Low-temperature formation and characterization of Cu2O nanoparticles in the binary gold alloys

Thermal analyses, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dilatometry, reveal an important anomaly at low temperature for Au-25 wt.% Cu composition after homogenization at 700°C during 2 hours under vacuum followed by heating up to 160°C before water quenching. This anomaly has been already observed and not explained. Surface characterization, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), exhibits a specific topography, consisting of a nanostructured surface. The precipitates of nanostructured particles are homogeneously scattered all over the surface for this 18-carat gold alloy. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that the composition of the observed particles corresponds to cuprous oxide phase (Cu₂O). The formation of such material can be explained by the diffusion of copper atoms from the lattice to the surface at 160°C. Pulsed radio-frequency glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (RF GD-OES) further proves the proposed Cu₂O formation through a diffusion process. The appearance of such cuprous oxide nanoparticles on the Au-Cu alloy surface explains the low-temperature DSC and dilatometry anomaly and affects directly the surface electrical resistance at low temperature. These results might open a large gate for new ideas to investigate in catalytic, electronic, and antimicrobial activities.     

First and second coordination spheres in 8-azaxanthinato salts of divalent metal aquacomplexes – Ab initio and DFT study

The hydrogen bonding pattern in complexes of the type [M²⁺(H₂O)₆](dmax)₂ (M = Mn, Ni, Co, Zn, Cd, Hdmax = 1,3-dimethyl-8-azaxanthine), [M²⁺(H₂O)₄(py)₂](dmax)₂ (M = Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, py = pyridine) and [M²⁺(dmax)₂(H₂O)₂(py)₂]·2H₂O (M = Ni, Cu) were studied by ab initio (MP2/LANL2DZ//B3LYP/LANL2DZ) and density functional theory methods (B3LYP/LANL2DZ, B3LYP/6-31G^∗∗ and B3PW91/6-31G^∗∗). The investigation includes a variety of theoretical analyses, which include interaction energy, many body analyses, electron density analysis, topological analysis, Mulliken atomic charges, natural atomic charges and harmonic vibrational analysis. The geometrical parameters and vibrational frequencies of dmax (the mono anion of 1,3-dimethyl-8-azaxanthine), [M²⁺(H₂O)₆] (M = Mn, Ni, Co, Zn, Cd), [M²⁺(H₂O)₄·(py)₂] (M = Mn, Co, Zn, Cd) and the complexes, calculated by the theoretical methods, were compared with the recent X-ray crystallographic results and it was observed that the results are found to agree well with the crystallographic results. The present calculations provide an important physicochemical insight into metal cations with 1,3-dimethyl-8-azaxanthine. The results also reveal the active role of coordinated water molecules in modulating the binding of the cation through a specific network of hydrogen bonds. The topology of the motifs generated by these hydrogen bonds has been characterized, adapting to the second coordination sphere concepts usually applied to the first (monodentate, chelate, and bridge) coordination sphere. The optimized structures of the Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ complexes further interact among themselves in a less tight fashion to generate three dimensional structures (a tape-like hydrogen bond network). Finally these tape-like hydrogen bond network were optimized using the B3LYP/LANL2DZ basis set.     

Impact of Geometric Parameters,Charge, and Lipophilicity on Bioactivity of Armed Quinoxaline,Benzothiaole, and Benzothiazine: Pom Analyses of Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity

Abstract

A series of four different armed heterocyclic candidates; 1-(2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)acetone (2), 1-(3-methyl-4H-1,4-benzothiazin-2-yl)ethanone (3), 2-[(2-aminophenyl)dithio]aniline (4), and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-(3-methyl-2-quinoxalinyl)-2-butanone (5) have been prepared and their microbial activities were evaluated. A correlation of the structure and activities relationships of these compounds with respect to molecular modeling, Lipinski Rule of Five, drug likeness, toxicity profiles, and other physico-chemical properties of drugs are described and verified experimentally.     

