Modification of magnetic anisotropy in metallic glasses using high-energy ion beam irradiation

Heavy ion irradiation in the electronic stopping power region induces macroscopic dimensional change in metallic glasses and introduces magnetic anisotropy in some magnetic materials. The present work is on the irradiation study of ferromagnetic metallic glasses, where both dimensional change and modification of magnetic anisotropy are expected. Magnetic anisotropy was measured using Mössbauer spectroscopy of virgin and irradiated Fe₄₀Ni₄₀B₂₀ and Fe₄₀Ni₃₈Mo₄B₁₈ metallic glass ribbons. 90 MeV ¹²⁷I beam was used for the irradiations. Irradiation doses were 5×10¹³ and 7.5×10¹³ ions/cm². The relative intensity ratios D ₂₃ of the second and third lines of the Mössbauer spectra were measured to determine the magnetic anisotropy. The virgin samples of both the materials display in-plane magnetic anisotropy, i.e., the spins are oriented parallel to the ribbon plane. Irradiation is found to cause reduction in magnetic anisotropy. Near-complete randomization of magnetic moments is observed at high irradiation doses. Correlation is found between the residual stresses introduced by ion irradiation and the change in magnetic anisotropy.     

Extending the use of certified reference sediments for assessment of accuracy in determinations of trace metals

Straightforward analysis for components in a single certified reference sediment is of limited use for assessing the accuracy of environmental determinations. A systematic approach requires mixing of certified sediments, one with another and with environmental samples, and the preparation of secondary reference material by the laboratory. Use of Youden pairs, reference material embedded in samples and linear models should enable valid accuracy statements to be made based on well known statistical concepts. For assessing accuracy, reference sediments which are matched in particle size, and are end-members for components or sediment types are most useful.     

The influence of a transverse magnetic field on a subnormal glow discharge in air

In subnormal glow discharge under d.c. excitation at different pressure in a varying transverse magnetic field (0 to 30 G) some measurements have been carried out for various initial average tube currents. The voltage across the discharge increases and average tube current and residual current decreases in the magnetic field. With the help of Beckman’s expression [4] for the axial field and the electron density distribution in a transverse magnetic field the observed variation of current and voltage can be satisfactorily explained. The variation of axial electric field with transverse magnetic field can be represented to a fair degree of accuracy by the derived equation. The behaviour of residual current with magnetic field has been observed in these oscillations.     

Novel Osmium‐based Coordination Complexes as Photosensitizers for Panchromatic Photodynamic Therapy

Cancer remains a major global malaise requiring the advent of new, efficient and low‐cost treatments. Photodynamic therapy, which combines a photosensitizer and photons to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species, has been established as an effective cancer treatment but has yet to become mainstream. One of the main limitations has been the paucity of photosensitizers that are effective over a wide range of wavelengths, can exert their cytotoxic effects in hypoxia, are easily synthesized and produce few if any side effects. To address these shortfalls, three new osmium‐based photosensitizers (TLD1822, TLD1824 and TLD1829) were synthesized and their photophysical and photobiological attributes determined. These photosensitizers are panchromatic (i.e. black absorbers), activatable from 200 to 900 nm and have strong resistance to photobleaching. In vitro studies show photodynamic therapy efficacy with both red and near‐infrared light in normoxic and hypoxic conditions, which translated to good in vivo efficacy of TLD1829 in a subcutaneous murine colon cancer model.     

Precise mass measurement of a double-stranded 500 base-pair (309 kDa) polymerase chain reaction product by negative ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICRMS) has been used to determine the mass of a double-stranded 500 base-pair (bp) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product with an average theoretical mass of the blunt-ended (i.e. unadenylated) species of 308 859.35 Da. The PCR product was generated from the linearized bacteriophage Lambda genome which is a double-stranded template. Utilization of ethanol precipitation in tandem with a rapid microdialysis step to purify and desalt the PCR product was crucial to obtain a precise mass measurement. The PCR product (0.8 pmol/μL) was electrosprayed from a solution containing 75% acetonitrile, 25 mM piperidine, and 25 mM imidazole and was infused at a rate of 200 nL/min. The average molecular mass and the corresponding precision were determined using the charge-states ranging from 172 to 235 net negative charges. The experimental mass and corresponding precision (reported as the 95% confidence interval of the mean) was 309 406 +/- 27 Da (87 ppm). The mass accuracy was compromised due to the fact that the PCR generates multiple products when using Taq polymerase due to the non-template directed 3'-adenylation. This results in a mixture of three PCR products with nearly identical mass (i.e. blunt-ended, mono-adenylated and di-adenylated) with unknown relative abundances that were not resolved in the spectrum. Thus, the experimental mass will be a weighted average of the three species which, under our experimental conditions, reflects a nearly equal concentration of the mono- and di-adenylated species. This report demonstrates that precise mass measurements of PCR products up to 309 kDa (500 bp) can be routinely obtained by ESI-FTICR requiring low femtomole amounts. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ciliation and lamellae in crystalline polymers

Molecular cilia, the uncrystallized portions of chains already partly attached to polymer crystals, exert a profound influence on the course of polymeric crystallization with ultimate responsibility for the divergence of adjacent lamellae which leads to spherulitic growth. Their effective size and pressure have been measured, in α-polypropylene, from electron microscopic measurements of the separation and maximum curvature of lamellae in row structures. That cilia exist and extend the effective region occupied by a lamella beyond the geometrical confines of its fold surfaces is important for crystallization theory and may well have implications for the connection of lamellae into networks and for gelation.     

