In vitro study of chlorine dioxide on porcine intestinal epithelial cell gene markers.

BACKGROUND: Chlorine dioxide (ClO2 ) is an inorganic, potent biocide and is available in highly purified aqueous solution. It can be administered as an oral antiseptic in this form. OBJECTIVES: Our aim is to determine the level of inflammatory markers and cytochrome genes expressed by enterocytes exposed to different concentrations of hyperpure chlorine dioxide solution. METHODS: Porcine jejunal enterocyte cell (IPEC-J2) cultures were treated with the aqueous solution of hyper-pure chlorine dioxide of various concentrations. We determined the alterations in mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators, such as IL6, CXCL8/IL8, TNF, HSPA6 (Hsp70), CAT and PTGS2 (COX2); furthermore, the expression of three cytochrome genes (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP3A29) were analysed by quantitative PCR method. RESULTS: The highest applied ClO2 concentration reduced the expression of all three investigated CYP genes. The gene expression of PTGS2 and CAT were not altered by most concentrations of ClO2 . The expression of IL8 gene was reduced by all applied concentrations of ClO2 . TNF mRNA level was also decreased by most ClO2 concentrations used. CONCLUSIONS: Different concentrations of chlorine dioxide exhibited immunomodulatory activity and caused altered transcription of CYP450 genes in porcine enterocytes. Further studies are needed to determine the appropriate ClO2 concentration for oral use in animals.

Adaptive moving mesh algorithm based on local reaction rate.

An empirical mesh adaption algorithm is introduced for modeling one-dimensional reaction-diffusion systems with large moving gradients. Our new algorithm is based on the revelation, that in reaction-diffusion systems the high moving concentration gradients appear nearby to the region where the rate of reaction is maximal, thus the local reaction rate can be used to control the mesh adaption. We found, that the main advantage of such a method is its simplicity and easy implementation. As an example we study an acid-base diode, where large moving gradients appear. The mathematical model of the diode contains several parabolic PDEs, coupled with one elliptic PDE. An r-refinement technique is used and attached to the commercial finite element solver COMSOL. We investigated the time-dependent salt effects of the diode with our developed algorithm. Our mesh adaption method is advantageous for modeling of any reaction-diffusion systems with localized high concentration gradients.

Unusual Chemistry in an Uncatalyzed Bromate-Aniline Oscillator: Ring-Contraction Oxidation of Aniline with Pulsative CO2 Production.

The bromate-aniline oscillatory reaction was discovered 4 decades ago, but neither the detailed mechanism nor the key products or intermediates of the reaction were described. We report herein a detailed study of this reaction, which yielded new insights. We found that oscillatory oxidation of aniline by acidic bromate proceeds, to a significant extent, via a novel reaction pathway with the periodic release of carbon dioxide. Several products were isolated, and their structures, not described so far, were justified on the basis of MS and NMR. One of the main products of the reaction associated with the CO2 release route can be assigned to 2,2-dibromo-5-(phenylimino)cyclopent-3-en-1-one. A number of known compounds produced in the studied reaction, including unexpected brominated 1-phenylpyrroles and 1-phenylmaleimides, were identified by comparison with standards. A mechanism is suggested to explain the appearance of the detected compounds, based on coupling of the anilino radical with the produced 1,4-benzoquinone. We assume that the radical adduct reacts with bromine to form a cyclopropanone intermediate that undergoes a Favorskii-type rearrangement. Further oxidation and bromination steps including decarboxylation lead to the found brominated phenyliminocyclopentenones. The detected derivatives of 1-phenylpyrrole could be produced by a one-electron oxidation of a proposed intermediate 2-phenylamino-5-bromocyclopenta-1,3-dien-1-ol followed by ß-scission with the abstraction of carbon monoxide. Such a mechanism is known from the combustion chemistry of cyclopentadiene. The proposed mechanism of this reaction provides a framework for understanding the observed oscillatory kinetics.

Platinum as a HOI/I2 Redox Electrode and Its Mixed Potential in the Oscillatory Briggs-Rauscher Reaction.

