Evaluation of a pulsed glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometer as a detector for gas chromatography and the influence of the glow discharge source parameters on the information volume in chemical speciation analysis

The figures of merit of a pulsed glow discharge time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GD-TOFMS) as a detector for gas chromatography (GC) analysis were evaluated. The mass resolution for the GD-TOFMS was determined on FWHM in the high mass range (²⁰⁸Pb⁺) as high as 5,500. Precision of 400 subsequent analyses was calculated on ⁶³Cu⁺ to be better than 1% RSD with no significant drift over the time of the analysis. Isotope precision based on the ⁶³Cu⁺/⁶⁵Cu⁺ ratio over 400 analyses was 1.5% RSD. The limits of detection for gaseous analytes (toluene in methanol as solvent) were determined to be as low as several hundred ppb or several hundred pg absolute without using any pre-concentration technique. Furthermore, the different GD source parameters like capillary distance, cathode–anode spacing, and GD source pressure with regards to the accessible elemental, structural, and molecular information were evaluated. It was demonstrated that each of these parameters has severe influence on the ratio of elemental, structural, and parent molecular information in chemical speciation analysis.     

Small Janus dimer as electric field manipulated molecular clam switch and electric information storage unit

A small Janus molecular dimer, as external electric field (F_z) manipulated both a molecular clam switch and a novel electric information storage unit, is found by quantum chemical computations for the first time. The molecular clam switching is intriguing and reversible. A critical F_z value of 95 × 10⁻⁴ au causes a dramatically open change in conformation from Closed form to Open form. And a small reversed electric field of F_z = −10 × 10⁻⁴ au performs a close change from Open form to Closed form. In the switching process, owing to the existence of a great electric dipole moment (μ) contrast between 0 and 22.13 D, the molecular clam switch may serve as an electric information storage unit. Gratifyingly, the reading, writing, and erasing of binary information on the electric information storage unit are easy. And further calculations show that Janus graphene fragment dimer can also serve as a molecular clam switch. Thus, this work proposes a new molecular switch prototype in the invention of artificial molecular machines, and a novel electric information storage unit in the field of molecular electronics.     

Probabilistic assessment for a sample to be radioactive or not: application to radioxenon analysis

When a net count value is below the type 1 error critical limit it is customary to declare that the activity is “below the detection limit”. The content of this declaration is particularly impoverished, incapable for example of discriminating between a net measurement just below the critical limit, but positive, and a negative net measurement, two types of information that it is legitimate and intuitive to think do not have the same weight of information. In the case of a spectral measurement of ^131mXe and ^133mXe certain information is available according to the various X and gamma emissions, which might all be below their respective critical limits. We shall see that a Bayesian probabilistic approach can be used, without considering the critical limits, to obtain anti-correlated maximum likelihood values taking all the information into account jointly and to obtain powerful and pertinent information in the form of the absolute probability that the sample contains ^131mXe and/or ^133mXe, all possible activity values combined. Conversely, of course, this is used immediately to deduce the probability that the sample does not contain ^131mXe and/or ^133mXe. This information enables the customary critical limit to be ignored.     

Reversible Response of Luminescent Terbium(III)–Nanocellulose Hydrogels to Anions for Latent Fingerprint Detection and Encryption

Fingerprint fluorescence imaging has become one of the most prominent technologies in the field of forensic medicine, but it seldom considers the security protection of detection information, which is of great importance in modern society. Herein we demonstrate that luminescent Tb^III–carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) complex binding aptamer hydrogels that are reversibly responsive to ClO^?/SCN^? can be used for the selective detection, protection, and storage of fingerprint information. The imaging information of the fingerprint can be quenched and recovered by ClO^?/SCN^? regulation, respectively, resulting in reversible on/off conversion of the luminescence signals for the encryption and decryption of multiple levels of information. The present study opens new avenues for multilevel imaging, data recording, and security protection of fingerprint information with tunable fluorescent hydrogels.     

Temperature dependence of the interaction between water and sodium polymethacrylate in water–methanol mixture

The information for the interaction between water molecules and a polyelectrolyte was obtained from ²³Na-NMR studies for sodium polymethacrylate in water-methanol mixtures. The chemical shift and the line width of the ²³Na nucleus give the information on the immediate magnetic environment and the motion of the nucleus, respectively. The change of the chemical shift for ²³Na nucleus is investigated by decreasing the temperature and changing the mol fraction of water in the solvent. According to these results, the hydrogen bonding of water molecules and polyanions becomes weaker as the temperature of the system decreases, but the interaction increases when the temperature is below the freezing point for water in this system. This effect, due to the change of temperature, becomes higher as the water mol fraction increases in the solvent. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Curing of monomer composites, 2. The use of NMR to monitor real time curing dynamics

A novel method is described for monitoring the real‐time curing dynamics of composite monomers, exploiting site specific information provided by high resolution NMR. Important temporal information is encoded in the component lineshapes and intensities of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra recorded as a function of curing time. A computed simulation based on a (Q‐e)‐multicomponent kinetic model matches experimental data well, which lends confidence to the model when used in a predictive mode.     

