Detection of trace amounts of Ni by laser-induced fluorescence in graphite furnace with intensified charge coupled device

A laser-induced fluorescence in graphite furnace (LIF-GF) set-up has been equipped with an intensified CCD detector (ICCD) that enables simultaneous multichannel detection of large wavelength regions. The main advantages of such a system in comparison with conventional photomultiplier detection are: simultaneous detection of several fluorescence wavelengths for easy characterization of excitation and fluorescence spectra and for an increase of the absolute sensitivity and spectral selectivity; simultaneous monitoring of background signals, such as those due to matrix interferences, blackbody radiation and scattered laser light; decrease of the susceptibility to radio-frequency pick-ups emitted from the pump laser due to the delayed read-out procedure; time-resolved studies of fluorescence spectra for improved elemental selectivity or for studies of atomization processes, and a possibility to perform two-dimensional imaging of height distributions of atomization and, in combination with an imaging spectrometer, diffusion processes in the furnace. The first work on LIF-GF with ICCD detection has been performed on Ni. The most sensitive and versatile excitation and detection wavelengths have been identified. Detection limits in water solutions by the LIF-GF technique have been improved by two orders of magnitude and are found to be 0.015 pg with ICCD and 0.01 pg using a photomultiplier at the most sensitive excitation and detection wavelengths. Nickel in concentrations has been detected in aqueous standard reference samples with sodium concentrations ranging from to % (riverine water and estuarine water) with good accuracy and precision. The Ni contents of standard riverine and estuarine water were determined to 1.00 ± 0.11 and 0.75 ± 0.07 ng/ml, respectively. The certified concentrations are 1.03 ± 0.10 and 0.743 ± 0.078 .     

Muffin-tin orbital Wannier-like functions for insulators and metals.

Herein, we outline a method that is able to generate truly minimal basis sets that accurately describe either a group of bands, a band, or even just the occupied part of a band. These basis sets are the so-called NMTOs, muffin-tin orbitals of order N. For an isolated set of bands, symmetrical orthonormalization of the NMTOs yields a set of Wannier functions that are atom-centered and localized by construction. They are not necessarily maximally localized, but may be transformed into those Wannier functions. For bands that overlap others, Wannier-like functions can be generated. It is shown that NMTOs give a chemical understanding of an extended system. In particular, orbitals for the pi and sigma bands in an insulator, boron nitride, and a semimetal, graphite, will be considered. In addition, we illustrate that it is possible to obtain Wannier-like functions for only the occupied states in a metallic system by generating NMTOs for cesium. Finally, we visualize the pressure-induced s-->d transition.     

Vibrational coupled cluster theory

The theory and first implementation of a vibrational coupled cluster (VCC) method for calculations of the vibrational structure of molecules is presented. Different methods for introducing approximate VCC methods are discussed including truncation according to a maximum number of simultaneous mode excitations as well as an interaction space order concept is introduced. The theory is tested on calculation of anharmonic frequencies for a three-mode model system and a formaldehyde quartic force field. The VCC method is compared to vibrational self-consistent-field, vibrational M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory, and vibrational configuration interaction (VCI). A VCC calculation typically gives higher accuracy than a corresponding VCI calculation with the same number of parameters and the same formal operation count.     

Combinatorial synthesis of benztropine libraries and their evaluation as monoamine transporter inhibitors

A combinatorial synthesis of benztropine analogues is presented. Radical azidonation of 3-benzyloxy-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-8-carboxylic acid tert-butyl ester 3 to 3-(1-azidobenzyloxy)-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-8-carboxylic acid tert-butyl ester 4 was used as a key step in the synthesis. This step was optimized by adding 10% DMF to the reaction. Reaction of 4 with phenyl magnesium bromide followed by Boc removal and N-methylation gave benztropine 1. Reaction of five-component Grignard reagents with 4 was used to create a two-dimensional library of 25 N-normethylbenztropine analogues. Further reaction of this library with five alkyl bromides was carried out to create a three-dimensional library containing 125 compounds. Screening of the libraries towards binding and inhibition of uptake of the human dopamine (hDAT), serotonin (hSERT) and norepinephrine transporters (hNET) was carried out. None of the synthesized compounds were found to be stronger than benztropine, and none were selective for inhibition of binding over monoamine uptake.     

Organically pillared layered zinc hydroxides

The two organically pillared layered zinc hydroxides [Zn₂(OH)₂(ndc)], CPO-6, and [Zn₃(OH)₄(bpdc)], CPO-7, were obtained in hydrothermal reactions between 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (ndc) and zinc nitrate (CPO-6) and 4,4′biphenyldicarboxylate (bpdc) and zinc nitrate (CPO-7), respectively. In CPO-6, the tetrahedral zinc atoms are connected by two μ₂-OH groups and two carboxylate oxygen atoms, forming infinite layers extending parallel to the bc-plane. These layers are pillared by ndc to form a three-dimensional structure. In CPO-7, the zinc hydroxide layers are containing four-, five- and six coordinated zinc atoms, and the layers are built like stairways running along the [001] direction. Each step is composed of three infinite chains running in the [010] direction. Both crystal structures were solved from conventional single crystal data. Crystal data for CPO-6: Monoclinic space group P2₁/c (No. 14), a=11.9703(7), b=7.8154(5), c=6.2428(4) Å, β=90.816(2)°, V=583.97(6) Å³ and Z=4. Crystal data for CPO-7: Monoclinic space group C2/c (No. 15), a=35.220(4), b=6.2658(8), c=14.8888(17) Å, β=112.580(4)°, V=3033.8(6) Å³ and Z=8. The compounds were further characterized by thermogravimetric- and chemical analysis.     

