<Emphasis Type="Italic">FCC/BCC</Emphasis> competition and enhancement of saturation magnetization in nanocrystalline Co-Ni-Fe films

The structure, chemical composition, and magnetic properties of electrochemically deposited nanocrystalline Co-Ni-Fe films were investigated using a number of techniques. A high saturation magnetic induction up to B _s = 21 kG was attained. An enhancement of the saturation magnetization compared to the ideal anticipated one was revealed, which correlated with the nonlinear behavior of the structural phase composition and lattice parameters with the change of the composition. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Numerical Modeling of Interior Ballistics Processes in Light Gas Guns

An improved procedure for modeling the operation of a light-gas gun is proposed. The motion of working bodies in both the firing chamber and the light-gas chamber is studied within the framework of the mechanics of heterogeneous media. The problem of barrel heating taking into account its melting and removal of thermal ablation products into the medium inside the bore is solved in a coupled formulation. Heat and mass transfer and friction on the barrel surface are calculated using empirical dependences. The deformable piston is considered compressible and elastoviscoplastic. Allowance is made for the presence of a clearance between the lateral surface of the piston and the barrel bore walls and the associated gas flow between the firing and the light-gas chamber. Calculation results are given.     

Effect of laser erosion on the copper and zinc concentrations in the surface layer of brass

A REMMA 102 scanning electron microscope equipped with semiconductor and wave spectrometers is applied to measure the copper and zinc concentrations in the surface layers of an M161 brass sample and the same sample subjected to a focused laser radiation. The results are compared with the results obtained with an MS3101 laser mass spectrometer having a laser-plasma ion source. The laser-assisted erosion of the surface layer in the brass is shown to significantly change the copper and zinc concentrations. It is found that, when the craters produced by laser pulses on the initial surface do not overlap, the copper and zinc contents in the laser-induced plasma correspond to their contents in the sample.     

Stimulating effect of graphite admixture on hydrogen sorption-desorption properties of mechanically activated titanium powder

The effect of graphite admixture on hydrogen sorption-desorption properties of mechanically activated electron microscopy, temperature-programmed reaction, and temperature-programmed desorption techniques. The major effect of graphite addition was found to be the formation of microporous carbon matrix particles containing randomly distributed titanium particles only several nanometers in diameter. This powder architecture enhances hydrogen transport to the titanium surface without hindrances and promotes titanium-hydrogen interaction by modifying the titanium surface and subsurface layers with interstitial carbon atoms.     

Mass spectrometric study of mixed fluorinated rare earth element β-diketonates with triphenylphosphine oxide

A series of new adducts of fluorinated REE -diketonates with triphenylphosphine oxide was synthesized. The paths of their fragmentation under electron impact were investigated. It was shown that in contrast to the complex with 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-7,7-dimethyloctane-4,6-dione, the complexes of europium with 1-trifluoromethoxy-1,1-difluoro-5,5-dimethylhexane-2,4-dione and 1, 1,1-trifluoro-5,5-dimethylhexane-2,4-dione form dimeric associates in the gaseous phase. The reasons for this difference in the behavior of the complexes and the possible structure of one of the dimers are discussed.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Eksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 26, No. 2, March–April, 1990.     

Ab initio calculations of vibronic activity in phosphorescence microwave double resonance spectra of p-dichlorobenzene

The phosphorescence spectrum of p-dichlorobenzene has been calculated using multiconfiguration self-consistent-field wave functions and the quadratic response technique. Attention has been paid to the intensity distribution of the singlet–triplet (³B_1u¹A_g) transition through a number of vibronic subbands. The second order spin–orbit coupling (SOC) contribution to the spin splitting of the ³B_1u (^3*) state is found to be almost negligible, and the calculations therefore provide a good estimate for the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters based only on the electron spin–spin coupling expectation values. Nuclear quadrupole resonance constants for the different Cl isotopes are also calculated to accomplish the ZFS assignment. The electric dipole activity of the spin sublevels in the triplet–singlet transitions to the ground-state vibrational levels is estimated by calculations of derivatives using distorted geometries which are shifted from the equilibrium position along different vibrational modes. A vibrational analysis of the phosphorescence spectrum, based on the SOC-induced mixing of the singlet and triplet states calculated along different vibrational modes, provides reasonable agreement with experimental data.Acknowledgment O. R.-P. would like to thank the European MOLPROP network for support. The authors thank Alexander Baev for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by the Swedish Royal Academy of Science (KVA).     

Effect of the extent of reduction of V2O5 on the adsorption of propylene and the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to give propylene on V2O5 and V2O5/TiO2-SiO2

An increase in the propylene output in the oxidative dehydration of propane on V₂O₅/TiO₂-SiO₂ was observed after prior reduction of V₂O₅ in the reaction mixture to V₂O₄, which reduces the destructive chemisorption of propylene. A low titanium dioxide content in TiO₂-SiO₂ hinders the deep reduction of V₂O₅ to V₂O₃, which reduces the conversion of propane. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 373–378, November–December, 2007.     

