Development of electrochemical sensors for nano scale Tb(III) ion determination based on pendant macrocyclic ligands

Evidence of molecular fragmentation inside the charged droplets produced by electrospray process

The behavior of the analyte molecules inside the neutral core of the charged droplet produced by the electrospray (ES) process is not unambiguously known to date. We have identified interesting molecular transformations of two suitably chosen analytes inside the ES droplets. The highly stable Ni(II) complex of 1,8-dimethyl-1,3,6,8,10,13-hexaazacyclotetradecane (1) that consists of a positive charge at the metal center, and the allyl pendant armed tertiary amine containing macrocycle 3,4,5:12,13,14-dipyridine-2,6,11,15-tetramethyl-1,7,10,16-tetraallyl-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaazacyclooctadeca-3,13-diene (M(4p)) have been studied by ESI mass spectrometry as the model analytes. We have shown that these two molecules are not representatively transferred from solution to gas phase by ESI; rather, they undergo fragmentation inside the charged droplets. The results indicated that a charged analyte such as 1 was possibly unstable inside the neutral core of the ES droplet and undergoes fragmentation due to the Coulombic repulsion imparted by the surface protons. Brownian motion of the neutral analyte such as M(4p) inside the droplet, on the other hand, may lead to proton attachment on interaction with the charged surface causing destabilization that leads to fragmentation of M(4p) and release of resonance stabilized allyl cations from the core of the droplet. Detailed solvent dependence and collision-induced dissociation (CID) studies provided compelling evidences that the fragmentation of the analytes indeed occurs inside the charged ES droplets. A viable model of molecular transformations inside the ES droplet was proposed based on these results to rationalize the behavior of the analyte molecules inside the charged ES droplets.

Polyacrylamide-clinoptilolite/Y-zeolite composites: characterization and adsorptive features for terbium

The composites of natural (clinoptilolite) and synthetic zeolite (Z and YZ) with polyacrylamide (PAAm) were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, TGA, XRD, SEM and PZC analysis. The adsorptive features of the minerals and its composites were investigated for Tb analogues to the rare earth elements (REs) by isotopic tracer method, (160)Tb was the radiotracer. The composites were the hybrid formations of PAAm and Z or YZ. Tb adsorption capacities of the composites were higher than those of bare Z and YZ. The compatibility of Tb adsorption kinetics to the second order and Weber-Morris models implied that the sorption process was chemical via ion exchange. The values of enthalpy and entropy changes were positive and the negative free enthalpy change was evidence for the spontaneity of adsorption. The reusability tests for the composites for five uses demonstrated that the adsorbents could be reused after complete recovery of the loaded ion. Unlike PAAm-YZ, PAAm-Z was resistant to acidic environment. The overall results eventually suggested that the composite of Z and PAAm was a potential cost effective adsorbent for Tb(3+) and REs.

New asymmetric heptaaza Schiff base macrocyclic complex of Mn(II): Crystal structure, biological and DFT studies

A new asymmetric heptaaza Schiff base macrocyclic bis(pendant donor) manganese(II) complex, [MnL(1)](ClO(4))(2).CH(3)CN (1), has been prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods. The antimicrobial activity of 1 and a series of its familiar symmetric heptaaza [15]pydieneN(5), [16]pydieneN(5), and [17]pydieneN(5)-based bis-(2-aminoethyl) pendant armed Schiff base macrocyclic complexes of Mn(II) were tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The results showed that the symmetric heptaaza [16]pydieneN(5), and [17]pydieneN(5)-based Schiff base macrocyclic complexes of Mn(II) had remarkable inhibition zone on the culture of S. aureus and E. coli as compared with standard drugs. The optimized geometry of the prepared complex has been obtained from density functional method, DFT, using B3LYP/6-31G* basis set.