Prediction of Water Binding to Protein Hydration Sites with a Discrete, Semiexplicit Solvent Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Setny, Piotr

2015-12-08

Buried water molecules are ubiquitous in protein structures and are found at the interface of most protein-ligand complexes. Determining their distribution and thermodynamic effect is a challenging yet important task, of great of practical value for the modeling of biomolecular structures and their interactions. In this study, we present a novel method aimed at the prediction of buried water molecules in protein structures and estimation of their binding free energies. It is based on a semiexplicit, discrete solvation model, which we previously introduced in the context of small molecule hydration. The method is applicable to all macromolecular structures described by a standard all-atom force field, and predicts complete solvent distribution within a single run with modest computational cost. We demonstrate that it indicates positions of buried hydration sites, including those filled by more than one water molecule, and accurately differentiates them from sterically accessible to water but void regions. The obtained estimates of water binding free energies are in fair agreement with reference results determined with the double decoupling method.

Role of solvent environments in single molecule conductance used insulator-modified mechanically controlled break junctions

Science.gov (United States)

Muthusubramanian, Nandini; Maity, Chandan; Galan Garcia, Elena; Eelkema, Rienk; Grozema, Ferdinand; van der Zant, Herre; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Collaboration; Department of Chemical Engineering Collaboration

We present a method for studying the effects of polar solvents on charge transport through organic/biological single molecules by developing solvent-compatible mechanically controlled break junctions of gold coated with a thin layer of aluminium oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD). The optimal oxide thickness was experimentally determined to be 15 nm deposited at ALD operating temperature of 300°C which yielded atomically sharp electrodes and reproducible single-barrier tunnelling behaviour across a wide conductance range between 1 G0 and 10-7 G0. The insulator protected MCBJ devices were found to be effective in various solvents such as deionized water, phosphate buffered saline, methanol, acetonitrile and dichlorobenzene. The yield of molecular junctions using such insulated electrodes was tested by developing a chemical protocol for synthesizing an amphipathic form of oligo-phenylene ethynylene (OPE3-PEO) with thioacetate anchoring groups. This work has further applications in studying effects of solvation, dipole orientation and other thermodynamic interactions on charge transport. Eu Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN). MOLECULAR-SCALE ELECTRONICS: ``MOLESCO'' Project Number 606728.

Water permeation through the internal water pathway in activated GPCR rhodopsin.

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Katsufumi Tomobe

Full Text Available Rhodopsin is a light-driven G-protein-coupled receptor that mediates signal transduction in eyes. Internal water molecules mediate activation of the receptor in a rhodopsin cascade reaction and contribute to conformational stability of the receptor. However, it remains unclear how internal water molecules exchange between the bulk and protein inside, in particular through a putative solvent pore on the cytoplasmic. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we identified the solvent pore on cytoplasmic side in both the Meta II state and the Opsin. On the other hand, the solvent pore does not exist in the dark-adapted rhodopsin. We revealed two characteristic narrow regions located within the solvent pore in the Meta II state. The narrow regions distinguish bulk and the internal hydration sites, one of which is adjacent to the conserved structural motif "NPxxY". Water molecules in the solvent pore diffuse by pushing or sometimes jumping a preceding water molecule due to the geometry of the solvent pore. These findings revealed a total water flux between the bulk and the protein inside in the Meta II state, and suggested that these pathways provide water molecules to the crucial sites of the activated rhodopsin.

Thermophysical properties and solubility of different sugar-derived molecules in deep eutectic solvents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dietz, C.H.J.T.; Kroon, M.C.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Gallucci, F.

2017-01-01

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are designer solvents analogous to ionic liquids but with lower preparation cost. Most known DESs are water-miscible, but recently water-immiscible DESs have also been presented, which are a combination of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors with long hydrophobic alkyl

Computing pKa Values in Different Solvents by Electrostatic Transformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossini, Emanuele; Netz, Roland R; Knapp, Ernst-Walter

2016-07-12

We introduce a method that requires only moderate computational effort to compute pKa values of small molecules in different solvents with an average accuracy of better than 0.7 pH units. With a known pKa value in one solvent, the electrostatic transform method computes the pKa value in any other solvent if the proton solvation energy is known in both considered solvents. To apply the electrostatic transform method to a molecule, the electrostatic solvation energies of the protonated and deprotonated molecular species are computed in the two considered solvents using a dielectric continuum to describe the solvent. This is demonstrated for 30 molecules belonging to 10 different molecular families by considering 77 measured pKa values in 4 different solvents: water, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methanol. The electrostatic transform method can be applied to any other solvent if the proton solvation energy is known. It is exclusively based on physicochemical principles, not using any empirical fetch factors or explicit solvent molecules, to obtain agreement with measured pKa values and is therefore ready to be generalized to other solute molecules and solvents. From the computed pKa values, we obtained relative proton solvation energies, which agree very well with the proton solvation energies computed recently by ab initio methods, and used these energies in the present study.

The solvation of L-serine in mixtures of water with some aprotic solvents at 298.15 K

Science.gov (United States)

Mezhevoi, I. N.; Badelin, V. G.

2009-03-01

The integral enthalpies of solution Δsol H m of L-serine in mixtures of water with acetonitrile, 1,4-dioxane, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and acetone were measured by solution calorimetry at organic component concentrations up to 0.31 mole fractions. The standard enthalpies of solution (Δsol H°), transfer (Δtr H°), and solvation (Δsolv H°) of L-serine from water into mixed solvents were calculated. The dependences of Δsol H°, Δsolv H°, and Δtr H° on the composition of aqueous-organic solvents contained extrema. The calculated enthalpy coefficients of pair interactions of the amino acid with cosolvent molecules were positive and increased in the series acetonitrile, 1,4-dioxane, DMSO, acetone. The results obtained were interpreted from the point of view of various types of interactions in solutions and the influence of the nature of organic solvents on the thermochemical characteristics of solutions.

Solubility of daidzin in different organic solvents and (ethyl alcohol + water) mixed solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Jie-Ping; Yang, Dan; Xu, Xiao-Kang; Guo, Xiao-Jie; Zhang, Xue-Hong

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The solubilities of daidzin were measured in various solvents. • The solubility data were correlated by three models. • The thermodynamic properties of the dissolution process were also determined. - Abstract: The solubility of daidzin in different organic solvents and (ethyl alcohol + water) mixed solvents was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis method from T = (283.2 to 323.2) K at atmosphere pressure. The results show that at higher temperature more daidzin dissolves, and moreover, the solubility increases with the ethyl alcohol mole fraction increase in the (ethyl alcohol + water) mixed solvents. The experimental solubility values were correlated by a simplified thermodynamic equation, λh equation and modified Apelblat equation. Based on the solubility of daidzin, the enthalpy and entropy of solution were also evaluated by van’t Hoff equation. The results illustrated that the dissolution process of daidzin is endothermic and entropy driven

Aqueous solvation of polyalanine α-helices with specific water molecules and with the CPCM and SM5.2 aqueous continuum models using density functional theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Marianski, Mateusz; Dannenberg, J J

2012-02-02

We present density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the X3LYP/D95(d,p) level on the solvation of polyalanine α-helices in water. The study includes the effects of discrete water molecules and the CPCM and AMSOL SM5.2 solvent continuum model both separately and in combination. We find that individual water molecules cooperatively hydrogen-bond to both the C- and N-termini of the helix, which results in increases in the dipole moment of the helix/water complex to more than the vector sum of their individual dipole moments. These waters are found to be more stable than in bulk solvent. On the other hand, individual water molecules that interact with the backbone lower the dipole moment of the helix/water complex to below that of the helix itself. Small clusters of waters at the termini increase the dipole moments of the helix/water aggregates, but the effect diminishes as more waters are added. We discuss the somewhat complex behavior of the helix with the discrete waters in the continuum models.

Is Water a Universal Solvent for Life?

Science.gov (United States)

Pohorill, Andrew

2012-01-01

There are strong reasons to believe that the laws, principles and constraints of physics and chemistry are universal. It is much less clear how this universality translates into our understanding of the origins of life. Conventionally, discussions of this topic focus on chemistry that must be sufficiently rich to seed life. Although this is clearly a prerequisite for the emergence of living systems, I propose to focus instead on self-organization of matter into functional structures capable of reproduction, evolution and responding to environmental changes. In biology, most essential functions are largely mediated by noncovalent interactions (interactions that do not involve making or breaking chemical bonds). Forming chemical bonds is only a small part of what living systems do. There are specific implications of this point of view for universality. I will concentrate on one of these implications. Strength of non-covalent interactions must be properly tuned. If they were too weak, the system would exhibit undesired, uncontrolled response to natural fluctuations of physical and chemical parameters. If they were too strong kinetics of biological processes would be slow and energetics costly. This balance, however, is not a natural property of complex chemical systems. Instead, it has to be achieved with the aid of an appropriate solvent for life. In particular, potential solvents for life must be characterized by a high dielectric constant to ensure solubility of polar species and sufficient flexibility of biological structures stabilized by electrostatic interactions. Among these solvents, water exhibits a remarkable trait that it also promotes solvophobic (hydrophobic) interactions between non-polar species, typically manifested by a tendency of these species to aggregate and minimize their contacts with the aqueous solvent. Hydrophobic interactions are responsible, at least in part, for many self-organization phenomena in biological systems, such as the formation

An adaptive quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method for the infrared spectrum of water: incorporation of the quantum effect between solute and solvent.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Hiroshi C; Banno, Misa; Sakurai, Minoru

2016-03-14

Quantum effects in solute-solvent interactions, such as the many-body effect and the dipole-induced dipole, are known to be critical factors influencing the infrared spectra of species in the liquid phase. For accurate spectrum evaluation, the surrounding solvent molecules, in addition to the solute of interest, should be treated using a quantum mechanical method. However, conventional quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods cannot handle free QM solvent molecules during molecular dynamics (MD) simulation because of the diffusion problem. To deal with this problem, we have previously proposed an adaptive QM/MM "size-consistent multipartitioning (SCMP) method". In the present study, as the first application of the SCMP method, we demonstrate the reproduction of the infrared spectrum of liquid-phase water, and evaluate the quantum effect in comparison with conventional QM/MM simulations.

Photonic crystal based sensor for organic solvents and for solvent-water mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenzl, Christoph; Hirsch, Thomas; Wolfbeis, Otto S

2012-12-12

Monodisperse polystyrene nanoparticles with a diameter of 173 nm were incorporated into a polydimethylsiloxane matrix where they display an iridescent color that can be attributed to the photonic crystal effect. The film is of violet color if placed in plain water, but turns to red in the presence of the non-polar solvent n-hexane. Several solvents were studied in some detail. We show that such films are capable of monitoring the water content of ethanol/water mixtures, where only 1% (v/v) of water leads to a shift of the peak wavelength of reflected light by 5 nm. The method also can be applied to determine, both visually and instrumentally, the fraction of methanol in ethanol/methanol mixtures. Here, a fraction of 1% of methanol (v/v) results in a wavelength shift of 2 nm. The reflected wavelength is not influenced by temperature changes nor impeded by photobleaching. The signal changes are fully reversible and response times are <1 s.

Photonic Crystal Based Sensor for Organic Solvents and for Solvent-Water Mixtures

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Otto S. Wolfbeis

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Monodisperse polystyrene nanoparticles with a diameter of 173 nm were incorporated into a polydimethylsiloxane matrix where they display an iridescent color that can be attributed to the photonic crystal effect. The film is of violet color if placed in plain water, but turns to red in the presence of the non-polar solvent n-hexane. Several solvents were studied in some detail. We show that such films are capable of monitoring the water content of ethanol/water mixtures, where only 1% (v/v of water leads to a shift of the peak wavelength of reflected light by 5 nm. The method also can be applied to determine, both visually and instrumentally, the fraction of methanol in ethanol/methanol mixtures. Here, a fraction of 1% of methanol (v/v results in a wavelength shift of 2 nm. The reflected wavelength is not influenced by temperature changes nor impeded by photobleaching. The signal changes are fully reversible and response times are <1 s.

Small-Molecule Organic Photovoltaic Modules Fabricated via Halogen-Free Solvent System with Roll-to-Roll Compatible Scalable Printing Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Youn-Jung; Jung, Yen-Sook; Hwang, Kyeongil; Kim, Jueng-Eun; Yeo, Jun-Seok; Lee, Sehyun; Jeon, Ye-Jin; Lee, Donmin; Kim, Dong-Yu

2017-11-15

For the first time, the photovoltaic modules composed of small molecule were successfully fabricated by using roll-to-roll compatible printing techniques. In this study, blend films of small molecules, BTR and PC 71 BM were slot-die coated using a halogen-free solvent system. As a result, high efficiencies of 7.46% and 6.56% were achieved from time-consuming solvent vapor annealing (SVA) treatment and roll-to-roll compatible solvent additive approaches, respectively. After successful verification of our roll-to-roll compatible method on small-area devices, we further fabricated large-area photovoltaic modules with a total active area of 10 cm 2 , achieving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.83%. This demonstration of large-area photovoltaic modules through roll-to-roll compatible printing methods, even based on a halogen-free solvent, suggests the great potential for the industrial-scale production of organic solar cells (OSCs).

Tar removal from biosyngas in the biomass gasification process. (Liquid + liquid) equilibrium {water + solvent (paraxylene and methyl hexadecanoate) + model molecules of tar (benzene, toluene, phenol)}

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassil, Georgio; Mokbel, Ilham; Abou Naccoul, Ramy; Stephan, Juliette; Jose, Jacques; Goutaudier, Christelle

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► (Liquid + liquid) equilibria at atmospheric pressure. ► Solubility of benzene (or toluene or phenol) in paraxylene at (303 to 343) K. ► Solubility of benzene (or toluene or phenol) in methyl palmitate or methyl hexadecanoate at (303 to 343) K. ► Correlation of LLE using NRTL model. - Abstract: Tar is generated in the process by the condensation of the gas resulting from biomass gasification. The objective of this work is a contribution to the database on thermodynamic quantity which will be useful at the operation of tar removal from aqueous medium. With this aim, (liquid + liquid) equilibrium of {water + solvent (paraxylene and methyl hexadecanoate) + model molecules of tar (benzene, toluene, phenol)} was studied at temperatures (303.2, 323.2, and 343.2) K. The data obtained were correlated with the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) model.

A solvent/non-solvent system for achieving solution-processed multilayer organic light-emitting devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Yue; Wu, Zhaoxin, E-mail: zhaoxinwu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; He, Lin; Jiao, Bo; Hou, Xun

2015-08-31

We developed a solvent/non-solvent system to fabricate the multilayer organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) by solution-process. This solvent system consists of both the solvent and non-solvent of PVK, in which fluorescent small molecules could be fully dissolved and directly spin-coated on top of the PVK layer; it could effectively avoid the redissolution of PVK during the spin-coating process of small molecules emitting layer. In the further investigation of this system, we also demonstrated the three-component solvent system, and found out that the third component, a less volatile solvent of PVK, was crucial for preparing a smoother interface between PVK and emitting layer. Compared with OLEDs through the vacuum deposition, the devices fabricated by solution-process from the solvent/non-solvent system showed comparable efficiency, which indicate that the solvent/non-solvent system can be used as an alternative process to prepare the polymer and small molecule multilayer devices through all-solution-process. - Highlights: • We fabricate the multilayer OLEDs by solution-process using a novel system. • We develop a solvent/non-solvent system of polymer (PVK) to avoid redissolution. • Small molecules could be fully dissolved and directly spin-coated on PVK layer. • The devices fabricated by the system and vacuum deposition show comparable efficiency.

Effect of organic molecules on hydrolysis of peptide bond: A DFT study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makshakova, Olga; Ermakova, Elena

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► DFT study of the effects of small organic molecules on the hydrolysis reactions of peptide bonds. ► Organic molecules can activate nonenzymatic hydrolysis reaction. ► Influence of organic acids on activation energy barrier correlates with their electronegativity. - Abstract: The activation and inhibition effects of small organic molecules on peptide hydrolysis have been studied using a model compound dialanine and DFT approach. Solvent-assisted and non-assisted concerted mechanisms were analyzed. Several transition states for the systems: alanine dipeptide–water molecule in complexes with alcohol molecules, acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide, propionic, lactic and pyruvic acids and water molecules were localized. The formation of hydrogen bonds between dipeptide, reactive water molecule and molecules of solvents influences the activation energy barrier of the peptide bond hydrolytic reaction. Strong effect of organic acids on the activation energy barrier correlates with their electronegativity. Acetonitrile can act as an inhibitor of reaction. Mechanisms of regulation of the activation energy barrier are discussed in the terms of donor-acceptor interactions

Morphology versus Vertical Phase Segregation in Solvent Annealed Small Molecule Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Kovalenko

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The deep study of solvent annealed small molecules bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on DPP(TBFu2 : PC60BM blend is carried out. To reveal the reason of the solvent annealing advantage over the thermal one, capacitance-voltage measurements were applied. It was found that controlling the vertical phase segregation in the solar cells a high fullerene population in the vicinity of the cathode could be achieved. This results in increase of the shunt resistance of the cell, thus improving the light harvesting efficiency.

Solvent friction effects propagate over the entire protein molecule through low-frequency collective modes.

Science.gov (United States)

Moritsugu, Kei; Kidera, Akinori; Smith, Jeremy C

2014-07-24

Protein solvation dynamics has been investigated using atom-dependent Langevin friction coefficients derived directly from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To determine the effect of solvation on the atomic friction coefficients, solution and vacuum MD simulations were performed for lysozyme and staphylococcal nuclease and analyzed by Langevin mode analysis. The coefficients thus derived are roughly correlated with the atomic solvent-accessible surface area (ASA), as expected from the fact that friction occurs as the result of collisions with solvent molecules. However, a considerable number of atoms with higher friction coefficients are found inside the core region. Hence, the influence of solvent friction propagates into the protein core. The internal coefficients have large contributions from the low-frequency modes, yielding a simple picture of the surface-to-core long-range damping via solvation governed by collective low-frequency modes. To make use of these findings in implicit-solvent modeling, we compare the all-atom friction results with those obtained using Langevin dynamics (LD) with two empirical representations: the constant-friction and the ASA-dependent (Pastor-Karplus) friction models. The constant-friction model overestimates the core and underestimates the surface damping whereas the ASA-dependent friction model, which damps protein atoms only on the solvent-accessible surface, reproduces well the friction coefficients for both the surface and core regions observed in the explicit-solvent MD simulations. Therefore, in LD simulation, the solvent friction coefficients should be imposed only on the protein surface.

A Novel Mechanism for Chemical Sensing Based on Solvent-Fluorophore-Substrate Interaction: Highly Selective Alcohol and Water Sensor with Large Fluorescence Signal Contrast.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Kyeongwoon; Yang, Da Seul; Jung, Jaehun; Seo, Deokwon; Kwon, Min Sang; Kim, Jinsang

2016-10-06

Differentiation of solvents having similar physicochemical properties, such as ethanol and methanol, is an important issue of interest. However, without performing chemical analyses, discrimination between methanol and ethanol is highly challenging due to their similarity in chemical structure as well as properties. Here, we present a novel type of alcohol and water sensor based on the subtle differences in interaction among solvent analytes, fluorescent organic molecules, and a mesoporous silica gel substrate. A gradual change in the chemical structure of the fluorescent diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives alters their interaction with the substrate and solvent analyte, which creates a distinct intermolecular aggregation of the DPP derivatives on the silica gel substrate depending on the solvent environment and produces a change in the fluorescence color and intensity as a sensory signal. The devised sensor device, which is fabricated with simple drop-casting of the DPP derivative solutions onto a silica gel substrate, exhibited a completely reversible fluorescence signal change with large fluorescence signal contrast, which allows selective solvent detection by simple optical observation with the naked eye under UV light. Superior selectivity of the alcohol and water sensor system, which can clearly distinguish among ethanol, methanol, ethylene glycol, and water, is demonstrated.

Solvent-shared pairs of densely charged ions induce intense but short-range supra-additive slowdown of water rotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vila Verde, Ana; Santer, Mark; Lipowsky, Reinhard

2016-01-21

The question "Can ions exert supra-additive effects on water dynamics?" has had several opposing answers from both simulation and experiment. We address this ongoing controversy by investigating water reorientation in aqueous solutions of two salts with large (magnesium sulfate) and small (cesium chloride) effects on water dynamics using molecular dynamics simulations and classical, polarizable models. The salt models are reparameterized to reproduce properties of both dilute and concentrated solutions. We demonstrate that water rotation in concentrated MgSO4 solutions is unexpectedly slow, in agreement with experiment, and that the slowdown is supra-additive: the observed slowdown is larger than that predicted by assuming that the resultant of the extra forces induced by the ions on the rotating water molecules tilts the free energy landscape associated with water rotation. Supra-additive slow down is very intense but short-range, and is strongly ion-specific: in contrast to the long-range picture initially proposed based on experiment, we find that intense supra-additivity is limited to water molecules directly bridging two ions in solvent-shared ion pair configuration; in contrast to a non-ion-specific origin to supra-additive effects proposed from simulations, we find that the magnitude of supra-additive slowdown strongly depends on the identity of the cations and anions. Supra-additive slowdown of water dynamics requires long-lived solvent-shared ion pairs; long-lived ion pairs should be typical for salts of multivalent ions. We discuss the origin of the apparent disagreement between the various studies on this topic and show that the short-range cooperative slowdown scenario proposed here resolves the existing controversy.

Conserved water molecules in bacterial serine hydroxymethyltransferases.

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Milano, Teresa; Di Salvo, Martino Luigi; Angelaccio, Sebastiana; Pascarella, Stefano

2015-10-01

Water molecules occurring in the interior of protein structures often are endowed with key structural and functional roles. We report the results of a systematic analysis of conserved water molecules in bacterial serine hydroxymethyltransferases (SHMTs). SHMTs are an important group of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes that catalyze the reversible conversion of l-serine and tetrahydropteroylglutamate to glycine and 5,10-methylenetetrahydropteroylglutamate. The approach utilized in this study relies on two programs, ProACT2 and WatCH. The first software is able to categorize water molecules in a protein crystallographic structure as buried, positioned in clefts or at the surface. The other program finds, in a set of superposed homologous proteins, water molecules that occur approximately in equivalent position in each of the considered structures. These groups of molecules are referred to as 'clusters' and represent structurally conserved water molecules. Several conserved clusters of buried or cleft water molecules were found in the set of 11 bacterial SHMTs we took into account for this work. The majority of these clusters were not described previously. Possible structural and functional roles for the conserved water molecules are envisaged. This work provides a map of the conserved water molecules helpful for deciphering SHMT mechanism and for rational design of molecular engineering experiments. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Aqueous Solvation of Polyalanine α-Helices with Specific Water Molecules and with the CPCM and SM5.2 Aqueous Continuum Models using Density Functional Theory

OpenAIRE

Marianski, Mateusz; Dannenberg, J. J.

2012-01-01

We present density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the X3LYP/D95(d,p) level on the solvation of polyalanine α-helices in water. The study includes the effects of discrete water molecules and the CPCM and AMSOL SM5.2 solvent continuum model both separately and in combination. We find that individual water molecules cooperatively hydrogen-bond to both the C- and N-termini of the helix, which results in increases in the dipole moment of the helix/water complex to more than the vector sum...

Single-Molecule Tracking Study of the Permeability and Transverse Width of Individual Cylindrical Microdomains in Solvent-Swollen Polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Sapkota, Dol Raj; Tran-Ba, Khanh-Hoa; Elwell-Cuddy, Trevor; Higgins, Daniel A; Ito, Takashi

2016-12-01

Understanding the properties of solvent-swollen block copolymer (BCP) microdomains is important for better solvent-based control of microdomain morphology, orientation, and permeability. In this study, single-molecule tracking (SMT) was explored to assess the permeability and transverse width of individual cylindrical microdomains in solvent-swollen polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) films. PS-b-PEO films comprising shear-elongated cylindrical PEO microdomains were prepared by sandwiching its benzene or tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution between two glass substrates. SMT measurements were performed at different drying times to investigate the effects of solvent evaporation on the microdomain properties. SMT data showed one-dimensional (1D) motions of single fluorescent molecules (sulforhodamine B) based on their diffusion within the cylindrical microdomains. Microdomain permeability and transverse width were assessed from the single-molecule diffusion coefficients (D SMT ) and transverse variance of the 1D trajectories (σ δ 2 ), respectively. The D SMT and σ δ 2 values from individual 1D trajectories were widely distributed with no evidence of correlation on a single molecule basis, possibly because the individual microdomains in a film were swollen to different extents. On average, microdomain permeability (D) and effective radius (r) gradually decreased within the first 3 days of drying due to solvent evaporation, and changed negligibly thereafter. PS-b-PEO films prepared from THF solutions exhibited larger changes in D and r as compared with those from benzene solutions due to the better swelling of the PEO microdomains by THF. Importantly, changes in D were more prominent than those in r, suggesting that the permeability of the PEO microdomains is very susceptible to the presence of solvent. These results reveal the unique capability of SMT to assess the properties of individual cylindrical microdomains in a solvent-swollen BCP film.

A theoretical model investigation of peptide bond formation involving two water molecules in ribosome supports the two-step and eight membered ring mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Qiang; Gao, Jun; Zhang, Dongju; Liu, Chengbu

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We theoretical studied peptide bond formation reaction mechanism with two water molecules. • The first water molecule can decrease the reaction barriers by forming hydrogen bonds. • The water molecule mediated three-proton transfer mechanism is the favorable mechanism. • Our calculation supports the two-step and eight membered ring mechanism. - Abstract: The ribosome is the macromolecular machine that catalyzes protein synthesis. The kinetic isotope effect analysis reported by Strobel group supports the two-step mechanism. However, the destination of the proton originating from the nucleophilic amine is uncertain. A computational simulation of different mechanisms including water molecules is carried out using the same reaction model and theoretical level. Formation the tetrahedral intermediate with proton transfer from nucleophilic nitrogen, is the rate-limiting step when two water molecules participate in peptide bond formation. The first water molecule forming hydrogen bonds with O9′ and H15′ in the A site can decrease the reaction barriers. Combined with results of the solvent isotope effects analysis, we conclude that the three-proton transfer mechanism in which water molecule mediate the proton shuttle between amino and carbon oxygen in rate-limiting step is the favorable mechanism. Our results will shield light on a better understand the reaction mechanism of ribosome

Influence of organic solvents on interfacial water at surfaces of silica gel and partially silylated fumed silica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turov, V.V.; Gun'ko, V.M.; Tsapko, M.D.; Bogatyrev, V.M.; Skubiszewska-Zieba, J.; Leboda, R.; Ryczkowski, J.

2004-01-01

The effects of organic solvents (dimethylsulfoxide-d 6 (DMSO-d 6 ), chloroform-d, acetone-d 6 , and acetonitrile-d 3 ) on the properties of interfacial water at surfaces of silica gel Si-40 and partially silylated fumed silica A-380 were studied by means of the 1 H NMR spectroscopy with freezing-out of adsorbed water at 180 1 H NMR investigations were also analysed on the basis of the structural characteristics of silicas and quantum chemical calculations of the chemical shifts δ H and solvent effects. DMSO-d 6 and acetonitrile-d 3 are poorly miscible with water in silica gel pores in contrast to the bulk liquids. DMSO-d 6 and chloroform-d affect the structure of the interfacial water weaker than acetone-d 6 and acetonitrile-d 3 at amounts of liquids greater than the pore volume. Acetone-d 6 and acetonitrile-d 3 can displace water from pores under this condition. The chemical shift of protons in water adsorbed on silica gel is 3.5-6.5 ppm, which corresponds to the formation of two to four hydrogen bonds per molecule. Water adsorbed on partially silylated fumed silica has two 1 H NMR signals at 5 and 1.1-1.7 ppm related to different structures (droplets and small clusters) of the interfacial water

Statistical survey of the buried waters in the Protein Data Bank.

Science.gov (United States)

Carugo, Oliviero

2016-01-01

The structures of buried water molecules were studied in an ensemble of high-quality and non-redundant protein crystal structures. Buried water molecules were clustered and classified in lake-like clusters, which are completely isolated from the bulk solvent, and bay-like clusters, which are in contact with the bulk solvent through a surface water molecule. Buried water molecules are extremely common: lake-like clusters are found in 89 % of the protein crystal structures and bay-like clusters in 93 %. Clusters with only one water molecule are much more common than larger clusters. Both cluster types incline to be surrounded by loop residues, and to a minor extent by residues in extended secondary structure. Helical residues on the contrary do not tend to surround clusters of buried water molecules. One buried water molecule is found every 30-50 amino acid residues, depending on the secondary structures that are more abundant in the protein. Both main- and side-chain atoms are in contact with buried waters; they form four hydrogen bonds with the first water and 1-1.5 additional hydrogen bond for each additional water in the cluster. Consequently, buried water molecules appear to be firmly packed and rigid like the protein atoms. In this regard, it is remarkable to observe that prolines often surround water molecules buried in the protein interior. Interestingly, clusters of buried water molecules tend to be just beneath the protein surface. Moreover, water molecules tend to form a one-dimensional wire rather than more compact arrangements. This agrees with recent evidence of the mechanisms of solvent exchange between internal cavities and bulk solvent.

Computational Elucidation of a Role That Brønsted Acidification of the Lewis Acid-Bound Water Might Play in the Hydrogenation of Carbonyl Compounds with H2 in Lewis Basic Solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Heshmat, Mojgan; Privalov, Timofei

2017-08-25

Brønsted acidification of water by Lewis acid (LA) complexation is one of the fundamental principles in chemistry. Using transition-state calculations (TS), herein we investigate the role that Brønsted acidification of the LA-bound water might play in the mechanism of the hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds in Lewis basic solvents under non-anhydrous conditions. The potential energy scans and TS calculations were carried out with a series of eight borane LAs as well as the commonly known strong LA AlCl 3 in 1,4-dioxane or THF as Lewis basic solvents. Our molecular model consists of the dative LA-water adduct with hydrogen bonds to acetone and a solvent molecule plus one additional solvent molecule that participates is the TS structure describing the cleavage of H 2 at acetone's carbonyl carbon atom. In all the molecular models applied here, acetone (O=CMe 2 ) is the archetypical carbonyl substrate. We demonstrate that Brønsted acidification of the LA-bound water can indeed lower the barrier height of the solvent-involving H 2 -cleavage at the acetone's carbonyl carbon atom. This is significant because at present it is believed that the mechanism of the herein considered reaction is described by the same mechanism regardless of whether the reaction conditions are strictly anhydrous or non-anhydrous. Our results offer an alternative to this belief that warrants consideration and further study. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Switchover of reactions of solvated electrons with nitrate ions and ammonium ions in propanol-water solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, T.B.; Freeman, G.R.

1993-01-01

The reaction rate constants of e s - with ammonium nitrate (∼0.1 mol m -3 ) in 1-propanol-water and 2-propanol-water binary solvents correspond to [e s - + (NO 3 - ) s ] reaction in the water-rich solvents, and to [e s - + (NH 4 + ) s ] reaction in alcohol-rich solvents. The overall rate constant is smaller in solvents with 40-99 mol% water, with a minimum at 70 mol% water. The Arrhenius temperature coefficient is 26 kJ mol -1 in each pure propanol solvent, increases to 29 kJ mol -1 at 40 mol% water, then decreases to 17 kJ mol -1 in pure water solvent. The high reaction rates in the single component solvents, alcohol or water, are limited mainly by solvent processes related to shear viscosity (diffusion) and dielectric relaxation (dipole reorientation). Rate constants reported for concentrated solutions (50-1000 mol m -3 ) of ammonium and nitrate salts in methanol have been quantitatively reinterpreted in terms of the ion atmosphere model. 28 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs

Discrete and continuum modeling of solvent effects in a twisted intramolecular charge transfer system: The 4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) molecule.

Science.gov (United States)

Modesto-Costa, Lucas; Borges, Itamar

2018-08-05

The 4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) molecule is a prototypical system displaying twisted intramolecular (TICT) charge transfer effects. The ground and the first four electronic excited states (S 1 -S 4 ) in gas phase and upon solvation were studied. Charge transfer values as function of the torsion angle between the donor group (dimethylamine) and the acceptor moiety (benzonitrile) were explicitly computed. Potential energy curves were also obtained. The algebraic diagrammatic construction method at the second-order [ADC(2)] ab initio wave function was employed. Three solvents of increased polarities (benzene, DMSO and water) were investigated using discrete (average solvent electrostatic configuration - ASEC) and continuum (conductor-like screening model - COSMO) models. The results for the S 3 and S 4 excited states and the S 1 -S 4 charge transfer curves were not previously available in the literature. Electronic gas phase and solvent vertical spectra are in good agreement with previous theoretical and experimental results. In the twisted (90°) geometry the optical oscillator strengths have negligible values even for the S 2 bright state. Potential energy curves show two distinct pairs of curves intersecting at decreasing angles or not crossing in the more polar solvents. Charge transfer and electric dipole values allowed the rationalization of these results. The former effects are mostly independent of the solvent model and polarity. Although COSMO and ASEC solvent models mostly lead to similar results, there is an important difference: some crossings of the excitation energy curves appear only in the ASEC solvation model, which has important implications to the photochemistry of DMABN. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime drastically improves carrier transport in small-molecule thin-film transistors

KAUST Repository

Khan, Hadayat Ullah

2013-04-10

We demonstrate a new way to investigate and control the solvent vapor annealing of solution-cast organic semiconductor thin films. Solvent vapor annealing of spin-cast films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn) is investigated in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) capability, allowing us to monitor both solvent mass uptake and changes in the mechanical rigidity of the film. Using time-resolved grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and complementary static atomic force microscopy (AFM), we demonstrate that solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime can cause significant performance improvements in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), whereas allowing the solvent to percolate and form a liquid phase results in catastrophic reorganization and dewetting of the film, making the process counterproductive. Using these lessons we devise processing conditions which prevent percolation of the adsorbed solvent vapor molecules for extended periods, thus extending the benefits of solvent vapor annealing and improving carrier mobility by nearly two orders of magnitude. Ultimately, it is demonstrated that QCM-D is a very powerful sensor of the state of the adsorbed solvent as well as the thin film, thus making it suitable for process development as well as in-line process monitoring both in laboratory and in future manufacturing settings. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime drastically improves carrier transport in small-molecule thin-film transistors

KAUST Repository

Khan, Hadayat Ullah; Li, Ruipeng; Ren, Yi; Chen, Long; Payne, Marcia M.; Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj; Smilgies, Detlef Matthias; Anthony, John Edward; Amassian, Aram

2013-01-01

We demonstrate a new way to investigate and control the solvent vapor annealing of solution-cast organic semiconductor thin films. Solvent vapor annealing of spin-cast films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn) is investigated in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) capability, allowing us to monitor both solvent mass uptake and changes in the mechanical rigidity of the film. Using time-resolved grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and complementary static atomic force microscopy (AFM), we demonstrate that solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime can cause significant performance improvements in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), whereas allowing the solvent to percolate and form a liquid phase results in catastrophic reorganization and dewetting of the film, making the process counterproductive. Using these lessons we devise processing conditions which prevent percolation of the adsorbed solvent vapor molecules for extended periods, thus extending the benefits of solvent vapor annealing and improving carrier mobility by nearly two orders of magnitude. Ultimately, it is demonstrated that QCM-D is a very powerful sensor of the state of the adsorbed solvent as well as the thin film, thus making it suitable for process development as well as in-line process monitoring both in laboratory and in future manufacturing settings. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

1,4,9,12-Tetramethoxy-14-octyl-5,8-dihydrodiindolo[3,2-b;2′,3′-h]carbazole with an unknown solvent

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Norma Wrobel

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The title compound, 2C36H39N3O4·H2O, is a linear π-conjugated ladder oligomer with an alkyl chain on the central nitrogen atom. This diindolocarbazole, prepared via a twofold Cadogan reaction, adopts a sligthly convex shape, anti to the disordered octyl group. The unit cell contains nine molecules of the title compound and half a water molecule per main molecule. The water molecule forms hydrogen bridges, connecting the carbazole-NH and methoxy groups of different molecules. The crystal contains solvent molecules which are located in a channel parallel to the c axis. It was not possible to determine the position and nature of the solvent (a mixure of choroform, n-pentane and DMSO. The SQUEEZE [Spek (2015. Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18] option of PLATON was used to model the missing electron density. The given chemical formula and other crystal data do not take into account these solvent molecules.

Solvation in supercritical water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochran, H.D.; Cummings, P.T.; Karaborni, S.

1991-01-01

The aim of this work is to determine the solvation structure in supercritical water composed with that in ambient water and in simple supercritical solvents. Molecular dynamics studies have been undertaken of systems that model ionic sodium and chloride, atomic argon, and molecular methanol in supercritical aqueous solutions using the simple point charge model of Berendsen for water. Because of the strong interactions between water and ions, ionic solutes are strongly attractive in supercritical water, forming large clusters of water molecules around each ion. Methanol is found to be a weakly-attractive solute in supercritical water. The cluster of excess water molecules surrounding a dissolved ion or polar molecule in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to the solvent clusters surrounding attractive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. Likewise, the deficit of water molecules surrounding a dissolved argon atom in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to that surrounding repulsive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule in supercritical water was found to be about one third the number in ambient water. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule surrounding a central particle in supercritical water was only mildly affected by the identify of the central particle--atom, molecule, or ion. These results should be helpful in developing a qualitative understanding of important processes that occur in supercritical water. 29 refs., 6 figs

Influence of organic solvents on interfacial water at surfaces of silica gel and partially silylated fumed silica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turov, V.V.; Gun' ko, V.M.; Tsapko, M.D.; Bogatyrev, V.M.; Skubiszewska-Zieba, J.; Leboda, R.; Ryczkowski, J

2004-05-15

The effects of organic solvents (dimethylsulfoxide-d{sub 6} (DMSO-d{sub 6}), chloroform-d, acetone-d{sub 6}, and acetonitrile-d{sub 3}) on the properties of interfacial water at surfaces of silica gel Si-40 and partially silylated fumed silica A-380 were studied by means of the {sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy with freezing-out of adsorbed water at 180solvent effects. DMSO-d{sub 6} and acetonitrile-d{sub 3} are poorly miscible with water in silica gel pores in contrast to the bulk liquids. DMSO-d{sub 6} and chloroform-d affect the structure of the interfacial water weaker than acetone-d{sub 6} and acetonitrile-d{sub 3} at amounts of liquids greater than the pore volume. Acetone-d{sub 6} and acetonitrile-d{sub 3} can displace water from pores under this condition. The chemical shift of protons in water adsorbed on silica gel is 3.5-6.5 ppm, which corresponds to the formation of two to four hydrogen bonds per molecule. Water adsorbed on partially silylated fumed silica has two {sup 1}H NMR signals at 5 and 1.1-1.7 ppm related to different structures (droplets and small clusters) of the interfacial water.

On the solubility of nicotinic acid and isonicotinic acid in water and organic solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abraham, Michael H.; Acree, William E.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Solubilities of nicotinic acid and isonicotinic acids in organicsolvents have been determined. ► Solubilities are used to calculate Abraham descriptors for the two acids. ► These descriptors then yield water-solvent and gas-solvent partitions into numerous solvents. ► The solubility of the neutral acids in water is obtained. ► The method is straightforward and can be applied to any set of compound solubilities. -- Abstract: We have determined the solubility of nicotinic acid in four solvents and the solubility of isonicotinic acid in another four solvents. These results, together with literature data on the solubility of nicotinic acid in five other organic solvents and isonicotinic acid in four other organic solvents, have been analyzed through two linear Gibbs energy relationships in order to extract compound properties, or descriptors, that encode various solute–solvent interactions. The descriptors for nicotinic acid and isonicotinic acid can then be used in known equations for partition of solutes between water and organic solvents to predict partition coefficients and then further solubility in a host of organic solvents, as well as to predict a number of other physicochemical properties

Laser Raman spectroscopy of the effect of solvent on the low-frequency oscillations of organic molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, N. N.; Chikishev, A. Yu.; Dolgovskii, V. I.; Lebedenko, S. I.

2007-09-01

The effect of solvent on low-frequency oscillations is studied using an example of the 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TCE) and 1,1,2,2-tetrabromoethane (TBE) molecules, which exhibit torsional oscillations in the terahertz range. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) are used as solvents. It is demonstrated that a decrease in the concentration of the substance under study in the TBE/CTC, TCE/DMSO, and TCE/CTC mixtures leads to a frequency shift of the low-frequency oscillation. The shift is not observed in the TBE/DMSO mixture but a decrease in the TBE concentration causes significant broadening of the low-frequency line.

Interaction enthalpies of solid human serum albumin with water-dioxane mixtures: comparison with water and organic solvent vapor sorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sirotkin, Vladimir A.; Faizullin, Djihanguir A.

2004-01-01

Enthalpy changes (ΔH tot ) on the immersion of dehydrated human serum albumin (HSA) into water-dioxane mixtures have been measured using a Setaram BT-2.15 calorimeter at 298 K. Thermodynamic activity of water was varied from 0 to 1. Calorimetric results are discussed together with the FTIR-spectroscopic data on water and organic solvent vapor adsorption/desorption isotherms on solid HSA. Dioxane sorption exhibits a pronounced hysteresis. Calorimetric and dioxane desorption dependencies consist of two parts. No dioxane sorption was observed in low water activity region (a w tot values are close to zero. At water activity about 0.5 the sharp exothermic drop of the interaction enthalpy values was observed. This exothermic drop is accompanied by the sharp increase in the amount of sorbed dioxane and additional water sorption (compared with that for pure water). Dioxane adsorption branch resembles a smooth curve. In this case, solid HSA binds more than 300 mol dioxane/mol HSA at low water activities. By using a water activity-based comparison we distinguished between dioxane-assisted and dioxane-competitive effect on water sorption. The obtained results demonstrate that the hydration 'history' of solid protein is an important factor that controls as the state of protein macromolecule as well as the sorption of low-molecular organic molecules

Ion-solvent interactions and the complex behaviour of U(IV) and U(VI) with chloro-ligands in ethanol-water mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J.I.; Duschner, H.; Hashimoto, T.; Born, H.J.

1975-01-01

The complex chemical behaviour of U(IV) and U(VI) in amphiprotic solutions, especially in mixtures of solvents, was investigated using ion exchange and solvent extraction methods. The experimental data was used, on the one hand, in order to obtain complexing constants in dependence of ligands and their concentration as well as of the agent and to classify these in a universal scale of ion activities with water as reference point, and on the other hand, to explain the interactions between central atom, ligand and solvating molecule. One aim of these investigations is to understand the basic mechanisms in adjusting the equilibrium between two different phases in the separation chemistry of these elements. (orig./LH) [de

Water-assisted dehalogenation of thionyl chloride in the presence of water molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Chi Shun; Ng, Ping Leung; Guan, Xiangguo; Phillips, David Lee

2010-04-01

A second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) investigation of the dehalogenation reactions of thionyl chloride is reported, in which water molecules (up to seven) were explicitly involved in the reaction complex. The dehalogenation processes of thionyl chloride were found to be dramatically catalyzed by water molecules. The reaction rate became significantly faster as more water molecules became involved in the reaction complex. The dehalogenation processes can be reasonably simulated by the gas-phase water cluster models, which reveals that water molecules can help to solvate the thionyl chloride molecules and activate the release of the Cl(-) leaving group. The computed activation energies were used to compare the calculations to available experimental data.

How many molecular layers of polar solvent molecules control chemistry? The concept of compensating dipoles.

Science.gov (United States)

Langhals, Heinz; Braun, Patricia; Dietl, Christian; Mayer, Peter

2013-09-27

The extension of the solvent influence of the shell into the volume of a polar medium was examined by means of anti-collinear dipoles on the basis of the E(T)(30) solvent polarity scale (i.e., the molar energy of excitation of a pyridinium-N-phenolatebetaine dye; generally: E(T) =28,591 nm kcal mol(-1)/λmax) where no compensation effects were found. As a consequence, solvent polarity effects are concentrated to a very thin layer of a few thousand picometres around the solute where extensions into the bulk solvent become unimportant. A parallelism to the thin surface layer of water to the gas phase is discussed. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solvent effects on the crystal growth structure and morphology of the pharmaceutical dirithromycin

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuan; Liang, Zuozhong

2017-12-01

Solvent effects on the crystal structure and morphology of pharmaceutical dirithromycin molecules were systematically investigated using both experimental crystallization and theoretical simulation. Dirithromycin is one of the new generation of macrolide antibiotics with two polymorphic forms (Form I and Form II) and many solvate forms. Herein, six solvates of the dirithromycin, including acetonitrile, acetonitrile/water, acetone, 1-propanol, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and cyclohexane, were studied. Experimentally, we crystallized the dirithromycin molecules in different solvents by the solvent evaporating method and measured the crystal structures with the X-ray diffraction (XRD). We compared these crystal structures of dirithromycin solvates and analyzed the solvent property-determined structure evolution. The solvents have a strong interaction with the dirithromycin molecule due to the formation of inter-molecular interactions (such as the hydrogen bonding and close contacts (sum of vdW radii)). Theoretically, we calculated the ideal crystal habit based on the solvated structures with the attachment growth (AE) model. The predicted morphologies and aspect ratios of dirithromycin solvates agree well with the experimental results. This work could be helpful to better understand the structure and morphology evolution of solvates controlled by solvents and guide the crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry.

Study of acid-base properties in various water-salt and water-organic solvent mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucas, M.

1969-01-01

Acid-base reactions have been studied in water-salt mixtures and water organic solvent-mixtures. It has been possible to find some relations between the displacement of the equilibria and the numerical value of water activity in the mixture. First have been studied some equilibria H + + B ↔ HB + in salt-water mixtures and found a relation between the pK A value, the solubility of the base and water activity. The reaction HO - + H + ↔ H 2 O has been investigated and a relation been found between pK i values, water activity and the molar concentration of the salt in the mixture. This relation is the same for every mixture. Then the same reactions have been studied in organic solvent-water mixtures and a relation found in the first part of the work have been used with success. So it has been possible to explain easily some properties of organic water-mixture as the shape of the curves of the Hammett acidity function Ho. (authors) [fr

Solvent Effects on Oxygen-17 Chemical Shifts in Amides. Quantitative Linear Solvation Shift Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Díez, Ernesto; Fabián, Jesús San; Gerothanassis, Ioannis P.; Esteban, Angel L.; Abboud, José-Luis M.; Contreras, Ruben H.; de Kowalewski, Dora G.

1997-01-01

A multiple-linear-regression analysis (MLRA) has been carried out using the Kamlet-Abboud-Taft (KAT) solvatochromic parameters in order to elucidate and quantify the solvent effects on the17O chemical shifts ofN-methylformamide (NMF),N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF),N-methylacetamide (NMA), andN,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA). The chemical shifts of the four molecules show the same dependence (in ppm) on the solvent polarity-polarizability, i.e., -22π*. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-donor (HBD) acidities is slightly larger for the acetamides NMA and DMA, i.e., -48α, than for the formamides NMF and DMF, i.e., -42α. The influence of the solvent hydrogen-bond-acceptor (HBA) basicities is negligible for the nonprotic molecules DMF and DMA but significant for the protic molecules NMF and NMA, i.e., -9β. The effect of substituting the N-H hydrogen by a methyl group amounts to -5.9 ppm in NMF and 5.4 ppm in NMA. The effect of substituting the O=C-H hydrogen amounts to 5.5 ppm in NMF and 16.8 ppm in DMF. The model of specific hydration sites of amides by I. P. Gerothanassis and C. Vakka [J. Org. Chem.59,2341 (1994)] is settled in a more quantitative basis and the model by M. I. Burgar, T. E. St. Amour, and D. Fiat [J. Phys. Chem.85,502 (1981)] is critically evaluated.17O hydration shifts have been calculated for formamide (FOR) by the ab initio LORG method at the 6-31G* level. For a formamide surrounded by the four in-plane molecules of water in the first hydration shell, the calculated17O shift change due to the four hydrogen bonds, -83.2 ppm, is smaller than the empirical hydration shift, -100 ppm. The17O shift change from each out-of-plane water molecule hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen is -18.0 ppm. These LORG results support the conclusion that no more than four water molecules are hydrogen-bonded to the amide oxygen in formamide.

Effects of solvent evaporation on water sorption/solubility and nanoleakage of adhesive systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Talita Baumgratz Cachapuz CHIMELI

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the influence of solvent evaporation in the kinetics of water diffusion (water sorption-WS, solubility-SL, and net water uptake and nanoleakage of adhesive systems. Material and Methods: Disk-shaped specimens (5.0 mm in diameter x 0.8 mm in thickness were produced (N=48 using the adhesives: Clearfil S3 Bond (CS3/Kuraray, Clearfil SE Bond - control group (CSE/Kuraray, Optibond Solo Plus (OS/Kerr and Scotchbond Universal Adhesive (SBU/3M ESPE. The solvents were either evaporated for 30 s or not evaporated (N=24/per group, and then photoactivated for 80 s (550 mW/cm2. After desiccation, the specimens were weighed and stored in distilled water (N=12 or mineral oil (N=12 to evaluate the water diffusion over a 7-day period. Net water uptake (% was also calculated as the sum of WS and SL. Data were submitted to 3-way ANOVA/Tukey's test (α=5%. The nanoleakage expression in three additional specimens per group was also evaluated after ammoniacal silver impregnation after 7 days of water storage under SEM. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that only the factor "adhesive" was significant (p<0.05. Solvent evaporation had no influence in the WS and SL of the adhesives. CSE (control presented significantly lower net uptake (5.4%. The nanoleakage was enhanced by the presence of solvent in the adhesives. Conclusions: Although the evaporation has no effect in the kinetics of water diffusion, the nanoleakage expression of the adhesives tested increases when the solvents are not evaporated.

Adaptive resolution simulation of an atomistic DNA molecule in MARTINI salt solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zavadlav, J.; Podgornik, R.; Melo, M.n.; Marrink, S.j.; Praprotnik, M.