A Trinuclear Ni(Ⅱ) Mixed-ligand Complex Containing Pentadentate N-butylsalicylhydrazide and Monodentate Imidazole:Synthesis, Characterization and Crystal Structure

A novel trinuclear nickel(Ⅱ) complex [Ni3(bushz)2(Himdz)2(H2O)2]?2DMF (1, bushz=N-butylsalicylhydrazide, Himdz=imidazole, DMF=N,N-dimethyl-formamide) has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction characterization. Complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/c with a=7.706(7), b=14.882(6), c=18.639(6) , β=108.08(2)o, V=2032(1) 3, Dc=1.525 g/cm3, Mr=932.95, Z=2, F(000)=972, μ=1.442 mm-1, the final R=0.0359 and wR=0.0771. The three nickel(Ⅱ) atoms in 1 are arranged in a strictly linear structure and exhibit alternating square-planar and octahedral geometries. The complex is connected to form a supramolecule with an infinite three-dimensional network through intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The electrochemical studies reveal that redox of Ni3+/Ni2+ in the complex is a quasi-reversible process. The thermal stability of the title complex was also studied.     

Determination of 13C/12C-ratios of anthropogenic organic contaminants in river water samples by GC-irmMS

This study describes the application of a common analytical procedure adapted for compound-specific stable carbon isotope analyses of riverine contaminants. To evaluate the sensitivity of the analytical method and the precision of the isotopic data obtained, a set of numerous substances at different concentration levels were measured. For most of the anthropogenic contaminants investigated (including chlorinated aliphatics and aromatics, musk fragrances, phthalate-based plasticizers and tetrabutyl tin) acceptable carbon isotope analyses could be obtained down to amounts of approximately 5?ng absolutely applied to the gas chromatograph. These amounts correspond to concentrations in water samples at a natural abundance level of approximately 50–200?ng?L^?1 (low to medium contaminated river systems). However, it has to be considered that the precision and the sensitivity of the analytical method depend partially on the chemical properties of the substances measured. Five recovery experiments were conducted to assess changes in carbon isotope ratios during sample preparation and measurement. The compounds selected for these experiments are known riverine contaminants. Isotopic shifts or higher variations of the isotope ratios as a result of the analytical procedures applied were observed only for a couple of contaminants. Furthermore, compound-specific carbon isotope analyses were performed on eight water extracts of the Rhine river. By comparing the variation of the data of several individual compounds with the deviations obtained from the recovery experiments, it was possible to differentiate contaminants with unaffected isotope ratios and substances with significant alterations of the δ¹³C-values.     

Determination of human muscle protein fractional synthesis rate: an evaluation of different mass spectrometry techniques and considerations for tracer choice

In the present study, different MS methods for the determination of human muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR) using [ring‐¹³C₆]phenylalanine as a tracer were evaluated. Because the turnover rate of human skeletal muscle is slow, only minute quantities of the stable isotopically labeled amino acid will be incorporated within the few hours of a typical laboratory experiment. GC combustion isotope ratio MS (GC‐C‐IRMS) has thus far been considered the ‘gold’ standard for the precise measurements of these low enrichment levels. However, advances in liquid chromatography‐tandem MS (LC‐MS/MS) and GC‐tandem MS (GC‐MS/MS) have made these techniques an option for human muscle FSR measurements. Human muscle biopsies were freeze dried, cleaned, and hydrolyzed, and the amino acids derivatized using either N‐acetyl‐n‐propyl, phenylisothiocyanate, or N‐methyl‐N‐(tert‐butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) for GC‐C‐IRMS, LC‐MS/MS, and GC‐MS/MS analysis, respectively. A second derivative, heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA), was also used for GC‐MS/MS analysis as an alternative for MTBSTFA. The machine reproducibility or the coefficients of variation for delta tracer‐tracee‐ratio measurements (delta tracer‐tracee‐ratio values around 0.0002) were 2.6%, 4.1%, and 10.9% for GC‐C‐IRMS, LC‐MS/MS, and GC‐MS/MS (MTBSTFA), respectively. FSR determined with LC‐MS/MS compared well with GC‐C‐IRMS and so did the GC‐MS/MS when using the HFBA derivative (linear fit Y = 1.08 ± 0.10, X + 0.0049 ± 0.0061, r = 0.89 ± 0.01, P < 0.0001). In conclusion, (1) IRMS still offers the most precise measurement of human muscle FSR, (2) LC‐MS/MS comes quite close and is a good alternative when tissue quantities are too small for GC‐C‐IRMS, and (3) If GC‐MS/MS is to be used, then the HFBA derivative should be used instead of MTBSTFA, which gave unacceptably high variability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and Characterization of Protonated Fumaric Acid