The temperature dependence of the zero-field splitting of trimethylenemethane

Trimethylenemethane was generated by γ-irradiating polycrystalline methylenecyclopropane, and studied by EPR at various temperatures. The zero-field splitting constant, D, was observed to change from 0.0260 cm^?1 at 4 K to 0.0212 cm^?1 at 126 K, though the hyperfine coupling showed little temperature dependence.     

Synthesis and characterization of new selective Zn fluorescent probes for functionalization: in vitro Cell imaging applications

Herein the synthesis and characterization of new, lipophilic highly Zn²⁺-selective fluorescent probes are reported. High affinity for zinc (K_d 1.1–8.0 nM) over other biologically relevant metals and mixtures of metals was observed. Excitation at 360 nm afforded an emission spectrum with maximum at 530 nm for the zinc bound complex. The linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and zinc concentration indicates that FZnA-probes can be used for quantification. The probes have been synthesized in 28–45% overall yield and the feasibility for further functionalization with biologically relevant side chains has been demonstrated. In vitro studies using PC12 cells and 10 μM of one of the novel probes (FZnA-Ada) visualized endogenous labile Zn²⁺ after 45 min incubation time.     

Volume dependence of thermal conductivity and bulk modulus for poly(propylene glycol)

The thermal conductivity λ and heat capacity per unit volume of poly(propylene glycol) PPG (0.4 and 4.0 kg·mol⁻¹ in number-average molecular weight) have been measured in the temperature range 150–295 K at pressures up to 2 GPa using the transient hot-wire method. At 295 K and atmospheric pressure, λ = 0.147 W m⁻¹K⁻¹ for PPG (0.4 kg·mol⁻¹) and λ = 0.151 W m⁻¹K⁻¹ for PPG (4.0 kg·mol⁻¹). The temperature dependence of λ is less than 4 × 10⁻⁴ W m⁻¹K⁻² for both molecular weights. The bulk modulus has been measured in the temperature range 215–295 K up to 1.1 GPa. At atmospheric pressure, the room temperature bulk moduli are 1.97 GPa for PPG (0.4 kg·mol⁻¹) and 1.75 GPa for PPG (4.0 kg·mol⁻¹). These data were used to calculate the volume dependence of $ \lambda ,g\, = - \left( {\frac{{\partial \lambda /\lambda }}{{\partial V/V}}} \right)_T $. At room temperature and atmospheric pressure (liquid phase) we find g = 2.79 for PPG (0.4 kg·mol⁻¹) and g = 2.15 for PPG (4.0 kg·mol⁻¹). The volume dependence of g, (∂g/∂ log V)_T varies between −19 to −10 for both molecular weights. Under isochoric conditions, g is nearly independent of temperature. The difference in g between the glassy state and liquid phase is small and just outside the inaccuracy of g of about 8%. The theoretical model for λ by Horrocks and McLaughlin yields an overestimate of g by up to 120%. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36 : 345–355, 1998     

Design, synthesis and characterization of a Pt-Gd metal-organic framework containing potentially catalytically active sites

The heterobimetallic metal-organic framework {[(BPDC)PtCl(2)](3)(Gd(H(2)O)(3))(2)}.5H(2)O (BPDC = 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylate) has been designed and synthesized by hydrothermal methods. The new coordination polymer contains subunits of (BPDC)PtCl(2) (1) where both N atoms of the BPDC ligand are attached to a square-planar Pt(II) center. The two remaining cis coordination sites at Pt(II) are occupied by chloride ions. The final structure (2) of the polymeric network is obtained when Gd(III) ions link together the (BPDC)PtCl(2) units, which are organized in sheets, into larger blocks. These blocks are stacked along the crystallographic [010] direction and are held together by a hydrogen bonding scheme that involves carboxylate oxygen atoms and water molecules in the coordination sphere of Gd. The coordination polymer 2 can be obtained in a single-step reaction or in a two-step synthesis where the corresponding Pt complex (1) was first synthesized followed by reacting 1 with Gd(NO(3))(3).6H(2)O. In situ high temperature powder X-ray diffraction shows that the crystalline coordination polymer transforms into an anhydrous modification at 100 degrees C. This modification is stable to 350 degrees C, at which temperature the structure starts to decompose. The coordination sphere around platinum in the polymer closely resembles organometallic Pt complexes that have been previously found to catalytically or stoichiometrically activate and functionalize hydrocarbon C-H bonds in homogeneous systems.     

Syntheses,structures and magnetic properties of Mn(II) containing 3D polymeric networks

Two novel 3D coordination polymers {[Mn(aip)(DMF)]}_n, CPO-9, and {[Mn₃(Hatp)₂(atp)₂](H₂O)₂(DEF)₄}_n CPO-10 (aip = 5-aminoisophthalate, atp = 2-aminoterephthalate, DMF = dimethylformamide, DEF = diethylformamide) have been synthesized by solvothermal methods. Their properties have been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, high-temperature powder X-ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The crystal structure of CPO-9 is based on infinite chains of carboxylato-bridged five-coordinated Mn(II) ions that are crosslinked via the aip ligands to form a 3D structure. CPO-10 is based on linear trinuclear building units of carboxylato-bridged octahedral Mn(II) ions that are crosslinked by the atp ligands into a 3D structure. Both compounds have 1D channels that contain solvent molecules. The solvent accessible void volume for CPO-10 is 51.9% of the unit cell volume. For both compounds, however, the solvent molecules cannot be removed without the collapse of the structures into amorphous phases at 250 °C. The magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate antiferromagnetic couplings between the Mn(II) ions in both compounds. The magnetic data have been fitted using theoretical approaches.