Coordination Chemistry of Acrylamide: 1. Cobalt(II) Chloride Complexes with Acrylamide – Synthesis and Crystal Structures

The molecular structures of blue dichloro‐tetrakis(acrylamide) cobalt(II), [Co{O‐OC(NH₂)CH=CH₂}₄Cl₂] ( 1 ) and pink hexakis(acrylamide)cobalt(II) tetrachlorocobaltate(II), [Co{O‐OC‐(NH₂)CH=CH₂}₆][CoCl₄] ( 2 ), characterized by single X‐ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and elemental analyses, are described. The coordination of Co^II in 1 involves a tetragonally distorted octahedral structure with four O‐donor atoms of acrylamide in the equatorial positions and two chloride ions in the apical positions. The second complex 2 in ionic form contains Co^II cations surrounded by an octahedral array of O‐coordinated acrylamide ligands, accompanied by a [CoCl₄]^2? anion.     

Coordination Chemistry of Acrylamide 4. Crystal Structures and IR Spectroscopic Properties of Acrylamide Complexes with CoII,NiII, and ZnII nitrates

Acrylamide complexes of metal nitrates: [M(O‐OC(NH₂)CHCH₂)_n(H₂O)_m][NO₃]₂ (M = Co( 1 ), Ni( 2 ) (n = 6 and m = 0) and Zn( 3 ) (n = 4 and m = 2)) have been determined by using single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. All complexes crystallize in the triclinic space group . The structures of 1 and 2 represent octahedral species [M(AAm)₆]²⁺ (AAm = O‐OC(NH₂)CHCH₂ and M = Co or Ni) and uncoordinated nitrate ions. The structure of 3 involves the octahedral cation [Zn(AAm)₄(H₂O)₂]²⁺ in which the Zn²⁺ environment includes oxygen atoms of four acrylamide and two water molecules that are stabilized using ionic nitrate ions. The observations of the solid‐state IR spectroscopic vibrational frequencies of these acrylamide complexes are in agreement with the crystal structures.     

Isolation of three new naturally occurring compounds from the culture of Micromonospora sp. P1068

Bioassay guided isolation of an antibacterial extract prepared from the fermentation broth of a Micromonospora sp. P1068 led to the isolation of eight compounds identified as (3R) 3,4',7-trihydroxy-isoflavanone (1), 3-hydroxydehydrodaidzein, daidzein (2), 3-methyl-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid (3), 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde (4), 3-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-N-methylpropionamide, N-methylphloretamide (5), phenyl acetic acid (6), 2-hydroxy phenyl acetic acid (7) and 4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzoic acid (8). Compounds 1 and 5 were found to be novel chemical entities while 3 was isolated from a natural source for the first time. All compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against a panel of clinically significant microorganisms. Compound 4 was active against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC, 32 microg/ml), Enterococcus faecium (MIC, 32 microg/ml) and Escherichia coli (MIC, 64 microg/ml).     

Nonlinear optical absorption properties of porphyrins confined in Nafion membrane

The nonlinear absorption (NLA) properties of five different types of porphyrins were studied using the Z-scan technique. The porphyrins under investigation were confined into Nafion column matrix membrane in order to protect them from possible degradation. The results of the experiments have indicated that all the porphyrins tested exhibited interesting NLA properties. The nonlinear absorption coefficients (β’s) were determined at different porphyrin concentrations by comparing the Z-scan data with the theoretical functions.     

