Experimental study and modelling of lead solubility as a function of pH in mixtures of ground waters and cement waters.

The purpose of this study was the simulation of lead solubility equilibria in mixtures of concrete lixiviation waters and ground waters in order to obtain the data necessary for the modelling of lead behaviour. The lixiviation water was impossible to obtain in sufficient quantity by compression of concrete specimens and was replaced by cement water prepared by mixing a CLC or CPA cement suspension in distilled water under argon. Three lead salts, PbCl2, PbSO4 and PbCO3, were studied; they correspond to the anions found most frequently in the ground waters. The experimental curves of lead solubility were determined, at 20 degrees C, from pH 5 to 13, for various systems: cement water/lead salt/ground water. The modelling of 10 systems was carried out by the PHREEQC code from the solution compositions (ground water and cement water mixtures) and the thermodynamic constants obtained from the MINTEQ data base. The chemical models included the nature of the species in solution and the solid phases in equilibrium together with the corresponding values for the logarithms of the formation constants or solubility products. These models were validated by comparing the experimental pH and solubilised lead concentration values with the values calculated using the PHREEQC code.

New synthesis of a high molecular weight ligand derived from dota; thermodynamic stability of the MRI contrast agent formed with gadolinium.

The new total synthesis in four steps of the compound P1041 is reported. This compound is a high molecular mass ligand (MW 6.32 kDa) derived from dota in which the four substituents are hydroxylated and contain amidic groups. The attribution of the nine protonation constants of P1041 is based on the comparison with the behaviour of the precursor ligands dota and tced, a tetracarboxylated derivative of dota. From these results, the studies of the systems P1041/Na(+) and P1041/Gd(3+) lead to the determination of the stability constants corresponding to the three species Na(P1041)H(h) (h = 0, 2 or 4) and to the five complexes Gd(P1041)H(h) (h = 0, 2, 3, 4 or 5). The complexing ability of P1041 towards Gd(3+) is compared with those of dota and tced. At physiological pH = 7.4, the very stable species Gd(P1041)H(4) (-) (currently named P792 in the literature) of this rapid clearance blood pool agent is predominant.

Thermodynamic and structural properties of Eu3+ complexes of a new 12-membered tetraaza macrocycle containing pyridine and N-glutaryl groups as pendant arms: characterization of three complexing successive phases.

A new polyazamacrocyclic ligand (called pctga) containing pyridine and N-glutaryl arms has been synthesized as a potential agent for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Three series of successive complexes formed with Eu(3+) were characterized by at least two of the following methods: potentiometry, EXAFS or luminescence spectrometry. In the immediate complexes [EuH(h)(pctga)(H2O)6](h-3)+**, the metal ion is bound to the oxygen atoms of the three internal carboxylate groups and to six water molecules. As the lanthanide moves into the macrocyclic cavity, these species rapidly evolve into the intermediate metastable complexes [EuH(h)(pctga)(H2O)4](h-3)+*. The formation of two new bonds with the nitrogen atoms of the tetraazamacrocycle decreased the number of coordinated water molecules to four. In the final thermodynamically stable complexes [EuH(h)(pctga)(H2O)(2)](h-3)+, the pctga is bound to the europium(III) in a heptadentate manner, via the four nitrogen atoms of the tetraazamacrocycle and the three oxygen atoms of the internal carboxylate groups. The coordination number of the metal ion is completed to nine with two inner-sphere water molecules. The mean hydration numbers were calculated from the values of the bimolecular quenching constant k(q) of the luminescence species. The thermodynamic parameters corresponding to the protonation constants of the ligand and to the formation constants of the various intermediate and final complexes were determined from potentiometric measurements. They show that the complex species have some specific thermodynamic and structural properties inherent to the N-glutaryl groups and to the pyridine cycle. The insertion of this aromatic substructure rigidifies the ligand and sensibly diminishes the value of the overall formation constant (log beta(110) = 18.66(5)). This whole study allows us to propose a complexation mechanism for the system Eu(3+)/pctga in solution which is a mixture of the ones determined for the ligands dota and tced.

Complexing mechanism of the lanthanide cations Eu3+, Gd3+, and Tb3+ with 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carboxymethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (dota)-characterization of three successive complexing phases: study of the thermodynamic and structural properties of the complexes by potentiometry, luminescence spectroscopy, and EXAFS.

Complexation of the lanthanides Eu3+, Gd3+, and Tb3+ with 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carboxymethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (dota) has been studied in solution by using potentiometry, luminescence spectrometry, and EXAFS. Three series of successive complexes were characterized by at least two of these methods: the immediate [LnHn(dota)](n-1)+** and intermediate [LnHn(dota)](n-1)+* complexes with 0