Instrumental neutron activation analysis of large samples: A pilot experiment

A large sample INAA (LS-INAA) was conducted based on available experimental conditions. Four different materials, e.g., a quartz-sand and three wastes from an incineration plant were analyzed on sample size of 1 kg. The neutron flux spatial distribution was determined by irradiation of flux monitors in the sample. The gamma-ray apparent counting efficiency was evaluated based on the effective-solid angle concept, using linear attenuation coefficients calculated from an iteration process. The k ₀- and the modified monostandard methods were modified for the LS-INAA. To check the LS-INAA performance, a conventional small sample INAA was carried out for the quartz sand and a waste. All detected elements in the LS-INAA are presented and the discussion is conducted to explore the sources of errors in the LS-INAA. As a pilot experiment, the information from this work will be used in constructing irradiation and counting devices for the new FRM-II neutron source in Garching, Germany.     

基质辅助激光解吸附飞行时间质谱分析缩合单宁的阳离子化问题

以单价金属离子Cs 和Na 作为离子化试剂,对3种缩合单宁进行基质辅助激光解吸附飞行时间(MALD I-TOF)质谱分析。加入Na 作为阳离子化试剂,能得到较高质量的质谱图。但由于实验通道中几乎不可能完全去除的K 的干扰而会高估棓儿茶酚/表棓儿茶酚单元的组成比例,从而影响对棓儿茶酚/表棓儿茶酚单元存在与否的判断;选择Cs 作为阳离子化试剂可以避免此问题,但在复杂的缩合单宁分析中,同样因为杂质离子Na 和K 的干扰而使得质谱图变得更复杂;未去离子处理直接对缩合单宁进行MALD I-TOF质谱分析与去离子并加入Cs 的处理比去离子并加入Na 能检测到更高聚合度的高聚物,检测到离子峰强度最高的聚合物随离子不同而不同。     

Rapid separation and laser-induced fluorescence detection of mutated DNA by capillary electrophoresis in a self-coating, low-viscosity polymer matrix

The detection of point and other simple mutations in DNA is important for cancer research and diagnosis and other biological studies. Capillary electrophoresis has been successfully used for separating DNA fragments. However, a low-viscosity polymer sieving buffer for DNA separation with on-line coating has never been reported. In this paper, a new method using capillary electrophoresis with on-line coating and laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) for screening for point or simple DNA mutations has been demonstrated. The method uses an on-line dynamic coating technique that increases capillary lifetime and analysis reproducibility, and employs a low-viscosity polymer solution, which allows the user to rinse the capillary rapidly and refill with polymer solution easily. Experiments proved that the additives in the separation buffer for on-line capillary coating do not affect the separation efficiency of the running buffer, and do not interfere with the formation of hydrogen-bonded network between boric acid, mannitol and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose polymers. The stability of the dynamically coated capillary was quantitatively studied; the capillary lifetime was increased 6- to 7-fold compared with that of permanently coated CE columns. Standard DNA fragments containing mutations, with sizes of 209, 219, and 338 bps, were successfully separated and detected with this system, after the mutated DNA fragments were cleaved by CEL-I endonuclease. The technique is very sensitive for the size-separation of low-range, middle-range, and high-range DNA fragments. Results were compared with the HPLC methods developed by Transgenomic, Inc. and were in good agreement. The method should be applicable to mutation detection for all relevant biological and clinical studies. The factors influencing separations and the stability of dynamic capillary coatings are also discussed in the paper.     

Synthesis and structures of 5-(pyridyl)tetrazole complexes of Mn(II)

New Mn(II) complexes containing 5-(2-pyridyl)tetrazole, 5-(3-cyano-4-pyridyl)tetrazole or 5-(4-pyridyl)tetrazole ligands are described. The complexes are prepared by reaction of the corresponding cyanopyridines with sodium azide in the presence of Mn(II) salts. All the complexes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography, which reveals that 5-(pyridyl)tetrazole ligands can coordinate to Mn through either type of nitrogen atom in the tetrazole residue or via the pyridyl group. In the solid state, extended 2D and 3D structures are produced through networks of hydrogen bonding (involving water molecules and the tetrazolate residue). Acidification of the complexes produces the corresponding free 5-(pyridyl)-1H-tetrazole.     

