Development and validation of high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for determination of amygdalin

ABSTRACT

A new method for the extraction and quantitative determination of amygdalin has been proposed. Accelerated solvent extraction was applied for the extraction, and reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography method was developed, validated, and applied for the determination of amygdalin in the extracts of apricot, plum, almond, and peach kernels. The chromatographic system used was RP-18 silica, as stationary phase and acetonitrile/water (50:50, v/v), as mobile phase. Densitometric scanning was performed at 210 nm. The method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, precision, and accuracy. The results showed that the peak area responses were linear within the concentration range of 2.5–50.0 µg/spot (R² = 0.9984). The limit of quantification was 4.28 µg/spot, and the detection limit 1.28 µg/spot. The intra-day and inter-day reproducibility, in terms of %RSD, were in the range of 0.81–1.15 and 1.32–1.89, respectively. The accuracy data were in the range from 99.98 to 100.56%. The method is linear, quantitative and reproducible, and could be used as an efficient and economical green chromatographic procedure for the determination of amygdalin in the fruit kernel.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of chitosan nanocomposites with cellulose modified in ionic liquids

In this paper, ionic liquid treatment was applied to produce nanometric cellulose particles of two polymorphic forms. A complex characterization of nanofillers including wide-angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and particle size determination was performed. The evaluated ionic liquid treatment was effective in terms of nanocrystalline cellulose production, leaving chemical and supermolecular structure of the materials intact. However, nanocrystalline cellulose II was found to be more prone to ionic liquid hydrolysis leading to formation larger amount of small particles. Each nanocrystalline cellulose was subsequently mixed with a solution of chitosan, so that composite films containing 1, 3, and 5% mass/mass of nanometric filler were obtained. Reference samples of chitosan and chitosan with micrometric celluloses were also solvent casted. Thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of films were tested and correlated with properties of filler used. The results of both, tensile tests and thermogravimetric analysis showed a significant discrepancy between composites filled with nanocrystalline cellulose I and nanocrystalline cellulose II.     

A classification of orbits admitting a unique invariant measure

We consider the space of countable structures with fixed underlying set in a given countable language. We show that the number of ergodic probability measures on this space that are $S_{\infty }$-invariant and concentrated on a single isomorphism class must be zero, or one, or continuum. Further, such an isomorphism class admits a unique $S_{\infty }$-invariant probability measure precisely when the structure is highly homogeneous; by a result of Peter J. Cameron, these are the structures that are interdefinable with one of the five reducts of the rational linear order $(\mathbb{Q},<)$.     

Synthesis and structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical characterization of benzo[c]quinolizinium and its 5-aza-, 6-aza, and 5,6-diaza analogues

Four heterocyclic salts 1a-d were prepared by Ca²⁺-assisted cyclization of fluoro derivatives 3, and investigated by spectroscopic (NMR and UV), electrochemical, and computational (DFT and MP2) methods. The mechanism for the formation of the cations was investigated at the DFT level of theory. 2-D NMR spectroscopy for 1[ClO₄] in DMSO­d₆ aided with DFT results permitted the assignment of ¹H and ¹³C NMR signals in cations 1. The molecular and crystal structures for 1a[ClO₄] [C₁₃H₁₀ClNO₄ triclinic, P−1, a=9.6517(12) Å, b=11.0470(13) Å, c=12.2373(15) Å, α=67.615(1)°, β=78.845(2)°, γ=87.559(2)°; V=1183.0(2) Å³, Z=4] and 1d[ClO₄] [C₁₂H₉ClN₂O₄ triclinic, P−1, a=5.9525(6) Å, b=8.3141(9) Å, c=12.2591(13) Å, α=73.487(1)°, β=83.814(1)°, γ=83.456(1)°; V=576.07(10) Å³, Z=2] were determined by X-ray crystallography and compared with results of DFT and MP2 calculations. Electrochemical analysis gave the reduction potential order (1b>1c∼1d>1a), which is consistent with computational results.     

Synthesis, characterization and structural analysis of new copper(II) complexes incorporating a pyridoxal-semicarbazone ligand

