Influence of pH on formation and stability of phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylserine coatings in fused-silica capillaries

The effect of pH on the formation and stability of phospholipid coatings in fused-silica capillaries in electrophoresis was investigated. A liposome solution consisting of 3 mM of 80:20 mol% phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylserine (PC/PS) in N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (HEPES) buffer was used as coating material. The coating was prepared by a method described earlier and five steroids were used as neutral model analytes. First, the effect of pH of the coating solution on the formation and stability of phospholipid coatings was studied at pH 6.5-8.5. The pH of the background electrolyte (BGE) solution (HEPES) was either kept constant at pH 7.4 or made similar to the pH of the liposome coating solution. Results showed that attachment of the coating on the fused-silica wall mostly depends on the protonation of amines of the phospholipids and HEPES. The ability of the phospholipid coating to withstand changes in pH was then investigated by coating at pH 7.5 and separating steroids with acetic acid, 3-(cyclohexylamino)-1-propanesulfonic acid (CAPS), HEPES, or glycine BGE, adjusted to pH between 4.5 and 10.8. The results showed that with use of BGE solution at pH 10.8, the separation of steroids was not successful and the electroosmotic flow was high because of leakage of the phospholipid coating during preconditioning of the capillary with BGE solution. There was no phospholipid leakage with a BGE solution of pH 4.5, indicating that the protonated form of the functional groups of PS and HEPES participating in the attachment of the phospholipid coating to the capillary play an essential role in the success of the coating.     

Enhancement of the static SIMS secondary ion yields of lipid moieties by ultrathin gold coating of aged oil paint surfaces

Static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a powerful technique for identification and localization of pigments and binding media present in traditional paintings. Coating the surface of a cross‐section with a 20 Å thick gold layer improves the yields of secondary ions from the fatty acids and diacids. A chalk tablet containing 1% stearic acid, which was partially covered during gold deposition, is used as a test system to investigate the increase of the organic secondary ion yields upon gold deposition in SIMS imaging. A comparative study of a native and gold‐coated aged surface of a lead white‐containing linseed oil paint demonstrates the enhancement of the organic ion yields on a sample relevant for painting studies. The yields of oil paint‐derived negative ions increase by a factor of 3 whereas the yields of positive ions increase by a factor of 2–4. The different types of charged functional groups determine the degree of improvement in yield. Gold coating improves the ionization process of the fatty acids and does not influence their fragmentation. The dissociation of the lead white by the primary ion beam is reduced due to the gold coating. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical Characteristics of Mg0.9Ti0.1-xZrxNi （x=0.02, 0.04, 0.06） Alloys

Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys Mg0.9Ti0.1-xZrxNi (x=0.02, 0.04, 0.06) were successfully prepared by means of mechanical alloying (MA). The effects of Zr addition on the discharge capacity and the cycle performance of the Mg-based electrodes were also studied. It was found that the discharge capacities were improved with addition of a small amount of Zr and the cycle performances of the alloy were stabilized with the addition of Ti. The effects of surface modification or coating on the properties of Mg0.9Ti0.06Zr0.04Ni were also studied. The results indicated that coating with graphite improved both the discharge capacity and cycle life of the amorphous Mg0.9Ti0.06Zr0.04Ni electrode.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with on-line regenerating covalent coating

A rapid, sensitive and reproducible micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method using hexamethyldisilazane as on-line regenerating covalent coating was developed for the quantification of ephedrine (E) and pseudoephedrine (PE). E and PE were derivatized with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazol for laser-induced fluorescence detection. The on-line regenerating covalent coating formed a combinative double coating with the subsequently produced dynamic SDS coating. The total coating can be easily removed and conveniently regenerated on-line. The simple coating procedure was described. By a series of optimization, a running buffer of 20 mm Na(2)B(4)O(7) + 16 mm SDS was applied for the separation of the derivatives. Linear relationships for E and PE were obtained in the range of 0.044-6.60 microg mL(-1) (correlation coefficients: 0.9975 for E, 0.9981 for PE), and the detection limits for E and PE were 1.71 and 0.67 ng mL(-1), respectively. The separation speed, the reproducibility and the sensitivity were much improved over those of other capillary electrophoresis methods more recently reported. The method was applied to the analysis of the two alkaloids in traditional herbal preparations with recoveries in the range 92.8-104.8%.     

动力学涂层毛细管电泳分离双链脱氧核糖核酸片段

以异丙醇为聚合反应链转移试剂，水相法合成了短链聚N，N－二甲基丙烯酰胺（PDMA），研究表明，该聚合物能在毛细管内壁形成稳定的动力学涂层，从而有效地抑制电渗流和毛细管内壁与DNA的作用。这种介质被成功地应用于DNA片段的高效分离。     

Methyltriethoxysilane-derived sol-gel coatings doped with silver metal particles

Silica sol-gel films were prepared by dipping, starting from an acid catalyzed solution of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). Silver metal nanoparticles were produced in the silica layer by introducing in the sol-gel precursor solution AgNO₃ or AgClO₄·H₂O. The silver ions were thermally reduced in air at 800°C, giving an intense yellow coating film. The silver metal particles were observed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The diameter of the silver particles was found to be about 10 nm. Absorption measurements in the UV-Vis were used to evaluate the volume fraction of silver colloids embedded in the silica layer.     

