Comprehensive Profiling by Non-targeted Stable Isotope Tracing Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: A New Tool Complementing Metabolomic Analyses of Polar Metabolites

Mass spectrometry (MS) driven metabolomics is a frequently used tool in various areas of life sciences; however, the analysis of polar metabolites is less commonly included. In general, metabolomic analyses lead to the detection of the total amount of all covered metabolites. This is currently a major limitation with respect to metabolites showing high turnover rates, but no changes in their concentration. Such metabolites and pathways could be crucial metabolic nodes (e.g., potential drug targets in cancer metabolism). A stable-isotope tracing capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) metabolomic approach was developed to cover both polar metabolites and isotopologues in a non-targeted way. An in-house developed software enables high throughput processing of complex multidimensional data. The practicability is demonstrated analyzing [U-¹³C]-glucose exposed prostate cancer and non-cancer cells. This CE-MS-driven analytical strategy complements polar metabolite profiles through isotopologue labeling patterns, thereby improving not only the metabolomic coverage, but also the understanding of metabolism.     

Phasenbeziehungen und Natriumionenleitung im quasi-binären System Na2SiF6/Na3AlF6

Phase Relations and Sodium Ion Conductivity within the Quasi-binary System Na₂SiF₆/Na₂AIF₆ . The phase diagram of the Na₂SiF₆/Na₃AlF₆ system has been determined by means of x-ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis and conductivity measurements in the sub-solidus region. Na₃AlF₆ accomodates up to 73 mol.-% Na₂SiF₆ maintaining the crystal structure type. The sodium ion conductivity increases by about five orders of magnitude upon doping Na₃AlF₆ with Na₂SiF₆.     

Zur Synthese und Struktur von K3N

Synthesis and Structure of K₃N Two phases in the binary system K/N have been obtained via co‐deposition of potassium and nitrogen onto polished sapphire at 77 K and subsequent heating to room temperature. The powder diffraction pattern of one of these phases can be satisfactorily interpreted by assuming the composition K₃N, and the anti‐TiI₃ structure‐type, which is also adopted by Cs₃O. The resulting hexagonal lattice constants are: a = 779.8(2), c = 759.2(9) pm, Z = 2, P6₃/mcm. Comparison with possible structures of K₃N generated by computational methods and refined at Hartree‐Fock‐ and DFT level, reveals that the energetically most favoured structure has not formed (presumable Li₃P‐type), but instead one of those with very low density. In this respect, the findings for K₃N are analogous to the results on Na₃N. The thermal evolution of the deposited starting mixture has been investigated. Hexagonal K₃N transforms to another K/N phase at 233 K. Its XRD can be fully indexed resulting in an orthorhombic cell a = 1163, b = 596, c = 718 pm. Decomposition leaving elemental potassium as the only residue occurs at 263 K.     

Minimally generated Boolean algebras

We introduce the class of minimally generated Boolean algebras, i.e. those algebras representable as the union of a continuous well-ordered chain of subalgebras A ₁ where A _i+1 is a minimal extension of A _i. Minimally generated algebras are closely related to interval algebras and superatomic algebras.     

A New Family of Binary Layered Compounds of Platinum with Alkali Metals (A = K,Rb, Cs)

By reacting platinum with alkali metals (A = K, Rb, Cs) a new family of binary alkali metal platinides has been synthesized and characterized by chemical analysis, X‐ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis (DTA and DSC), and magnetic measurements. All three compounds exhibit similar XRD‐patterns with strong reflections that can be indexed on the basis of a rhombohedral crystal system (K_xPt: a = 2.6462(1), c = 17.123(1); Rb_xPt: a = 2.6415(1) Å, c = 17.871(1) Å; Cs_xPt: a = 2.6505(1) Å, c = 18.536(1) Å; x < ½. The a lattice constant is independent on the alkali metal used and of value close to the Pt–Pt distance in NaPt₂ (2.645Å). The c parameter increases monotonically with the growing atomic radius of the alkali metal. The average structure of the alloys consists of cubic close packed layers of platinum atoms with layers of disordered alkali metals in between. For all compounds besides the strong reflections small satellites are observed which cannot be indexed together with the rhombohedral peaks in any rational 3‐dimensional lattice. However, these satellites can be indexed as incommensurate modulations within the ab plane (found propagation vectors k = (0.1011, 0.2506, 0) for Cs_xPt, and k = (0.0168, 0.2785, 0) for Rb_xPt).