2016-01-01

We present a dual-resolution model of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule in a bathing solution, where we concurrently couple atomistic bundled water and ions with the coarse-grained MAR- TINI model of the solvent. We use our fine-grained salt solution model as a solvent in the inner shell

Equilibrium data on ethanol-water-solvent ternaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Kirbaslar

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Experimental liquid-liquid equilibria of water-ethanol-1-nonanol and water-ethanol-1-decanol systems were investigated at 303.16± 0.20 K. The reliability of the experimental tie-line data was ascertained by using Othmer-Tobias and Hand plots. Distribution coefficients (Di and separation factors (S were evaluated for the immiscibility region. It is concluded that the solvents with high boiling point, 1-nonanol and 1-decanol, are suitable separating agents for dilute aqueous ethyl alcohol solutions.

Chemistry in production of heavy water and industrial solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, P.G.

2015-01-01

Industries are the temples of modern science built on the robust foundation of science and technology. The genesis of giant chemical industries is from small laboratories where the scientific thoughts are fused and transformed into innovative technologies Heavy water production is an energy intensive giant chemical industry where various hazardous and flammable chemicals are handled, extreme operating conditions are maintained and various complex chemical reactions are involved. Chemistry is the back bone to all chemical industrial activities and plays a lead role in heavy water production also. Heavy Water Board has now mastered the technology of design, construction, operation and maintenance of Heavy Water plants as well as fine tuning of the process make it more cost effective and environment friendly. Heavy Water Board has ventured into diversified activities intimately connected with our three stages of Nuclear Power Programme. Process development for the production of nuclear grade solvents for the front end and back end of our nuclear fuel cycle is one area where we have made significant contributions. Heavy Water Board has validated, modified and fine-tuned the synthesis routes for TBP, D2EHPA, TOPO, TAPO TIAP, DNPPA, D2EHPA-II, DHOA etc and these solvents were accepted by end users. Exclusive campaigns were carried out in laboratory scale, bench scale and pilot plant scale before scaling up to industrial scale. The process chemistry is understood very well and chemical parameters were monitored in every step of the synthesis. It is a continual improvement cycle where fine tuning is carried out for best quality and yield of product at lowest cost. In this presentation, an attempt is made to highlight the role of chemistry in the production of Heavy Water and industrial solvents

Activity and conformation of lysozyme in molecular solvents, protic ionic liquids (PILs) and salt-water systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijaya, Emmy C; Separovic, Frances; Drummond, Calum J; Greaves, Tamar L

2016-09-21

Improving protein stabilisation is important for the further development of many applications in the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, consumer product and agricultural sectors. However, protein stabilization is highly dependent on the solvent environment and, hence, it is very complex to tailor protein-solvent combinations for stable protein maintenance. Understanding solvent features that govern protein stabilization will enable selection or design of suitable media with favourable solution environments to retain protein native conformation. In this work the structural conformation and activity of lysozyme in 29 solvent systems were investigated to determine the role of various solvent features on the stability of the enzyme. The solvent systems consisted of 19 low molecular weight polar solvents and 4 protic ionic liquids (PILs), both at different water content levels, and 6 aqueous salt solutions. Small angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to investigate the tertiary and secondary structure of lysozyme along with the corresponding activity in various solvation systems. At low non-aqueous solvent concentrations (high water content), the presence of solvents and salts generally maintained lysozyme in its native structure and enhanced its activity. Due to the presence of a net surface charge on lysozyme, electrostatic interactions in PIL-water systems and salt solutions enhanced lysozyme activity more than the specific hydrogen-bond interactions present in non-ionic molecular solvents. At higher solvent concentrations (lower water content), solvents with a propensity to exhibit the solvophobic effect, analogous to the hydrophobic effect in water, retained lysozyme native conformation and activity. This solvophobic effect was observed particularly for solvents which contained hydroxyl moieties. Preferential solvophobic effects along with bulky chemical structures were postulated to result in less

Difficulties in applying pure Kohn-Sham density functional theory electronic structure methods to protein molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Rudberg, Elias

2012-02-01

Self-consistency-based Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) electronic structure calculations with Gaussian basis sets are reported for a set of 17 protein-like molecules with geometries obtained from the Protein Data Bank. It is found that in many cases such calculations do not converge due to vanishing HOMO-LUMO gaps. A sequence of polyproline I helix molecules is also studied and it is found that self-consistency calculations using pure functionals fail to converge for helices longer than six proline units. Since the computed gap is strongly correlated to the fraction of Hartree-Fock exchange, test calculations using both pure and hybrid density functionals are reported. The tested methods include the pure functionals BLYP, PBE and LDA, as well as Hartree-Fock and the hybrid functionals BHandHLYP, B3LYP and PBE0. The effect of including solvent molecules in the calculations is studied, and it is found that the inclusion of explicit solvent molecules around the protein fragment in many cases gives a larger gap, but that convergence problems due to vanishing gaps still occur in calculations with pure functionals. In order to achieve converged results, some modeling of the charge distribution of solvent water molecules outside the electronic structure calculation is needed. Representing solvent water molecules by a simple point charge distribution is found to give non-vanishing HOMO-LUMO gaps for the tested protein-like systems also for pure functionals.

Difficulties in applying pure Kohn-Sham density functional theory electronic structure methods to protein molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudberg, Elias

2012-01-01

Self-consistency-based Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) electronic structure calculations with Gaussian basis sets are reported for a set of 17 protein-like molecules with geometries obtained from the Protein Data Bank. It is found that in many cases such calculations do not converge due to vanishing HOMO-LUMO gaps. A sequence of polyproline I helix molecules is also studied and it is found that self-consistency calculations using pure functionals fail to converge for helices longer than six proline units. Since the computed gap is strongly correlated to the fraction of Hartree-Fock exchange, test calculations using both pure and hybrid density functionals are reported. The tested methods include the pure functionals BLYP, PBE and LDA, as well as Hartree-Fock and the hybrid functionals BHandHLYP, B3LYP and PBE0. The effect of including solvent molecules in the calculations is studied, and it is found that the inclusion of explicit solvent molecules around the protein fragment in many cases gives a larger gap, but that convergence problems due to vanishing gaps still occur in calculations with pure functionals. In order to achieve converged results, some modeling of the charge distribution of solvent water molecules outside the electronic structure calculation is needed. Representing solvent water molecules by a simple point charge distribution is found to give non-vanishing HOMO-LUMO gaps for the tested protein-like systems also for pure functionals. (fast track communication)

Water-Protein Interactions: The Secret of Protein Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Martini

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Water-protein interactions help to maintain flexible conformation conditions which are required for multifunctional protein recognition processes. The intimate relationship between the protein surface and hydration water can be analyzed by studying experimental water properties measured in protein systems in solution. In particular, proteins in solution modify the structure and the dynamics of the bulk water at the solute-solvent interface. The ordering effects of proteins on hydration water are extended for several angstroms. In this paper we propose a method for analyzing the dynamical properties of the water molecules present in the hydration shells of proteins. The approach is based on the analysis of the effects of protein-solvent interactions on water protons NMR relaxation parameters. NMR relaxation parameters, especially the nonselective (R1NS and selective (R1SE spin-lattice relaxation rates of water protons, are useful for investigating the solvent dynamics at the macromolecule-solvent interfaces as well as the perturbation effects caused by the water-macromolecule interactions on the solvent dynamical properties. In this paper we demonstrate that Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy can be used to determine the dynamical contributions of proteins to the water molecules belonging to their hydration shells.

Relation between the interfacial tension in an organic solvent-water system and the parameters of the solvating capacity of the solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikitin, S.D.; Shmidt, V.S.

1987-01-01

It was shown that there is a linear relation between the empirical DE (diluent effect) and E/sub T/ parameters, which characterize the solvating capacity of the solvent, and the interfacial tension in an organic solvent-water two-phase system. Analysis of the sample correlation coefficients shows that the relation between the interfacial tension and the DE parameters of the solvents is closer to linear than the corresponding relation for the E/sub T/ parameters. During analysis of the data for 31 solvents it was established that the largest inverse correlation coefficient r = -0.98 is obtained with an equation of the DE = a + bσ/rho 1/3, type, were a and b are constants, and rho is the density of the solvent. The regression equation has the following form: DE = 7.586 - 0.147 σ/rho 1/3. Since the interfacial activity of hydrophobic surfactants decreases linearly with increase in the DE values, it follows from the obtained equation that decrease of the interfacial tension at the water-organic solvent interface must lead to a decrease in the interfacial activity of hydrophobic surfactants present in the system

Two-dimensional crystallography of amphiphilic molecules at the air-water interface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacquemain, D.; Grayer Wolf, S.; Leveiller, F.

1992-01-01

The advent of well-collimated, high-intensity synchrotron X-ray sources and the consequent development of surface-specific X-ray diffraction and fluorescence techniques have recently revolutionized the study of Langmuir monolayers at the air-liquid interface. These methods allowed for the first......, and review recent results obtained from them for Langmuir films. The methods have been successfully applied in the elucidation of the structure of crystalline aggregates of amphiphilic molecules such as alcohols, carboxylic acids and their salts, alpha-amino acids, and phospholipids at the water surface....... In addition, it became possible to monitor by diffraction the growth and dissolution of the crystalline self-aggregates as well as structural changes occurring by phase transitions. Furthermore, the surface X-ray methods shed new light on the structure of the underlying ionic layer of attached solvent...

Accuracy comparison of several common implicit solvent models and their implementations in the context of protein-ligand binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Katkova, E V; Onufriev, A V; Aguilar, B; Sulimov, V B

2017-03-01

In this study several commonly used implicit solvent models are compared with respect to their accuracy of estimating solvation energies of small molecules and proteins, as well as desolvation penalty in protein-ligand binding. The test set consists of 19 small proteins, 104 small molecules, and 15 protein-ligand complexes. We compared predicted hydration energies of small molecules with their experimental values; the results of the solvation and desolvation energy calculations for small molecules, proteins and protein-ligand complexes in water were also compared with Thermodynamic Integration calculations based on TIP3P water model and Amber12 force field. The following implicit solvent (water) models considered here are: PCM (Polarized Continuum Model implemented in DISOLV and MCBHSOLV programs), GB (Generalized Born method implemented in DISOLV program, S-GB, and GBNSR6 stand-alone version), COSMO (COnductor-like Screening Model implemented in the DISOLV program and the MOPAC package) and the Poisson-Boltzmann model (implemented in the APBS program). Different parameterizations of the molecules were examined: we compared MMFF94 force field, Amber12 force field and the quantum-chemical semi-empirical PM7 method implemented in the MOPAC package. For small molecules, all of the implicit solvent models tested here yield high correlation coefficients (0.87-0.93) between the calculated solvation energies and the experimental values of hydration energies. For small molecules high correlation (0.82-0.97) with the explicit solvent energies is seen as well. On the other hand, estimated protein solvation energies and protein-ligand binding desolvation energies show substantial discrepancy (up to 10kcal/mol) with the explicit solvent reference. The correlation of polar protein solvation energies and protein-ligand desolvation energies with the corresponding explicit solvent results is 0.65-0.99 and 0.76-0.96 respectively, though this difference in correlations is caused

Effect of electrostatic interaction on thermochemical behavior of 12-crown-4 ether in various polar solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barannikov, Vladimir P.; Guseynov, Sabir S.; Vyugin, Anatoliy I.

2010-01-01

The enthalpies of solution of 12-crown-4 ether have been measured in chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone, pyridine, acetonitrile and methanol at 298.15 K. The values of enthalpy of solvation and solute-solvent interaction were determined from the obtained results and similar literature data for 12-crown-4 in solvents of various polarities. It was shown that the certain correlation is observed between the enthalpy of solute-solvent interaction and the squared dipole moment of the solvent molecules for solutions in tetrachlormethane, ethyl acetate, pyridine, acetonitrile, DMF, DMSO and propylene carbonate. This means that the electrostatic interaction of 12-crown-4 with polar solvent molecules contributes significantly to the exothermic effect of solvation. The understated negative value was found for the enthalpy of interaction of 12-crown-4 with acetone that can be connected with domination of low polar conformer of the crown ether in acetone medium. The most negative values of enthalpy of solvation are observed for solutions in chloroform and water because of hydrogen bonding between O-atoms of crown ether and molecules of the indicated solvents. This effect is not observed for methanol. The negative coefficient of pairwise solute-solute interaction in methanol indicates that the effects of solvophobic solute-solute interaction and H-bonding of the ether molecule with chain associates of methanol are not evinced in the thermochemical behavior of 12-crown-4.

Gaussian-Based Smooth Dielectric Function: A Surface-Free Approach for Modeling Macromolecular Binding in Solvents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arghya Chakravorty

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Conventional modeling techniques to model macromolecular solvation and its effect on binding in the framework of Poisson-Boltzmann based implicit solvent models make use of a geometrically defined surface to depict the separation of macromolecular interior (low dielectric constant from the solvent phase (high dielectric constant. Though this simplification saves time and computational resources without significantly compromising the accuracy of free energy calculations, it bypasses some of the key physio-chemical properties of the solute-solvent interface, e.g., the altered flexibility of water molecules and that of side chains at the interface, which results in dielectric properties different from both bulk water and macromolecular interior, respectively. Here we present a Gaussian-based smooth dielectric model, an inhomogeneous dielectric distribution model that mimics the effect of macromolecular flexibility and captures the altered properties of surface bound water molecules. Thus, the model delivers a smooth transition of dielectric properties from the macromolecular interior to the solvent phase, eliminating any unphysical surface separating the two phases. Using various examples of macromolecular binding, we demonstrate its utility and illustrate the comparison with the conventional 2-dielectric model. We also showcase some additional abilities of this model, viz. to account for the effect of electrolytes in the solution and to render the distribution profile of water across a lipid membrane.

Understanding water: Molecular dynamics simulations of solubilized and crystallized myoglobin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei Gu; Garcia, A.E.; Schoenborn, B.P. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)

1994-12-31

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on CO myoglobin to evaluate the stability of the bound water molecules as determined in a neutron diffraction analysis. The myoglobin structure derived from the neutron analysis provided the starting coordinate set used in the simulations. The simulations show that only a few water molecules are tightly bound to protein atoms, while most solvent molecules are labile, breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds. Comparison between myoglobin in solution and in a single crystal highlighted some of the packing effects on the solvent structure and shows that water solvent plays an indispensable role in protein dynamics and structural stability. The described observations explain some of the differences in the experimental results of protein hydration as observed in NMR, neutron and X-ray diffraction studies.

Understanding water: Molecular dynamics simulations of solubilized and crystallized myoglobin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Gu; Garcia, A.E.; Schoenborn, B.P.

1994-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on CO myoglobin to evaluate the stability of the bound water molecules as determined in a neutron diffraction analysis. The myoglobin structure derived from the neutron analysis provided the starting coordinate set used in the simulations. The simulations show that only a few water molecules are tightly bound to protein atoms, while most solvent molecules are labile, breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds. Comparison between myoglobin in solution and in a single crystal highlighted some of the packing effects on the solvent structure and shows that water solvent plays an indispensable role in protein dynamics and structural stability. The described observations explain some of the differences in the experimental results of protein hydration as observed in NMR, neutron and X-ray diffraction studies

Lithium isotope effects in cation exchange chromatography of lithium lactate in water-dimethyl sulfoxide and water-acetone mixed solvent media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oi, Takao; Kondoh, Akiko; Ohno, Etsuko; Hosoe, Morikazu

1993-01-01

Lithium isotope separation by ion exchange displacement chromatography of lithium lactate in water-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and water-acetone mixed solvent media at 25 C was explored. In both the water-DMSO and water-acetone system, the single stage isotope separation factor (S) was a convex function of the mixing ratio of the solvents in the external solution phase; S had its maximum value of 1.00254 at water: DMSO=25:75 v/v and 1.00182 at water: acetone=75:25 v/v. Strong correlations of S with solvent partitions between the solution and the exchanger phases were found in both systems, which was qualitatively explainable by considering the lithium isotope distributions between the two phases based on the fundamental lithium isotope effects and the relative affinities of water, DMSO and acetone towards the lithium ion. (orig.)

Effects of solvent evaporation on water sorption/solubility and nanoleakage of adhesive systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chimeli, Talita Baumgratz Cachapuz; D'Alpino, Paulo Henrique Perlatti; Pereira, Patrícia Nóbrega; Hilgert, Leandro Augusto; Di Hipólito, Vinicius; Garcia, Fernanda Cristina Pimentel

2014-01-01

To evaluate the influence of solvent evaporation in the kinetics of water diffusion (water sorption-WS, solubility-SL, and net water uptake) and nanoleakage of adhesive systems. Disk-shaped specimens (5.0 mm in diameter x 0.8 mm in thickness) were produced (N=48) using the adhesives: Clearfil S3 Bond (CS3)/Kuraray, Clearfil SE Bond - control group (CSE)/Kuraray, Optibond Solo Plus (OS)/Kerr and Scotchbond Universal Adhesive (SBU)/3M ESPE. The solvents were either evaporated for 30 s or not evaporated (N=24/per group), and then photoactivated for 80 s (550 mW/cm2). After desiccation, the specimens were weighed and stored in distilled water (N=12) or mineral oil (N=12) to evaluate the water diffusion over a 7-day period. Net water uptake (%) was also calculated as the sum of WS and SL. Data were submitted to 3-way ANOVA/Tukey's test (α=5%). The nanoleakage expression in three additional specimens per group was also evaluated after ammoniacal silver impregnation after 7 days of water storage under SEM. Statistical analysis revealed that only the factor "adhesive" was significant (padhesives. CSE (control) presented significantly lower net uptake (5.4%). The nanoleakage was enhanced by the presence of solvent in the adhesives. Although the evaporation has no effect in the kinetics of water diffusion, the nanoleakage expression of the adhesives tested increases when the solvents are not evaporated.

Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents as water-immiscible extractants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Osch, van D.J.G.P.; Zubeir, L.F.; Bruinhorst, van den A.; Alves da Rocha, M.A.; Kroon, M.C.

2015-01-01

Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are presented for the first time. They consist of decanoic acid and various quaternary ammonium salts. The effect of the alkyl chains on the hydrophobicity and the equilibrium of the two-phase DES–water system were investigated. These new DESs were

Analysis of solvent extracts from coal liquefaction in a flowing solvent reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Wen-Ying; Feng, Jie; Xie, Ke-Chang [Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, No. 79 Yingze West Street, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Kandiyoti, R. [Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, Imperial College, University of London, London SW7 2BY (United Kingdom)

2004-10-15

Point of Ayr coal has been extracted using three solvents, tetralin, quinoline and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) at two temperatures 350 and 450 C, corresponding approximately to before and after the onset of massive covalent bond scission by pyrolysis. The three solvents differ in solvent power and the ability to donate hydrogen atoms to stabilise free radicals produced by pyrolysis of the coal. The extracts were prepared in a flowing solvent reactor to minimise secondary thermal degradation of the primary extracts. Analysis of the pentane-insoluble fractions of the extracts was achieved by size exclusion chromatography, UV-fluorescence spectroscopy in NMP solvent and probe mass. With increasing extraction temperature, the ratio of the amount having big molecular weight to that having small molecular weight in tetralin extracts was increased; the tetralin extract yield increased from 12.8% to 75.9%; in quinoline, increasing extraction temperature did not have an effect on the molecular weight of products but there was a big increase in extract yield. The extracts in NMP showed the enhanced solvent extraction power at both temperatures, with a shift in the ratio of larger molecules to smaller molecules with increasing extraction temperature and with the highest conversion of Point of Ayr coal among these three solvents at both temperatures. Solvent adducts were detected in the tetralin and quinoline extracts by probe mass spectrometry; solvent products were formed from NMP at both temperatures.

Characterization of microenvironment polarity and solvent accessibility of polysilsesquioxane xerogels by the fluorescent probe technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shea, K.J.; Zhu, H.D. [Univ., of California, Irvine, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Loy, D.A. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1995-05-01

Poly (1, 4 bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene) (PTESB), a representative of a new type of organic-inorganic hybrid polysilsesquioxane material, was characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy for both microenvironmental polarity and solvent accessibility. A dansyl fluorescent molecule was incorporated into the bulk as well as onto the surface of both PTESB and silica materials. Information about the microenvironment polarity and accessibility of PTESB to various organic solvents was determined and compared to that of silica gel. This study found that both the bulk and surface of PTESB are less polar than that of the silica material. The silica material is accessible to polar solvents and water, while YMB is accessible to polar solvents but not to water. The hydrophobicity of PTESB differentiates these new materials from silica gel.

Lithium recovery from shale gas produced water using solvent extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Eunyoung; Jang, Yunjai; Chung, Eunhyea

2017-01-01

Shale gas produced water is hypersaline wastewater generated after hydraulic fracturing. Since the produced water is a mixture of shale formation water and fracturing fluid, it contains various organic and inorganic components, including lithium, a useful resource for such industries as automobile and electronics. The produced water in the Marcellus shale area contains about 95 mg/L lithium on average. This study suggests a two-stage solvent extraction technique for lithium recovery from shale gas produced water, and determines the extraction mechanism of ions in each stage. All experiments were conducted using synthetic shale gas produced water. In the first-stage, which was designed for the removal of divalent cations, more than 94.4% of Ca"2"+, Mg"2"+, Sr"2"+, and Ba"2"+ ions were removed by using 1.0 M di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as an extractant. In the second-stage, for lithium recovery, we could obtain a lithium extraction efficiency of 41.2% by using 1.5 M D2EHPA and 0.3 M tributyl phosphate (TBP). Lithium loss in the first-stage was 25.1%, and therefore, the total amount of lithium recovered at the end of the two-step extraction procedure was 30.8%. Through this study, lithium, one of the useful mineral resources, could be selectively recovered from the shale gas produced water and it would also reduce the wastewater treatment cost during the development of shale gas. - Highlights: • Lithium was extracted from shale gas produced water using an organic solvent. • Two-stage solvent extraction technique was applied. • Divalent cations were removed in the first stage by D2EHPA. • Lithium was selectively recovered in the second stage by using TBP with D2EHPA.

Supramolecular Chirality: Solvent Chirality Transfer in Molecular Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiya Fujiki

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Controlled mirror symmetry breaking arising from chemical and physical origin is currently one of the hottest issues in the field of supramolecular chirality. The dynamic twisting abilities of solvent molecules are often ignored and unknown, although the targeted molecules and polymers in a fluid solution are surrounded by solvent molecules. We should pay more attention to the facts that mostly all of the chemical and physical properties of these molecules and polymers in the ground and photoexcited states are significantly influenced by the surrounding solvent molecules with much conformational freedom through non-covalent supramolecular interactions between these substances and solvent molecules. This review highlights a series of studies that include: (i historical background, covering chiral NaClO3 crystallization in the presence of d-sugars in the late 19th century; (ii early solvent chirality effects for optically inactive chromophores/fluorophores in the 1960s–1980s; and (iii the recent development of mirror symmetry breaking from the corresponding achiral or optically inactive molecules and polymers with the help of molecular chirality as the solvent use quantity.

Solvation study of the non-specific lipid transfer protein from wheat by intermolecular NOEs with water and small organic molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liepinsh, Edvards; Sodano, Patrick; Tassin, Severine; Marion, Didier; Vovelle, Francoise; Otting, Gottfried

1999-01-01

Intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) were measured between the protons of various small solvent or gas molecules and the non-specific lipid transfer protein (ns-LTP) from wheat. Intermolecular NOEs were observed with the hydrophobic pocket in the interior of wheat ns-LTP, which grew in intensity in the order cyclopropane (saturated solution) < methane (140 bar) < ethane (40 bar) < acetonitrile (5% in water) < cyclohexane (saturated solution) < benzene (saturated solution). No intermolecular NOEs were observed with dioxane (5% in water). The intermolecular NOEs were negative for all of the organic molecules tested. Intermolecular NOEs between wheat ns-LTP and water were weak or could not be distinguished from exchange-relayed NOEs. As illustrated by the NOEs with cyclohexane versus dioxane, the hydrophobic pocket in wheat ns-LTP preferably binds non-polar molecules. Yet, polar molecules like acetonitrile can also be accommodated. The pressure dependence of the NOEs between methane and wheat ns-LTP indicated incomplete occupancy, even at 190 bar methane pressure. In general, NOE intensities increased with the size of the ligand molecule and its vapor pressure. NMR of the vapor phase showed excellent resolution between the signals from the gas phase and those from the liquid phase. The vapor concentration of cyclohexane was fivefold higher than that of the dioxane solution, supporting the binding of cyclohexane versus uptake of dioxane

Natural deep eutectic solvents as new potential media for green technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Yuntao; Spronsen, Jaap van; Witkamp, Geert-Jan; Verpoorte, Robert; Choi, Young Hae

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Natural products were used as a source for deep eutectic solvents and ionic liquids. ► We define own chemical and physical properties of natural deep eutectic solvents. ► Interaction between natural deep eutectic solvents and solutes was confirmed by NMR. ► The developed natural deep eutectic solvents were applied as green media. - Abstract: Developing new green solvents is one of the key subjects in Green Chemistry. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents, thus, have been paid great attention to replace current harsh organic solvents and have been applied to many chemical processing such as extraction and synthesis. However, current ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have still limitations to be applied to a real chemical industry due to toxicity against human and environment and high cost of ILs and solid state of most deep eutectic solvents at room temperature. Recently we discovered that many plant abundant primary metabolites changed their state from solid to liquid when they were mixed in proper ratio. This finding made us hypothesize that natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) play a role as alternative media to water in living organisms and tested a wide range of natural products, which resulted in discovery of over 100 NADES from nature. In order to prove deep eutectic feature the interaction between the molecules was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All the tested NADES show clear hydrogen bonding between components. As next step physical properties of NADES such as water activity, density, viscosity, polarity and thermal properties were measured as well as the effect of water on the physical properties. In the last stage the novel NADES were applied to the solubilization of wide range of biomolecules such as non-water soluble bioactive natural products, gluten, starch, and DNA. In most cases the solubility of the biomolecules evaluated in this study was greatly higher than water. Based on the

Natural deep eutectic solvents as new potential media for green technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Yuntao [Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Spronsen, Jaap van; Witkamp, Geert-Jan [Laboratory for Process Equipment, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Verpoorte, Robert [Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Choi, Young Hae, E-mail: y.choi@chem.leidenuniv.nl [Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands)

2013-03-05

Highlights: ► Natural products were used as a source for deep eutectic solvents and ionic liquids. ► We define own chemical and physical properties of natural deep eutectic solvents. ► Interaction between natural deep eutectic solvents and solutes was confirmed by NMR. ► The developed natural deep eutectic solvents were applied as green media. - Abstract: Developing new green solvents is one of the key subjects in Green Chemistry. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents, thus, have been paid great attention to replace current harsh organic solvents and have been applied to many chemical processing such as extraction and synthesis. However, current ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have still limitations to be applied to a real chemical industry due to toxicity against human and environment and high cost of ILs and solid state of most deep eutectic solvents at room temperature. Recently we discovered that many plant abundant primary metabolites changed their state from solid to liquid when they were mixed in proper ratio. This finding made us hypothesize that natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) play a role as alternative media to water in living organisms and tested a wide range of natural products, which resulted in discovery of over 100 NADES from nature. In order to prove deep eutectic feature the interaction between the molecules was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All the tested NADES show clear hydrogen bonding between components. As next step physical properties of NADES such as water activity, density, viscosity, polarity and thermal properties were measured as well as the effect of water on the physical properties. In the last stage the novel NADES were applied to the solubilization of wide range of biomolecules such as non-water soluble bioactive natural products, gluten, starch, and DNA. In most cases the solubility of the biomolecules evaluated in this study was greatly higher than water. Based on the

Anti-solvent co-crystallization of carbamazepine and saccharin.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, In-Chun; Lee, Min-Jeong; Sim, Sang-Jun; Kim, Woo-Sik; Chun, Nan-Hee; Choi, Guang J

2013-06-25

The co-crystal approach has been investigated extensively over the past decade as one of the most promising methods to enhance the dissolution properties of insoluble drug substances. Co-crystal powders are typically produced by mechanical grinding (neat or wet) or a solution method (evaporation or cooling). In this study, high-purity carbamazepine-saccharin (CBZ-SAC) co-crystals were manufactured by a novel method, anti-solvent addition. Among various solvents, methanol was found to perform well with water as the anti-solvent for the co-crystallization of CBZ and SAC. When water was added to the methanol solution of CBZ and SAC at room temperature under agitation, nucleation of CBZ-SAC co-crystals occurred within 2-3 min. Co-crystallization was complete after 30 min, giving a solid yield as high as 84.5% on a CBZ basis. The effects of initial concentrations, focusing on the SAC/CBZ ratio, were examined to establish optimal conditions. The whole anti-solvent co-crystallization process was monitored at-line via ATR-FTIR analysis of regularly sampled solutions. The nucleation and crystal growth of CBZ-SAC co-crystals were detected by a significant increase in absorption in the range of 2400-2260 cm(-1), associated with the formation of hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl group in CBZ and the N-H of SAC. When CBZ hydrates were formed as impurities during anti-solvent co-crystallization, the hydrogen bonding between methanol and water was reduced greatly, primarily due to the incorporation of water molecules into the CBZ crystal lattice. In conclusion, an anti-solvent approach can be used to produce highly pure CBZ-SAC co-crystal powders with a high solid yield. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards ligand docking including explicit interface water molecules.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon Lemmon

Full Text Available Small molecule docking predicts the interaction of a small molecule ligand with a protein at atomic-detail accuracy including position and conformation the ligand but also conformational changes of the protein upon ligand binding. While successful in the majority of cases, docking algorithms including RosettaLigand fail in some cases to predict the correct protein/ligand complex structure. In this study we show that simultaneous docking of explicit interface water molecules greatly improves Rosetta's ability to distinguish correct from incorrect ligand poses. This result holds true for both protein-centric water docking wherein waters are located relative to the protein binding site and ligand-centric water docking wherein waters move with the ligand during docking. Protein-centric docking is used to model 99 HIV-1 protease/protease inhibitor structures. We find protease inhibitor placement improving at a ratio of 9:1 when one critical interface water molecule is included in the docking simulation. Ligand-centric docking is applied to 341 structures from the CSAR benchmark of diverse protein/ligand complexes [1]. Across this diverse dataset we see up to 56% recovery of failed docking studies, when waters are included in the docking simulation.

Extraction of Betulin, Trimyristin, Eugenol and Carnosic Acid Using Water-Organic Solvent Mixtures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fulgentius N. Lugemwa

2012-08-01

Full Text Available A solvent system consisting of ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and water, in the volume ratio of 4.5:4.5:1, was developed and used to extract, at room temperature, betulin from white birch bark and antioxidants from spices (rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano and white oak chips. In addition, under reflux conditions, trimyristin was extracted from nutmeg using the same solvent system, and eugenol from olives was extracted using a mixture of salt water and ethyl acetate. The protocol demonstrates the use of water in organic solvents to extract natural products from plants. Measurement of the free-radical scavenging activity using by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH indicated that the extraction of plant material using ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and water (4.5:4.5:1, v/v/v was exhaustive when carried out at room temperature for 96 h.

Molecular dynamics study of water molecule diffusion in oil-paper insulation materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao Ruijin; Zhu Mengzhao; Yang Lijun; Zhou Xin; Gong Chunyan

2011-01-01

Moisture is an important factor that influences the safe operation of transformers. In this study, molecular dynamics was employed to investigate the diffusion behavior of water molecules in the oil-paper insulation materials of transformers. Two oil-cellulose models were built. In the first model, water molecules were initially distributed in oil, and in the second model, water molecules were distributed in cellulose. The non-bonding energies of interaction between water molecules and oil, and between water molecules and cellulose, were calculated by the Dreiding force field. The interaction energy was found to play a dominant role in influencing the equilibrium distribution of water molecules. The radial direction functions of water molecules toward oil and cellulose indicate that the hydrogen bonds between water molecules and cellulose are sufficiently strong to withstand the operating temperature of the transformer. Mean-square displacement analysis of water molecules diffusion suggests that water molecules initially distributed in oil showed anisotropic diffusion; they tended to diffuse toward cellulose. Water molecules initially distributed in cellulose diffused isotropically. This study provides a theoretical contribution for improvements in online monitoring of water in transformers, and for subsequent research on new insulation materials.

Molecular dynamics study of water molecule diffusion in oil-paper insulation materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao Ruijin [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment and System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Zhu Mengzhao, E-mail: xiaozhupost@163.co [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment and System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Yang Lijun; Zhou Xin; Gong Chunyan [State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment and System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China)

2011-03-01

Moisture is an important factor that influences the safe operation of transformers. In this study, molecular dynamics was employed to investigate the diffusion behavior of water molecules in the oil-paper insulation materials of transformers. Two oil-cellulose models were built. In the first model, water molecules were initially distributed in oil, and in the second model, water molecules were distributed in cellulose. The non-bonding energies of interaction between water molecules and oil, and between water molecules and cellulose, were calculated by the Dreiding force field. The interaction energy was found to play a dominant role in influencing the equilibrium distribution of water molecules. The radial direction functions of water molecules toward oil and cellulose indicate that the hydrogen bonds between water molecules and cellulose are sufficiently strong to withstand the operating temperature of the transformer. Mean-square displacement analysis of water molecules diffusion suggests that water molecules initially distributed in oil showed anisotropic diffusion; they tended to diffuse toward cellulose. Water molecules initially distributed in cellulose diffused isotropically. This study provides a theoretical contribution for improvements in online monitoring of water in transformers, and for subsequent research on new insulation materials.

PHEA-PLA biocompatible nanoparticles by technique of solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallaro, Gennara; Craparo, Emanuela Fabiola; Sardo, Carla; Lamberti, Gaetano; Barba, Anna Angela; Dalmoro, Annalisa

2015-11-30

Nanocarriers of amphiphilic polymeric materials represent versatile delivery systems for poorly water soluble drugs. In this work the technique of solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions was applied to produce nanovectors based on new amphiphilic copolymer, the α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-DL-aspartamide-polylactic acid (PHEA-PLA), purposely synthesized to be used in the controlled release of active molecules poorly soluble in water. To this aim an amphiphilic derivative of PHEA, a hydrophilic polymer, was synthesized by derivatization of the polymeric backbone with hydrophobic grafts of polylactic acid (PLA). The achieved copolymer was thus used to produce nanoparticles loaded with α tocopherol (vitamin E) adopted as lipophilic model molecule. Applying a protocol based on solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions assisted by ultrasonic energy and optimizing the emulsification process (solvent selection/separation stages), PHEA-PLA nanostructured particles with total α tocopherol entrapment efficiency (100%), were obtained. The drug release is expected to take place in lower times with respect to PLA due to the presence of the hydrophilic PHEA, therefore the produced nanoparticles can be used for semi-long term release drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solvent dielectric effect and side chain mutation on the structural stability of Burkholderia cepacia lipase active site: a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tahan, A; Monajjemi, M

2011-12-01

Quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics methods were used to analyze the structure and stability of neutral and zwitterionic configurations of the extracted active site sequence from a Burkholderia cepacia lipase, histidyl-seryl-glutamin (His86-Ser87-Gln88) and its mutated form, histidyl-cysteyl-glutamin (His86-Cys87-Gln88) in vacuum and different solvents. The effects of solvent dielectric constant, explicit and implicit water molecules and side chain mutation on the structure and stability of this sequence in both neutral and zwitterionic forms are represented. The quantum mechanics computations represent that the relative stability of zwitterionic and neutral configurations depends on the solvent structure and its dielectric constant. Therefore, in vacuum and the considered non-polar solvents, the neutral form of the interested sequences is more stable than the zwitterionic form, while their zwitterionic form is more stable than the neutral form in the aqueous solution and the investigated polar solvents in most cases. However, on the potential energy surfaces calculated, there is a barrier to proton transfer from the positively charged ammonium group to the negatively charged carboxylat group or from the ammonium group to the adjacent carbonyl oxygen and or from side chain oxygen and sulfur to negatively charged carboxylat group. Molecular dynamics simulations (MD) were also performed by using periodic boundary conditions for the zwitterionic configuration of the hydrated molecules in a box of water molecules. The obtained results demonstrated that the presence of explicit water molecules provides the more compact structures of the studied molecules. These simulations also indicated that side chain mutation and replacement of sulfur with oxygen leads to reduction of molecular flexibility and packing.

Solvent wash solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neace, J.C.

1986-01-01

This patent describes a process for removing diluent degradation products from a solvent extraction solution comprising an admixture of an organic extractant for uranium and plutonium and a non-polar organic liquid diluent, which has been used to recover uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. Comprising combining a wash solution consisting of: (a) water; and (b) a positive amount up to about, an including, 50 volume percent of at least one highly-polar water-miscible organic solvent, based on the total volume of the water and the highly-polar organic solvent, with the solvent extraction solution after uranium and plutonium values have been stripped from the solvent extraction solution, the diluent degradation products dissolving in the highly-polar organic solvent and the extractant and diluent of the extraction solution not dissolving in the highly-polar organic solvent, and separating the highly-polar organic solvent and the extraction solution to obtain a purified extraction solution

Temporal variation of VOC emission from solvent and water based wood stains

Science.gov (United States)

de Gennaro, Gianluigi; Loiotile, Annamaria Demarinis; Fracchiolla, Roberta; Palmisani, Jolanda; Saracino, Maria Rosaria; Tutino, Maria

2015-08-01

Solvent- and water-based wood stains were monitored using a small test emission chamber in order to characterize their emission profiles in terms of Total and individual VOCs. The study of concentration-time profiles of individual VOCs enabled to identify the compounds emitted at higher concentration for each type of stain, to examine their decay curve and finally to estimate the concentration in a reference room. The solvent-based wood stain was characterized by the highest Total VOCs emission level (5.7 mg/m3) that decreased over time more slowly than those related to water-based ones. The same finding was observed for the main detected compounds: Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes, Styrene, alpha-Pinene and Camphene. On the other hand, the highest level of Limonene was emitted by a water-based wood stain. However, the concentration-time profile showed that water-based product was characterized by a remarkable reduction of the time of maximum and minimum emission: Limonene concentration reached the minimum concentration in about half the time compared to the solvent-based product. According to AgBB evaluation scheme, only one of the investigated water-based wood stains can be classified as a low-emitting product whose use may not determine any potential adverse effect on human health.

Microscopic solvation of a lithium atom in water-ammonia mixed clusters: solvent coordination and electron localization in presence of a counterion.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratihar, Subha; Chandra, Amalendu

2008-07-14

The microsolvation structures and energetics of water-ammonia mixed clusters containing a lithium atom, i.e., Li(H(2)O)(n)(NH(3)), n = 1-5, are investigated by means of ab initio theoretical calculations. Several structural aspects such as the solvent coordination to the metal ion and binding motifs of the free valence electron of the metal are investigated. We also study the energetics aspects such as the dependence of vertical ionization energies on the cluster size, and all these structural and energetics aspects are compared to the corresponding results of previously studied anionic water-ammonia clusters without a metal ion. It is found that the Li-O and Li-N interactions play a very important role in stabilizing the lithium-water-ammonia clusters, and the presence of these metal ion-solvent interactions also affect the characteristics of electron solvation in these clusters. This is seen from the spatial distribution of the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) which holds the ejected valence electron of the Li atom. For very small clusters, SOMO electron density is found to exist mainly at the vicinity of the Li atom, whereas for larger clusters, it is distributed outside the first solvation shell. The free dangling hydrogens of water and ammonia molecules are involved in capturing the SOMO electron density. In some of the conformers, OH{e}HO and OH{e}HN types of interactions are found to be present. The presence of the metal ion at the center of the cluster ensures that the ejected electron is solvated at a surface state only, whereas both surface and interiorlike states were found for the free electron in the corresponding anionic clusters without a metal ion. The vertical ionization energies of the present clusters are found to be higher than the vertical detachment energies of the corresponding anionic clusters which signify a relatively stronger binding of the free electron in the presence of the positive metal counterion. The shifts in different

NMR spectroscopy using liquid crystal solvents

CERN Document Server

Emsley, JW

2013-01-01

NMR Spectroscopy using Liquid Crystal Solvents covers the importance of using a liquid crystal solvent in NMR to derive nuclear dipolar spin-spin coupling constants. This book is composed of ten chapters, and begins with a brief description of the features and benefits of liquid crystal in NMR spectroscopic analysis. The succeeding chapters deal with the mode of operation of nuclear spin Hamiltonian for partially oriented molecules and the analysis of NMR spectra of partially oriented molecules, as well as the determination of rigid molecule structure. These topics are followed by discussions

Spectral simulations of polar diatomic molecules immersed in He clusters: application to the ICl (X) molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villarreal, P; Lara-Castells, M P de; Prosmiti, R; Delgado-Barrio, G; Lopez-Duran, D; Gianturco, F A; Jellinek, J

2007-01-01

A recently developed quantum-chemistry-like methodology to study molecules solvated in atomic clusters is applied to the ICl (iodine chloride) polar diatomic molecule immersed in clusters of He atoms. The atoms of the solvent clusters are treated as the 'electrons' and the solvated molecule as a structured 'nucleus' of the combined solvent-solute system. The helium-helium and helium-dopant interactions are represented by parametrized two-body and ab initio three-body potentials, respectively. The ground-state wavefunctions are used to compute the infrared (IR) spectra of the solvated molecule. In agreement with the experimental observations, the computed spectra exhibit considerable differences depending on whether the solvent cluster is comprised of bosonic ( 4 He) or fermionic ( 3 He) atoms. The source of these differences is attributed to the different spin-statistics of the solvent clusters. The bosonic versus fermionic nature of the solvent is reflected in the IR absorption selection rules. Only P and R branches with single state transitions appear in the spectrum when the molecule is solvated in a bosonic cluster. On the other hand, when the solvent represents a fermionic environment, quasi-degenerate multiplets of spin states contribute to each branch and, in addition, the Q-branch becomes also allowed. Combined, these two factors explain the more congested nature of the spectrum in the fermionic case

Solvent additive effects on small molecule crystallization in bulk heterojunction solar cells probed during spin casting

KAUST Repository

Pérez, Louis A.

2013-09-04

Solvent additive processing can lead to drastic improvements in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) in solution processable small molecule (SPSM) bulk heterojunction solar cells. In situ grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering is used to investigate the kinetics of crystallite formation during and shortly after spin casting. The additive is shown to have a complex effect on structural evolution invoking polymorphism and enhanced crystalline quality of the donor SPSM. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solvent additive effects on small molecule crystallization in bulk heterojunction solar cells probed during spin casting

KAUST Repository

Pé rez, Louis A.; Chou, Kang Wei; Love, John A.; Van Der Poll, Thomas S.; Smilgies, Detlef Matthias; Nguyen, Thuc Quyen; Krä mer, Edward J.; Amassian, Aram; Bazan, Guillermo C.

2013-01-01

Solvent additive processing can lead to drastic improvements in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) in solution processable small molecule (SPSM) bulk heterojunction solar cells. In situ grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering is used to investigate the kinetics of crystallite formation during and shortly after spin casting. The additive is shown to have a complex effect on structural evolution invoking polymorphism and enhanced crystalline quality of the donor SPSM. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

On the Several Molecules and Nanostructures of Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Kolb Whitney

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the water molecule from a variety of viewpoints. Water can involve different isotopes of Hydrogen and Oxygen, it can form differently shaped isomer molecules, and, when frozen, it occupies space differently than most other substances do. The tool for conducting the investigation of all this is called ‘Algebraic Chemistry’. This tool is a quantitative model for predicting the energy budget for all sorts of changes between different ionization states of atoms that are involved in chemical reactions and in changes of physical state. The model is based on consistent patterns seen in empirical data about ionization potentials, together with rational scaling laws that can interpolate and extrapolate for situations where no data are available. The results of the investigation of the water molecule include comments, both positive and negative, about technologies involving heavy water, poly water, Brown’s gas, and cold fusion.

Spectroscopic and DFT study of solvent effects on the electronic absorption spectra of sulfamethoxazole in neat and binary solvent mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Almandoz, M. C.; Sancho, M. I.; Blanco, S. E.

2014-01-01

The solvatochromic behavior of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy and DFT methods in neat and binary solvent mixtures. The spectral shifts of this solute were correlated with the Kamlet and Taft parameters (α, β and π*). Multiple lineal regression analysis indicates that both specific hydrogen-bond interaction and non specific dipolar interaction play an important role in the position of the absorption maxima in neat solvents. The simulated absorption spectra using TD-DFT methods were in good agreement with the experimental ones. Binary mixtures consist of cyclohexane (Cy)-ethanol (EtOH), acetonitrile (ACN)-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), ACN-dimethylformamide (DMF), and aqueous mixtures containing as co-solvents DMSO, ACN, EtOH and MeOH. Index of preferential solvation was calculated as a function of solvent composition and non-ideal characteristics are observed in all binary mixtures. In ACN-DMSO and ACN-DMF mixtures, the results show that the solvents with higher polarity and hydrogen bond donor ability interact preferentially with the solute. In binary mixtures containing water, the SMX molecules are solvated by the organic co-solvent (DMSO or EtOH) over the whole composition range. Synergistic effect is observed in the case of ACN-H2O and MeOH-H2O, indicating that at certain concentrations solvents interact to form association complexes, which should be more polar than the individual solvents of the mixture.

Explosive treatment of Illinois No.6 coal with a mixed solvent of water and cyclohexanol; Mizu-cyclohexanol kongo yozai ni yoru Illinois tan no bakusai shori

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashimoto, T.; Takada, H.; Asami, K.; Yano, M. [Osaka City University, Osaka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1996-10-28

Coal was treated at high temperature under high pressure in the binary system mixed solvent of water and organic solvent, and the solvent treated coal was liquefied. When the treated coal was treated again by the explosive method in which high temperature and pressure were released immediately, the oil yield was higher than that by the normal method in which high temperature and pressure were reduced gradually to room temperature and atmospheric pressure. In this study, an explosive treatment unit with increased scale of sample amount was newly fabricated. Illinois No.6 coal was treated by the explosive method in a mixed solvent of water and cyclohexanol using this unit. Changes in shape on the surface, specific surface area, and functional groups were analyzed. The explosively treated coal contained more amount of low boiling point components than the normally treated coal. It was suggested that the oil yield of explosively treated coal increased due to the liquefaction of these components during the successive hydrogenation process. For the explosively treated coal, micro pores were fractured by the rapid change in the volume of solvent molecules, and the specific surface area was smaller than that of the normally treated coal. When the treatment temperature was increased from 300{degree}C to 350{degree}C, specific surface areas of both the treated coals increased. 2 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

studies on solvent extraction of free hydrogen cyanide from river water

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A method for free and strongly complexed cyanide measurement in river water was developed. Recovery tests from solution with and without river water, using various solvent combinations and background control were investigated to obtain an accurate and precise extraction method for the measurement of hydrogen ...

Reformulation of Maxwell's equations to incorporate near-solute solvent structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Pei-Kun; Lim, Carmay

2008-09-04

Maxwell's equations, which treat electromagnetic interactions between macroscopic charged objects in materials, have explained many phenomena and contributed to many applications in our lives. Derived in 1861 when no methods were available to determine the atomic structure of macromolecules, Maxwell's equations assume the solvent to be a structureless continuum. However, near-solute solvent molecules are highly structured, unlike far-solute bulk solvent molecules. Current methods cannot treat both the near-solute solvent structure and time-dependent electromagnetic interactions in a macroscopic system. Here, we derive "microscopic" electrodynamics equations that can treat macroscopic time-dependent electromagnetic field problems like Maxwell's equations and reproduce the solvent molecular and dipole density distributions observed in molecular dynamics simulations. These equations greatly reduce computational expense by not having to include explicit solvent molecules, yet they treat the solvent electrostatic and van der Waals effects more accurately than continuum models. They provide a foundation to study electromagnetic interactions between molecules in a macroscopic system that are ubiquitous in biology, bioelectromagnetism, and nanotechnology. The general strategy presented herein to incorporate the near-solute solvent structure would enable studies on how complex cellular protein-ligand interactions are affected by electromagnetic radiation, which could help to prevent harmful electromagnetic spectra or find potential therapeutic applications.

Improving the industrial production of 6-APA: enzymatic hydrolysis of penicillin G in the presence of organic solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Abian, Olga; Mateo, César; Fernández-Lorente, Gloria; Guisán, José M; Fernández-Lafuente, Roberto

2003-01-01

The hydrolysis of penicillin G in the presence of an organic solvent, used with the purpose of extracting it from the culture medium, may greatly simplify the industrial preparation of 6-APA. However, under these conditions, PGA immobilized onto Eupergit displays very low stability (half-life of 5 h in butanone-saturated water) and a significant degree of inhibition by the organic solvent (30%). The negative effect of the organic solvent strongly depended on the type of solvent utilized: water saturated with butanone (around 28% v/v) had a much more pronounced negative effect than that of methylisobutyl ketone (MIBK) (solubility in water was only 2%). These problems were sorted out by using a new penicillin G acylase derivative designed to work in the presence of organic solvents (with each enzyme molecule surrounded by an hydrophilic artificial environment) and a suitable organic solvent (MIBK). Using such solvent, this derivative kept its activity unaltered for 1 week at 32 degrees C. Moreover, the enzyme activity was hardly inhibited by the presence of the organic solvent. In this way, the new enzyme derivative thus prepared enables simplification of the industrial hydrolysis of penicillin G.