Tandem mass spectrometry based investigation of cinnamylideneacetophenone derivatives: valuable tool for the differentiation of positional isomers

Cinnamylideneacetophenones have been extensively used as versatile starting materials in numerous different transformations. The structural characterization of this type of compounds is, therefore, of crucial importance since it can give information on the chemistry, reactivity and also the potential biological activity of this type of compounds. Thus, 24 derivatives were systematically studied by tandem mass spectrometry (MS²) with electrospray ionization (ESI), in positive ion mode. The protonated molecules, [M + H]⁺, formed under ESI conditions were induced to dissociate and the fragmentation patterns were studied. The information collected provided important structural information on the type of substituents present and constitute an important database concerning this family of compounds. Overall, it was found that the substitution pattern of the cinnamylideneacetophenone derivatives changes the ESI‐MS² fragmentation considerably. These results indicate that ESI‐MS² is a useful technique for distinguishing positional isomers of these cinnamylideneacetophenone derivatives. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflectance analysis of water diffusion in poly[styrene‐b‐isobutylene‐ b‐styrene] block copolymer membranes

A Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflectance technique was used to study the diffusion of water through poly(styrene‐b‐isobutylene‐b‐styrene) block copolymers (BCPs), as well as sulfonated (H⁺) and Na⁺‐sulfonated ionomer versions. Diffusion data were collected and interpreted for these membranes versus polystyrene block composition, degree of sulfonation, Na⁺ ion content in the ionomers, and the effect of initially dry versus prehydrated conditions. An “early time” diffusion coefficient, D, decreased with increasing percent polystyrene for a series of unmodified BCPs. D decreased with increasing degree of sulfonation, and with increasing ion content for the Na⁺‐exchanged samples and this was interpreted in terms of diffusion limitations caused by a strong tendency for ion hydration. The method also yielded information relating to the time evolution of water structure from the standpoint of degree of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Membrane prehydration causes profound increases in D for both the unmodified BCP and sulfonated samples, as in plasticization. The simultaneous acquisition of information relating to interactions between water molecules and interactions of water molecules with functional groups on the host polymer matrix offers more information than conventional diffusion measurement techniques that simply count transported molecules. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 764–776, 2005     

Gas‐Phase Peptide Structures Unraveled by Far‐IR Spectroscopy: Combining IR‐UV Ion‐Dip Experiments with Born–Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Vibrational spectroscopy provides an important probe of the three‐dimensional structures of peptides. With increasing size, these IR spectra become very complex and to extract structural information, comparison with theoretical spectra is essential. Harmonic DFT calculations have become a common workhorse for predicting vibrational frequencies of small neutral and ionized gaseous peptides. ¹ Although the far‐IR region (<500 cm^?1) may contain a wealth of structural information, as recognized in condensed phase studies, ² DFT often performs poorly in predicting the far‐IR spectra of peptides. Here, Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) is applied to predict the far‐IR signatures of two γ‐turn peptides. Combining experiments and simulations, far‐IR spectra can provide structural information on gas‐phase peptides superior to that extracted from mid‐IR and amide A features.     

Long range 13C?13C coupling constants. A review

A large number of ¹³C? ¹³C coupling constants from a diversity of compounds are now available. Attempts have been made to classify this information in order to illustrate how these data are obtained, how signs are determined and how both two- and three-bond couplings can lead to structural information. Coupling constants in aromatic compounds are now well documented, substituent effect trends have been established and correlations with bond orders are noticed. Comparison of ¹³C? ¹³C couplings with ¹³C? ¹H couplings is mentioned. Theoretical calculations are dealt with, and these can now be properly evaluated as both magnitudes and signs of the experimental couplings are known. Finally, the occurrence of long range couplings in biosynthetic material is briefly surveyed.     

A new crown ether annelated tetrathiafulvalene derivative with anthracene moiety as a sensor for Li and O2

A new crown ether annulated tetrathiafulvalene derivative with an anthracene moiety is shown to act as a dual-functional sensor for Li⁺ and ¹O₂, which may be useful in information processing at the molecular level.     

Two analyte calibrations from the transient response of a single potentiometric sensor employed with the SIA technique

Simultaneous quantification of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ in solution has been correctly targeted using the kinetic information from a single non-specific potentiometric sensor. Dual quantification was accomplished from the complex information in the transient response of an electrode used in a Sequential Injection Analysis (SIA) system and recorded after step injection of sample. Data was firstly preprocessed with the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) to extract significant features and then fed into an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for building the calibration model. DWT stage was optimized regarding the wavelet function and decomposition level, while the ANN stage was optimized on its structure. To simultaneously corroborate the effectiveness of the approach, two different potentiometric sensors were used as study case, one using a glass selective to Cd²⁺ and another a PVC membrane selective to Pb²⁺.     

