Fast Analytical Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (ATREF) Method

Conventional analytical temperature rising elution fractionation (ATREF) is performed using slowly crystallized polymers in about 16 h. In this work, we developed a fast ATREF method in which the polymer sample is directly injected on the column at room temperature, thus reducing the analysis time to about 1 h. The method was tested using four metallocene polyethylenes with unimodal short chain branching distributions and different densities, previously analyzed by ATREF using a cooling rate of 0.1°C/min. The obtained results demonstrate that the fast ATREF method is very effective and accurate in evaluating short chain branching distribution for polyolefins having unimodal distributions.     

Morphology and mechanical behavior of isotactic polypropylene with different stereo‐defect distribution in injection molding

Large amount of work has been published on the isotacticity–properties relationship of isotactic polypropylene (iPP). However, the stereo‐defect distribution dependence of morphology and mechanical properties of iPP injection molding samples is still not clear. In this study, two different isotactic polypropylene (iPP) resins (PP‐A and PP‐B) with similar average isotacticity but different stereo‐defect distribution were selected to investigate the morphology evolution and mechanical properties (tensile and notching) of their injection molding samples using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), 2D wide angle X‐ray diffraction (2D‐WAXD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of DMA showed that the molecular movement ability of PP‐A (with less uniform distribution of stereo‐defect) was stronger than that of PP‐B, meanwhile the analysis of DSC and SEM suggested that after injection molding, smaller spherullites, and crystals with higher perfection had formed in the specimens of PP‐A. The resulting of tensile properties of PP‐A were found to be better than that of PP‐B. The results of morphology evolution by SEM observation and 2D‐WAXD showed that PP‐A is more likely to occur interspherulite deformation and can disperse the tensile stress more efficiently, and therefore, its crystal structure can withstand a greater force when tensile stress is applied. On the other hand, PP‐B has larger spherulites and boundaries, and low perfection of lamellaes, and the intraspherulte deformation tend to take place. It is easier for the crystal of PP‐B to be broken up and reoriented along the tensile direction. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of the activation time effects and the internal energy distributions for the CID,PQD and HCD excitation modes

Reproducibility among different types of excitation modes is a major bottleneck in the field of tandem mass spectrometry library development in metabolomics. In this study, we specifically evaluated the influence of collision voltage and activation time parameters on tandem mass spectrometry spectra for various excitation modes [collision‐induced dissociation (CID), pulsed Q dissociation (PQD) and higher‐energy collision dissociation (HCD)] of Orbitrap‐based instruments. For this purpose, internal energy deposition was probed using an approach based on Rice–Rampserger–Kassel–Marcus modeling with three thermometer compounds of different degree of freedom (69, 228 and 420) and a thermal model. This model treats consecutively the activation and decomposition steps, and the survival precursor ion populations are characterized by truncated Maxwell–Boltzmann internal energy distributions. This study demonstrates that the activation time has a significant impact on MS/MS spectra using the CID and PQD modes. The proposed model seems suitable to describe the multiple collision regime in the PQD and HCD modes. Linear relationships between mean internal energy and collision voltage are shown for the latter modes and the three thermometer molecules. These results suggest that a calibration based on the collision voltage should provide reproducible for PQD, HCD to be compared with CID in tandem in space instruments. However, an important signal loss is observed in PQD excitation mode whatever the mass of the studied compounds, which may affect not only parent ions but also fragment ions depending on the fragmentation parameters. A calibration approach for the CID mode based on the variation of activation time parameter is more appropriate than one based on collision voltage. In fact, the activation time parameter in CID induces a modification of the collisional regime and thus helps control the orientation of the fragmentation pathways (competitive or consecutive dissociations). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alleviation of ion suppression effect in sonic spray ionization with induced alternating current voltage

In this study, alleviation of ion suppression effect in sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry (SSI‐MS) was investigated. Ion suppression effect was firstly compared between electrospray ionization (ESI) and conventional SSI, and more severe ion suppression effect was observed with SSI. Ion suppression effect of SSI was also found difficult to be alleviated by simply optimizing major parameters. Alternatively, we found that with the assistance of an alternating current (AC) voltage with low amplitude, the ion suppression effect was greatly alleviated (comparable with conventional ESI). That AC voltage was applied outside the SSI spray tip, and no direct contact between the electrode and spray solution was necessary. Besides the alleviation of the ion suppression effect, this newly‐developed method, termed as induced electrosonic spray ionization (IESSI), appeared to preserve similar charge state distribution with SSI for protonated cytochrome c, hemoglobin, and bradykinin. IESSI could also obtain significantly improved ion intensities (~1000‐fold over conventional SSI). In addition, tolerance of concentrated salts for IESSI‐MS was investigated through the analysis of cytochrome c in the presence of concentrated sodium chloride (NaCl) or ammonium acetate (NH₄OAc). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HPLC‐MS/MS method for quantitative determination of the novel dual inhibitor of FGF and VEGF receptors E‐3810 in tumor tissues from xenograft mice and human biopsies