Fumaric acid was reacted with the binary superacidic systems HF/SbF₅ and HF/AsF₅. The O,O'-diprotonated [C₄H₆O₄]²⁺([MF₆]^–)₂ (M = As, Sb) and the O-monoprotonated [C₄H₅O₄]⁺[MF₆]^– (M = As, Sb) species are formed depending on the stoichiometric ratio of the Lewis acid to fumaric acid. The colorless salts were characterized by low-temperature vibrational spectroscopy. In case of the hexafluoridoantimonates single-crystal X-ray structure analyses were carried out. The [C₄H₆O₄]²⁺([SbF₆]^–)₂ crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with four formula units per unit cell and [C₄H₅O₄]⁺[SbF₆]^– crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 with one formula unit per unit cell. The protonation of fumaric acid does not cause a notable change of the C=C bond length. The experimental data are discussed together with quantum chemical calculations of the cations [C₄H₆O₄ · 4 HF]²⁺ and [C₄H₆O₄ · 2 H₂CO · 2 HF]²⁺.     

Antibacterial Activity of Pharmaceutical-Grade Rose Bengal: An Application of a Synthetic Dye in Antibacterial Therapies

Rose bengal has been used in the diagnosis of ophthalmic disorders and liver function, and has been studied for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. To date, the antibacterial activity of rose bengal has been sporadically reported; however, these data have been generated with a commercial grade of rose bengal, which contains major uncontrolled impurities generated by the manufacturing process (80–95% dye content). A high-purity form of rose bengal formulation (HP-RBf, >99.5% dye content) kills a battery of Gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains at low concentrations (0.01–3.13 μg/mL) under fluorescent, LED, and natural light in a few minutes. Significantly, HP-RBf effectively eradicates Gram-positive bacterial biofilms. The frequency that Gram-positive bacteria spontaneously developed resistance to HP-RB is extremely low (less than 1 × 10⁻¹³). Toxicity data obtained through our research programs indicate that HP-RB is feasible as an anti-infective drug for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) involving multidrug-resistant (MDR) microbial invasion of the skin, and for eradicating biofilms. This article summarizes the antibacterial activity of pharmaceutical-grade rose bengal, HP-RB, against Gram-positive bacteria, its cytotoxicity against skin cells under illumination conditions, and mechanistic insights into rose bengal’s bactericidal activity under dark conditions.     

Immunity in the ABM-DSGE Framework for Preventing and Controlling Epidemics—Validation of Results

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions on how to manage an epidemiological and economic crisis around the world. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and policy makers have been asking how effective lockdowns are in preventing and controlling the spread of the virus. In the absence of vaccines, the regulators lacked any plausible alternatives. Nevertheless, after the introduction of vaccinations, to what extent the conclusions of these analyses are still valid should be considered. In this paper, we present a study on the effect of vaccinations within the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with an agent-based epidemic component. Thus, we validated the results regarding the need to use lockdowns as an efficient tool for preventing and controlling epidemics that were obtained in November 2020.     

DIBUTYLTIN DILAURATE-CATALYZED DIISOCYANATE COUPLING- GRAFTING OF POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL) ONTO NANO-SILICA SURFACE THROUGH A ONE-STEP PROCEDURE

Grafting polymer glycols onto nano-silica surface through one-step procedure was investigated. The major characteristic of this procedure is that all the materials and reagents (silica, PEG, TDI, DBTDL, solvent) required for grafting were added simultaneously into the reaction vessel. TDI and DBTDL were used as coupling agent and catalyst, respectively.The products were characterized by FTIR, TGA, elemental analyses and TEM, giving evidence for successful grafting of PEG. Possible mechanism of this grafting was studied and two grafting processes were proposed. The process through which the grafting proceeds depends on the reaction temperature. Effect of molecular weight of PEG on grafting was also investigated.