The Use of Ureates as Activators for Samarium Diiodide.

A novel mode of SmI2 activation has been developed using ureates as reaction promoters. Several ureates formed by treatment of the corresponding ureas with n-BuLi have been shown to activate SmI2 to a substantial extent toward the reduction of 1-chlorodecane. Complexes formed from SmI2 and various ureates have been shown to be useful for the reduction of a variety of organohalides, including substrates of low reactivity such as aryl fluorides. Because of ease of synthesis and low molecular weight, the conjugate base of triethylurea (TEU(-)) was of primary focus. Visible spectroscopy and reactivity data are consistent with the hypothesis that the same complex is being formed when SmI2 is combined with either 2 or 4 equiv of TEU(-), in spite of the greater reactivity of SmI2/4 TEU(-) with some alkyl halides. We propose that the active reductant is an N,O chelate formed between SmI2 and 2 equiv of TEU(-).

Tripyrrolidinophosphoric acid triamide as an activator in samarium diiodide reductions.

The electrochemical and spectrophotometric characterization of the complex formed from samarium diiodide and 4 equiv of tripyrrolidinophosphoric acid triamide (TPPA) is presented. Kinetic studies indicate that the SmI(2)/TPPA complex possesses reactivity greater than the complex formed between samarium diiodide and 4 equiv of HMPA. Examples of the use of SmI(2)/TPPA in synthesis are presented.

Integrated microfluidic device for solid-phase extraction coupled to micellar electrokinetic chromatography separation.

An integrated microdevice was utilized for the autonomous coupling of solid-phase extraction (SPE) to micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). Porous plugs of polymethacrylate polymer approximately 200 microm in length) were fabricated by ultraviolet irradiation in microchannels. Microcolumns of hydrophobic beads packed against the polymethacrylate plugs were utilized for the quantitative extraction of rhodamine B, yielding preconcentration factors over 200 for a 90-s extraction. The calculated detection limit for this dye was 60 fM. A sample of coumarin dyes were concentrated by SPE, eluted in a nonaqueous solvent from a separate on-chip reservoir, and injected by a gated valve onto a separate column for MEKC analysis. Using the integrated device, a completely automated sequence of extraction, elution, injection, separation, and detection were performed in less than 5 min. Observed separation efficiencies were high, with plate heights below 2 microm. The analysis was at least 3 times faster than semiautomated, conventional, solid-phase extraction, while requiring no user intervention. The design, fabrication, and autonomous operation of the device is discussed.

Colorimetric detection of uranium(VI) on building surfaces after enrichment by solid phase extraction.

A method for detecting and quantifying uranium(VI) levels on building materials that include concrete, Plexiglas, glass and steel surfaces is presented. Uranium(VI) was extracted from building material surfaces using a pH 2.2 buffer rinse and, subsequently complexed by an organic chelating agent, arsenazo III. The application of a uranium-chelating molecule, arsenazo III, allows for concentration enhancement using C(18) solid phase extraction and colorimetric detection of the uranium complex using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy at 654nm. The method has a detection limit (based on 3sigma) of 40ng/L (5ng/cm(2)) and an overall extraction efficiency greater than 80% for each surface type (concrete, Plexiglas, glass, steel). Methods to prevent interference by metal ions commonly found on building materials are discussed.

Compact, high voltage power supply for the lab-on-a-chip.

The design, construction and operation of a simple, inexpensive and compact high voltage power supply (HVPS) for use in conjunction with a simple cross capillary electrophoresis microchip is presented. The microchip HVPS utilizes a single high voltage power supply (15 kV), a voltage-divider network, to give the voltages necessary to operate a gated injection valve, and two high voltage relays for switching between the open and closed gate sequences of the injection. In order to accommodate the application of different simple cross microchip dimensions, a set of equations for defining the resistor network and ensuring proper gate performance are presented.

High-efficiency, two-dimensional separations of protein digests on microfluidic devices.

High-efficiency, two-dimensional separations of tryptic digests were achieved using glass microfluidic devices. Following micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) separations in a 19.6-cm-long serpentine channel, the peptides were rapidly sampled into a 1.3-cm-long second-dimension channel, where they were separated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The turns in the serpentine channel were asymmetrically tapered to minimize geometrical contributions to band broadening and to provide ample channel length for high-efficiency chromatographic separations. Analysis of rhodamine B injections routinely produced plate numbers of 230000 and 40000 in the first (MEKC) and second (CE) dimensions, respectively, corresponding to plate heights of 0.9 and 0.3 microm. The electric field strengths were 200 V/cm for MEKC and 2400 V/cm for CE. In analysis times less than 15 min, two-dimensional separation of bovine serum albumin tryptic digest produced a peak capacity of 4200 (110 in the first dimension and 38 in the second dimension). The system was used to identify a peptide from a tryptic digest of ovalbumin using standard addition and to distinguish between tryptic digests of human and bovine hemoglobin.