Structure of the first dinuclear Ni(II) complex with an azapurine derivative (the anionic form of 4,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-5,7-dione)

The first dinuclear nickel complex with an azapurine derivative is reported. The crystal structure consists of discrete [Ni₂(dmax)₃(H₂O)₂(dben)₂]⁺ cations, the charge of which is balanced by interstitial dmax anions, where dmax = 4,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-5,7-dionato and dben = N,N′-dibenzylethylenediamine. The nickel centres are bridged by three heterocyclic anions through two nitrogen atoms of their triazole ring. The presence of the bulky auxiliary ligand clearly favours the bridging behaviour of the main ligand, probably by hindering the formation of H-bonds with dmax N atoms as acceptors. H-bonding is however, the main packing interaction, with eight different well defined intermolecular H-bonds that build a 3-D network that is analysed.     

Analysis of Steady-State Filtration and Backpulse Process in a Hot-Gas Filter Vessel

The need to develop a technology for clean and efficient electric power generation has led to the development of advanced pressurized fluidized bed combustors (PFBC) and integrated gasification combined cycles (IGCC). The effective filtration of hot gases for removal of ash and sulfur sorbent, however, is the key to the success of these advanced coal energy systems. Recently, attention has been given to the use of ceramic candle filters for hot-gas cleaning. The ash cake formation on these filters needs to be removed by the backpusle for their successful operation. In this paper, steady-state filtration as well as the transient gas flow during the backpulse process in the integrated gasification and cleanup facility (IGCF) (located at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, NETL) is studied. The steady-state filtration condition is first evaluated, using a compressible heat-conducting flow analysis. Particle transport patterns are studied, and the deposition patterns of 1-30 w m particles on the ceramic filters and the vessel surfaces are analyzed. To simulate the backpulse process, the pressure at the filter exit is increased sharply in a period of about 0.01 s pressure. The stress transport model of the FLUENT code is used to evaluate the time evolution of the transient gas flow velocity, pressure and thermal fields, as well as turbulence intensities and stresses inside the candle filter and in the IGCF filter vessel. Contour plots of the hot-gas flow conditions from the start of the pressure buildup to its saturation level are presented. The results show the rapidly changing flow conditions during the initial stages of the backpulse. The pressure wave propagates along the length of the filter until a monotonic increase of pressure with time is achieved; that is, the pressure field inside the filter at the initial stages of the backpulse is strongly nonuniform. Therefore the potential for incomplete filter cake removal exists. Motions of particles that enter the vessel and/or are ejected from the candle filter during the backpulse process are also studied, and illustrative particle trajectories are presented.     

Electrolytic arsenic removal for recycling of washing solutions in a remediation process of CCA-treated wood

The remediation of chromated copper arsenate or CCA-treated wood is a challenging problem in many countries. In a wet remediation, the recycling of the washing solutions is the key step for a successful process. Within this goal, owing to its solubility and its toxicity, the removal of arsenic from washing solution is the most difficult process. The efficiency of arsenic removal from As(III) solutions by electrolysis was investigated in view of the recycling of acidic washing solutions usable in the remediation of CCA-treated wood. Electrochemical reduction of As(III) is irreversible and thus difficult to perform at carbon electrodes. However the electrolytic extraction of arsenic can be performed by the concomitant reduction of the cupric cation and arsenite anion. The cathodic deposits obtained by controlled potential electrolysis were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis. XRD diffraction data indicated that these deposits were mixtures of copper and copper arsenides Cu(3)As and Cu(5)As(2). Electrolysis was carried out in an undivided cell with graphite cathode and copper anode, under a controlled nitrogen atmosphere. The evolution of arsine gas AsH(3) was not observed under these conditions.     

Covalently linked Au nanoparticles to a viral vector: potential for combined photothermal and gene cancer therapy

Hyperthermia can be produced by near-infrared laser irradiation of gold nanoparticles present in tumors and thus induce tumor cell killing via a bystander effect. To be clinically relevant, however, several problems still need to be resolved. In particular, selective delivery and physical targeting of gold nanoparticles to tumor cells are necessary to improve therapeutic selectivity. Considerable progress has been made with respect to retargeting adenoviral vectors for cancer gene therapy. We therefore hypothesized that covalent coupling of gold nanoparticles to retargeted adenoviral vectors would allow selective delivery of the nanoparticles to tumor cells, thus feasibilizing hyperthermia and gene therapy as a combinatorial therapeutic approach. For this, sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide labeled gold nanoparticles were reacted to adenoviral vectors encoding a luciferase reporter gene driven by the cytomegalovirus promoter (AdCMVLuc). We herein demonstrate that covalent coupling could be achieved, while retaining virus infectivity and ability to retarget tumor-associated antigens. These results indicate the possibility of using adenoviral vectors as carriers for gold nanoparticles.     

A comprehensive search for stable pt-pd nanoalloy configurations and their use as tunable catalysts

Using density-functional theory, we predict stable alloy configurations (ground states) for a 1 nm Pt-Pd cuboctahedral nanoparticle across the entire composition range and demonstrate their use as tunable alloy catalysts via hydrogen-adsorption studies. Unlike previous works, we use simulated annealing with a cluster expansion Hamiltonian to perform a rapid and comprehensive search that encompasses both high and low-symmetry configurations. The ground states show Pt(core)-Pd(shell) type configurations across all compositions but with specific Pd patterns. For catalysis studies at room temperatures, the ground states are more realistic structural models than the commonly assumed random alloy configurations. Using the ground states, we reveal that the hydrogen adsorption energy increases (decreases) monotonically with at. % Pt for the {111} hollow ({100} bridge) adsorption site. Such trends are useful for designing tunable Pd-Pt nanocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.     

Acceptance Criteria for Corrosion Resistance of Medical Devices: Statistical Analysis of Nitinol Pitting in In Vivo Environments

ASTM F 2129 test method nor the FDA provides any guidance as to what constitutes an acceptance criterion for the corrosion resistance of implantable medical devices. Neither provide any guidance on how many samples to test or how to handle censored data, i.e. datasets where there are only a few tests that breakdown. The development of both a statistically valid acceptance criterion for corrosion resistance and a method of evaluation would be of significant benefit to the medical device community. This study of 420 nitinol cyclic polarization tests, which builds on previous research that was presented at SMST 2007, investigates the effect of long-term exposure to simulated in vivo environments with differing degrees of aeration. This was accomplished by pre-exposing electropolished (EP) nitinol to phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 37 °C that had been sparged with either ultra high purity nitrogen or laboratory air. Immersion times ranged from 1 h up to 30 days. A total of 290 EP samples were tested in order to obtain a reasonable number of samples with breakdown, i.e. pitted. In addition, a total of 130 mechanical polished (MP) samples were also analyzed. This data allow us to test our statistical model that was presented at SMST 2007. This model takes into account the probability of breakdown per unit of exposed surface area and, if breakdown occurs, predicts the probability that E _b ? E _r is greater than some threshold value. Aerated PBS environments were found to have a large influence on the margin of safety against pitting in vivo. Statistical methods for treating highly right censored pitting data are presented.