The Measurement of Heat Capacity Differences Due to the Change of Water Structure in Aqueous Solutions of Organic Compounds

In order to observe more directly the structural organization of water molecules around a non-polar molecule in an aqueous solution, heat capacity differences between two kinds of solutions (solution I and II) of quaternary ammonium salts were measured. In the solution I stable water structure was retained as much as possible and in the solution II water structure was destroyed either by heating to high temperatures or by irradiating with ultrasonic waves. It was found that the heat capacity differences ((C_p)_II-(C_p)_I) were slightly positive and its maximum values corresponded to 7-8 percent of the heat capacity of pure water itself. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

氯离子选择电极瞬时电位分析法研究

0.1mol/L KNO3空白液与Cl^-切换时，AgCl电极响应的瞬时电位信号峰高度△Ep有非常好的再现性，40多天所测的10次标准曲线电位平衡偏差小于2.0mV，△Ep-p(Cl)^-直线平均斜率为55.4mV，其平均偏差小于1.0mV，电极响应下限和△Ep-p(Cl)^-直线截距都与经AgCl溶度积所计算的值一致，瞬时信号峰电位上升时间小于1.5s，可实现小体积试液的快速准确分析，用离子水合吉布氏自由能△Gh(Cl)^-，的变化解释了瞬时信号不同阶段的电位变化速度，实验中使用自制的活度阶梯自动切换装置，该装置具有容积比为4：1的空白液和试液两个注射泵，用该法已测定了维生素B6的含量。     

Preparation and characterization of manganese ferrite-based magnetic liposomes for hyperthermia treatment of cancer

Comparative evaluation of two different methods of magnetic liposomes preparation, namely thin film hydration (TFH) and double emulsion (DE) with different molar ratios of egg-phosphatidyl choline (egg-PC) and cholesterol using lauric acid coated manganese ferrite-based aqueous magnetic fluid, is reported. TFH was found to be a better method of encapsulation and TFH 2:1 (egg-PC: cholesterol) magnetic liposomes showed the highest encapsulation efficiency and comparable heating ability to that of magnetic fluids. Stealth TFH 2:1 magnetic liposomes containing DSPE-PEG₂₀₀₀ were three-fold more cytocompatible as compared to the magnetic fluid. Stealth TFH 2:1 manganese ferrite-based magnetic liposomes might be useful for hyperthermia treatment of cancer.     

Use of micro‐Raman spectroscopy to study reaction kinetics in blended white cement pastes containing metakaolin

Curing temperature is known to play an important role in the formation, development, and stability of the hydrated phases appearing during pozzolanic reactions (chemical reaction between puzzolanic addition, metakaolin (MK), and calcium hydroxide from cement hydration). A typical example of this important reaction is to be found in metakaolin‐bearing cement pastes, characterized by hexagonal phases whose thermodynamic stability declines with rising temperature. These phases cannot be exhaustively researched with traditional techniques (such as X‐ray diffraction) due to their poor crystallinity. Consequently, micro‐Raman spectroscopy was used in the present study to explore the behavior of white cement paste blends containing 0, 10, and 25% MK at two curing temperatures (20 and 60 °C). This led to the identification, for the first time using Raman spectroscopy, of phases C₂ASH₈¹ (stratlingite) and C₃ASH₆, which appear in the MK–white cement reaction. The C S H gel formed was characterized by Q¹ dimers and a C/S ratio of 1.3–1.5. Raising the curing temperature favored the formation of C₄AH₁₃. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydration effect on the electronic transport properties of oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecular junctions

A first-principles computational method based on the hybrid density functional theory is developed to simulate the electronic transport properties of oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecular junctions with H₂O molecules accumulated in the vicinity as recently reported by Na {\it et al.} [\wx{Nanotechnology}{18} 424001 (2007)]. The numerical results show that the hydrogen bonds between the oxygen atoms of the oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecule and H₂O molecules result in the localisation of the molecular orbitals and lead to the lower transition peaks. The H₂O molecular chains accumulated in the vicinity of the molecular junction can not only change the electronic structure of the molecular junctions, but also open additional electronic transport pathways. The obvious influence of H₂O molecules on the electronic structure of the molecular junction and its electronic transport properties is thus demonstrated.     

Early-Age Hydration Reaction and Strength Formation Mechanism of Solid Waste Silica Fume Modified Concrete

Solid waste silica fume was used to replace fly ash by different ratios to study the early-age hydration reaction and strength formation mechanism of concrete. The change pattern of moisture content in different phases and micro morphological characteristics of concrete at early age were analyzed by low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the compressive strength of concrete was enhanced optimally when the replacement ratio of solid waste silica fume was 50%. The results of LF-NMR analysis showed that the water content of modified concrete increased with the increase of solid waste silica fume content. The compressive strength of concrete grew faster within the curing age of 7 d, which means the hydration process of concrete was also faster. The micro morphological characteristics obtained by SEM revealed that the concrete was densest internally when 50% fly ash was replaced by the solid waste silica fume, which was better than the other contents.     

Pseudopolymorphic transitions of niclosamide monitored by Raman spectroscopy

Niclosamide suffers pseudopolymorphic transformations when exposed to different ambient conditions, which can lead to changes in its bioavailability. In this study, the kinetics of the pseudopolymorphic transitions of niclosamide crystals are characterized. FT‐Raman spectroscopy is used to quantify the anhydrate and hydrate forms of niclosamide crystals, mostly because of its high sensitivity to the strong intermolecular interactions present in these systems. The samples are exposed to well‐characterized relative humidity (RH) conditions during different periods of time and both water diffusion and polymorphic changes are monitored from the corresponding changes observed in the vibrational spectra. Both hydration and dehydration were found to be single‐step processes, with a half‐life time of ca. 142 and 63 h, respectively, at 24 °C. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

离子通过碳纳米管的拉伸分子动力学模拟

采用拉伸分子动力学模拟研究了Na⁺, K⁺和Cl^－通过(6,6), (7,7), (8,8), (9,9)和(10,10)碳纳米管的过程, 利用伞形取样法计算了离子通过碳管的平均力势能, 并对离子在管中和本体相中的水化作了比较. 结果表明, 离子通过管径较窄的碳管时, 在入口处遇到较大的阻力, 从出口进入本体相较容易|而通过管径相对较宽的碳管则几乎无阻碍. 离子通过碳管的能垒随管径的增大而降低, 不同离子的能垒各不相同, 表明碳管具有固有的离子选择性|离子通过碳管时, 不仅其配位数改变了, 而且配位层中水分子的取向也有所改变, 这两者共同决定了离子进入碳管时的去水化能, 进而影响离子通过碳管的能垒和碳管的离子选择性. 本工作将有助于理解离子通道蛋白中疏水区域的功能作用, 并可以为基于碳纳米管的纳流控系统的设计提供指导.