A new approach to solvent extraction: Electronic pulses shatter water droplets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

Researchers in the Chemical Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have invented a device that represents a significant improvement in the area of solvent extraction, which is a widely used technique to recover valuable materials from a liquid stream. Known as the Emulsion Phase Contactor (EPC), the technology uses a pulsed electrical field to enhance recovery of chemicals (either valuable products or pollutants) that are dissolved in water. Because of its higher efficiency, the recovery method can be accomplished in much smaller vessels than those used in conventional solvent extractors, which use mechanical processes to recover chemicals. When water droplets carrying the substance to be extracted are introduced into the EPC, they are shattered by electronic pulses that produce water particles in the 1- to 5-micron size range. These water particles are up to 100 times smaller than those created by mechanical agitation. These tiny particles produce a much greater surface area than can be achieved using chemical agitators, enabling the chemical solvent to extract more material from the water base. In addition, the EPC uses much less power than mechanical methods and has no moving parts; therefore, servicing requirements for the extraction apparatus are expected to be significantly reduced. ORNL researchers initially tested the technology at a very small scale, and evaluated its capabilities in extracting high-value substances such as isotopes, pharmaceuticals, and precious metals. Further work has indicated that the EPC can be applied on a much larger scale to handle more common chemical substances

Distribution of multi-component solvents in solvent vapor extraction chamber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, S. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States)]|[Marathon Oil Corp., Houston, TX (United States)

2008-10-15

Vapex process performance is sensitive to operating pressures, temperatures and the types of solvent used. The hydrocarbon solvents used in Vapex processes typically have between 5 and 10 per cent hydrocarbon impurities, and the accumulation of dense phases inside the vapor chamber reduces gravity drainage potential. This study investigated the partitioning of solvent compounds inside the vapor chamber during in situ Vapex processes.The aim of the study was to examine how the different components of the mixed solvent partitioned inside the extracted chamber during the oil and vapor phase. A 2-D homogenous reservoir model was used to simulate the Vapex process with a solvent mixture comprised of propane and methane at various percentages. The effect of injecting a hot solvent vapor was also investigated. The study showed that injected methane accumulated at both the top and the extraction interface. Accumulations near the top had a positive impact on solvent confinement in thin reservoirs. Diffusion of the solvent component was controlled by gas phase molecular diffusion, and was much faster than the diffusion of solvent molecules in the liquid phase. The use of hot solvent mixtures slowed the extraction process due to lower solvent solubility in the oil phase. It was concluded that the negative impact on viscosity reduction by dilution was not compensated by rises in temperature. 6 refs., 11 figs.

Explicit treatment of active-site waters enhances quantum mechanical/implicit solvent scoring: Inhibition of CDK2 by new pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines.

Science.gov (United States)

Hylsová, Michaela; Carbain, Benoit; Fanfrlík, Jindřich; Musilová, Lenka; Haldar, Susanta; Köprülüoğlu, Cemal; Ajani, Haresh; Brahmkshatriya, Pathik S; Jorda, Radek; Kryštof, Vladimír; Hobza, Pavel; Echalier, Aude; Paruch, Kamil; Lepšík, Martin

2017-01-27

We present comprehensive testing of solvent representation in quantum mechanics (QM)-based scoring of protein-ligand affinities. To this aim, we prepared 21 new inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) with the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine core, whose activities spanned three orders of magnitude. The crystal structure of a potent inhibitor bound to the active CDK2/cyclin A complex revealed that the biphenyl substituent at position 5 of the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine scaffold was located in a previously unexplored pocket and that six water molecules resided in the active site. Using molecular dynamics, protein-ligand interactions and active-site water H-bond networks as well as thermodynamics were probed. Thereafter, all the inhibitors were scored by the QM approach utilizing the COSMO implicit solvent model. Such a standard treatment failed to produce a correlation with the experiment (R 2  = 0.49). However, the addition of the active-site waters resulted in significant improvement (R 2  = 0.68). The activities of the compounds could thus be interpreted by taking into account their specific noncovalent interactions with CDK2 and the active-site waters. In summary, using a combination of several experimental and theoretical approaches we demonstrate that the inclusion of explicit solvent effects enhance QM/COSMO scoring to produce a reliable structure-activity relationship with physical insights. More generally, this approach is envisioned to contribute to increased accuracy of the computational design of novel inhibitors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A chromatographic determination of water in non-aqueous phases of solvent extraction systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyle, S.J.; Smith, D.B.

1975-01-01

The disadvantages of the Karl Fischer method for the determination of water in the non-aqueous phases of solvent extraction systems are pointed out, and a gas chromatographic method is described which is claimed to be potentially capable of overcoming these disadvantages. The method, as described, was developed to satisfy conditions relevant to measurement of the transfer rate of water from an aqueous phase into tri-n-butylphosphate in toluene, but it can be used for water determination in other solvent extraction systems. The apparatus used is described in detail. The concentration of water in water-saturated TBP was found to be 3.56 mol/litre, compared with a value of 3.55 obtained by Karl Fischer titration and previous literature values of 3.59 and 3.57. Measurements of water content in benzene solutions of long chain alkylamines were also sucessfully carried out. (U.K.)

Levels of lead in solvent and water-based paints manufactured in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikram, M.; Rauf, M.A.; Chotona, G.A.; Bukhari, N.

2000-01-01

The levels of lead in eight popular brands of solvent- and water-based paint manufactured locally in Pakistan are reported. The analysis was done using the flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric method. The lead concentration was found to vary from 3.3 mg/kg to 13179 in different solvent-based brands, whereas the concentration of the metal was in the range of 1768 to less than 0.5mg/kg in water based paints. The lead concentrations were especially high in oil based green (maximum value of 13170 mg/kg) and yellow paints (maximum value of 84940 mg/kg). The corresponding higher concentration were observed in case of emerald (maximum value of 1768 mg/kg) and gray (maximum value of 542 mg/kg) paints in the water-based category. (author)

Determination of water traces in various organic solvents using Karl Fischer method under FIA conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantan, N; Frenzel, W; Küppers, S

2000-05-31

Flow injection methods utilising the Karl Fischer (KF) reaction with spectrophotometric and potentiometric detection are described for the determination of the trace water content in various organic solvents. Optimisation of the methods resulted in an accessible (linear) working range of 0.01-0.2% water for many solvents studied with a typical precision of 1-2% R.S.D. Only 50 mul of organic solvent was injected and the sampling frequency was about 120 samples per h. Since the slopes of the calibration curves were different for different solvents appropriate calibration was required. Problems associated with spectrophotometric detection and caused by refractive index changes were pointed out and a nested-loop configuration was proposed to overcome this kind of interference. The potentiometric method with a novel flow-through detector cell was shown to surpass the performance of spectrophotometric detection in any respect. The characteristics of the procedures developed made them well applicable for on-line monitoring of technical solvent distillations in an industrial plant.

Autodissociation of a water molecule in liquid water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geissler, Phillip L.; Dellago, Christoph; Chandler, David; Hutter, Jurg; Parrinello, Michele

2000-04-01

The dissociation of a water molecule in liquid water is the fundamental event in acid-base chemistry, determining the pH of water.Because the microscopic dynamics of this autodissociation are difficult to probe, both by experiment and by computer simulation, its mechanism has been unknown. Here we report several autodissociation trajectories generated by ab initio molecular dynamics [1]. These trajectories, which were harvested using transition path sampling [2-4], reveal the mechanism for the first time. Rare fluctuations in solvation energies destabilize an oxygen-hydrogen bond. Through the transfer of one or more protons along a hydrogen bond.

Rapid and accurate prediction and scoring of water molecules in protein binding sites.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory A Ross

Full Text Available Water plays a critical role in ligand-protein interactions. However, it is still challenging to predict accurately not only where water molecules prefer to bind, but also which of those water molecules might be displaceable. The latter is often seen as a route to optimizing affinity of potential drug candidates. Using a protocol we call WaterDock, we show that the freely available AutoDock Vina tool can be used to predict accurately the binding sites of water molecules. WaterDock was validated using data from X-ray crystallography, neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations and correctly predicted 97% of the water molecules in the test set. In addition, we combined data-mining, heuristic and machine learning techniques to develop probabilistic water molecule classifiers. When applied to WaterDock predictions in the Astex Diverse Set of protein ligand complexes, we could identify whether a water molecule was conserved or displaced to an accuracy of 75%. A second model predicted whether water molecules were displaced by polar groups or by non-polar groups to an accuracy of 80%. These results should prove useful for anyone wishing to undertake rational design of new compounds where the displacement of water molecules is being considered as a route to improved affinity.

The role of the ion-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions in the formation of the two-ion average force interaction potential

CERN Document Server

Ajrian, E A; Sidorenko, S N

2002-01-01

The effect of the ion-molecule and intermolecular interactions on the formation of inter-ion average force potentials is investigated within the framework of a classical ion-dipole model of electrolyte solutions. These potentials are shown to possess the Coulomb asymptotics at large distances while in the region of mean distances they reveal creation and disintegration of solvent-shared ion pairs. The calculation results provide a qualitatively authentic physical picture which is experimentally observed in strong electrolytes solutions. In particular, an increased interaction between an ion and a molecule enhances formation of ion pairs in which the ions are separated by one solvent molecule

The role of water molecules in computational drug design.

Science.gov (United States)

de Beer, Stephanie B A; Vermeulen, Nico P E; Oostenbrink, Chris

2010-01-01

Although water molecules are small and only consist of two different atom types, they play various roles in cellular systems. This review discusses their influence on the binding process between biomacromolecular targets and small molecule ligands and how this influence can be modeled in computational drug design approaches. Both the structure and the thermodynamics of active site waters will be discussed as these influence the binding process significantly. Structurally conserved waters cannot always be determined experimentally and if observed, it is not clear if they will be replaced upon ligand binding, even if sufficient space is available. Methods to predict the presence of water in protein-ligand complexes will be reviewed. Subsequently, we will discuss methods to include water in computational drug research. Either as an additional factor in automated docking experiments, or explicitly in detailed molecular dynamics simulations, the effect of water on the quality of the simulations is significant, but not easily predicted. The most detailed calculations involve estimates of the free energy contribution of water molecules to protein-ligand complexes. These calculations are computationally demanding, but give insight in the versatility and importance of water in ligand binding.

Theoretical investigation of the ultrafast dissociation of core-ionized water and uracil molecules immersed in liquid water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stia, C.R.; Fojon, O.A. [Instituto de Fisica Rosario - CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario (Argentina); Gaigeot, M.P. [Laboratoire Analyse et Modelisation pour la Biologie et l' Environnement, LAMBE, UMR-CNRS 8587, Universite d' Evry-Val-d' Essonne, 91 - Evry (France); Institut Universitaire de France, 75 - Paris (France); Vuilleumier, R. [Departement de chimie, Ecole Normale Superieure, 75 - Paris (France); Herve du Penhoat, M.A.; Politis, M.F. [Institut de Mineralogie et de Physique des Milieux Condenses, IMPMC, UMR-CNRS 7590, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, 75 - Paris (France)

2010-10-15

We present a series of ab initio density functional based calculations of the fragmentation dynamics of core-ionized biomolecules. The computations are performed for pure liquid water, aqueous and isolated Uracil. Core ionization is described by replacing the 1s{sup 2} pseudopotential of one atom of the target molecule (C, N or O) with a pseudopotential for a 1s{sup 1} core-hole state. Our results predict that the dissociation of core-ionized water molecules may be reached during the lifetime of inner-shell vacancy (less than 10 fs), leading to OH bond breakage as a primary outcome. We also observe a second fragmentation channel in which total Coulomb explosion of the ionized water molecule occurs. Fragmentation pathways are found similar for pure water or when the water molecule is in the primary hydration shell of the uracil molecule. In the latter case, the proton may be transferred towards the uracil oxygen atoms. When the core hole is located on the uracil molecule, ultrafast dissociation is only observed in the aqueous environment and for nitrogen-K vacancies, resulting in proton transfers towards the hydrogen-bonded water molecule. (authors)

The role of active-site Phe87 in modulating the organic co-solvent tolerance of cytochrome P450 BM3 monooxygenase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuper, Jochen; Tee, Kang Lan; Wilmanns, Matthias; Roccatano, Danilo; Schwaneberg, Ulrich; Wong, Tuck Seng

2012-01-01

Active-site Phe87 of cytochrome P450 BM3 protects the haem from DMSO molecule, thereby conferring higher organic co-solvent tolerance. Understanding the effects of organic co-solvents on protein structure and function is pivotal to engineering enzymes for biotransformation in non-aqueous solvents. The effects of DMSO on the catalytic activity of cytochrome P450 BM3 have previously been investigated and the importance of Phe87 in its organic co-solvent tolerance was identified. To probe the DMSO inactivation mechanism and the functional role of Phe87 in modulating the organic co-solvent tolerance of P450 BM3, the haem domain (Thr1–Leu455) of the F87A variant was cocrystallized in the presence of 14%(v/v) and 28%(v/v) DMSO. At both DMSO concentrations the protein retained the canonical structure of the P450 haem domain without any sign of partial or global unfolding. Interestingly, a DMSO molecule was found in the active site of both structures, with its O atom pointing towards the haem iron. The orientation of the DMSO molecule indicated a dynamic coordination process that was in competition with the active-site water molecule. The ability of the DMSO molecule to coordinate the haem iron is plausibly the main reason why P450 BM3 is inactivated at elevated DMSO concentrations. The data allowed an interesting comparison with the wild-type structures reported previously. A DMSO molecule was found when the wild-type protein was placed in 28%(v/v) DMSO, in which the DMSO molecule coordinated the haem iron directly via its S atom. Intriguingly, no DMSO molecule was observed at 14%(v/v) DMSO for the wild-type structure. These results suggested that the bulky phenyl side chain of Phe87 protects the haem from being accessed by the DMSO molecule and explains the higher tolerance of the wild-type enzyme towards organic co-solvents compared with its F87A variant

Selection and design of solvents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gani, Rafiqul

and design of solvents will be presented together with application examples. The selection problem is defined as finding known chemicals that match the desired functions of a solvent for a specified set of applications. The design problem is defined as finding the molecular structure (or mixture of molecules....... With increasing interest on issues such as waste, sustainability, environmental impact and green chemistry, the selection and design of solvents have become important problems that need to be addressed during chemical product-process design and development. Systematic methods and tools suitable for selection......) that match the desired functions of a solvent for a specified set of applications. Use of organic chemicals and ionic liquids as solvents will be covered....

Quantum Behavior of Water Molecules Confined to Nanocavities in Gemstones.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorshunov, Boris P; Zhukova, Elena S; Torgashev, Victor I; Lebedev, Vladimir V; Shakurov, Gil'man S; Kremer, Reinhard K; Pestrjakov, Efim V; Thomas, Victor G; Fursenko, Dimitry A; Dressel, Martin

2013-06-20

When water is confined to nanocavities, its quantum mechanical behavior can be revealed by terahertz spectroscopy. We place H2O molecules in the nanopores of a beryl crystal lattice and observe a rich and highly anisotropic set of absorption lines in the terahertz spectral range. Two bands can be identified, which originate from translational and librational motions of the water molecule isolated within the cage; they correspond to the analogous broad bands in liquid water and ice. In the present case of well-defined and highly symmetric nanocavities, the observed fine structure can be explained by macroscopic tunneling of the H2O molecules within a six-fold potential caused by the interaction of the molecule with the cavity walls.

Estimation of the nucleation kinetics for the anti-solvent crystallisation of paracetamol in methanol/water solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Ó'Ciardhá, Clifford T.; Frawley, Patrick J.; Mitchell, Niall A.

2011-08-01

In this work the primary nucleation kinetics have been estimated for the anti-solvent crystallisation of paracetamol in methanol-water solutions from metastable zone widths (MSZW) and induction times at 25 °C. Laser back-scattering via a focused beam reflectance Measurement (FBRM ®) is utilised to detect the onset of nucleation. The theoretical approach of Kubota was employed to estimate the nucleation kinetics, which accounts for the sensitivity of the nucleation detection technique. This approach is expanded in this work to analyse the induction time for an anti-solvent crystallisation process. Solvent composition is known to have a significant impact on the measured induction times and MSZW. The induction time in this paper was measured from 40% to 70% mass water and the MSZW is measured from 40% to 60% mass water. The primary focus of the paper was to gauge the extent of how solvent composition affects nucleation kinetics so that this effect may be incorporated into a population balance model. Furthermore, the effects of solvent composition on the estimated nucleation rates are investigated. The primary nucleation rates were found to decrease with dynamic solvent composition, with the extent of their reduction linked to the gradient of the solubility curve. Finally, both MSZW and induction time methods have been found to produce similar estimates for the nucleation parameters.

Optimization Study for Butanol Extraction from Butanol-Water Using Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) as Solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurul Izzati Ab Rahim; Mohd Irfan Hatim Mohamed Dzahir; Wan Nurul Hidayah Wan Othman

2015-01-01

The oil crisis, warned the humanity's depends on oil was not sustainable and recently, there are plenty of renewable resources had been developed. Much attention has been given to the solvent extraction process to separate butanol from butanol-water mixture using fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) as a solvent. In this respect, the use of FAME as a green solvent which are locally available has greater potential for butanol extraction process. Therefore, an experimental work has been carried out to study its feasibility as a potential solvent. A single stage extraction process as performed to evaluate the ability to achieve optimal extract butanol. The extraction process was carried out to evaluate the distribution coefficient of butanol with the effects of other parameters such as reaction temperature (50-70 degree Celsius) and butanol-water mixture to solvent ratio (1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2). The constant parameter is the stirring speed (300 rpm). Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in conjunction with the Central Composition Design (CCD) as employed to statistically evaluate and optimize the butanol extraction process. It was found that the distribution coefficient has achieved an optimum level of 1.92 % at the following conditions: (i) butanol-water mixtures to solvent ratio (1:1.48) and (ii) reaction temperature (62.75 degree Celsius). (author)

Stabilization and activation of alpha-chymotrypsin in water-organic solvent systems by complex formation with oligoamines.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudryashova, Elena V; Artemova, Tatiana M; Vinogradov, Alexei A; Gladilin, Alexander K; Mozhaev, Vadim V; Levashov, Andrey V

2003-04-01

Formation of enzyme-oligoamine complexes was suggested as an approach to obtain biocatalysts with enhanced resistance towards inactivation in water-organic media. Complex formation results in broadening (by 20-40% v/v ethanol) of the range of cosolvent concentrations where the enzyme retains its catalytic activity (stabilization effect). At moderate cosolvent concentrations (20-40% v/v) complex formation activates the enzyme (by 3-6 times). The magnitude of activation and stabilization effects increases with the number of possible electrostatic contacts between the protein surface and the molecules of oligoamines (OA). Circular dichroism spectra in the far-UV region show that complex formation stabilizes protein conformation and prevents aggregation in water-organic solvent mixtures. Two populations of the complexes with different thermodynamic stabilities were found in alpha-chymotrypsin (CT)-OA systems depending on the CT/OA ratio. The average dissociation constants and stoichiometries of both low- and high-affinity populations of the complexes were estimated. It appears that it is the low-affinity sites on the CT surface that are responsible for the activation effect.

Preferential solvation of fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone in binary solvent mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jozefowicz, Marek; Heldt, Janina R.

2003-01-01

Preferential solvation of fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone in binary solvent mixtures has been studied using steady-state spectroscopic measurements. This study concerns the solvent-induced shift of the absorption and fluorescence spectra of both molecules in two solvent mixtures, i.e., cyclohexane-tetrahydrofuran and cyclohexane-ethanol. The first system contains polar solute molecules, fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone, in a mixture of polar aprotic (tetrahydrofuran) and non-polar (cyclohexane) solvents. In the second solvents mixture, hydrogen bonding with solute molecules (ethanol) may occur. The results of spectroscopic measurements are analysed using theoretical models of Bakshiev, Mazurenko and Suppan which describe preferential solvation phenomena. In the case of cyclohexane-tetrahydrofuran mixtures, the deviation from linearity in the absorption and fluorescence solvatochromic shifts vs. the solution polarity is due to non-specific dipolar solvent-solute interactions. For cyclohexane-ethanol binary mixtures, both non-specific and specific (hydrogen bond and proton-relay tautomerization) interactions contribute to the observed solvatochromism

Thermodynamic analysis of water molecules at the surface of proteins and applications to binding site prediction and characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Beuming, Thijs; Che, Ye; Abel, Robert; Kim, Byungchan; Shanmugasundaram, Veerabahu; Sherman, Woody

2012-03-01

Water plays an essential role in determining the structure and function of all biological systems. Recent methodological advances allow for an accurate and efficient estimation of the thermodynamic properties of water molecules at the surface of proteins. In this work, we characterize these thermodynamic properties and relate them to various structural and functional characteristics of the protein. We find that high-energy hydration sites often exist near protein motifs typically characterized as hydrophilic, such as backbone amide groups. We also find that waters around alpha helices and beta sheets tend to be less stable than waters around loops. Furthermore, we find no significant correlation between the hydration site-free energy and the solvent accessible surface area of the site. In addition, we find that the distribution of high-energy hydration sites on the protein surface can be used to identify the location of binding sites and that binding sites of druggable targets tend to have a greater density of thermodynamically unstable hydration sites. Using this information, we characterize the FKBP12 protein and show good agreement between fragment screening hit rates from NMR spectroscopy and hydration site energetics. Finally, we show that water molecules observed in crystal structures are less stable on average than bulk water as a consequence of the high degree of spatial localization, thereby resulting in a significant loss in entropy. These findings should help to better understand the characteristics of waters at the surface of proteins and are expected to lead to insights that can guide structure-based drug design efforts. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modeling Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction and Contaminant Transport of Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Site

Science.gov (United States)

Yimer Ebrahim, Girma; Jonoski, Andreja; van Griensven, Ann; Dujardin, Juliette; Baetelaan, Okke; Bronders, Jan

2010-05-01

Chlorinated-solvent form one of the largest groups of environmental chemicals. Their use and misuse in industry have lead to a large entry of these chemicals into the environment, resulting in widespread dissemination and oftentimes environmental contamination. Chlorinated solvent contamination of groundwater resources has been widely reported. For instance, there has been much interest in the assessment of these contaminant levels and their evolutions with time in the groundwater body below the Vilvoorde-Machelen industrial area (Belgium). The long industrial history of the area has lead to complex patterns of pollution from multiple sources and the site has been polluted to the extent that individual plumes are not definable any more. Understanding of groundwater/surface water interaction is a critical component for determining the fate of contaminant both in streams and ground water due to the fact that groundwater and surface water are in continuous dynamic interaction in the hydrologic cycle. The interaction has practical consequences in the quantity and quality of water in either system in the sense that depletion and/or contamination of one of the system will eventually affect the other one. The transition zone between a stream and its adjacent aquifer referred to as the hyporheic zone plays a critical role in governing contaminant exchange and transformation during water exchange between the two water bodies. The hyporheic zone of Zenne River ( the main receptor ) is further complicated due to the fact that the river banks are artificially trained with sheet piles along its reach extending some 12 m below the surface. This study demonstrates the use of MODFLOW, a widely used modular three-dimensional block-centred finite difference, saturated flow model for simulating the flow and direction of movement of groundwater through aquifer and stream-aquifer interaction and the use of transport model RT3D, a three-dimensional multi-species reactive transport model

Exploring Solvent Shape and Function Using - and Isomer-Selective Vibrational Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark

2010-06-01

We illustrate the new types of information than can be obtained through isomer-selective ``hole-burning'' spectroscopy carried out in the vibrational manifolds of Ar-tagged cluster ions. Three examples of increasing complexity will be presented where the changes in a solute ion are correlated with different morphologies of a surrounding solvent cage. In the first, we discuss the weak coupling limit where different hydration morphologies lead to small distortions of a covalent ion. We then introduce the more interesting case of the hydrated electron, where different shapes of the water network lead to dramatic changes in the extent of delocalization in the diffuse excess electron cloud. We then turn to the most complex case involving hydration of the nitrosonium ion, where different arrangements of the same number of water molecules span the range in behavior from simple solvation to actively causing a chemical reaction. The latter results are particularly interesting as they provide a microscopic, molecular-level picture of the ``solvent coordinate'' commonly used to describe solvent mediated processes.

Thermodynamic properties of water solvating biomolecular surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Heyden, Matthias

Changes in the potential energy and entropy of water molecules hydrating biomolecular interfaces play a significant role for biomolecular solubility and association. Free energy perturbation and thermodynamic integration methods allow calculations of free energy differences between two states from simulations. However, these methods are computationally demanding and do not provide insights into individual thermodynamic contributions, i.e. changes in the solvent energy or entropy. Here, we employ methods to spatially resolve distributions of hydration water thermodynamic properties in the vicinity of biomolecular surfaces. This allows direct insights into thermodynamic signatures of the hydration of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solvent accessible sites of proteins and small molecules and comparisons to ideal model surfaces. We correlate dynamic properties of hydration water molecules, i.e. translational and rotational mobility, to their thermodynamics. The latter can be used as a guide to extract thermodynamic information from experimental measurements of site-resolved water dynamics. Further, we study energy-entropy compensations of water at different hydration sites of biomolecular surfaces. This work is supported by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC 1069) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Phase Behavior and Evaporation Profile of Tween 20 - Eugenol System. Effect of Different Alkane Chain Length and Solvent System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassim, A.; Lim, W.H.; Kuangl, D.; Rusmawati, W.W.M.; Abdullah, A.H.; Teoh, S.P.

2003-01-01

The isotropic region of Tween 20/eugenol/n-alkane in aqueous systems was determined. The solubilisation trend of isotropic solution formed in the presence of eugenol was studied as a function of different alkyl chain length of n-alkane. The solubility of solvent in surfactant solution is dependent on their molecular polarity. An increase in n-alkane chain length (lower polarity) lead to smaller isotropic region which will affect the surfactant partitioning between the interface, the oil phase and the aqueous phase of the microemulsion as the oil chain length is varied. The changes of evaporation behaviour were affected strongly by the types of phases existed in the systems. The increment of n-alkane and water content led to higher evaporation rate. But the formation of w/o microemulsion would lower the evaporation rate because water molecules were trapped in the core of aggregates. In solubilisation system, evaporation rate is dependent on the solvent content and the interaction between Tween 20 and solvent molecules in the mixed composition. (author)

Effect of the Solvent Temperatures on Dynamics of Serine Protease Proteinase K

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Sang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available To obtain detailed information about the effect of the solvent temperatures on protein dynamics, multiple long molecular dynamics (MD simulations of serine protease proteinase K with the solute and solvent coupled to different temperatures (either 300 or 180 K have been performed. Comparative analyses demonstrate that the internal flexibility and mobility of proteinase K are strongly dependent on the solvent temperatures but weakly on the protein temperatures. The constructed free energy landscapes (FELs at the high solvent temperatures exhibit a more rugged surface, broader spanning range, and higher minimum free energy level than do those at the low solvent temperatures. Comparison between the dynamic hydrogen bond (HB numbers reveals that the high solvent temperatures intensify the competitive HB interactions between water molecules and protein surface atoms, and this in turn exacerbates the competitive HB interactions between protein internal atoms, thus enhancing the conformational flexibility and facilitating the collective motions of the protein. A refined FEL model was proposed to explain the role of the solvent mobility in facilitating the cascade amplification of microscopic motions of atoms and atomic groups into the global collective motions of the protein.

Determination and correlation of solubility and solution thermodynamics of oxiracetam in three (alcohol + water) binary solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Kangli; Du, Shichao; Wu, Songgu; Cai, Dongchen; Wang, Jinxu; Zhang, Dejiang; Zhao, Kaifei; Yang, Peng; Yu, Bo; Guo, Baisong; Li, Daixi; Gong, Junbo

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The solubility of racemic oxiracetam in three binary solvents were determined. • The experimental solubility of racemic oxiracetam were correlated by four models. • The dissolution thermodynamic properties of racemic oxiracetam were calculated. - Abstract: In this paper, we proposed a static analysis method to experimentally determine the (solid + liquid) equilibrium of racemic oxiracetam in (methanol + water), (ethanol + water) and (isopropanol + water) binary solvents with alcohol mole fraction ranging from 0.30 to 0.90 at atmosphere pressure (p = 0.1 MPa). For the experiments, the temperatures range from (283.15 to 308.15) K. The results showed that the solubility of oxiracetam increased with the increasing temperature, while decreased with the increasing organic solvent fraction in all three tested binary solvent systems. The modified Apelblat model, the CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model, the combined version of Jouyban–Acree model and the NRTL model were employed to correlate the measured solubility values, respectively. Additionally, some of the thermodynamic properties which can help to evaluate its dissolution behavior were obtained based on the NRTL model.

Density, distribution, and orientation of water molecules inside and outside carbon nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, J A; McGaughey, A J H

2008-02-28

The behavior of water molecules inside and outside 1.1, 2.8, 6.9, and 10.4 nm diameter armchair carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is predicted using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of CNT diameter on mass density, molecular distribution, and molecular orientation are identified for both the confined and unconfined fluids. Within 1 nm of the CNT surface, unconfined water molecules assume a spatially varying density profile. The molecules distribute nonuniformly around the carbon surface and have preferred orientations. The behavior of the unconfined water molecules is invariant with CNT diameter. The behavior of the confined water, however, can be correlated to tube diameter. Inside the 10.4 nm CNT, the molecular behavior is indistinguishable from that of the unconfined fluid. Within the smaller CNTs, surface curvature effects reduce the equilibrium water density and force water molecules away from the surface. This effect changes both the molecular distribution and preferred molecular orientations.

Biodegradation of chlorinated solvents in a water unsaturated topsoil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borch, T.; Ambus, P.; Laturnus, F.

2003-01-01

In order to investigate topsoils as potential sinks for chlorinated solvents from the atmosphere, the degradation of trichloromethane (CHCl3), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (CH3CCl3), tetrachloromethane (CCl4), trichloroethene (C2HCl3) and tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4) was studied in anoxic laboratory....... The headspace concentrations of all the chlorinated solvents except CH3CCl3 were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) lower after 41 days in biologically active batches as compared to sterile batches. For the compounds with significantly decreasing headspace concentrations, the decline was the least...... experiments designed to simulate denitrifying conditions in water unsanstrated by measuring the release of N-15 in N-2 to the headspace from added N-15 labeled nitrate. The degradation of chlorinated aliphatic compounds was followed by measuring their concentrations in the headspace above the soil...

Structures of water molecules in carbon nanotubes under electric fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winarto,; Takaiwa, Daisuke; Yamamoto, Eiji; Yasuoka, Kenji

2015-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising for water transport through membranes and for use as nano-pumps. The development of CNT-based nanofluidic devices, however, requires a better understanding of the properties of water molecules in CNTs because they can be very different from those in the bulk. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of axial electric fields on the structure of water molecules in CNTs having diameters ranging from (7,7) to (10,10). The water dipole moments were aligned parallel to the electric field, which increases the density of water inside the CNTs and forms ordered ice-like structures. The electric field induces the transition from liquid to ice nanotubes in a wide range of CNT diameters. Moreover, we found an increase in the lifetime of hydrogen bonds for water structures in the CNTs. Fast librational motion breaks some hydrogen bonds, but the molecular pairs do not separate and the hydrogen bonds reform. Thus, hydrogen bonds maintain the water structure in the CNTs, and the water molecules move collectively, decreasing the axial diffusion coefficient and permeation rate

Effects of concentration, temperature and solvent composition on density and apparent molar volume of the binary mixtures of cationic-anionic surfactants in methanol-water mixed solvent media.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattarai, Ajaya; Chatterjee, Sujeet Kumar; Niraula, Tulasi Prasad

2013-01-01

The accurate measurements on density of the binary mixtures of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecyl sulphate in pure water and in methanol(1) + water (2) mixed solvent media containing (0.10, 0.20, and 0.30) volume fractions of methanol at 308.15, 318.15, and 323.15 K are reported. The concentrations are varied from (0.03 to 0.12) mol.l(-1) of sodium dodecyl sulphate in presence of ~ 5.0×10(-4) mol.l(-1) cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The results showed almost increase in the densities with increasing surfactant mixture concentration, also the densities are found to decrease with increasing temperature over the entire concentration range, investigated in a given mixed solvent medium and these values are found to decrease with increasing methanol content in the solvent composition. The concentration dependence of the apparent molar volumes appear to be negligible over the entire concentration range, investigated in a given mixed solvent medium and the apparent molar volumes increase with increasing temperature and are found to decrease with increasing methanol content in the solvent composition.

Interaction between like-charged colloidal particles in aqueous electrolyte solution: Attractive component arising from solvent granularity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.Akiyama

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The potential of mean force (PMF between like-charged colloidal particles immersed in aqueous electrolyte solution is studied using the integral equation theory. Solvent molecules are modeled as neutral hard spheres, and ions and colloidal particles are taken to be charged hard spheres. The Coulomb potentials for ion-ion, ion-colloidal particle, and colloidal particle-colloidal particle pairs are divided by the dielectric constant of water. This simple model is employed to account for the effects of solvent granularity neglected in the so-called primitive model. The van der Waals attraction between colloidal particles, which is an essential constituent of conventional DLVO theory, is omitted in the present model. Nevertheless, when the electrolyte concentration is sufficiently high, attractive regions appear in the PMF. In particular, the interaction at small separations is significantly attractive and the contact of colloidal particles is stabilized. This interesting behavior arises from the effects of the translational motion of solvent molecules.

Membrane curvature, lipid segregation, and structural transitions for phospholipids under dual-solvent stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rand, R.P.; Fuller, N.L.; Gruner, S.M.; Parsegian, V.A.

1990-01-01

Amphiphiles respond both to polar and to nonpolar solvents. In this paper X-ray diffraction and osmotic stress have been used to examine the phase behavior, the structural dimensions, and the work of deforming the monolayer-lined aqueous cavities formed by mixtures of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) as a function of the concentration of two solvents, water and tetradecane (td). In the absence of td, most PE/PC mixtures show only lamellar phases in excess water; all of these become single reverse hexagonal (H II ) phases with addition of excess td. The spontaneous radius of curvature R 0 of lipid monolayers, as expressed in these H II phases, is allowed by the relief of hydrocarbon chain stress by td; R 0 increases with the ratio DOPC/DOPE. Single H II phases stressed by limited water or td show several responses. (a) the molecular area is compressed at the polar end of the molecule and expanded at the hydrocarbon ends. (b) For circularly symmetrical water cylinders, the degrees of hydrocarbon chain splaying and polar group compression are different for molecules aligned in different directions around the water cylinder. (c) A pivotal position exists along the length of the phospholipid molecule where little area change occurs as the monolayer is bent to increasing curvatures. (d) By defining R 0 at the pivotal position, the authors find that measured energies are well fit by a quadratic bending energy. (e) For lipid mixtures, enforced deviation of the H II monolayer from R 0 is sufficiently powerful to cause demixing of the phospholipids in a way suggesting that the DOPE/DOPC ratio self-adjusts so that its R 0 matches the amount of td or water available, i.e., that curvature energy is minimized

Approximative Krieger-Nelkin orientation averaging and anisotropy of water molecules vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovic, M.I.

1974-01-01

Quantum-mechanics approach of water molecules dynamics should be taken into account for precise theoretical calculation of differential scattering cross sections of neutrons. Krieger and Nelkin have proposed an approximate method for averaging orientation of molecules regarding directions of incoming and scattered neutron. This paper shows that this approach can be successfully applied for general shape of water molecule vibration anisotropy

Effect of water-methanol mixed solvents on the ultrasonic relaxation of cadmium acetate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sree Rama Murthy, J.; Ramachandra Rao, B.

1976-01-01

Measurements of ultrasonic absorption have been made by pulse technique in 1 M solutions of cadmium acetate with water-methanol mixed solvents. Results are analysed by assuming a single relaxation mechanism. The characteristic frequency of relaxation is found to decrease with increasing composition of methanol in the solvent. It is proposed that the mechanism of relaxation may be perturbation of chemical equilibrium between complex CdAc + ions and Cd ++ , Ac - species by soundwaves. (author)

The solvation of carbohydrates in dimethylsulfoxide and water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, S.; Diaz, M.D.; Horwat, Ch.

1999-01-01

The solvation of sucrose and other carbohydrates in DMSO and water is probed by intermolecular NOE measurements. The NOE effects are interpreted in terms of specific binding of the solvent to certain sites of the molecules. It is shown that DMSO attaches to specific sites of the sucrose molecule, whereas for water such a clear differentiation cannot be proven. (author)

Effect of spray-drying with organic solvents on the encapsulation, release and stability of fish oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Encina, Cristian; Márquez-Ruiz, Gloria; Holgado, Francisca; Giménez, Begoña; Vergara, Cristina; Robert, Paz

2018-10-15

Fish-oil (FO) was encapsulated with hydroxypropylcelullose (HPC) by conventional spray-drying with water (FO-water) and solvent spray-drying with ethanol (FO-EtOH), methanol (FO-MeOH) and acetone (FO-Acet) in order to study the effect of the solvent on the encapsulation efficiency (EE), microparticle properties and stability of FO during storage at 40 °C. Results showed that FO-Acet presented the highest EE of FO (92.0%), followed by FO-EtOH (80.4%), FO-MeOH (75.0%) and FO-water (71.1%). A decrease of the dielectric constant increased the EE of FO, promoting triglyceride-polymer interactions instead of oil-in-water emulsion retention. FO release profile in aqueous model was similar for all FO-microparticles, releasing only the surface FO, according to Higuchi model. Oxidative stability of FO significantly improved by spray-drying with MeOH, both in surface and encapsulated oil fractions. In conclusion, encapsulation of FO by solvent spray-drying can be proposed as an alternative technology for encapsulation of hydrophobic molecules. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantum Electric Dipole Lattice - Water Molecules Confined to Nanocavities in Beryl

Science.gov (United States)

Dressel, Martin; Zhukova, Elena S.; Thomas, Victor G.; Gorshunov, Boris P.

2018-02-01

Water is subject to intense investigations due to its importance in biological matter but keeps many of its secrets. Here, we unveil an even other aspect by confining H2O molecules to nanosize cages. Our THz and infrared spectra of water in the gemstone beryl evidence quantum tunneling of H2O molecules in the crystal lattice. The water molecules are spread out when confined in a nanocage. In combination with low-frequency dielectric measurements, we were also able to show that dipolar coupling among the H2O molecules leads towards a ferroelectric state at low temperatures. Upon cooling, a ferroelectric soft mode shifts through the THz range. Only quantum fluctuations prevent perfect macroscopic order to be fully achieved. Beside the significance to life science and possible application, nanoconfined water may become the prime example of a quantum electric dipolar lattice.

Quantification of residual solvents in antibody drug conjugates using gas chromatography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Medley, Colin D., E-mail: medley.colin@gene.com [Genentech Inc., Small Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080 (United States); Kay, Jacob [Research Pharmaceutical Services, 520 Virginia Dr. Fort, Washington, PA (United States); Li, Yi; Gruenhagen, Jason; Yehl, Peter; Chetwyn, Nik P. [Genentech Inc., Small Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080 (United States)

2014-11-19

Highlights: • Sensitive residual solvents detection in ADCs. • 125 ppm QL for common conjugation solvents. • Generic and validatable method. - Abstract: The detection and quantification of residual solvents present in clinical and commercial pharmaceutical products is necessary from both patient safety and regulatory perspectives. Head-space gas chromatography is routinely used for quantitation of residual solvents for small molecule APIs produced through synthetic processes; however residual solvent analysis is generally not needed for protein based pharmaceuticals produced through cultured cell lines where solvents are not introduced. In contrast, antibody drug conjugates and other protein conjugates where a drug or other molecule is covalently bound to a protein typically use solvents such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), N,N‑dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or propylene glycol (PG) to dissolve the hydrophobic small molecule drug for conjugation to the protein. The levels of the solvent remaining following the conjugation step are therefore important to patient safety as these parental drug products are introduced directly into the patients bloodstream. We have developed a rapid sample preparation followed by a gas chromatography separation for the detection and quantification of several solvents typically used in these conjugation reactions. This generic method has been validated and can be easily implemented for use in quality control testing for clinical or commercial bioconjugated products.

Active-Site Hydration and Water Diffusion in Cytochrome P450cam: A Highly Dynamic Process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miao, Yinglong [ORNL; Baudry, Jerome Y [ORNL

2011-01-01

Long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations (300 ns) are performed on both the apo- (i.e., camphor-free) and camphor-bound cytochrome P450cam (CYP101). Water diffusion into and out of the protein active site is observed without biased sampling methods. During the course of the molecular dynamics simulation, an average of 6.4 water molecules is observed in the camphor-binding site of the apo form, compared to zero water molecules in the binding site of the substrate-bound form, in agreement with the number of water molecules observed in crystal structures of the same species. However, as many as 12 water molecules can be present at a given time in the camphor-binding region of the active site in the case of apo-P450cam, revealing a highly dynamic process for hydration of the protein active site, with water molecules exchanging rapidly with the bulk solvent. Water molecules are also found to exchange locations frequently inside the active site, preferentially clustering in regions surrounding the water molecules observed in the crystal structure. Potential-of-mean-force calculations identify thermodynamically favored trans-protein pathways for the diffusion of water molecules between the protein active site and the bulk solvent. Binding of camphor in the active site modifies the free-energy landscape of P450cam channels toward favoring the diffusion of water molecules out of the protein active site.

Reference interaction site model with hydrophobicity induced density inhomogeneity: An analytical theory to compute solvation properties of large hydrophobic solutes in the mixture of polyatomic solvent molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Siqin; Sheong, Fu Kit; Huang, Xuhui

2015-01-01

Reference interaction site model (RISM) has recently become a popular approach in the study of thermodynamical and structural properties of the solvent around macromolecules. On the other hand, it was widely suggested that there exists water density depletion around large hydrophobic solutes (>1 nm), and this may pose a great challenge to the RISM theory. In this paper, we develop a new analytical theory, the Reference Interaction Site Model with Hydrophobicity induced density Inhomogeneity (RISM-HI), to compute solvent radial distribution function (RDF) around large hydrophobic solute in water as well as its mixture with other polyatomic organic solvents. To achieve this, we have explicitly considered the density inhomogeneity at the solute-solvent interface using the framework of the Yvon-Born-Green hierarchy, and the RISM theory is used to obtain the solute-solvent pair correlation. In order to efficiently solve the relevant equations while maintaining reasonable accuracy, we have also developed a new closure called the D2 closure. With this new theory, the solvent RDFs around a large hydrophobic particle in water and different water-acetonitrile mixtures could be computed, which agree well with the results of the molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, we show that our RISM-HI theory can also efficiently compute the solvation free energy of solute with a wide range of hydrophobicity in various water-acetonitrile solvent mixtures with a reasonable accuracy. We anticipate that our theory could be widely applied to compute the thermodynamic and structural properties for the solvation of hydrophobic solute

Nonlocal Poisson-Fermi model for ionic solvent.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Dexuan; Liu, Jinn-Liang; Eisenberg, Bob

2016-07-01

We propose a nonlocal Poisson-Fermi model for ionic solvent that includes ion size effects and polarization correlations among water molecules in the calculation of electrostatic potential. It includes the previous Poisson-Fermi models as special cases, and its solution is the convolution of a solution of the corresponding nonlocal Poisson dielectric model with a Yukawa-like kernel function. The Fermi distribution is shown to be a set of optimal ionic concentration functions in the sense of minimizing an electrostatic potential free energy. Numerical results are reported to show the difference between a Poisson-Fermi solution and a corresponding Poisson solution.

Distribution of binding energies of a water molecule in the water liquid-vapor interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chempath, Shaji [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Pratt, Lawrence R [TULANE UNIV

2008-01-01

Distributions of binding energies of a water molecule in the water liquid-vapor interface are obtained on the basis of molecular simulation with the SPC/E model of water. These binding energies together with the observed interfacial density profile are used to test a minimally conditioned Gaussian quasi-chemical statistical thermodynamic theory. Binding energy distributions for water molecules in that interfacial region clearly exhibit a composite structure. A minimally conditioned Gaussian quasi-chemical model that is accurate for the free energy of bulk liquid water breaks down for water molecules in the liquid-vapor interfacial region. This breakdown is associated with the fact that this minimally conditioned Gaussian model would be inaccurate for the statistical thermodynamics of a dilute gas. Aggressive conditioning greatly improves the performance of that Gaussian quasi-chemical model. The analogy between the Gaussian quasi-chemical model and dielectric models of hydration free energies suggests that naive dielectric models without the conditioning features of quasi-chemical theory will be unreliable for these interfacial problems. Multi-Gaussian models that address the composite nature of the binding energy distributions observed in the interfacial region might provide a mechanism for correcting dielectric models for practical applications.

Lid opening and conformational stability of T1 Lipase is mediated by increasing chain length polar solvents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Maiangwa

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The dynamics and conformational landscape of proteins in organic solvents are events of potential interest in nonaqueous process catalysis. Conformational changes, folding transitions, and stability often correspond to structural rearrangements that alter contacts between solvent molecules and amino acid residues. However, in nonaqueous enzymology, organic solvents limit stability and further application of proteins. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD of a thermostable Geobacillus zalihae T1 lipase was performed in different chain length polar organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, and pentanol and water mixture systems to a concentration of 50%. On the basis of the MD results, the structural deviations of the backbone atoms elucidated the dynamic effects of water/organic solvent mixtures on the equilibrium state of the protein simulations in decreasing solvent polarity. The results show that the solvent mixture gives rise to deviations in enzyme structure from the native one simulated in water. The drop in the flexibility in H2O, MtOH, EtOH and PrOH simulation mixtures shows that greater motions of residues were influenced in BtOH and PtOH simulation mixtures. Comparing the root mean square fluctuations value with the accessible solvent area (SASA for every residue showed an almost correspondingly high SASA value of residues to high flexibility and low SASA value to low flexibility. The study further revealed that the organic solvents influenced the formation of more hydrogen bonds in MtOH, EtOH and PrOH and thus, it is assumed that increased intraprotein hydrogen bonding is ultimately correlated to the stability of the protein. However, the solvent accessibility analysis showed that in all solvent systems, hydrophobic residues were exposed and polar residues tended to be buried away from the solvent. Distance variation of the tetrahedral intermediate packing of the active pocket was not conserved in organic solvent

Enthalpies of solvation of ethylene oxide oligomers CH{sub 3}O(CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}O){sub n}CH{sub 3} (n = 1 to 4) in different H-bonding solvents: Methanol, chloroform, and water. Group contribution method as applied to the polar oligomers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barannikov, Vladimir P., E-mail: vpb@isc-ras.ru [Institute of Solution Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Academicheskaya Str. 1, Ivanovo 153045 (Russian Federation); Guseynov, Sabir S.; Vyugin, Anatoliy I. [Institute of Solution Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Academicheskaya Str. 1, Ivanovo 153045 (Russian Federation)

2011-12-15

Highlights: > Solvation enthalpy is found for ethylene oxide oligomers in chloroform and methanol. > Coefficients of solute-solute interaction are determined for oligomers in methanol. > Enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of oligomers with chloroform and water are estimated. > Additivity scheme is developed for describing enthalpies of solvation of oligomers. - Abstract: The enthalpies of solution and solvation of ethylene oxide oligomers CH{sub 3}O(CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}O){sub n}CH{sub 3} (n = 1 to 4) in methanol and chloroform have been determined from calorimetric measurements at T = 298.15 K. The enthalpic coefficients of pairwise solute-solute interaction for methanol solutions have been calculated. The enthalpic characteristics of the oligomers in methanol, chloroform, water and tetrachloromethane have been compared. The hydrogen bonding of the oligomers with chloroform and water molecules is exhibited in the values of solvation enthalpy and coefficient of solute-solute interaction. This effect is not observed for methanol solvent. The thermochemical data evidence an existence of multi-centred hydrogen bonds in associates of polyethers with the solvent molecules. Enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of the oligomers with chloroform and water have been estimated. The additivity scheme has been developed to describe the enthalpies of solvation of ethylene oxide oligomers, unbranched monoethers and n-alkanes in chloroform, methanol, water, and tetrachloromethane. The correction parameters for contribution of repeated polar groups and correction term for methoxy-compounds have been introduced. The obtained group contributions permit to describe the enthalpies of solvation of unbranched monoethers and ethylene oxide oligomers in the solvents with standard deviation up to 0.6 kJ . mol{sup -1}. The values of group contributions and corrections are strongly influenced by solvent properties.

Calculating Water Thermodynamics in the Binding Site of Proteins - Applications of WaterMap to Drug Discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappel, Daniel; Sherman, Woody; Beuming, Thijs

2017-01-01

The ability to accurately characterize the solvation properties (water locations and thermodynamics) of biomolecules is of great importance to drug discovery. While crystallography, NMR, and other experimental techniques can assist in determining the structure of water networks in proteins and protein-ligand complexes, most water molecules are not fully resolved and accurately placed. Furthermore, understanding the energetic effects of solvation and desolvation on binding requires an analysis of the thermodynamic properties of solvent involved in the interaction between ligands and proteins. WaterMap is a molecular dynamics-based computational method that uses statistical mechanics to describe the thermodynamic properties (entropy, enthalpy, and free energy) of water molecules at the surface of proteins. This method can be used to assess the solvent contributions to ligand binding affinity and to guide lead optimization. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of published uses of WaterMap, including applications to lead optimization, virtual screening, selectivity analysis, ligand pose prediction, and druggability assessment. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Dynamics of water molecules in the active-site cavity of human cytochromes P450

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rydberg, Patrik; Rod, Thomas Holm; Olsen, Lars

2007-01-01

We have studied the dynamics of water molecules in six crystal structures of four human cytochromes P450, 2A6, 2C8, 2C9, and 3A4, with molecular dynamics simulations. In the crystal structures, only a few water molecules are seen and the reported sizes of the active-site cavity vary a lot....... In the simulations, the cavities are completely filled with water molecules, although with approximately 20% lower density than in bulk water. The 2A6 protein differs from the other three in that it has a very small cavity with only two water molecules and no exchange with the surroundings. The other three proteins...... channels, through which there is a quite frequent exchange of water molecules (one molecule is exchanged every 30-200 ps), except in 2A6. Most of the channels are observed also in the crystal structures, but two to three channels in each protein open only during the simulations. There are no water...

Preferential solvation of ions in mixed solvents. 6: Univalent anions in aqueous organic solvents according to the inverse Kirkwood-Buff integral (IKBI) approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcus, Yizhak

2007-01-01

The inverse Kirkwood-Buff integral (IKBI) approach is applied to the preferential solvation of F - , Cl - , Br - , I - , and ClO 4 - in aqueous mixtures of the co-solvents (S) methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), t-butanol (t-BuOH), 1,2-ethanediol (EG), glycerol (Gly), acetone (Me 2 CO), acetonitrile (MeCN), formamide (FA), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N,N',N',N'',N''-hexamethyl phosphoric triamide (HMPT), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), as far as the relevant data exist in the literature. Fluoride anions are selectively solvated by the water up to large mole fractions (x S ≥ 0.4) of S = EtOH, t-BuOH, Me 2 CO, MeCN, and DMF, and up to lower contents (x S ∼ 0.1) of MeOH, EG, FA, and DMSO. The other anions are preferentially solvated by water to diminishing extent as their sizes become larger, and the largest ones show some preference for S in water-rich mixtures of MeOH and FA, whereas in aqueous Gly even chloride is preferentially solvated by the Gly. The competition between the co-solvent and the anion for the hydrogen bonds that water molecules donate is the main cause for the observed preferential solvation behaviour

Morphological classification of mesoporous silicas synthesized in a binary water-ether solvent system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cai, Qiang; Geng, Yi; Zhao, Xiang; Cui, Kai; Sun, Qianyao; Chen, Xihua; Feng, Qingling; Li, Hengde; Vrieling, Engel G.

