Vapor-liquid equilibrium data at 25°C for six binary systems containing methyl acetate or methanol,with dichloromethane,chloroform, or 1,2-trans-dichloroethylene

Isothermal vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data, at 25° C were determined by a saturation method for each of the six methanol or methyl acetate binary systems with dichloromethane, chloroform, and 1,2-trans-dichloroethylene. The experimental data satisfy the Redlich-Kister consistency test, and were correlated with five Gibbs free energy models. All the binary mixtures of methanol with the chlorinated compounds exhibit strong positive deviations from ideality while the mixtures of methyl acetate with the chlorinated compounds present negative deviations from ideal behavior.Communicated at the Festsymposium celebrating Dr. Henry V. Kehiaian's 60^th birthday, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 17–18 May 1990.     

Thermodynamic properties of the ternary system MTBE+1-propanol+hexane

Experimental excess molar enthalpies and excess molar volumes of the ternary system x₁MTBE+x₂1-propanol+(1-x₁-x₂) hexane and the involved binary mixtures have been determined at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. Excess molar enthalpies were measured using a standard Calvet microcalorimeter, and excess molar volumes were determined from the densities of the pure liquids and mixtures, using a DMA 4500 Anton Paar densimeter. The UNIFAC group contribution model (in the versions of Larsen et al., and Gmehling et al.) has been employed to estimate excess enthalpies values. Several empirical expressions for estimating ternary properties from experimental binary results were applied.     

Binding the tobacco mosaic virus to inorganic surfaces

We studied the adsorption behavior and surface chemistry of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) on well-defined metal and insulator surfaces. TMV serves as a tubular supramolecular model system with precisely known surface termination. We show that if the surface chemistry of the substrate and the pH-dependent chemistry of the molecular surface match, for example, by hydrogen bonding, a strong adsorption occurs, and lateral movement is impeded. Due to the immobilization, the virion can be imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in contact mode. We also used self-assembled monolayers with an acyl chloride group to induce covalent bonding via ester formation. Noncontact AFM proved that TMV keeps its cylindrical cross section only under weak adsorption conditions, that is, on hydrophobic surfaces, while on hydrophilic substrates a deformation occurs to maximize the number of interacting chemical groups.     

Rapid determination of minority organic acids in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of organic acids in honey is reported. Malic, maleic, citric, succinic and fumaric acids were identified and quantified in 15 min. First time repeatibility, reproducibility and recoveries were determined out for these acids in honey samples. Maleic acid was also quantified for first time by a chromatographic method. The organic acids were removed from honey by using a solid-phase extraction procedure with anion-exchange cartridges. Previously, the solution of honey was adjusted to pH 10.50 with 0.1 M NaOH and stirred for 15 min at room temperature. Then, this solution was adjusted to pH 5.00 with 0.1 M H2SO4. This procedure was carried out to avoid interferences in the baseline. The chromatographic separation was achieved with only one Spherisorb ODS-2 S5 column thermostated at 25 degrees C. Metaphosphoric acid (pH 2.20) was used as mobile phase at a flow-rate of 0.7 ml/min. Organic acids were detected with a UV-vis detector (215 nm). The precision results showed that the relative standard deviations of the repeatability and reproducibility were < or =3.20% and < or =4.86%, respectively. The recoveries of the organic acids ranged from 62.9 to 99.4%. Under optimum conditions the detection limits ranged from 0.0064 to 7.57 mg/kg and the quantification limits ranged from 0.025 to 10.93 mg/kg.     

Microcalorimetric performance of the growth in culture of Escherichia coli,Proteus mirabilis and their mixtures in different proportions

Microcalorimetry is a technique that determines the heat flow produced as a result of microbial activities. The heat variations resulting from chemical reactions, which take place during metabolism, can be used to monitor bacterial growth in a culture medium. However, there are very few studies using calorimetry to investigate the relationships between two bacteria. In this work, we studied the interaction between E. coli and P. mirabilis, two bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. We have prepared three samples, mixing both enterobacteria at a concentration of 10³ CFU mL^?1 but in different proportions. Experimental equipment used was a Calvet microcalorimeter, where a constant temperature of 309.65 K was maintained. Then, we compared the shape of the heat flow–time curves of single microorganisms and their mixtures. Also, we calculated the thermokinetic parameters such as growth constant (k), generation time (G), detection time (t _d) and the amount of heat released (Q). The results obtained showed that when E. coli and P. mirabilis were put together in the culture medium, the growth profile of P. mirabilis seemed to dominate, even at low proportions in the sample.     

Evidence for helical edge modes in inverted InAs/GaSb quantum wells

We present an experimental study of low temperature electronic transport in the hybridization gap of inverted InAs/GaSb composite quantum wells. An electrostatic gate is used to push the Fermi level into the gap regime, where the conductance as a function of sample length and width is measured. Our analysis shows strong evidence for the existence of helical edge modes proposed by Liu et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 236601 (2008)]. Edge modes persist in spite of sizable bulk conduction and show only a weak magnetic field dependence-a direct consequence of a gap opening away from the zone center.     

TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> microstructures by inversion of macroporous silicon using atomic layer deposition

An approach is presented which is capable of fabricating arbitrarily shaped three-dimensional microstructures. Two methods—namely, macroporous silicon and atomic layer deposition—are combined to realize structures in the micrometer and submicrometer range. Using TiO₂ as an example, the fabrication of single hollow objects as well as complex network structures is shown. The scalability and the wide range of applicable materials are the key points of this method for future applications.