Bound water measurements for aqueous protein solutions and food gels

The role of aqueous media in the stabilization of globular proteins and formation of gels was studied by absorption millimeter spectroscopy. This method allowed to measure bound water, the fraction of water which had decreased rotational mobility owing to the presence of solute. Hydration data for globular proteins were compared with data obtained previously for low-weight molecules and groups. It was found that rotational mobility of water molecules in the hydration shells of various kinds of solutes (groups) decreased in the following order: water structure breaking compounds>polar groups>unfolded proteins>globular proteins>non-polar groups. Time courses of the storage modulus were determined for the chemical acidification by glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) of milk samples prepared from skimmed milk powder (SMP). Gelation of unheated milk was a monotonous process that started at pH 4.9. Heat-treated milk from SMP (16 and 14 g per 100 ml) acidified by GDL (3 g per 100 ml) at 43 °C gave non-monotonous kinetics of gelation with two phases corresponding to the mechanisms induced by denatured whey proteins at pH>5 and by casein–casein interactions at pH 4.8–4.9. For heat-treated milk, measurement of bound water gave two stages of decrease in water mobility. Additional hydration of SMP during acidification gave 0.15–0.2 g and 0.8 g bound H₂O per gram of SMP for unheated and heat-treated milk, respectively.     

Synthesis of first nonannulated 1,2,3,4-tetrazine 1,3-dioxides

Thermolysis of o-diazidobenzotetrazine 1,3-dioxides was accompanied by cleavage of the C-C bond of the benzene ring to give nonannulated 1,2,3,4-tetrazine 1,3-dioxides. The structures of these first representatives of nonfused 1,2,3,4-tetrazines were confirmed by ¹³C and ¹⁴N NMR spectroscopy. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1589–1594, September, 2006.     

Sodium-23 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

With the availability of Fourier transform spectrometers, ²³Na-NMR spectroscopy has become an important tool. It affords direct insight into solvation and ion pairing phenomena, both in organic and in bio-inorganic systems. Monitoring the chemical shifts and linewidths of ²³Na signals gives access to binding constants, reorientational correlation times and the microdynamics of the sodium coordination shell. The binding of other cations can also be studied by ²³Na-NMR spectroscopy, in competition experiments.     

Synthesis and Structure of the New Ammonium Indium Phosphate (NH4)In(OH)PO4

A new ammonium indium phosphate (NH₄)In(OH)PO₄ was prepared by hydrothermal reaction in the In₂O₃-NH₄H₂PO₄-NH₃/OH system (T=200°C, autogenous pressure, 7 days). The formula (NH₄)In(OH)PO₄ was determined on the basis of chemical and thermal analysis (TG/DSC), X-ray powder diffraction and IR-spectroscopy. (NH₄)In(OH)PO₄ crystallizes in the tetragonal system with space group P4₃2₁2 (No. 96); a=9.4232(1) Å, c=11.1766(1) Å, V=992.45(2) ų; Z=8. The crystal structure was refined by the Rietveld method (R_w=6.35%, R_p=5.10%). The second-harmonic generation study confirmed that structure of (NH₄)In(OH)PO₄ does not have a center of symmetry. The cis-InO₄(OH)₂ octahedra form helical chains, parallel to the c-axis. The In-O-In bonds are nearly equidistant. The chains are interconnected by phosphate tetrahedra and create tunnels containing the NH₄⁺ ions along the c-axis. (NH₄)In(OH)PO₄ is isostructural with RbIn(OH)PO₄.     