Synthesis and properties of novel polyurethanes containing 3,4‐dioxybenzylidenecyanoacetate group as a nonlinear optical chromophore

Methyl 3,4‐di‐(2′‐hydroxyethoxy)benzylidenecyanoacetate ( 3 ) was prepared by hydrolysis of methyl 3,4‐di‐(2′‐vinyloxyethoxy)benzylidenecyanoacetate ( 2 ). Diol 3 was condensed with 2,4‐toluenediisocyanate, 3,3′‐dimethoxy‐4,4′‐biphenylenediisocyanate, and 1,6‐hexamethylenediisocyanate to yield polyurethanes 4 – 6 containing the nonlinear optical chromophore 3,4‐dioxybenzylidenecyanoacetate. The resulting polyurethanes 4 – 6 were soluble in common organic solvents such as acetone and dimethylformamide. Polymers 4 – 6 indicated thermal stability up to 300 °C in thermogravimetric thermograms with glass‐transition temperature values obtained from differential scanning calorimetric thermograms in the range of 78–102 °C. The second‐harmonic generation coefficients (d₃₃) of the poled polymer films were around 6.9 × 10^?9 esu. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1742–1748, 2002     

Effects of EG and MoSi2 on thermal degradation of intumescent coating

An intumescent flame retardant coating was prepared with resin, solvent and flame retardant system composed of ammonium polyphosphate-APP, pentaerythritol-PER and melamine-MEL. The modifiers such as molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂) and expandable graphite (EG) were used to improve the performances of the APP-PER-MEL coating. The effects of EG, MoSi₂ and MoSi₂/EG on the fireproofing time and char formation of the coating were investigated by using heat insulation test, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electric microscope (SEM). The results showed that by adding modifiers, the fireproofing time was prolonged and char formation rate was evidently enhanced. The largest improvement was achieved with 9 wt.% MoSi₂/5 wt.% EG, XPS analysis indicated that the performance of anti-oxidation of the coating was improved by adding EG and MoSi₂, and SEM images showed that a good synergistic effect was obtained through a ceramic-like layer produced by MoSi₂ covered on the surface of “open-cellular” structural char.     

Solid phase immune reactions as monitored by sedimentation field-flow fractionation

Summary Sedimentation field-flow fractionation was shown to permit the precise evaluation of surface concentrations of human IgG, adsorbed to polystyrene latex spheres of different sizes. Unlike conventional techniques for measuring protein uptake by colloidal substrates, this method allowed a direct evaluation of mass adsorbed per unit area, without the need for potentially destructive labelling reactions. Thus, a four hour adsorption of IgG from a 3–10 fold excess of protein in solution yielded surface concentrations which were 1.4±0.1 mg/m² on a 272 nm latex and 1.9±0.1 mg/m² on a latex with a diameter of 142 nm. The lower value coincided with the estimated monolayer surface coverage. The IgG-PS 272 nm adsorption complex was shown to take up negligible amounts of HSA from a 10 mg/mL solution, while its specific uptake of a polyclonal rabbit anti-human IgG was 2.6 molecules per molecule of adsorbed antigen. The same ratio was found for the smaller particles. The surface concentration of adsorbed second antibody, often crucial in immunodiagnostic quantifications, was therefore found to be significantly enhanced by the increased substrate curvature presented by the smaller particles.Dedicated to Professor Leslie S. Ettre on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Investigation of Glass-Like Sol-Gel Coatings for Corrosion Protection of Stainless Steel Against Liquid and Gaseous Attack

Glass-like sol-gel coatings have been investigated as corrosion protective coatings on stainless steel. Magnesium- and borosilicate coatings with thickness of about 100–700 nm and methyl-modified SiO2 coatings with a thickness of about 2 m were deposited on stainless steel plates by dip-coating. The coatings were densified between 400°C and 500°C in different atmospheres (N2, air) for 1 h. The corrosion protection against gaseous attack was investigated by accelerated corrosion tests, at 800°C in air for 1 h. A corrosion protection factor was calculated from the relation Fe/Fe2O3, determined by XRD on the surface of coated and uncoated samples. Methyl-modified SiO2 coatings showed a protection factor, which was 2 orders of magnitude higher than for the other coatings. Electrochemical investigations were performed on samples submerged in a NaCl solution for 200 h. The corrosion propagation, polarization resistance and impedance vector were measured. For accelerated corrosion tests, polarization intensity curves were determined for high potentials of up to 1 V. Again excellent results were obtained for the methyl-modified SiO2 coatings, which remained passive for 200 h. Results of the salt spray corrosion test, however, showed no corrosion protection by the sol-gel coatings. After 2000 h in the salt spray chamber the steel was corroded and the coatings peeled off. It is concluded that for the further development of these coatings an improved interfacial passivation will be required.