Anionic iron(II) alkoxides as initiators for the controlled ring‐opening polymerization of lactide

Hetero‐bimetallic Fe(II) alkoxide/aryloxides were evaluated as initiators for the ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐lactide. [(THF)NaFe(O^tBu)₃]₂ ( 1 ) and [(THF)₄Na₂Fe(2,6‐diisopropylphenolate)₄] ( 2 ) (THF = tetrahydrofuran) both polymerized lactide efficiently at room temperature, with complex 1 affording better control over the molecular weight parameters of the resultant polymer. At conversions below 70%, a linear increase in molecular weight with conversion was observed, indicative of a well‐controlled polymerization process. Complex 2 is the first example of a dianionic Fe(II) alkoxide and has been structurally characterized to reveal a distorted square planar FeO₄ array in which both Na counterions bridge two aryloxide ligands and are further complexed by two THF ligands. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3798–3803, 2003     

Magnetic properties of lanthanum orthoferrite fine powders prepared by different chemical routes

Fine powders of lanthanum iron oxide, LaFeO₃, have been prepared by solid state reaction as well as sol-gel synthesis and nebulized spray pyrolysis. Structures, morphologies and magnetic susceptibility measurements of these powders have been examined. The powders prepared by all the three low-temperature routes contain nearly spherical particles with an average diameter of 40 nm. These samples show a lower Neel temperature than the powder prepared by solid state reaction besides showing much lower magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures. Dedicated to Professor C N R Rao on his 70th birthday     

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).     

Microstructural and physicochemical study of the buried Fe/AlGaAs(100) interface by transmission electron microscopy and x‐ray emission spectroscopy

Among the magnetic metal/semiconductor contacts, the Fe/GaAs system has been widely studied owing to its potential applications in electronic devices. In contrast, there are not many studies concerning the Fe/Al_xGa_1?xAs contact, and in particular there are no reports concerning the changes induced in the interfacial zone by the presence of Al. In this work, thin polycrystalline iron films were deposited by ion beam sputtering at room temperature on a 300 nm thick Al_0.25Ga_0.75As layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy onto GaAs(001). X‐ray diffraction analysis showed that the iron films are polycrystalline, and indications of a (002) texture of the film were observed. The fine scale analysis of the interface was achieved by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations, the results of which are compared with the physicochemical information obtained from electron‐induced x‐ray emission spectroscopy, by analysing the Al 3p valence states at the Fe/Al_xGa_1?xAs interface. The HRTEM experiments on cross‐section samples indicate that the interfacial zone between iron and AlGaAs is limited to <1.5 nm in thickness. X‐ray emission spectroscopy showed the presence of Al atoms in an FeAl‐like environment at the interface, and the existence of wrong bonds and point defects. The estimated width of the perturbed interface (2.0 ± 0.5 nm) is in agreement with the HRTEM results. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conjugates of Iron-Transporting N-Hydroxylactams with Ciprofloxacin

Screening of a library of novel N-hydroxylactams amenable by the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction identified four lead compounds that facilitated ⁵⁵Fe transport into P. aeruginosa cells (one of these synthetic siderophores was found to be as efficient at promoting iron uptake as the natural siderophores pyoverdine, pyochelin or enterobactin). Conjugates of the four lead siderophores with ciprofloxacin were tested for antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa POA1 (wild type) and the ∆pvdF∆pchA mutant strain. The antibacterial activity was found to be pronounced against the ∆pvdF∆pchA mutant strain grown in CAA medium but not for the POA1 strain. This may be indicative of these compounds being ‘Trojan horse’ antibiotics. Further scrutiny of the mechanism of the antibacterial action of the newly developed conjugates is warranted.     

Precise Quantification of Molybdate In Vitro by the FRET-Based Nanosensor ‘MolyProbe’

Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential trace element in all kingdoms of life. Mo is bioavailable as the oxyanion molybdate and gains biological activity in eukaryotes when bound to molybdopterin, forming the molybdenum cofactor. The imbalance of molybdate homeostasis results in growth deficiencies or toxic symptoms within plants, fungi and animals. Recently, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) methods have emerged, monitoring cellular and subcellular molybdate distribution dynamics using a genetically encoded molybdate-specific FRET nanosensor, named MolyProbe. Here, we show that the MolyProbe system is a fast and reliable in vitro assay for quantitative molybdate determination. We added a Strep-TagII affinity tag to the MolyProbe protein for quick and easy purification. This MolyProbe is highly stable, resistant to freezing and can be stored for several weeks at 4 °C. Furthermore, the molybdate sensitivity of the assay peaked at low nM levels. Additionally, The MolyProbe was applied in vitro for quantitative molybdate determination in cell extracts of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the fungus Neurospora crassa and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our results show the functionality of the Arabidopsis thaliana molybdate transporter MOT1.1 and indicate that FRET-based molybdate detection is an excellent tool for measuring bioavailable Mo.     

Catalytic Performance of One-Pot Synthesized Fe-MWW Layered Zeolites (MCM-22, MCM-36, and ITQ-2) in Selective Catalytic Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides with Ammonia

The application of layered zeolites of MWW topology in environmental catalysis has attracted growing attention in recent years; however, only a few studies have explored their performance in selective catalytic reduction with ammonia (NH₃-SCR). Thus, our work describes, for the first time, the one-pot synthesis of Fe-modified NH₃-SCR catalysts supported on MCM-22, MCM-36, and ITQ-2. The calculated chemical composition of the materials was Si/Al of 30 and 5 wt.% of Fe. The reported results indicated a correlation between the arrangement of MWW layers and the form of iron in the zeolitic structure. We have observed that one-pot synthesis resulted in high dispersion of Fe³⁺ sites, which significantly enhanced low-temperature activity and prevented N₂O generation during the reaction. All of the investigated samples exhibited almost 100% NO conversion at 250 °C. The most satisfactory activity was exhibited by Fe-modified MCM-36, since 50% of NO reduction was obtained at 150 °C for this catalyst. This effect can be explained by the abundance of isolated Fe³⁺ species, which are active in low-temperature NH₃-SCR. Additionally, SiO₂ pillars present in MCM-36 provided an additional surface for the deposition of the active phase.     

Polarographic Determination of Cobalt and Nickel in Iron Meteorites

Abstract

Cobalt and nickel were determined in five iron meteorites by a polarographic method. The analyses gave good precision and are believed to be reliable. The nickel content ranged from 6.49% to 8.07%, and cobalt ranged from 0.40% to 0.49%. Atomic absorption measurements were made on the sample solutions for comparison.     

Determination of Iron in Calf Serum Using Bathophenanthroline and Thermal Lens Spectrometry

ABSTRACT

Thermal lens spectrometry has been used for the determination of iron in calf serum. The method is based on dissociation of Fe³⁺ from proteins, reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ and formation of a coloured complex between Fe²⁺ and bathophenanthroline. Contrary to the spectrophotometric method, it is shown that thermal lens spectrometry is less sensitive to scattering caused by the presence of small particles remaining in the test solution after the deproteinization step. The background signal is very small and the response is only slightly dependent on the amount of scattering particles. The method is reliable, sensitive and reproducible. The limit of detection for iron is 4 ppb and the relative standard deviation is around 2%. It is expected that the volume of serum sample necessary for an analysis can be reduced to less than 100 μl.