General Aspects and Optimization of Enantioselective Biocatalysis in Organic Solvents: The Use of Lipases [New Synthetic Methods (76)]

Enantioselective biocatalysis in nonaqueous media is becoming increasingly important in preparative synthetic chemistry. This article discusses (1) the general catalytic properties of enzymes in nonaqueous environments, (2) the basic principles that govern lipase-catalyzed enantioselective esterification and transesterification reactions in organic media for the preparation of optically active acids and alcohols, (3) the determination of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, and (4) the quantitative analysis of published data.     

磁控溅射ZnO薄膜的成核机制及表面形貌演化动力学研究

利用原子力显微镜分析了ZnO薄膜在具有本征氧化层的Si(100)和Si(111)基片上的表面形貌 随沉积时间的演化. 通过对薄膜生长形貌的动力学标度表征，研究了射频反应磁控溅射条件 下，ZnO薄膜的成核过程及生长动力学行为. 研究发现，ZnO在基片表面的成核过程可分为初 期成核阶段、低速率成核阶段和二次成核阶段. 对于Si(100)基片，三个成核阶段的生长指 数分别为β₁=1.04，β₂=0.25±0.01，β₃=0.74；对 于Si(11 关键词： ZnO薄膜 磁控溅射 生长动力学 成核机制     

Growth kinetics of iron boride layers: Dimensional analysis

Dimensional analysis is presented as a powerful tool in the study of the paste boriding process. In particular, a dimensional method is used to study the growth kinetics of the boride layers FeB and Fe₂B. Experiments were performed in AISI 1045 steel and AISI M2 steel, to test the suggested model. Samples of 1045 steel were prepared and treated using boron paste thickness of 3-5 mm, at temperatures of 1193, 1223 and 1273 K, with 2, 4 and 6 h of treatment time. The M2 specimens had boron paste thickness of 3 and 4 mm and temperatures of 1223, 1253 and 1273 K for 2 and 6 h. Results indicate that the growth of boron layers obeys power laws of the form y = αx^β, where α and β constants are a function of the material and the interface of interest. Validation of the model was carried out using experimental data with an average error percentage of 7.6% for Fe₂B in 1045 steel, 15.8% for FeB and 3.4% for Fe₂B in M2 steel.     

Many-body effects in diffusion-limited kinetics

We review a novel approach to treating many-body effects in diffusion-limited kinetics. The derivation of the general expression for the survival probability of a Brownian particle in the presence of randomly distributed traps is given. The reduction of this expression to both the Smoluchowski solultion and the wellknown asymptotic behavior is demonstrated. It is shown that the Smoluchowski solution gives a lower bound for the particle survival probability. The correction to the Smoluchowski solution which takes into account the particle death slowdown in the initial process stage is described. The steady-state rate-constant concentration dependence and the reflection of many-body effects in it are discussed in detail.     

Characteristic features of carbazole phosphorescence quenching by benzophenone molecules in toluene at 77 K

We have studied the characteristic features of carbazole phosphorescence quenching by benzophenone in toluene at 77 K. We have shown that the decrease in the relative phosphorescence intensity for carbazole (energy donor) by a greater factor than we see for the relative change in its decay time is due to the fact that a change in the phosphorescence decay time occurs only for carbazole molecules participating in triplet-triplet energy transfer, while the substantial decrease in the phosphorescence intensity for carbazole with no change in the phosphorescence decay time is connected with quenching of its singlet states. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 554–556, July–August, 2006.     

High-throughput concept for tailoring switchable mirrors

The optical properties, the switching kinetics and the lifetime of hydrogen switchable mirrors based on Mg-Ni alloys are determined with particular regard to the composition of the optically active metal-hydride layer in combination with the thickness of the catalytic capping layer. For this, a high-throughput experiment is introduced. The switching kinetics and the reversibility of switchable mirrors are strongly thickness dependent, though the details hinge on the fine structure of the clustered capping layer. Therefore, the kinetics is correlated with the surface structures of Pd on Mg_yNi_1−y as investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. The results are explained by the so-called strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) state, characterized by a complete encapsulation of the capping layer clusters by oxidized species originating from the support. The SMSI-effect is less important with increasing Pd-layer thickness, and is suppressed by a good wetting of the Pd-clusters on the optically active film. This explains the critical thickness for the catalyzed hydrogen uptake observed in many switchable mirror systems. Moreover, the degradation of the kinetics during cycling is found to depend on the Pd-layer thickness and on the gas environment. Only films, covered with at least 15 nm Pd, show small degradation caused by the SMSI-effect. The SMSI-effect is partly reversible: after changing the gas environment from hydrogen to oxygen, the oxide on the Pd-clusters can be partly removed.     

Current methods for site-directed structure generation

Summary There has been a rapid growth of interest in techniques for site-directed drug design, fuelled by the increasing availability of structural models of proteins of therapeutic importance, and by studies reported in the literature showing that potent chemical leads can be obtained by these techniques. Structure generation programs offer the prospect of discovering highly original lead structures from novel chemical families. Due to the fact that this technique is more-or-less still in its infancy, there are no case studies available that demonstrate the use of structure generation programs for site-directed drug design. Such programs were first proposed in 1986, and became commercially available in early 1992. They have shown their ability to reproduce, or suggest reasonable alternatives for, ligands in well-defined binding sites. This brief review will discuss the recent advances that have been made in the field of site-directed structure generation.     

Parameter determination of a thermal desorption model

A new method for the analysis of thermal desorption spectra is presented, based on the experimental peak maximum functions for temperatureT _m(β) and pressureP _m(β) and a rigorous mathematical treatment. The resonant heating rate β_r is determined, satisfyingT _m(β_r)=T _r, whereT _r is the resonant temperature defined byA exp(−E _d/(RT _r))=1. Desorption energyE _d and frequency factorA can be determined simultaneously with relatively high robustness towards statistical experimental errors as demonstrated by computer-simulated thermal desorption spectra.