ZrOCl2·8H2O in water: An efficient catalyst for rapid one-pot synthesis of pyridopyrazines,pyrazines and 2,3-disubstituted quinoxalines

Zirconium(IV) oxide chloride was found to be a rapid and efficient catalyst for the synthesis of pyrazines and 2,3-disubstituted quinoxalines in water. A variety of pyridopyrazine and 2,3-disubstituted quinoxaline derivatives are readily prepared in high yields under green conditions by cyclocondensation of the desired 1,2-diamine and 1,2-diketone using a catalytic amount of zirconium(IV) oxide chloride in water. Less active diamines, such as 2,3- and 3,4-diaminopyridines took part in this protocol to provide the desired products in good to excellent yields.     

Existence results for a class of degenerate quasilinear elliptic systems

We establish existence results for weak solutions of degenerate quasilinear elliptic systems. By using the variational method we obtain the existence of a solution for an elliptic system with Dirichlet boundary condition under some restriction on λ.     

Fabrication of Au‐Nanoparticle/TiO2‐Nanotubes Electrodes Using Electrochemical Methods and Their Application for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Hydroquinone

Gold nanoparticle (Au‐NPs)‐Titanium oxide nanotube (TiO₂‐NTs) electrodes are prepared by using galvanic deposition of gold nanoparticles on TiO₂‐NTs electrodes as support. Scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy results indicate that nanotubular TiO₂ layers consist of individual tubes of about 60–90 nm diameters and gold nanoparticles are well‐dispersed on the surface of TiO₂‐NTs support. The electrooxidation of hydroquinone of Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrodes is investigated by different electrochemical methods. Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrode can be used repeatedly and exhibits stable electrocatalytic activity for the hydroquinone oxidation. Also, determination of hydroquinone in skin cream using this electrode was evaluated. Results were found to be satisfactory and no matrix effects are observed during the determination of hydroquinone content of the “skin cream” samples.     

Polyelectrolyte Nanocomposite Membranes,Based on Chitosan-phosphotungstic Acid Complex and Montmorillonite for Fuel Cells Applications

A polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) of chitosan and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) was prepared and characterized as a proton-conducting membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of stable PWA in PEC. To reduce the methanol permeability, several amounts of montmorilonite (MMT) nanoclays (trade name: Cloisite Na) were introduced to the system. The X-ray diffraction patterns of nanocomposite membranes proved the nanoclay layers were exfoliated in the membranes at loading weights of MMT lower than 3 wt%. Proton conductivity and methanol permeability were measured. According to the selectivity parameter—ratio of proton conductivity to methanol permeability—PEC containing 2 wt% MMT (PEC/2 wt% MMT) was identified as the optimum composition. Finally, DMFC performance tests were investigated at 70°C and 5 M methanol feed and the optimum membrane showed higher maximum power density in comparison with Nafion 117. The results indicated the optimum nanocomposite membrane is a promising polyelectrolyte membrane (PEM) for DMFC applications.     

Convergence analysis of an iterative algorithm to solve system of nonlinear stochastic Itô-Volterra integral equations

In this paper, an efficient and accurate numerical iterative algorithm based on the linear spline interpolation for solving the system of nonlinear stochastic Itô-Volterra integral equations is presented. The most important merit of this method is that it does not need to solve any system of nonlinear algebraic equations. An upper bound for the linear spline approximation of the stochastic function is provided. Using this upper bound and under the Lipschitz and linear growth conditions, the convergence analysis of the suggested method is studied. Finally, to verify the efficiency of the proposed scheme, some problems in the finance, physics, and biology are investigated, and the obtained results are compared with the stochastic $\theta$-method.     

Experimental Observations and Quantitative Predictions of Rheological Properties of Organoclay/Poly(propylene) Nanocomposites at the Startup of Shear Flows

We study the rheological characteristics of nanocomposites containing nano-sized plate like particles in a viscoelastic fluid at the startup of steady state in the simple shear flow mode. The nanocomposites of organoclay-polypropylene with different nanoclay contents were prepared by melt mixing. A rheological equation of state, originally formulated to predict the orientation state and viscoelastic behavior of suspensions of ellipsoidal particles in polymer melts, has been modified to describe the observed phenomena for the nanoclay/poly(propylene) composites. The rotational particle motion and alignment for a group of symmetric ellipsoids with the applied flow field are investigated. Additionally, model calculations of the macroscopic rheological properties for a simple flow case suggest the presence of nano-particles significantly modify the suspended fluid at volume concentrations as low as 0.5%. The model calculations for the startup viscosity are reasonably in agreement with the experimental results at the experimental range covered in this study. At the shear rate of , we observe pronounced stress overshoots at the three nanoclay loadings level tested which are found to be related to the fast alignment of the silicate layers with the shear direction in the polymer melt.     