Pt is a common redox electrode used to follow oscillations qualitatively in the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) and the Bray-Liebhafsky (BL) reactions from the time of their discovery. Although the potential oscillations of the electrode reflect the temporal pattern of the reaction properly, there is no general agreement as to how that potential is determined by the components of the reaction mixture. In this article, first we investigate how iodine species in different oxidation states affect the potential of a Pt electrode. It was found that I(+3) and I(+5) species do not affect the potential; only I-, I2, and HOI may have an influence. Although the latter three species are always present simultaneously as participants of the rapid iodine hydrolysis equilibrium, it was found that below and above the so-called hydrolysis limit potential (HLP, where the iodide and HOI concentrations are equal) the actual potential determining redox couple is different. Below the HLP, it is the traditional I2/I- redox couple, but above the HLP, it is the HOI/I2 redox pair that determines the potential of a Pt electrode. That change in the potential control mechanism was proven experimentally by exchange current measurements. In addition, from the potential response of the Pt electrode below and above the HLP, it was possible to calculate the equilibrium constant of the iodine hydrolysis as K°H = (4.97 ± 0.20) × 10-13 M2, in rather good agreement with earlier measurements. We also studied the perturbing effect of H2O2 on the previously mentioned potentials. The concentration of H2O2 was 0.66 M, as in the BR reaction studied here. It was found that below the HLP, the perturbing effect of H2O2 was minimal but above the HLP, H2O2 shifted the mixed potential considerably down toward the HLP. In our experiments with the BR reaction, the potential oscillations of the Pt electrode crossed the HLP, indicating that from time to time the HOI concentration exceeds that of the iodide. We can conclude that although the perturbing effect of H2O2 prevents the calculation of concentrations from Pt potentials above the HLP, [I-]/[I2]1/2 ratios can be calculated as a good approximation from Pt potentials below the HLP.

HOI versus HOIO selectivity of a molten-type AgI electrode.

UNLABELLED: AgI electrode is often applied not only to determine iodine concentration but also to follow oscillations in the weakly acidic medium of the Bray-Liebhafsky and Briggs-Rauscher reactions where it partly follows the hypoiodous acid (HOI) concentration. It is known that HOI attacks its matrix in the corrosion reaction: AgI + HOI + H(+) ⇆ Ag(+) + I2 + H2O and the AgI electrode measures the silver ion concentration produced in that reaction. The signal of the electrode can be the basis of sensitive and selective HOI concentration measurements only supposing that an analogous corrosive reaction between AgI and iodous acid (HOIO) can be neglected. To prove that assumption, the authors calibrated a molten-type AgI electrode for I(-), Ag(+), HOI, and HOIO in 1 M sulfuric acid and measured the electrode potential in the disproportionation of HOIO, which is relatively slow in that medium. Measured and simulated electrode potential versus time diagrams showed good agreement, assuming that the electrode potential is determined by the HOI concentration exclusively and the contribution of HOIO is negligible. An independent and more direct experiment was also performed giving the same result. HOIO was produced with a new improved recipe. CONCLUSION: an AgI electrode can be applied to measure the HOI concentration selectively above the so-called solubility limit potential.

Chlorine dioxide is a size-selective antimicrobial agent.

BACKGROUND / AIMS: ClO2, the so-called "ideal biocide", could also be applied as an antiseptic if it was understood why the solution killing microbes rapidly does not cause any harm to humans or to animals. Our aim was to find the source of that selectivity by studying its reaction-diffusion mechanism both theoretically and experimentally. METHODS: ClO2 permeation measurements through protein membranes were performed and the time delay of ClO2 transport due to reaction and diffusion was determined. To calculate ClO2 penetration depths and estimate bacterial killing times, approximate solutions of the reaction-diffusion equation were derived. In these calculations evaporation rates of ClO2 were also measured and taken into account. RESULTS: The rate law of the reaction-diffusion model predicts that the killing time is proportional to the square of the characteristic size (e.g. diameter) of a body, thus, small ones will be killed extremely fast. For example, the killing time for a bacterium is on the order of milliseconds in a 300 ppm ClO2 solution. Thus, a few minutes of contact time (limited by the volatility of ClO2) is quite enough to kill all bacteria, but short enough to keep ClO2 penetration into the living tissues of a greater organism safely below 0.1 mm, minimizing cytotoxic effects when applying it as an antiseptic. Additional properties of ClO2, advantageous for an antiseptic, are also discussed. Most importantly, that bacteria are not able to develop resistance against ClO2 as it reacts with biological thiols which play a vital role in all living organisms. CONCLUSION: Selectivity of ClO2 between humans and bacteria is based not on their different biochemistry, but on their different size. We hope initiating clinical applications of this promising local antiseptic.

