The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how crown ethers behave and interact with different cations and to optimise the setup of the electrophoretic NMR. To get a good electrophoretic NMR measurement the electrophoretic phase shift needs to be big. To increase the phase shift some parameters needed to be adjusted, parameters such as the concentration of crown ether and cation, the duration of magnetic field gradient pulse δ, the magnetic field gradient strength g, the diffusion time Δ and the applied voltage V. The main focus then put on crown ethers 15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6. The cations used were lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), caesium (Cs), calcium (Ca) and barium (Ba). The effective charge was obtained by using pulsed gradient NMR to derive the diffusion coefficient and electrophoretic NMR to get the electrophoretic mobility. These data were used to calculate the equilibrium constant of the formed complex. The outcome of the investigation: the affinity for 18-crown-6 was in the following order barium > potassium > caesium > sodium > calcium > lithium and for 15-crown-5 barium > sodium > calcium >  caesium >  potassium > lithium.

Aqueous electrolyte solutions at temperature and pressure conditions near the critical point of water are difficult to describe using traditional equations of state based upon the excess Gibbs energy. Models based upon the residual Helmholtz energy have proven more effective. Anderko and Pitzer1 developed a residual Helmholtz energy model (AP) for aqueous electrolyte solutions in which the electrolyte is assumed to be fully associated. The model has been effectively used in describing densities and vapor-liquid equilibria for simple electrolyte systems. The model is less effective for describing enthalpic properties such as heats of dilution. Oscarson and coworkers2, 3 modified the AP model for NaCl solutions by adding a term accounting for the change in Helmholtz energy as a result of aqueous dissociation reactions. This new model, called the RI model, is more accurate than the AP model at conditions where the NaCl dissociates more fully into ions. Liu et. al4, 5 modified the RI model by adding a term to describe interactions between ions in solution and by regressing new model parameter values. This new model, called the RIII model, is more accurate than both the AP model and the RI model and may be used to predict species concentrations in solution as a result of aqueous phase reactions. The RIII model has substantial thermodynamic inconsistencies, however, and is poorly suited for describing mixed solute solutions. This dissertation presents the RIV model which is an electrolyte solution model for solutions in the ranges of 350 °C to 400 °C and 18 MPa to 40 MPa. The RIV model has been applied to aqueous NaCl solutions and aqueous LiCl solutions. The RIV model is a modification of the AP model and includes aqueous phase reactions implicitly through fundamental species interactions. The RIV model is thermodynamically consistent. It is capable of describing densities and heats of dilution. Density predictions from the RIV model are less accurate than the AP model predictions (6.66 % error vs. 3.51 % error) but are reasonable. The heats of dilution predictions from the RIV model are much more accurate than those from the AP model (25.16 % error vs. 78.78 % error). Predictions of the ionic species concentration from the RIV model are likely to be poor as indicated by the poor agreement between experimental values and calculated values of equilibrium constants valid at infinite dilution. In order to provide the necessary data from which to regress the parameters of the RIV model, experimental heat of dilution values were determined using flow calorimetry techniques. These values are also reported in this dissertation.

The growing bacterial resistance against antibiotics creates a limitation for using traditional antibiotics and requests development of new approaches for treatment of bacterial infections. Among the bacterial infections that are most difficult to treat, biofilm-associated infections are one of the most hazardous. Consequently, the prevention of biofilm formation is a very important issue. One of the techniques that are widely investigated nowadays for this purpose is surface modification by polymer brushes that allows generating antifouling antibacterial surfaces. Previously, it was reported that salicylidene acylhydrazides (hydrazones) are good candidates as antivirulence drugs targeting the type three secretion system (T3SS). This secretion system is used by several Gramnegative pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to deliver toxins into a host cell. Furthermore, the chemical structure of these substances allows formation of complexes with metal ions, such as Fe3+ and Ga3+. The antibacterial activity of Ga3+ is well known and attributed to its similarity to the Fe3+ ion. It has also been shown that Ga3+ ions are able to suppress biofilm formation and growth in bacteria. In this thesis the chemistry of antibacterial and antivirulence Ga3+-Hydrazone complexes in solution was studied. First, to get insights in the solution chemistry, the protonation and the stability constants as well as the speciation of the Ga3+-Hydrazone complexes were determined. Additionally, a procedure for anchoring one of the hydrazone substances to antifouling polymer brushes was optimized, and the resulting surfaces were characterized. Results showed that the complexation with Ga3+ ions stabilizes the ligand and increases its solubility. Ga3+ ion binds to the hydrazone molecule forming a strong chelate that should be stable at physiological conditions. The different biological assays, such as Ga3+ uptake, antivirulence and antibiofilm effects, indicated very complex interaction of these complexes with the bacterial cell. Negatively charged and zwitterionic surfaces strongly reduced protein adsorption as well as biofilm formation. Therefore, the antifouling zwitterionic poly-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-3- sulfopropyl)-ammonium hydroxide (pMEDSAH) brushes were post-modified and successfully functionalized with bioactive substances via a block-copolymerization strategy. However, in order to maintain the availability of the bioactive substance after functionalization, the hydrophobic polyglycidylmethacrylate (pGMA) top block is probably better to functionalize with a lipophilic molecules to reduce diblock copolymer brush rearrangement.