Polysaccharides of brown algae VIII. A study of pelvecyan and sargassan by methylation

Conclusions It has been shown by the methylation method that pelvecyan and sargassan are polysaccharides of similar structures with a high degree of branching of the carbohydrate chains. Fucose, xylose, and galactose are located at the nonreducing ends of their molecules, and mannose and galactose form points of branching of the carbohydrate chains of these polysaccharides.The positions of the bonds between the monosaccharide residues in pelvecyan and sargassan have been determined.Pacific Ocean Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far Eastern Scientific Center, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 142–145, March–April, 1974.     

Visual detection of cysteine and homocysteine

The determination of cysteine and homocysteine levels is of great current interest for the monitoring of desease states. A new colorimetric method for the simultaneous detection of l-cysteine and l-homocysteine has been developed. A fluorescein derivative reacts with the above amino acids, producing their respective thiazolidines resulting in color changes. Interference from other amino acids and proteins is minimal.     

Automated linkage of proteins and payloads producing monodisperse conjugates

Controlled protein functionalization holds great promise for a wide variety of applications. However, despite intensive research, the stoichiometry of the functionalization reaction remains difficult to control due to the inherent stochasticity of the conjugation process. Classical approaches that exploit peculiar structural features of specific protein substrates, or introduce reactive handles via mutagenesis, are by essence limited in scope or require substantial protein reengineering. We herein present equimolar native chemical tagging (ENACT), which precisely controls the stoichiometry of inherently random conjugation reactions by combining iterative low-conversion chemical modification, process automation, and bioorthogonal trans-tagging. We discuss the broad applicability of this conjugation process to a variety of protein substrates and payloads.

Controlled protein functionalization holds great promise for a wide variety of applications.

Applications of protein conjugates are limitless, including imaging, diagnostics, drug delivery, and sensing.^1–4 In many of these applications, it is crucial that the conjugates are homogeneous.⁵ The site-selectivity of the conjugation process and the number of functional labels per biomolecule, known as the degree of conjugation (DoC), are crucial parameters that define the composition of the obtained products and are often the limiting factors to achieving adequate performance of the conjugates. For instance, immuno-PCR, an extremely sensitive detection technique, requires rigorous control of the average number of oligonucleotide labels per biomolecule (its DoC) in order to achieve high sensitivity.⁶ In optical imaging, the performance of many super-resolution microscopy techniques is directly defined by the DoC of fluorescent tags.⁷ For therapeutics, an even more striking example is provided by antibody–drug conjugates, which are prescribed for the treatment of an increasing range of cancer indications.⁸ A growing body of evidence from clinical trials indicates that bioconjugation parameters, DoC and DoC distribution, directly influence the therapeutic index of these targeted agents and hence must be tightly controlled.⁹Standard bioconjugation techniques, which rely on nucleophile–electrophile reactions, result in a broad distribution of different DoC species (Fig. 1a), which have different biophysical parameters, and consequently different functional properties.¹⁰Open in a separate windowFig. 1Schematic representation of the types of protein conjugates.To address this key issue and achieve better DoC selectivity, a number of site-specific conjugation approaches have been developed (Fig. 1b). These techniques rely on protein engineering for the introduction of specific motifs (e.g., free cysteines,¹¹ selenocysteines,¹² non-natural amino acids,^13,14 peptide tags recognized by specific enzymes^15,16) with distinct reactivity compared to the reactivity of the amino acids present in the native protein. These motifs are used to simultaneously control the DoC (via chemo-selective reactions) and the site of payload attachment. Both parameters are known to influence the biological and biophysical parameters of the conjugates,¹¹ but so far there has been no way of evaluating their impact separately.The influence of DoC is more straightforward, with a lower DoC allowing the minimization of the influence of payload conjugation on the properties of the protein substrate. The lowest DoC that can be achieved for an individual conjugate is 1 (corresponding to one payload attached per biomolecule). It is noteworthy that DoC 1 is often difficult to achieve through site-specific conjugation techniques due to the symmetry of many protein substrates (e.g., antibodies). Site selection is a more intricate process, which usually relies on a systematic screening of conjugation sites for some specific criteria, such as stability or reactivity.¹⁷Herein, we introduce a method of accessing an entirely new class of protein conjugates with multiple conjugation sites but strictly homogenous DoCs (Fig. 1c). To achieve this, we combined (a) iterative low conversion chemical modification, (b) process automation, and (c) bioorthogonal trans-tagging in one workflow.The method has been exemplified for protein substrates, but it is applicable to virtually any native bio-macromolecule and payload. Importantly, this method allows for the first time the disentangling of the effects of homogeneous DoC and site-specificity on conjugate properties, which is especially intriguing in the light of recent publications revealing the complexity of the interplay between payload conjugation sites and DoC for in vivo efficacy of therapeutic bioconjugates.¹⁸ Finally, it is noteworthy that this method can be readily combined with an emerging class of site-selective bioconjugation reagents to produce site-specific DoC 1 conjugates, thus further expanding their potential for biotechnology applications.¹⁹