Measurement of hypoiodous acid concentration by a novel type iodide selective electrode and a new method to prepare HOI. Monitoring HOI levels in the Briggs-Rauscher oscillatory reaction.

A new type of iodide selective electrode prepared by dipping a silver wire into molten silver iodide is reported. The electrode was calibrated for silver and iodide ions and the measured electromotive force for various Ag(+) and I(-) concentrations was close to the theoretical within a few millivolts. Besides Ag(+) and I(-) ions, however, the electrode also responds to hypoiodous acid. Thus, the electrode was calibrated for HOI as well, and for that purpose a new method of hypoiodous acid preparation was developed. To explain the close to Nernstian electrode response for HOI and also the effect of hydrogen ion and iodine concentration on that response, the corrosion potential theory suggested earlier by Noszticzius et al. was modified and developed further. Following oscillations in the Briggs-Rauscher reaction with the new electrode the potential crosses the "solubility limit potential" (SLP) of silver iodide. Potentials below SLP are controlled by the concentration of I(-), but potentials above SLP are corrosion potentials determined by the concentration of HOI. Finally, the measured HOI oscillations are compared with calculated ones simulated by a model by Furrow et al.

Micropatterned polyvinyl butyral membrane for acid-base diodes.

Until now, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel cylinders have been used in electrolyte diodes as a connecting element between the acidic and alkaline reservoirs. In this paper, a new connecting element is reported: a breath figure templated polyvinyl butyral (PVB) membrane prepared with dip-coating from a dichloromethane solution of the polymer in a humid atmosphere. The procedure gives a 1.5-2 µm thick membrane with a hexagonal pattern, the average characteristic length of which is 1 µm. After an acidic etching, it was found to be a good connecting element. The voltage-current characteristics and dynamic properties of PVA and PVB were measured and compared. The PVB membrane has a faster response to voltage changes than the PVA gel, but in both cases, there was a slow drift in the current that prevented it from reaching a steady state. Reproducible characteristics can be obtained, however, after the current reaches a well-defined quasi-steady state.

Iodomalonic acid as an anti-inhibitor in the resorcinol inhibited Briggs-Rauscher reaction.

It was found that the inhibitory effect of resorcinol is less pronounced if it is added in a later stage of the Briggs-Rauscher reaction, which indicates that an accumulating intermediate--most probably iodomalonic acid--can suppress the inhibition. In fact, when iodomalonic acid was added to the reaction mixture, the inhibitory period was shortened considerably even at micromolar levels of the iodomalonic acid concentration. Moreover, iodomalonic acid can accelerate the rate of the reaction when applied in the same low concentrations, suggesting that it can be an autocatalytic intermediate of the Briggs-Rauscher reaction.

Reaction routes leading to CO2 and CO in the Briggs-Rauscher oscillator: analogies between the oscillatory BR and BZ reactions.