2008-01-01

Using diethyl ether as a co-solvent, a non-stable interface of biphasic oil-water system (the so-called oil-water two-phase (OWTP) system) was employed in the preparation of mesostructured silicas with diversified particle morphologies. By adjusting the molar ratios of H2O:C2H5OC2H5:NH3 center dot

Structural Arrangement of Water Molecules around Highly Charged Nanoparticles: Molecular Dynamics Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Eunae; Yeom, Min Sun

2014-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand the structural arrangement of water molecules around highly charged nanoparticles under aqueous conditions. The effect of two highly charged nanoparticles on the solvation charge asymmetry has been examined. We calculated the radial distribution functions of the components of water molecules around nanoparticles which have four charge types at two different salt concentrations. Even though the distributions of water molecules surrounding a sodium ion and a chloride ion are hardly affected by the charges of nanoparticles and the salt concentrations, those around highly charged nanoparticles are strongly influenced by the charges of nanoparticles, but hardly by the charges of nanoparticles and salt concentrations. We find that the distributions of hydrogen atoms in water molecules around one highly charged nanoparticle are dependent on the magnitude of the nanoparticle charge

Interfacial thermodynamics of water and six other liquid solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pascal, Tod A; Goddard, William A

2014-06-05

We examine the thermodynamics of the liquid-vapor interface by direct calculation of the surface entropy, enthalpy, and free energy from extensive molecular dynamics simulations using the two-phase thermodynamics (2PT) method. Results for water, acetonitrile, cyclohexane, dimethyl sulfoxide, hexanol, N-methyl acetamide, and toluene are presented. We validate our approach by predicting the interfacial surface tensions (IFT--excess surface free energy per unit area) in excellent agreement with the mechanical calculations using Kirkwood-Buff theory. Additionally, we evaluate the temperature dependence of the IFT of water as described by the TIP4P/2005, SPC/Ew, TIP3P, and mW classical water models. We find that the TIP4P/2005 and SPC/Ew water models do a reasonable job of describing the interfacial thermodynamics; however, the TIP3P and mW are quite poor. We find that the underprediction of the experimental IFT at 298 K by these water models results from understructured surface molecules whose binding energies are too weak. Finally, we performed depth profiles of the interfacial thermodynamics which revealed long tails that extend far into what would be considered bulk from standard Gibbs theory. In fact, we find a nonmonotonic interfacial free energy profile for water, a unique feature that could have important consequences for the absorption of ions and other small molecules.

Molecular microenvironments: Solvent interactions with nucleic acid bases and ions

Science.gov (United States)

Macelroy, R. D.; Pohorille, A.

1986-01-01

The possibility of reconstructing plausible sequences of events in prebiotic molecular evolution is limited by the lack of fossil remains. However, with hindsight, one goal of molecular evolution was obvious: the development of molecular systems that became constituents of living systems. By understanding the interactions among molecules that are likely to have been present in the prebiotic environment, and that could have served as components in protobiotic molecular systems, plausible evolutionary sequences can be suggested. When stable aggregations of molecules form, a net decrease in free energy is observed in the system. Such changes occur when solvent molecules interact among themselves, as well as when they interact with organic species. A significant decrease in free energy, in systems of solvent and organic molecules, is due to entropy changes in the solvent. Entropy-driven interactioins played a major role in the organization of prebiotic systems, and understanding the energetics of them is essential to understanding molecular evolution.

Temperature Induced Solubility Transitions of Various Poly(2-oxazolines in Ethanol-Water Solvent Mixtures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanneke M. L. Lambermont-Thijs

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The solution behavior of a series of poly(2-oxazolines with different side chains, namely methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, phenyl and benzyl, are reported in ethanol-water solvent mixtures based on turbidimetry investigations. The LCST transitions of poly(2-oxazolines with propyl side chains and the UCST transitions of the poly(2-oxazolines with more hydrophobic side chains are discussed in relation to the ethanol-water solvent composition and structure. The poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazolines with side chains longer than propyl only dissolved during the first heating run, which is discussed and correlated to the melting transition of the polymers.

Magnetic effects on the solvent properties investigated by molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moosavi, Fatemeh, E-mail: moosavibaigi@um.ac.ir; Gholizadeh, Mostafa

2014-03-15

This paper investigates how an external constant magnetic field in the Z-direction affects the performance of a solvent. The molecular dynamics simulation comprised common inorganic and organic solvents including water, acetone, acetonitrile, toluene, and n-hexane at the ambient temperature and pressure. A static magnetic field applied in the simulation process is able to reduce the solvent mobility in the solution in order to enhance the solvent–solute reaction. Simulation results show that the diffusivity decreases because of increasing the effective interactions. Besides, magnetic field reduces the volume of the solvent and increases the strength of the hydrogen bonds by maximizing attractive electrostatic and vdW interactions caused by changes in the radial distribution function of the solvents. Hydrogen-bonding characteristics of solvents investigated by molecular dynamics simulations were evidence for the hydrogen bonding strength of O···H that is a more efficient intermolecular hydrogen-bonding in comparison with N···H. - Highlights: • Molecular dynamics simulation technique investigates the effect of magnetic field on transport dynamics inside the solvent bulk. • External constant magnetic field influences on intermolecular interactions, thermophysics, and transport properties of the solvents. • Applying magnetic field strengthened hydrogen bond maximizes attractive electrostatic interactions, charge distribution becomes stronger, and the molecule mobility is demoted. • The low diffusivity of the solvents in the solutions increases the performance of the interactions and promotes the interactions. • On introducing a magnetic field of flux density parallel to the Z-direction, solvent acts as an obstacle to diffusion of solutes.

Comparison of Intermolecular Forces in Anhydrous Sorbitol and Solvent Cocrystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Dierks, Teresa M; Korter, Timothy M

2017-08-03

The hygroscopicity of solid sorbitol is important for its utilization as a sweetener in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The molecular foundations of sorbitol hydration characteristics are explored here using two solvated cocrystals, sorbitol-water and sorbitol-pyridine. In this work, solid-state density functional theory and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy were used to evaluate the relative stabilities of these cocrystals as compared to anhydrous sorbitol in terms of conformational and cohesive energies. The modification of the hydrogen-bonding network in crystalline sorbitol by solvent molecules gives new insight into the origins of the notable stability of sorbitol-water as compared to similar solids such as mannitol-water. In particular, the energy analysis reveals that the relative instability of the mannitol hydrate is based primarily in the lack of water-water interactions which provide considerable stabilization in the sorbitol-water crystal.

AGOA: A Hydration Procedure and Its Application to the 1-Phenyl-beta-Carboline Molecule

OpenAIRE

Hernandes, Marcelo Z.; Silva, João B. P. da; Longo, Ricardo L.

2002-01-01

A new procedure, named AGOA, has been developed and implemented in a computer program written in FORTRAN 77 to explore the hydration structures of polar solutes using its molecular electrostatic potential (MEP). This procedure can be generalized to polar solvents other than water. It has been tested for several small molecules, and applied to complex molecules of pharmacological interest, such as the beta-carbolinic systems derived from indole. This is a stringent, but not general, test of th...

Vibrational properties of water molecules adsorbed in different zeolitic frameworks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crupi, V; Longo, F; Majolino, D; Venuti, V

2006-01-01

The perturbation of water 'sorbed' in samples of zeolites of different structural type, genesis, and cation composition (K-, Na-, Mg- and Ca-rich zeolites), namely the CHA framework of a synthetic K-chabazite, the LTA framework of synthetic Na-A and Mg50-A zeolites, and the NAT framework of a natural scolecite, has been studied by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, in the -10 to +80 o C temperature range. The aim was to show how differences in the chemical composition and/or in the topology of the zeolite framework and, in particular, the possibility for the guest water molecules to develop guest-guest and/or host-guest interactions, lead to substantial differences in their vibrational dynamical properties. The spectra, collected in the O-H stretching and H 2 O bending mode regions, are complex, with multiple bands being observed. As far as water in the CHA and LTA frameworks is concerned, whose behaviour is governed by the balance of water-water, water-framework and water-extra-framework cations interactions, the assignment of the resolved components of the O-H stretching band has been discussed by fitting the band shapes into individual components attributed to H 2 O molecules engaged in different degrees of hydrogen bonding. A detailed quantitative picture of the connectivity pattern of water, as a function of temperature and according to the chemical and topological properties of the environment, is furnished. The H 2 O bending vibrational bands give additional information that perfectly agrees with the results obtained from the analysis of the O-H stretching spectral region. In the case of scolecite, a small-pored zeolite where water-water interactions are eliminated, the increased complexity observed in the infrared spectra in the O-H stretching and H 2 O bending regions was explained as due to the hydrogen bonding between the water molecules and the network, and also with the extra-framework cation. Furthermore, these observations have been correlated with the different

Solvent jet desorption capillary photoionization-mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Haapala, Markus; Teppo, Jaakko; Ollikainen, Elisa; Kiiski, Iiro; Vaikkinen, Anu; Kauppila, Tiina J; Kostiainen, Risto

2015-03-17

A new ambient mass spectrometry method, solvent jet desorption capillary photoionization (DCPI), is described. The method uses a solvent jet generated by a coaxial nebulizer operated at ambient conditions with nitrogen as nebulizer gas. The solvent jet is directed onto a sample surface, from which analytes are extracted into the solvent and ejected from the surface in secondary droplets formed in collisions between the jet and the sample surface. The secondary droplets are directed into the heated capillary photoionization (CPI) device, where the droplets are vaporized and the gaseous analytes are ionized by 10 eV photons generated by a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) krypton discharge lamp. As the CPI device is directly connected to the extended capillary inlet of the MS, high ion transfer efficiency to the vacuum of MS is achieved. The solvent jet DCPI provides several advantages: high sensitivity for nonpolar and polar compounds with limit of detection down to low fmol levels, capability of analyzing small and large molecules, and good spatial resolution (250 μm). Two ionization mechanisms are involved in DCPI: atmospheric pressure photoionization, capable of ionizing polar and nonpolar compounds, and solvent assisted inlet ionization capable of ionizing larger molecules like peptides. The feasibility of DCPI was successfully tested in the analysis of polar and nonpolar compounds in sage leaves and chili pepper.

Performance of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors in different solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Hyuck; Zhao, Cang; Qiao, Yu

2014-07-07

The influence of solvent on the temperature sensitivity of the electrode potential of thermally-chargeable supercapacitors (TCSs) is investigated. For large electrodes, the output voltage is positively correlated with the dielectric constant of solvent. When nanoporous carbon electrodes are used, different characteristics of system performance are observed, suggesting that possible size effects must be taken into consideration when the solvent molecules and solvated ions are confined in a nanoenvironment.

Synthesis of ZnO particles using water molecules generated in esterification reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Šarić, Ankica; Gotić, Marijan; Štefanić, Goran; Dražić, Goran

2017-07-01

Zinc oxide particles were synthesized without the addition of water by autoclaving (anhydrous) zinc acetate/alcohol and zinc acetate/acetic acid/alcohol solutions at 160 °C. The solvothermal synthesis was performed in ethanol or octanol. The structural, optical and morphological characteristics of ZnO particles were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, FE-SEM and TEM/STEM microscopy. 13C NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of ester (ethyl- or octyl-acetate) in the supernatants which directly indicate the reaction mechanism. The formation of ester in this esterification reaction generated water molecule in situ, which hydrolyzed anhydrous zinc acetate and initiated nucleation and formation of ZnO. It was found that the size and shape of ZnO particles depend on the type of alcohol used as a solvent and on the presence of acetic acid in solution. The presence of ethanol in the ;pure; system without acetic acid favoured the formation of fine and uniform spherical ZnO nanoparticles (∼20 nm). With the addition of small amount of acetic acid the size of these small nanoparticles increased significantly up to a few hundred nanometers. The addition of small amount of acetic acid in the presence of octanol caused even more radical changes in the shape of ZnO particles, favouring the growth of huge rod-like particles (∼3 μm).

The spectral properties of (--epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (EGCG fluorescence in different solvents: dependence on solvent polarity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladislav Snitsarev

Full Text Available (--Epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (EGCG a molecule found in green tea and known for a plethora of bioactive properties is an inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90, a protein of interest as a target for cancer and neuroprotection. Determination of the spectral properties of EGCG fluorescence in environments similar to those of binding sites found in proteins provides an important tool to directly study protein-EGCG interactions. The goal of this study is to examine the spectral properties of EGCG fluorescence in an aqueous buffer (AB at pH=7.0, acetonitrile (AN (a polar aprotic solvent, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO (a polar aprotic solvent, and ethanol (EtOH (a polar protic solvent. We demonstrate that EGCG is a highly fluorescent molecule when excited at approximately 275 nm with emission maxima between 350 and 400 nm depending on solvent. Another smaller excitation peak was found when EGCG is excited at approximately 235 nm with maximum emission between 340 and 400 nm. We found that the fluorescence intensity (FI of EGCG in AB at pH=7.0 is significantly quenched, and that it is about 85 times higher in an aprotic solvent DMSO. The Stokes shifts of EGCG fluorescence were determined by solvent polarity. In addition, while the emission maxima of EGCG fluorescence in AB, DMSO, and EtOH follow the Lippert-Mataga equation, its fluorescence in AN points to non-specific solvent effects on EGCG fluorescence. We conclude that significant solvent-dependent changes in both fluorescence intensity and fluorescence emission shifts can be effectively used to distinguish EGCG in aqueous solutions from EGCG in environments of different polarity, and, thus, can be used to study specific EGCG binding to protein binding sites where the environment is often different from aqueous in terms of polarity.

Integration or segregation: how do molecules behave at oil/water interfaces?

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, F G; Richmond, G L

2008-06-01

It has been over 250 years since Benjamin Franklin, fascinated with the wave-stilling effect of oil on water, performed his famous oil-drop experiments; nevertheless, the behavior of water molecules adjacent to hydrophobic surfaces continues to fascinate today. In the 18th century, the calming of the seas seemed the most pertinent application of such knowledge; today, we understand that oil-on-water phenomena underlie a range of important chemical, physical, and biological processes, including micelle and membrane formation, protein folding, chemical separation, oil extraction, nanoparticle formation, and interfacial polymerization. Beyond classical experiments of the oil-water interface, recent interest has focused on deriving a molecular-level picture of this interface or, more generally, of water molecules positioned next to any hydrophobic surface. This Account summarizes more than a decade's work from our laboratories aimed at understanding the nature of the hydrogen bonding occurring between water and a series of organic liquids in contact. Although the common perception is that water molecules and oil molecules positioned at the interface between the immiscible liquids want nothing to do with one another, we have found that weak interactions between these hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules lead to interesting interfacial behavior, including highly oriented water molecules and layering of the organic medium that extends several molecular layers deep into the bulk organic liquid. For some organic liquids, penetration of oriented water into the organic layer is also apparent, facilitated by molecular interactions established at the molecularly thin region of first contact between the two liquids. The studies involve a combined experimental and computational approach. The primary experimental tool that we have used is vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS), a powerful surface-specific vibrational spectroscopic method for measuring the molecular

Insights into the effects of solvent properties in graphene based electric double-layer capacitors with organic electrolytes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuo; Bo, Zheng; Yang, Huachao; Yang, Jinyuan; Duan, Liangping; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

2016-12-01

Organic electrolytes are widely used in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). In this work, the microstructure of planar graphene-based EDLCs with different organic solvents are investigated with molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that an increase of solvent polarity could weaken the accumulation of counter-ions nearby the electrode surface, due to the screen of electrode charges and relatively lower ionic desolvation. It thus suggests that solvents with low polarity could be preferable to yield high EDL capacitance. Meanwhile, the significant effects of the size and structure of solvent molecules are reflected by non-electrostatic molecule-electrode interactions, further influencing the adsorption of solvent molecules on electrode surface. Compared with dimethyl carbonate, γ-butyrolactone, and propylene carbonate, acetonitrile with relatively small-size and linear structure owns weak non-electrostatic interactions, which favors the easy re-orientation of solvent molecules. Moreover, the shift of solvent orientation in surface layer, from parallel orientation to perpendicular orientation relative to the electrode surface, deciphers the solvent twin-peak behavior near negative electrode. The as-obtained insights into the roles of solvent properties on the interplays among particles and electrodes elucidate the solvent influences on the microstructure and capacitive behavior of EDLCs using organic electrolytes.

Micellization behaviour and thermodynamic parameters of 12-2-12 gemini surfactant in (water + organic solvent) mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batigoec, Cigdem [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, 22030 Edirne (Turkey); Akbas, Halide, E-mail: hakbas34@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, 22030 Edirne (Turkey); Boz, Mesut [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, 22030 Edirne (Turkey)

2011-09-15

Highlights: > The cmc and {alpha} values of surfactant increased with increasing solvent content and temperature. > The values of ({Delta}G{sub m}{sup 0}) are negative in all cases for the micelle formation becomes less favourable. > The values of negative enthalpy indicate importance of the London dispersion forces for the micellization. > The positive entropy is due to a contribution supplied from the solvent. - Abstract: The effect of organic solvents on micellization behaviour and thermodynamic parameters of a cationic gemini (dimeric) surfactant, C{sub 12}H{sub 25}(CH{sub 3}){sub 2}N{sup +}-(CH{sub 2}){sub 2}-N{sup +}(CH{sub 3}){sub 2}C{sub 12}H{sub 25}.2Br{sup -}, (12-2-12) was studied in aqueous solutions over the range of T = (293.15 to 323.15) K using the conductometric technique. Ethylene glycol (EG), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 1,4-dioxan (DO) were used as organic solvents with three different contents. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the degree of counter ion dissociation ({alpha}) of micelles in the water and in the (water + organic solvent) mixtures including 10%, 20%, and 30% solvent contents were determined. The standard Gibbs free energy ({Delta}G{sub m}{sup 0}), enthalpy ({Delta}H{sub m}{sup 0}) and entropy ({Delta}S{sub m}{sup 0}) of micellization were estimated from the temperature dependence of the cmc values. It was observed that the critical micelle concentration of the gemini surfactant and the degree of counter ion dissociation of the micelle increased as the volume percentage of organic solvent, and temperature increased. The standard Gibbs free energy of micellization was found to be less negative with the increase in the organic solvent content and temperature.

Crystallization of perovskite film using ambient moisture and water as co-solvent for efficient planar perovskite solar cell (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Dubey, Ashish; Reza, Khan M.; Gaml, Eman; Adhikari, Nirmal; Qiao, Qiquan

2016-09-01

Smooth, compact and defect free morphology of perovskite is highly desired for enhanced device performance. Several routes such as thermal annealing, use of solvent mixtures, growth under controlled humidity has been adopted to obtain crystalline, smooth and defect free perovskite film. Herein we showed direct use of water (H2O) as co-solvent in precursor solution and have optimized the water content required to obtain smooth and dense film. Varying concentration of water was used in precursor solution of CH3NH3I and PbI2 mixed in γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Perovskite films were crystallized using toluene assisted solvent engineering method using GBL:DMSO:H2O as solvent mixture. The amount of water was varied from 1% to 25%, which resulted in change in film morphology and perovskite crystallinity. It was concluded that an appropriate amount of water is required to assist the crystallization process to obtain smooth pin-hole free morphology. The change in morphology led to improved fill factor in the device, with highest efficiency 14%, which was significantly higher than devices made from perovskite film without adding water. We also showed that addition of up to 25% by volume of water does not significantly change the device performance.

Fast Rotational Diffusion of Water Molecules in a 2D Hydrogen Bond Network at Cryogenic Temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Prisk, T. R.; Hoffmann, C.; Kolesnikov, A. I.; Mamontov, E.; Podlesnyak, A. A.; Wang, X.; Kent, P. R. C.; Anovitz, L. M.

2018-05-01

Individual water molecules or small clusters of water molecules contained within microporous minerals present an extreme case of confinement where the local structure of hydrogen bond networks are dramatically altered from bulk water. In the zinc silicate hemimorphite, the water molecules form a two-dimensional hydrogen bond network with hydroxyl groups in the crystal framework. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the structure and dynamics of water molecules within this network. The water molecules undergo a continuous phase transition in their orientational configuration analogous to a two-dimensional Ising model. The incoherent dynamic structure factor reveals two thermally activated relaxation processes, one on a subpicosecond timescale and another on a 10-100 ps timescale, between 70 and 130 K. The slow process is an in-plane reorientation of the water molecule involving the breaking of hydrogen bonds with a framework that, despite the low temperatures involved, is analogous to rotational diffusion of water molecules in the bulk liquid. The fast process is a localized motion of the water molecule with no apparent analogs among known bulk or confined phases of water.

Ternary and binary LLE measurements for solvent (2-methyltetrahydrofuran and cyclopentyl methyl ether) + furfural + water between 298 and 343 K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Männistö, Mikael; Pokki, Juha-Pekka; Fournis, Ludivine; Alopaeus, Ville

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Novel LLE of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran or cyclopentyl methyl ether + furfural + water. • High performance solvents for liquid-liquid extraction exhibited. • Modelled with UNIQUAC-HOC activity coefficient model. • Comparison to other industrial solvents with distribution coefficient and selectivity. - Abstract: The suitability of two solvents for the extraction of furfural from aqueous streams is assessed through novel ternary and binary liquid-liquid equilibria data for mixtures of solvent (2-methyltetrahydrofuran or cyclopentyl methyl ether) + furfural + water. The measured data are reported along with regressed binary interaction parameters for UNIQUAC-HOC activity coefficient model and further analyzed through distribution coefficients and selectivity for furfural. Out of the two solvents, cyclopentyl methyl ether presents a very high selectivity along with good distribution coefficient in the entire temperature range.

Operando Solid-State NMR Observation of Solvent-Mediated Adsorption-Reaction of Carbohydrates in Zeolites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qi, Long; Alamillo, Ricardo; Elliott, William A.; Andersen, Amity; Hoyt, David W.; Walter, Eric D.; Han, Kee Sung; Washton, Nancy M.; Rioux, Robert M.; Dumesic, James A.; Scott, Susannah L.

2017-04-18

Liquid-phase processing of molecules using heterogeneous catalysts – an important strategy for obtaining renewable chemicals sustainably from biomass – involves reactions that occur at solid-liquid interfaces. In glucose isomerization catalyzed by basic faujasite zeolites, the catalytic activity depends strongly on the solvent composition: initially, it declines precipitously when water is mixed with a small amount of the organic co-solvent γ-valerolactone (GVL), then recovers as the GVL content increases. Using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy, we observed glucose isomers located inside the zeolite pores directly, and followed their transformations into fructose and mannose in real time. At low GVL concentrations, glucose is depleted in the zeolite pores relative to the liquid phase, while higher GVL concentrations in solution drive glucose inside the pores, resulting in up to a 32 enhancement in the local glucose concentration. Although their populations exchange rapidly, molecules present at the reactive interface experience a significantly different environment from the bulk solution.

STABILITY OF A CYLINDRICAL SOLUTE-SOLVENT INTERFACE: EFFECT OF GEOMETRY, ELECTROSTATICS, AND HYDRODYNAMICS.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, B O; Sun, Hui; Zhou, Shenggao

The solute-solvent interface that separates biological molecules from their surrounding aqueous solvent characterizes the conformation and dynamics of such molecules. In this work, we construct a solvent fluid dielectric boundary model for the solvation of charged molecules and apply it to study the stability of a model cylindrical solute-solvent interface. The motion of the solute-solvent interface is defined to be the same as that of solvent fluid at the interface. The solvent fluid is assumed to be incompressible and is described by the Stokes equation. The solute is modeled simply by the ideal-gas law. All the viscous force, hydrostatic pressure, solute-solvent van der Waals interaction, surface tension, and electrostatic force are balanced at the solute-solvent interface. We model the electrostatics by Poisson's equation in which the solute-solvent interface is treated as a dielectric boundary that separates the low-dielectric solute from the high-dielectric solvent. For a cylindrical geometry, we find multiple cylindrically shaped equilibrium interfaces that describe polymodal (e.g., dry and wet) states of hydration of an underlying molecular system. These steady-state solutions exhibit bifurcation behavior with respect to the charge density. For their linearized systems, we use the projection method to solve the fluid equation and find the dispersion relation. Our asymptotic analysis shows that, for large wavenumbers, the decay rate is proportional to wavenumber with the proportionality half of the ratio of surface tension to solvent viscosity, indicating that the solvent viscosity does affect the stability of a solute-solvent interface. Consequences of our analysis in the context of biomolecular interactions are discussed.

Hydroxyl and water molecule orientations in trypsin: Comparison to molecular dynamics structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDowell, R.S.; Kossiakoff, A.A. [Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA (United States)

1994-12-31

A comparison is presented of experimentally observed hydroxyl and water hydrogens in trypsin determined from neutron density maps with the results of a 140ps molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Experimental determination of hydrogen and deuterium atom positions in molecules as large as proteins is a unique capability of neutron diffraction. The comparison addresses the degree to which a standard force-field approach can adequately describe the local electrostatic and van der Waals forces that determine the orientations of these hydrogens. Neutron densities, derived from 2.1{Angstrom} D{sub 2}O-H{sub 2}O difference Fourier maps, provide a database of 27 well-ordered hydroxyl hydrogens. Most of the simulated hydroxyl orientations are within a standard deviation of the experimentally-observed positions, including several examples in which both the simulation and the neutron density indicate that a hydroxyl group is shifted from a {open_quote}standard{close_quote} rotamer. For the most highly ordered water molecules, the hydrogen distributions calculated from the trajectory were in good agreement with neutron density; simulated water molecules that displayed multiple hydrogen bonding networks had correspondingly broadened neutron density profiles. This comparison was facilitated by development of a method to construct a pseudo 2{Angstrom} density map based on the hydrogen atom distributions from the simulation. The degree of disorder of internal water molecules is shown to result primarily from the electrostatic environment surrounding that water molecule as opposed to the cavity size available to the molecule. A method is presented for comparing the discrete observations sampled in a dynamics trajectory with the time- averaged data obtained from X-ray or neutron diffraction studies. This method is particularly useful for statically-disordered water molecules, in which the average location assigned from a trajectory may represent a site of relatively low occupancy.

Density functional theory studies on the solvent effects in Al(H2O)63+ water-exchange reactions: the number and arrangement of outer-sphere water molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li; Zhang, Jing; Dong, Shaonan; Zhang, Fuping; Wang, Ye; Bi, Shuping

2018-03-07

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with cluster models are performed at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level for investigating the solvent effects in Al(H 2 O) 6 3+ water-exchange reactions. A "One-by-one" method is proposed to obtain the most representative number and arrangement of explicit H 2 Os in the second hydration sphere. First, all the possible ways to locate one explicit H 2 O in second sphere (N m ' = 1) based on the gas phase structure (N m ' = 0) are examined, and the optimal pathway (with the lowest energy barrier) for N m ' = 1 is determined. Next, more explicit H 2 Os are added one by one until the inner-sphere is fully hydrogen bonded. Finally, the optimal pathways with N m ' = 0-7 are obtained. The structural and energetic parameters as well as the lifetimes of the transition states are compared with the results obtained with the "Independent-minimum" method and the "Independent-average" method, and all three methods show that the pathway with N m ' = 6 may be representative. Our results give a new idea for finding the representative pathway for water-exchange reactions in other hydrated metal ion systems.

Hydrostatic pressure effect on PNIPAM cononsolvency in water-methanol solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pica, Andrea; Graziano, Giuseppe

2017-12-01

When methanol is added to water at room temperature and 1atm, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, undergoes a coil-to-globule collapse transition. This intriguing phenomenon is called cononsolvency. Spectroscopic measurements have shown that application of high hydrostatic pressure destroys PNIPAM cononsolvency in water-methanol solutions. We have developed a theoretical approach that identifies the decrease in solvent-excluded volume effect as the driving force of PNIPAM collapse on increasing the temperature. The same approach indicates that cononsolvency, at room temperature and P=1atm, is caused by the inability of PNIPAM to make all the attractive energetic interactions that it could be engaged in, due to competition between water and methanol molecules. The present analysis suggests that high hydrostatic pressure destroys cononsolvency because the coil state becomes more compact, and the quantity measuring PNIPAM-solvent attractions increases in magnitude due to the solution density increase, and the ability of small water molecules to substitute methanol molecules on PNIPAM surface. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solvent effect on the synthesis of clarithromycin: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Duran, Dilek; Aviyente, Viktorya; Baysal, Canan

2004-02-01

Clarithromycin (6- O-methylerythromycin A) is a 14-membered macrolide antibiotic which is active in vitro against clinically important gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The selectivity of the methylation of the C-6 OH group is studied on erythromycin A derivatives. To understand the effect of the solvent on the methylation process, detailed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed in pure DMSO, pure THF and DMSO:THF (1:1) mixture by using the anions at the C-6, C-11 and C-12 positions of 2',4''-[ O-bis(TMS)]erythromycin A 9-[ O-(dimethylthexylsilyl)oxime] under the assumption that the anions are stable on the sub-nanosecond time scale. The conformations of the anions are not affected by the presence of the solvent mixture. The radial distribution functions are computed for the distribution of different solvent molecules around the `O-' of the anions. At distances shorter than 5 Å, DMSO molecules are found to cluster around the C-11 anion, whereas the anion at the C-12 position is surrounded by the THF molecules. The anion at the C-6 position is not blocked by the solvent molecules. The results are consistent with the experimental finding that the methylation yield at the latter position is increased in the presence of a DMSO:THF (1:1) solvent mixture. Thus, the effect of the solvent in enhancing the yield during the synthesis is not by changing the conformational properties of the anions, but rather by creating a suitable environment for methylation at the C-6 position.

Transport of water molecules through noncylindrical pores in multilayer nanoporous graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahbabaei, Majid; Kim, Daejoong

2017-08-09

In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to examine the water transport properties through asymmetric hourglass-shaped pores in multilayer nanoporous graphene with a constant interlayer separation of 6 Å. The properties of the tested asymmetric hourglass-shaped pores [with the models having long cone (l 1 , -P) and short cone (l 2 , +P) entrances] are compared to a symmetric pore model. The study findings indicate that the water occupancy increases across the asymmetric pore (l 1 , -P) compared to (l 2 , +P), because of the length effect. The asymmetric pore, (l 1 , -P), yields higher flux compared to (l 2 , +P) and even the symmetric model, which can be attributed to the increase in the hydrogen bonds. In addition, the single-file water molecules across the narrowest pore diameter inside the (l 2 , +P) pore exhibit higher viscosity compared to those in the (l 1 , -P) pore because of the increase in the water layering effect. Moreover, it is found that the permeability inside the multilayer hourglass-shaped pore depends on the length of the flow path of the water molecules before approaching the layer with the smallest pore diameter. The probability of dipole orientation exhibits wider distribution inside the (l 1 , -P) system compared to (l 2 , +P), implying an enhanced formation of hydrogen bonding of water molecules. This results in the fast flow of water molecules. The MD trajectory shows that the dipole orientation across the single-layer graphene has frequently flipped compared to the dipole orientation across the pores in multilayer graphene, which is maintained during the whole simulation time (although the dipole orientation has flipped for a few picoseconds at the beginning of the simulation). This can be attributed to the energy barrier induced by the individual layer. The diffusion coefficient of water molecules inside the (l 2 , +P) system increases with pressure difference, however, it decreases inside the (l 1 , -P) system because

A Correlation between the Activity of Candida antarctica Lipase B and Differences in Binding Free Energies of Organic Solvent and Substrate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banik, Sindrila Dutta; Nordblad, Mathias; Woodley, John

2016-01-01

in an inhibitory effect which is also confirmed by the binding free energies for the solvent and substrate molecules estimated from the simulations. Consequently, the catalytic activity of CALB decreases in polar solvents. This effect is significant, and CALB is over 10 orders of magnitude more active in nonpolar...... of the enzyme may be ascribed to binding of solvent molecules to the enzyme active site region and the solvation energy of substrate molecules in the different solvents. Polar solvent molecules interact strongly with CALB and compete with the substrate to bind to the active site region, resulting...

Preferential solvation of single ions in mixed solvents: Part 1. New experimental approach and solvation of monovalent ions in methanol-water and acetonitrile-water mixture. Part 2. Theoretical computation and comparison with experimental data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rege, Aarti C.; Venkataramani, B.; Gupta, A.R.

1999-06-01

Preferential solvation of single ion solutions has been studied with Li + , Na + , K + and Ag +- forms of Dowex 50W resins of different cross-linkings in methanol-water and acetonitrile (AN)- water mixtures. The solvent uptake by this alkali metal ionic forms of Dowex 50W resins was studied in an isopiestic set-up using 2,4,6 and 8 m LiCl solutions in 11.0, 20.8, 44.3 and 70.2 % (w/w) methanol-water mixtures and that of Na +- and Ag +- forms using 14.6 to 94.3 % (w/w) AN - water mixtures. The solvent sorbed in the resin phase was extracted by Rayleigh-type distillation and analysed gas chromatographically. The data were analysed by the N s (mole fraction of the organic solvent in the resin phase) vs n t au (total solvent content in the resin phase) plots and separation factor, alpha(ratio of mole fraction of the solvents in the resin and solution phases) or N s vs m (molality in the resin phase) plots. The limiting values of these plots gave the composition of the solvent in the primary solvation shell around the single ion. The compositions of the primary solvation shell around Li + , Na + , and K + in methanol-water mixtures and Na + and Ag + in acetonitrile (AN) - water mixtures have been computed using Franks equation and the approach of Marcus and compared with the experimental results obtained with the above mentioned ionic forms of Dowex 50W resins in different mixed solvents. The experimental results for Li + showed good agreement with the values computed using Franks equation for all methanol-water composition. However, in the case of Na + and K + in methanol-water mixtures and Na + in AN-water mixtures, there was agreement only at lower organic solvent content and the Franks equation predicted higher values for the organic solvent in the primary solvation shell around the cation at higher organic solvent content as compared to experimental results

Shear-stress-induced structural arrangement of water molecules in nanoscale Couette flow with slipping at wall boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Jau-Wen

2014-01-01

This study investigated the structuring of water molecules in a nanoscale Couette flow with the upper plate subjected to lateral forces with various magnitudes and water slipping against a metal wall. It was found that when the upper plate is subjected to a force, the water body deforms into a parallelepiped. Water molecules in the channel are then gradually arranged into lattice positions, creating a layered structure. The structural arrangement of water molecules is caused by the water molecules accommodating themselves to the increase in energy under the application of a lateral force on the moving plate. The ordering arrangement of water molecules increases the rotational degree of freedom, allowing the molecules to increase their Coulomb potential energy through polar rotation that accounts for the energy input through the upper plate. With a force continuously applied to the upper plate, the water molecules in contact with the upper plate move forward until slip between the water and upper plate occurs. The relation between the structural arrangement of water molecules, slip at the wall, and the shear force is studied. The relation between the slip and the locking/unlocking of water molecules to metal atoms is also studied

Preferential solvation of ions in mixed solvents. 6: Univalent anions in aqueous organic solvents according to the inverse Kirkwood-Buff integral (IKBI) approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marcus, Yizhak [Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)], E-mail: ymarcus@vms.huji.ac.il

2007-10-15

The inverse Kirkwood-Buff integral (IKBI) approach is applied to the preferential solvation of F{sup -}, Cl{sup -}, Br{sup -}, I{sup -}, and ClO{sub 4}{sup -} in aqueous mixtures of the co-solvents (S) methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), t-butanol (t-BuOH), 1,2-ethanediol (EG), glycerol (Gly), acetone (Me{sub 2}CO), acetonitrile (MeCN), formamide (FA), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N,N',N',N'',N''-hexamethyl phosphoric triamide (HMPT), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), as far as the relevant data exist in the literature. Fluoride anions are selectively solvated by the water up to large mole fractions (x{sub S} {>=} 0.4) of S = EtOH, t-BuOH, Me{sub 2}CO, MeCN, and DMF, and up to lower contents (x{sub S} {approx} 0.1) of MeOH, EG, FA, and DMSO. The other anions are preferentially solvated by water to diminishing extent as their sizes become larger, and the largest ones show some preference for S in water-rich mixtures of MeOH and FA, whereas in aqueous Gly even chloride is preferentially solvated by the Gly. The competition between the co-solvent and the anion for the hydrogen bonds that water molecules donate is the main cause for the observed preferential solvation behaviour.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of a Flexible Polyethylene: A Protein-Like Behaviour in a Water Solvent

CERN Document Server

Kretov, D A

2005-01-01

We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the density and the temperature behaviour of a flexible polyethylene (PE) subjected to various heating conditions and to investigate the PE chain conformational changes in a water solvent. First, we have considered the influence of the heating process on the final state of the polymeric system and the sensitivity of its thermodynamic characteristics (density, energy, etc.) for different heating regimes. For this purpose three different simulations were performed: fast, moderate, and slow heating. Second, we have investigated the PE chain conformational dynamics in water solvent for various simulation conditions and various configurations of the environment. From the obtained results we have got the pictures of the PE dynamical motions in water. We have observed a protein-like behaviour of the PE chain, like that of the DNA and the proteins in water, and have also estimated the rates of the conformational changes. For the MD simulations we used the optimized...

On the nature of hydrogen bonding between the phosphatidylcholine head group and water and dimethylsulfoxide

Science.gov (United States)

Dabkowska, Aleksandra P.; Lawrence, M. Jayne; McLain, Sylvia E.; Lorenz, Christian D.

2013-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to provide a detailed investigation of the hydrogen bond networks around the phosphatidylcholine (PC) head group in 1,2-dipropionyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in pure water, 10 mol.% and 30 mol.% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-water solutions. Specifically, it is observed that DMSO replaces those water molecules that are within the first solvation shell of the choline, phosphate and ester groups of the PC head group, but are not hydrogen-bonded to the group. The effect of the presence of DMSO on the hydrogen bond network around the PC head groups of the lipid changes with the concentration of DMSO. In comparison to the hydrogen bond network observed in the pure water system, the number of hydrogen-bonded chains of solvent molecules increases slightly for the 10 mol.% DMSO system, while, in the 30 mol.% DMSO system, the number of hydrogen-bonded chains of solvent molecules decreases.

Solvent Exchange Rates of Side-chain Amide Protons in Proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajagopal, Ponni; Jones, Bryan E.; Klevit, Rachel E.

1998-01-01

Solvent exchange rates and temperature coefficients for Asn/Gln side-chain amide protons have been measured in Escherichia coli HPr. The protons of the eight side-chain amide groups (two Asn and six Gln) exhibit varying exchange rates which are slower than some of the fast exchanging backbone amide protons. Differences in exchange rates of the E and Z protons of the same side-chain amide group are obtained by measuring exchange rates at pH values > 8. An NOE between a side-chain amide proton and a bound water molecule was also observed

Analysis of recovered solvents from coal liquefaction in a flowing-solvent reactor by SEC and UV-fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, W.Y.; Feng, J.; Xie, K.C.; Kandiyoti, R. [Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan (China)

2005-08-01

Point of Ayr coal has been extracted using three solvents: tetralin, quinoline and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP); at two temperatures: 350 {sup o}C and 450{sup o}C, corresponding approximately to before and after the onset of massive covalent bond scission by pyrolysis. These solvents differ in solvent power and the ability to donate hydrogen atoms to stabilize free radicals produced by pyrolysis of the coal. Analysis of the fresh solvents and recovered solvents from coal liquefaction was achieved by size exclusion chromatography and UV-fluorescence spectroscopy. In the blank run, it was testified that the filling material sand and the steel powder did not react with solvent with increasing reaction temperature. The role of hydrogen donation in the tetralin extracts was to increase the proportion of large molecules with increasing extraction temperature. Quinoline and NMP both have the powerful extracting capability to get more materials out of coal with increasing extraction temperature.

Analysis of recovered solvents from coal liquefaction in a flowing-solvent reactor by SEC and UV-fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wen-Ying Li; Jie Feng; Ke-Chang Xie; R. Kandiyoti [Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan (China). Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology for Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province

2005-08-01

Point of Ayr coal has been extracted using three solvents: tetralin, quinoline and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP); at two temperatures: 350{sup o}C and 450{sup o}C, corresponding approximately to before and after the onset of massive covalent bond scission by pyrolysis. These solvents differ in solvent power and the ability to donate hydrogen atoms to stabilize free radicals produced by pyrolysis of the coal. Analysis of the fresh solvents and recovered solvents from coal liquefaction was achieved by size exclusion chromatography and UV-fluorescence spectroscopy. In the blank run, it was testified that the filling material sand and the steel powder did not react with solvent with increasing reaction temperature. The role of hydrogen donation in the tetralin extracts was to increase the proportion of large molecules with increasing extraction temperature. Quinoline and NMP both have the powerful extracting capability to get more materials out of coal with increasing extraction temperature.

Direct and solvent-assisted thione–thiol tautomerism in 5-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2(3H)-thione: Experimental and molecular modeling study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burcu Arslan, N. [Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, Giresun University, 28100 Giresun (Turkey); Özdemir, Namık, E-mail: namiko@omu.edu.tr [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55139 Samsun (Turkey); Dayan, Osman, E-mail: osmandayan@comu.edu.tr [Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Molecular Catalysis, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Çanakkale (Turkey); Dege, Necmi [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55139 Samsun (Turkey); Koparır, Metin [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Fırat University, 23169 Elazığ (Turkey); Koparır, Pelin [Department of Chemistry, Forensic Medicine Institute, 44000 Malatya (Turkey); Muğlu, Halit [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kastamonu University, 37200 Kastamonu (Turkey)

2014-08-17

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The molecule exists in the thione form in the solid state. • FT-IR and NMR data support the thione form. • The anti-thione conformer has the lowest energy. • The barrier height increases with increasing polarity of the solvent. • Multiple methanol or water-assisted thione–thiol tautomerism may happen. - Abstract: The compound has been synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR and X-ray diffraction. Quantum chemical calculations at B3LYP/6−311++G(d,p) level were performed to study the molecular and spectroscopic properties, conformational equilibrium, thione ↔ thiol tautomerism and intermolecular double proton transfer reaction of the compound. The obtained structural and spectroscopic results are well in agreement with the experimental data. The solvent effect on the proton transfer reaction was investigated in three solvents using the polarizable continuum model approximation and solvent-assisted mechanism. The anti-thione tautomer is the most stable isomer among the four possible structural forms both in the gas phase and in solution phase. A high tautomeric energy barrier is found for the tautomerism between the anti and syn forms of the compound, indicating a quite disfavored process. Although the presence of one methanol or water solvent molecule significantly lowers the energy barrier, it is not adequate for the reaction to occur.

Communication: Potentials of mean force study of ionic liquid ion pair aggregation in polar covalent molecule solvents

Science.gov (United States)

Bandlamudi, Santosh Rathan Paul; Benjamin, Kenneth M.

2018-05-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted for 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate [EMIM][MeSO4] dissolved in six polar covalent molecules [acetic acid, acetone, chloroform, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), isopropyl alcohol, and methanol] to understand the free energies of ionic liquid (IL) ion pairing/aggregation in the limit of infinite dilution. Free energy landscapes or potentials of mean force (PMF) were computed using umbrella sampling and the weighted histogram analysis method. The PMF studies showed the strongest IL ion pairing in chloroform, and the strength of IL ion pairing decreases in the order of chloroform, acetone, propanol, acetic acid, DMSO, and methanol. In the limit of infinite dilution, the free energy curves for IL ion aggregation in co-solvents were characterized by two distinct minima [global (˜3.6 Å) and local (˜5.7 Å)], while free energy values at these minima differed significantly for IL in each co-solvent. The PMF studies were extended for determining the free energy of IL ion aggregation as a function of concentration of methanol. Studies showed that as the concentration of methanol increased, the free energy of ion aggregation decreased, suggesting greater ion pair stability, in agreement with previously reported MD clustering and radial distribution function data.

Minimization of spin-lattice relaxation time with highly viscous solvents for acquisition of natural abundance nitrogen-15 and silicon-29 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bammel, B.P.; Evilia, R.F.

1982-01-01

The use of high viscosity solution conditions to decrease T 1 of 15 N and 29 Si nuclei so that natural abundance NMR spectra can be acquired in reasonable times is illustrated. Significant T 1 decreases with negligible increases in peak width are observed. No spectral shifts are observed in any of the cases studied. Highly viscous solutions are produced by using glycerol as a solvent for water-soluble molecules and a mixed solvent consisting of toluene saturated with polystyrene for organic-soluble molecules. The microviscosity in the latter solvent is found to be much less than the observed macroviscosity. Hydrogen bonding of glycerol to the NH 2 of 2-aminopyridine results in a greater than predicted decrease in T 1 for this nitrogen. The technique appears to be a useful alternative to paramagnetic relaxation reagents

40 CFR 148.10 - Waste specific prohibitions-solvent wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... injection unless the solvent waste is a solvent-water mixture or solvent-containing sludge containing less... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Waste specific prohibitions-solvent wastes. 148.10 Section 148.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER...

Functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes as template for water storage device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paul, Sanjib; Taraphder, Srabani, E-mail: srabani@chem.iitkgp.ernet.in

2016-11-10

Single walled carbon nanotubes, endohedrally functionalized with a protonated/unprotonated carboxylic acid group, are examined as potential templates for water storage using classical molecular dynamics simulation studies. Following a spontaneous entry of water molecules into the core of model functionalized carbon nanotubes (FCNTs), a large fraction of water molecules are found to be trapped inside FCNTs of lengths 50 and 100 Å. Only water molecules near the two open ends of the nanotube are exchanged with the bulk solvent. The residence times of water molecules inside FCNTs are investigated by varying the length of the tube, the length of suspended functional group and the protonation state of the carboxylic acid group. Favorable energetic interactions between the functional group and water, assisted by a substantial gain in rotational entropy, are found to compensate for the entropy loss resulting from restricted translational diffusion of trapped water molecules.

Exploring the conserved water site and hydration of a coiled-coil trimerisation motif: a MD simulation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolenc, Jozica; Baron, Riccardo; Missimer, John H; Steinmetz, Michel O; van Gunsteren, Wilfred F

2008-07-21

The solvent structure and dynamics around ccbeta-p, a 17-residue peptide that forms a parallel three-stranded alpha-helical coiled coil in solution, was analysed through 10 ns explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 278 and 330 K. Comparison with two corresponding simulations of the monomeric form of ccbeta-p was used to investigate the changes of hydration upon coiled-coil formation. Pronounced peaks in the solvent density distribution between residues Arg8 and Glu13 of neighbouring helices show the presence of water bridges between the helices of the ccbeta-p trimer; this is in agreement with the water sites observed in X-ray crystallography experiments. Interestingly, this water site is structurally conserved in many three-stranded coiled coils and, together with the Arg and Glu residues, forms part of a motif that determines three-stranded coiled-coil formation. Our findings show that little direct correlation exists between the solvent density distribution and the temporal ordering of water around the trimeric coiled coil. The MD-calculated effective residence times of up to 40 ps show rapid exchange of surface water molecules with the bulk phase, and indicate that the solvent distribution around biomolecules requires interpretation in terms of continuous density distributions rather than in terms of discrete molecules of water. Together, our study contributes to understanding the principles of three-stranded coiled-coil formation.

Influence of orientation averaging on the anisotropy of thermal neutrons scattering on water molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovic, M. I.; Radunovic, J. B.

1976-01-01

Determination of spatial distribution of neutron flux in water, most frequently used moderator in thermal reactors, demands microscopic scattering kernels dependence on cosine of thermal neutrons scattering angle when solving the Boltzmann equation. Since spatial orientation of water molecules influences this dependence it is necessary to perform orientation averaging or rotation-vibrational intermediate scattering function for water molecules. The calculations described in this paper and the obtained results showed that methods of orientation averaging do not influence the anisotropy of thermal neutrons scattering on water molecules, but do influence the inelastic scattering

Effect of operating conditions on direct liquefaction of low-lipid microalgae in ethanol-water co-solvent for bio-oil production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Changhao; He, Zhixia; Wang, Qian; Xu, Guisheng; Wang, Shuang; Xu, Zhixiang; Ji, Hengsong

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Low-lipid microalgae was selected as feedstock for DL in ethanol-water co-solvent. • Operating conditions had great influence on product yields and conversion rate. • Bio-oil could be obtained from all three main components. • Ethanol and water showed obviously synergistic effect during the DL of microalgae. • Bio-oil composition from DL of microalgae was different from lignocellulose biomass. - Abstract: In this work, the direct liquefaction (DL) of low-lipid microalgae Spirulina was investigated in a 50 ml autoclave reactor with ethanol and water as co-solvent. The objective of this research was carried out to examine the effect of operating conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction time, solvent/microalgae (S/M) ratio and ethanol-water co-solvent (EWCS) composition on product distribution and bio-oil characterization. The results revealed that the optimal operating conditions for bio-oil yield and conversion rate were reaction temperature of 300 °C, reaction time of 45 min, ethanol content of 50 vol.% and S/M ratio of 40/4 ml/g, which gave the bio-oil yield of 59.5% and conversion rate of 94.73%. Conversion rate in EWCS was significantly higher than that in pure water or ethanol, suggesting the synergistic effect between ethanol and water during microalgae DL. Distinct difference in composition and relative content of compound among bio-oils in different solvents were observed by GC–MS and FT-IR. Compared with hydrothermal liquefaction, the most abundant compounds in bio-oil from both EWCS and pure ethanol were esters. The presence of ethanol could enhance the bio-oil yield and improve bio-oil quality by promoting the formation of esters.

