Facile modifications of a polyimide via chloromethylation. I. Novel synthesis of a new photosensitive polyimide

A soluble aromatic polyimide was chloromethylated via a reaction with chloromethyl methyl ether in the presence of tin(IV) chloride to produce a new starting material for the modification of aromatic polyimides. The chemical structure of the resulting polymer was confirmed by ¹H NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The maximum number of chloromethyl groups per repeat unit was 1.81. The chloromethylated polyimide was stable up to 250 °C and soluble in both chloroform and tetrahydrofuran. So that its utilization for further modification could be demonstrated, cinnamic acid was reacted with the formed polyimide, and it produced a new photosensitive polyimide with a cinnamoyl side chain. The photosensitivity of the resulting polyimide was investigated with ultraviolet spectroscopic methods. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 22–29, 2003     

Thermal behavior of metallodendrimers possessing bis(terpyridinyl)Ru(II) connectivity and different surface functionality

A series of metallodendrimers, assembled by means of bis(terpyridinyl)Ru^(II) connectivity on poly(propylene imine) dendrimer scaffolds, with homogeneous or heterogeneous surfaces, were prepared. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis were used to determine their thermal behavior, glass‐transition temperatures, and the decomposition kinetics and temperatures; no synergy effects for these properties were observed for the heterogeneously surfaced constructs in contrast to the corresponding homogeneously coated materials, which exhibited different values depending on their surface functionalities. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1487–1495, 2004     

Background-free,fast protein staining in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel using counterion dyes,zincon and ethyl violet

A background-free, fast protein staining method in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using an acidic dye, zincon (ZC) and a basic dye, ethyl violet (EV) is described. It is based on the counterion dye staining technique that employs two oppositely charged dyes to form an ion-pair complex in staining solution. The selective binding of free dye molecules to proteins in acidic solution produces bluish violet-colored bands. It is a rapid and end-point staining procedure, involving only fixing and staining steps that are completed in 1-1.5 h. The detection limit of this method is 8-15 ng of protein that is comparable to the sensitivity of the colloidal Coomassie Brilliant Blue G (CBBG) stain. Due to its sensitivity and speed, this stain may be more practical than any other dye-based stains for routine laboratory purposes.     

The Studies of Lanthanide Shift Reagents in NMR Spectroscopy

The action of a series of lanthanide chelate complexes LnL₃, where Lu=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho, Er and Yb; L= dbm (dibenzoylmethanato), dpm (dipivaloylmethanato), and acac acetylactonato), on nmr spectra of 2-butanol has been studied. The origin of shifting abilities and shifting sign of various lanthanide ions are explained by means of Bleaney's theory.     

Field and flow programming in frit-inlet asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation

The separation of wide molecular mass (Mr) ranges of macromolecules using frit inlet asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (FI-AFlFFF) has been improved by implementing a combination of field and flow programming. In this first implementation, field strength (governed by the cross flow-rate through the membrane-covered accumulation wall) is decreased with time to obtain faster elution and improved detection of the more strongly retained (high Mr) materials. The channel outlet flow-rate is optionally held constant, increased, or decreased with time. With circulation of the flow exiting the accumulation wall to the inlet frit, the dual programming of cross flow and channel outlet flow could be implemented using just two pumps. With this flow configuration, the channel outlet flow-rate is always equal to the channel inlet flow-rate, and these may be programmed independently of the cross flow-rate through the membrane. FI-AFlFFF retains its operational advantage over conventional asymmetrical flow FFF (AFlFFF). Unlike conventional AFlFFF, FI-AFlFFF does not require time consuming, and experimentally inconvenient, sample focusing and relaxation steps involving valve switching and interruption of sample migration. The advantages of employing dual programming with FI-AFlFFF are demonstrated for sets of polystyrene sulfonate standards in the molecular mass range of 4 to 1000 kDa. It is shown that programmed FI-AFlFFF successfully expands the dynamic separation range of molecular mass.     

Determination of primary amines by means of fluorescent schiff base derivatives

The formation of Schiff bases from the reaction of primary amines and several aromatic aldehydes has been studied. In many cases the Schiff bases were too unstable or feebly-fluorescent to be of analytical value. 1-Pyrenealdehyde and 2-fluorenealdehyde, however, were found to be suitable fluorigenic reagents for primary aliphatic amines, forming Schiff bases that were very stable and intensely fluorescent in acidic ethanol. The derivatives of 1-pyrenealdehyde could be detected at concentrations less than 1 ng ml^-1 in pure solution. Derivatives of 1-pyrenealdehyde could be readily produced by reactions at the surface of a t.l.c. plate. Combination of this approach with a simple deproteinizing procedure permitted analysis for nanograna quantities of primary amines in blood serum.     

Hard form factors for meson-baryon strong couplings as derived from deep inelastic lepton scattering

As stimulated by earlier attempts for obtaining theNN andN form factors from the deep inelastic lepton scattering data, we extend the analysis by taking into account effects of additional mesons including, , ,K, andK ^*, with the coupling constants fixed by the lowenergy nucleon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon scattering data. Contrary to an earlier claim that the NN andN form factor must be very soft (e.g., with the cutoff mass less than 500 MeV in the monopole form), we find, for example, that with all form factors parametrized in the dipole form, a universal cutoff mass of 1150 MeV in the/N sector and 1400 MeV in the/ sector yields predictions in excellent agreement with recently published neutrino data on the momentum fractions carried by thes, , and¯d quarks, as well as consistent with the sea-to-valence ratio extracted from the CDHS data and the Femilab E615 experiment. Similar results can also be obtained by using exponential cutoffs for all couplings, or by using monopole forms for some vertices while retaining dipole forms for the rest. The success of the mesonexchange picture in generating the strangeness content in a proton suggests an alternative understanding of the origin of sea quarks in the proton.We wish to thank G. Garvey, K. Holinde, L.-C. Liu, M. B. Johnson, M. Strikman, A. W. Thomas and Jochen Wambach for helpful conversations. W-Y. P. Hwang wishes to acknowledge the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for a fellowship to visit Jülich for conducting research. His research works was also supported in part by the National Science Council of the Republic of China. The work of G. E. Brown is supported in part by a Humboldt award, in part by NATO Grant RG85/0093, and in part by the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Interactive Phenomena of a Rotating Arc and a Premixed CH4 Flame

The interactive phenomena between a rotating arc and a premixed methane/air flame have been investigated. The effects of the rotating arc on the flame were observed: both lean and rich flammability limit was extended with the rotating arc on. More interestingly, the opposite interactions, i.e., the effects of the flame on the rotating arc, were also observed: the arc length, angular speed, and electrical characteristics are affected by the flame. An analysis of the optical emission spectra showed that the rotating arc generates chemically active species such as excited N₂ molecules and O and H atoms. An analysis of the gas products indicated that the concentrations of the major gas products such as CO₂, CO, and H₂ were not significantly affected by the rotating arc, although the flammability limit are significantly extended. Unlike these major gas products, minor products like NO_x emissions increased by an order of magnitude in the presence of a rotating arc under certain air/fuel conditions.