With Fenton-type experiments, it is shown that the intense CO2/CO evolution in the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) reaction is due to decarboxylation/decarbonylation of organic free radicals. The metal ion applied in the Fenton-type experiments was Fe2+ or Ti3+ or Mn2+ combined with H2O2 or S2O(8)(2-) as a peroxide, whereas the organic substrate was malonic acid (MA) or a 1:1 mixture of MA and iodomalonic acid (IMA). Experiments with a complete BR system applying MA or the MA/IMA mixture indicate that practically all CO2 and CO comes from IMA. The decarboxylation/decarbonylation mechanisms of various iodomalonyl radicals can be analogous to that of the bromomalonyl radicals studied already in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. It is found that an intense CO2/CO evolution requires the simultaneous presence of H2O2, IO3-, Mn2+, and IMA. It is suggested that the critical first step of this complex reaction takes place in the coordination sphere of Mn2+. That first step can initiate a chain reaction where organic and hydroperoxyl radicals are the chain carriers. A chain reaction was already found in a BZ oscillator as well. Therefore, the analogies between the BR and BZ oscillators are due to the fact that in both mechanisms, free radicals and, in most cases, also transition-metal complexes play an important role.

I(+1) transfer from diiodomalonic acid to malonic acid and a complete inhibition of the CO and CO2 evolution in the Briggs-Rauscher reaction by resorcinol.

A recent report on an intense CO 2 and CO evolution in the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) reaction revealed that iodination of malonic acid (MA) is not the only important organic reaction in the classical BR oscillator. To disclose the source of the gas evolution, iodomalonic (IMA) and diiodomalonic (I2MA) acids were prepared by iodinating MA with nascent iodine in a semibatch reactor. The nascent iodine was generated by an iodide inflow into the reactor, which contained a mixture of MA and acidic iodate. Some CO2 and a minor CO production was observed during these iodinations. It was found that in an aqueous acidic medium the produced I2MA is not stable but decomposes slowly to diiodoacetic acid and CO2. The first-order rate constant of the I 2MA decarboxylation at 20 degrees C was found to be k1 = 9 x 10(-5) s(-1), which is rather close to the rate constant of the analogous decarboxylation of dibromomalonic acid under similar conditions (7 x 10(-5)s(-1)). From the rate of the CO2 evolution, the I2MA concentration can be calculated in a MA-IMA-I2MA mixture as only I2MA decarboxylates spontaneously but MA and IMA are stable. Following CO2 evolution rates, it was proven that I2MA can react with MA in the reversible reaction I2MA + MA <--> 2 IMA. The equilibrium constant of this reaction was calculated as K = 380 together with the rate constants of the forward k 2 = 6.2 x 10 (-2) M (-1)s(-1) and backward k-2 = 1.6 x 10(-4) M(-1)s(-1) reactions. The probable mechanism of the reaction is I(+1) transfer from I2MA to MA. The presence of I(+1) in a I2MA solution is demonstrated by its reduction with ascorbic acid. To estimate the fraction of CO2 coming from the decarboxylation of I2MA in an oscillatory BR reaction, the oscillations were inhibited by resorcinol. Unexpectedly, all CO2 and CO evolution was interrupted for more than one hour after injecting a small amount of resorcinol (10(-5) M initial concentration in the reactor). Finally, some implications of the newly found I(+1) transfer reactions and the surprisingly effective inhibition by resorcinol regarding the mechanism of the oscillatory BR reaction are discussed. The latter is explained by the ability of resorcinol to scavenge free radicals including iodine atoms without producing iodide ions.

The source of the carbon monoxide in the classical Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.

CO and CO2 evolution was measured in a cerium and in a ferroin-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. These gases were stripped from the reaction mixture by a N2 carrier gas, mixed with H2, converted to methane on a Ni catalyst, and then measured by a flame ionization detector (FID). CO could be detected separately by absorbing CO2 on a soda lime column. In separate experiments it was proven that CO is produced in a reaction of BrO2* radicals with bromomalonic acid (BrMA). To this end BrO2(.-) radicals were generated in two different ways: (i) in the reaction HBrO2 + HBrO3 <--> 2 BrO2(.-) + H2O and (ii) by reducing HBrO3 to BrO2(.-) by Fe(2+). It was found that (.-)OH radicals--produced by Fenton's reagent--can also generate CO from BrMA. We propose that CO can be formed when an inorganic radical (like BrO2(.-) or (.-)OH) reacts with the enol form of BrMA producing an acyl radical which decarbonylates in the next step. Malonic acid (MA)-BrMA mixtures were prepared by a new method modifying Zaikin and Zhabotinsky's original recipe to minimize the production of dibromomalonic acid (Br2MA).