The Importance of Water for High Fidelity Information Processing and for Life

Science.gov (United States)

Hoehler, Tori M.; Pohorille, Andrew

2011-01-01

Is water an absolute prerequisite for life? Life depends on a variety of non-covalent interactions among molecules, the nature of which is determined as much by the solvent in which they occur as by the molecules themselves. Catalysis and information processing, two essential functions of life, require non-covalent molecular recognition with very high specificity. For example, to correctly reproduce a string consisting of 600,000 units of information (e.g ., 600 kilobases, equivalent to the genome of the smallest free living terrestrial organisms) with a 90% success rate requires specificity > 107 : 1 for the target molecule vs. incorrect alternatives. Such specificity requires (i) that the correct molecular association is energetically stabilized by at least 40 kJ/mol relative to alternatives, and (ii) that the system is able to sample among possible states (alternative molecular associations) rapidly enough to allow the system to fall under thermodynamic control and express the energetic stabilization. We argue that electrostatic interactions are required to confer the necessary energetic stabilization vs. a large library of molecular alternatives, and that a solvent with polarity and dielectric properties comparable to water is required for the system to sample among possible states and express thermodynamic control. Electrostatic associations can be made in non-polar solvents, but the resulting complexes are too stable to be "unmade" with sufficient frequency to confer thermodynamic control on the system. An electrostatic molecular complex representing 3 units of information (e.g., 3 base pairs) with specificity > 107 per unit has a stability in non-polar solvent comparable to that of a carbon-carbon bond at room temperature. These considerations suggest that water, or a solvent with properties very like water, is necessary to support high-fidelity information processing, and can therefore be considered a critical prerequisite for life.

Structural and energetic properties of La3+ in water/DMSO mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Montagna, Maria; Spezia, Riccardo; Bodo, Enrico

2017-11-01

By using molecular dynamics based on a custom polarizable force field, we have studied the solvation of La3+ in an equimolar mixture of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) with water. An extended structural analysis has been performed to provide a complete picture of the physical properties at the basis of the interaction of La3+ with both solvents. Through our simulations we found that, very likely, the first solvation shell in the mixture is not unlike the one found in pure water or pure DMSO and contains 9 solvent molecules. We have also found that the solvation is preferentially due to DMSO molecules with the water initially present in first shell quickly leaving to the bulk. The dehydration process of the first shell has been analyzed by both plain MD simulations and a constrained dynamics approach; the free energy profiles for the extraction of water from first shell have also been computed.

Adaptive Resolution Simulation of MARTINI Solvents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zavadlav, Julija; Melo, Manuel N.; Cunha, Ana V.; de Vries, Alex H.; Marrink, Siewert J.; Praprotnik, Matej

We present adaptive resolution dynamics simulations of aqueous and apolar solvents coarse-grained molecular models that are compatible with the MARTINI force field. As representatives of both classes solvents we have chosen liquid water and butane, respectively, at ambient temperature. The solvent

Enhanced Furfural Yields from Xylose Dehydration in the gamma-Valerolactone/Water Solvent System at Elevated Temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Sener, Canan; Motagamwala, Ali Hussain; Alonso, David Martin; Dumesic, James

2018-05-18

High yields of furfural (>90%) were achieved from xylose dehydration in a sustainable solvent system composed of -valerolactone (GVL), a biomass derived solvent, and water. It is identified that high reaction temperatures (e.g., 498 K) are required to achieve high furfural yield. Additionally, it is shown that the furfural yield at these temperatures is independent of the initial xylose concentration, and high furfural yield is obtained for industrially relevant xylose concentrations (10 wt%). A reaction kinetics model is developed to describe the experimental data obtained with solvent system composed of 80 wt% GVL and 20 wt% water across the range of reaction conditions studied (473 - 523 K, 1-10 mM acid catalyst, 66 - 660 mM xylose concentration). The kinetic model demonstrates that furfural loss due to bimolecular condensation of xylose and furfural is minimized at elevated temperature, whereas carbon loss due to xylose degradation increases with increasing temperature. Accordingly, the optimal temperature range for xylose dehydration to furfural in the GVL/H2O solvent system is identified to be from 480 to 500 K. Under these reaction conditions, furfural yield of 93% is achieved at 97% xylan conversion from lignocellulosic biomass (maple wood). © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Unexpected solvent effects on the UV/Vis absorption spectra of o-cresol in toluene and benzene: in contrast with non-aromatic solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Dong; Yuan, Xiang-Ai; Ma, Haibo; Li, Xiaoxiong; Wang, Xizhang; Liu, Ziteng; Ma, Jing

2018-03-01

Cresol is a prototype molecule in understanding intermolecular interactions in material and biological systems, because it offers different binding sites with various solvents and protonation states under different pH values. It is found that the UV/Vis absorption spectra of o -cresol in aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene) are characterized by a sharp peak, unlike the broad double-peaks in 11 non-aromatic solvents. Both molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations revealed the formation of intermolecular π-complexation between o -cresol and aromatic solvents. The thermal movements of solvent and solute molecules render the conformations of o -cresol changing between trans and cis isomers. The π-interaction makes the cis configuration a dominant isomer, hence leading to the single keen-edged UV/Vis absorption peak at approximately 283 nm. The free conformation changes between trans and cis in aqueous solution rationalize the broader absorption peaks in the range of 260-280 nm. The pH dependence of the UV/Vis absorption spectra in aqueous solutions is also rationalized by different protonation states of o -cresol. The explicit solvent model with long-ranged interactions is vital to describe the effects of π-complexation and electrostatic interaction on the UV/Vis absorption spectra of o -cresol in toluene and alkaline aqueous (pH > 10.3) solutions, respectively.

A computer-aided molecular design framework for crystallization solvent design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karunanithi, Arunprakash T.; Achenie, Luke E.K.; Gani, Rafiqul

2006-01-01

One of the key decisions in designing solution crystallization processes is the selection of solvents. In this paper, we present a computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) framework for the design and selection of solvents and/or anti-solvents for solution crystallization. The CAMD problem is formu......One of the key decisions in designing solution crystallization processes is the selection of solvents. In this paper, we present a computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) framework for the design and selection of solvents and/or anti-solvents for solution crystallization. The CAMD problem...... solvent molecules. Solvent design and selection for two types of solution crystallization processes namely cooling crystallization and drowning out crystallization are presented. In the first case study, the design of single compound solvent for crystallization of ibuprofen, which is an important...

Rapid determination of benzene derivatives in water samples by trace volume solvent DLLME prior to GC-FID

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diao, Chun Peng; Wei, Chao Hai; Feng, Chun Hua [South China Univ. of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (China). College of Environmental Science and Engineering; Guangdong Regular Higher Education Institutions, Guangzhou (China). Key Lab. of Environmental Protection and Eco-Remediation

2012-05-15

An inexpensive, simple and environmentally friendly method based on dispersive liquid liquid microextraction (DLLME) for rapid determination of benzene derivatives in water samples was proposed. A significant improvement of DLLME procedure was achieved. Trace volume ethyl acetate (60 {mu}L) was exploited as dispersion solvent instead of common ones such as methanol and acetone, the volume of which was more than 0.5 mL, and the organic solvent required in DLLME was reduced to a great extent. Only 83-{mu}L organic solvent was consumed in the whole analytic process and the preconcentration procedure was less than 10 min. The advantageous approach coupled with gas chromatograph-flame ionization detector was proposed for the rapid determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers in water samples. Results showed that the proposed approach was an efficient method for rapid determination of benzene derivatives in aqueous samples. (orig.)

Ionization and thermodynamic constants of 6-methylquinoline by potentiometry in aqueous and mixed organic-water solvent systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafiz, A; Indhar, B.; Khanzada, A.W.K.

2000-01-01

The ionization constant pKa and Gibbs's free energy DG of 6-methylquinoline are determined in aqueous solution at different temperatures and in three mixed organic-water solvent systems at 25 deg. C. It is observed that dissociation constant of 6-methylquinoline in aqueous system decreases with the increase of temperature. The curve is a parabolic. It is noted that pKa values of this compound are higher than those of quinoline and 8-methylquinoline. In case of mixed organic-water solvent systems, the influence of these solvents on the ionization equilibria of NH/sub 2/ group has been observed. The pK M/A and pK T/A values versus percent composition decrease gradually with increase in percent of organic solvents The curve of the pK/sub a/ versus percent composition is a distorted parabola. The data have been obtained potentiometrically by titrating 6-methylquinoline solutions with HCl. The values of dissociation constant were obtained from these data by a computer program written in GW-BASIC. From pKa values Gibbs's free energies DG for the respective pKa values have also been calculated. (author)

Investigation of the Hydantoin Monomer and its Interaction with Water Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Gruet, Sébastien; Perez, Cristobal; Schnell, Melanie

2017-06-01

Hydantoin (Imidazolidine-2,4-dione, C_3H_4N_2O_2) is a five-membered heterocyclic compound of astrobiological interest. This molecule has been detected in carbonaceous chondrites [1], and its formation can rise from the presence of glycolic acid and urea, two prebiotic molecules [2]. The hydrolysis of hydantoin under acidic conditions can also produce glycine [3], an amino acid actively searched for in the interstellar medium. Spectroscopic data of hydantoin is very limited and mostly dedicated to the solid phase. The high resolution study in gas phase is restricted to the work recently published by Ozeki et al. reporting the pure rotational spectra of the ground state and two vibrational states of the molecule in the millimeter-wave region (90-370 GHz)[4]. Using chirped-pulse Fourier-transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy, we recorded the jet-cooled rotational spectra of hydantoin with water between 2 to 8 GHz. We observed the ground state of hydantoin monomer and several water complexes with one or two water molecules. All the observed species exhibit a hyperfine structure due to the two nitrogen atoms present in the molecule, which were fully resolved and analyzed. Additional experiments with a ^{18}O enriched water sample were realized to determine the oxygen-atom positions of the water monomers. These experiments yielded accurate structural information on the preferred water binding sites. The observed complexes and the interactions that hold them together, mainly strong directional hydrogen bonds, will be presented and discussed. [1] Shimoyama, A. and Ogasawara, R., Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., 32, 165-179, 2002. DOI:10.1023/A:1016015319112. [2] Menor-Salván, C. and Marín-Yaseli, M.R., Chem. Soc. Rev., 41(16), 5404-5415, 2012. DOI:10.1039/c2cs35060b. [3] De Marcellus P., Bertrand M., Nuevo M., Westall F. and Le Sergeant d'Hendecourt L., Astrobiology. 11(9), 847-854, 2011. DOI:10.1089/ast.2011.0677. [4] Ozeki, H., Miyahara R., Ihara H., Todaka S., Kobayashi

Selective nonspecific solvation under dielectric saturation and fluorescence spectra of dye solutions in binary solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhshiev, N G; Kiselev, M B

1991-09-01

The influence of selective nonspecific solvation on the fluorescence spectra of three substitutedN-methylphthalimides in a binary solvent system consisting of a nonpolar (n-heptane) and a polar (pyridine) component has been studied under conditions close to dielectric saturation. The substantially nonlinearity of the effect is confirmation that the spectral shifts of fluorescence bands depend on the number of polar solvent molecules involved in solvating the dye molecule. The measured fluorescence spectral shifts determined by substituting one nonpolar solvent molecula with a polar one in the proximity of the dye molecule agree quantitatively with the forecasts of the previously proposed semiempirical theory which describes this nonlinear solvation phenomenon.

Luminescence study on solvation of americium(III), curium(III) and several lanthanide(III) ions in nonaqueous and binary mixed solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, T.; Nagaishi, R.; Kato, Y.; Yoshida, Z.

2001-01-01

The luminescence lifetimes of An(III) and Ln(III) ions [An=Am and Cm; Ln=Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb and Dy] were measured in dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO), N,N-dimethylformamide(DMF), methanol(MeOH), water and their perdeuterated solvents. Nonradiative decay rates of the ions were in the order of H 2 O > MeOH > DMF > DMSO, indicating that O-H vibration is more effective quencher than C-H, C=O, and S=O vibrations in the solvent molecules. Maximal lifetime ratios τ D /τ H were observed for Eu(III) in H 2 O, for Sm(III) in MeOH and DMF, and for Sm(III) and Dy(III) in DMSO. The solvent composition in the first coordination sphere of Cm(III) and Ln(III) in binary mixed solvents was also studied by measuring the luminescence lifetime. Cm(III) and Ln(III) were preferentially solvated by DMSO in DMSO-H 2 O, by DMF in DMF-H 2 O, and by H 2 O in MeOH-H 2 O over the whole range of the solvent composition. The order of the preferential solvation, i.e., DMSO > DMF > H 2 O > MeOH, correlates with the relative basicity of these solvents. The Gibbs free energy of transfer of ions from water to nonaqueous solvents was further estimated from the degree of the preferential solvation. (orig.)

Molecular dynamics simulations of lysozyme in water/sugar solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lerbret, A. [Department of Food Science, Cornell University, 101 Stocking Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Affouard, F. [Laboratoire de Dynamique et Structure des Materiaux Moleculaires, UMR CNRS 8024, Universite Lille I, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)], E-mail: frederic.affouard@univ-lille1.fr; Bordat, P. [Laboratoire de Chimie Theorique et de Physico-Chimie Moleculaire, UMR 5624, Universite de Pau et des Pays de l' Adour, 64000 Pau (France); Hedoux, A.; Guinet, Y.; Descamps, M. [Laboratoire de Dynamique et Structure des Materiaux Moleculaires, UMR CNRS 8024, Universite Lille I, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)

2008-04-18

Structural and dynamical properties of the solvent at the protein/solvent interface have been investigated by molecular dynamics simulations of lysozyme in trehalose, maltose and sucrose solutions. Results are discussed in the framework of the bioprotection phenomena. The analysis of the relative concentration of water oxygen atoms around lysozyme suggests that lysozyme is preferentially hydrated. When comparing the three sugars, trehalose is seen more excluded than maltose and sucrose. The preferential exclusion of sugars from the protein surface induces some differences in the behavior of trehalose and maltose, particularly at 50 and 60 wt% concentrations, that are not observed experimentally in binary sugar/mixtures. The dynamical slowing down of the solvent is suggested to mainly arise from the homogeneity of the water/sugar matrices controlled by the percolation of the sugar hydrogen bonds networks. Furthermore, lysozyme strongly increases relaxation times of solvent molecules at the protein/solvent interface.

Structural transition of a homopolymer in solvents mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guettari, Moez; Aschi, Adel; Gomati, Riadh; Gharbi, Abdelhafidh

2008-01-01

The present work is aimed at studying the thermodynamic behaviour of a polymer in solvents mixture. Dynamic light scattering is used to measure the hydrodynamic radius of polyvinylpyrrolidone (M w = 360,000 g/mol), in water/methanol solvents mixture, versus the mixed solvents composition at 25 deg. C. Then, we show that the polymer conformation adopts the Coil-Globule-Coil structure when the methanol molar fraction X A is varied. This transition is attributed to solvent quality change which result from water and methanol complex formation. The polymer contraction rate calculated for each composition takes its maximum value at X A = 0.17. Hildebrand theory assuming the solvents mixture as an equivalent solvent was used to analyze the change in mixed solvents quality. These changes can be attributed to dispersive forces in solvents mixture

Solution thermodynamics of creatine monohydrate in binary (water + ethanol) solvent systems at T = (278.15 to 328.15) K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Liangcheng; Wei, Lihua; Si, Tao; Guo, Huai; Yang, Chunhui

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The solubilities of creatine monohydrate in (ethanol + water) mixtures were investigated. • The solubility data were well correlated by Jouyban–Acree model. • Solution thermodynamic properties were calculated. • The dissolving process of creatine monohydrate in was endothermic and entropy-driven. - Abstract: In order to optimize the crystallization process of creatine monohydrate, the solubility of creatine monohydrate in the binary (water + ethanol) mixture was measured at temperatures ranging from 278.15 K to 328.15 K using the laser monitoring technique. The solubility increased with both the temperature and the mole fraction of water in the solvent mixture. The experimental solubility was well correlated by the Jouyban–Acree model, which generated a sensitive solubility surface for creatine monohydrate. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters of this dissolution process were also estimated. The results showed that the dissolution process of creatine monohydrate in each solvent mixture was endothermic and entropy-driven, and that the dissolution of creatine monohydrate became much easier when the mole fraction of water in the solvent mixture increased.

Femtosecond spectroscopic study of the solvation of amphiphilic molecules by water

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rezus, Y.L.A.; Bakker, H.J.

2008-01-01

We use polarization-resolved mid-infrared pump-probe spectroscopy to study the aqueous solvation of proline and N-methylacetamide. These molecules serve as models to study the solvation of proteins. We monitor the orientational dynamics of partly deuterated water molecules (HDO) that are present at

Solvent Clathrate Driven Dynamic Stereomutation of a Supramolecular Polymer with Molecular Pockets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Chidambar; Korevaar, Peter A; Bejagam, Karteek K; Palmans, Anja R A; Meijer, E W; George, Subi J

2017-10-04

Control over the helical organization of synthetic supramolecular systems is intensively pursued to manifest chirality in a wide range of applications ranging from electron spin filters to artificial enzymes. Typically, switching the helicity of supramolecular assemblies involves external stimuli or kinetic traps. However, efforts to achieve helix reversal under thermodynamic control and to understand the phenomena at a molecular level are scarce. Here we present a unique example of helix reversal (stereomutation) under thermodynamic control in the self-assembly of a coronene bisimide that has a 3,5-dialkoxy substitution on the imide phenyl groups (CBI-35CH), leading to "molecular pockets" in the assembly. The stereomutation was observed only if the CBI monomer possesses molecular pockets. Detailed chiroptical studies performed in alkane solvents with different molecular structures reveal that solvent molecules intercalate or form clathrates within the molecular pockets of CBI-35CH at low temperature (263 K), thereby triggering the stereomutation. The interplay among the helical assembly, molecular pockets, and solvent molecules is further unraveled by explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations. Our results demonstrate how the molecular design of self-assembling building blocks can orchestrate the organization of surrounding solvent molecules, which in turn dictates the helical organization of the resulting supramolecular assembly.

Permeability of commercial solvents through living human skin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ursin, C; Hansen, C M; Van Dyk, J W

1995-01-01

A procedure has been developed for measuring the steady state rate of permeation of commercial solvents through living human skin. To get the most consistent results, it was necessary with some solvents to normalize the solvent permeation rate of a given skin sample with its [3H]water permeation...... rate. For other solvents this was not necessary, so the un-normalized data were used. High [3H]water permeation rate also was used as a criterion for "defective" skin samples that gave erroneous permeability rates, especially for solvents having slow permeability. The linearity of the steady state data...... was characterized by calculation of the "percent error of the slope." The following permeability rates (g/m2h) of single solvents were measured: dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 176; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 171; dimethyl acetamide, 107; methyl ethyl ketone, 53; methylene chloride, 24; [3H]water, 14.8; ethanol, 11...

Application of non-aqueous solvents to batteries. I Physicochemical properties of propionitrile/water two-phase solvent relevant to zinc-bromine batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, P.; White, K.; Parker, A. J.

1983-11-01

The properties of bromine/propionitrile solution are investigated with a view to its use as an electrolyte in zinc-bromine batteries which use circulating electrolyte. The solution, which forms a two-phase system with water, has higher conductivity than the oils formed by complexation of bromine with organic salts such as N,N-methoxymethyl methylpiperidinium bromide and N,N-ethyl methylmorpholinium bromide. The activity of bromine in the aqueous phase of the bromine-propionitrile/water, two-phase system is very low; thus, coulombic efficiencies greater than 85 percent are achieved. Zinc-bromine batteries containing this solvent system show good charge/discharge characteristics.

NMR studies of liquid crystals and molecules dissolved in liquid crystal solvents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drobny, Gary Peter [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1982-11-01

This thesis describes several studies in which nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectroscopy has been used to probe the structure, orientation and dynamics of liquid crystal mesogens and molecules dissolved in liquid crystalline phases. In addition, a modern high field nmr spectrometer is described which has been used to perform such nmr studies. Chapter 1 introduces the quantum mechanical formalisms used throughout this thesis and briefly reviews the fundamentals of nuclear spin physics and pulsed nmr spectroscopy. First the density operator is described and a specific form for the canonical ensemble is derived. Then Clebsch-Gordon coefficients, Wigner rotation matrices, and irreducible tensor operators are reviewed. An expression for the equilibrium (Curie) magnetization is obtained and the linear response of a spin system to a strong pulsed r.f. irradiation is described. Finally, the spin interaction Hamiltonians relevant to this work are reviewed together with their truncated forms. Chapter 2 is a deuterium magnetic resonance study of two 'nom' liquid crystals which possess several low temperature mesomorphic phases. Specifically, deuterium quadrupolar echo spectroscopy is used to determine the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in smectic phases, the changes in molecular orientation and motion that occur at smectic-smectic phase transitions, and the order of the phase transitions. For both compounds, the phase sequence is determined to be isotropic, nematic, smectic A, smectic C, smectic B_A, smectic B_C, and crystalline. The structure of the smectic A phase is found to be consistent with the well-known model of a two dimensional liquid in which molecules are rapidly rotating about their long axes and oriented at right angles to the plane of the layers. Molecules in the smectic C phase are found to have their long axes tilted with respect to the layer normal, and the tilt angle is temperature dependent, increasing from

Interacting with the biomolecular solvent accessible surface via a haptic feedback device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayward Steven

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background From the 1950s computer based renderings of molecules have been produced to aid researchers in their understanding of biomolecular structure and function. A major consideration for any molecular graphics software is the ability to visualise the three dimensional structure of the molecule. Traditionally, this was accomplished via stereoscopic pairs of images and later realised with three dimensional display technologies. Using a haptic feedback device in combination with molecular graphics has the potential to enhance three dimensional visualisation. Although haptic feedback devices have been used to feel the interaction forces during molecular docking they have not been used explicitly as an aid to visualisation. Results A haptic rendering application for biomolecular visualisation has been developed that allows the user to gain three-dimensional awareness of the shape of a biomolecule. By using a water molecule as the probe, modelled as an oxygen atom having hard-sphere interactions with the biomolecule, the process of exploration has the further benefit of being able to determine regions on the molecular surface that are accessible to the solvent. This gives insight into how awkward it is for a water molecule to gain access to or escape from channels and cavities, indicating possible entropic bottlenecks. In the case of liver alcohol dehydrogenase bound to the inhibitor SAD, it was found that there is a channel just wide enough for a single water molecule to pass through. Placing the probe coincident with crystallographic water molecules suggests that they are sometimes located within small pockets that provide a sterically stable environment irrespective of hydrogen bonding considerations. Conclusion By using the software, named HaptiMol ISAS (available from http://www.haptimol.co.uk, one can explore the accessible surface of biomolecules using a three-dimensional input device to gain insights into the shape and water

Hydrothermal synthesis of nickel hydroxide nanostructures in mixed solvents of water and alcohol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Lixia; Zhu Yingjie; Tong Hua; Liang Zhenhua; Li Liang; Zhang Ling

2007-01-01

Nickel hydroxide nanosheets and flowers have been hydrothermally synthesized using Ni(CH 3 COO) 2 .4H 2 O in mixed solvents of ethylene glycol (EG) or ethanol and deionized water at 200 deg. C for different time. The phase and morphology of the obtained products can be controlled by adjusting the experimental parameters, including the hydrothermal time and the volume ratio of water to EG or ethanol. The possible reaction mechanism and growth of the nanosheets and nanoflowers are discussed based on the experimental results. Porous nickel oxide nanosheets are obtained by heating nickel hydroxide nanosheets in air at 400 deg. C. The products were characterized by using various methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The electrochemical property of β-Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets was investigated through the cyclic voltammogram (CV) measurement. - Graphical abstract: Nickel hydroxide nanosheets and flowers have been hydrothermally synthesized using Ni(CH 3 COO) 2 .4H 2 O in mixed solvents of ethylene glycol (EG) or ethanol and deionized water at 200 deg. C for different reaction time. Porous nickel oxide nanosheets are obtained by heating nickel hydroxide nanosheets in air at 400 deg. C

Structural transition of a homopolymer in solvents mixture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guettari, Moez [Laboratoire de Physique de la Matiere Molle, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, Campus Universitaire, 2092 Tunisia (Tunisia)], E-mail: gtarimoez@yahoo.fr; Aschi, Adel; Gomati, Riadh; Gharbi, Abdelhafidh [Laboratoire de Physique de la Matiere Molle, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, Campus Universitaire, 2092 Tunisia (Tunisia)

2008-07-01

The present work is aimed at studying the thermodynamic behaviour of a polymer in solvents mixture. Dynamic light scattering is used to measure the hydrodynamic radius of polyvinylpyrrolidone (M{sub w} = 360,000 g/mol), in water/methanol solvents mixture, versus the mixed solvents composition at 25 deg. C. Then, we show that the polymer conformation adopts the Coil-Globule-Coil structure when the methanol molar fraction X{sub A} is varied. This transition is attributed to solvent quality change which result from water and methanol complex formation. The polymer contraction rate calculated for each composition takes its maximum value at X{sub A} = 0.17. Hildebrand theory assuming the solvents mixture as an equivalent solvent was used to analyze the change in mixed solvents quality. These changes can be attributed to dispersive forces in solvents mixture.

Photoionization of water molecules by high energy photons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara Martini

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We theoretically study the photoionization of water molecules by high energy photon impact. We develop a model in which the final state wavefunction is given by a Coulomb continuum wavefunction with effective charges and the water molecule bound states are represented using the Moccia's monocentric wavefunctions. We obtain analytical expressions for the transition matrix element that enable the computation of cross sections by numerical quadratures. We compare our predictions for photon energies between 20 and 300 eV with more elaborated theoretical results and experiments. We obtain a very good agreement with experiments, in particular, at enough high energies where there is a lack of elaborated results due to their high computational cost. Received: 15 March 2017, Accepted: 25 June 2017; Edited by: S. Kais; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4279/PIP.090006 Cite as: L Martini, D I R Boll, O A Fojón, Papers in Physics 9, 090006 (2017

Dissolution of covalent adaptable network polymers in organic solvent

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Kai; Yang, Hua; Dao, Binh H.; Shi, Qian; Yakacki, Christopher M.

2017-12-01

It was recently reported that thermosetting polymers can be fully dissolved in a proper organic solvent utilizing a bond-exchange reaction (BER), where small molecules diffuse into the polymer, break the long polymer chains into short segments, and eventually dissolve the network when sufficient solvent is provided. The solvent-assisted dissolution approach was applied to fully recycle thermosets and their fiber composites. This paper presents the first multi-scale modeling framework to predict the dissolution kinetics and mechanics of thermosets in organic solvent. The model connects the micro-scale network dynamics with macro-scale material properties: in the micro-scale, a model is developed based on the kinetics of BERs to describe the cleavage rate of polymer chains and evolution of chain segment length during the dissolution. The micro-scale model is then fed into a continuum-level model with considerations of the transportation of solvent molecules and chain segments in the system. The model shows good prediction on conversion rate of functional groups, degradation of network mechanical properties, and dissolution rate of thermosets during the dissolution. It identifies the underlying kinetic factors governing the dissolution process, and reveals the influence of different material and processing variables on the dissolution process, such as time, temperature, catalyst concentration, and chain length between cross-links.

Measurement of the quantity of water in organic solvents by infrared absorption an measurement of the dielectric constants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desnoyer, M.

1959-06-01

Some chemical methods for the analysis of the quantity of water in solvents are first described, their object being the determination of the maximum error for cases where the water content is less than 1 per cent. - The first part of the work consists in describing infrared spectrometry as applied to the analysis of water in carbon tetrachloride, chloroform aniline, acetone and dioxane. A method based on isotopic exchange between heavy and light water is used on the one hand for determining the solubility of water in carbon tetrachloride and on the other hand for establishing standard solutions (sensitivity of the method). - In the second part the dielectric constant of water solvent solutions is measured. A table is presented giving the precision obtained by the two principal methods. These are comparable and further than that the appearance of the spectra suggests an interpretation of the anomalies observed in calibration curves obtained by the dielectric constant method. (author) [fr

Solvent-molecule-mediated manipulation of crystalline grains for efficient planar binary lead and tin triiodide perovskite solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Leize; Yuh, Brian; Schoen, Stefan; Li, Xinpei; Aldighaithir, Mohammed; Richardson, Beau J.; Alamer, Ahmed; Yu, Qiuming

2016-03-01

Binary lead and tin perovskites offer the benefits of narrower band gaps for broader adsorption of solar spectrum and better charge transport for higher photocurrent density. Here, we report the growth of large, smooth crystalline grains of bianry lead and tin triiodide perovskite films via a two-step solution process with thermal plus solvent vapor-assisted thermal annealing. The crystalline SnxPb1-xI2 films formed in the first step served as the templates for the formation of crystalline CH3NH3SnxPb1-xI3 films during the second step interdiffusion of methylammonium iodide (MAI). Followed by dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) vapor-assisted thermal annealing, small, faceted perovskite grains grew into large, smooth grains via the possible mechanism involving bond breaking and reforming mediated by DMSO solvent molecules. The absorption onset was extended to 950 and 1010 nm for the CH3NH3SnxPb1-xI3 perovskites with x = 0.1 and 0.25, respectively. The highest PCE of 10.25% was achieved from the planar perovskite solar cell with the CH3NH3Sn0.1Pb0.9I3 layer prepared via the thermal plus DMSO vapor-assisted thermal annealing. This research provides a way to control and manipulate film morphology, grain size, and especially the distribution of metal cations in binary metal perovskite layers, which opens an avenue to grow perovskite materials with desired properties to enhance device performance.Binary lead and tin perovskites offer the benefits of narrower band gaps for broader adsorption of solar spectrum and better charge transport for higher photocurrent density. Here, we report the growth of large, smooth crystalline grains of bianry lead and tin triiodide perovskite films via a two-step solution process with thermal plus solvent vapor-assisted thermal annealing. The crystalline SnxPb1-xI2 films formed in the first step served as the templates for the formation of crystalline CH3NH3SnxPb1-xI3 films during the second step interdiffusion of methylammonium iodide (MAI

Nanospiral Formation by Droplet Drying: One Molecule at a Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wan Lei

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We have created nanospirals by self-assembly during droplet evaporation. The nanospirals, 60–70 nm in diameter, formed when solvent mixtures of methanol and m-cresol were used. In contrast, spin coating using only methanol as the solvent produced epitaxial films of stripe nanopatterns and using only m-cresol disordered structure. Due to the disparity in vapor pressure between the two solvents, droplets of m-cresol solution remaining on the substrate serve as templates for the self-assembly of carboxylic acid molecules, which in turn allows the visualization of solution droplet evaporation one molecule at a time.

Molecular dynamics simulations of a flexible polyethylene: a protein-like behaviour in a water solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kretov, D.A.; Kholmurodov, Kh.T.

2005-01-01

We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the density and the temperature behaviour of a flexible polyethylene (PE) subjected to various heating conditions and to investigate the PE chain conformational changes in a water solvent. First, we have considered the influence of the heating process on the final state of the polymeric system and the sensitivity of its thermodynamic characteristics (density, energy, etc.) for different heating regimes. For this purpose three different simulations were performed: fast, moderate, and slow heating. Second, we have investigated the PE chain conformational dynamics in water solvent for various simulation conditions and various configurations of the environment. From the obtained results we have got the pictures of the PE dynamical motions in water. We have observed a protein-like behaviour of the PE chain, like that of the DNA and the proteins in water, and have also estimated the rates of the conformational changes. For the MD simulations we used the optimized general-purpose DL P OLY code and the generic DREIDING force field. The MD simulations were performed on the parallel computers and special-purpose MDGRAPE-2 machine

Presence and importance of organochlorine solvents and other compounds in Germany's groundwater and drinking water.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieter, H H; Kerndorff, H

1993-01-01

Organochlorine compounds are widely used in Germany although the inland production of chlorinated solvents has greatly decreased since 1985. Data on groundwater contamination are incomplete, but there are some regional data sets from the States (Länder). Approximately 25% of the groundwater samples contain more than 1 microgram/l of a single solvent, the most prominent ones being tri- and tetrachloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane and dichloromethane, but also chloroform. The most important causes for contaminations of the groundwater are unprotected storage and leaking sewage systems. Abandoned waste sites are, besides chlorinated compounds, also a source of many other contaminants. A ranking procedure according to their exposure potential (concentration, incidence, toxicology) is proposed. The compound of greatest concern is vinyl chloride, which is formed from tri- and tetrachloroethene under reducing conditions in the subsoil. The most important contaminant in drinking water is tetrachloroethene followed by 1,1,1-trichloroethane and trichloroethane. Chlorobenzene may also be present on occasion, while only about 20% of the finished drinking waters contain more chloroform after treatment than before. Only about 10% of all analyses of drinking water derived from groundwater shows the presence of organochlorine solvents and most of these show total concentrations less than 2 micrograms/l. The degradation product, vinyl chloride, was found up to now only in different groundwaters. To stabilize and to improve the situation, which still is much more favorable for drinking than for groundwater, precautions are going to be taken which should assure that these and other problematic substances which endanger water are used only in closed systems and rigid safety measures be imposed on their disposal and transport.

Ultrasonication-Assisted Solvent Extraction of Quercetin Glycosides from ‘Idared’ Apple Peels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwendolyn M. Huber

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Quercetin and quercetin glycosides are physiologically active flavonol molecules that have been attributed numerous health benefits. Recovery of such molecules from plant matrices depends on a variety of factors including polarity of the extraction solvent. Among the solvents of a wide range of dielectric constants, methanol recovered the most quercetin and its glycosides from dehydrated ‘Idared’ apple peels. When ultra-sonication was employed to facilitate the extraction, exposure of 15 min of ultrasound wavelengths of dehydrated apple peel powder in 80% to 100% (v/v methanol in 1:50 (w:v solid to solvent ratio provided the optimum extraction conditions for quercetin and its glycosides. Acidification of extraction solvent with 0.1% (v/v or higher concentrations of HCl led to hydrolysis of naturally occurring quercetin glycosides into the aglycone as an extraction artifact.

Role of residual water hydrogen bonding in sugar/water/biomolecule systems: a possible explanation for trehalose peculiarity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cordone, L; Cottone, G; Giuffrida, S [Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche ed Astronomiche, Universita di Palermo and CNISM (Italy)

2007-05-23

We report on the set of experimental and simulative evidences which enabled us to suggest how biological structures embedded in a non-liquid water-saccharide solvent are anchored to the surrounding matrix via a hydrogen bond network. Such a network, whose rigidity increases by decreasing the sample water content, couples the degrees of freedom of the biostructure to those of the matrix and gives place to protein-saccharide-water structures (protein-solvent conformational substates). In particular, the whole set of data evidences that, while the protein-sugar interaction is well described in terms of a water entrapment hypothesis, the water replacement hypothesis better describes the sugar-membrane interaction; furthermore, it gives a hint towards the understanding of the origin of the trehalose peculiarity since the biomolecule-matrix coupling, specific to each particular sugar, always results in being the tightest for trehalose. In line with the heterogeneous dynamics in supercooled fluids and in carbohydrate glasses of different residual water contents, recent results confirm, at the single molecule level, the existence of protein-solvent conformational substates, spatially heterogeneous and interconverting, whose rigidity increases by lowering the sample hydration.

Effect of the environment on the electrical conductance of the single benzene-1,4-diamine molecule junction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shigeto Nakashima

2011-11-01

Full Text Available We investigated the effect of the environment on the electrical conductance of a single benzene-1,4-diamine (BDA molecule bridging Au electrodes, using the scanning tunneling microscope (STM. The conductance of the single BDA molecule junction decreased upon a change in the environment from tetraglyme, to mesitylene, to water, and finally to N2 gas, while the spread in the conductance value increased. The order of the conductance values of the single BDA molecule junction was explained by the strength of the interaction between the solvent molecules and the Au electrodes. The order of the spread in the conductance values was explained by the diversity in the coverage of the BDA molecule at metal electrodes and atomic and molecular motion of the single-molecule junction.

Effect of Dielectric Properties of a Solvent-Water Mixture Used in Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Antioxidants from Potato Peels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashutosh Singh

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The dielectric properties of a methanol-water mixture were measured at different temperatures from 20 to 80 °C at two frequencies 915 MHz and 2450 MHz. These frequencies are most commonly used on industrial and domestic scales respectively. In this study, the dielectric properties of a methanol-water mixture were found to be dependent on temperature, solvent concentration, and presence of plant matrix. Linear and quadratic equations were developed to establish the dependency between factors. At 2450 MHz, the dielectric constant of methanol-water mixtures was significantly affected by concentration of methanol rather than by temperature, whereas the dielectric loss factor was significantly affected by temperature rather than by methanol concentration. Introduction of potato peel led to an increase in the effect of temperature on the dielectric properties of the methanol fractions. At 915 MHz, both the dielectric properties were significantly affected by the increase in temperature and solvent concentration, while the presence of potato peel had no significant effect on the dielectric properties. Statistical analysis of the dissipation factor at 915 and 2450 MHz revealed that both temperature and solvent concentration had a significant effect on it, whereas introduction of potato peels at 915 MHz reduced the effect of temperature as compared to 2450 MHz. The total phenolic yield of the microwave-assisted extraction process was significantly affected by the solvent concentration, the dissipation factor of the methanol-water mixture and the extraction time.

Human telomere sequence DNA in water-free and high-viscosity solvents: G-quadruplex folding governed by Kramers rate theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Lannan, Ford M; Mamajanov, Irena; Hud, Nicholas V

2012-09-19

Structures formed by human telomere sequence (HTS) DNA are of interest due to the implication of telomeres in the aging process and cancer. We present studies of HTS DNA folding in an anhydrous, high viscosity deep eutectic solvent (DES) comprised of choline choride and urea. In this solvent, the HTS DNA forms a G-quadruplex with the parallel-stranded ("propeller") fold, consistent with observations that reduced water activity favors the parallel fold, whereas alternative folds are favored at high water activity. Surprisingly, adoption of the parallel structure by HTS DNA in the DES, after thermal denaturation and quick cooling to room temperature, requires several months, as opposed to less than 2 min in an aqueous solution. This extended folding time in the DES is, in part, due to HTS DNA becoming kinetically trapped in a folded state that is apparently not accessed in lower viscosity solvents. A comparison of times required for the G-quadruplex to convert from its aqueous-preferred folded state to its parallel fold also reveals a dependence on solvent viscosity that is consistent with Kramers rate theory, which predicts that diffusion-controlled transitions will slow proportionally with solvent friction. These results provide an enhanced view of a G-quadruplex folding funnel and highlight the necessity to consider solvent viscosity in studies of G-quadruplex formation in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, the solvents and analyses presented here should prove valuable for understanding the folding of many other nucleic acids and potentially have applications in DNA-based nanotechnology where time-dependent structures are desired.

Theoretical investigation of the weak interaction between graphene and alcohol solvents

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haining; Chen, Sian; Lu, Shanfu; Xiang, Yan

2017-05-01

The dispersion of graphene in five different alcohol solvents was investigated by evaluating the binding energy between graphene and alcohol molecules using DFT-D method. The calculation showed the most stable binding energy appeared at the distance of ∼3.5 Å between graphene and alcohol molecules and increased linearly as changing the alcohol from methanol to 1-pentanol. The weak interaction was further graphically illustrated using the reduced density gradient method. The theoretical study revealed alcohols with more carbon atoms could be a good starting point for screening suitable solvents for graphene dispersion.

Wetting behavior of nonpolar nanotubes in simple dipolar liquids for varying nanotube diameter and solute-solvent interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rana, Malay Kumar; Chandra, Amalendu, E-mail: amalen@iitk.ac.in [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016 (India)

2015-01-21

Atomistic simulations of model nonpolar nanotubes in a Stockmayer liquid are carried out for varying nanotube diameter and nanotube-solvent interactions to investigate solvophobic interactions in generic dipolar solvents. We have considered model armchair type single-walled nonpolar nanotubes with increasing radii from (5,5) to (12,12). The interactions between solute and solvent molecules are modeled by the well-known Lennard-Jones and repulsive Weeks-Chandler-Andersen potentials. We have investigated the density profiles and microscopic arrangement of Stockmayer molecules, orientational profiles of their dipole vectors, time dependence of their occupation, and also the translational and rotational motion of solvent molecules in confined environments of the cylindrical nanopores and also in their external peripheral regions. The present results of structural and dynamical properties of Stockmayer molecules inside and near atomistically rough nonpolar surfaces including their wetting and dewetting behavior for varying interactions provide a more generic picture of solvophobic effects experienced by simple dipolar liquids without any specific interactions such as hydrogen bonds.

Role of solvent-mediated carbodiimide cross-linking in fabrication of electrospun gelatin nanofibrous membranes as ophthalmic biomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Shih-Feng; Luo, Li-Jyuan; Lai, Jui-Yang; Ma, David Hui-Kang

2017-01-01

Due to their ability to mimic the structure of extracellular matrix, electrospun gelatin nanofibers are promising cell scaffolding materials for tissue engineering applications. However, the hydrophilic gelatin molecules usually need stabilization before use in aqueous physiological environment. Considering that biomaterials cross-linked via film immersion technique may have a more homogeneous cross-linked structure than vapor phase cross-linking, this work aims to investigate the chemical modification of electrospun gelatin nanofibrous membranes by liquid phase carbodiimide in the presence of ethanol/water co-solvents with varying ethanol concentrations ranging from 80 to 99.5 vol%. The results of characterization showed that increasing water content in the binary reaction solvent system increases the extent of cross-linking of gelatin nanofibers, but simultaneously promotes the effect of biopolymer swelling and distortion in fiber mat structure. As compared to non-cross-linked counterparts, carbodiimide treated gelatin nanofibrous mats exhibited better thermal and biological stability where the shrinkage temperature and resistance to enzymatic degradation varied in response to ethanol/water solvent composition-mediated generation of cross-links. Irrespective of their cross-linking density, all studied membrane samples did not induce any responses in ocular epithelial cell cultures derived from cornea, lens, and retina. Unlike many other cross-linking agents and/or methods (e.g., excessive vapor phase cross-linking) that may pose a risk of toxicity, our study demonstrated that these nanofibrous materials are well tolerated by anterior segment tissues. These findings also indicate the safety of using ethanol/water co-solvents for chemical cross-linking of gelatin to engineer nanofibrous materials with negligible biological effects. In summary, the present results suggest the importance of solvent-mediated carbodiimide cross-linking in modulating structure�

Role of solvent-mediated carbodiimide cross-linking in fabrication of electrospun gelatin nanofibrous membranes as ophthalmic biomaterials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chou, Shih-Feng [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX 75799 (United States); Luo, Li-Jyuan [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lai, Jui-Yang, E-mail: jylai@mail.cgu.edu.tw [Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC (China); Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC (China); Center for Tissue Engineering, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan, ROC (China); Ma, David Hui-Kang [Center for Tissue Engineering, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2017-02-01

Due to their ability to mimic the structure of extracellular matrix, electrospun gelatin nanofibers are promising cell scaffolding materials for tissue engineering applications. However, the hydrophilic gelatin molecules usually need stabilization before use in aqueous physiological environment. Considering that biomaterials cross-linked via film immersion technique may have a more homogeneous cross-linked structure than vapor phase cross-linking, this work aims to investigate the chemical modification of electrospun gelatin nanofibrous membranes by liquid phase carbodiimide in the presence of ethanol/water co-solvents with varying ethanol concentrations ranging from 80 to 99.5 vol%. The results of characterization showed that increasing water content in the binary reaction solvent system increases the extent of cross-linking of gelatin nanofibers, but simultaneously promotes the effect of biopolymer swelling and distortion in fiber mat structure. As compared to non-cross-linked counterparts, carbodiimide treated gelatin nanofibrous mats exhibited better thermal and biological stability where the shrinkage temperature and resistance to enzymatic degradation varied in response to ethanol/water solvent composition-mediated generation of cross-links. Irrespective of their cross-linking density, all studied membrane samples did not induce any responses in ocular epithelial cell cultures derived from cornea, lens, and retina. Unlike many other cross-linking agents and/or methods (e.g., excessive vapor phase cross-linking) that may pose a risk of toxicity, our study demonstrated that these nanofibrous materials are well tolerated by anterior segment tissues. These findings also indicate the safety of using ethanol/water co-solvents for chemical cross-linking of gelatin to engineer nanofibrous materials with negligible biological effects. In summary, the present results suggest the importance of solvent-mediated carbodiimide cross-linking in modulating structure�

Scattering of thermal neutron by the water molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, L.P.

The calculation of the differenctial cross section for scattering of thermal neutrons by water, taking into account the translational, rotational and vibrational motions of the water molecule, is presented according to Nelkin' model. Some modifications are presented which have been introduced in the original method to improve the results and an application has been made to reactor physics, by calculating the thermal neutron flux in a homogenous medium containing water and absorver. Thirty thermal energy groups have been used to compute the spectra. Within the limits of error, better agreement has been obtained between theory and experiments by using a modified Nelkin kernel consisting of substituting the asymptotic formulae for the rotational and vibrational motions by more exact expressions, similar to the Buttler model for heavy water

Metal ion extractant in microemulsions: where solvent extraction and surfactant science meet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, C.

2011-01-01

The presented work describes the supramolecular structure of mixtures of a hydrophilic surfactant n-octyl-beta-glucoside (C8G1), and the hydrophobic metal ion extractant tributylphosphate (TBP) in n-dodecane/water as well as in the presence of salts. In the first part, basic solvent extraction system, composed of water, oil and extractant, will be introduced. The focus, however, lies on the extraction of multivalent metal ions from the aqueous phase. During this extraction process and in the following thermodynamic equilibrium, aggregation and phase transition in supramolecular assemblies occur, which are already described in literature. Notably, these reports rest on individual studies and specific conclusions, while a general concept is still missing. We therefore suggest the use of generalized phase diagrams to present the physico-chemical behaviour of (amphiphilic) extractant systems. These phase diagrams facilitated the development of a thermodynamic model based on molecular geometry and packing of the extractant molecules in the oil phase. As a result, we are now in the position to predict size and water content of extractant aggregates and, thus, verify the experimental results by calculation.Consequently, the second part presents a systematic study of the aqueous and organic phase of water/C8G1 and water/oil/TBP mixtures. The focus lies on understanding the interaction between metal ions and both amphiphilic molecules by means of small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. We confirmed the assumption that extraction of metal ions is driven by TBP, while C8G1 remains passive. In the third and last part, microemulsions of C8G1, TBP, water (and salt) and n-dodecane are characterized by small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and chemical analytics (Karl Fischer, total organic carbon, ICP-OES,...). The co-surfactant behaviour of TBP was highlighted by comparison to the classical n-alcohol (4≤n≤8) co

Can green solvents be alternatives for thermal stabilization of collagen?

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Ami; Rao, J Raghava; Fathima, Nishter Nishad

2014-08-01

"Go Green" campaign is gaining light for various industrial applications where water consumption needs to be reduced. To resolve this, industries have adopted usage of green, organic solvents, as an alternative to water. For leather making, tanning industry consumes gallons of water. Therefore, for adopting green solvents in leather making, it is necessary to evaluate its influence on type I collagen, the major protein present in the skin matrix. The thermal stability of collagen from rat tail tendon fiber (RTT) treated with seven green solvents namely, ethanol, ethyl lactate, ethyl acetate, propylene carbonate, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol-200 and heptane was determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Crosslinking efficiency of basic chromium sulfate and wattle on RTT in green solvents was determined. DSC thermograms show increase in thermal stability of RTT collagen against heat with green solvents (>78°C) compared to water (63°C). In the presence of crosslinkers, RTT demonstrated thermal stability >100°C in some green solvents, resulting in increased intermolecular forces between collagen, solvent and crosslinkers. The significant improvement in thermal stability of collagen potentiates the capability of green solvents as an alternative for water. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterisation of aggregation of tributylphosphate molecules in organic solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandin, C.; Martinet, L.; Zemb, Th.; Berthon, L.; Madic, Ch.

2000-01-01

This report presents a structural study of the aggregates formed with the organic phases of the extractant tri-n-butyl phosphate, used in the industrial PUREX process (Plutonium and Uranium Extraction; liquid-liquid solvent extraction) for the treatment of high radioactive waste. Combined Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Small Angle Neutron Scattering show that organic TBP solutions (in equilibrium with acid solutions) are organised in oligomeric aggregates. The influence of various parameters such as HNO 3 or TBP concentrations, diluent or acid natures, does not seem to modify the aggregate shape and size, whereas the interactions are modified. Moreover the aggregates disappear under high temperatures, whereas the attractive interactions between them increase at low temperatures. The 'drop weight' method gives the critical micellar concentration values of TBP in case of H 2 O or HNO 3 extractions (H 2 O: 0.48 M; HNO 3 2M: 0.65 M; at 21 deg C). Furthermore, the measures at different acid concentrations show that the c.m.c. varies with the acidity. The more acid the aqueous phase is, the smaller is the entropy in the system because of the numerous negative charges, i.e. the harder the micellization occurs, so the higher the c.m.c. value is. The sticky sphere model proposed by Baxter, can be used to model successfully small reverse micelles of the organic TBP phases. The aggregation number would be 4±1 (water extraction) and 5±1(HNO 3 2M extraction). These values are also given by vapor pressure measurements. (authors)

Separation by solvent extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holt, C.H. Jr.

1976-01-01

In a process for separating fission product values from U and Pu values contained in an aqueous solution, an oxidizing agent is added to the solution to secure U and Pu in their hexavalent state. The aqueous solution is contacted with a substantially water-immiscible organic solvent with agitation while the temperature is maintained at from -1 to -2 0 C until the major part of the water present is frozen. The solid ice phase is continuously separated as it is formed and a remaining aqueous liquid phase containing fission product values and a solvent phase containing Pu and U values are separated from each other. The last obtained part of the ice phase is melted and added to the separated liquid phase. The resulting liquid is treated with a new supply of solvent whereby it is practically depleted of U and Pu

Solvent vapor annealing of an insoluble molecular semiconductor

KAUST Repository

Amassian, Aram

2010-01-01

Solvent vapor annealing has been proposed as a low-cost, highly versatile, and room-temperature alternative to thermal annealing of organic semiconductors and devices. In this article, we investigate the solvent vapor annealing process of a model insoluble molecular semiconductor thin film - pentacene on SiO 2 exposed to acetone vapor - using a combination of optical reflectance and two-dimensional grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements performed in situ, during processing. These measurements provide valuable and new insight into the solvent vapor annealing process; they demonstrate that solvent molecules interact mainly with the surface of the film to induce a solid-solid transition without noticeable swelling, dissolving or melting of the molecular material. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Indigo Molecule Revisited Again: Assessment of the Minnesota Family of Density Functionals for the Prediction of Its Maximum Absorption Wavelengths in Various Solvents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Cervantes-Navarro

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Minnesota family of density functionals (M05, M05-2X, M06, M06L, M06-2X, and M06-HF were evaluated for the calculation of the UV-Vis spectra of the indigo molecule in solvents of different polarities using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT and the polarized continuum model (PCM. The maximum absorption wavelengths predicted for each functional were compared with the known experimental results.

