The relation between structure changes and thermal expansion in liquid indium

The structure of liquid indium in a wide temperature range has been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo methods. Analysis of temperature dependence of the interatomic distances and coordination numbers allowed us to determine the existence of structural transformation in a liquid state. Moreover, it was found that at a temperature of 640 K thermal expansion coefficients, estimated from temperature dependence of interatomic distances, change its sign from negative to positive confirming the transformations in structure of liquid indium which are observed by temperature variations.     

Synthesis of New Chlorin e6 Trimethyl and Protoporphyrin IX Dimethyl Ester Derivatives and Their Photophysical and Electrochemical Characterizations

In view of increasing demands for efficient photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT), we herein report the synthesis and photophysical characterizations of new chlorin e₆ trimethyl ester and protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester dyads as free bases and Zn^II complexes. The synthesis of these molecules linked at the β‐pyrrolic positions to pyrano[3,2‐c]coumarin, pyrano[3,2‐c]quinolinone, and pyrano[3,2‐c]naphthoquinone moieties was performed by using the domino Knoevenagel hetero Diels–Alder reaction. The α‐methylenechromanes, α‐methylenequinoline, and ortho‐quinone methides were generated in situ from a Knoevenagel reaction of 4‐hydroxycoumarin, 4‐hydroxy‐6‐methylcoumarin, 4‐hydroxy‐N‐methylquinolinone, and 2‐hydroxy‐1,4‐naphthoquinone, respectively, with paraformaldehyde in dioxane. All the dyads as free bases and as Zn^II complexes were obtained in high yields. All new compounds were fully characterized by 1D and 2D NMR techniques, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and HRMS. Their photophysical properties were evaluated by measuring the fluorescence quantum yield, the singlet oxygen quantum yield by luminescence detection, and also the triplet lifetimes were correlated by flash photolysis and intersystem crossing (ISC) rates. The fluorescence lifetimes were measured by a time‐correlated single photon count (TCSPC) method, fluorescence decay associated spectra (FDAS), and anisotropy measurements. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and circular dichroism (CD) spectra were recorded for one Zn^II complex in order to obtain information, respectively, on the electronic and conformational states, and interpretation of these spectra was enhanced by molecular orbital (MO) calculations. Electrochemical studies of the Zn^II complexes were also carried out to gain insights into their behavior for such applications.     

Immunosensor for Detection of the Textile Dye Disperse Orange 1 Based on Non‐conventional Competitive Assay

Textile dyes appear as an important class of compounds that has become a matter of public concern and a serious challenge for scientists and environmentalists due to their large‐scale production and extensive application. In this work, a non‐conventional competitive‐type amperometric immunosensor was successfully developed for detection of the textile dye Disperse Orange 1 (DO1). The DO1 was magnetically captured and separated from the sample solution using magnetic particles (MP) functionalized with the antibody anti‐DO1 and with HRP and gold electrodes were modified with the conjugate DO1‐BSA. Molecules of DO1 immobilized on the electrode surface and DO1 captured by MP compete for antibody binding sites. As a result, the amperometric signal decreases with increasing target DO1 concentration at the capture step, because this decreases, the attachment between the HRP coated MP and the electrode. This strategy allowed us to determine DO1 at the low detection limit of 0.87 ng mL^?1 with great specificity. Also, there were good recoveries for detection of the textile dye in river water samples without the need of sample pre‐treatment. The competitive amperometric immunosensor shows applicability for the determination of small molecules that cannot be determined by conventional competitive or sandwich immunosensors.     

Crystallization and characterization of an inflammatory lectin purified from the seeds of Dioclea wilsonii

DwL, a lectin extracted from the seeds of Dioclea wilsonii, is a metalloprotein with strong agglutinating activity against rabbit and ABO erythrocytes, inhibited by glucose and mannose. DwL was purified by affinity chromatography on a Sephadex G-50 column and ion exchange chromatography on a HiTrap SP XL column. SDS-PAGE revealed three electrophoretic bands corresponding to the α (25,634 ± 2 Da), β (12,873 ± 2 Da) and γ (12,779 ± 2 Da) chains. Protein sequencing was done by Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The primary sequence featured 237 amino acids and was highly homologous to other reported Diocleinae lectins. A complete X-ray dataset was collected at 2.0 ? for X-Man-complexed DWL crystals produced by the vapor diffusion method. The crystals were orthorhombic and belonged to the space group I222, with the unit-cell parameters a = 59.6, b = 67.9 and c = 109.0 ?. DWL differed in potency from other ConA-like lectins and was found to induce neutrophil migration in rats, making it particularly useful in structural/functional studies of this class of proteins.     

The Diels–Alder reactions of para-benzoquinone nitrogen-derivatives: an experimental and theoretical study

An experimental and theoretical study of the comparative reactivity and selectivity of the Diels–Alder reactions of para-benzoquinones and three nitrogen derivatives have been performed. The mono-oximes derivatives do not react under the tested reaction conditions, whereas the tosylated mono-oximes react slowly. However, the mono N-tosyl imines show excellent reactivity, and superior to the parent para-benzoquinones. DFT calculations support these experimental results.     

Kinetic study of depolymerization of polyurethanes: A experimental and computational insight for chemical recycling

This work reports experimental and computational studies of polyurethanes depolymerization from industrial waste through a reaction with potassium hydroxide. A computational study was performed to identify the chemical reaction mechanism, which is more difficult to determine experimentally. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of activation process were also obtained by theoretical calculations. An experimental procedure led to products identified by ¹³C solid-state NMR analysis, which agree to the computational study. A small variation of less than 5% in the activation energy values found between the data obtained through theoretical calculations and experimental methods suggests that the described computational procedure is enough to describe the process in a satisfactory manner.     

Simple,fast, and ultrasensitive method for textile dye determination based on luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL) inhibition

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Textile dyes are considered micropollutants or emerging pollutants since they can be present in the environment at very low concentrations and show...     

Mechanical,chemical and bacterial resistance of modified polyvinylidene fluoride membranes suitable for ultrafiltration of oily emulsions

The ultrafiltration membranes prepared at the Institute of Industrial Chemistry of the University of Genoa and, at the present time, developed in a tubular form by ANIC S.p.A. for ultrafiltration of oily emulsions, are made from modified polyvinylidene fluoride. The base polymer shows very good resistance to chemical and bacterial attack and the membranes prepared from it should presumably have the same properties. In order to verify the above assumption, the membranes were stored for one year in the presence of the following agents: water, wool scouring waste water, acids, alkali, calcium chloride sodium hypochlorite and sodium bisulfite at concentrations ranging from a few grams to more than one hundred grams per liter. Every month the membranes were washed and tested. The results show that, in most cases, after an initial decline of about 30% during the first three months of storage, the permeate flux for these membranes becomes constant with values corresponding to more than 7000 liters per square meter per day. Among the chemicals used, only concentrated solutions of sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite affect the performance of the membranes. The membranes were also submitted to bacterial attack tests in order to check their suitability for processes involving ultrafiltration of organic media such as wool scouring wastes or sewage. The bursting strength of the membranes was also checked as a function of their storage in the presence of all the above agents. No change was noticed except for those immersed in sodium hydroxide solutions. It can therefore be inferred that the membranes exhibit substantially the same resistance properties as the parent polyvinylidene fluoride.