Master of Science

This thesis aims to find out the effective diffusivity (Deff) of a porous material – γ-alumina, using an unsteady state method with two inert gases at ambient condition with no reactions. For porous materials, Deff is important because it determines the amount of reactants that transfers to the surface of pores. When Deff is known, the apparent tortuosity factor of γ-alumina is calculated using the parallel pore model. The apparent tortuosity factor is important because: (a) it can be used to back-calculate Deff at reacting conditions; (b) once Deff with reactions is known, the Thiele modulus can be calculated and hence the global reaction rate can be found; (c) apparent tortuosity factor is also important for modelling purposes (e.g. modelling a packed-bed column or a catalytic combustion reactor packed with porous γ-alumina in various shapes and monoliths). Experimental measurements were performed to determine the effective diffusivity of a binary pair of non-reacting gases (He in N2, and N2 in He) in spherical γ-alumina pellets (1 mm diameter), and in γ-alumina washcoated monoliths (washcoat thickness 20 to 60 µm, on 400 cpsi (cells per square inch) cordierite support). The method used is based on the chromatographic technique, where a gas flows through a tube, which is packed with the sample to be tested. A pulse of tracer gas is injected (e.g. using sample loops: 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 ml) and by using an on-line mass spectrometer the response in the outlet of the packed bed is monitored over time. For the spherical pellets, the tube i.d. = 13.8 mm and the packed bed depths were 200 and 400 mm. For monoliths the tube i.d. = 7 mm and the packed lengths were 500 and 1000 mm. When the chromatographic technique was applied to the monoliths, it was observed that experimental errors can be significant, and it is very difficult to interpret the data. However, the technique worked well with the spherical pellets, and the effective diffusivity of He in N2 was 0.75 – 1.38 × 10-7 m2 s-1, and for N2 in He was 1.81 – 3.10 × 10-7 m2 s-1. Using the parallel pore model to back-calculate the apparent tortuosity factor, then a value between 5 to 9.5 was found for the pellets.

Two gas-phase ion-molecule reaction systems are presented here based on measurements done in a temperature variable 22-pole trapping machine. In the first case, the proton affinity of methane is determined based on a new technique for measuring the equilibrium constant of the HCO2+ + CH4 <=> CH5+ + CO2 reaction. The second case reports to the (Ar + N2 )+ reaction system, with reaction rate temperature dependencies measurements made both in the forward and reverse direction with different and complementary methods. The temperature variable 22-pole trapping machine allows one to determine equilibrium constants and reaction rate coefficients over a wide range of temperatures. The coupling of an effusive beam to the setup overcomes the problem of neutral gas wall condensation and extends the temperature range measurements beyond condensation point. The introduction (Chapter 1) gives a short overview about the rf technology and parallel experimental techniques developed in order to better characterize and understand the several mechanisms related to ion-molecule reactions. It also focuses some aspects of reaction rate temperature dependencies determination as well as thermodynamical equilibrium in laboratory environment. A short description of the setup and experimental methods are presented in Chapter 2. Based on equilibrium constant measurements, Chapter 3 is dedicated to the proton affinity of methane. This concept has applications on several fields such as atmospheric and combustion modelling, or testing empirical and ab initio theories for electronic structures. The (Ar − N2 )+ system presented in Chapter 4, is known for being a good case study for inferring the role of vibrational excitation in reaction dynamics and to the existence of non-adiabatic coupling. The experimental results here presented for the N2+ + Ar reaction demonstrate that it is possible to avoid parallel reactions with first vibrational excited state of nitrogen (N2 (ν = 1)). On the other hand, the reverse reaction experiments confirm the existence of a minimum of the reaction rate in the 30 to 300 K range, due to the existence of two reaction channels. The question of the high rate coefficient towards lower temperatures being related to the N2 rotational ground state population is raised. A summary and outlook are presented in Chapter 5, where some new possible paths of investigation are pointed out.

Two gas-phase ion-molecule reaction systems are presented here based on measurements done in a temperature variable 22-pole trapping machine. In the first case, the proton affinity of methane is determined based on a new technique for measuring the equilibrium constant of the HCO2+ + CH4 <=> CH5+ + CO2 reaction. The second case reports to the (Ar + N2 )+ reaction system, with reaction rate temperature dependencies measurements made both in the forward and reverse direction with different and complementary methods. The temperature variable 22-pole trapping machine allows one to determine equilibrium constants and reaction rate coefficients over a wide range of temperatures. The coupling of an effusive beam to the setup overcomes the problem of neutral gas wall condensation and extends the temperature range measurements beyond condensation point. The introduction (Chapter 1) gives a short overview about the rf technology and parallel experimental techniques developed in order to better characterize and understand the several mechanisms related to ion-molecule reactions. It also focuses some aspects of reaction rate temperature dependencies determination as well as thermodynamical equilibrium in laboratory environment. A short description of the setup and experimental methods are presented in Chapter 2. Based on equilibrium constant measurements, Chapter 3 is dedicated to the proton affinity of methane. This concept has applications on several fields such as atmospheric and combustion modelling, or testing empirical and ab initio theories for electronic structures. The (Ar − N2 )+ system presented in Chapter 4, is known for being a good case study for inferring the role of vibrational excitation in reaction dynamics and to the existence of non-adiabatic coupling. The experimental results here presented for the N2+ + Ar reaction demonstrate that it is possible to avoid parallel reactions with first vibrational excited state of nitrogen (N2 (ν = 1)). On the other hand, the reverse reaction experiments confirm the existence of a minimum of the reaction rate in the 30 to 300 K range, due to the existence of two reaction channels. The question of the high rate coefficient towards lower temperatures being related to the N2 rotational ground state population is raised. A summary and outlook are presented in Chapter 5, where some new possible paths of investigation are pointed out.