Water quality criteria for colored smokes: Solvent Yellow 33, Final report. [Contains glossary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidson, K.A.; Hovatter, P.S.

1987-11-01

The available data on the environmental fate, aquatic toxicity, and mammalian toxicity of Solvent Yellow 33, a quinoline dye used in colored smoke grenades, were reviewed. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidelines were used in an attempt to generate water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life and its use and of human health. 87 refs., 2 figs., 13 tabs.

On a relationship between molecular polarizability and partial molar volume in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratkova, Ekaterina L; Fedorov, Maxim V

2011-12-28

We reveal a universal relationship between molecular polarizability (a single-molecule property) and partial molar volume in water that is an ensemble property characterizing solute-solvent systems. Since both of these quantities are of the key importance to describe solvation behavior of dissolved molecular species in aqueous solutions, the obtained relationship should have a high impact in chemistry, pharmaceutical, and life sciences as well as in environments. We demonstrated that the obtained relationship between the partial molar volume in water and the molecular polarizability has in general a non-homogeneous character. We performed a detailed analysis of this relationship on a set of ~200 organic molecules from various chemical classes and revealed its fine well-organized structure. We found that this structure strongly depends on the chemical nature of the solutes and can be rationalized in terms of specific solute-solvent interactions. Efficiency and universality of the proposed approach was demonstrated on an external test set containing several dozens of polyfunctional and druglike molecules.

Determination and modeling of the solubility of (limonin in methanol or acetone + water) binary solvent mixtures at T = 283.2 K to 318.2 K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Jie-Ping; Zheng, Bing; Liao, Dan-Dan; Yu, Jia-Xin; Cao, Ya-Hui; Zhang, Xue-Hong; Zhu, Jian-Hang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The solubilities of limonin were measured in the binary solvent mixtures methanol + water and acetone + water. • The solubility data were correlated by nine models. • The solubility of limonin had a maximum point at 0.9 mol fraction of acetone in acetone + water mixtures. - Abstract: The solubility of limonin in the binary solvent mixtures (methanol + water) and (acetone + water) with various initial mole fractions of methanol or acetone was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at different temperatures ranging from 283.2 K to 318.2 K. The solubility of limonin increased with increasing initial mole fraction of methanol in (methanol + water) mixtures, whereas it had a maximum point at 0.9 mol fraction of acetone in (acetone + water) mixtures. The solubility of limonin increased with increasing temperature in the two binary solvent mixtures. The solubility of limonin was correlated with temperature by the van’t Hoff model and the modified Apelblat model, and the fitting results showed that the modified Apelblat model had better correlation. The CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model and the simplified CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model were used to correlate the solubility data with the initial solvent composition, the results show that the CNIBS/Redlich–Kister model reveals better agreement with the experimental values. Furthermore, to illustrate the effects of both temperature and initial solvent composition on the changes in the solubility of limonin, the solubility values were fitted by the Jouyban–Acree, van’t Hoff–Jouyban–Acree, modified Apelblat–Jouyban–Acree, Ma and Sun models. Among the five models, the Jouyban–Acree model give the best correlation results for (methanol + water) binary solvent mixtures, while the experimental solubility in the (acetone + water) system was most accurately correlated by the van’t Hoff–Jouyban–Acree model.

Fabrication of porous ethyl cellulose microspheres based on the acetone-glycerin-water ternary system: Controlling porosity via the solvent-removal mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Masahiro; Matsumoto, Akihiro; Watanabe, Chie; Kurumado, Yu; Takama, Masashi

2015-08-01

Porous ethyl cellulose (EC) microspheres were prepared from the acetone-glycerin-water ternary system using an oil/water (O/W)-type emulsion solvent extraction method. The O/ W type emulsion was prepared using acetone dissolved ethyl cellulose as an oil phase and aqueous glycerin as a water phase. The effects of the different solvent extraction modes on the porosity of the microspheres were investigated. The specific surface area of the porous EC microspheres was estimated by the gas adsorption method. When the solvent was extracted rapidly by mixing the emulsion with water instantaneously, porous EC microspheres with a maximum specific surface area of 40.7±2.1 m2/g were obtained. On the other hand, when water was added gradually to the emulsion, the specific surface area of the fabricated microspheres decreased rapidly with an increase in the infusion period, with the area being 25-45% of the maximum value. The results of an analysis of the ternary phase diagram of the system suggested that the penetration of water and glycerin from the continuous phase to the dispersed phase before solidification affected the porosity of the fabricated EC microspheres.

Solvent extraction of thorium(IV) with dibutyldithiophosphoric acid in various organic solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtui, M.; Haiduc, I.

1994-01-01

The extraction of thorium(IV) from perchlorate solutions with di-n-butyldithiophosphoric acid (HBudtp) in various organic solvents occurs through an ion exchange mechanism. The extracted species in the organic phase is an eight-coordinate complex Th(Budtp) 4 . The higher values of the distribution ratio obtained in HBudtp-benzene-water system than in HBudtp-n-butanol-water system are explained by higher solubility of the complex species in nonpolar solvents. The position of the extraction curves in the pH-range lower than 0.7 reduces the complexation of thorium(IV) with Budtp - in the aqueous phase and also the hydrolysis process. (author) 8 refs.; 4 figs.; 1 tab

Water molecule-enhanced CO2 insertion in lanthanide coordination polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Liushan; Huang Xiaoyuan; Wang Ning; Wu Hongyan; Chen Wenbin; Feng Zihao; Zhu Huiping; Peng Xiaoling; Li Yongxian; Huang Ling; Yue Shantang; Liu Yingliang

2009-01-01

Two new lanthanide coordination polymers H 2 N(CH 3 ) 2 .[Eu III 2 (L 1 ) 3 (L 2 )] (1, L 1 =isophthalic acid dianion, L 2 =formic acid anion) and [La III (2,5-PDC)(L 2 )](2, 2,5-PDC=2,5-pyridinedicarboxylate dianion) were synthesized under solvothermal conditions. It is of interest that the formic ligand (L 2 ) is not contained in the stating materials, but arises from the water molecule-enhanced CO 2 insertion during the solvothermal process. Both of the two compounds exhibit complicated three dimensional sandwich-like frameworks. - Graphical abstract: Two new lanthanide coordination polymers involving water molecule-enhanced CO 2 insertion resulting in the formation of formic anion and dimethylammonium cation were synthesized under solvothermal conditions.

Origin of Reduced Open-Circuit Voltage in Highly Efficient Small-Molecule-Based Solar Cells upon Solvent Vapor Annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Wanyuan; Gao, Ke; Yan, Jun; Liang, Quanbin; Xie, Yuan; He, Zhicai; Wu, Hongbin; Peng, Xiaobin; Cao, Yong

2018-03-07

In this study, we demonstrate that remarkably reduced open-circuit voltage in highly efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) from a blend of phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester and a recently developed conjugated small molecule (DPPEZnP-THD) upon solvent vapor annealing (SVA) is due to two independent sources: increased radiative recombination and increased nonradiative recombination. Through the measurements of electroluminescence due to the emission of the charge-transfer state and photovoltaic external quantum efficiency measurement, we can quantify that the open-circuit voltage losses in a device with SVA due to the radiative recombination and nonradiative recombination are 0.23 and 0.31 V, respectively, which are 0.04 and 0.07 V higher than those of the as-cast device. Despite of the reduced open-circuit voltage, the device with SVA exhibited enhanced dissociation of charge-transfer excitons, leading to an improved short-circuit current density and a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.41%, one of the best for solution-processed OSCs based on small-molecule donor materials. Our study also clearly shows that removing the nonradiative recombination pathways and/or suppressing energetic disorder in the active layer would result in more long-lived charge carriers and enhanced open-circuit voltage, which are prerequisites for further improving the PCE.

Probing the role of interfacial waters in protein-DNA recognition using a hybrid implicit/explicit solvation model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shen; Bradley, Philip

2013-01-01

When proteins bind to their DNA target sites, ordered water molecules are often present at the protein-DNA interface bridging protein and DNA through hydrogen bonds. What is the role of these ordered interfacial waters? Are they important determinants of the specificity of DNA sequence recognition, or do they act in binding in a primarily non-specific manner, by improving packing of the interface, shielding unfavorable electrostatic interactions, and solvating unsatisfied polar groups that are inaccessible to bulk solvent? When modeling details of structure and binding preferences, can fully implicit solvent models be fruitfully applied to protein-DNA interfaces, or must the individualistic properties of these interfacial waters be accounted for? To address these questions, we have developed a hybrid implicit/explicit solvation model that specifically accounts for the locations and orientations of small numbers of DNA-bound water molecules while treating the majority of the solvent implicitly. Comparing the performance of this model to its fully implicit counterpart, we find that explicit treatment of interfacial waters results in a modest but significant improvement in protein sidechain placement and DNA sequence recovery. Base-by-base comparison of the performance of the two models highlights DNA sequence positions whose recognition may be dependent on interfacial water. Our study offers large-scale statistical evidence for the role of ordered water for protein DNA recognition, together with detailed examination of several well-characterized systems. In addition, our approach provides a template for modeling explicit water molecules at interfaces that should be extensible to other systems. PMID:23444044

Electric dipole moments of nanosolvated acid molecules in water clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Guggemos, Nicholas; Slavíček, Petr; Kresin, Vitaly V

2015-01-30

The electric dipole moments of (H2O)nDCl (n=3-9) clusters have been measured by the beam-deflection method. Reflecting the (dynamical) charge distribution within the system, the dipole moment contributes information about the microscopic structure of nanoscale solvation. The addition of a DCl molecule to a water cluster results in a strongly enhanced susceptibility. There is evidence for a noticeable rise in the dipole moment occurring at n≈5-6. This size is consistent with predictions for the onset of ionic dissociation. Additionally, a molecular-dynamics model suggests that even with a nominally bound impurity an enhanced dipole moment can arise due to the thermal and zero-point motion of the proton and the water molecules. The experimental measurements and the calculations draw attention to the importance of fluctuations in defining the polarity of water-based nanoclusters and generally to the essential role played by motional effects in determining the response of fluxional nanoscale systems under realistic conditions.

Anchoring Tri(8-QuinolinolatoIron Onto Sba-15 for Partial Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol Using Water as the Solvent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Xiaoyuan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Tri(8-quinolinolatoiron complex immobilized onto SBA-15 catalyst has been synthesized through a stepwise procedure. The characterization results indicated that the BET surface area, total pore volume and average pore width decrease after stepwise modification of SBA-15, while the structure keeps intact. Catalytic tests showed that FeQ3-SBA-15 catalyzes the oxidation reaction well with 34.8% conversion of benzyl alcohol and 74.7% selectivity to benzaldehyde when water is used as the solvent after 1 h reaction. In addition, homogeneous catalyst tri(8-quinolinolatoiron exhibits very bad catalytic behavior using water as the solvent.

Thermodynamic properties of L-Theanine in different solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Fuli; Hou, Baohong; Tao, Xiaolong; Hu, Xiaoxue; Huang, Qiaoyin; Zhang, Zaixiang; Wang, Yongli; Hao, Hongxun

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The solubility data of L-Theanine in different solvents were measured by using an equilibrium method. • Several models were used to correlate the experimental solubility data. • The mixing thermodynamic properties were calculated. - Abstract: The solubility data of L-Theanine in pure water and three kinds of water + organic solvent mxitures were measured in temperature ranges from (278.15 to 13.15) K by using an equilibrium method. The results show that the solubility of L-Theanine increases with the increasing of temperature in all selected solvents. The modified Apelblat equation and the λ-h model were applied to correlate the solubility data in pure water, while the modified Apelblat equation, the λ-h model, the NRTL model and the Jouyban–Acree model were applied to correlate the solubility data in binary solvent mixtures. Furthermore, the mixing thermodynamic properties of L-Theanine in different solvents were also calculated based on the NRTL model and experimental solubility data.

Permeability of commercial solvents through living human skin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ursin, C; Hansen, C M; Van Dyk, J W

1995-01-01

A procedure has been developed for measuring the steady state rate of permeation of commercial solvents through living human skin. To get the most consistent results, it was necessary with some solvents to normalize the solvent permeation rate of a given skin sample with its [3H]water permeation...... rate. For other solvents this was not necessary, so the un-normalized data were used. High [3H]water permeation rate also was used as a criterion for "defective" skin samples that gave erroneous permeability rates, especially for solvents having slow permeability. The linearity of the steady state data...... of DMSO and octyl acetate were measured. No octyl acetate was detected and the permeability of DMSO was proportional to its mole fraction in the mixture. The effect of two hours of solvent exposure on the viability of skin (based on DNA synthesis) was measured and found to be very dependent on the solvent....

Synergy between TiO2 and CoxOy sites in electrocatalytic water decomposition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Szyja, B.M.; van Santen, R.A.

2015-01-01

A computational study of the cooperative effect of a small four-atom Co oxide cluster supported on the TiO2 anatase (100) surface in the electrochemical water splitting reaction is presented. The results have been obtained including explicit solvent water molecules by means of Car-Parrinello MD

Thermodynamics of the amalgam cells {l_brace}Cs-amalgam|CsX (m)|AgX|Ag{r_brace} (X=Cl, Br, I) and primary medium effects in (methanol+water) (acetonitrile+water), and (1,4-dioxane+water) solvent mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falciola, Luigi [Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, I-20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: luigi.falciola@unimi.it; Longoni, Giorgio [Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, I-20133 Milan (Italy); Mussini, Patrizia R. [Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, I-20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: patrizia.mussini@unimi.it; Mussini, Torquato [Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, I-20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: torquato.mussini@unimi.it

2006-06-15

The potential difference E of the amalgam cell {l_brace}Cs{sub x}Hg{sub 1-x}|CsX (m)|AgX|Ag{r_brace} (X=Cl, Br, I) has been measured as a function of the mole fraction x{sub Cs} of Cs metal in amalgams and of the molality m of CsX in (methanol+water) (acetonitrile+water), and (1,4-dioxane+water) solvent mixtures containing up to 0.75 mass fraction of the organic component, at the temperature 298.15K. The respective standard molal potential differences E{sub m}{sup o} have been determined together with the relevant activity coefficients {gamma}{sub +}/- as functions of the CsX molality. The found E{sub m}{sup o} values show a parabolic decrease with increasing proportion of the organic component in the solvent mixture. Analysis of the relevant primary medium effects upon CsX shows that the CsX transfer from the standard state in water to the standard state in the (aqueous+organic) mixture is always unfavoured, and the acetonitrile is the least unfavoured co-solvent studied. Analysis of the primary medium effect upon CsI in terms of Feakins and French's theory leads to a primary hydration number close to zero, which is consistent with the results of supplementary EXAFS experiments on Cs{sup +} and I{sup -} in (acetonitrile+water) solvent mixtures.

Effect of water treatment under ultrasonic irradiation on the solubilities of coals in a CS{sub 2}/NMP mixed solvent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan-Min Liu; Zhi-Min Zong; Ji-Xian Jia; Yao-Guo Huang; Hong Zhang; Bin Huang; Xian-Yong Wei [China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (China). School of Chemical Engineering

2007-07-01

Five Chinese coals were subject to water treatment (WT) at 75{sup o}C under ultrasonic irradiation (UI). The resulting water-extractable fraction (WEF) in the aqueous solution was extracted with benzene. The treated and untreated coals were extracted with a CS{sub 2}/NMP mixed solvent (1:1 by vol) under UI at room temperature. The results show that only small amount of WEF is extractable with benzene and that WT increases coal solubility in the CS{sub 2}/NMP mixed solvent only to small extent. 6 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

A turn-on type stimuli-responsive fluorescent dye with specific solvent effect: Implication for a new prototype of paper using water as the ink

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiaochen; Liu, Yang; Duan, Yuai; Han, Jingqi; Li, Zhongfeng; Han, Tianyu

2017-09-01

In this study, we reported the photoluminescence (PL) behaviour of a new intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) compound, ((E)-2-(((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)amino)benzoic acid, (HABA), which shows ICT solvent effect in aprotic solvents as confirmed by absorption and emission spectra. While in protic solvents including water and ethanol, the charge transfer (CT) band significantly reduces. Remarkable fluorescence enhancement in the blue region was also observed for HABA in polar protic solvents. We described such phenomena as ;specific solvent effect;. It can be ascribed to the hydrogen bonding formation between HABA and protic solvents, which not only causes significant reduction in the rate of internal conversion but also elevates the energy gap. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations as well as the dynamics analysis were performed to further verify the existence of hydrogen bonding complexes. Stronger emission turn-on effect was observed on HABA solid film when it is treated with water and base solution. The stimuli-responsive fluorescence of HABA enables a new green printing technique that uses water/base as the ink, affording fluorescent handwritings highly distinct from the background. Thermoanalysis of the dye suggests the nice thermostability, which is highly desired for real-world printing in a wide temperature range.

Selective solvent extraction of oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1938-04-09

In the selective solvent extraction of naphthenic base oils, the solvent used consists of the extract obtained by treating a paraffinic base oil with a selective solvent. The extract, or partially spent solvent is less selective than the solvent itself. Selective solvents specified for the extraction of the paraffinic base oil are phenol, sulphur dioxide, cresylic acid, nitrobenzene, B:B/sup 1/-dichlorethyl ether, furfural, nitroaniline and benzaldehyde. Oils treated are Coastal lubricating oils, or naphthenic oils from the cracking, or destructive hydrogenation of coal, tar, lignite, peat, shale, bitumen, or petroleum. The extraction may be effected by a batch or counter-current method, and in the presence of (1) liquefied propane, or butane, or naphtha, or (2) agents which modify the solvent power such as, water, ammonia, acetonitrile, glycerine, glycol, caustic soda or potash. Treatment (2) may form a post-treatment effected on the extract phase. In counter-current treatment in a tower some pure selective solvent may be introduced near the raffinate outlet to wash out any extract therefrom.

Adaptive resolution simulation of an atomistic protein in MARTINI water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavadlav, Julija; Melo, Manuel Nuno; Marrink, Siewert J.; Praprotnik, Matej

2014-01-01

We present an adaptive resolution simulation of protein G in multiscale water. We couple atomistic water around the protein with mesoscopic water, where four water molecules are represented with one coarse-grained bead, farther away. We circumvent the difficulties that arise from coupling to the coarse-grained model via a 4-to-1 molecule coarse-grain mapping by using bundled water models, i.e., we restrict the relative movement of water molecules that are mapped to the same coarse-grained bead employing harmonic springs. The water molecules change their resolution from four molecules to one coarse-grained particle and vice versa adaptively on-the-fly. Having performed 15 ns long molecular dynamics simulations, we observe within our error bars no differences between structural (e.g., root-mean-squared deviation and fluctuations of backbone atoms, radius of gyration, the stability of native contacts and secondary structure, and the solvent accessible surface area) and dynamical properties of the protein in the adaptive resolution approach compared to the fully atomistically solvated model. Our multiscale model is compatible with the widely used MARTINI force field and will therefore significantly enhance the scope of biomolecular simulations

Influence of the effective mass of water molecule on thermal neutron scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovic, M.

1981-01-01

The influence of the effective water molecule mass on the thermal neutron scattering on the nucleus of the hydrogen atom has been investigated. Besides the actual water molecule mass (M = 18) the investigations have been carried out with its two effective values (M1 = 16 and M2 = 20). The differential and total cross sections have been calculated for the incident thermal neutron energy E o = 1 eV. Investigation results show different prominence of the quantum effects and for M2 the appearance of peaks in the quasielastic scattering. (author)

Effects of solvent concentration and composition on protein dynamics: 13C MAS NMR studies of elastin in glycerol-water mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Demuth, Dominik; Haase, Nils; Malzacher, Daniel; Vogel, Michael

2015-08-01

We use (13)C CP MAS NMR to investigate the dependence of elastin dynamics on the concentration and composition of the solvent at various temperatures. For elastin in pure glycerol, line-shape analysis shows that larger-scale fluctuations of the protein backbone require a minimum glycerol concentration of ~0.6 g/g at ambient temperature, while smaller-scale fluctuations are activated at lower solvation levels of ~0.2 g/g. Immersing elastin in various glycerol-water mixtures, we observe at room temperature that the protein mobility is higher for lower glycerol fractions in the solvent and, thus, lower solvent viscosity. When decreasing the temperature, the elastin spectra approach the line shape for the rigid protein at 245 K for all studied samples, indicating that the protein ceases to be mobile on the experimental time scale of ~10(-5) s. Our findings yield evidence for a strong coupling between elastin fluctuations and solvent dynamics and, hence, such interaction is not restricted to the case of protein-water mixtures. Spectral resolution of different carbon species reveals that the protein-solvent couplings can, however, be different for side chain and backbone units. We discuss these results against the background of the slaving model for protein dynamics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiphoton photodegradation of indocyanine green: Solvent protolysis effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuyuki, Masanori, E-mail: mn.fuyuki@kio.ac.jp

2016-02-15

The multiphoton photodegradation mechanism of indocyanine green (ICG) was investigated by using femtosecond near-infrared (NIR) pump and probe pulses. In the pump fluence region from 2 mJ/cm{sup 2} to 4 mJ/cm{sup 2}, the photodegradation rate was higher in acetic acid than in ethanol, and the rate was proportional to pump fluence to the 2.3th power in acetic acid and the 3.9th in ethanol. Considering that the degree of auto-protolysis of acetic acid is much higher than that of ethanol, the experimental results indicate that self-ionized solvent molecules played an essential role in the degradation of ICG molecules excited by NIR multiphoton process. - Highlights: • Photodegradation of ICG by femtosecond near-infrared pulses. • Photodegradation rate of ICG was higher in acetic acid than in ethanol. • Photodegradation rate was proportional to pump fluence to 2.3th power in acetic acid. • Photodegradation rate was proportional to pump fluence to 3.9th power in ethanol. • Self-ionized solvent molecules promoted ICG photodegradation in acetic acid.

Quasiparticle Approach to Molecules Interacting with Quantum Solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemeshko, Mikhail

2017-03-03

Understanding the behavior of molecules interacting with superfluid helium represents a formidable challenge and, in general, requires approaches relying on large-scale numerical simulations. Here, we demonstrate that experimental data collected over the last 20 years provide evidence that molecules immersed in superfluid helium form recently predicted angulon quasiparticles [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 203001 (2015)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.114.203001]. Most important, casting the many-body problem in terms of angulons amounts to a drastic simplification and yields effective molecular moments of inertia as straightforward analytic solutions of a simple microscopic Hamiltonian. The outcome of the angulon theory is in good agreement with experiment for a broad range of molecular impurities, from heavy to medium-mass to light species. These results pave the way to understanding molecular rotation in liquid and crystalline phases in terms of the angulon quasiparticle.

Interfacial micromorphological differences in hybrid layer formation between water- and solvent-based dentin bonding systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregoire, Geneviève L; Akon, Bernadette A; Millas, Arlette

2002-06-01

Many dentin bonding systems of different compositions, and in particular containing different solvents, have been introduced to the market. Their effect on the quality of the interface requires clarification by means of comparative trials. This study investigated micromorphological differences in hybrid layer formation with a variety of commercially available water- or solvent-based dentin bonding products and their recommended compomers. Five bonding systems were used on groups of 10 teeth each as follows: group I, acetone-based system used with 36% phosphoric acid; group II, a different acetone-based system containing nano-sized particles for filler loading and used with a non-rinsing conditioner containing maleic acid; group III, the acetone-based system of group II used with 36% phosphoric acid (the only difference in the treatment for groups II and III was the acid etching system); group IV, a mixed-solvent-based system (water/ethanol) used with 37% phosphoric acid; and group V, a water-based system used with 37% phosphoric acid. Each bonding system was covered with the recommended compomer. Class I occlusal preparations were made in extracted teeth and restored with one of the above systems. Five specimens of each group were studied with optical microscopy after staining. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the interface of the bonding system/dentin of the other 5 teeth in each group. The optical microscopy measurements were made with a 10 x 10 reticle. A micron mark with scale was used for the scanning electron microscope. All measurements were made in microm. The following criteria were used to define a good interface: absence of voids between the different parts of the interface, uniformity of the hybrid layer, good opening of the tubuli orifices, and tag adherence to the tubuli walls. Morphological differences were found at the interface depending on dentin treatment and adhesive composition. The acetone-containing systems were associated

Molecular Design of Branched and Binary Molecules at Ordered Interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Genson, Kirsten Larson [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2005-01-01

This study examined five different branched molecular architectures to discern the effect of design on the ability of molecules to form ordered structures at interfaces. Photochromic monodendrons formed kinked packing structures at the air-water interface due to the cross-sectional area mismatch created by varying number of alkyl tails and the hydrophilic polar head group. The lower generations formed orthorhombic unit cell with long range ordering despite the alkyl tails tilted to a large degree. Favorable interactions between liquid crystalline terminal groups and the underlying substrate were observed to compel a flexible carbosilane dendrimer core to form a compressed elliptical conformation which packed stagger within lamellae domains with limited short range ordering. A twelve arm binary star polymer was observed to form two dimensional micelles at the air-water interface attributed to the higher polystyrene block composition. Linear rod-coil molecules formed a multitude of packing structures at the air-water interface due to the varying composition. Tree-like rod-coil molecules demonstrated the ability to form one-dimensional structures at the air-water interface and at the air-solvent interface caused by the preferential ordering of the rigid rod cores. The role of molecular architecture and composition was examined and the influence chemically competing fragments was shown to exert on the packing structure. The amphiphilic balance of the different molecular series exhibited control on the ordering behavior at the air-water interface and within bulk structures. The shell nature and tail type was determined to dictate the preferential ordering structure and molecular reorganization at interfaces with the core nature effect secondary.

A Raman spectroscopy study on the effects of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on water molecules absorbed by borosilicate glass surface

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fabing; Li, Zhanlong; Wang, Ying; Wang, Shenghan; Wang, Xiaojun; Sun, Chenglin; Men, Zhiwei

2018-05-01

The structural forms of water/deuterated water molecules located on the surface of borosilicate capillaries have been first investigated in this study on the basis of the Raman spectral data obtained at different temperatures and under atmospheric pressure for molecules in bulk and also for molecules absorbed by borosilicate glass surface. The strongest two fundamental bands locating at 3063 cm-1 (2438 cm-1) in the recorded Raman spectra are assigned here to the Osbnd H (Osbnd D) bond stretching vibrations and they are compared with the corresponding bands observed at 3124 cm-1 (2325 cm-1) in the Raman spectrum of ice Ih. Our spectroscopic observations have indicated that the structure of water and deuterated water molecules on borosilicate surface is similar to that of ice Ih (hexagonal phase of ice). These observations have also indicated that water molecules locate on the borosilicate surface so as to construct a bilayer structure and that strong and weak intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed between water/deuterated molecules and silanol groups on borosilicate surface. In accordance with these findings, water and deuterated water molecules at the interface of capillary have a higher melting temperature.

Study of the effect of gamma radiation on the molecule of tetracycline concerning its behavior as complexing and extracting agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade e Silva, Leonardo Gondim de

1982-01-01

Both solvent extraction and spectrophotometric techniques were used to show the alterations that gamma radiation causes in the behavior of tetracycline molecule as far as its extracting and complexing power are concerned. The effect of gamma radiation on the solid tetracycline molecule, benzyl alcohol and on the solution of both was examined in solvent extraction systems whose aqueous phases were made up by 152 Eu- 154 Eu radioactive tracer solutions and whose organic phases were constituted by tetracycline-benzyl alcohol solutions. Experiments were performed in order to determine whether or not the water used for the pre-saturation of benzyl alcohol would influence the radiolysis of tetracycline. Solvent extraction and spectrophotometry were the techniques used to obtain the necessary data. Absorption spectra of irradiated tetracycline benzyl alcohol solutions submitted to several gamma radiation doses were examined and the alterations shown by these spectra were examined. The effect of gamma radiation on the tetracycline molecule was also studied when tetracycline-benzyl alcohol solutions were irradiated under several gaseous atmospheres, namely: O 2 , N 2 , SF 6 and N 2 O. The variation on the concentration of the tetracycline-benzyl alcohol solution caused by several doses of gamma radiation was determined by using the spectrophotometric technique. (author)

Bio-remediation of aquifers polluted by chlorinated solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fayolle, F.

1996-01-01

Numerous cases of contamination of aquifers by chlorinated aliphatic solvents, largely utilized during the last decades, constitute a public health problem, because of the toxic effect of such compounds. Different types of aerobic or anaerobic bacteria are able to degrade these molecules. Processes of bio remediation are now experimented in order to restore polluted aquifers. We present here the microorganisms and the enzymatic reactions involved in the biodegradation of chlorinated solvents, and different examples of in situ bio remediation operations are described. (author)

Transport behavior of water molecules through two-dimensional nanopores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Chongqin; Li, Hui; Meng, Sheng

2014-01-01

Water transport through a two-dimensional nanoporous membrane has attracted increasing attention in recent years thanks to great demands in water purification and desalination applications. However, few studies have been reported on the microscopic mechanisms of water transport through structured nanopores, especially at the atomistic scale. Here we investigate the microstructure of water flow through two-dimensional model graphene membrane containing a variety of nanopores of different size by using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results clearly indicate that the continuum flow transits to discrete molecular flow patterns with decreasing pore sizes. While for pores with a diameter ≥15 Å water flux exhibits a linear dependence on the pore area, a nonlinear relationship between water flux and pore area has been identified for smaller pores. We attribute this deviation from linear behavior to the presence of discrete water flow, which is strongly influenced by the water-membrane interaction and hydrogen bonding between water molecules

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Magnesium Based Coordination Networks in Different Solvents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D Banerjee; J Finkelstein; A Smirnov; P Forster; L Borkowski; S Teat; J Parise

2011-12-31

Three magnesium based metal-organic frameworks, Mg{sub 3}(3,5-PDC){sub 3}(DMF){sub 3} {center_dot} DMF [1], Mg(3,5-PDC)(H{sub 2}O) {center_dot} (H{sub 2}O) [3], and Mg{sub 4}(3,5-PDC){sub 4}(DMF){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2} {center_dot} 2DMF {center_dot} 4.5H{sub 2}O [4], and a 2-D coordination polymer, [Mg(3,5-PDC)(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}] [2] [PDC = pyridinedicarboxylate], were synthesized using a combination of DMF, methanol, ethanol, and water. Compound 1 [space group P2{sub 1}/n, a = 12.3475(5) {angstrom}, b = 11.1929(5) {angstrom}, c = 28.6734(12) {angstrom}, {beta} = 98.8160(10){sup o}, V = 3916.0(3) {angstrom}{sup 3}] consists of a combination of isolated and corner-sharing magnesium octahedra connected by the organic linkers to form a 3-D network with a 12.2 {angstrom} x 4.6 {angstrom} 1-D channel. The channel contains coordinated and free DMF molecules. In compound 2 [space group C2/c, a = 9.964(5) {angstrom}, b = 12.0694(6) {angstrom}, c = 7.2763(4) {angstrom}, {beta} = 106.4970(6){sup o}, V = 836.70(6) {angstrom}{sup 3}], PDC connects isolated seven coordinated magnesium polyhedra into a layered structure. Compound 3 [space group P6{sub 1}22, a = 11.479(1) {angstrom}, c = 14.735(3) {angstrom}, V = 1681.7(4) {angstrom}{sup 3}] (previously reported) contains isolated magnesium octahedra connected by the organic linker with each other forming a 3D network. Compound 4 [space group P2{sub 1}/c, a = 13.7442(14) {angstrom}, b = 14.2887(15) {angstrom}, c = 14.1178(14) {angstrom}, {beta} = 104.912(2){sup o}, V = 2679.2(5) {angstrom}{sup 3}] also exhibits a 3D network based on isolated magnesium octahedra with square cavities containing both disordered DMF and water molecules. The structural topologies originate due to the variable coordination ability of solvent molecules with the metal center. Water molecules coordinate with the magnesium metal centers preferably over other polar solvents (DMF, methanol, ethanol) used to synthesize the coordination networks. Despite

Chemical reactions of water molecules on Ru(0001) induced by selective excitation of vibrational modes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mugarza, Aitor; Shimizu, Tomoko K.; Ogletree, D. Frank; Salmeron, Miquel

2009-05-07

Tunneling electrons in a scanning tunneling microscope were used to excite specific vibrational quantum states of adsorbed water and hydroxyl molecules on a Ru(0 0 0 1) surface. The excited molecules relaxed by transfer of energy to lower energy modes, resulting in diffusion, dissociation, desorption, and surface-tip transfer processes. Diffusion of H{sub 2}O molecules could be induced by excitation of the O-H stretch vibration mode at 445 meV. Isolated molecules required excitation of one single quantum while molecules bonded to a C atom required at least two quanta. Dissociation of single H{sub 2}O molecules into H and OH required electron energies of 1 eV or higher while dissociation of OH required at least 2 eV electrons. In contrast, water molecules forming part of a cluster could be dissociated with electron energies of 0.5 eV.

Solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction: A sample preparation method for trace detection of diazinon in urine and environmental water samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Aladaghlo, Zolfaghar; Fakhari, Alireza; Behbahani, Mohammad

2016-09-02

In this research, a sample preparation method termed solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction (SA-DSPE) was applied. The used sample preparation method was based on the dispersion of the sorbent into the aqueous sample to maximize the interaction surface. In this approach, the dispersion of the sorbent at a very low milligram level was received by inserting a solution of the sorbent and disperser solvent into the aqueous sample. The cloudy solution created from the dispersion of the sorbent in the bulk aqueous sample. After pre-concentration of the diazinon, the cloudy solution was centrifuged and diazinon in the sediment phase dissolved in ethanol and determined by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Under the optimized conditions (pH of solution=7.0, Sorbent: benzophenone, 2%, Disperser solvent: ethanol, 500μL, Centrifuge: centrifuged at 4000rpm for 3min), the method detection limit for diazinon was 0.2, 0.3, 0.3 and 0.3μgL(-1) for distilled water, lake water, waste water and urine sample, respectively. Furthermore, the pre-concentration factor was 363.8, 356.1, 360.7 and 353.38 in distilled water, waste water, lake water and urine sample, respectively. SA-DSPE was successfully used for trace monitoring of diazinon in urine, lake and waste water samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the Use of a Bio-Derived Solvent for Non-Solvent-Induced Phase Separation (NIPS Fabrication of Polysulfone Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobo Dong

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Organic solvents, such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP and dimethylacetamide (DMAc, have been traditionally used to fabricate polymeric membranes. These solvents may have a negative impact on the environment and human health; therefore, using renewable solvents derived from biomass is of great interest to make membrane fabrication sustainable. Methyl-5-(dimethylamino-2-methyl-5-oxopentanoate (Rhodiasolv PolarClean is a bio-derived, biodegradable, nonflammable and nonvolatile solvent. Polysulfone is a commonly used polymer to fabricate membranes due to its thermal stability, strong mechanical strength and good chemical resistance. From cloud point curves, PolarClean showed potential to be a solvent for polysulfone. Membranes prepared with PolarClean were investigated in terms of their morphology, porosity, water permeability and protein rejection, and were compared to membranes prepared with traditional solvents. The pores of polysulfone/PolarClean membranes were sponge-like, and the membranes displayed higher water flux values (176.0 ± 8.8 LMH along with slightly higher solute rejection (99.0 ± 0.51%. On the other hand, PSf/DMAc membrane pores were finger-like with lower water flux (63.1 ± 12.4 LMH and slightly lower solute rejection (96 ± 2.00% when compared to PSf/PolarClean membranes.

Melaminium nitrate–melamine–water (1/1/1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farook Adam

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In the crystal structure of the title salt, C3H7N6+·NO3−·C3H6N6·H2O, the asymmetric unit consists of two neutral melamine (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine molecules, two melaminium cations, two nitrate anions and two solvent water molecules. One of the nitrate anions is disordered over two sets of positions, with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.909 (3:0.091 (3. The cations and neutral molecules are approximately planar, with maximum deviations of 0.018 (2, 0.024 (2, 0.019 (2 and 0.007 (2 Å for each, respectively. In the crystal structure, melaminium cations and netural melamine molecules self-assemble via N—H...N hydrogen bonds to form a supramolecular hexagonal-shaped motif. In addition, the nitrate anions and water molecules are connected by N—H...O hydrogen bonds to form a three-dimensional network.

Influence of Solvent-Solvent and Solute-Solvent Interaction Properties on Solvent-Mediated Potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Shiqi

2005-01-01

A recently proposed universal calculational recipe for solvent-mediated potential is applied to calculate excess potential of mean force between two large Lennard-Jones (LJ) or hard core attractive Yukawa particles immersed in small LJ solvent bath at supercritical state. Comparison between the present prediction with a hypernetted chain approximation adopted for solute-solute correlation at infinitely dilute limit and existing simulation data shows high accuracy for the region with large separation, and qualitative reliability for the solute particle contact region. The calculational simplicity of the present recipe allows for a detailed investigation on the effect of the solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interaction details on the excess potential of mean force. The resultant conclusion is that gathering of solvent particles near a solute particle leads to repulsive excess PMF, while depletion of solvent particles away from the solute particle leads to attractive excess PMF, and minor change of the solvent-solvent interaction range has large influence on the excess PMF.

An implicit boundary integral method for computing electric potential of macromolecules in solvent

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Yimin; Ren, Kui; Tsai, Richard

2018-04-01

A numerical method using implicit surface representations is proposed to solve the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation that arises in mathematical models for the electrostatics of molecules in solvent. The proposed method uses an implicit boundary integral formulation to derive a linear system defined on Cartesian nodes in a narrowband surrounding the closed surface that separates the molecule and the solvent. The needed implicit surface is constructed from the given atomic description of the molecules, by a sequence of standard level set algorithms. A fast multipole method is applied to accelerate the solution of the linear system. A few numerical studies involving some standard test cases are presented and compared to other existing results.

The reactivity of allyl and propargyl alcohols with solvated electrons: temperature and solvent effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afanassiev, A.M.; Okazaki, K.; Freeman, G.R.

1979-01-01

The rate constants K 1 for the reaction of solvated electrons with allyl alcohol in a number of hydroxylic solvents differ by up to two orders of magnitude and decrease in the order tert-butyl alcohol > 2-propanol > l-propanol approximately ethanol > methanol approximately ethylene glycol > water. In methanol and ethylene glycol the rate constants (7 x 10 7 M -1 s -1 at 298 K) and activation energies (16 kJ/mol) are equal, in spite of a 32-fold difference in solvent viscosity (0.54 and 17.3 cP, respectively) and 3-fold difference in its activation energy (11 and 32 kJ/mol, respectively). The reaction in tert-butyl alcohol is nearly diffusion controlled and has a high activation energy that is characteristic of transport in that liquid (E 1 = 31 kJ/mol, E sub(eta) = 39 kJ/mol). The activation energies in the other alcohols are all 16 kJ/mol, and it is 14 kJ/mol in water. They do not correlate with transport properties. The solvent effect is connected primarily with the entropy of activation. The rate constants correlate with the solvated electron trap depth. When the electron affinity of the scavenger is small, a favorable configuration of solvent molecules about the electron/scavenger encounter pair is required for the electron jump to take place. The behavior of the rate parameters for propargyl alcohol is similar to that for allyl alcohol, but k 1 , A 1 , and E 1 are larger for the former. The ratio k(propargyl)/k(allyl) at 298 K equals 10.5 in water and decreases through the series, reaching 1.3 in tert-butyl alcohol. Rate parameters for several other scavengers are also reported. (author)

Protein-solvent preferential interactions, protein hydration, and the modulation of biochemical reactions by solvent components.

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Timasheff, Serge N

2002-07-23

Solvent additives (cosolvents, osmolytes) modulate biochemical reactions if, during the course of the reaction, there is a change in preferential interactions of solvent components with the reacting system. Preferential interactions can be expressed in terms of preferential binding of the cosolvent or its preferential exclusion (preferential hydration). The driving force is the perturbation by the protein of the chemical potential of the cosolvent. It is shown that the measured change of the amount of water in contact with protein during the course of the reaction modulated by an osmolyte is a change in preferential hydration that is strictly a measure of the cosolvent chemical potential perturbation by the protein in the ternary water-protein-cosolvent system. It is not equal to the change in water of hydration, because water of hydration is a reflection strictly of protein-water forces in a binary system. There is no direct relation between water of preferential hydration and water of hydration.

Hydrogen bonding characterization in water and small molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestrelli, Pier Luigi

2017-06-01

The prototypical hydrogen bond in water dimer and hydrogen bonds in the protonated water dimer, in other small molecules, in water cyclic clusters, and in ice, covering a wide range of bond strengths, are theoretically investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, considering not only a standard generalized gradient approximation functional but also, for the water dimer, hybrid and van der Waals corrected functionals. We compute structural, energetic, and electrostatic (induced molecular dipole moments) properties. In particular, hydrogen bonds are characterized in terms of differential electron density distributions and profiles, and of the shifts of the centres of maximally localized Wannier functions. The information from the latter quantities can be conveyed to a single geometric bonding parameter that appears to be correlated with the Mayer bond order parameter and can be taken as an estimate of the covalent contribution to the hydrogen bond. By considering the water trimer, the cyclic water hexamer, and the hexagonal phase of ice, we also elucidate the importance of cooperative/anticooperative effects in hydrogen-bonding formation.

Nonhazardous solvent composition and method for cleaning metal surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Googin, J.M.; Simandl, R.F.; Thompson, L.M.

1993-01-01

A solvent composition for displacing greasy and oily contaminants as well as water and/or aqueous residue from metallic surfaces, especially surfaces of radioactive materials so that such surfaces can be wiped clean of the displaced contaminants, water and/or aqueous residue. The solvent composition consists essentially of a blend of nonpolar aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent having a minimum flash point of about 140 F and 2 to 25 volume percent of a polar solvent having a flash point sufficiently high so as to provide the solvent composition with a minimum flash point of at least 140 F. The solvent composition is nonhazardous so that when it is used to clean the surfaces of radioactive materials the waste in the form of paper or cloth wipes, lab coats and the like used in the cleaning operation is not considered to be mixed waste composed of a hazardous solvent and a radioactive material

Influence of different water-ethanol solvent systems on the spectroscopic and physico-chemical properties of the macrocyclic compounds pheophytin and chlorophyll a

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Leonardo M.; Rodrigues, Maira R.; Oliveira, Hueder P. M. de; Lima, Adriana; Soares, Rafael R. S.; Batistela, Vagner R.; Gerola, Adriana P.; Hioka, Noboru; Severino, Divinomar; Baptista, Mauricio S.; Machado, Antonio Eduardo da Hora

2010-01-01

This work focus on the influence of solvent on the photophysical properties of chlorophyll a and pheophytin. Both compounds are related to the photosynthesis process and are considered prototypes of photosensitizers in Photodynamic Therapy. Fluorescence measurements were developed using water/ethanol mixtures at different compositions, since both solvents could be employed in biological applications. The spectroscopic properties of these compounds undergo profound changes depending on water content in the ethanol due to auto-aggregation processes. The major hydrophobicity and the lower dielectric constant of ethanol when compared with water precluded significantly the auto-aggregation process of these compounds. (author)

Method to produce water-soluble sugars from biomass using solvents containing lactones

Science.gov (United States)

Dumesic, James A.; Luterbacher, Jeremy S.

2017-08-08

A process to produce an aqueous solution of carbohydrates that contains C6-sugar-containing oligomers, C6 sugar monomers, C5-sugar-containing oligomers, C5 sugar monomers, or any combination thereof is presented. The process includes the steps of reacting biomass or a biomass-derived reactant with a solvent system including a lactone and water, and an acid catalyst. The reaction yields a product mixture containing water-soluble C6-sugar-containing oligomers, C6-sugar monomers, C5-sugar-containing oligomers, C5-sugar monomers, or any combination thereof. A solute is added to the product mixture to cause partitioning of the product mixture into an aqueous layer containing the carbohydrates and a substantially immiscible organic layer containing the lactone.

"Solvent-in-salt" systems for design of new materials in chemistry, biology and energy research.

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Azov, Vladimir A; Egorova, Ksenia S; Seitkalieva, Marina M; Kashin, Alexey S; Ananikov, Valentine P

2018-02-21

Inorganic and organic "solvent-in-salt" (SIS) systems have been known for decades but have attracted significant attention only recently. Molten salt hydrates/solvates have been successfully employed as non-flammable, benign electrolytes in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries leading to a revolution in battery development and design. SIS with organic components (for example, ionic liquids containing small amounts of water) demonstrate remarkable thermal stability and tunability, and present a class of admittedly safer electrolytes, in comparison with traditional organic solvents. Water molecules tend to form nano- and microstructures (droplets and channel networks) in ionic media impacting their heterogeneity. Such microscale domains can be employed as microreactors for chemical and enzymatic synthesis. In this review, we address known SIS systems and discuss their composition, structure, properties and dynamics. Special attention is paid to the current and potential applications of inorganic and organic SIS systems in energy research, chemistry and biochemistry. A separate section of this review is dedicated to experimental methods of SIS investigation, which is crucial for the development of this field.

Efficient sample preparation method based on solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction for the trace detection of butachlor in urine and waste water samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Aladaghlo, Zolfaghar; Fakhari, Alireza; Behbahani, Mohammad

2016-10-01

In this work, an efficient sample preparation method termed solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction was applied. The used sample preparation method was based on the dispersion of the sorbent (benzophenone) into the aqueous sample to maximize the interaction surface. In this approach, the dispersion of the sorbent at a very low milligram level was achieved by inserting a solution of the sorbent and disperser solvent into the aqueous sample. The cloudy solution created from the dispersion of the sorbent in the bulk aqueous sample. After pre-concentration of the butachlor, the cloudy solution was centrifuged and butachlor in the sediment phase dissolved in ethanol and determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Under the optimized conditions (solution pH = 7.0, sorbent: benzophenone, 2%, disperser solvent: ethanol, 500 μL, centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 3 min), the method detection limit for butachlor was 2, 3 and 3 μg/L for distilled water, waste water, and urine sample, respectively. Furthermore, the preconcentration factor was 198.8, 175.0, and 174.2 in distilled water, waste water, and urine sample, respectively. Solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction was successfully used for the trace monitoring of butachlor in urine and waste water samples. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Water-mediated influence of a crowded environment on internal vibrations of a protein molecule.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuffel, Anna; Zielkiewicz, Jan

2016-02-14

The influence of crowding on the protein inner dynamics is examined by putting a single protein molecule close to one or two neighboring protein molecules. The presence of additional molecules influences the amplitudes of protein fluctuations. Also, a weak dynamical coupling of collective velocities of surface atoms of proteins separated by a layer of water is detected. The possible mechanisms of these phenomena are described. The cross-correlation function of the collective velocities of surface atoms of two proteins was decomposed into the Fourier series. The amplitude spectrum displays a peak at low frequencies. Also, the results of principal component analysis suggest that the close presence of an additional protein molecule influences the high-amplitude, low-frequency modes in the most prominent way. This part of the spectrum covers biologically important protein motions. The neighbor-induced changes in the inner dynamics of the protein may be connected with the changes in the velocity power spectrum of interfacial water. The additional protein molecule changes the properties of solvation water and in this way it can influence the dynamics of the second protein. It is suggested that this phenomenon may be described, at first approximation, by a damped oscillator driven by an external random force. This model was successfully applied to conformationally rigid Choristoneura fumiferana antifreeze protein molecules.

Solvent extraction: the coordination chemistry behind extractive metallurgy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, A Matthew; Bailey, Phillip J; Tasker, Peter A; Turkington, Jennifer R; Grant, Richard A; Love, Jason B

2014-01-07

The modes of action of the commercial solvent extractants used in extractive hydrometallurgy are classified according to whether the recovery process involves the transport of metal cations, M(n+), metalate anions, MXx(n-), or metal salts, MXx into a water-immiscible solvent. Well-established principles of coordination chemistry provide an explanation for the remarkable strengths and selectivities shown by most of these extractants. Reagents which achieve high selectivity when transporting metal cations or metal salts into a water-immiscible solvent usually operate in the inner coordination sphere of the metal and provide donor atom types or dispositions which favour the formation of particularly stable neutral complexes that have high solubility in the hydrocarbons commonly used in recovery processes. In the extraction of metalates, the structures of the neutral assemblies formed in the water-immiscible phase are usually not well defined and the cationic reagents can be assumed to operate in the outer coordination spheres. The formation of secondary bonds in the outer sphere using, for example, electrostatic or H-bonding interactions are favoured by the low polarity of the water-immiscible solvents.

Aminosilicone solvent recovery methods and systems

Science.gov (United States)

Spiry, Irina Pavlovna; Perry, Robert James; Wood, Benjamin Rue; Singh, Surinder Prabhjot; Farnum, Rachel Lizabeth; Genovese, Sarah Elizabeth

2018-02-13

The present invention is directed to aminosilicone solvent recovery methods and systems. The methods and systems disclosed herein may be used to recover aminosilicone solvent from a carbon dioxide containing vapor stream, for example, a vapor stream that leaves an aminosilicone solvent desorber apparatus. The methods and systems of the invention utilize a first condensation process at a temperature from about 80.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C. and a second condensation process at a temperature from about 5.degree. C. to about 75.degree. C. The first condensation process yields recovered aminosilicone solvent. The second condensation process yields water.

