High magnification microscopic system focusing on transparent liquid/liquid interface formed in thin-layer two-phase microcell.

A thin-layer two-phase microcell was fabricated without an adhesive, which showed no fluorescence and resisted acids. The lower hollow of the microcell was thin (0.18 mm), which was in the range of the working distance of the used objective of high magnification (60x) and high numerical aperture (1.2). A reflection method using probe light was newly employed for focusing the objective on a transparent dodecane/water interface strictly with an inverted microscope. The system was applied to in situ fluorescence microscopic measurements of the dynamics of single DNA molecules (165600 base pairs) at the dodecane/water interface.     

On‐line Liquid‐liquid Extraction Coupled to a Reversed Micellar‐mediated Chemiluminescence Detection System: Application to the Determination of Amino/Nitroaromatic Compounds

A simple and fast flow method for the trace level determination of p‐toluidine, 2‐methyl‐5‐nitroaniline, and 2,4‐dinitroaniline in aqueous samples is reported. These amino/nitroaromatics are related to trinitrotoluene (TNT) and appear during the degradation process of the explosive. The chemical principles of ion‐pair formation and liquid‐liquid extraction are applied: In aqueous acidic medium, the protonated analyte [HA]⁺ makes an ion‐pair with the tetrachloroaurate(III) ion, followed by on‐line ion‐pair extraction into the dichloromethane carrier used. After membrane separation, the CH₂Cl₂ containing the ion‐pair, [HA]⁺[AuCl₄]⁻, is mixed with the reversed micellar luminescent reagent of luminol (in 0.3 M Na₂CO₃) prepared from cetyl‐trimethylammonium chloride in CH₂Cl₂‐cyclohexane and the [AuCl₄⁻‐luminol chemiluminescence (CL) output is recorded. The detection limits (S/N> 3) are: p‐toluidine, 1.0 × 10⁻⁴M; 2‐methyl‐5‐nitroaniline, 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M; 2,4‐dinitroaniline, 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M, while the calibration curves are linear between 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ — 1.0 × 10⁻² M for all the compounds. Although spectral studies indicated the formation and extraction of a very small amount of the ion‐pair species, the reversed micellar‐mediated CL detection system provides an alternative procedure for the determination of degradation products of the explosive TNT in environmental aqueous samples.     

Catalytic behavior of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)iron(II) complex in chemiluminescence reaction of luminol in reversed micellar medium of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride

Tris(2,2'-bipyridine) complex of iron(II) was found to cause an increase in the chemiluminescence (CL) emission of luminol dispersed in the reversed micellar medium of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in 1:1 (v/v) dichloromethane-cyclohexane/water, when the iron(II) complex in dichloromethane was mixed directly with the reversed micellar solution containing luminol. Visible absorption measurements showed that, when dispersed in the CTAC reversed micellar medium, the iron(II) complex dissociates easily. In the reverse micelle, subsequently the free iron(II) ion produced may catalyze the CL oxidation of luminol even in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. The CL emission produced under the optimized experimental conditions was detectable at a minimum iron(II) concentration of 1.0 x 10(-9) M using a flow injection system.     

An improved method for the flow-injection determination of iodine using the luminol chemiluminescence reaction in a reversed micellar medium of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride in 1-hexanol-cyclohexane.

To eliminate the use of chlorinated hydrocarbons, we have improved the method for the flow-injection (FI) determination of iodine based on the chemiluminescence reaction of iodine with luminol in a chloroform-free reversed micellar medium of the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) using a mixture of 1-hexanol-cyclohexane as a bulk solvent. The FI procedure used simply involves the mixing of an iodine solution in cyclohexane with the chemiluminescent reagent solution of luminol in the reversed micellar medium of CTAC in 0.38 M 1-hexanol in cyclohexane/water (buffered with sodium carbonate). The optimum conditions for the iodine determination were evaluated and a detection limit (DL) of 0.05 ng cm(-3) iodine was achieved. The calibration graph obtained was linear with a dynamic range from the DL to 10 ng cm(-3) iodine. The relative standard deviations (n=5) observed at all concentrations within the linear range were less than 2.5%. The improved FI method is rapid and equally sensitive like the original one and was found to be suitable for the determination of trace iodine.     

Flavour changing neutral processes in a composite model for quarks,leptons and technifermions

It is argued that flavour-changing neutral processes may be suppressed in a recently proposed composite model for quarks, leptons and technifermions, in which the technicolour dynamics are asymptotically non-free at the composite level and are assumed to have an ultraviolet fixed point.     

Determination of ultra-trace levels of cobalt by ion chromatographic separation and chemiluminescence detection

A luminol chemiluminescence detection/flow injection analysis technique coupled with ion chromatography (IC) has been examined for the selective determination of cobalt (II) at pg ml^?1 levels. A barium chloride solution was used as an eluent in the IC to separate cobalt(II) from interferents. When a 100-μ1 sample injection volume was used, the detection limit was 1.0 pg ml^?1 cobalt; the minimum detectable amount of cobalt was 100 fg. The calibration graph was linear above 10 pg ml^?1 and the linear dynamic range extended over six orders of magnitude. The relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurements of 30 pg ml^?1 cobalt was 3.8%. The results of the analysis of a synthetic sample corresponding to a boiling-water reactor coolant and some commercially available copper(II) standard solutions are given.     

Crystalline‐State Photoreaction of 1‐Azido‐2‐nitrobenzene – Direct Observation of Heterocycle Formation by X‐Ray Crystallography

The crystalline‐state photoreaction of 1‐azido‐2‐nitrobenzene ( 1 ) was investigated by a combination of X‐ray crystallography, IR spectroscopy, electron‐spin resonance (ESR), and by means of theoretical calculations. Upon low‐temperature (80 K) photolysis of 1 , the formation of benzofuroxan ( 2 ) was directly observed by X‐ray single‐crystal analysis. ESR Measurements at 5 K suggested the presence of a triplet nitrene as an intermediate in the formation of the heterocycle. Temperature‐dependent IR spectroscopy also revealed that another intermediate, trans,trans‐1,2‐dinitrosobenzene, was produced at temperatures below 80 K.     

In situ measurements of the dynamics of single giant DNA molecules at the toluene-trioctylamine/water interface by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy

The dynamics of single giant deoxyribonucleic acid (T4GT7DNA, 165 600 base pairs) molecules was examined near and at the toluene/water, toluene-trioctylamine mixtures/water, and trioctylamine/water interfaces by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. The results were considerably affected by the trioctylamine content. With pure toluene or mixtures of lower trioctylamine volume contents (%VA), the randomly coiled DNA molecules diffused to near the interfaces. With mixtures of higher %VA (9 and 50%), the DNA molecules were stretched and adsorbed at the interfaces. There are a large number of anionic phosphate groups ((-O)2PO2-) in the DNA molecule that have an electrostatic affinity to protonated trioctylamine existing at the interface. In the case of pure trioctylamine, globular DNA molecules were adsorbed at the interface and also existed in the aqueous phase.