On the symmetry of iron(III) tris-acetylacetonate crystals

The crystal structure of iron tris-acetylacetonate is re-determined. Crystal data at 293 K are: a = 15.4524(5) Å, b = 13.5876(4) Å, c = 16.5729(7) Å, Z = 8; at 150 K: a = 15.2541(4) Å, b = 13.4451(3) Å, c = 16.4256(5) Å, Z = 8. The structure is molecular and comprises isolated molecules. The coordination polyhderon of iron is an almost regular octahedron, Fe-O bond lengths are 1.977–2.003 Å (293 K) and 1.982–2.006 Å (150 K). In the crystalline state, the molecules are arranged in layers, and iron atoms are located on a plane yielding an almost regular trigonal net with the Fe...Fe separations of 7.558–8.103 Å (293 K) and 7.472–8.017 Å (150 K). The adjacent layer is positioned exactly over the first one with a Fe...Fe distance of 8.303 Å (293 K) and 8.236 Å (150 K).     

Photophysical aspects of single-molecule detection by two-photon excitation with consideration of sequential pulsed illumination.

An important goal in single molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is the theoretical simulation of the fluorescence signal stemming from individual molecules and its autocorrelation function. The simulation approaches developed up to now are based exclusively on continuous-wave (cw) illumination and consequently on cw-excitation. However, this approximation is no longer valid in the case of two-photon excitation, for which pulsed illumination is usually employed. We present a novel theoretical model for the simulation of the fluorescence signal of single molecules and its autocorrelation function with consideration of the time dependence of the excitation flux and thus of all illumination-dependent photoprocesses: two-photon excitation, induced emission and photobleaching. Further important characteristics of our approach are the consideration of the dependence of the photobleaching rate on illumination and the low intersystem-crossing rates of the studied coumarins. Moreover, using our approach, we can predict quantitatively the effect of the laser pulse width on the fluorescence signal of a molecule, that is, the contributions of the photobleaching and saturation effects, and thus we can calculate the optimal laser pulse width. The theoretical autocorrelation functions were fitted to the experimental data, and we could ascertain a good agreement between the resulting and the expected parameters. The most important parameter is the photobleaching constant sigma, the cross section of the transition Sn<--S1, which characterises the photostability of the molecules independent of the experimental conditions. Its value is 1.7 x 10(-23) cm2 for coumarin 153 and 5 x 10(-23) cm2 for coumarin 314.     

High-Resolution,Higher-Order UV/VIS Derivative Spectrophotometry

Derivative spectrophotometry has gained increasing importance in the past two years and is currently experiencing vigorous development. Following and introduction the present article provides a review of this extremely effective method. In particular, the advantages of higher-order derivative spectrophotometry (HODS method, n > 2) are discussed on the basis of practical examples from a wide range of analytical fields. The results are achieved with the aid of a newly developed analog computer unit, whereby for the first time readily reproducible, low-noise, on-line spectra can be obtained up to the 7th order and even, in favorable cases, up to the 9th order. In practice it has proved valuable to work with spectra of the 3rd to 5th order; but even higher derivations could be profitable for the separation of strongly superposed signals or for “fingerprinting”.     

用动力学方法研究8,9-苯并-2-亚甲基-1,4,6-三氧螺[4,4]壬烷的聚合反应机理

根据在自由基引发剂存在下,8,9-苯并-2-亚甲基-1,4,6-三氧螺(4,4)壬烷(Ⅰ)可能存在的竞争反应,推导了动力学方程式。用红外光谱法测定了单体的消失速率和苯酞的生成速率。实验结果与推导动力学方程式相符。进一步证明了单体(Ⅰ)的增长反应由加成聚合和开环—异构化—加成这两个反应组成。这两个反应对总速率的相对贡献与单体浓度有关。得到了共聚物的结构。     

Glucomannan from Narcissus poeticus Studied by PMR and 13C NMR Spectroscopy

Native acetylated glucomannan of molecular weight (MW) 32000 with a glucose:mannose ratio 1:30 was isolated from bulbs of Narcissus poeticus. Glucomannan was depolymerized to a fragment of MW 15000 with an unchanged primary structure and was studied using PMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. It was found that the linear chain of the biopolymer consists of 1-4-bound D-gluco- and D-mannopyranose units and the O-Ac groups are localized on C-2, C-3, and C-6 hydroxyls in certain anhydromannose units.