaceable matrices (gels) for capillary gel electrophoresis. This electrophoretic technique is useful mainly for the separation and analysis of biopolymers-nucleic acids and their fragments, and proteins/peptides. Commonly used gels are not reviewed. Those mentioned and discussed here are gels containing saccharides, newly developed acrylamide-based gels and thermoadjustable viscosity polymers, namely triblock copolymers and grafted polyacrylamide.     

Chemical component mapping of pulverized toner by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy

Toners are micron scale polymer particles constructed of several kinds of resin, pigment, wax, etc. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used for observation of the dispersion of the component materials in toners, but TEM images cannot identify simultaneously all components. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) not only provides simultaneous observation of spatial distributions of wax, resin and carbon black in toners, but it also provides detailed, quantitative, chemical information about the wax and resin environments through chemical component maps derived from multiple energy image sequences. The capabilities of STXM for toner analysis are illustrated by results of a study of a toner for black/white copy/print applications.