A comparison of methods for the estimation of the enthalpy of formation of rare earth compounds

Rare earth elements are helping drive the global transition towards a greener economy. However, the way in which they are produced is far from being considered green. One of the major obstacles to developing greener production methods and the design of novel processes and materials involving rare earth elments is the limited thermodynamic data available. In the present work, we apply a suite of methods to estimate the enthalpy of formation of several rare earth compounds, including a new method based on a linear relationship, established by the authors. Experimental values of the enthalpy of formation of LnCl3, LnOCl, LnPO4, Ln2O2S, Ln2O2CO3 and NaLnO2 were collated and used to assess the accuracy of the different methods, which were then used to predict values for compounds for which no data exists. It is shown that Mostafa´s et al1 group contribution method and the linear relationship proposed by the authors give the lowest mean absolute error (<9%). The volume based thermodynamics (VBT)2,3 method yields estimates with an absolute mean errors below 16.0% for LnPO4 and Ln2O2S, but above 26.0% for other compounds. Correction of the VBT method using an improved estimate of the Madelung energy for the calculation of the lattice enthalpy decreases the absolute mean error below 12.0% for all compounds except LnPO4. These complementary methods provide options for calculating the enthalpy of formation of rare earth compounds, depending on the experimental data available and desired accuracy

Ion association in lanthanide chloride solutions

A better understanding of the solution chemistry of the lanthanide (Ln) salts in water would have wide ranging implications in materials processing, waste management, element tracing, medicine and minerals processing ‐ particularly given governmental concerns about Ln security of supply. Despite much effort, even in simple systems, the mechanisms and thermodynamics of Ln(III) association with small anions remain unclear. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD), using a newly developed force field, provide new insights into LnCl₃(aq) solutions. (Adaptive) bias MD simulations show that the mechanisms for ion pairing change from dissociative to associative exchange depending upon cation size. Thermodynamics of association reveal that while ion pairing is favorable, the equilibrium distribution of species at low concentration is dominated by weakly bound solvent shared and solvent separated ion pairs cf. contact ion pairs, reconciling a number of contrasting observations of Ln(III)‐‐Cl association in the literature. In addition, we show that the thermodynamic stabilities of a range of inner sphere and outer sphere LnClχ coordination complexes are comparable and that the kinetics of anion binding to cations may control solution speciation distributions beyond ion pairs. The techniques adopted in this work provide a framework with which to investigate more complex solution chemistries of cations in water

Quantitative proteomic analysis of Parkin substrates in Drosophila neurons.

Parkin (PARK2) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is commonly mutated in Familial Parkinson's Disease (PD). In cell culture models, Parkin is recruited to acutely depolarised mitochondria by PINK1. PINK1 activates Parkin activity leading to ubiquitination of multiple proteins, which in turn promotes clearance of mitochondria by mitophagy. Many substrates have been identified using cell culture models in combination with depolarising drugs or proteasome inhibitors, but not in more physiological settings.Here we utilized the recently introduced BioUb strategy to isolate ubiquitinated proteins in flies. Following Parkin Wild-Type (WT) and Parkin Ligase dead (LD) expression we analysed by mass spectrometry and stringent bioinformatics analysis those proteins differentially ubiquitinated to provide the first survey of steady state Parkin substrates using an in vivo model. We further used an in vivo ubiquitination assay to validate one of those substrates in SH-SY5Y cells.We identified 35 proteins that are more prominently ubiquitinated following Parkin over-expression. These include several mitochondrial proteins and a number of endosomal trafficking regulators such as v-ATPase sub-units, Syx5/STX5, ALiX/PDCD6IP and Vps4. We also identified the retromer component, Vps35, another PD-associated gene that has recently been shown to interact genetically with parkin. Importantly, we validated Parkin-dependent ubiquitination of VPS35 in human neuroblastoma cells.Collectively our results provide new leads to the possible physiological functions of Parkin activity that are not overtly biased by acute mitochondrial depolarisation

