Mössbauer spectra of ferrous salts of transition metal cyano complexes. A survey

Ferrous salts of ten hexacyanometallates and three tetracyanometallates were obtained and their Mössbauer spectra interpreted according to recent structural models for these families of compounds. Ferrous ferrocyanide (Williamson White) and its ruthenium and osmium analogs prepared mechanochemically are stable for hours, allowing their study by Mössbauer spectroscopy and other related techniques. For ferrous salts of trivalent hexacyanometallate anions, the random distribution of anion vacancies is discarded and a model of two well defined relative positions of CN and H2O ligands around the Fe2+ is suggested. Iron was found octahedrally coordinated in tetracyanometallates.     

Antioxidant Activity of Bioactive Peptide Fractions from Germinated Soybeans Conjugated to Fe3O4 Nanoparticles by the Ugi Multicomponent Reaction

The conjugation of biomolecules to magnetic nanoparticles has emerged as promising approach in biomedicine as the treatment of several diseases, such as cancer. In this study, conjugation of bioactive peptide fractions from germinated soybeans to magnetite nanoparticles was achieved. Different fractions of germinated soybean peptides (>10 kDa and 5–10 kDa) were for the first time conjugated to previously coated magnetite nanoparticles (with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and sodium citrate) by the Ugi four-component reaction. The crystallinity of the nanoparticles was corroborated by X-ray diffraction, while the particle size was determined by scanning transmission electron microscopy. The analyses were carried out using infrared and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and thermogravimetry, which confirmed the coating and functionalization of the magnetite nanoparticles and conjugation of different peptide fractions on their surfaces. The antioxidant activity of the conjugates was determined by the reducing power and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The nanoparticles synthesized represent promising materials, as they have found applications in bionanotechnology for enhanced treatment of diseases, such as cancer, due to a higher antioxidant capacity than that of fractions without conjugation. The highest antioxidant capacity was observed for a >10 kDa peptide fraction conjugated to the magnetite nanoparticles coated with APTES.     

Kinetic parameters for thermal decomposition of microcrystalline,vegetal, and bacterial cellulose

Cellulose can be obtained from innumerable sources such as cotton, trees, sugar cane bagasse, wood, bacteria, and others. The bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by the Gram-negative acetic-acid bacterium Acetobacter xylinum has several unique properties. This BC is produced as highly hydrated membranes free of lignin and hemicelluloses and has a higher molecular weight and higher crystallinity. Here, the thermal behavior of BC, was compared with those of microcrystalline (MMC) and vegetal cellulose (VC). The kinetic parameters for the thermal decomposition step of the celluloses were determined by the Capela-Ribeiro non-linear isoconversional method. From data for the TG curves in nitrogen atmosphere and at heating rates of 5, 10, and 20 °C/min, the E _α and B _α terms could be determined and consequently the pre-exponential factor A _α as well as the kinetic model g(α). The pyrolysis of celluloses followed kinetic model g(a) = [ - ln(1 - a)]^{1 \mathord}

A Mössbauer study of hemoglobin in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

The⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra of concentrated hemoglobin (Hb) of normal subjects and six patients with Paraxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) were studied at 300°K and 77 K. PNH is a very rare autoimmune hematological disease. The possibility of structural alterations of Hb induced by, or as part of the altered PNH-red cell membrane was the objective of this study. The Mössbauer parameters of the Hb of the normal subjects, both at 300 K and at 77 K, are identical to values previously reported. The PNH-Hb spectra show clear differences. They are wider and more asymmetric. At 77 K an extra doublet grows in with an isomer shift of 0.425 mm/sec. and a quadrupolar splitting, of 1.951 mm/sec. The other two doublets have δ′s and ΔQ's slightly, but significantly, different from the corresponding values for normal Hb. These results are rationalized in terms of a population of Hb molecules with structures varying very slightly in a narrow range. The spread in structures manifests itself in a wider and more asymmetric Mössbauer spectrum.     

Program for the analysis of pulse height spectra and the background from a proportional detector

A PC-Fortran program is presented for fitting of lineshapes and the analysis of pulse height spectra obtainable with proportional detectors. The common fitting and analysis of pulse height spectra by means of mixed Gaussian lineshapes is readily improved by using Voigt lineshapes. In addition, the background can be evaluated during the fitting process without the need of extra measurements. As an application of the program, a pulse height transmission spectrum accumulated with a static⁵⁷Co source and detected with an argon-metane proportional detector, was least squares fitted to an elaborated complex trial lineshape function containing two Voigt lines plus a straight line. The fitting straight line parametersa andb characterize quantitatively the background. The very good PC-fitting obtained shows that the fitting of experimental spectra with the more realistic Voigt lineshapes is no longer a formidable task and that it is possible to evaluate and subtract the background inherent to the experiment during the fitting process.     

Mechanochemical synthesis of hemin–imidazole complexes

Solid state reactions of hemin and imidazole were performed by milling the crystalline materials in an agate mortar. The process was monitored by i.r., x.r.d. and Mössbauer spectroscopies. Samples with different hemin to imidazole molar ratios were studied. The interactions of imidazole with the central Fe atom and with the propionic acid groups in the periphery of the hemin molecule were detected. The latter interactions are suppressed by washing with MeOH. Complexes with 1:2 and 1:4 hemin-to-imidazole molar ratios were identified.