Limited stability of the pH reference material sodium tetraborate decahydrate (“borax”)

Thermogravimetric and X-ray powder diffraction analyses revealed that the pH reference material sodium tetraborate decahydrate (“borax”) is not a stable substance but, loosing some of its water of crystallization, transforms slowly into the pentahydrate. The connected pH changes of the solutions are opposite to and larger than, those expected according to the dilution value of the decahydrate as shown by differential potentiometric measurements. The transformation rate depends on the storing time in the closed original container, the time of and after the first exposure of the material to the atmosphere, the frequency of and the relative humidity during subsequent exposures, and the temperature. The transformation reaction is not understood in detail. However, the experiments showed that sodium tetraborate decahydrate is a reliable pH reference material, whose pH is constant within ΔpH=±0.005 within at least two years after preparation, even if occasionally exposed to the atmosphere. Further work will show whether this time limit can be somewhat extended.     

Oxidation of polyethylene surfaces by remote plasma discharge: A comparison study with alternative oxidation methods

The reaction rates and products of remote oxygen plasma treatment, corona discharge, and ozone treatment of high and low density polyethylenes have been examined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The oxygen uptake by remote plasma treatment was faster than that of other surface treatments using excited oxygen species. A steady state concentration of 18 ± 1% oxygen can be attained within 1 s of exposure in the remote plasma.     

Aspects of the physical chemistry of polymers, biomaterials and mineralised tissues investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM)

Beyond being merely a tool for measuring surface topography, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has made significant contributions to various scientific areas dealing with physical chemistry processes. This paper presents aspects of the physical chemistry at surfaces and interfaces of polymers, biomaterials and tissues investigated with AFM. Selected examples presented include surface induced self-assembly of polymer blends, copolymer interfacial reinforcement of immiscible homopolymers, protein adsorption on biomaterials and erosion of mineralised human tissues. In these areas, AFM is a useful and versatile tool to study structural or dynamic sample properties including thermodynamically driven surface evolution of polymer surfaces, lateral surface composition of interfaces, adsorption processes, and the metrology of demineralisation phenomena.     

Matrix optimization for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of oligosaccharides from human milk

Neutral and acidic oligosaccharides from human milk were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI/MS). These experiments require suitable matrices; their selection and particularly their preparation protocols must be optimized. Important criteria are sensitivity, reproducibility, tolerance against impurities and resolution over a wide mass range. For analytical investigations of these oligosaccharides, containing labile fucosylated and sialylated components, another property of a matrix becomes a significant factor, namely the influence on ion stability and the extent of (metastable) fragmentation. The experience gained with the MALDI/MS of neutral and acidic oligosaccharides is summarized taking into account different intentions of measurement and typical problems, such as impurities after enzymatic treatment. For a rapid screening of an oligosaccharide sample, superior results were obtained with a new preparation technique using 5-chloro-2-mercaptobenzothiazole (CMBT) as the first layer for 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid. For structural analysis by post-source decay, CMBT as the first layer for 3-aminoquinoline is a favoured preparation protocol, because extensive fragmentation is achieved. For acidic oligosaccharides, a special preparation protocol makes it possible to determine the number of sialic acids by inducing highly effective cationization. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry; matrices; oligosaccharides; post-source decay.     

The Early Stages of Native Enamel Dissolution Studied with Atomic Force Microscopy

Food-induced demineralization (erosion) is one of the key factors in surface structural changes of tooth enamel, with soft drinks being a significant etiological agent. The objective of this study was to measure early stages of enamel loss with high accuracy on native enamel surfaces combined with qualitative observations of changes in the surface morphology using the atomic force microscope (AFM). Native unerupted third molar surfaces were partly covered with a gold reference layer. Samples were imaged with the AFM before dissolution (at baseline) and after exposure to three different drinks (mineral water, a "toothkind" blackcurrant drink, and a lemon and lime juice drink) at five different exposure times (15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h). The changes in the surface morphology were investigated qualitatively as well as quantitatively. This study showed that the maximum material loss occurred at the aprismatic parts of the enamel close to the perikymata. The maximum enamel loss was greatest for the lemon and lime juice drink and lowest for water. A two-way ANOVA of the transformed data, employing the natural logarithm, showed a statistically significant difference between both the drinks and the exposure time at a 95% confidence level (P=0.000). This demonstrates that the AFM is a suitable tool for measuring early stages of enamel demineralization. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Konvexität in halbgeordneten Ebenen

Let (E, (ie63-01),) be a halfordered plane and call convex if M contains for any two points a,bM all pointsx between a and b. It is shown that segments [a,b] are convex if and only if (E, (ie63-02)) is the affine plane of order 3, (E, (ie63-03),) is an ordered plane or is near-trivial.

