Capillary electrophoretic determination of lignin degradation products obtained by permanganate oxidation

A new capillary electrophoretic (CE) technique was developed for the separation of lignin degradation products after permanganate oxidation, yielding information about quality and quantity of various linkages in the lignin molecule. This CE method is a promising alternative to existing gas chromatographic (GC) methods. An advantage in comparison with GC is the short separation time and the fact that the oxidation products (aromatic acids) can be analyzed without derivatization. The selectivity and sensitivity of CE combined with UV detection is adequate and makes it suited for fast routine characterization of lignins. If necessary, the CE method can be coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in order to make a clear assignment of the peaks.     

Trace elemental determination in alcohol automotive fuel by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Suitable analytical methodologies were developed allowing direct determination of As, Cu, Fe, Pb, Sb and Sn in alcohol fuel samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Different chemical modification approaches were tested and compared in terms of analytical performance and in practical terms. Experimental conditions were optimized allowing little sample dilution and use of calibration curves prepared with aqueous inorganic analyte standards. Methodologies were tested with analyte spiked alcohol samples. Good analyte recoveries from spiked alcohol samples, precision better than 10% and limits of detection in the sub μg l⁻¹ range were achieved.     

Der Gaskomplex MnAlF5 und sein Einfluß auf die sublimative Reinigung von AlF3

The Gas Complex MnAlF₅ and its Influence on the Purification of AlF₃ by Sublimation The gas complex MnAlF₅ has been determined mass spectroscopically by the ions MnAlF₅⁺ and MnAlF₄⁺. The gas complex MnAlF₅ is formed above 973 K by heating up mixtures of AlF₃/MnF₂ or AlF₃ · 3 H₂O endowed with Mn²⁺ or by heating up solid MnAlF₅ too. At 1 008 K the enthalpie of dissociation is 197 kJ/mole. The equilibrium structures of the high spin molecule MnAlF₅ (S = 5/2) were examined with ab initio calculations at the HF-level by comlete gradient optimizing. Two minimum structures were found on the potential energy surface. A bidentate fluorine bridged structure was found to be the most stable at the HF-level. Vibrational frequencies and thermodynamic functions of complex formation were estimated for both minimum structures. The importance of the formation of the gas complex for the separation of MnF₂ and AlF₃ by sublimation is discussed.     

Determination of total mercury in environmental and biological samples by flow injection cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and accurate method has been developed for the determination of total mercury in environmental and biological samples. The method utilises an off-line microwave digestion stage followed by analysis using a flow injection system with detection by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry.

The method has been validated using two certified reference materials (DORM-1 dogfish and MESS-2 estuarine sediment) and the results agreed well with the certified values. A detection limit of 0.2 ng g⁻¹ Hg was obtained and no significant interference was observed. The method was finally applied to the determination of mercury in river sediments and canned tuna fish, and gave results in the range 0.1–3.0 mg kg⁻¹.     

氧弹分解-原子荧光法测定煤中汞的研究进展

介绍氧弹分解-原子荧光法测定煤中汞含量的研究进展。影响该方法主要因素为称样量、氧气浓度、吸收剂、还原剂、煤种以及灰分含量。分别综述了各个因素对该方法的影响,可为相关标准的制定提供参考。该方法能够简单、经济、快速地测定煤中汞的含量,但是目前学者们对于该方法的相关研究还存在分歧,需要进一步的研究验证;同时,还需要注意以下几个研究方向:吸收剂和还原剂的选择对汞回收率的影响;吸收剂在密闭氧弹中对汞的回收率及吸收时间的研究;氧弹废气中汞含量的测定;煤种和灰分含量对汞含量测定的影响。     

Elucidating Factors Manipulated the Formation of Multiply Charged Protein Homomultimeric Complexes by Electrospray Ionization