EXAFS structural studies of electrodeposited Co and Ni hexacyanoferrate films

XAS (EXAFS and XANES), XPS and IR spectroscopies were used to extract redox compositional and structural information on films of electrodeposited Co and Ni hexacyanoferrates whose redox state was manipulated electrochemically. The X-ray methods provided direct information on the metal species and IR provided indirect information via the behaviour of the ligand vibration. XPS responses showed that the electrochemical response of Co hexacyanoferrate is attributable to Co (except for a small amount of Fe^II oxidation at very positive potentials), and of Ni hexacyanoferrate to Fe; XANES edge shifts confirm these deductions. Local structure around the metal atoms was extracted from EXAFS data in terms of M′–N, M′–C and M′–Fe (M′ = Co or Ni) distances and the associated Debye-Waller factors as functions of film charge state. For Co hexacyanoferrate, the redox variation of static disorder was consistent with a molecular model involving discrete Co^II and Co^III sites, whose populations respond to potential, but not with a solid-state model.     

The Impact of Long‐Range 1H‐15N Heteronuclear Shift Correlation Data on Computer‐Assisted Structure Elucidation: Posaconazole

Considerable work has been invested in the area of computer‐assisted structure elucidation (CASE) methods. As NMR techniques have been developed that provide more effective atom‐to‐atom connectivity information, it has become theoretically possible to do de novo structure elucidation based on 2D NMR datasets recorded for an unknown molecule. However, as annular (ring) nitrogen atoms become more prevalent in complex chemical structures, the ability to rely solely on ¹H and ¹³C homo‐ and hetero‐nuclear direct and long‐range connectivity information to solve a structure correspondingly diminishes. Hence, we now wish to report the results of an investigation into the application of CASE methods with and without long‐range ¹H‐¹⁵N data using posaconazole as a model compound, which has eight annular nitrogens in its structure. With the inclusion of ¹H‐¹⁵N data long‐range data, the structure could be successfully determined in a few hours. Excluding the ¹H‐¹⁵N data caused the program to generate millions of candidate structures, none of which fit the data well enough to be stored.     

A quantitative electron-microscopic study of a linear polyethylene fraction crystallized at different temperatures

Replica and thin-section electron microscopy was performed on a linear polyethylene fraction (M_w = 1.89 × 10⁵, M_n = 1.79 × 10 ⁵) which was either isothermally crystallized or quenched at difference temperatures. The results are numerically analyzed in such a manner so as to give the distribution of the total long spacing and of the crystallite and amorphous thicknesses. The quantitative information about the maximum and minimum values for these parameters at each crystallization temperature yields important clues as to possible molecular processes involved. Qualitative information regarding general morphology, molecular tilt with respect to the lamellar surface, and possible crystallographic faults are also discussed.     

Toward direct determination of conformations of protein building units from multidimensional NMR experiments I. A theoretical case study of For‐Gly‐NH2 and For‐L‐Ala‐NH2

NMR chemical shielding anisotropy tensors have been computed, employing several basis sets and the GIAO‐RHF and GIAO‐MP2 formalisms of electronic structure theory, for all the atoms of the five and nine typical backbone conformers of For‐Gly‐NH₂ and For‐L ‐Ala‐NH₂, respectively. Multidimensional chemical shift plots, as a function of the respective backbone fold, have been generated for both peptide models. On the 2D ¹H^NH‐¹⁵N^NH and ¹⁵N^NH‐¹³C^α plots the most notable feature is that at all levels of theory studied the backbone conformers cluster in different regions. Computed chemical shifts, as well as their averages, have been compared to relevant experimental values taken from the BioMagnetic Resonance Bank (BMRB). At the highest levels of theory, for all nuclei but the amide protons, deviations between statistically averaged theoretical and experimental shifts are as low as 1–3%. These results indicate that chemical shift information from selected multiple‐pulse NMR experiments (e.g., 2D‐HSQC and 3D‐HNCA) could directly be employed to extract folding information for polypeptides and proteins. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 882–900, 2000     

NMR studies on solid cyclohexaamylose inclusion compounds

Orthorhombic inclusion compounds of cyclohexaamylose with methanol,n-propanol, acetic acid and water as guest molecules were studied using¹³C and²H NMR techniques.¹³C chemical shifts were correlated with structural data, whereas²H NMR lineshapes were used to derive information on guest molecule motions.Issued as NRCC No. 25568. Presented in part at the 2nd International Symposium on Clathrate Compounds and Molecular Inclusion Phenomena, Parma, Italy, 30 Aug.–3 Sept. 1982     

Prediction of critical micelle concentration of cationic surfactants using connectivity indices

Relationship for predicting Logcmc for cationic surfactants having chloride as counterion from only molecular connectivity indices was found. It is suggested that the index ⁰χ^ν includes some information about hydrophobicity while indices ⁴χ _pc and ⁴cⁿ_pc{^{4}\chi^{\nu}_{pc}} include some information about hydrophilicity of the cationic surfactants studied. The structures of 23 compounds used for the correlation are quite diverse.     

Interpretation dü spectre RMN-3H du PK-11195 (3H)

(1D-³H NMR) of PK 11195 ³H gives a complex spectrum. Homonuclear 2D-³H NMR (COSY and J. Resolved) gives useful information such as tritium chemical shifts, ³H-³H and ³H-¹H coupling constant, percentage of isotopomers and specific activity.