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In this paper we report on the structure of the isolated dipeptide Ac–Val–Phe–OMe (Val=valine, Phe=phenylalanine) which is protected at the terminal positions by introducing an acetyl and a methyl group. Both resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) and IR/R2PI spectroscopy are applied. This is the first application of IR/R2PI spectroscopy to a dipeptide. Both the region of the C–H and N–H stretching vibrations as well as the region of the C=O stretching vibrations are investigated. The chosen dipeptide exhibits only one prominent conformer in the gas phase containing a “linear” non-hydrogen-bonded structure which is an ideal candidate for a β-sheet model.

The detection of ionic species in a polymeric planar electrophoresis device by contactless conductivity measurement is described. To our knowledge this is the first report of such measurements carried out with external electrodes which are part of the holder rather than the separation chip itself. The approach allows the use of bare devices as used for optical measurements, which greatly simplifies the method. The use of a sine wave of 100 kHz of a high amplitude of 500 V for cell excitation assures high sensitivity which is demonstrated with electropherograms for alkali and heavy metal ions as well as inorganic anions and carboxylates at concentrations between 10 and 50 µM. The determination of underivatized amino acids was also possible by using a buffer in the alkaline region where these species are present in anionic form. Detection limits were found to be in the order of 1-5 µM for the inorganic ions and between about 5 and 50 µM for the organic species.