We developed and validated a high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analytical method to measure E‐3810, a novel dual inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1–3 in tissues and determined the drug concentration in a biopsy of human breast cancer for the first time. The method is a modification of our previous one in plasma to study the clinical pharmacokinetics of the drug during the phase I/II trial. In view of the changes in matrix, we applied a partial validation protocol to determine recovery, sensitivity, range of linearity, precision, accuracy and stability of the method over three runs in a mouse tumor tissue and liver. The recovery of E‐3810 from liver or tumor homogenate was >69%, and the lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/ml. The method was linear in the concentration range 5.0–500.0 ng/ml, as demonstrated by a determination coefficient R² ≥ 0.9955. The range of the calibration curve was appropriate for the analysis, as demonstrated by the accuracy, which was between 91.4% and 106.7%. Interday precision and accuracy on quality control samples at 9, 30 and 300 ng/ml were 3.1‐11.2% and 98.3–111.4%, respectively. The assay was applied successfully to determine the intratumor concentration of E‐3810 in different mouse xenograft tumor models and in a biopsy of a patient with breast cancer included in the phase I/II trial of the drug. In mouse tumors, the concentrations of E‐3810 were higher than necessary to exert antitumor activity in vitro (1 µM). Even more of interest was the result obtained in a human biopsy of few milligrams, where E‐3810 reached 4.9 µg/g (11 µM). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ionic strength of electrospray droplets affects charging of DNA oligonucleotides

The fundamental aspects of charging in electrospray ionization (ESI) are hotly debated. In the present study, ESI charging of DNA oligonucleotides was explored in both positive (ESI+) and negative (ESI?) polarity using mass spectrometry detection. Single‐stranded 12‐mer CCCCAATTCCCC in buffer solution (aqueous NH₄Ac, 100 mM) produced similar charge state distribution (CSD) in either ESI+ or ESI?. Similarity of CSD in ESI+ and ESI? was also observed for the double‐stranded 12‐mer CGCGAATTCGCG. By adding typical low‐vapor reagents (e.g. m‐nitro benzyl alcohol, m‐NBA; sulfolane) into the same buffer solution (<0.5% w/v), both CCCCAATTCCCC and CGCGAATTCGCG revealed strong supercharging (SC) effect in ESI?, while very little or no SC effect was observed in ESI+. With either sulfolane or m‐NBA, the CGCGAATTCGCG duplex dissociated into single strands in ESI?. No SC was observed in both ESI+ and ESI? for thermally denatured CGCGAATTCGCG duplex in NH₄Ac buffer without the reagents. These findings are difficult to reconcile with the earlier model, which attributes SC in aqueous buffer solution to the conformational changes of analytes. Our observations suggest that the ionic strength of ESI droplets strongly affects the CSD of biopolymers such as DNA oligonucleotides and that SC effect is related to the depletion of ionic strength during the ESI process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced CS Bond Activation: Facile Access to 1,4‐Diketones from β‐Ketosulfones

A novel method for the synthesis of 1,4‐diketones from β‐ketosulfones was developed by means of a visible light‐induced C?S bond activation process. Symmetrical and unsymmetrical 1,4‐diketones can be easily prepared in moderate to good yields.     

Evolution of Actinyl Peroxide Clusters U28 in Dilute Electrolyte Solution: Exploring the Transition from Simple Ions to Macroionic Assemblies

Actinyl peroxide clusters, a unique class of uranyl‐containing nanoclusters discovered in recent years, are crucial intermediates between the (UO₂)²⁺ aqua‐ion monomer and bulk uranyl minerals. Herein, two actinyl polyoxometalate nanoclusters of Cs₁₅[(Ta(O₂)₄)Cs₄K₁₂(UO₂(O₂)_1.5)₂₈] ? 20 H₂O (CsK U₂₈ ) and Na₆K₉[(Ta(O₂)₄)Rb₄Na₁₂(UO₂(O₂)_1.5)₂₈] ? 20 H₂O (RbNa U₂₈ ) were synthesized by incorporating a central Ta(O₂)₄^3? anion that templates a hollow shell of 28 uranyl peroxide polyhedra. When dissolved in aqueous solutions with additional electrolytes, those 1.8 nm‐size macroanions self‐assembled into spherical, hollow, blackberry‐type supramolecular structures, as was characterized by laser‐light scattering (LLS) and TEM techniques. These clusters are the smallest macroions reported to date that form blackberry structures in solution, therefore, can be treated as valuable models for investigating the transition from simple ions to macroions. Kinetic studies showed an unusually long lag phase in the initial self‐assembly process, which is followed by a rapid formation of the blackberry structures in solution. The small cluster size and high surface‐charge density are essential in regulating the supramolecular structure formation, as was shown from the high activation energy barrier of 51.2±2 kJ mol^?1. Different countercations were introduced into the system to investigate the effect of ion binding to the length of the lag phase. The current research provides yet another scale of self‐assembly of uranyl peroxide complexes in aqueous media.     

三维有序结构In掺杂TiO_2薄膜的可见光催化活性

采用自组装生长聚苯乙烯胶体模板和溶胶-凝胶法,制备出三维(3D)有序结构In掺杂TiO2(IO-TiO2-In)薄膜可见光催化剂.光催化实验证明,IO-TiO2-In薄膜降解甲醛的可见光活性是TiO2和三维有序结构TiO2(IOTiO2)薄膜的5倍.利用X射线电子衍射(XRD)谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和紫外-可见(UV-Vis)漫反射吸收光谱确定了催化剂的晶相结构、表面微结构和能带结构.结果表明,IO-TiO2-In薄膜具有锐钛矿型三维有序结构,与TiO2相比,增加了比表面积,提高光的利用率;掺入的In离子在薄膜表面形成In2O3和O-In-Clx(x=1,2)物种,既增强可见光的吸收,又有效地促进了光生载流子的分离,提高了光生载流子在固/气界面参加光催化反应的利用率,使催化剂的可见光催化活性显著提高.