Development of an automated sequential injection on-line solvent extraction-back extraction procedure as demonstrated for the determination of cadmium with detection by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

An automated sequential injection (SI) on-line solvent extraction-back extraction separation/preconcentration procedure is described. Demonstrated for the assay of cadmium by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS), the analyte is initially complexed with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) in citrate buffer and the chelate is extracted into isobutyl methyl ketone (IBMK), which is separated from the aqueous phase by means of a newly designed dual-conical gravitational phase separator. A metered amount of the organic eluate is aspirated and stored in the PTFE holding coil (HC) of the SI-system. Afterwards, it is dispensed and mixed with an aqueous back extractant of dilute nitric acid containing Hg(II) ions as stripping agent, thereby facilitating a rapid metal-exchange reaction with the APDC ligand and transfer of the Cd into the aqueous phase. The aqueous phase is separated in a second dual-conical gravitational phase separator, and 30 μl of it is entrapped and metered in a sample loop (SL) and subsequently introduced via air segmentation into the graphite tube for analyte quantification. The ETAAS determination is performed in parallel with the separation/preconcentration process of the ensuing sample. An enrichment factor of 21.4, a detection limit of 2.7 ng l⁻¹, along with a sampling frequency of 13 h⁻¹ were obtained at a sample flow rate of 6.0 ml min⁻¹. The precision (R.S.D.) at the 0.4 μg l⁻¹ level was 1.8% as compared to 3.2% when quantifying the organic extractant directly. The applicability of the procedure is demonstrated for the determination of trace levels of cadmium in three certified reference materials.     

Modification of silicon AFM cantilever tips with an oligo(ethylene glycol) derivative for resisting proteins and maintaining a small tip size for high-resolution imaging

We demonstrate that silicon AFM tips can be modified by etching with 2% HF solution followed by reaction with an alpha,omega-oligo(ethylene glycol)alkene. Tips properly modified by this technique maintain a small tip size and effectively reduce the nonspecific interaction with fibrinogen and bovine serum albumin, resulting in greatly improved image resolution and contrast for high-coverage fibrinogen films.     

Determining PPARγ-ligand binding affinity using fluorescent assay with cis-parinaric acid as a probe

Upon the study of small-molecules binding to proteins, the traditional methods for calculating dissociation constants (Kd and Ki) have shortcomings in dealing with the single binding site models. In this paper, two equations have been derived to solve this problem. These two equations are independent of the total concentration or initial degree of saturation of receptor and the activity of the competitive molecule. Through nonlinear fitting against these two equations, Kd value of a probe can be obtained by binding assay, and Ki value of a ligand can be obtained by competitive assay. Moreover, only the total concentrations of receptor([R]t), ligand([L]t) and probe([P]t) are required for the data fitting. In this work, Ki values of some typical ligands of PPARγ were successfully determined by use of our equations, among which the Ki value of PPARγ-LY171883 was reported for the first time.     

A mesoporous template route to the low-temperature preparation of efficient green light emitting Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphors

Green light emitting Zn2SiO4:Mn phosphors have been prepared via a low-temperature solid-state reaction using mesoporous silica SBA-15 template. This mesoporous silica template method features low-temperature formation of phosphors and easy doping. The structure and morphology of the phosphors were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques, which confirmed the single crystallinity, ordered mesostructure, closed pore channels, and elongated ropelike morphology. The luminescent properties were examined by photoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature, and the results of fluorescence decay time measurements show non-single-exponential decay behavior and a decrease of the decay time with an increase of the Mn concentration.     

How does huperzine A enter and leave the binding gorge of acetylcholinesterase? Steered molecular dynamics simulations

The entering and leaving processes of Huperzine A (HupA) binding with the long active-site gorge of Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase (TcAChE) have been investigated by using steered molecular dynamics simulations. The analysis of the force required along the pathway shows that it is easier for HupA to bind to the active site of AChE than to disassociate from it, which for the first time interprets at the atomic level the previous experimental result that unbinding process of HupA is much slower than its binding process to AChE. The direct hydrogen bonds, water bridges, and hydrophobic interactions were analyzed during two steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations. Break of the direct hydrogen bond needs a great pulling force. The steric hindrance of bottleneck might be the most important factor to produce the maximal rupture force for HupA to leave the binding site but it has a little effect on the binding process of HupA with AChE. Residue Asp72 forms a lot of water bridges with HupA leaving and entering the AChE binding gorge, acting as a clamp to take out HupA from or put HupA into the active site. The flip of the peptide bond between Gly117 and Gly118 has been detected during both the conventional MD and SMD simulations. The simulation results indicate that this flip phenomenon could be an intrinsic property of AChE and the Gly117-Gly118 peptide bond in both HupA bound and unbound AChE structures tends to adopt the native enzyme structure. At last, in a vacuum the rupture force is increased up to 1500 pN while in water solution the greatest rupture force is about 800 pN, which means water molecules in the binding gorge act as lubricant to facilitate HupA entering or leaving the binding gorge.     