Correlation between mechanical adhesion and interfacial properties of starch/biodegradable polyester blends

Biopolymers are preferred ingredients for the manufacture of materials because they are based on abundantly available and renewable raw materials that have benign environmental problems associated with their production, fabrication, use, and disposal; however, the wide use of biopolymers in engineering applications has not been achieved, mainly because of the inferior quality of many biopolymer‐based products. To overcome this limitation, studies have been initiated on blends of biopolymers and biodegradable synthetic polymers. We used the contact angle of probe liquids to measure the surface energy of polystyrene, the biodegradable polyesters polycaprolactone, poly(hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate), polylactic acid, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, and adipic poly(hydroxy ester ether), and normal starch. The surface energies were used to estimate the starch/polymer interfacial energy and work of adhesion. The calculated starch/polyester work of adhesion showed mixed correlation with published starch/polyester mechanical properties, indicating that factors other than interfacial properties might be dominant in determining the mechanical properties of some starch/polyester blends. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 920–930, 2001     

Temperature dependence of the interfacial tension of PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE blends

The effect of temperature on the interfacial tension for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE was measured using the imbedded fiber retraction method. Interfacial tensions for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE were measured over temperature ranges of 160–250 °C, 140–220 °C, and 140–220 °C, respectively. The interfacial tension was found to follow a dependence of 3.6–0.013 T dyn/cm, 7.6–0.051 T dyn/cm and 11.8–0.017 T dyn/cm for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE, respectively. Comparison of the data with the mean field theory of Helfand and Sapse were made; however, a simple linear fit to the data described the temperature dependence in the experimental window as well as the predictions of the mean field theory. Received: 6 July 1999 Accepted: 23 March 2000     

Effect of temperature and molecular weight on the interfacial tension of PS/PDMS blends

The imbedded-fiber retraction (IFR) method was used to study the effect of temperature and PDMS molecular weight on the interfacial tension of PS/PDMS blends. The interfacial tension decreased with increasing temperature and analysis of the temperature dependence using a simple linear fit gave –dγ/dT value of 0.058±0.010 dyn/cm-deg. Reported –dγ/dT values of PS/PDMS blends are highly dependent on the molecular weights of the polymers and can have values that are <0, 0, or >0. Our interfacial tension values were independent of the molecular weight of PDMS and this was attributed to the molecular weights studied here being well above the entanglement values of both polymers. However, analysis of interfacial tension data from this work and the literature showed the following empirical relationship between apparent blend molecular weight, M_b, and interfacial tension of PS/PDMS blends with a correlation of 0.94: γ₁₂=γ₀+k₂M_b ^(–2/3), where γ₀=7.3±0.3 dyn/cm; k₂=–517±41 (dyn/cm)(g/mol)^2/3.     

FLASH PHOTOLYSIS OF 3-IODOTYROSINE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION AT pH 5

Abstract— The 3-tyrosinyl free radicals (3-Tyr) and iodine atom are formed by flash photolysis of 3-iodotyrosine (3-Tyr-I) in aqueous solutions at pH 5. The presence of iodine atoms in the medium is characterized by the absorption spectrum and the decay kinetics of I formed when KI is added to the system. In the absence of radical scavengers, the 3-Tyr adds to or reacts with the parent molecule to produce a transient species, probably a radical dimer, which has an absorption maximum at 405 nm. The decay of this transient follows second order kinetics whose rate constant increases with decreasing 3-iodotyrosine concentration. Measurements of the dependence of the transient yield on the concentration of added ethanol indicate that the 3-Tyr radical reacts with ethanol by hydrogen abstraction. The rate constants of reaction of the 3-Tyr radical with 3-iodotyrosine and ethanol are deduced from results.     

Hydrophobic and electrostatic cell surface properties of blastospores of the entomopathogenic fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseus

The physicochemical surface properties of blastospores of the entomopathogenic fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseus were examined. Contact angle measurements were performed on microbial lawns composed of blastospores of P. fumosoroseus to quantify their cell surface energy components. In addition, suspensions of the blastospores were characterized with the microbial adhesion to solvents assay. Zeta potential measurements were used to quantify the surface charge and determine the zero potential of the blastospores. The results show blastospores of P. fumosoroseus are best described as having a basic monopolar surface and classified as hydrophilic. Blastospores are also negatively charged under neutral conditions with an isoelectric point of 3.4.