Integration of hydrogels with hard and soft microstructures.

Hydrogels, i.e., water-swollen polymer networks, have been studied and utilized for decades. These materials can either passively support mass transport, or can actively respond in their swelling properties, enabling modulation of mass and fluid transport, and chemomechanical actuation. Response rates increase with decreasing hydrogel dimension. In this paper, we present three examples where incorporation of hydrogels into solid microstructures permits acceleration of their response, and also provides novel functional capabilities. In the first example, a hydrogel is immobilized inside microfabricated pores within a thin silicon membrane. This hydrogel does not have a swelling response under the conditions investigated, but under proper conditions it can be utilized as a part of an electrolytic diode. In the second example, hydrogels are polymerized under microcantilever beams, and their swelling response to pH or glucose concentration causes variable deflection of the beam, observable under a microscope. In the third example, swelling and shrinking of a hydrogel embedded in a microfabricated valve structure leads to chemical gating of fluid motion through that valve. In all cases, the small size of the system enhances its response rate.

Periodic CO and CO2 evolution in the oscillatory Briggs-Rauscher reaction.

While various reactions in the inorganic subset of the oscillatory Briggs-Rauscher (BR) reaction were clarified in the recent years, the organic subset of the present mechanisms contains only one process: the iodination of malonic acid. Further organic reactions can play a role, however, if malonic (MA) and iodomalonic (IMA) acids can be oxidized in the BR reaction. As CO2 and CO should be products if such oxidations can take place, the main aim of this work was to learn whether these gases are produced in a significant amount in a BR system. In our BR experiments, a rather intense evolution of both gases was observed with an oscillatory and a nonoscillatory component. With the initial conditions applied here, one from every 6 carbon atoms was oxidized either to CO2 or to CO in the course of the BR reaction. The amount of CO2 was about 4 times higher than that of CO. Experiments are in progress to disclose the reactions which generate the measured gases and their role in the mechanism of the BR reaction.

Contribution to the chemistry of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. Products of the Ferriin-Bromomalonic acid and the Ferriin-Malonic acid reactions.

In the present mechanistic schemes of the ferroin-catalyzed oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction the oxidation of the organic substrates (bromomalonic or malonic acid) by ferriin (the oxidized form of the catalyst) plays an important role. As the organic products of these reactions were not yet identified experimentally, they were studied here by an HPLC technique. It was found that the main organic oxidation product of bromomalonic acid is bromo-ethene-tricarboxylic acid (BrEETRA), the same compound that is formed when bromomalonic acid is oxidized by Ce4+ (another catalyst of the BZ reaction). Formation of BrEETRA is explained here by a new mechanism that is more realistic than the one suggested earlier. To find any oxidation product of malonic acid in the ferriin-malonic acid reaction was not successful, however. Neither ethane-tetracarboxylic acid (ETA) nor malonyl malonate (MAMA), the usual products of the Ce4+- malonic acid reaction, nor any other organic acid, not even CO2, was found as a product of the reaction. We propose that malonic acid is not oxidized in the ferriin-malonic acid reaction, and it plays only the role of a complex forming catalyst in a process where Fe3+ oxidizes mostly its phenantroline ligand.

Uncatalyzed reactions in the classical Belousov-Zhabotinsky system. 2. The malonic acid-bromate reaction in acidic media.

