Synchrotron fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy: A new tool to monitor the fate of organic contaminants in plants

FTIR microspectroscopy, with synchrotron radiation as a source, was used for the first time to study changes in plant structure induced by organic contaminants. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants were grown hydroponically in the presence of benzotriazole. Changes in the plant structure due to uptake, incorporation, and/or transformation of benzotriazole were observed. False color intensity maps of benzotriazole treated secondary root sections showed changes in plant structure, as well as the presence of aromatic CH peaks due to incorporation of benzotriazole within the plant. The presence of the characteristic benzotriazole CH out-of-plane bending mode suggests that the contaminant aromatic ring remains intact upon the uptake by the plant. Simultaneously, the changes in the lignin structure suggest that the plant suffered damage by the uptake of the benzotriazole. Spectral variations between the untreated and benzotriazole treated sunflowers were uncovered using principal components analysis (PCA). PCA also revealed clustering according to the different benzotriazole treatments.     

Approximate implicitization and recursive surface intersection algorithms

Most published work on intersection algorithms for Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems addresses transversal intersections [1], situations where the surface normals of the surfaces intersected are well separated along all intersection curves. For transversal intersections the divide and conquer strategy of recursive subdivision, Sinha's theorem [2] and the convex hull property of NonUniform Rational B-Spline surfaces (NURBS) efficiently identify all intersection branches. However, in singular or near singular intersections, situations where the surfaces are parallel or near parallel in an intersection region, along an intersection curve or in an intersection point, even deep levels of subdivision will frequently not sort out the intersection topology. The paper will focus on the novel approach of Approximate Implicitization to address these challenges. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Use of Infrared Microspectroscopy in Plant Growth and Development

Abstract

Infrared microspectroscopy (IMS) has emerged as a key technique for the study of plant growth and development. The combination of IMS and synchrotron radiation has enabled researchers to analyze plant development at a cellular level. The spatial distribution of functional groups in plant tissue can be determined by the “chemical imaging” ability of IMS. Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and polarized IR spectroscopies in combination with IMS makes sampling rapid and easy, providing direct analysis in situ. This review covers applications of IMS to study cell wall architecture and the major cell wall components: lignin, cellulose, and polysaccharides; applications for agricultural and feed products; and changes to plant structure due to biotic and abiotic stressors.     

Gold Nanoparticles Obtained by Bio-precipitation from Gold(III) Solutions

The use of metal nanoparticles has shown to be very important in recent industrial applications. Currently gold nanoparticles are being produced by physical methods such as evaporation. Biological processes may be an alternative to physical methods for the production of gold nanoparticles. Alfalfa biomass has shown to be effective at passively binding and reducing gold from solutions containing gold(III) ions and resulting in the formation of gold(0) nanoparticles. High resolution microscopy has shown that five different types of gold particles are present after reaction with gold(III) ions with alfalfa biomass. These particles include: fcc tetrahedral, hexagonal platelet, icosahedral multiple twinned, decahedral multiple twinned, and irregular shaped particles. Further analysis on the frequency of distribution has shown that icosahedral and irregular particles are more frequently formed. In addition, the larger particles observed may be formed through the coalescence of smaller particles. Through modification of the chemical parameters, more uniform particle size distribution may be obtained by the alfalfa bio-reduction of gold(III) from solution.     

Atypical “Masked” Frustrated Lewis Pair Character in a Geminal-Linked Phosphine-Borane

We report the synthesis and reactivity of the geminal-linked fluorene-derived P/B frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) ⁱPr₂P(C₁₃H₈)BCy₂ ( 1 ). Compound 1 displays anomalous behavior towards small molecules, acting as a “masked” FLP. This behavior stems from significant polarization of the B−C(fluorene) bond in 1 , as identified by density functional theory (DFT) computations. We exploit this B−C bond polarity through reactions with PhPCl₂, H₃N ⋅ BH₃, and ⁱPrNH₂, demonstrating P−Cl and N−H bond activation, respectively.