Cancer stem cell drugs target K-ras signaling in a stemness context

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to be responsible for treatment relapse and have therefore become a major target in cancer research. Salinomycin is the most established CSC inhibitor. However, its primary mechanistic target is still unclear, impeding the discovery of compounds with similar anti-CSC activity. Here, we show that salinomycin very specifically interferes with the activity of K-ras4B, but not H-ras, by disrupting its nanoscale membrane organization. We found that caveolae negatively regulate the sensitivity to this drug. On the basis of this novel mechanistic insight, we defined a K-ras-associated and stem cell-derived gene expression signature that predicts the drug response of cancer cells to salinomycin. Consistent with therapy resistance of CSC, 8% of tumor samples in the TCGA-database displayed our signature and were associated with a significantly higher mortality. Using our K-ras-specific screening platform, we identified several new candidate CSC drugs. Two of these, ophiobolin A and conglobatin A, possessed a similar or higher potency than salinomycin. Finally, we established that the most potent compound, ophiobolin A, exerts its K-ras4B-specific activity through inactivation of calmodulin. Our data suggest that specific interference with the K-ras4B/calmodulin interaction selectively inhibits CSC.Peer reviewe

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics study of the uranyl behaviour at the gibbsite/water interface

The uranyl cation UO22+ adsorption on the basal face of gibbsite is studied via Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics. In a first step, we study the water sorption on a gibbsite surface. Three different sorption modes are observed and their hydrogen bond patterns are, respectively, characterized. Then we investigate the sorption properties of an uranyl cation, in the presence of water. In order to take into account the protonation state of the (001) gibbsite face, both a neutral (001) face and a locally deprotonated (001) face are modeled. In the first case, three adsorbed uranyl complexes (1 outer sphere and 2 inner spheres) with similar stabilities are identified. In the second case, when the gibbsite face is locally deprotonated, two adsorbed complexes (1 inner sphere and 1 outer one) are characterized. The inner sphere complex appears to be the most strongly linked to the gibbsite face

A similar to 32-70 K FORMATION TEMPERATURE RANGE FOR THE ICE GRAINS AGGLOMERATED BY COMET 67 P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO

International audienceGrand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations are used to reproduce the N-2/CO ratio ranging between 1.7 x 10(-3) and 1.6 x 10(-2) observed in situ in the Jupiter-family comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67 P) by the ROSINA mass spectrometer on board the Rosetta spacecraft. By assuming that this body has been agglomerated from clathrates in the protosolar nebula (PSN), simulations are developed using elaborated interatomic potentials for investigating the temperature dependence of the trapping within a multiple-guest clathrate formed from a gas mixture of CO and N-2 in proportions corresponding to those expected for the PSN. By assuming that 67 P agglomerated from clathrates, our calculations suggest the cometary grains must have been formed at temperatures ranging between similar to 31.8 and 69.9 K in the PSN to match the N-2/CO ratio measured by the ROSINA mass spectrometer. The presence of clathrates in Jupiter-family comets could then explain the potential N2 depletion (factor of up to similar to 87 compared to the protosolar value) measured in 67 P

Ions in solutions: Determining their polarizabilities from first-principles.

Dipole polarizabilities of a series of ions in aqueous solutions are computed from first-principles. The procedure is based on the study of the linear response of the maximally localized Wannier functions to an applied external field, within density functional theory. For most monoatomic cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+) and Sr(2+)) the computed polarizabilities are the same as in the gas phase. For Cs(+) and a series of anions (F(-), Cl(-), Br(-) and I(-)), environmental effects are observed, which reduce the polarizabilities in aqueous solutions with respect to their gas phase values. The polarizabilities of H((aq)) (+), OH((aq)) (-) have also been determined along an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. We observe that the polarizability of a molecule instantaneously switches upon proton transfer events. Finally, we also computed the polarizability tensor in the case of a strongly anisotropic molecular ion, UO(2) (2+). The results of these calculations will be useful in building interaction potentials that include polarization effects

Ions in solutions: Determining their polarizabilities from first-principles.

Dipole polarizabilities of a series of ions in aqueous solutions are computed from first-principles. The procedure is based on the study of the linear response of the maximally localized Wannier functions to an applied external field, within density functional theory. For most monoatomic cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+) and Sr(2+)) the computed polarizabilities are the same as in the gas phase. For Cs(+) and a series of anions (F(-), Cl(-), Br(-) and I(-)), environmental effects are observed, which reduce the polarizabilities in aqueous solutions with respect to their gas phase values. The polarizabilities of H((aq)) (+), OH((aq)) (-) have also been determined along an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. We observe that the polarizability of a molecule instantaneously switches upon proton transfer events. Finally, we also computed the polarizability tensor in the case of a strongly anisotropic molecular ion, UO(2) (2+). The results of these calculations will be useful in building interaction potentials that include polarization effects

Adsorption of hydrogen isotopes in the zeolite NaX: Experiments and simulations

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Destabilization of zeolites on Mars: possible source of its atmospheric methane

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