Characterization of low molecular weight hydrocarbon oligomers by laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using a solvent-free sample preparation method.

A new solvent-free sample preparation method using silver trifluoroacetate (AgTFA) was developed for the analysis of low molecular weight paraffins and microcrystalline waxes by laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOFMS). Experiments show that spectral quality can be enhanced by dispersing AgTFA directly in liquid paraffins without the use of additional solvents. This preparation mixture is applied directly to the MALDI probe. Solid waxes could be examined by melting prior to analysis. The method also provides sufficiently reproducible spectra that peak area ratios between mono- and bicyclic alkane peaks indicated variations in the cycloalkane content of paraffin samples. Dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons observed during the desorption/ionization process was studied by analysis of alkane standards.     

Design of neutral, mono- or di-cationic water-soluble trihydrazidophosphoradamantanes

The versatile behavior of a trihydrazidophosphoradamantane allowing the synthesis of a variety of neutral, mono- or di-cationic water-soluble molecules of potential interest for biphasic catalysis is reported.     

On the geometry of infinite cyclic subgroups

In this paper we construct an example of a word metric on an infinite cyclic subgroup. This example shows that subexponential distortion does not obstruct non-trivial growth of connected radii. This answers a question of Gromov [6]. The constructed metric has other pathological properies. Specifically, its asymptotic cone depends on the choice of ultrafilter and scaling sequence. The work has been partially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.     

IFS attractors and Cantor sets

We build a metric space which is homeomorphic to a Cantor set but cannot be realized as the attractor of an iterated function system. We give also an example of a Cantor set K in R³ such that every homeomorphism f of R³ which preserves K coincides with the identity on K.     

Integral Inequalities and Global Solutions of Semilinear Evolution Equations

A criterion for the nonexplosion of solutions to semilinear evolution equations on Banach spaces is proved. The result is obtained by applying a modification of the Bihari type inequality to the case of a weakly singular nonlinear integral inequality.     

Extraction-ability and -selectivity of tetra-aza-crown ethers for transition metal cations

In order to investigate the relative effects of the differences between the structures and lipophilicities of 1, 10-dioxa-4, 7, 13, 16-tetra-azacyclo-octadecane (TA-18-crown-6) and the tetrabenzyl derivative of 1,10-dioxa-4, 7, 13, 16-tetra-azacyclo-octadecane (TBTA-18-crown-6) on their extraction-abilities and -selectivities for transition metal cations, constants of the overall extraction (logK _ex) of 1:1 (M:L) complexes, the distribution (K _D) for two diluents (CH₂Cl₂ and CHCl₃) with different dielectric constants have been determined at 25 ± 0.1 °C. The magnitude of logK _ex is largely determined by that of K _D. The equilibrium constants of TA-18-crown-6 have been compared with those of TBTA-18-crown-6. It is found that:(i) logK _ex sequences of TA-18-crown-6 and TBTA-18-crown-6 for transition metals in CH₂Cl₂ lie in order: Fe³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Mn²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Mn²⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Zn²⁺ respectively; (ii) the stability sequences of two types of tetra-aza-crown ethers with the transition metal cations in CHCl₃ are the same as follows: Fe³⁺ > Ni²⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Co²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Mn²⁺, and (iii) unusual selectivities are observed for transition metal-tetra-aza-crowns, e.g. the high Fe³⁺/M ⁿ⁺ selectivity factors (S_f) of TA-18-crown-6, except for the competitive-extractions for the special case in CHCl₃ of TBTA-18-crown-6, it was found that the Mn²⁺/M ⁿ⁺ values were relatively higher according to the other transition metal cations. A systematic sequence in these two types of solvents is not found for a given transition metal cation in terms of the variation of selectivity with the tetra-aza-crown ethers. The results provide alternatives for the rational design of other specific ligands on the transition metal cations.     

Asymptotic Analysis of the Current-Voltage Curve of a pnpn Semiconductor Device

We consider the one-dimensional steady-state semiconductor deviceequations modelling a pnpn device. There are two relevant scalingsof the equations corresponding to small and large applied voltages.In both scalings, the semiconductor equations can be consideredas singularly perturbed. It turns out that the small-voltagescaling breaks down for current values between two saturationcurrents. In that interval, the large-voltage scaling has tobe employed. For both scalings, we derive the first-order termsof an asymptotic expansion and show that the reduced problemhas a solution. An example verifies that the current-voltagecurves obtained have the expected qualitative structure.     

Synthesis and chiroptical properties of two new planar-chiral macrocycles

Could simple intraannular-arm macrocyclic systems exist in enantiopure stable forms? The effective synthesis of two representative compounds of such a class, their resolution into enantiomers, and experiments justifying their stability toward racemization are presented.     

Size complementarity in anion recognition by neutral macrocyclic tetraamides

Comparison of the anion binding properties of a series of uncharged macrocyclic tetraamides reveal significant effects of the receptor's size on the strength of its anion complexes. This study allowed for estimation of the optimal size of a macroring for complexation of common anions.     

Recent advances in the analysis of steroid hormones and related drugs.

The development during the last 15 years and the state-of-the-art in the analysis of bulk steroid hormone drugs and hormone-like structures and pharmaceutical formulations made thereof are summarized. Other steroids (sterols, bile acids, cardiac glycosides, vitamins D) as well as biological-clinical aspects and pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies are excluded from this review. The state-of-the-art is summarized based on comparisons of monographs in the latest editions of the European Pharmacopoeia, United States Pharmacopoeia and the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. This is followed by sections dealing with new developments in the methodology for the fields of spectroscopic and spectrophotometric, chromatographic, electrophoretic and hyphenated techniques as well electroanalytical methods. The review is terminated by two problem-oriented sections: examples on impurity and degradation profiling as well as enantiomeric analysis.