A modular approach toward regulating the secondary coordination sphere of metal ions: differential dioxygen activation assisted by intramolecular hydrogen bonds

Metal ion function depends on the regulation of properties within the primary and second coordination spheres. An approach toward studying the structure-function relationships within the secondary coordination sphere is to construct a series of synthetic complexes having constant primary spheres but structurally tunable secondary spheres. This was accomplished through the development of hybrid urea-carboxamide ligands that provide varying intramolecular hydrogen bond (H-bond) networks proximal to a metal center. Convergent syntheses prepared ligands [(N'-tert-butylureayl)-N-ethyl]-bis(N' '-R-carbamoylmethyl)amine (H(4)1R) and bis[(N'-tert-butylureayl)-N-ethyl]-(N' '-R-carbamoylmethyl)amine (H(5)2R), where R=isopropyl, cyclopentyl, and (S)-(-)-alpha-methylbenzyl. The ligands with isopropyl groups H(4)1iPr and H(5)2iPr were combined with tris[(N'-tert-butylureayl)-N-ethyl]amine (H6buea) and bis(N-isopropylcarbamoylmethyl)amine (H(3)0iPr) to prepare a series of Co(II) complexes with varying H-bond donors. [CoIIH(2)2iPr]- (two H-bond donors), [CoIIH1iPr]- (one H-bond donor), and [CoII0iPr]- (no H-bond donors) have trigonal monopyramidal primary coordination spheres as determined by X-ray diffraction methods. In addition, these complexes have nearly identical optical and EPR properties that are consistent with S=3/2 ground states. Electrochemical studies show a linear spread of 0.23 V in anodic potentials (Epa) with [CoIIH(2)2iPr]- being the most negative at -0.385 V vs [Cp2Fe]+/[Cp2Fe]. The properties of [CoIIH3buea]- (H3buea, tris[(N'-tert-butylureaylato)-N-ethyl]aminato that has three H-bond donors) appears to be similar to that of the other complexes based on spectroscopic data. [CoIIH3buea]- and [CoIIH(2)2iPr]- react with 0.5 equiv of dioxygen to afford [CoIIIH3buea(OH)]- and [CoIIIH(2)2iPr(OH)]-. Isotopic labeling studies confirm that dioxygen is the source of the oxygen atom in the hydroxo ligands: [CoIIIH3buea(16OH)]- has a -(O-H) band at 3589 cm-1 that shifts to 3579 cm-1 in [CoIIIH3buea(18OH)]-; [CoIIIH(2)2iPr(OH)]- has -(16O-H)=3661 and -(18O-H)=3650 cm-1. [CoIIH1iPr]- does not react with 0.5 equiv of O2; however, treating [CoIIH1iPr]- with excess dioxygen initially produces a species with an X-band EPR signal at g=2.0 that is assigned to a Co-O2 adduct, which is not stable and converts to a species having properties similar to those of the CoIII-OH complexes. Isolation of this hydroxo complex in pure form was complicated by its instability in solution (kint=2.5x10-7 M min-1). Moreover, the stability of the CoIII-OH complexes is correlated with the number of H-bond donors within the secondary coordination sphere; [CoIIIH3buea(OH)]- is stable in solution for days, whereas [CoIIIH(2)2iPr(OH)]- decays with a kint=5.9x10-8 M min-1. The system without any intramolecular H-bond donors [CoII0iPr]- does not react with dioxygen, even when O2 is in excess. These findings indicate a correlation between dioxygen binding/activation and the number of H-bond donors within the secondary coordination sphere of the cobalt complexes. Moreover, the properties of the secondary coordination sphere affect the stability of the CoIII-OH complexes with [CoIIIH3buea(OH)]- being the most stable. We suggest that the greater number of intramolecular H-bonds involving the hydroxo ligand reduces the nucleophilicity of the CoIII-OH unit and reinforces the cavity structure, producing a more constrained microenvironment around the cobalt ion.     

Radiochemical neutron activation analysis of chromium in biological materials using ion chromatography with “on-line” yield determination

The use of ion chromatography with continuous UV detection for radiochemical separation of Cr with simultaneous yield determination is presented. The RNAA method consists of sample destruction in HNO₃+HClO₄, extraction of Cr(VI) with tribenzylamine in CHCl₃, backextraction in NaOH and chromatography of chromate. From radiotracer experiments, the ratio of signals for⁵¹Cr and Cr spike was found to be constant for a chromium mass range of 15 to 100 g. Application of the RNAA method to Cr determination in biological reference materials showed a reasonable agreement with the reference values. A relative standard deviation of 3% on the 100 g/kg level for homogeneous material was achieved.IAEA-fellow, on leave from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Philippine