The title reaction was studied with various techniques in 1 M sulfuric acid, a usual medium for the oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. It was found to be a more complex process than the bromomalonic acid (BrMA)-BrO3- reaction studied previously in the first part of this work. Malonic acid (MA) can react with acidic bromate by two parallel mechanisms. The main aim of the present research was to determine the mechanisms, the rate laws, and the rate constants for these parallel channels. In one reaction channel the first molecular products are glyoxalic acid (GOA) and CO2 while in the other channel mesoxalic acid (MOA) is the first molecular intermediate, that is, no CO2 is formed in this step. To prove these two independent routes specific colorimetric techniques were developed to determine GOA and MOA selectively. The rate of the GOA channel was determined by following the rate of the carbon dioxide evolution characteristic for this reaction route. In this step, regarding it as an overall process, one MA is oxidized to GOA and CO2 and one BrO3- is reduced to HOBr, which forms BrMA with another MA. The initial rate of the GOA channel is a bilinear function of the initial MA and BrO3- concentrations with a second-order rate constant k(GOA)= 2.4 x 10(-7) M(-1) s(-1). The rate of the other channel was calculated from the rate of the BrO3- consumption measured in separate experiments, assuming that the measured depletion is a sum of two separate terms reflecting the consumptions due to the two independent channels. In the MOA channel one MA is oxidized to MOA and one BrO3- is consumed while another MA is brominated as in the GOA channel. It was found that the initial rate of the MOA channel is also a bilinear function of the MA and BrO3- concentrations with a second-order rate constant k(MOA)= 2.46 x 10(-6) M(-1) s(-1). Separate chemical mechanisms are suggested for both channels. In all of the various bromate-substrate reactions of these mechanisms oxygen atom transfer from the bromate to the substrate occurs generating bromous acid intermediate. This can be of high importance in BZ systems as bromous acid is the autocatalytic intermediate there. GOA and MOA also can be oxidized by acidic bromate but a study of these reactions will be published later.

Electrolyte diodes with weak acids and bases. II. Numerical model calculations and experiments.

This is the second part of our work dealing with electrolyte diodes with weak acids and bases. In the first part an approximative analytical solution was derived for the steady-state current-voltage characteristic (CVC) of a reverse-biased diode (a quasi-one-dimensional gel connecting an acidic and an alkaline reservoir), applying either strong or weak electrolytes. An approximative analytical solution is compared here with a numerical solution free of any approximations and with CVCs measured experimentally with both strong and weak electrolytes. It is shown that the deviations between the numerical and analytical solutions are mostly due to assumptions made for the fixed charge concentration profiles. The concept of optimal analytical solution is introduced which does not use such assumptions and applies only the quasielectroneutrality and quasiequilibrium approximations. It is proven that the slope of the CVC based on the optimum analytical solution can be calculated without the complicated derivation of that solution itself. The calculation of that slope is based on the fact that in the optimum analytical solution all currents are inversely proportional to the length if the boundary conditions are held constant and realizing that in the middle part of the gel the only mobile counterions of the fixed ionized groups are hydrogen ions. In the experimental part the apparatus and the preparation of the gel are described together with the CVCs measured with strong and weak electrolytes. From these CVCs the fixed ion concentration in the middle part of the gel can be determined. That fixed ion concentration is 1.96 x 10(-4)M measured with weak electrolytes and 3.48 x 10(-4)M measured with strong electrolytes. The deviation indicates that the strong base causes some hydrolysis of the gel. Finally, possible applications of weak acid-weak base diodes are discussed.

Electrolyte diodes with weak acids and bases. I. Theory and an approximate analytical solution.

Until now acid-base diodes and transistors applied strong mineral acids and bases exclusively. In this work properties of electrolyte diodes with weak electrolytes are studied and compared with those of diodes with strong ones to show the advantages of weak acids and bases in these applications. The theoretical model is a one dimensional piece of gel containing fixed ionizable groups and connecting reservoirs of an acid and a base. The electric current flowing through the gel is measured as a function of the applied voltage. The steady-state current-voltage characteristic (CVC) of such a gel looks like that of a diode under these conditions. Results of our theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigations are reported in two parts. In this first, theoretical part governing equations necessary to calculate the steady-state CVC of a reverse-biased electrolyte diode are presented together with an approximate analytical solution of this reaction-diffusion-ionic migration problem. The applied approximations are quasielectroneutrality and quasiequilibrium. It is shown that the gel can be divided into an alkaline and an acidic zone separated by a middle weakly acidic region. As a further approximation it is assumed that the ionization of the fixed acidic groups is complete in the alkaline zone and that it is completely suppressed in the acidic one. The general solution given here describes the CVC and the potential and ionic concentration profiles of diodes applying either strong or weak electrolytes. It is proven that previous formulas valid for a strong acid-strong base diode can be regarded as a special case of the more general formulas presented here.