Bis{μ-cis-1,3-bis[(di-tert-butylphosphanyloxy]cyclohexane-κ2P:P′}bis[carbonylnickel(0] including an unknown solvent molecule

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klara J. Jonasson

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The title compound, [Ni2(C22H46P2O22(CO2], is located about a centre of inversion with the Ni0 atom within a distorted trigonal–planar geometry. The cyclohexyl rings are in the usual chair conformation with the 1,3-cis substituents equatorially oriented. No specific intermolecular interactions are noted in the crystal packing. A region of disordered electron density, most probably a disordered deuterobenzene solvent molecule, was treated using the SQUEEZE routine in PLATON [Spek (2009. Acta Cryst. D65, 148–155]. Its formula mass and unit-cell characteristics were not taken into account during refinement.

Ligand uptake in Mycobacterium tuberculosis truncated hemoglobins is controlled by both internal tunnels and active site water molecules [version 2; referees: 2 approved

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Ignacio Boron

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis, has two proteins belonging to the truncated hemoglobin (trHb family. Mt-trHbN presents well-defined internal hydrophobic tunnels that allow O2 and •ŸNO to migrate easily from the solvent to the active site, whereas Mt-trHbO possesses tunnels interrupted by a few bulky residues, particularly a tryptophan at position G8. Differential ligand migration rates allow Mt-trHbN to detoxify Ÿ•NO, a crucial step for pathogen survival once under attack by the immune system, much more efficiently than Mt-trHbO. In order to investigate the differences between these proteins, we performed experimental kinetic measurements, Ÿ•NO decomposition, as well as molecular dynamics simulations of the wild type Mt-trHbN and two mutants, VG8F and VG8W. These mutations affect both the tunnels accessibility as well as the affinity of distal site water molecules, thus modifying the ligand access to the iron. We found that a single mutation allows Mt-trHbN to acquire ligand migration rates comparable to those observed for Mt-trHbO, confirming that ligand migration is regulated by the internal tunnel architecture as well as by water molecules stabilized in the active site.

Solid–liquid equilibrium and thermodynamic research of 3-Thiophenecarboxylic acid in (water + acetic acid) binary solvent mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xiang; Liang, Mengmeng; Hu, Yonghong; Yang, Wenge; Shi, Ying; Yin, Jingjing; Liu, Yan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The solubility was measured in (water + acetic acid) from 283.15 to 338.15 K. • The solubility increased with increasing temperature and water contents. • The modified Apelblat equation was more accurate than the λh equation. - Abstract: In this study, the solubility of 3-thiophenecarboxylic acid was measured in (water + acetic acid) binary solvent mixtures in the temperature ranging from 283.15 to 338.15 K by the analytical stirred-flask method under atmospheric pressure. The experimental data were well-correlated with the modified Apelblat equation and the λh equation. In addition, the calculated solubilities showed good agreement with the experimental results. It was found that the modified Apelblat equation could obtain the better correlation results than the λh equation. The experiment results indicated that the solubility of 3-thiophenecarboxylic acid in the binary solvents increased with increasing temperature, increases with increasing water contents, but the increments with temperature differed from different water contents. In addition, the thermodynamic properties of the solution process, including the Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy were calculated by the van’t Hoff analysis. The experimental data and model parameters would be useful for optimizing the process of purification of 3-thiophenecarboxylic acid in industry

Large-scale enzymatic production of natural flavour esters in organic solvent with continuous water removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Gubicza, L; Kabiri-Badr, A; Keoves, E; Belafi-Bako, K

2001-11-30

A new, large-scale process was developed for the enzymatic production of low molecular weight flavour esters in organic solvent. Solutions for the elimination of substrate and product inhibitions are presented. The excess water produced during the process was continuously removed by hetero-azeotropic distillation and esters were produced at yields of over 90%.

Measurement and correlation of solubility of cefmenoxime hydrochloride in pure solvents and binary solvent mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jinxiu; Xie, Chuang; Yin, Qiuxiang; Tao, Linggang; Lv, Jun; Wang, Yongli; He, Fang; Hao, Hongxun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Solubility of cefmenoxime hydrochloride in pure and binary solvents was determined. • The experimental solubility data were correlated by thermodynamic models. • A model was employed to calculate the melting temperature of cefmenoxime hydrochloride. • Mixing thermodynamic properties of cefmenoxime hydrochloride were calculated. - Abstract: The solubility of cefmenoxime hydrochloride in pure solvents and binary solvent mixtures was measured at temperatures from (283.15 to 313.15) K by using the UV spectroscopic method. The results reveal that the solubility of cefmenoxime hydrochloride increases with increasing temperature in all solvent selected. The solubility of cefmenoxime hydrochloride reaches its maximum value when the mole fraction of isopropanol is 0.2 in the binary solvent mixtures of (isopropanol + water). The modified Apelblat equation and the NRTL model were successfully used to correlate the experimental solubility in pure solvents while the modified Apelblat equation, the CNIBS/R–K model and the Jouyban–Acree model were applied to correlate the solubility in binary solvent mixtures. In addition, the mixing thermodynamic properties of cefmenoxime hydrochloride in different solvents were also calculated based on the NRTL model and experimental solubility data.

The impact of kosmotropes and chaotropes on bulk and hydration shell water dynamics in a model peptide solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russo, Daniela

2008-01-01

Kosmotropic (order-making) and chaotropic (order-breaking) co-solvents influence stability and biochemical equilibrium in aqueous solutions of proteins, acting indirectly through the structure and dynamics of the hydration water that surrounds the protein molecules. We have investigated the influence of kosmotropic and chaotropic co-solvents on the hydrogen bonding network dynamics of both bulk water and hydration water. To this end the evolution of bulk water and hydration water dynamics of a prototypical hydrophobic amino acid with polar backbone, N-acetyl-leucine-methylamide (NALMA), has been studied by quasielastic neutron scattering as a function of solvent composition. The results show that bulk water and hydration water dynamics, apart from a dynamical suppression that depends on the NALMA solute, exhibit the same dependence on addition of co-solvent for all of the co-solvents studied (urea, glycerol, MgSO 4 , and dimethyl sulfoxide). The hydrophobic solute and the high concentration water-structuring additive have the same effect on the water hydrogen bonding network. Water remains the preferential hydration of the hydrophobic side chain and backbone. We also find that the reorganization of the bulk water hydrogen bond network, upon addition of kosmotrope and chaotrope additives, is not dynamically perturbed, and that the hydrogen bond lifetime is maintained at 1 ps as in pure bulk water. On the other hand the addition of NALMA to the water/co-solvent binary system causes reorganization of the hydrogen bonds, resulting in an increased hydrogen bond lifetime. Furthermore, the solute's side chain dynamics is not affected by high concentrations of co-solvent. We shall discuss the hydration dynamics results in the context of protein folding and protein-solvent interactions

Phase equilibria of didecyldimethylammonium nitrate ionic liquid with water and organic solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domanska, Urszula; Lugowska, Katarzyna; Pernak, Juliusz

2007-01-01

The phase diagrams for binary mixtures of an ammonium ionic liquid, didecyldimethylammonium nitrate, [DDA][NO 3 ], with: alcohols (propan-1-ol, butan-1-ol, octan-1-ol, and decan-1-ol): hydrocarbons (toluene, propylbenzene, hexane, and hexadecane) and with water were determined in our laboratory. The phase equilibria were measured by a dynamic method from T 220 K to either the melting point of the ionic liquid, or to the boiling point of the solvent. A simple liquidus curve in a eutectic system was observed for [DDA][NO 3 ] with: alcohols (propan-1-ol, butan-1-ol, and octan-1-ol); aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene and propylbenzene) and with water. (Solid + liquid) equilibria with immiscibility in the liquid phase were detected with the aliphatic hydrocarbons heptane and hexadecane and with decan-1-ol. (Liquid + liquid) equilibria for the system [DDA][NO 3 ] with hexadecane was observed for the whole mole fraction range of the ionic liquid. The observation of the upper critical solution temperature in binary mixtures of ([DDA][NO 3 ] + decan-1-ol, heptane, or hexadecane) was limited by the boiling temperature of the solvent. Characterisation and purity of the compounds were determined by elemental analysis, water content (Fisher method) and differential scanning microcalorimetry (d.s.c.) analysis. The d.s.c. method of analysis was used to determine melting temperatures and enthalpies of fusion. The thermal stability of the ionic liquid was resolved by the thermogravimetric technique-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) technique over a wide temperature range from (200 to 780) K. The thermal decomposition temperature of 50% of the sample was greater than 500 K. The (solid + liquid) phase equilibria, curves were correlated by means of different G Ex models utilizing parameters derived from the (solid + liquid) equilibrium. The root-mean-square deviations of the solubility temperatures for all calculated data are dependent upon the particular system and the particular

Separation of ethanol and water by extractive distillation with salt and solvent as entrainer: process simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. D. Gil

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to simulate and analyze an extractive distillation process for azeotropic ethanol dehydration with ethylene glycol and calcium chloride mixture as entrainer. The work was developed with Aspen Plus® simulator version 11.1. Calculation of the activity coefficients employed to describe vapor liquid equilibrium of ethanol - water - ethylene glycol - calcium chloride system was done with the NRTL-E equation and they were validated with experimental data. The dehydration process used two columns: the main extractive column and the recovery column. The solvent to feed molar ratio S/F=0.3, molar reflux ratio RR=0.35, number of theoretical stages Ns=18, feed stage Sf=12, feed solvent stage SS=3, and feed solvent temperature TS=80 ºC, were determined to obtain a distillate with at least 99.5 % mole of ethanol. A substantial reduction in the energy consumption, compared with the conventional processes, was predicted by using ethylene glycol and calcium chloride as entrainer.

Process to prepare stable trifluorostyrene containing compounds grafted to base polymers using a solvent/water mixture

Science.gov (United States)

Roelofs, Mark Gerrit; Yang, Zhen-Yu; Han, Amy Qi

2010-06-15

A fluorinated ion exchange polymer is prepared by grafting at least one grafting monomer derived from trifluorostyrene on to at least one base polymer in a organic solvent/water mixture. These ion exchange polymers are useful in preparing catalyst coated membranes and membrane electrode assemblies used in fuel cells.

Cooperative effects in the structuring of fluoride water clusters: Ab initio hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical model incorporating polarizable fluctuating charge solvent

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce, Richard A.; Vincent, Mark A.; Malcolm, Nathaniel O. J.; Hillier, Ian H.; Burton, Neil A.

1998-08-01

A new hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical model of solvation is developed and used to describe the structure and dynamics of small fluoride/water clusters, using an ab initio wave function to model the ion and a fluctuating charge potential to model the waters. Appropriate parameters for the water-water and fluoride-water interactions are derived, with the fluoride anion being described by density functional theory and a large Gaussian basis. The role of solvent polarization in determining the structure and energetics of F(H2O)4- clusters is investigated, predicting a slightly greater stability of the interior compared to the surface structure, in agreement with ab initio studies. An extended Lagrangian treatment of the polarizable water, in which the water atomic charges fluctuate dynamically, is used to study the dynamics of F(H2O)4- cluster. A simulation using a fixed solvent charge distribution indicates principally interior, solvated states for the cluster. However, a preponderance of trisolvated configurations is observed using the polarizable model at 300 K, which involves only three direct fluoride-water hydrogen bonds. Ab initio calculations confirm this trisolvated species as a thermally accessible state at room temperature, in addition to the tetrasolvated interior and surface structures. Extension of this polarizable water model to fluoride clusters with five and six waters gave less satisfactory agreement with experimental energies and with ab initio geometries. However, our results do suggest that a quantitative model of solvent polarization is fundamental for an accurate understanding of the properties of anionic water clusters.

Effect of Different Solvents on the Measurement of Phenolics and the Antioxidant Activity of Mulberry (Morus atropurpurea Roxb.) with Accelerated Solvent Extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jiufang; Ou, XiaoQun; Zhang, Xiaoxu; Zhou, ZiYing; Ma, LiYan

2017-03-01

The effects of 9 different solvents on the measurement of the total phenolics and antioxidant activities of mulberry fruits were studied using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). Sixteen to 22 types of phenolics (flavonols, flavan-3-ols, flavanol, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, and stilbenes) from different mulberry extracts were characterized and quantified using HPLC-MS/MS. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the suitable solvents to distinguish between different classes of phenolics. Additionally, the phenolic extraction abilities of ASE and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) were compared. The highest extraction efficiency could be achieved by using 50% acidified methanol (50MA) as ASE solvents with 15.14 mg/gallic acid equivalents g dry weight of mulberry fruit. The PCA results revealed that the 50MA followed by 50% acidified acetone (50AA) was the most efficient solvent for the extraction of phenolics, particularly flavonols (627.12 and 510.31 μg/g dry weight, respectively), while water (W) was not beneficial to the extraction of all categories of phenolics. Besides, the results of 3 antioxidant capability assays (DPPH, ABTS free radical-scavenging assay, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay) showed that water-based organic solvents increased the antioxidant capabilities of the extracts compared with water or pure organic solvents. ASE was more suitable for the extraction of phenolics than UAE. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

The Future of Polar Organometallic Chemistry Written in Bio-Based Solvents and Water.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Álvarez, Joaquín; Hevia, Eva; Capriati, Vito

2018-06-19

There is a strong imperative to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the environment, and many efforts are currently being made to replace conventional hazardous VOCs in favour of safe, green and bio-renewable reaction media that are not based on crude petroleum. Recent ground-breaking studies from a few laboratories worldwide have shown that both Grignard and (functionalised) organolithium reagents, traditionally handled under strict exclusion of air and humidity and in anhydrous VOCs, can smoothly promote both nucleophilic additions to unsaturated substrates and nucleophilic substitutions in water and other bio-based solvents (glycerol, deep eutectic solvents), competitively with protonolysis, at room temperature and under air. The chemistry of polar organometallics in the above protic media is a complex phenomenon influenced by several factors, and understanding its foundational character is surely stimulating in the perspective of the development of a sustainable organometallic chemistry. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Spin-crossover in [Fe(3-bpp)2][BF4]2 in different solvents--a dramatic stabilisation of the low-spin state in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Simon A; Kilner, Colin A; Halcrow, Malcolm A

2011-12-07

The temperature of spin-crossover in [Fe(3-bpp)(2)][BF(4)](2) (3-bpp = 2,6-di{pyrazol-3-yl}pyridine) tends to increase in associating solvents. In particular, T(½) shifts to 60-70 K higher temperature in water compared to organic solvents.

Superhydrophobic silica wool—a facile route to separating oil and hydrophobic solvents from water

Science.gov (United States)

Crick, Colin R.; Bhachu, Davinder S.; Parkin, Ivan P.

2014-12-01

Silica microfiber wool was systematically functionalized in order to provide an extremely water repellent and oleophilic material. This was carried out using a two-step functionalization that was shown to be a highly effective method for generating an intense water repulsion and attraction for oil. A demonstration of the silica wools application is shown through the highly efficient separation of oils and hydrophobic solvents from water. Water is confined to the extremities of the material, while oil is absorbed into the voids within the wool. The effect of surface functionalization is monitored though observing the interaction of the material with both oils and water, in addition to scanning electron microscope images, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis. The material can be readily utilized in many applications, including the cleaning of oil spills and filtering during industrial processes, as well as further water purification tasks—while not suffering the losses of efficiency observed in current leading polymeric materials.

Measuring CO ₂ and N ₂ O Mass Transfer into GAP-1 CO ₂ –Capture Solvents at Varied Water Loadings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whyatt, Greg A.; Zwoster, Andy; Zheng, Feng; Perry, Robert J.; Wood, Benjamin R.; Spiry, Irina; Freeman, Charles J.; Heldebrant, David J.

2017-04-12

This paper investigates the CO₂ and N₂ O absorption behavior in the water-lean gamma amino propyl (GAP)-1/TEG solvent system using a wetted-wall contactor. Testing was performed on a blend of GAP-1 aminosilicone in triethylene glycol at varied water loadings in the solvent. Measurements were made with CO₂ and N₂ O at representative lean (0.04 mol CO₂/mol alkalinity), middle (0.13 mol CO₂ /mol alkalinity) and rich (0.46 mol CO₂ /mol alkalinity) solvent loadings at 0, 5, 10 and 15 wt% water loadings at 40, 60 and 80C° and N₂ O at (0.08-0.09 mol CO₂ /mol alkalinity) at 5 wt% water at 40, 60 and 80C°. CO₂ flux was found to be non-linear with respect to log mean pressure driving force (LMPD). Liquid-film mass transfer coefficients (k'g) were calculated by subtracting the gas film resistance (determined from a correlation from literature) from the overall mass transfer measurement. The resulting k'g values for CO₂ and N₂ O in GAP-1/TEG mixtures were found to be higher than that of 5M aqueous monoethanolamine under comparable driving force albeit at higher solvent viscosities. The k'g values for CO₂ were also found to decrease with increasing solvent water content and increase with a decrease in temperature. These observations indicate that mass transfer of CO₂ in GAP-1/TEG is linked to the physical solubility of CO₂ , which is higher in organic solvents compared to water. This paper expands on the understanding of the unique mass transfer behavior and kinetics of CO₂ capture in water-lean solvents.

Opportunities for Bio-Based Solvents Created as Petrochemical and Fuel Products Transition towards Renewable Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, James H; Farmer, Thomas J; Hunt, Andrew J; Sherwood, James

2015-07-28

The global bio-based chemical market is growing in size and importance. Bio-based solvents such as glycerol and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran are often discussed as important introductions to the conventional repertoire of solvents. However adoption of new innovations by industry is typically slow. Therefore it might be anticipated that neoteric solvent systems (e.g., ionic liquids) will remain niche, while renewable routes to historically established solvents will continue to grow in importance. This review discusses bio-based solvents from the perspective of their production, identifying suitable feedstocks, platform molecules, and relevant product streams for the sustainable manufacturing of conventional solvents.

Opportunities for Bio-Based Solvents Created as Petrochemical and Fuel Products Transition towards Renewable Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, James H.; Farmer, Thomas J.; Hunt, Andrew J.; Sherwood, James

2015-01-01

The global bio-based chemical market is growing in size and importance. Bio-based solvents such as glycerol and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran are often discussed as important introductions to the conventional repertoire of solvents. However adoption of new innovations by industry is typically slow. Therefore it might be anticipated that neoteric solvent systems (e.g., ionic liquids) will remain niche, while renewable routes to historically established solvents will continue to grow in importance. This review discusses bio-based solvents from the perspective of their production, identifying suitable feedstocks, platform molecules, and relevant product streams for the sustainable manufacturing of conventional solvents. PMID:26225963

The initial step of silicate versus aluminosilicate formation in zeolite synthesis: a reaction mechanism in water with a tetrapropylammonium template

KAUST Repository

Trinh, Thuat T.

2012-01-01

The initial step for silicate and aluminosilicate condensation is studied in water in the presence of a realistic tetrapropylammonium template under basic conditions. The model corresponds to the synthesis conditions of ZSM5. The free energy profile for the dimer formation ((OH) 3Si-O-Si-(OH) 2O - or [(OH) 3Al-O-Si-(OH) 3] -) is calculated with ab initio molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration. The Si-O-Si dimer formation occurs in a two-step manner with an overall free energy barrier of 75 kJ mol -1. The first step is associated with the Si-O bond formation and results in an intermediate with a five-coordinated Si, and the second one concerns the removal of the water molecule. The template is displaced away from the Si centres upon dimer formation, and a shell of water molecules is inserted between the silicate and the template. The main effect of the template is to slow down the backward hydrolysis reaction with respect to the condensation one. The Al-O-Si dimer formation first requires the formation of a metastable precursor state by proton transfer from Si(OH) 4 to Al(OH) 4 - mediated by a solvent molecule. It then proceeds through a single step with an overall barrier of 70 kJ mol -1. The model with water molecules explicitly included is then compared to a simple calculation using an implicit continuum model for the solvent. The results underline the importance of an explicit and dynamical treatment of the water solvent, which plays a key role in assisting the reaction. © the Owner Societies 2012.

On-line micro-volume introduction system developed for lower density than water extraction solvent and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anthemidis, Aristidis N.; Mitani, Constantina; Balkatzopoulou, Paschalia; Tzanavaras, Paraskevas D.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A dispersive liquid–liquid micro extraction method for lead and copper determination. ► A micro-volume transportation system for extractant solvent lighter than water. ► Analysis of natural water samples. - Abstract: A simple and fast preconcentration/separation dispersive liquid–liquid micro extraction (DLLME) method for metal determination based on the use of extraction solvent with lower density than water has been developed. For this purpose a novel micro-volume introduction system was developed enabling the on-line injection of the organic solvent into flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed system were demonstrated for lead and copper preconcentration in environmental water samples using di-isobutyl ketone (DBIK) as extraction solvent. Under the optimum conditions the enhancement factor for lead and copper was 187 and 310 respectively. For a sample volume of 10 mL, the detection limit (3 s) and the relative standard deviation were 1.2 μg L −1 and 3.3% for lead and 0.12 μg L −1 and 2.9% for copper respectively. The developed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference material and it was applied successfully to the analysis of environmental water samples.

Slow neutron scattering by water molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stancic, V [Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Beograd (Yugoslavia)

1970-07-01

In this work some new, preliminary formulae for slow neutron scattering cross section calculation by heavy and light water molecules have been done. The idea was to find, from the sum which exists in well known Nelkin model, other cross sections in a more simple analytical form, so that next approximations may be possible. In order to sum a series it was starting from Euler-Mclaurin formula. Some new summation formulae have been derived there, and defined in two theorems. Extensive calculations, especially during the evaluation of residues, have been made at the CDC 3600 computer. validation of derived formulae was done by comparison with the BNL-325 results. Good agreement is shown. (author)

Slow neutron scattering by water molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stancic, V.

1970-01-01

In this work some new, preliminary formulae for slow neutron scattering cross section calculation by heavy and light water molecules have been done. The idea was to find, from the sum which exists in well known Nelkin model, other cross sections in a more simple analytical form, so that next approximations may be possible. In order to sum a series it was starting from Euler-Mclaurin formula. Some new summation formulae have been derived there, and defined in two theorems. Extensive calculations, especially during the evaluation of residues, have been made at the CDC 3600 computer. validation of derived formulae was done by comparison with the BNL-325 results. Good agreement is shown. (author)

Measurements of water molecule density by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy in dielectric barrier discharges with gas-water interface

Science.gov (United States)

Tachibana, Kunihide; Nakamura, Toshihiro; Kawasaki, Mitsuo; Morita, Tatsuo; Umekawa, Toyofumi; Kawasaki, Masahiro

2018-01-01

We measured water molecule (H2O) density by tunable diode-laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) for applications in dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) with a gas-water interface. First, the effects of water temperature and presence of gas flow were tested using a Petri dish filled with water and a gas injection nozzle. Second, the TDLAS system was applied to the measurements of H2O density in two types of DBDs; one was a normal (non-inverted) type with a dielectric-covered electrode above a water-filled counter electrode and the other was an inverted type with a water-suspending mesh electrode above a dielectric-covered counter electrode. The H2O density in the normal DBD was close to the density estimated from the saturated vapor pressure, whereas the density in the inverted DBD was about half of that in the former type. The difference is attributed to the upward gas flow in the latter type, that pushes the water molecules up towards the gas-water interface.

STICKING OF MOLECULES ON NONPOROUS AMORPHOUS WATER ICE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Jiao; Vidali, Gianfranco [Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244 (United States); Acharyya, Kinsuk, E-mail: gvidali@syr.edu [Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States)

2016-05-20

Accurate modeling of physical and chemical processes in the interstellar medium (ISM) requires detailed knowledge of how atoms and molecules adsorb on dust grains. However, the sticking coefficient, a number between 0 and 1 that measures the first step in the interaction of a particle with a surface, is usually assumed in simulations of ISM environments to be either 0.5 or 1. Here we report on the determination of the sticking coefficient of H{sub 2}, D{sub 2}, N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, CO, CH{sub 4}, and CO{sub 2} on nonporous amorphous solid water. The sticking coefficient was measured over a wide range of surface temperatures using a highly collimated molecular beam. We showed that the standard way of measuring the sticking coefficient—the King–Wells method—leads to the underestimation of trapping events in which there is incomplete energy accommodation of the molecule on the surface. Surface scattering experiments with the use of a pulsed molecular beam are used instead to measure the sticking coefficient. Based on the values of the measured sticking coefficient, we suggest a useful general formula of the sticking coefficient as a function of grain temperature and molecule-surface binding energy. We use this formula in a simulation of ISM gas–grain chemistry to find the effect of sticking on the abundance of key molecules both on grains and in the gas phase.

The Morphological Change of Silver Nanoparticles in Water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Peng; Wang Rong-Yao; Jin Jing-Yang; Xu Le; Shi Qing-Fan

2012-01-01

The solvent-induced morphological change of silver nanoparticles is studied with a combination of optical spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). By using the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy arising from Ag nanoparticles, an in-situ investigation of the spectral changes is carried out before, during and after exposure of Ag island films to water. Combining with the morphological observations by AFM, we sort out the morphological and dielectric contributions to the water-induced LSPR changes. Our results demonstrate that a slight morphological change induced by water contact can result in an apparent blue shift of the LSPR spectral maximum. Furthermore, it is found that this structural change leads to a higher sensitivity of the Ag island films in response to the change in the external dielectric environment. This solvent-induced morphological change, and consequently the modification of the LSPR of the metal nanoparticles, may have significant impact in the applications of solvent-involved plasmon sensors, such as chemical/biological sensing and single-molecule spectroscopy. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Remediation of Contaminated Soils by Solvent Flushing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Augustijn, Dionysius C.M.; Jessup, Ron E.; Rao, P. Suresh C.; Wood, A. Lynn

1994-01-01

Solvent flushing is a potential technique for remediating a waste disposal/spill site contaminated with organic chemicals. This technique involves the injection of a solvent mixture (e.g., water plus alcohols) that enhances contaminant solubility, reduces the retardation factor, and increases the

Molar enthalpy of mixing and refractive indices of choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents with water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Chunyan; Guo, Yanhua; Li, Dongxue; Zong, Jianpeng; Ji, Xiaoyan; Liu, Chang

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Molar enthalpy of mixing and refractive indices for binary mixtures of different deep eutectic solvents with water. • The Redlich–Kister equation and the NRTL model was used to fit the experimental data. • The NRTL model with fitted parameters were used to predict the vapour pressure and compared with experimental data. - Abstract: The molar enthalpies of mixing were measured for binary systems of choline chloride-based deep eutectic solvents (glycerol, ethylene glycol and malonic acid) with water at 298.15 K and 308.15 K, and atmospheric pressure with an isothermal calorimeter. Refractive indices were also measured at 303.15 K and atmospheric pressure. The binary mixtures of {chcl/glycerol (1:2) + water, chcl/ethylene glycol (1:2) + water} showed exothermic behaviour over the entire range of composition, while the binary mixture of {chcl/malonic acid (1:1) + water} showed endothermic behaviour at first and then changed to be exothermic with the increasing content of chcl/malonic acid (1:1). Experimental refractive indices were fitted with the Redlich–Kister equation, and experimental molar enthalpies of mixing were correlated with the Redlich–Kister equation and the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) model. The NRTL model with the fitted parameters was used to predict the vapour pressures of these three mixtures. For mixtures of {chcl/glycerol (1:2) + water} and {chcl/ethylene glycol (1:2) + water}, the predicted vapour pressures agreed well with the experimental results from the literature. While for mixture of {chcl/malonic acid (1:1) + water}, the predicted vapour pressures showed deviation at the high concentration of chcl/malonic acid (1:1), and this was probably because of the complex molecular interaction between chcl/malonic acid (1:1) and water.

Controlling Actinide Hydration in Mixed Solvent Systems: Towards Tunable Solvent Systems to Close the Fuel Cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Sue B.

2016-01-01

The goal of this project has been to define the extent of hydration the f-elements and other cations in mixed solvent electrolyte systems. Methanol-water and other mixed solvent systems have been studied, where the solvent dielectric constant was varied systematically. Thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies provide details concerning the energetics of complexation and other reactions of these cations. This information has also been used to advance new understanding of the behavior of these cations in a variety of systems, ranging from environmental studies, chromatographic approaches, and ionization processes for mass spectrometry.

Controlling Actinide Hydration in Mixed Solvent Systems: Towards Tunable Solvent Systems to Close the Fuel Cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, Sue B. [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

2016-10-31

The goal of this project has been to define the extent of hydration the f-elements and other cations in mixed solvent electrolyte systems. Methanol-water and other mixed solvent systems have been studied, where the solvent dielectric constant was varied systematically. Thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies provide details concerning the energetics of complexation and other reactions of these cations. This information has also been used to advance new understanding of the behavior of these cations in a variety of systems, ranging from environmental studies, chromatographic approaches, and ionization processes for mass spectrometry.

Design of optimal solvent for extraction of bio–active ingredients from six varieties of Medicago sativa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caunii Angela

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Extensive research has been performed worldwide and important evidences were collected to show the immense potential of plants used in various traditional therapeutic systems. The aim of this work is to investigate the different extracting solvents in terms of the influence of their polarity on the extracting ability of bioactive molecules (phenolic compounds from the M. sativa flowers. Results The total phenolic content of samples was determined using the Folin Ciocalteu (FC procedure and their antioxidant activity was assayed through in vitro radical decomposing activity using the radical DPPH° assay (IUPAC name for DPPH is (phenyl–(2,4,6–trinitrophenyl iminoazanium. The results showed that water was better than methanol and acetic acid for extracting bioactive compounds, in particular for total phenolic compounds from the flowers of alfalfa. The average content of bioactive molecules in methanol extract was 263.5±1.02 mg GAE/100g of dry weight lyophilized extract. The total phenolic content of the tested plant extracts was highly correlated with the radical decomposing activity. However, all extracts were free–radical inhibitors, but the water extract was more potent than the acetic and the methanol ones. The order of inhibitor effectiveness (expressed by IC50 proved to be: water extract (0.924mg/mL > acetic acid extract (0.154mg/mL > methanol (0.079mg/mL. The profiles of each extract (fingerprint were characterized by FT–MIR spectroscopy. Conclusions The present study compares the fingerprint of different extracts of the M. sativa flowers, collected from the wild flora of Romania. The total phenolic content of the tested plant extracts was highly correlated with the radical decomposing activity. The dependence of the extract composition on the solvent polarity (acetic acid vs. methanol vs. water was revealed by UV–VIS spectrometry and Infrared fingerprint.

The behaviour of organic solvents containing C5-BTBP and CyMe4-BTBP at low irradiation doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Retegan, T.; Fermvik, A.; Skarnemark, G.; Foreman, M.R.S.

2007-01-01

Low doses of gamma radiation were given to four different solvents containing C5-BTBP and CyMe 4 -BTBP, each molecule dissolved both in cyclohexanone and hexanol. Four corresponding solvents were kept unirradiated and used as references for the extraction experiments. Multiple samples were taken from both the irradiated solutions and the reference solutions at certain time intervals. The samples were used in extraction experiments with the radionuclides 241 Am and 152 Eu. The protection against radiolysis of the extracting molecules by the diluent used for dissolution without adding a scavenger molecule was checked. The interplay between the diluent and the side group of the extracting molecule for protection against radiolysis was also studied by keeping the same type of core molecule for binding to the metal ions and varying the diluent and side group. The results were unexpected. The presence of a cyclic molecule as both a side group or diluent seems to keep the extraction of europium almost unaffected by radiolysis, while americium behaves differently from solvent to solvent. The diluent alone does not protect the extracting molecule. In some of the studied systems there is a distinct change in the extraction behaviour of Am between the irradiated and reference solutions, an effect that is however only present at the beginning of the experimental series. At later times the difference in distribution ratios between the irradiated and reference solution is constant. This phenomenon is found only when the side group and diluent are structurally dissimilar. (orig.)

CO2-Binding Organic Liquids Gas Capture with Polarity-Swing-Assisted Regeneration Full Technology Feasibility Study B1 - Solvent-based Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heldebrant, David J

2014-08-31

PNNL, Fluor Corporation and Queens University (Kingston, ON) successfully completed a three year comprehensive study of the CO2BOL water-lean solvent platform with Polarity Swing Assisted Regeneration (PSAR). This study encompassed solvent synthesis, characterization, environmental toxicology, physical, thermodynamic and kinetic property measurements, Aspen Plus™ modeling and bench-scale testing of a candidate CO2BOL solvent molecule. Key Program Findings The key program findings are summarized as follows: • PSAR favorably reduced stripper duties and reboiler temperatures with little/no impact to absorption column • >90% CO2 capture was achievable at reasonable liquid-gas ratios in the absorber • High rich solvent viscosities (up to 600 cP) were successfully demonstrated in the bench-scale system. However, the projected impacts of high viscosity to capital cost and operational limits compromised the other levelized cost of electricity benefits. • Low thermal conductivity of organics significantly increased the required cross exchanger surface area, and potentially other heat exchange surfaces. • CO2BOL had low evaporative losses during bench-scale testing • There was no evidence of foaming during bench scale testing • Current CO2BOL formulation costs project to be $35/kg • Ecotoxicity (Water Daphnia) was comparable between CO2BOL and MEA (169.47 versus 103.63 mg/L) • Full dehydration of the flue gas was determined to not be economically feasible. However, modest refrigeration (13 MW for the 550 MW reference system) was determined to be potentially economically feasible, and still produce a water-lean condition for the CO2BOLs (5 wt% steady-state water loading). • CO2BOLs testing with 5 wt% water loading did not compromise anhydrous performance behavior, and showed actual enhancement of CO2 capture performance. • Mass transfer of CO2BOLs was not greatly impeded by viscosity • Facile separation of antisolvent from lean CO2BOL was

Electric Field Fluctuations in Water

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, Dayton; Limmer, David; Chandler, David

2013-03-01

Charge transfer in solution, such as autoionization and ion pair dissociation in water, is governed by rare electric field fluctuations of the solvent. Knowing the statistics of such fluctuations can help explain the dynamics of these rare events. Trajectories short enough to be tractable by computer simulation are virtually certain not to sample the large fluctuations that promote rare events. Here, we employ importance sampling techniques with classical molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water to study statistics of electric field fluctuations far from their means. We find that the distributions of electric fields located on individual water molecules are not in general gaussian. Near the mean this non-gaussianity is due to the internal charge distribution of the water molecule. Further from the mean, however, there is a previously unreported Bjerrum-like defect that stabilizes certain large fluctuations out of equilibrium. As expected, differences in electric fields acting between molecules are gaussian to a remarkable degree. By studying these differences, though, we are able to determine what configurations result not only in large electric fields, but also in electric fields with long spatial correlations that may be needed to promote charge separation.

On the theory of electric double layer with explicit account of a polarizable co-solvent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Budkov, Yu. A., E-mail: urabudkov@rambler.ru [Laboratory of NMR Spectroscopy and Numerical Investigations of Liquids, G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ivanovo (Russian Federation); Department of Applied Mathematics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow (Russian Federation); Kolesnikov, A. L. [Institut für Nichtklassische Chemie e.V., Universität Leipzig, Leipzig (Germany); Kiselev, M. G. [Laboratory of NMR Spectroscopy and Numerical Investigations of Liquids, G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ivanovo (Russian Federation)

2016-05-14

We present a continuation of our theoretical research into the influence of co-solvent polarizability on a differential capacitance of the electric double layer. We formulate a modified Poisson-Boltzmann theory, using the formalism of density functional approach on the level of local density approximation taking into account the electrostatic interactions of ions and co-solvent molecules as well as their excluded volume. We derive the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation, considering the three-component symmetric lattice gas model as a reference system and minimizing the grand thermodynamic potential with respect to the electrostatic potential. We apply present modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation to the electric double layer theory, showing that accounting for the excluded volume of co-solvent molecules and ions slightly changes the main result of our previous simplified theory. Namely, in the case of small co-solvent polarizability with its increase under the enough small surface potentials of electrode, the differential capacitance undergoes the significant growth. Oppositely, when the surface potential exceeds some threshold value (which is slightly smaller than the saturation potential), the increase in the co-solvent polarizability results in a differential capacitance decrease. However, when the co-solvent polarizability exceeds some threshold value, its increase generates a considerable enhancement of the differential capacitance in a wide range of surface potentials. We demonstrate that two qualitatively different behaviors of the differential capacitance are related to the depletion and adsorption of co-solvent molecules at the charged electrode. We show that an additive of the strongly polarizable co-solvent to an electrolyte solution can shift significantly the saturation potential in two qualitatively different manners. Namely, a small additive of strongly polarizable co-solvent results in a shift of saturation potential to higher surface potentials. On

On the theory of electric double layer with explicit account of a polarizable co-solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budkov, Yu. A.; Kolesnikov, A. L.; Kiselev, M. G.

2016-01-01

We present a continuation of our theoretical research into the influence of co-solvent polarizability on a differential capacitance of the electric double layer. We formulate a modified Poisson-Boltzmann theory, using the formalism of density functional approach on the level of local density approximation taking into account the electrostatic interactions of ions and co-solvent molecules as well as their excluded volume. We derive the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation, considering the three-component symmetric lattice gas model as a reference system and minimizing the grand thermodynamic potential with respect to the electrostatic potential. We apply present modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation to the electric double layer theory, showing that accounting for the excluded volume of co-solvent molecules and ions slightly changes the main result of our previous simplified theory. Namely, in the case of small co-solvent polarizability with its increase under the enough small surface potentials of electrode, the differential capacitance undergoes the significant growth. Oppositely, when the surface potential exceeds some threshold value (which is slightly smaller than the saturation potential), the increase in the co-solvent polarizability results in a differential capacitance decrease. However, when the co-solvent polarizability exceeds some threshold value, its increase generates a considerable enhancement of the differential capacitance in a wide range of surface potentials. We demonstrate that two qualitatively different behaviors of the differential capacitance are related to the depletion and adsorption of co-solvent molecules at the charged electrode. We show that an additive of the strongly polarizable co-solvent to an electrolyte solution can shift significantly the saturation potential in two qualitatively different manners. Namely, a small additive of strongly polarizable co-solvent results in a shift of saturation potential to higher surface potentials. On

(Liquid + liquid) equilibria for ternary mixtures of (water + propionic acid + organic solvent) at T = 303.2 K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghanadzadeh, H.; Ghanadzadeh Gilani, A.; Bahrpaima, Kh.; Sariri, R.

2010-01-01

Experimental tie-line results and phase diagrams were obtained for the ternary systems of {water + propionic acid + organic solvent (cyclohexane, toluene, and methylcyclohexane)} at T = 303.2 K and atmospheric pressure. The organic solvents were two cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons (i.e., cyclohexane and methylcyclohexane) and an aromatic hydrocarbon (toluene). The experimental tie-lines values were also compared with those calculated by the UNIQUAC and NRTL models. The consistency of the values of the experimental tie-lines was determined through the Othmer-Tobias and Hands plots. Distribution coefficients and separation factors were evaluated over the immiscibility regions and a comparison of the extracting capabilities of the solvents was made with respect to distribution coefficients and separation factors. The Kamlet LSER model was applied to correlate distribution coefficients and separation factors in these ternary systems. The LSER model values showed a good regression to the experimental results.

The mechanism of 2-dimensional manipulation of DNA molecules by water and ethanol flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Zigang; Huang Yibo; Li Bin; Zhang Yi

2007-01-01

Due to its unique physical and chemical properties, DNA has recently become a promising material for building blocks in nanofabrication. Many researches focus on how to use DNA molecules as a template for nanowires. Molecular Combing technique is one of important methods to manipulate DNA molecules by using a water meniscus and form specific DNA nano-structures on surfaces. In this paper, by employing a modified molecular combing technique, special patterns of DNA molecules was formed, and the interaction between liquid flows or meniscus and DNA molecules was analyzed, and the mechanism of manipulating DNA molecules by liquid was studied. (authors)

α-chymotrypsin in water-acetone and water-dimethyl sulfoxide mixtures: Effect of preferential solvation and hydration.

Science.gov (United States)

Sirotkin, Vladimir A; Kuchierskaya, Alexandra A

2017-10-01

We investigated water/organic solvent sorption and residual enzyme activity to simultaneously monitor preferential solvation/hydration of protein macromolecules in the entire range of water content at 25°C. We applied this approach to estimate protein destabilization/stabilization due to the preferential interactions of bovine pancreatic α-chymotrypsin with water-acetone (moderate-strength H-bond acceptor) and water-DMSO (strong H-bond acceptor) mixtures. There are three concentration regimes for the dried α-chymotrypsin. α-Chymotrypsin is preferentially hydrated at high water content. The residual enzyme activity values are close to 100%. At intermediate water content, the dehydrated α-chymotrypsin has a higher affinity for acetone/DMSO than for water. Residual enzyme activity is minimal in this concentration range. The acetone/DMSO molecules are preferentially excluded from the protein surface at the lowest water content, resulting in preferential hydration. The residual catalytic activity in the water-poor acetone is ∼80%, compared with that observed after incubation in pure water. This effect is very small for the water-poor DMSO. Two different schemes are operative for the hydrated enzyme. At high and intermediate water content, α-chymotrypsin exhibits preferential hydration. However, at intermediate water content, in contrast to the dried enzyme, the initially hydrated α-chymotrypsin possesses increased preferential hydration parameters. At low water content, no residual enzyme activity was observed. Preferential binding of DMSO/acetone to α-chymotrypsin was detected. Our data clearly demonstrate that the hydrogen bond accepting ability of organic solvents and the protein hydration level constitute key factors in determining the stability of protein-water-organic solvent systems. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The disposal of radioactive solvent waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, B.; Baker, W.T.

1976-01-01

As the use of radioisotope techniques increases, laboratories are faced with the problem of disposing of considerable quantities of organic solvent and aqueous liquid wastes. Incineration or collection by a waste contractor both raise problems. Since most of the radiochemicals are preferentially water soluble, an apparatus for washing the radiochemicals out into water and discharging into the normal drainage system in a high diluted form is described. Despite the disadvantages (low efficiency, high water usuage, loss of solvent in presence of surface active agents, precipitation of phosphors from dioxan based liquids) it is felt that the method has some merit if a suitably improved apparatus can be designed at reasonable cost. (U.K.)

Structure and dynamics of the peptide strand KRFK from the thrombospondin TSP-1 in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Taleb Bendiab, W; Benomrane, B; Bounaceur, B; Dauchez, M; Krallafa, A M

2018-02-14

Theoretical investigations of a solute in liquid water at normal temperature and pressure can be performed at different levels of theory. Static quantum calculations as well as classical and ab initio molecular dynamics are used to completely explore the conformational space for large solvated molecular systems. In the classical approach, it is essential to describe all of the interactions of the solute and the solvent in detail. Water molecules are very often described as rigid bodies when the most commonly used interaction potentials, such as the SPCE and the TIP4P models, are employed. Recently, a physical model based upon a cluster of rigid water molecules with a tetrahedral architecture (AB 4 ) was proposed that describes liquid water as a mixture of both TIP4P and SPCE molecular species that occur in the proportions implied by the tetrahedral architecture (one central molecule versus four outer molecules; i.e., 20% TIP4P versus 80% SPCE molecules). In this work, theoretical spectroscopic data for a peptide strand were correlated with the structural properties of the peptide strand solvated in water, based on data calculated using different theoretical approaches and physical models. We focused on a particular peptide strand, KRFK (lysine-arginine-phenylalanine-lysine), found in the thrombospondin TSP-1, due to its interesting properties. As the activity and electronic structure of this system is strongly linked to its structure, we correlated its structure with charge-density maps obtained using different semi-empirical charge Q eq equations. The structural and thermodynamic properties obtained from classical simulations were correlated with ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) data. Structural changes in the peptide strand were rationalized in terms of the motions of atoms and groups of atoms. To achieve this, conformational changes were investigated using calculated infrared spectra for the peptide in the gas phase and in water solvent. The calculated AIMD

Equilibrium solubility of carbon dioxide in the amine solvent system of (triethanolamine + piperazine + water)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, P.-Y.; Soriano, Allan N.; Leron, Rhoda B.; Li, M.-H.

2010-01-01

In this study, a new set of data for the equilibrium solubility of carbon dioxide in the amine solvent system that consists of triethanolamine (TEA), piperazine (PZ), and water is presented. Equilibrium solubility values were obtained at T = (313.2, 333.2, and 353.2) K and pressures up to 153 kPa using the vapour-recirculation equilibrium cell. The TEA concentrations in the considered ternary (solvent) mixture were (2 and 3) kmol . m -3 and those of PZ's were (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5) kmol . m -3 . The solubility data (CO 2 loading in the amine solution) obtained were correlated as a function of CO 2 partial pressure, system temperature, and amine composition via the modified Kent-Eisenberg model. Results showed that the model applied is generally satisfactory in representing the CO 2 absorption into mixed aqueous solutions of TEA and PZ.

Handbook of organic solvent properties

CERN Document Server

Smallwood, Ian

2012-01-01

The properties of 72 of the most commonly used solvents are given, tabulated in the most convenient way, making this book a joy for industrial chemists to use as a desk reference. The properties covered are those which answer the basic questions of: Will it do the job? Will it harm the user? Will it pollute the air? Is it easy to handle? Will it pollute the water? Can it be recovered or incinerated? These are all factors that need to be considered at the early stages of choosing a solvent for a new product or process.A collection of the physical properties of most commonly used solvents, their

Pendant unit effect on electron tunneling in U-shaped molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Min; Chakrabarti, Subhasis; Waldeck, David H.; Oliver, Anna M.; Paddon-Row, Michael N.

2006-01-01

The electron transfer reactions of three U-shaped donor-bridge-acceptor molecules with different pendant groups have been studied in different solvents as a function of temperature. Analysis of the electron transfer kinetics in nonpolar and weakly polar solvents provides experimental reaction Gibbs energies that are used to parameterize a molecular solvation model. This solvation model is then used to predict energetic parameters in the electron transfer rate constant expression and allow the electronic coupling between the electron donor and electron acceptor groups to be determined from the rate data. The U-shaped molecules differ by alkylation of the aromatic pendant group, which lies in the 'line-of-sight' between the donor and acceptor groups. The findings show that the electronic coupling through the pendant group is similar for these molecules

COMPARISON OF SORPTION ENERGTICS FOR HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS BY SYNTHETIC AND NATURAL SORBENTS FROM METHANOL/WATER SOLVENT MIXTURES

Science.gov (United States)

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was used to investigate the thermodynamics and mechanisms of hydrophobic organic chemical (HOC) retention from methanol/water solvent mixtures. The enthalpy-entropy compensation model was used to infer that the hydro- phobic sorptive me...

An off-on Fluorescent Sensor for Detecting a Wide Range of Water Content in Organic Solvents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kanghyeon; Lee, Wanjin; Kim, Jae Nyoung; Kim, Hyung Jin [Chonnam National Univ., Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2013-08-15

This paper describes the synthesis and water sensing properties of a fluorescent photoinduced electron transfer (PET) sensor (5) with an extended operating sensing range. The 1,8-naphthalimide derivative (5) attached with a piperazine group and a carboxylic group was synthesized and applied as a fluorescent water sensor in water-miscible organic solvents. The fluorescence intensity of the dye 5 increased with increasing water content up to 80% (v/v) and the fluorescence intensities were enhanced 45-, 67- and 122-fold in aqueous EtOH, DMF and DMSO solutions, respectively. In aqueous acetone solution, the enhancement of the fluorescence intensities was somewhat lower (30-fold) but the response range was wider (0-90%, v/v)

Effect of dynamic surface polarization on the oxidative stability of solvents in nonaqueous Li-O 2 batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Khetan, Abhishek; Pitsch, Heinz; Viswanathan, Venkatasubramanian

2017-09-01

Polarization-induced renormalization of the frontier energy levels of interacting molecules and surfaces can cause significant shifts in the excitation and transport behavior of electrons. This phenomenon is crucial in determining the oxidative stability of nonaqueous electrolytes in high-energy density electrochemical systems such as the Li-O2 battery. On the basis of partially self-consistent first-principles Sc G W0 calculations, we systematically study how the electronic energy levels of four commonly used solvent molecules, namely, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), dimethoxyethane (DME), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and acetonitrile (ACN), renormalize when physisorbed on the different stable surfaces of Li2O2 , the main discharge product. Using band level alignment arguments, we propose that the difference between the solvent's highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level and the surface's valence-band maximum (VBM) is a refined metric of oxidative stability. This metric and a previously used descriptor, solvent's gas phase HOMO level, agree quite well for physisorbed cases on pristine surfaces where ACN is oxidatively most stable followed by DME, THF, and DMSO. However, this effect is intrinsically linked to the surface chemistry of the solvent's interaction with the surface states and defects, and depends strongly on their nature. We conclusively show that the propensity of solvent molecules to oxidize will be significantly higher on Li2O2 surfaces with defects as compared to pristine surfaces. This suggests that the oxidative stability of a solvent is dynamic and is a strong function of surface electronic properties. Thus, while gas phase HOMO levels could be used for preliminary solvent candidate screening, a more refined picture of solvent stability requires mapping out the solvent stability as a function of the state of the surface under operating conditions.

The Effect of Solvents, Acetone, Water, and Ethanol, on the Morphological and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared by Microwave

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phindile B. Khoza

2012-01-01

Full Text Available HDA-capped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by solvothermal method using solvents of different polarities. A number of parameters were kept constant such as temperature, pressure, time, and pH while solvents were varied, that is, water, ethanol, and acetone. The TEM was used for the structural properties and morphologies such as spheres, mixture of rods, and spheres and stars were obtained in ethanol, acetone, and water, respectively, in a given reaction time of 15 minutes. Both ethanol and acetone gave rods with high aspect ratio primarily because of the lengths of the rods. Water and ethanol have the hydroxyl groups which interact with nanoparticles from nucleation, growth, and termination giving rise to nonspherical shapes. The hydroxyl group promotes growth in a nonuniform way resulting in stars and rods. The optical features were typical of ZnO nanoparticles with excitonic peaks in the range 368 to 374 nm from their absorption spectra. The XRD patterns of the particles gave the most stable form of ZnO which is the hexagonal phase, with high degree of crystallinity and with the 101 plane predominant in all solvents.

