Table of contents

The literature data on the use of immobilised enzymes in analytical chemistry are reviewed and the fundamental conditions for the creation of kinetic methods in enzymatic analysis are described. The types of enzyme electrodes and the factors influencing the response of such electrodes, their stability, and sensitivity are discussed in detail. The possible pathways towards further development of enzyme electrodes for use in laboratory and technological practice and for monitoring the environment are considered. The bibliography includes 69 references.

The kinetics and mechanisms of processes involving the quenching of oxygen in the singlet state (¹Δ_g) are examined. The rate constants for the deactivation of singlet oxygen in various solvents, for the reactions of singlet oxygen with unsaturated and aromatic compounds, and for processes involving the quenching of singlet oxygen by amines, metal complexes, and certain other compounds have been compiled. The influence of the polymer matrix on the reactivity of electron acceptors and the efficiency of quenching agents is considered and the role of singlet oxygen in photochemical oxidation reactions of low- and high-molecular-weight organic compounds is discussed. The bibliography includes 77 references.

The review is devoted to the polarographic study of the reactions of aminoalkyl esters of αβ-unsaturated acids: electrochemical reduction, hydrolysis (including hydrolysis in a two-phase system), partition, and isomerisation. Detailed polarographic characteristics and equations for the polarographic wave and the kinetics and equilibria of the reactions using the limiting polarographic current are presented. The corresponding analytical applications of the method are considered. The kinetics and mechanisms of the processes are discussed from the standpoint of the structure of the electrical double layer, the acid–base properties of the aminoalkyl esters, and intramolecular hydrogen bonds in conjunction with correlation analysis. A comparison is made with data obtained by pH-stat and spectrophotometric methods. The bibliography includes 166 references.

Experimental work on the dissociative capture of electrons by organic molecules is surveyed, and the main processes involved in the interaction between such molecules and electrons are discussed. Special attention is paid to the specificity of mass spectra. The mass spectrometry of negative ions not only supplements traditional mass spectrometry but also enables several novel problems to be solved. A list of 100 references is included.

A qualitative survey of available data has enabled pure oxides to be divided into five groups according to their catalytic activity. Zeolites are less active than oxides corresponding to their cationic forms. The activity of an oxide catalyst either increases continuously or passes through a maximum with increase in its temperature of ignition. This type of dependence is explained by the surface dehydroxylation model on the assumption that the activity is determined by the presence of electron-donating and electron-accepting sites situated side by side on the surface. The hydrogenation of alkenes involves stages of activation of the alkene and of hydrogen, with on most oxides appearance of a semi-hydrogenated form. A list of 91 references is included.

Published information on the kinetics and the mechanism of the low-temperature liquid-phase oxidation of various classes of aldehydes–aliphatic, aromatic, unsaturated — is surveyed, and the mechanism of the elementary stages under various conditions — with thermal and photochemical initiation, in the presence of catalysts, in various solvents — is discussed. The mechanism of the concerted oxidation of aldehydes with other organic compounds is also reviewed. Numerical data on these reactions are given in tables. Applications of the oxidation of aldehydes in chemical technology are described. A list of 134 references is included.

New data on various prebiological syntheses of aminoacids and the detection of very small amounts of aminoacids in meteorites and lunar rocks are reviewed. Data are presented concerning the possible precursors of these aminoacids. The hitherto obscure problem of the mechanisms of the formation of aminoacids under the conditions of prebiological synthesis is considered. The bibliography includes 156 references.

The present review surveys the literature on the methods of synthesis and chemical properties of condensed tetrazoles. The bibliography includes 125 references.