Storage-Reduction of NOx over Combined Catalysts of Pt/Ba/Al2O3-Mn/Ba/Al2O3： Carbon Monoxide as Reductant

Storage-reduction of NOx by carbon monoxide was investigated over combined catalysts of Mn/Ba/Al2O3-Pt/Ba/Al2O3. Combination of Mn/Ba/Al2O3 and Pt/Ba/Al2O3 catalysts in different ways showed excellent NOx storage-reduction performance and the content of Pt could be reduced by 50%. Not only the addition of 5Mn/15Ba/Al2O3 to lPt/15Ba/Al2O3 could improve its storage ability, but also enhance the NOx conversion consequently. NOx conversion over the combined catalysts (the combined catalysts I and II) was increased under dynamic lean-rich burn conditions, the maximum NOx conversion increased from 69.4% to respectively 78.8% and 75.7% over two combined catalysts.     

[Ru(phen)2dppz]2+二聚及对DNA键合性质的影响

研究发现, [Ru(phen)2dppz]2+表现出非常强的自聚合倾向, 并显著影响DNA的键合性质, 有关方面的研究应引起科研工作者的足够重视.     

氧化-还原低温引发甲基丙烯酸甲酯/丙烯酸丁酯超浓乳液聚合研究

以乳化剂十二烷基硫酸钠 (SDS)和共乳化剂十六烷醇 (HD)作为复合乳化体系 ,过氧化二苯甲酰(BPO)和N ,N 二甲基苯胺 (DMA)作为氧化还原引发体系 ,甲基丙烯酸甲酯 丙烯酸丁酯 (MMA BA)作为混合单体 ,制备了分散相占 83 %以上的稳定的超浓乳液 ,然后在低温下引发聚合 .探讨了引发剂浓度、氧化剂与还原剂的摩尔比、乳化剂的浓度、液膜增强剂的种类、聚合温度等因素对聚合稳定性和聚合速率的影响 ,测定并计算得到了聚合速率的公式 ;用激光散射粒度分布仪测定了聚合物乳胶粒子的大小及粒径分布 ,用透射电子显微镜观察了聚合物乳胶粒的形态 ,讨论了乳化剂浓度、聚合温度等对乳胶粒形态、大小的影响     

以对-(4-烯丙氧基苯甲酰氧基)苯甲酸对-甲氧基苯酚酯为单体的液晶聚硅氧烷的合成与表征

侧链型液晶聚合物是目前很有兴趣的研究课题之一。在国内,有关的研究报道也逐渐增多,本工作设计并合成了对-(4-烯丙氧基苯甲酰氧基)苯甲酸对-甲氧基苯酚酯单体,其结构式为:     

Preparative SEC column packed with microporous particles prepared from cellulose

New microporous particles with large pore size (mean pore diameter of 820 nm) are successfully prepared from a mixture of cellulose and konjac glucomannan (RC-KGM3) in 1.5 M NaOH-0.65 M thiourea aqueous solution by coagulating with 5 weight percentage (wt%) CaCl(2), and then 2 wt% HCl aqueous solution. A preparative size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) column packed with the gel particles is used for the fractionation of a dextran in water. The exclusion limit and fractionation range of the stationary phase are molecular masses of 125 yen 104 g/mol and 5.6 yen 104 to 125 yen 104 g/mol, respectively. The dextran [dextran 50, weight-average molecular mass (M(w)) = 40.1 yen 104 g/mol, polydispersity index (d) = 3.5] is fractionated by the preparative SEC column to obtain six fractions, and four of them are refractionated twice by the same preparative SEC column. The refractionated samples F-3-3 and F-4-3 are characterized by analytical SEC combined with laser light scattering and light scattering to obtain M(w) of 91.8 and 61.9 yen 104 g/mol, as well as d of 1.3 and 1.4, respectively. The results indicate that the fractions having narrow molecular mass distribution are satisfactorily prepared with the SEC column. The described SEC column can be successfully used to fractionate polymers in aqueous solution.