The reaction between 3-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methyl-4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde semicarbazone (pyridoxal-semicarbazone or PLSC) and appropriate chloride, sulfate, nitrate or thiocyanate Cu(II) salts in water/alcohol mixtures resulted in the formation of new copper(II) complexes: [Cu(PLSC)Cl₂] (1), [Cu(PLSC)(H₂O)(SO₄)]₂·3H₂O (2), [Cu₂(PLSC)₂(NCS)₂](NCS)₂ (3), [Cu(PLSC)(NO₃)₂(CH₃OH)] (4) and [Cu(PLSC-2H]NH₃·H₂O (5). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, conductometric measurements and IR spectroscopy, while complexes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were further characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Use of recombinantly produced <Superscript>15</Superscript>N<Subscript>3</Subscript>-labelled nicotianamine for fast and sensitive stable isotope dilution ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Nicotianamine (NA) is an important metal chelator, implicated in the intra- and intercellular trafficking of several transition metal ions in plants. To decipher its roles in physiological processes such as micronutrient acquisition, distribution or storage, fast and sensitive analytical techniques for quantification of this non-proteinogenic amino acid will be required. The use of a recombinant Schizosaccharomyces pombe strain expressing a nicotianamine synthase (NAS) gene allowed for the production of [¹⁵N₃]-NA, which was enriched from cell extracts through cation exchange and used for stable isotope dilution analysis of NA. Such an approach should be widely applicable to important bioanalytes that are difficult to synthesize. The analytical procedure comprises mild aqueous extraction and rapid Fmoc derivatization, followed by fast separation using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and sensitive detection by positive ion electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS) with a chromatographic cycle time of only 8 min. Derivatization was optimized with respect to incubation time and species suitable for quantification. The limit of detection was 0.14 to 0.23 pmol in biological matrices with the response being linear up to 42 pmol. Recovery rates were between 83% and 104% in various biological matrices including fission yeast cells, fungal mycelium, plant leaves and roots.     

Synthesis of polysiloxane xerogels with fluorine-containing groups in the surface layer and their sorption properties

Hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl-trimethoxysilane (TFMS) or 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFES) were used to synthesize xerogels functionalized with fluorine-containing groups. According to transmission electron microscopy, the skeletons of synthesized polysiloxane xerogels have globular structures and consist of agglomerates of particles with fluorinated groups on their surfaces. FTIR spectroscopy showed that primary xerogel particles possess spatial polysiloxane networks, with fluorinated groups along with silanol groups and water in the surface layer. According to thermal analyses, the water content was 3–8 wt.%, and it decreased with increasing length of the fluorinated chain. Thermal destruction of the surface layer starts above 300 °C. The sorbents that were obtained were predominantly mesoporous materials with well-developed porous structures (S_BET = 400–960 m² g⁻¹, V_s = 0.66–0.93 cm³ g⁻¹). The influence of the TEOS/functional silane ratio and the natures of the functional groups on the structural and adsorptive properties were shown. The samples synthesized are organophilic. The affinity for n-hexane increases with increasing length of the fluorine-containing chain (PFES) and the content of fluorinated groups in the surface layer. The hybrid organic–inorganic materials that were obtained can be used for adsorption of hydrocarbons, including oil, from water.     

Phenol adsorption on closed carbon nanotubes

We present the results of systematic studies of phenol adsorption on closed commercially available, unmodified carbon nanotubes. Phenol adsorption is determined by the value of tube-specific surface area, the presence of small amount of surface groups influence adsorption only in very small amount. Phenol can be applied as a probe molecule for comparative analysis of tube surface areas. Tube curvature influences adsorption from solution, i.e., we observe increasing adsorption energy (and slower desorption process) with the decrease in tube curvature. This is in full accordance with molecular simulation results.     

Ring-expanded bicyclic β-lactams: a structure-chiroptical properties relationship investigation by experiment and calculations

In the present work, the validity of the helicity rule relating the absolute configuration of the bridgehead carbon atom in bicyclic β-lactams to the sign of the 220 nm band observed in their electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra is examined for ring-expanded cephalosporin analogues. To this end, a series of model compounds with a seven-membered ring condensed with the β-lactam unit was synthesized. A key step of their synthesis was either the ring-closing metathesis (RCM) or the free radical cyclization leading to the seven-membered ring with an S, O, or C atom at the 6 position in the bicyclic skeleton. To investigate the scope and limitations of the simple, empirically established helicity rule, a combination of ECD spectroscopy, variable-temperature ECD measurements, X-ray analysis, and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations was used. A comparison of the experimental ECD spectra with the spectra simulated by TD-DFT calculations gives a reasonable interpretation of the Cotton effects observed in the 240-215 nm spectral range. The results suggest that the helicity rule does not apply to the investigated compounds because of the planarity of their amide chromophore. Thus, these compounds do not constitute an exception to the rule that was established for bi- and polycyclic β-lactams with the nonplanar amide chromophore only.     

Electron-induced phase transition in hydrogen-bonded solid-state 2-pyridone

This paper presents the results of experimental studies of hydrogen-bonded 2-pyridone crystal IR spectra. Spectral studies have demonstrated the existence of two anhydrous solid-state phases of each compound, namely the α and the β phases. Hydrogen bonds in the high-temperature α phase of these crystals have been estimated to be 40% stronger than the hydrogen bonds in the β phase, which are stable at room temperature. The mechanism of the phase transition in the solid-state 2-pyridone is proposed on the basis of the IR spectral data. This was possible by taking into account small changes in the geometry of heterocyclic molecular skeletons, which accompany the electron density redistribution in the hydrogen bonds occurring during the transition. The phase transition is connected with a partial change in the hydrogen bond nature from the N(+)-H···O(-) in the α phase, to the N-H···O hydrogen bonds in the β phase crystals.