Uncatalyzed reactions in the classical Belousov-Zhabotinsky system. I. Reactions of bromomalonic acid with acidic bromate and with HOBr.

The uncatalyzed reactions of bromomalonic acid (BrMA) with acidic bromate and with hypobromous acid were studied in 1 M sulfuric acid, a usual medium for the oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, by following the rate of the carbon dioxide evolution associated with these reactions. In addition, the decarboxylation rate of dibromomalonic acid (Br2MA) was also measured to determine the first-order rate constant of its decomposition (4.65 x 10(-5) s(-1) in 1 M H2SO4). The dependence of that rate constant on the hydrogen ion concentration suggests a carbocation formation. A slow oligomerization of BrMA observed in sulfuric acid solutions is also rationalized as a carbocationic process. The initial rate of the BrMA-BrO3- reaction is a bilinear function of the BrMA and BrO3- concentrations with a second-order rate constant of 3.8 x 10(-4) M(-1) s(-1). When a great excess of BrO3- is applied, then BrMA is oxidized mostly to CO2. A reaction scheme compatible with the experimental finding is also given. On the other hand, when less BrO3- and more organic substrate - BrMA or malonic acid (MA)--is applied, then addition reactions of various carbocations with the enol form of the organic substrates should be taken into account in later stages of the reaction. It was discovered that HOBr, which brominates BrMA to Br2MA when BrMA is in excess, can also oxidize BrMA when HOBr is in excess. As Br2MA does not react with HOBr, it is assumed that the acyl hypobromite, formed in the first step of the HOBr and BrMA reaction, can react with an additional HOBr to give oxidation products. It was found that the initial rate of the reaction can be described by the following experimental rate law: k(BHOB)[BrMA]0[HOBr]0(2), where k(BHOB) = 5 M(-2) s(-1). A reaction scheme for the oxidation of BrMA by HOBr is given for conditions where HOBr is in excess. Model calculations illustrate qualitatively that the suggested reaction schemes are able to mimic the experiments. (More quantitative simulations are prevented by kinetic data missing for the various carbocation intermediates.) Finally, the effects of these newly observed reactions on oscillatory BZ systems are discussed briefly.

Electrolyte diodes and hydrogels: determination of concentration and pK value of fixed acidic groups in a weakly charged hydrogel.

Current-voltage (CV) characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-glutardialdehyde hydrogel cylinders were measured in aqueous KCl solutions. To this end a new special apparatus was constructed where the gel cylinder connects two electrolyte reservoirs. The measured quantities are the electric current flowing through the gel and the potential difference between the two reservoirs. Concentration polarization near the gel-liquid interfaces is decreased considerably by applying an intense mechanical stirring in both reservoirs. Under these conditions below 1 V concentration polarization is negligible, and the CV curves are nearly straight lines. It was found that the gel applied here is a weakly charged anionic hydrogel. Concentration of fixed anions was determined from the slope of these lines measured in 0.001 and 0.01 molar KCl solutions. Fixed anion concentration of the same piece of gel was measured also with a different method, when the gel was used in an acid-base diode. In this case one reservoir contained 0.1 molar HCl, and the other 0.1 molar KOH. From the results of the two measurements, the concentration (4.45 x 10(-3) M) and the pK value (4.03) of the fixed acid groups responsible for the anionic character of the gel was calculated. The pK value is compatible with fixed carboxylic acid groups contaminating the PVA gel. Furthermore, concentration polarization phenomena in the boundary layers nearby the gel were studied in 0.001 M KCl solutions, measuring the diodelike CV characteristic of a gel cylinder, when stirring was applied only at one side of the gel. Boundary layers facing the cathode or the anode responded in a different way to stirring. The difference cannot be explained completely with the hypothesis of electroconvection suggested previously.