Formation and decomposition of astatine molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Naruto; Ishikuro, Mituhiro; Baba Hiroshi

1989-01-01

A method determining the boiling points of elementary astatine and astatine iodide has been developed (K. Otozai and N. Takahashi, Radio. Chim. Acta 31, (1982) 201). Further, it was concluded from the simple rule among the boiling point of elementary halogens and interhalogen compounds that elementary astatine might exist in diatomic molecules as the other halogens. In the present work the reaction mechanisms of elementary astatine with radioactive iodine and organic solvents were studied by means of radiogaschromatography in order to obtain further experimental evidences for diatomic astaine molecules. The following conclusions were obtained by the analysis of reaction kinetics. Two astatine atoms are lost from the elementary astatine fraction per each radioactive decay of astatine. The astatine radical or hot atom liberated by the decay of the complementary astatine atom immediately reacts with iodine or organic solvents. Thus formed astatine compounds decompose in turn due to the decay of astatine

Identification of Carboxylate, Phosphate, and Phenoxide Functionalities in Deprotonated Molecules Related to Drug Metabolites via Ion-Molecule Reactions with water and Diethylhydroxyborane

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hanyu; Ma, Xin; Kong, John Y.; Zhang, Minli; Kenttämaa, Hilkka I.

2017-10-01

Tandem mass spectrometry based on ion-molecule reactions has emerged as a powerful tool for structural elucidation of ionized analytes. However, most currently used reagents were designed to react with protonated analytes, making them suboptimal for acidic analytes that are preferentially detected in negative ion mode. In this work we demonstrate that the phenoxide, carboxylate, and phosphate functionalities can be identified in deprotonated molecules by use of a combination of two reagents, diethylmethoxyborane (DEMB) and water. A novel reagent introduction setup that allowed DEMB and water to be separately introduced into the ion trap region of the mass spectrometer was developed to facilitate fundamental studies of this reaction. A new reagent, diethylhydroxyborane (DEHB), was generated inside the ion trap by hydrolysis of DEMB on introduction of water. Most carboxylates and phenoxides formed a DEHB adduct, followed by addition of one water molecule and subsequent ethane elimination (DEHB adduct +H2O - CH3CH3) as the major product ion. Phenoxides with a hydroxy group adjacent to the deprotonation site and phosphates formed a DEHB adduct, followed by ethane elimination (DEHB adduct - CH3CH3). Deprotonated molecules with strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds or without the aforementioned functionalities, including sulfates, were unreactive toward DEHB/H2O. Reaction mechanisms were explored via isotope labeling experiments and quantum chemical calculations. The mass spectrometry method allowed the differentiation of phenoxide-, carboxylate-, phosphate-, and sulfate-containing analytes. Finally, it was successfully coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the analysis of a mixture containing hymecromone, a biliary spasm drug, and its three possible metabolites. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

The impact of oil dispersant solvent on performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiocco, R.J.; Lessard, R.R.; Canevari, G.P.; Becker, K.W.; Daling, P.S.

1995-01-01

Modern oil spill dispersant formulations are concentrated blends of surface active agents (surfactants) in a solvent carrier system. The surfactants are effective for lowering the interfacial tension of the oil slick and promoting and stabilizing oil-in-water dispersions. The solvent system has 2 key functions: (1) reduce viscosity of the surfactant blend to allow efficient dispersant application, and (2) promote mixing and diffusion of the surfactant blend into the oil film. A more detailed description than previously given in the literature is proposed to explain the mechanism of chemical dispersion and illustrate how the surfactant is delivered by the solvent to the oil-water interface. Laboratory data are presented which demonstrate the variability in dispersing effectiveness due to different solvent composition, particularly for viscous and emulsified test oils with viscosities up to 20,500 mPa·s. Other advantages of improved solvent components can include reduced evaporative losses during spraying, lower marine toxicity and reduced protective equipment requirements. Through this improved understanding of the role of the solvent, dispersants which are more effective over a wider range of oil types are being developed

Control of unidirectional transport of single-file water molecules through carbon nanotubes in an electric field.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Jiaye; Guo, Hongxia

2011-01-25

The transport of water molecules through nanopores is not only crucial to biological activities but also useful for designing novel nanofluidic devices. Despite considerable effort and progress that has been made, a controllable and unidirectional water flow is still difficult to achieve and the underlying mechanism is far from being understood. In this paper, using molecular dynamics simulations, we systematically investigate the effects of an external electric field on the transport of single-file water molecules through a carbon nanotube (CNT). We find that the orientation of water molecules inside the CNT can be well-tuned by the electric field and is strongly coupled to the water flux. This orientation-induced water flux is energetically due to the asymmetrical water-water interaction along the CNT axis. The wavelike water density profiles are disturbed under strong field strengths. The frequency of flipping for the water dipoles will decrease as the field strength is increased, and the flipping events vanish completely for the relatively large field strengths. Most importantly, a critical field strength E(c) related to the water flux is found. The water flux is increased as E is increased for E ≤ E(c), while it is almost unchanged for E > E(c). Thus, the electric field offers a level of governing for unidirectional water flow, which may have some biological applications and provides a route for designing efficient nanopumps.

The use of Nile Red to monitor the aggregation behavior in ternary surfactant-water-organic solvent systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stuart, MCA; van de Pas, JC; Engberts, JBFN; Pas, John C. van de

Ternary systems of surfactants, water and organic solvents were studied by monitoring the steady-state fluorescence of the versatile solvatochromic probe Nile Red. We found not only that Nile Red can be used throughout the whole isotropic regions in the phase diagram, but also that subtle changes in

Solvent Effects on Cesium Complexation with Crown Ethers from Liquid to Supercritical Fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wai, Chien M.; Rustenholtz, Anne; Wang, Shaofen; Lee, Su-Chen; Herman, Jamie; Porter, Richard A.

2004-01-01

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques were used to study crown ether-water interactions in solvents of low dielectric constants such as chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Water forms a 1:1 complex with a number of crown ethers including 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, 18-crown-6, dicyclohexano-18=crown-6, dicyclohexano-24-crown 8, and dibenzl-24-crown-8 in chloroform. Among these crown ethers, the 18-crown-6-H2 complex has the largest equilibrium constant (K=545) and 97% of the crown is complexed to water in chloroform. Addition of carbon tetrachloride to chloroform lowers the equilibrium constants of the crown-water complexes. The partition coefficients of crown ethers (D=crown in water/crown in solvent) between water and organic solvent also vary with solvent composition

Effect of Organic Solvents on Microalgae Growth, Metabolism and Industrial Bioproduct Extraction: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Miazek, Krystian; Kratky, Lukas; Sulc, Radek; Jirout, Tomas; Aguedo, Mario; Richel, Aurore; Goffin, Dorothee

2017-07-04

In this review, the effect of organic solvents on microalgae cultures from molecular to industrial scale is presented. Traditional organic solvents and solvents of new generation-ionic liquids (ILs), are considered. Alterations in microalgal cell metabolism and synthesis of target products (pigments, proteins, lipids), as a result of exposure to organic solvents, are summarized. Applications of organic solvents as a carbon source for microalgal growth and production of target molecules are discussed. Possible implementation of various industrial effluents containing organic solvents into microalgal cultivation media, is evaluated. The effect of organic solvents on extraction of target compounds from microalgae is also considered. Techniques for lipid and carotenoid extraction from viable microalgal biomass (milking methods) and dead microalgal biomass (classical methods) are depicted. Moreover, the economic survey of lipid and carotenoid extraction from microalgae biomass, by means of different techniques and solvents, is conducted.

In silico studies of the properties of water hydrating a small protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, Sudipta Kumar; Chakraborty, Kausik; Bandyopadhyay, Sanjoy; Jana, Madhurima

2014-01-01

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulation of an aqueous solution of the small protein HP-36 has been carried out with explicit solvent at room temperature. Efforts have been made to explore the influence of the protein on the relative packing and ordering of water molecules around its secondary structures, namely, three α-helices. The calculations reveal that the inhomogeneous water ordering and density distributions around the helices are correlated with their relative hydrophobicity. Importantly, we have identified the existence of a narrow relatively dehydrated region containing randomly organized “quasi-free” water molecules beyond the first layer of “bound” waters at the protein surface. These water molecules with relatively weaker binding energies form the transition state separating the “bound” and “free” water molecules at the interface. Further, increased contribution of solid-like caging motions of water molecules around the protein is found to be responsible for reduced fluidity of the hydration layer. Interestingly, we notice that the hydration layer of helix-3 is more fluidic with relatively higher entropy as compared to the hydration layers of the other two helical segments. Such characteristics of helix-3 hydration layer correlate well with the activity of HP-36, as helix-3 contains the active site of the protein

In silico studies of the properties of water hydrating a small protein

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinha, Sudipta Kumar; Chakraborty, Kausik; Bandyopadhyay, Sanjoy, E-mail: sanjoy@chem.iitkgp.ernet.in [Molecular Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721302 (India); Jana, Madhurima [Molecular Simulation Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela - 769008 (India)

2014-12-14

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulation of an aqueous solution of the small protein HP-36 has been carried out with explicit solvent at room temperature. Efforts have been made to explore the influence of the protein on the relative packing and ordering of water molecules around its secondary structures, namely, three α-helices. The calculations reveal that the inhomogeneous water ordering and density distributions around the helices are correlated with their relative hydrophobicity. Importantly, we have identified the existence of a narrow relatively dehydrated region containing randomly organized “quasi-free” water molecules beyond the first layer of “bound” waters at the protein surface. These water molecules with relatively weaker binding energies form the transition state separating the “bound” and “free” water molecules at the interface. Further, increased contribution of solid-like caging motions of water molecules around the protein is found to be responsible for reduced fluidity of the hydration layer. Interestingly, we notice that the hydration layer of helix-3 is more fluidic with relatively higher entropy as compared to the hydration layers of the other two helical segments. Such characteristics of helix-3 hydration layer correlate well with the activity of HP-36, as helix-3 contains the active site of the protein.

Adsorption of ethyl xanthate on ZnS(110) surface in the presence of water molecules: A DFT study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Long, Xianhao [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004 (China); Chen, Jianhua, E-mail: jhchen@gxu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004 (China); Guangxi Colleges and University Key Laboratory of Minerals Engineering, 530004 (China); Chen, Ye, E-mail: fby18@126.com [College of Resources and Metallurgy, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004 (China)

2016-05-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Adsorption of water molecules decreases the reactivity of surface Zn atom. • Copper impurities decrease the band gap of ZnS surface. • Copper impurities enhance the adsorption of xanthate on the ZnS surface. • Water molecules have little influence on the properties of Cu-substituted ZnS surface. • The xanthate S atom can interact with the surface S atom of Cu-substituted ZnS surface. - Abstracts: The interaction of collector with the mineral surface plays a very important role in the froth flotation of sphalerite. The adsorptions occurred at the interface between the mineral surface and waters; however most of DFT simulations are performed in vacuum, without consideration of water effect. Semiconductor surface has an obvious proximity effect, which will greatly influence the surface reactivity. To understand the mechanism of xanthate interacting with sphalerite surface in the presence of water molecules, the ethyl xanthate molecule adsorption on un-activated and Cu-activated ZnS(110) surface in the absence and presence of water molecules were performed using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated results show that the adsorption of water molecules dramatically changes the properties of ZnS surface, resulting in decreasing the reactivity of surface Zn atoms with xanthate. Copper activation of ZnS surface changes the surface properties, leading to the totally different adsorption behaviors of xanthate. The presence of waters has little influence on the properties of Cu-activated ZnS surface. The xanthate S atom can interact with the surface S atom of Cu-substituted ZnS surface, which would result in the formation of dixanthogen.

1H NMR study of the solvent THF concerning their structural and dynamical properties in chemically Li-intercalated SWNT

KAUST Repository

Schmid, Marc R.

2011-09-01

Structural and dynamical properties of the THF solvent in single-walled carbon nanotubes intercalated with lithium are investigated by NMR. 1H NMR experiments reveal the existence of two types of inequivalent THF solvent molecules with different chemical environments and dynamical behavior. At low temperatures THF molecules perpendicularly arranged in between adjacent SWNT presumably exhibit a restricted rotation around their dipolar axis. At higher temperatures THF molecules are isotropically rotating and diffusing along the interstitial channels of the SWNT bundles. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1H NMR study of the solvent THF concerning their structural and dynamical properties in chemically Li-intercalated SWNT

KAUST Repository

Schmid, Marc R.; Goze-Bac, Christophe; Bouhrara, Mohamed; Saih, Youssef; Mehring, Michael; Abou-Hamad, Edy

2011-01-01

Structural and dynamical properties of the THF solvent in single-walled carbon nanotubes intercalated with lithium are investigated by NMR. 1H NMR experiments reveal the existence of two types of inequivalent THF solvent molecules with different chemical environments and dynamical behavior. At low temperatures THF molecules perpendicularly arranged in between adjacent SWNT presumably exhibit a restricted rotation around their dipolar axis. At higher temperatures THF molecules are isotropically rotating and diffusing along the interstitial channels of the SWNT bundles. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic excitations in a dielectric continuum solvent with quantum Monte Carlo: Acrolein in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floris, Franca Maria; Amovilli, Claudio; Filippi, Claudia

2014-01-01

We investigate here the vertical n → π * and π → π * transitions of s-trans-acrolein in aqueous solution by means of a polarizable continuum model (PCM) we have developed for the treatment of the solute at the quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) level of the theory. We employ the QMC approach which allows us to work with highly correlated electronic wave functions for both the solute ground and excited states and, to study the vertical transitions in the solvent, adopt the commonly used scheme of considering fast and slow dielectric polarization. To perform calculations in a non-equilibrium solvation regime for the solute excited state, we add a correction to the global dielectric polarization charge density, obtained self consistently with the solute ground-state wave function by assuming a linear-response scheme. For the solvent polarization in the field of the solute in the ground state, we use the static dielectric constant while, for the electronic dielectric polarization, we employ the solvent refractive index evaluated at the same frequency of the photon absorbed by the solute for the transition. This choice is shown to be better than adopting the most commonly used value of refractive index measured in the region of visible radiation. Our QMC calculations show that, for standard cavities, the solvatochromic shifts obtained with the PCM are underestimated, even though of the correct sign, for both transitions of acrolein in water. Only by reducing the size of the cavity to values where more than one electron is escaped to the solvent region, we regain the experimental shift for the n → π * case and also improve considerably the shift for the π → π * transition

Electronic excitations in a dielectric continuum solvent with quantum Monte Carlo: Acrolein in water

Science.gov (United States)

Floris, Franca Maria; Filippi, Claudia; Amovilli, Claudio

2014-01-01

We investigate here the vertical n → π* and π → π* transitions of s-trans-acrolein in aqueous solution by means of a polarizable continuum model (PCM) we have developed for the treatment of the solute at the quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) level of the theory. We employ the QMC approach which allows us to work with highly correlated electronic wave functions for both the solute ground and excited states and, to study the vertical transitions in the solvent, adopt the commonly used scheme of considering fast and slow dielectric polarization. To perform calculations in a non-equilibrium solvation regime for the solute excited state, we add a correction to the global dielectric polarization charge density, obtained self consistently with the solute ground-state wave function by assuming a linear-response scheme. For the solvent polarization in the field of the solute in the ground state, we use the static dielectric constant while, for the electronic dielectric polarization, we employ the solvent refractive index evaluated at the same frequency of the photon absorbed by the solute for the transition. This choice is shown to be better than adopting the most commonly used value of refractive index measured in the region of visible radiation. Our QMC calculations show that, for standard cavities, the solvatochromic shifts obtained with the PCM are underestimated, even though of the correct sign, for both transitions of acrolein in water. Only by reducing the size of the cavity to values where more than one electron is escaped to the solvent region, we regain the experimental shift for the n → π* case and also improve considerably the shift for the π → π* transition.

Small molecule hydration energy and entropy from 3D-RISM

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, J.; Case, D. A.; Yamazaki, T.; Gusarov, S.; Kovalenko, A.; Luchko, T.

2016-09-01

Implicit solvent models offer an attractive way to estimate the effects of a solvent environment on the properties of small or large solutes without the complications of explicit simulations. One common test of accuracy is to compute the free energy of transfer from gas to liquid for a variety of small molecules, since many of these values have been measured. Studies of the temperature dependence of these values (i.e. solvation enthalpies and entropies) can provide additional insights into the performance of implicit solvent models. Here, we show how to compute temperature derivatives of hydration free energies for the 3D-RISM integral equation approach. We have computed hydration free energies of 1123 small drug-like molecules (both neutral and charged). Temperature derivatives were also used to calculate hydration energies and entropies of 74 of these molecules (both neutral and charged) for which experimental data is available. While direct results have rather poor agreement with experiment, we have found that several previously proposed linear hydration free energy correction schemes give good agreement with experiment. These corrections also provide good agreement for hydration energies and entropies though simple extensions are required in some cases.

Small molecule hydration energy and entropy from 3D-RISM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, J; Case, D A; Yamazaki, T; Gusarov, S; Kovalenko, A; Luchko, T

2016-01-01

Implicit solvent models offer an attractive way to estimate the effects of a solvent environment on the properties of small or large solutes without the complications of explicit simulations. One common test of accuracy is to compute the free energy of transfer from gas to liquid for a variety of small molecules, since many of these values have been measured. Studies of the temperature dependence of these values (i.e. solvation enthalpies and entropies) can provide additional insights into the performance of implicit solvent models. Here, we show how to compute temperature derivatives of hydration free energies for the 3D-RISM integral equation approach. We have computed hydration free energies of 1123 small drug-like molecules (both neutral and charged). Temperature derivatives were also used to calculate hydration energies and entropies of 74 of these molecules (both neutral and charged) for which experimental data is available. While direct results have rather poor agreement with experiment, we have found that several previously proposed linear hydration free energy correction schemes give good agreement with experiment. These corrections also provide good agreement for hydration energies and entropies though simple extensions are required in some cases. (paper)

Enhancement of catalytic activity of enzymes by heating in anhydrous organic solvents: 3D structure of a modified serine proteinase at high resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, S; Tyagi, R; Gupta, M N; Singh, T P

2001-01-01

For the first time, it is demonstrated that exposure of an enzyme to anhydrous organic solvents at optimized high temperature enhances its catalytic power through local changes at the binding region. Six enzymes, namely, proteinase K, wheat germ acid phosphatase, alpha-amylase, beta-glucosidase, chymotrypsin and trypsin were exposed to acetonitrile at 70 degrees C for three hr. The activities of these enzymes were found to be considerably enhanced. In order to understand the basis of this change in the activity of these enzymes, proteinase K was analyzed in detail using X-ray diffraction method. The overall structure of the enzyme was found to be similar to the native structure in aqueous environment. The hydrogen bonding system of the catalytic triad remained intact after the treatment. However, the water structure in the substrate binding site underwent some rearrangement as some of the water molecules were either displaced or completely absent. The most striking observation concerning the water structure was the complete deletion of the water molecule which occupied the position at the so-called oxyanion hole in the active site of the native enzyme. Three acetonitrile molecules were found in the present structure. All the acetonitrile molecules were located in the recognition site. Interlinked through water molecules, the sites occupied by acetonitrile molecules were independent of water molecules. The acetonitrile molecules are involved in extensive interactions with the protein atoms. The methyl group of one of the acetonitrile molecules (CCN1) interacts simultaneously with the hydrophobic side chains of Leu 96, Ile 107 and Leu 133. The development of such a hydrophobic environment at the recognition site introduced a striking conformation change in Ile 107 by rotating its side chain about C alpha-C beta bond by 180 degrees to bring about the delta-methyl group within the range of attractive van der Waals interactions with the methyl group of CCN1. A similar

The solvent absorption-extractive distillation (SAED) process for ethanol recovery from gas/vapor streams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dale, M.C.

1993-12-31

A low energy system for ethanol recovery and dehydration has been developed. This system utilizes a solvent for (1) absorption of ethanol vapors, and then the same solvent for (2) extractive distillation. The ideal solvent for this process would have a high affinity for ethanol, and no affinity for water. Heavy alcohols such as dodecanol, and tridecanol, some phosphorals, and some fatty acids have been determined to meet the desired specifications. These solvents have the effect of making water more volatile than ethanol. Thus, a water stream is taken off initially in the dehydration column, and a near anhydrous ethanol stream is recovered from the ethanol/solvent stripper column. Thus the solvent serves dual uses (1) absorption media, and (2) dehydration media. The SAED process as conceptualized would use a solvent similar to solvents used for direct extractive separation of ethanol from aqueous ethanol solutions.

Cavity mutants of Savinase. Crystal structures and differential scanning calorimetry experiments give hints of the function of the buried water molecules in subtilisins.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, J T; Olsen, O H; Betzel, C; Eschenburg, S; Branner, S; Hastrup, S

1994-09-23

The subtilisin molecule possesses several internal water molecules, which may be characterised as an integral part of the protein structure. We have introduced specific mutations (T71I, T71S, T71V, T71A and T71G) at position 71 in the subtilisin variant Savinase from Bacillus lentus. This position is involved in a hydrogen bonded network with several internal water molecules, forming a water channel. The water channel and most of the other internal water molecules are positioned in the interface between two half-domains of the subtilisin molecule. The data presented here indicate that the internal water molecules are structural, and may be the result of trapping during the folding process.

Final Report - Energy Reduction and Advanced Water Removal via Membrane Solvent Extraction Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reed, John; Fanselow, Dan; Abbas, Charles; Sammons, Rhea; Kinchin, Christopher

2014-08-06

3M and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) collaborated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and demonstrate a novel membrane solvent extraction (MSE) process that can substantially reduce energy and water consumption in ethanol production, and accelerate the fermentation process. A cross-flow membrane module was developed, using porous membrane manufactured by 3M. A pilot process was developed that integrates fermentation, MSE and vacuum distillation. Extended experiments of 48-72 hours each were conducted to develop the process, verify its performance and begin establishing commercial viability.

Crystal Nucleation of Tolbutamide in Solution: Relationship to Solvent, Solute Conformation, and Solution Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeglinski, Jacek; Kuhs, Manuel; Khamar, Dikshitkumar; Hegarty, Avril C; Devi, Renuka K; Rasmuson, Åke C

2018-04-03

The influence of the solvent in nucleation of tolbutamide, a medium-sized, flexible and polymorphic organic molecule, has been explored by measuring nucleation induction times, estimating solvent-solute interaction enthalpies using molecular modelling and calorimetric data, probing interactions and clustering with spectroscopy, and modelling solvent-dependence of molecular conformation in solution. The nucleation driving force required to reach the same induction time is strongly solvent-dependent, increasing in the order: acetonitrilenucleation difficulty is a function of the strength of solvent-solute interaction, with emphasis on the interaction with specific H-bonding polar sites of importance in the crystal structure. A clear exception from this rule is the most difficult nucleation in toluene despite the weakest solvent-solute interactions. However molecular dynamics modelling predicts that tolbutamide assumes an intramolecularly H-bonded conformation in toluene, substantially different from and more stable than the conformation in the crystal structure, and thus presenting an additional barrier to nucleation. This explains why nucleation in toluene is the most difficult and why the relatively higher propensity for aggregation of tolbutamide molecules in toluene solution, as observed with FTIR spectroscopy, does not translate into easier nucleation. Thus, our combined experimental and molecular modelling study suggests that the solvent can influence on the nucleation not only via differences in the desolvation but also through the influence on molecular conformation. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

DETERMINATION OF SOME PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PECTIN SUBSTANCES FROM THE SOLVENT CAKE OF TAGETES PATULA L. INFLORESCENCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. M. Chervonnaya

2017-01-01

value of Huggins test. The value was found to be 1.46, which proves the low solubility of PS in water. Apparently, a biopolymer chain has been branched which worsen the solubility of macromolecules and further may promote the formation of gelcondition. PS, isolated from the solvent cake of Tagetes patula, belong to the group of the surface active substances. Due to a big cross section of a molecule (S and the high average molar weight, (45272 g/mol molecules occupy a big volume at the surface of phase separation. We have established that macromolecule is in the isoelectric state at pH = 4.7. Conclusion. In the result of the studies using viscometer method, we have determined a molar weight of PS equal to 45272 g/mol. Huggins constant (1.46 which is connected to a low solubility of PS in water has been determined. We have established that PS, isolated from the solvent cake of Tagetes patula, are surface active. We have shown that PS macromolecule is in the state of polyamphion at pH = 4.7.

Brownian motion of a nano-colloidal particle: the role of the solvent.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Carbajal, Alexis; Herrera-Velarde, Salvador; Castañeda-Priego, Ramón

2015-07-15

Brownian motion is a feature of colloidal particles immersed in a liquid-like environment. Usually, it can be described by means of the generalised Langevin equation (GLE) within the framework of the Mori theory. In principle, all quantities that appear in the GLE can be calculated from the molecular information of the whole system, i.e., colloids and solvent molecules. In this work, by means of extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations, we study the effects of the microscopic details and the thermodynamic state of the solvent on the movement of a single nano-colloid. In particular, we consider a two-dimensional model system in which the mass and size of the colloid are two and one orders of magnitude, respectively, larger than the ones associated with the solvent molecules. The latter ones interact via a Lennard-Jones-type potential to tune the nature of the solvent, i.e., it can be either repulsive or attractive. We choose the linear momentum of the Brownian particle as the observable of interest in order to fully describe the Brownian motion within the Mori framework. We particularly focus on the colloid diffusion at different solvent densities and two temperature regimes: high and low (near the critical point) temperatures. To reach our goal, we have rewritten the GLE as a second kind Volterra integral in order to compute the memory kernel in real space. With this kernel, we evaluate the momentum-fluctuating force correlation function, which is of particular relevance since it allows us to establish when the stationarity condition has been reached. Our findings show that even at high temperatures, the details of the attractive interaction potential among solvent molecules induce important changes in the colloid dynamics. Additionally, near the critical point, the dynamical scenario becomes more complex; all the correlation functions decay slowly in an extended time window, however, the memory kernel seems to be only a function of the solvent density. Thus, the

Selective metal-vapor deposition on solvent evaporated polymer surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, Koji; Tsujioka, Tsuyoshi, E-mail: tsujioka@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp

2015-12-31

We report a selective metal-vapor deposition phenomenon based on solvent printing and evaporation on polymer surfaces and propose a method to prepare fine metal patterns using maskless vacuum deposition. Evaporation of the solvent molecules from the surface caused large free volumes between surface polymer chains and resulted in high mobility of the chains, enhancing metal-vapor atom desorption from the surface. This phenomenon was applied to prepare metal patterns on the polymer surface using solvent printing and maskless metal vacuum deposition. Metal patterns with high resolution of micron scale were obtained for various metal species and semiconductor polymer substrates including poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl). - Highlights: • Selective metal-vapor deposition using solvent evaporation on polymer was attained. • Metal patterns with high resolution were obtained for various metal species. • This method can be applied to achieve fine metal-electrodes for polymer electronics.

Oligoquinolines under Solvent-free Microwave Irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Kwi-Jeon; Kwon, Tae-Woo [Kyungsung University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-01-15

Quinolines are thermally stable and can be used as an excellent n-type semiconducting materials. Since quinolines are also known to be electron acceptor molecules, combination of various electron donor building blocks can be utilized in photonic and electronic organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications. For example, donor.acceptor systems with phenothiazine (or carbazole) molecules as electron donors and the phenylquinoline group as an electron acceptor provide an efficient approach for the design of new materials exhibiting highly efficient charge-transfer photophysics and electroluminescence in OLEDs. We have described the Friedlander quinoline synthesis between aminobenzophenones and symmetrical diacetyl compounds having phenothiazine, carbazole, biphenyl, and phenyl moieties under solvent-free microwave irradiation in 12.98% isolated yields.

Organic Solvent Tolerant Lipases and Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shivika Sharma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Lipases are a group of enzymes naturally endowed with the property of performing reactions in aqueous as well as organic solvents. The esterification reactions using lipase(s could be performed in water-restricted organic media as organic solvent(s not only improve(s the solubility of substrate and reactant in reaction mixture but also permit(s the reaction in the reverse direction, and often it is easy to recover the product in organic phase in two-phase equilibrium systems. The use of organic solvent tolerant lipase in organic media has exhibited many advantages: increased activity and stability, regiospecificity and stereoselectivity, higher solubility of substrate, ease of products recovery, and ability to shift the reaction equilibrium toward synthetic direction. Therefore the search for organic solvent tolerant enzymes has been an extensive area of research. A variety of fatty acid esters are now being produced commercially using immobilized lipase in nonaqueous solvents. This review describes the organic tolerance and industrial application of lipases. The main emphasis is to study the nature of organic solvent tolerant lipases. Also, the potential industrial applications that make lipases the biocatalysts of choice for the present and future have been presented.

Aromaticity of benzene in condensed phases. A case of a benzene-water system

Science.gov (United States)

Zborowski, Krzysztof K.

2014-05-01

A theoretical Density Functional Theory study was performed for a benzene molecule in water cages. Two DFT functionals (B3LYP and BLYP) were employed. The optimized geometries of the studied clusters were used to calculate the aromaticity of benzene in a condensed phase using the aromaticity indices: HOMA, NICS, PDI, and H. The results were compared with aromaticity of a single benzene molecule in the gas phase and in the solvent environment provided by the PCM continuum model. It is argued that high aromaticity of benzene in the gas phase is retained in the water environment.

Depolarization of fluorescence of polyatomic molecules in noble gas solvents

Science.gov (United States)

Blokhin, A. P.; Gelin, M. F.; Kalosha, I. I.; Matylitsky, V. V.; Erohin, N. P.; Barashkov, M. V.; Tolkachev, V. A.

2001-10-01

The collisional depolarization of fluorescence is studied for p-quarterphenyl (PQP) in He, Ar, Xe solvents, under pressures ranging from zero to nearly atmospheric. The results are interpreted within the Keilson-Storer model of the orientational relaxation and smooth rigid body collision dynamics. This allows us to estimate the rate of the angular momentum scrambling due to encounters of PQP with its partners. The collisions are shown to be neither strong nor weak, so that the averaged number of encounters giving rise to the PQP angular momentum randomization equals to 33 (PQP-He), 4.5 (PQP-Ar), and 2.1 (PQP-Xe).

Interfacial free energy governs single polystyrene chain collapse in water and aqueous solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Isaac T S; Walker, Gilbert C

2010-05-12

The hydrophobic interaction is significantly responsible for driving protein folding and self-assembly. To understand it, the thermodynamics, the role of water structure, the dewetting process surrounding hydrophobes, and related aspects have undergone extensive investigations. Here, we examine the hypothesis that polymer-solvent interfacial free energy is adequate to describe the energetics of the collapse of a hydrophobic homopolymer chain at fixed temperature, which serves as a much simplified model for studying the hydrophobic collapse of a protein. This implies that changes in polymer-solvent interfacial free energy should be directly proportional to the force to extend a collapsed polymer into a bad solvent. To test this hypothesis, we undertook single-molecule force spectroscopy on a collapsed, single, polystyrene chain in water-ethanol and water-salt mixtures where we measured the monomer solvation free energy from an ensemble average conformations. Different proportions within the binary mixture were used to create solvents with different interfacial free energies with polystyrene. In these mixed solvents, we observed a linear correlation between the interfacial free energy and the force required to extend the chain into solution, which is a direct measure of the solvation free energy per monomer on a single chain at room temperature. A simple analytical model compares favorably with the experimental results. This knowledge supports a common assumption that explicit water solvent may not be necessary for cases whose primary concerns are hydrophobic interactions and hydrophobic hydration.

Conformational and bioactivity analysis of insulin: freeze-drying TBA/water co-solvent system in the presence of surfactant and sugar.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yong; Deng, Yingjie; Wang, Xueli; Xu, Jinghua; Li, Zhengqiang

2009-04-17

Despite the extensive research into the freeze-drying of aqueous solutions of proteins, it remains unknown whether proteins can survive the lyophilization process in a water-organic co-solvent system and how the process and additives affect the structural stability and activity of the proteins. In the present study, a conformational analysis of insulin in the absence/presence of bile salt and trehalose was carried out, before and after freeze-drying of a tert-butyl alcohol (TBA)/water co-solvent system at volume ratios of TBA to water ranging from 50/50 to 0/100. The study involved the use of ultraviolet derivative and fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Also the bioactivity of insulin was evaluated in vivo using the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice as an animal model. Initial investigations indicate that the extent of the structural change of insulin depends significantly both on the TBA content and on the concentration of additives, such as sodium deoxycholate, prior to lyophilization. This could be accounted for by the phase behavior properties of the TBA/water co-solvent system, surface denaturation together with the selective and/or forced dispersion of insulin during phase separation. Lyophilized insulin in the presence of bile salt and trehalose retained more of its bioactivity and native-like structure in the solid state compared with that in the absence of additives at various TBA/water ratios, although in all cases there was a major and reversible rearrangement of secondary structure after rehydration, except for insulin at 50% TBA (v/v). Furthermore, both lyophilization in non-eutectic systems and less structural changes in the formulation process lead to more bioactivity.

EFFECT OF SOLVENTS IN WATER ON ELECTROCATALYTIC DECHLORINATION OF 2-CL BP AT A PALLADIUM MODIFIED GRANULAR-GRAPHITE ELECTRODE

Science.gov (United States)

Remediation of soils and sediments contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) usually involves use of organic solvents because PCBs have very limited solubility in water. The resulting liquids require further treatment to degrade these toxic contaminants. Catalytic and elec...

Effect of solvent evaporation and coagulation on morphology development of asymmetric membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekaran, Neelakandan; Kyu, Thein

2008-03-01

Miscibility behavior of blends of amorphous polyamide (PA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was studied in relation to membrane formation. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and water were used as solvent and non-solvent, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry and cloud point measurements revealed that the binary PA/PVP blends as well as the ternary PA/PVP/DMSO system were completely miscible at all compositions. However, the addition of non-solvent (water) to this ternary system has led to phase separation. Visual turbidity study was used to establish a ternary liquid-liquid phase diagram of the PA-PVP/DMSO/water system. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed the development of finger-like and sponge-like cross sectional morphologies during coagulation. Effects of polymer concentration, PA/PVP blend ratio, solvent/non-solvent quality, and evaporation time on the resulting membrane morphology will be discussed.

Characterization and antioxidant activity of bovine serum albumin and sulforaphane complex in different solvent systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Xueyan; Zhou, Rui; Jing, Hao, E-mail: h200521@cau.edu.cn

2014-02-15

Modes and influencing factors of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sulforaphane (SFN) interaction will help us understand the interaction mechanisms and functional changes of bioactive small molecule and biomacromolecule. This study investigated interaction mechanisms of BSA and SFN and associated antioxidant activity in three solvent systems of deionized water (dH{sub 2}O), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethanol (EtOH), using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), fluorescence spectroscopy, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy, DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays. The results revealed that SFN had ability to quench BSA's fluorescence in static modes, and to interact with BSA at both tyrosine (Tyr) and tryptophan (Trp) residues, while the Trp residues were highly sensitive, which was demonstrated by fluorescence at 340 nm. Hydrophobic forces, hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions were all involved in BSA and SFN interaction, which were not significantly changed by three solvents. The binding constant values and binding site numbers were in a descending order of dH{sub 2}O>DMSO>EtOH. The values of free energy change were in a descending order of dH{sub 2}O>DMSO>EtOH, which indicated that the binding forces were in a descending order of dH{sub 2}O>DMSO>EtOH. There was no significant difference in antioxidant activity between SFN and BSA–SFN. Moreover, three solvents had not significant influence on antioxidant activity of SFN and BSA–SFN. -- Highlights: • We report interaction mechanisms of BSA and sulforaphane in three solvent systems. • We report antioxidant activity of BSA–sulforaphane complex in three solvent systems. • Decreasing the solvent polarity will decrease the binding of BSA and sulforaphane. • Three solvents had not influence on antioxidant activity of BSA–sulforaphane.

[Interactions of DNA bases with individual water molecules. Molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics computation results vs. experimental data].

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, E; Lino, J; Deriabina, A; Herrera, J N F; Poltev, V I

2013-01-01

To elucidate details of the DNA-water interactions we performed the calculations and systemaitic search for minima of interaction energy of the systems consisting of one of DNA bases and one or two water molecules. The results of calculations using two force fields of molecular mechanics (MM) and correlated ab initio method MP2/6-31G(d, p) of quantum mechanics (QM) have been compared with one another and with experimental data. The calculations demonstrated a qualitative agreement between geometry characteristics of the most of local energy minima obtained via different methods. The deepest minima revealed by MM and QM methods correspond to water molecule position between two neighbor hydrophilic centers of the base and to the formation by water molecule of hydrogen bonds with them. Nevertheless, the relative depth of some minima and peculiarities of mutual water-base positions in' these minima depend on the method used. The analysis revealed insignificance of some differences in the results of calculations performed via different methods and the importance of other ones for the description of DNA hydration. The calculations via MM methods enable us to reproduce quantitatively all the experimental data on the enthalpies of complex formation of single water molecule with the set of mono-, di-, and trimethylated bases, as well as on water molecule locations near base hydrophilic atoms in the crystals of DNA duplex fragments, while some of these data cannot be rationalized by QM calculations.

Continuum simulations of water flow past fullerene molecules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Popadic, A.; Praprotnik, M.; Koumoutsakos, P.

2015-01-01

We present continuum simulations of water flow past fullerene molecules. The governing Navier-Stokes equations are complemented with the Navier slip boundary condition with a slip length that is extracted from related molecular dynamics simulations. We find that several quantities of interest...... as computed by the present model are in good agreement with results from atomistic and atomistic-continuum simulations at a fraction of the cost. We simulate the flow past a single fullerene and an array of fullerenes and demonstrate that such nanoscale flows can be computed efficiently by continuum flow...

Studies on the partial specific volume of a poly(ethylene glycol) derivative in different solvent systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tziatzios, C.; Precup, A.A.; Weidl, C.H.; Schubert, U.S.; Schuck, P.; Durchschlag, H.; Mächtle, W.; Broek, van den J.A.; Schubert, D.

2002-01-01

The specific volume of charged supramolecular compounds dissolved in organic solvents varies considerably with the solvent system applied; in addition, it is influenced by the presence of salt. In this study we determined the specific volume of an uncharged molecule from the same molar mass range in

Rapid phenolic O-glycosylation of small molecules and complex unprotected peptides in aqueous solvent

Science.gov (United States)

Wadzinski, Tyler J.; Steinauer, Angela; Hie, Liana; Pelletier, Guillaume; Schepartz, Alanna; Miller, Scott J.

2018-06-01

Glycosylated natural products and synthetic glycopeptides represent a significant and growing source of biochemical probes and therapeutic agents. However, methods that enable the aqueous glycosylation of endogenous amino acid functionality in peptides without the use of protecting groups are scarce. Here, we report a transformation that facilitates the efficient aqueous O-glycosylation of phenolic functionality in a wide range of small molecules, unprotected tyrosine, and tyrosine residues embedded within a range of complex, fully unprotected peptides. The transformation, which uses glycosyl fluoride donors and is promoted by Ca(OH)2, proceeds rapidly at room temperature in water, with good yields and selective formation of unique anomeric products depending on the stereochemistry of the glycosyl donor. High functional group tolerance is observed, and the phenol glycosylation occurs selectively in the presence of virtually all side chains of the proteinogenic amino acids with the singular exception of Cys. This method offers a highly selective, efficient, and operationally simple approach for the protecting-group-free synthesis of O-aryl glycosides and Tyr-O-glycosylated peptides in water.

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium data of (water + phosphoric acid + solvents) systems at T = (308.2 and 318.2) K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghanadzadeh Gilani, H.; Ghanadzadeh Gilani, A.; Shekarsaraee, S.; Uslu, H.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Phase equilibria of the (water + PA + solvents) systems were investigated. ► Experimental LLE data were correlated with NRTL and UNIQUAC models. ► Distribution coefficients and separation factors were evaluated. - Abstract: Ternary equilibrium data for the mixtures of {water + phosphoric acid + organic solvent (cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, and toluene)} were determined at T = (308.2 and 318.2) K and atmospheric pressure. Solubility data were determined by the cloud-point titration method. In order to obtain the tie-line data, the concentration of each phase was determined by acidimetric titration, the Karl–Fischer technique, and refractive index measurements. The experimental tie-line data were correlated using the UNIQUAC and NRTL models. The reliability of the experimental data was determined through the Othmer–Tobias and Hand plots. Distribution coefficients and separation factors were evaluated over the immiscibility regions. The Katritzky LSER model was applied to correlate distribution coefficients and separation factors in these ternary systems.

The spontaneous synchronized dance of pairs of water molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roncaratti, Luiz F. [Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia (Italy); Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília (Brazil); Cappelletti, David, E-mail: david.cappelletti@unipg.it; Pirani, Fernando [Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia (Italy)

2014-03-28

Molecular beam scattering experiments have been performed to study the effect of long-range anisotropic forces on the collision dynamics of two small polar molecules. The main focus of this paper is on water, but also ammonia and hydrogen sulphide molecules have been investigated, and some results will be anticipated. The intermolecular distances mainly probed are of the order of 1 nm and therefore much larger than the molecular dimensions. In particular, we have found that the natural electric field gradient, generated by different spatial orientations of the permanent electric dipoles, is able to promote the transformation of free rotations into coupled pendular states, letting the molecular partners involved in the collision complex swinging to and fro around the field direction. This long-ranged concerted motion manifested itself as large increases of the magnitude of the total integral cross section. The experimental findings and the theoretical treatment developed to shed light on the details of the process suggest that the transformation from free rotations to pendular states depends on the rotational level of both molecules, on the impact parameter, on the relative collision velocity, on the dipole moment product and occurs in the time scale of picoseconds. The consequences of this intriguing phenomenon may be important for the interpretation and, in perspective, for the control of elementary chemical and biological processes, given by polar molecules, ions, and free radicals, occurring in several environments under various conditions.

The spontaneous synchronized dance of pairs of water molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roncaratti, Luiz F.; Cappelletti, David; Pirani, Fernando

2014-01-01

Molecular beam scattering experiments have been performed to study the effect of long-range anisotropic forces on the collision dynamics of two small polar molecules. The main focus of this paper is on water, but also ammonia and hydrogen sulphide molecules have been investigated, and some results will be anticipated. The intermolecular distances mainly probed are of the order of 1 nm and therefore much larger than the molecular dimensions. In particular, we have found that the natural electric field gradient, generated by different spatial orientations of the permanent electric dipoles, is able to promote the transformation of free rotations into coupled pendular states, letting the molecular partners involved in the collision complex swinging to and fro around the field direction. This long-ranged concerted motion manifested itself as large increases of the magnitude of the total integral cross section. The experimental findings and the theoretical treatment developed to shed light on the details of the process suggest that the transformation from free rotations to pendular states depends on the rotational level of both molecules, on the impact parameter, on the relative collision velocity, on the dipole moment product and occurs in the time scale of picoseconds. The consequences of this intriguing phenomenon may be important for the interpretation and, in perspective, for the control of elementary chemical and biological processes, given by polar molecules, ions, and free radicals, occurring in several environments under various conditions

Supramolecular solvent-based extraction of benzimidazolic fungicides from natural waters prior to their liquid chromatographic/fluorimetric determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Moral, Antonia; Sicilia, María Dolores; Rubio, Soledad

2009-05-01

A supramolecular solvent made up of vesicles of decanoic acid in the nano- and microscale regimes dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase is proposed for the extraction/preconcentration of benzimidazolic fungicides (BFs) from river and underground water samples prior to their determination by liquid chromatography (LC)/fluorimetry. The solvent is produced from the coacervation of decanoic acid aqueous vesicles by the action of tetrabutylammonium (Bu(4)N(+)). Carbendazim (CB), thiabendazole (TB) and fuberidazole (FB) are extracted on the basis of hydrophobic and pi-cation interactions and the formation of hydrogen bonds. The extraction provides high preconcentration factors (160 for CB and 190 for TB and FB), requires a short time (the procedure takes less than 20 min and several samples can be simultaneously processed) and a low sample volume (20 mL), and avoids the use of toxic organic solvents. Because of the absence of matrix interferences and the low viscosity of the extracts, these can be directly injected into the chromatographic system without the need of cleaning-up or diluting them. Recoveries are not influenced by the presence of salt concentrations up to 1 M. The proposed method provides detection limits for the determination of CB, TB and FB in natural waters of 32, 4 and 0.1 ng L(-1), respectively, and a precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (n=11) of 5.5% for CB (100 ng L(-1)), 4.0% for TB (80 ng L(-1)) and 2.5% for FB (30 ng L(-1)). Recoveries obtained by applying this approach to the analysis of river and underground water samples fortified at the ng L(-1) level are in the intervals 75-83, 95-102 and 97-101% for CB, TB and FB, respectively.

Towards single-molecule detection of intramolecular exciplexes: Photophysics of a benzanthrone derivative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hattori, Akifumi [Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering (BASE), Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-machi, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588 (Japan); Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama 2-12-1-S8, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552 (Japan); Sato, Hisaya [Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering (BASE), Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-machi, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588 (Japan); Vacha, Martin [Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama 2-12-1-S8, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552 (Japan)]. E-mail: vacha@op.titech.ac.jp

2007-01-15

We report luminescence study of intramolecular exciplexes based on an aminobenzanthrone derivative, dimethyl-amino-N-acetyl-3-aminobenzanthrone (BDA). The BDA compound shows strong dependence of the exciplex emission band intensity on the solvent dielectric function and moderate dependence on its viscosity. The exciplex emission mechanism is discussed in view of the unusual solvent polarity dependence and solvent-dependent excited state lifetimes. Preliminary results on single-molecule detection in polymer films are also presented.

Towards single-molecule detection of intramolecular exciplexes: Photophysics of a benzanthrone derivative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattori, Akifumi; Sato, Hisaya; Vacha, Martin

2007-01-01

We report luminescence study of intramolecular exciplexes based on an aminobenzanthrone derivative, dimethyl-amino-N-acetyl-3-aminobenzanthrone (BDA). The BDA compound shows strong dependence of the exciplex emission band intensity on the solvent dielectric function and moderate dependence on its viscosity. The exciplex emission mechanism is discussed in view of the unusual solvent polarity dependence and solvent-dependent excited state lifetimes. Preliminary results on single-molecule detection in polymer films are also presented

Electronic excitations in a dielectric continuum solvent with quantum Monte Carlo: Acrolein in water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Floris, Franca Maria, E-mail: floris@dcci.unipi.it; Amovilli, Claudio [Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Risorgimento 35, 56126 Pisa (Italy); Filippi, Claudia [MESA Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands)

2014-01-21

We investigate here the vertical n → π{sup *} and π → π{sup *} transitions of s-trans-acrolein in aqueous solution by means of a polarizable continuum model (PCM) we have developed for the treatment of the solute at the quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) level of the theory. We employ the QMC approach which allows us to work with highly correlated electronic wave functions for both the solute ground and excited states and, to study the vertical transitions in the solvent, adopt the commonly used scheme of considering fast and slow dielectric polarization. To perform calculations in a non-equilibrium solvation regime for the solute excited state, we add a correction to the global dielectric polarization charge density, obtained self consistently with the solute ground-state wave function by assuming a linear-response scheme. For the solvent polarization in the field of the solute in the ground state, we use the static dielectric constant while, for the electronic dielectric polarization, we employ the solvent refractive index evaluated at the same frequency of the photon absorbed by the solute for the transition. This choice is shown to be better than adopting the most commonly used value of refractive index measured in the region of visible radiation. Our QMC calculations show that, for standard cavities, the solvatochromic shifts obtained with the PCM are underestimated, even though of the correct sign, for both transitions of acrolein in water. Only by reducing the size of the cavity to values where more than one electron is escaped to the solvent region, we regain the experimental shift for the n → π{sup *} case and also improve considerably the shift for the π → π{sup *} transition.

Stochastic level-set variational implicit-solvent approach to solute-solvent interfacial fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Shenggao, E-mail: sgzhou@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: bli@math.ucsd.edu [Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Center for Interdiscipline Research, Soochow University, 1 Shizi Street, Jiangsu, Suzhou 215006 (China); Sun, Hui; Cheng, Li-Tien [Department of Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0112 (United States); Dzubiella, Joachim [Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, 14109 Berlin, Germany and Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Li, Bo, E-mail: sgzhou@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: bli@math.ucsd.edu [Department of Mathematics and Quantitative Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0112 (United States); McCammon, J. Andrew [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0365 (United States)

2016-08-07

Recent years have seen the initial success of a variational implicit-solvent model (VISM), implemented with a robust level-set method, in capturing efficiently different hydration states and providing quantitatively good estimation of solvation free energies of biomolecules. The level-set minimization of the VISM solvation free-energy functional of all possible solute-solvent interfaces or dielectric boundaries predicts an equilibrium biomolecular conformation that is often close to an initial guess. In this work, we develop a theory in the form of Langevin geometrical flow to incorporate solute-solvent interfacial fluctuations into the VISM. Such fluctuations are crucial to biomolecular conformational changes and binding process. We also develop a stochastic level-set method to numerically implement such a theory. We describe the interfacial fluctuation through the “normal velocity” that is the solute-solvent interfacial force, derive the corresponding stochastic level-set equation in the sense of Stratonovich so that the surface representation is independent of the choice of implicit function, and develop numerical techniques for solving such an equation and processing the numerical data. We apply our computational method to study the dewetting transition in the system of two hydrophobic plates and a hydrophobic cavity of a synthetic host molecule cucurbit[7]uril. Numerical simulations demonstrate that our approach can describe an underlying system jumping out of a local minimum of the free-energy functional and can capture dewetting transitions of hydrophobic systems. In the case of two hydrophobic plates, we find that the wavelength of interfacial fluctuations has a strong influence to the dewetting transition. In addition, we find that the estimated energy barrier of the dewetting transition scales quadratically with the inter-plate distance, agreeing well with existing studies of molecular dynamics simulations. Our work is a first step toward the

Acids and bases solvent effects on acid-base strenght

CERN Document Server

Cox, Brian G

2013-01-01

Acids and bases are ubiquitous in chemistry. Our understanding of them, however, is dominated by their behaviour in water. Transfer to non-aqueous solvents leads to profound changes in acid-base strengths and to the rates and equilibria of many processes: for example, synthetic reactions involving acids, bases and nucleophiles; isolation of pharmaceutical actives through salt formation; formation of zwitter- ions in amino acids; and chromatographic separation of substrates. This book seeks to enhance our understanding of acids and bases by reviewing and analysing their behaviour in non-aqueous solvents. The behaviour is related where possible to that in water, but correlations and contrasts between solvents are also presented.