Preparative size-exclusion chromatography for purification and characterization of colloidal quantum dots bound by chromophore-labeled polymers and low-molecular-weight chromophores

We explore the use of preparative size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to purify quantum dots (QDs) after surface modification. In one example, in which Bio-Beads (S-X1) were used as the packing material for the preparative SEC column, CdSe QDs treated with a functional coumarin dye could be separated from the excess free dye by using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the mobile phase. This column was unable to separate polymer-coated QDs from free polymer (M ∼ 8000) because of the relatively low cutoff mass of the column. Here a preparative HPLC column packed with TOYOPEARL gel allowed the effective separation of polymer-bound QDs from the excess free polymer by using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) as the mobile phase. When other solvents such as absolute ethanol, acetonitrile, THF, and THF–triethylamine mixtures were used as the eluent, QDs stuck to the column. While NMP was an effective medium to remove excess free polymer from the QDs, it was difficult to transfer the purified QDs to more volatile solvents and maintain colloidal stability.     

Progress in the Application of Nanoparticles and Graphene as Drug Carriers and on the Diagnosis of Brain Infections

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is the protective sheath around the brain that protects the sensitive microenvironments of the brain. However, certain pathogens, viruses, and bacteria disrupt the endothelial barrier and cause infection and hence inflammation in meninges. Macromolecular therapeutics are unable to cross the tight junctions, thereby limiting their bioavailability in the brain. Recently, nanotechnology has brought a revolution in the field of drug delivery in brain infections. The nanostructures have high targeting accuracy and specificity to the receptors in the case of active targeting, which have made them the ideal cargoes to permeate across the BBB. In addition, nanomaterials with biomimetic functions have been introduced to efficiently cross the BBB to be engulfed by the pathogens. This review focuses on the nanotechnology-based drug delivery approaches for exploration in brain infections, including meningitis. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, or, rarely, protozoa or parasites may be the cause of brain infections. Moreover, inflammation of the meninges, called meningitis, is presently diagnosed using laboratory and imaging tests. Despite attempts to improve diagnostic instruments for brain infections and meningitis, due to its complicated and multidimensional nature and lack of successful diagnosis, meningitis appears almost untreatable. Potential for overcoming the difficulties and limitations related to conventional diagnostics has been shown by nanoparticles (NPs). Nanomedicine now offers new methods and perspectives to improve our knowledge of meningitis and can potentially give meningitis patients new hope. Here, we review traditional diagnosis tools and key nanoparticles (Au-NPs, graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), QDs, etc.) for early diagnosis of brain infections and meningitis.     

A Novel Synthetic Method and Potential Application of a Sulfanilic Acid-Based Surfactant

A novel synthetic method was developed to prepare a difunctional surfactant using sulfanilic acid and dodecyl bromide. In the first step, sulfanilic acid was protected by acetic anhydride. Then, Friedel–Crafts alkylation of the synthesized acetanilide with dodecyl bromide was performed in the presence of aluminum chloride. The protecting group (amide) was removed easily by acid hydrolysis. The formation of surfactant was confirmed with Fourier transform infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The demulsification property of this surfactant was studied using brine-fuel oil emulsion, and its result was compared with a commercially available demulsifier. The results showed that 52% of water was separated from emulsion at room temperature, but at elevated temperature 98% of water was separated from brine-fuel oil emulsion.     

Zirconium(IV) oxide chloride and anhydrous copper(II) sulfate mediated synthesis of 2‐substituted benzothiazoles

A simple, fast and efficient benign procedure has been developed for one‐pot synthesis of 2‐substituted benzothiazoles in the presence of zirconium(IV) oxide chloride octahydrate (ZrOCl₂·8H₂O) and anhydrous copper(II) sulfate. The reaction of 2‐aminothiophenol with aldehydes and anhydrides was carried out efficiently in solvent‐free conditions with or without microwave irradiation, and adducts were produced in good to excellent yields. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 17:136–141, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20191