Preparation and characterization of lithium ion-conducting glass-ceramics in the Li1 + xCrxGe2 − x(PO4)3 system

Li₂O–Cr₂O₃–GeO₂–P₂O₅ based glasses were synthesized by a conventional melt-quenching method and successfully converted into glass-ceramics through heat treatment. Experimental results of DTA, XRD, ac impedance techniques and FESEM indicated that Li_1.4Cr_0.4Ge_1.6(PO₄)₃ glass-ceramics treated at 900 °C for 12 h in the Li_1 + xCr_xGe_2 − x(PO₄)₃ (x = 0–0.8) system exhibited the best glass stability against crystallization and the highest ambient conductivity value of 6.81 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm with an activation energy as low as 26.9 kJ/mol. In addition, the Li_1.4Cr_0.4Ge_1.6(PO₄)₃ glass-ceramics displayed good chemical stability against lithium metal at room temperature. The good thermal and chemical stability, excellent conducting property, easy preparation and low cost make it promising to be used as solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries.     

Formation of MoS2 inorganic fullerenes (IFs) by the reaction of MoO3 nanobelts and S

The reaction of MoO3 and S at temperatures higher than 300 degrees C in an argon atmosphere provides a convenient and effective method for the synthesis of MoS2 nanocrystalline substances. MoS2 nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles have been obtained by the reaction at 850 degrees C under well-controlled conditions. The influences of reaction temperature and duration were carefully investigated in this paper. All of the nanostructures were characterized by Xray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). A stepwise reaction model and rolling mechanism were proposed based on the experimental results.     

Flow Injection Chemiluminescence for the Determination of Estriol via a Noncompetitive Enzyme Immunoassay

A novel approach to the detection of estriol using a flow injection system coupled to enhanced chemiluminescent immunoassay was developed based on noncompetitive immunoassay formats. A conjugated estriol-ovalbumin immobilized immunoaffinity column was inserted into the flow system to trap the unbound horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled antibody after an off-line incubation of estriol and HRP-labeled anti-estriol antibody. The trapped enzyme conjugate was detected by the injection of chemiluminescent substrates to produce enhanced chemiluminescence. The linear range for the determination of estriol is 10.0 to 400 ng · mL⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.996 and a detection limit of 5.0 ng · mL⁻¹. The total time for sampling and chemiluminescent detection of one sample is 400 seconds after 30 min of pre-incubation. The results for pregnancy serum samples obtained by this method are in good agreement with those obtained using ELISA.     

A novel high-performance fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance cell for improved biopolymer characterization

A new trapped ion cell design for use with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry is described. The design employs 15 cylindrical ring electrodes to generate trapping potential wells and 32 separately assignable rod electrodes for excitation and detection. The rod electrodes are positioned internal to the ring electrodes and provide excitation fields that are thereby linearized along the magnetic field over the entire trapped ion volume. The new design also affords flexibility in the shaping of the trapping field using the 15 ring electrodes. Many different trapping well shapes can be generated by applying different voltages to the individual ring electrodes, ranging from quadratic to linearly ramped along the magnetic field axis, to a shape that is nearly flat over the entire trap volume, but rises very steeply near the ends of the trap. This feature should be useful for trapping larger ion populations and extension of the useful range of ion manipulation and dissociation experiments since the number of stages of ion manipulation or dissociation is limited in practice by the initial trapped ion population size. Predicted trapping well shapes for two different ring electrode configurations are presented, and these and several other possible configurations are discussed, as are the predicted excitation fields based on the use of rod electrodes internal to the trapping ring electrodes. Initial results are presented from an implementation of the design using a 3.5 T superconducting magnet. It was found that ions can be successfully trapped and detected with this cell design and that selected ion accumulation can be performed with the utilization of four rods for quadrupolar excitation. The initial results presented here illustrate the feasibility of this cell design and demonstrate differences in observed performance based upon different trapping well shapes.     

Development of a new reaction system for the synthesis of highly optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones

A highly useful method for the synthesis of optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones has been developed. The SmI(2)-induced reductive coupling of chiral 2-alkyl acrylates derived from isosorbide with ketones in the presence of (1S)-(-)-2,10-camphorsultam as a proton source give the chiral alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones in good yields and high enantiomeric purities (up to >99% ee for trans and 75% ee for cis). The reaction system has been investigated with various ketones, and it is demonstrated that this system is very effective for trans-alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones. Both the chiral auxiliary and the hindered proton source in this system are necessary for the observed excellent ee values of the products. The absolute configuration of the trans products is assigned on the basis of the X-ray crystal structure.     

新型大分子席夫碱配合物的合成和表征

本文用胺基封端聚四氢呋喃(Mn=862)与水杨醛反应，生成新型席夫碱遥爪配体，再与金属离子(Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺)反应，得到新型大分子席夫碱配合物。用IR、ESR、UV、循环伏安法、拉伸和动态粘弹谱等表征手段对配合物进行了研究。证明所得配合物的配位结构与血红蛋白分子的功能片段的配位结构相似，钴配合物具有与血红蛋白分子相近的可逆化学吸附功能。