The effect of crown ethers on enzyme-catalysed reactions in organic solvents

Crown ethers considerably enhance the rate of the α-chymotrypsin- catalysed transesterification of N-acetyl-L-phenylalanine ethyl ester (N-Ac-L-Phe-OEt) with propan-1-ol in n-octane; with subtilisin the effect is somewhat less pronounced

Adsorption of alkyltriphenylphosphonium amphiphiles on nafion membranes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and static secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis

Conductivity, UV, and attenuated total reflectance IR measurements show that n-alkyltriphenylphosphonium amphiphiles adsorb on a Ndion 117 membrane. Approximately 20% of the Ndion protons are exchanged for a cationic amphiphile (n-hexadecyltriphenylphoephonium). Diffusion of amphiphile through the membrane was not observed. Once adsorbed, the amphiphiles did not leach from the membrane. Surface-sensitive techniques (x-ray photoelectrion spectroscopy, static secondary ion mass spectrometry) were used to investigate the presence, concentration, and distribution of the amphiphile in the Ndion membrane. Our experiments point to an incomplete monolayer coverage of the membrane, the molar ratio of amphiphile to sulfonate groups being only slightly less than 1 in the uppermost 2-5 nm. The amphiphile is bonded to the membrane, most likely via an ionic bond with the sulfonate groups. X-ray fluorescence measurements show that the amphiphile is also present in the bulk of the membrane, at least in the uppermost micrometer. However, in the bulk the concentration of amphiphile is significantly lower than the sulfonate groups. These results show that thin and stable amphiphilic layers can be made on a solid support material using adsorption of an amphiphile and coupling via an ionic bond

Urea transport through supported liquid membranes using synthetic carriers

Urea can be transported through a supported liquid membrane (Accurel/NPOE) by carriers such as metallomacrocycles and polyaza (cleft-type) receptors. The urea flux is increased by a factor 4¿8 using polyaza receptors and by a factor 10¿15 using metallomacrocycles containing a salophene unit in which a uranyl cation is incorporated. These carriers have a high hydrophobicity and do not significantly leak from the membrane phase into the aqueous phases. The structure of the receptors and the type and number of binding sites have a pronounced influence on the transport rate. The lower urea fluxes found for the polyaza (cleft-type) carriers are most likely caused by a weaker complexation (only H-bond interactions). No transport is observed for carriers which form intramolecular H-bonds. Although lower fluxes are obtained than with a commercial haemodialysis membrane (Cuprophan), the selectivity of transport may be much higher using carrier-mediated transport