Decomposition of Methanol on Mixed CuO-CuWO4 Surfaces.

Mixed CuO(2 × 1)-CuWO4 layers on a Cu(110) surface have been prepared by the on-surface reaction of the CuO(2 × 1) surface oxide with adsorbed (WO3)3 clusters. The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on these well-defined CuO-CuWO4 surfaces has been followed by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) to assess the molecular surface species and their concentration, while the state of the surface oxide phases before and after methanol decomposition has been characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and XPS. Surface methoxy species form the primary methanol decomposition products, which desorb partly by recombination as methanol at 200-300 K or decompose into CHx and possibly CO. The most reactive surfaces are mixed CuO-CuWO4 phase, with CuWO4 coverages 0.5-0.8 monolayer, thus pointing at the importance of oxide phase boundary sites. In a minority reaction channel, a small amount of formaldehyde is detected on the CuWO4 surface. The CuWO4 oxide phase becomes modified as a result of reduction and a morphology transition triggered by the methanol decomposition, but the pristine surface state can be recovered by a postoxidation treatment with oxygen.

New insights on the antibacterial efficacy of miconazole in vitro.

Miconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal used in topical preparations. In the present investigation the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of miconazole for eighty wild type strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria isolated from infected skin lesions was assessed using a modified agar dilution test (adapted to CLSI, Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute). 14 ATCC reference strains served as controls. Miconazole was found efficacious against gram-positive aerobic bacteria (n=62 species), the MICs against Staphylococcus (S.) aureus, S. spp., Streptococcus spp. und Enterococcus spp. ranged between 0.78 and 6.25 µg/mL. Interestingly, there were no differences in susceptibility between methicillin-susceptible (MSSA, 3) methicillin-resistant (MRSA, 6) and fusidic acid-resistant (FRSA, 2) S. aureus isolates. Strains of Streptococcus pyogenes (A-streptococci) (8) were found to be slightly more sensitive (0.78-1.563 µg/mL), while for gram-negative bacteria, no efficacy was found within the concentrations tested (MIC >200 µg/mL). In conclusion, for the gram-positive aerobic bacteria the MICs of miconazole were found within a range which is much lower than the concentration of miconazole used in topical preparations (2%). Thus topically applied miconazole might be a therapeutic option in skin infections especially caused by gram-positive bacteria even by those strains which are resistant to antibiotics.

[Problems in the preparation and testing of anti-human globulin sera with regard to their use]. / Probleme bei der Herstellung und Prüfung von Antihumanglobulin-Seren im Hinblick auf ihre Anwendung.

The problems in manufacturing and testing A.H.G. sera with regard to their application are presented. The sera offered at present do not answer the requirements wanted. Therefore, the properties of the A.H.G. sera to be demanded in practice are presented and the methods of manufacture, the criteria of testing them, and the results thereof, as well, are presented.