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Herrn Professor Johannes Böhm zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

A public-key cryptosystem utilizing cyclotomic fields

While it is well-known that the RSA public-key cryptosystem can be broken if its modulusN can be factored, it is not known whether there are other ways of breaking RSA. This paper presents a public-key scheme which necessarily requires knowledge of the factorization of its modulus in order to be broken. Rabin introduced the first system whose security is equivalent to the difficulty of factoring the modulus. His scheme is based on squaring (cubing) for encryption and extracting square (cube) roots for decryption. This introduces a 14 (19) ambiguity in the decryption. Various schemes which overcome this problem have been introduced for both the quadratic and cubic case. We generalize the ideas of Williams' cubic system to larger prime exponents. The cases of higher prime order introduce a number of problems not encountered in the quadratic and cubic cases, namely the existence of fundamental units in the underlying cyclotomic field, the evaluation of higher power residue symbols, and the increased difficulty of Euclidean division in the field.     

Anisole hydrogenation with well-characterized polyoxoanion- and tetrabutylammonium-stabilized Rh(0) nanoclusters: effects of added water and acid, plus enhanced catalytic rate, lifetime, and partial hydrogenation selectivity

Following a comprehensive look at the arene hydrogenation literature by soluble nanocluster catalysts, six key, unfulfilled goals in nanocluster arene hydrogenation catalysis are identified. To begin to address those six goals, well-characterized polyoxoanion- and tetrabutylammonium-stabilized Rh(0) nanoclusters have been synthesized by the reduction of the precisely defined precatalyst [Bu(4)N](5)Na(3)[(1,5-COD)Rh small middle dotP(2)W(15)Nb(3)O(62)] with H(2) in propylene carbonate solvent. These Rh(0) nanoclusters are characterized by their stoichiometry of formation, transmission electron microscopy, and the two rate constants which characterize their mechanism of formation; previous studies in our laboratories have provided additional characterization of polyoxoanion-stabilized Rh(0) nanoclusters. Propylene carbonate solutions of the Rh(0) nanoclusters catalyze the hydrogenation of anisole (methoxybenzene) under mild conditions (22-78 degrees C, 30-40 psig H(2)). Proton donors such as water or HBF(4) small middle dotEt(2)O are discovered to affect both nanocluster formation and nanocluster arene hydrogenation catalysis. Under identical conditions, the Rh(0) nanoclusters are 10-fold more active than a commercially available, oxide-supported 5% Rh/Al(2)O(3) catalyst of the same average metal-particle size. A series of lifetime experiments shows that the Rh(0) nanoclusters are capable of at least 2600 total turnovers (TTO), a lifetime significantly longer than the approximately 100 TTO often seen for nanocluster arene hydrogenation catalysts, and a lifetime slightly better than the prior record of 2000 TTO for a literature nanocluster system. The present polyoxoanion-stabilized Rh(0) nanoclusters also display a record, albeit modest, 30% selectivity for the partial hydrogenation of anisole to 1-methoxycyclohexene with an overall yield of up to 8% at higher temperatures. In comparison to the 5% Rh/Al(2)O(3) catalyst, the polyoxoanion-stabilized nanoclusters yield a 4.7-fold higher maximum yield of 1-methoxycyclohexene. Finally, the seven main findings of the present work are summarized, including how they address five of the aforementioned six main goals in nanocluster arene hydrogenation.     

Bildung siliciumorganischer Verbindungen. 89. Selektive Photobromierung von Si-methylierten Carbosilanen

Formation of Organosilicon Compounds. 89. Selective Photobromination of Si-methylated Carbosilanes A selective photobromination of the C atoms in the skeleton of Si-methylated carbosilanes is reported. (me₃Si? CH₂)₂Sime₂ reacts to me₃Si? CBr₂? Sime₂? CH₂? Sime₃ in good yields (me = CH₃); the second CH₂ group is considerably slower brominated. Photobromination of (me₂Si? CH₂)₃ consecutively yields a and b . Also from (me₂Si? CH₂)₄ the derivative with one CBr₂ group is accessible. Bromination of tertiary CH groups is highly preferred; this is shown by the selective formation of c . The C-bromination of SiBr-substituted carbosilanes is significantly more difficult; nevertheless (Brme₂Si)₂CH₂ selectively forms (Brme₂Si)₂CBr₂. Brme₂Si? CH₂? Sime₂? CH₂? Sime₃ forms Brme₂Si? CH₂? Sime₂? CBr₂? Sime₃, i. e., only the CH₂ group non-adjacent to SiBr is attacked. The formation of CHBr groups could not be detected. Higher temperatures and longer reaction times increase the formation of polymers.     

CCR5 antagonists: 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acid analogues with potent anti-HIV activity

[reaction: see text] A novel approach to alpha,alpha-disubstituted-beta-amino acids (beta(2,2)-amino acids) was employed in the synthesis of a series of 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acids possessing high affinity for the CCR5 receptor and potent anti-HIV activity. The rat pharmacokinetics for these new analogues featured higher bioavailabilities and lower rates of clearance as compared to cyclopentane 1.