Native non‐covalently bonded protein‐protein and protein‐substrate complexes are of great interest and have been extensively studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). Multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes are shown to form by ESI‐MS. This study addresses factors that can artificially induce the formation of multiply charged protein homomultimeric complexes. Cytochrome c (Cyt c) and ubiquitin, which are monomers in solution, were found to generate (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ by electrospray ionization (ESI). The homomultimeric complexes were not limited to dimeric complexes but include also multiply charged trimers, tetramers, and pentamers. The observation of these homomultimeric complexes has never been revealed from a Cyt c solution at the concentration as low as 10 μM. Increasing the concentration of Cyt c enhanced the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ as expected; however, the protein concentration does not affect the relative intensities of monomeric and dimeric complexes. Additionally the enrichment of NH₄OH also promotes the formation of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺. Notably, source collision‐induced dissociations (source‐CID) of (Cyt c)_mⁿ⁺ alter the charge state distribution (CSD) and may lead to an incorrect interpretation of Cyt c conformations. Hence, extra care should be taken when using CSD to interpret the conformation of a protein derived from ESI‐MS.     

Structure and energy studies of β-diketonates. XIII. Molecular structure of gadolinium tris-hexafluoroacetylacetonate Gd(C5O2HF6)3

In a mass spectrometric study, it was found that the saturated vapor over gadolinium tris-hexafluoroacetylacetonate Gd(C₅O₂HF₆)₃ contains molecular forms with a mass exceeding the mass of the dimer. The vapor overheated to 250–300°C contains only the monomer form. Simultaneous electron diffraction and mass spectrometric experiment aimed at investigating the structure of the Gd(hfa)₃ monomer molecule was carried out at 284(5)°C. The Gd(hfa)₃ molecule was found to have the symmetry of the equilibrium D ₃ configuration. The basic structural parameters are r _h1(Gd-O) = 2.291(10) Å, r _h1(O-C) = 1.257(10) Å, r _h1(C-C_r) = 1.404(6) Å, r _h1(C_F-F)_av = 1.341(3) Å, ∠OGdO = 72.8(0.4)°. The GdO₆ coordination polyhedron has the structure of a distorted antiprism. The rotation angle of the O-O-O trigonal faces relative to their position in a regular prism is 18.7(0.9)°. Quantum chemical calculations (HF/SBK, 6-31G*) generally reproduce the experimental structure, but the Gd-O internuclear distance is exaggerated by 0.04 Å.     

合成多肽的电喷雾质谱研究

利用电喷雾多极串联质谱对3种合成多肽进行了系统的鉴定和分析研究。首先通过全扫描模式测定了其分子量，然后选择[M H]^ 或[M 2H]^2 离子通过串联质谱(MS／MS)得到碎片离子，采用y离子和b离子互补的方法测定了多肽序列。利用文献数据对这种方法进行了验证，实验结果表明，该方法简便、快速、实用。     

Temporal evolution of Raman intensities on surface-enhanced Raman scattering active copper and gold electrodes at negative potentials

The effect of a roughening procedure on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity of pyridine at copper and gold electrodes subjected to negative potential has been investigated. Among four procedures tested for a copper electrode the one consisting of electrochemical activation in a solution of LiCl and CuCl₂ resulted in the most stable and effective surface. It was proved that the presence of pyridine during the pretreatment procedure caused a very fast, irreversible decay of SERS intensity for both copper and gold electrodes. Quite stable, at least at room temperatures, gold surfaces were obtained by oxidation-reduction cycles activation in KCl solution.     

Thermal lens spectrometric determination of hexavalent chromium

The applicability of thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) for quantification and routine determination of hexavalent chromium was investigated by using a collinear dual beam thermal lens spectrometer. In aqueous solutions the LOD of 0.1 μg l⁻¹ was obtained for Cr(VI) by using 160 mW laser power. The performance of the technique was verified by the determination of hexavalent chromium in standard reference water samples (NIST SRM 1643a and NIST SRM 1643c) and comparing the results for Cr(VI) in CCA (Cr, Cu, As)-treated timber extracts to concentrations obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Good agreement between the TLS results and reported values for Cr(VI) in SRMs as well as AAS results for Cr(VI) in CCA-treated timbers confirmed that TLS is a reliable and accurate analytical technique applicable for the determination of Cr(VI) in aqueous solutions at concentration levels 0.5–100 μg l⁻¹.