Carbamate Formation and Amine Protonation Constants in 2-Amino-1-Butanol–CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O System and Their Temperature Dependences

The apparent protonation constant of an amino butanol (AB) and its carbamate formation constant in the CO₂–H₂O–AB system were determined at T = 298.15–328.15 K, and at various ionic strengths up to 0.2 mol·L^?1 by potentiometric titration. The Debye–Hückel equation was used to extrapolate the protonation constants to zero ionic strength. The variation of the thermodynamic equilibrium constant for carbamate formation with temperature was modeled according to the relationship of log₁₀ K₁ = 280.91/T ? 0.1105, while the temperature dependency of the amine protonation constant was correlated by log₁₀ K₂ = 1926.53/T + 2.9482. Van’t Hoff type plots of the pK values showed linear relationships indicating that the standard enthalpy changes of reaction are constant over this range of temperatures. Hence, our current findings are crucial for designing efficient unit operations involving separation of CO₂ from natural or flue gases.     

Domino reactions between 3-(6-methylchromonyl)acrylonitrile and nucleophilic reagents

The chemical reactivity of electron deficient chromone–linked acrylonitrile [3-(6-methylchromonyl)acrylonitrile (1)] was studied towards some active methylene nitriles and active methylene ketones. Reaction of compound 1 with malononitrile, cyanoacetamide, ethyl cyanoacetate, malononitrile dimer and acetoacetanilide afforded 5-cyanomethylchromeno[4,3-b]pyridines 2–4 and 9. Compound 1 reacted with 1H-benzimidazol-2-ylacetonitrile producing pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole derivative 5. Benzonitrile derivatives 6–8 were efficiently synthesized from the reaction of compound 1 with acetylacetone, ethyl acetoacetate and diethylmalonate. In these reactions a diversity of products has been synthesized through a domino process, including Michael addition, retro-Michael with γ-pyrone ring opening followed by different types of recyclization (RORC). Structures of the new synthesized products were deduced on the basis of their analytical and spectral data, and the reaction mechanisms are discussed.     

Theoretical study of N–H· · ·O hydrogen bonding properties and cooperativity effects in linear acetamide clusters

We investigated geometry, energy, ${\nu_{{\text{N--H}}}}$ harmonic frequencies, ¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole coupling tensors, and ${n_{\rm O}\to \sigma _{{\text{N--H}}}^\ast}$ charge transfer properties of (acetamide) _n clusters, with n = 1 ? 7, by means of second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) and DFT method. Dependency of dimer stabilization energies and equilibrium geometries on various levels of theory was examined. B3LYP/6-311++G** calculations revealed that for acetamide clusters, the average hydrogen-bonding energy per monomer increases from ?26.85 kJ mol^?1 in dimer to ?35.12 kJ mol^?1 in heptamer; i.e., 31% cooperativity enhancement. The n-dependent trend of ${\nu_{{\text{N--H}}}\,{and}\,^{14}}$ N nuclear quadrupole coupling values were reasonably correlated with cooperative effects in ${r_{{\text{N--H}}}}$ bond distance. It was also found that intermolecular ${n_{\rm O}\to \sigma_{{\text{N--H}}}^\ast}$ charge transfer plays a key role in cooperative changes of geometry, binding energy, ${\nu_{{\text{N--H}}}}$ harmonic frequencies, and ¹⁴N electric field gradient tensors of acetamide clusters. There is a good linear correlation between ¹⁴N quadrupole coupling constants, C _Q (¹⁴N), and the strength of Fock matrix elements (F _ij ). Regarding the ${n_{\rm O}\to \sigma_{{\text{N--H}}}^\ast}$ interaction, the capability of the acetamide clusters for electron localization, at the N–H· · ·O bond critical point, depends on the cluster size and thereby leads to cooperative changes in the N–H· · ·O length and strength, N–H stretching frequencies, and ¹⁴N quadrupole coupling tensors.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of 6-azauracil non-nucleosides

The present study describes synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of a series of novel 6-azauracil non-nucleosides. Reaction of silylated 6-azauracils with the appropriate chloroethers gave the corresponding non-nucleosides. 1-(Allyloxymethy)-6-azauracils and non-nucleosides bearing indanyl, cyclohexenyl, and cyclohexyl moieties were obtained via silylation of 6-azauracils followed by treatment with the appropriate acetals. Selected compounds were tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against a panel of standard strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the yeast-like pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. Four compounds showed marked inhibitory activity particularly against the tested Gram-positive bacteria.     

Non-isothermal model for nematic spherulite growth

A computational study of the growth of two-dimensional nematic spherulites in an isotropic phase was performed using a Landau-de Gennes-type quadrupolar tensor order parameter model for the first-order isotropic/nematic transition of 5CB (pentylcyanobiphenyl). An energy balance, taking anisotropy into account, was derived and incorporated into the time-dependent model. Growth laws were determined for two different spherulite morphologies of the form t(n), with and without the inclusion of thermal effects. Results show that incorporation of the thermal energy balance correctly predicts the transition of the growth law exponent from the volume driven regime (n=1) to the thermally limited regime (approaching n = 1/2), agreeing well with experimental observations. An interfacial nematodynamic model is used to gain insight into the interactions that result in the progression of different spherulite growth regimes.     

Stress Degradation Behavior of Desipramine Hydrochloride and Development of Suitable Stability-Indicating LC Method

A simple reverse phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for the quantitative determination of desipramine hydrochloride and its related impurities in bulk drugs which is also stability-indicating. During the forced degradation at hydrolysis, oxidative, photolytic and thermal stressed conditions, the degradation results were only observed in the oxidative stress condition. The blend of the degradation product and potential impurities were used to optimize the method by an YMC Pack Pro C₁₈ stationary phase. The LC method employs a linear gradient elution with the water–acetonitrile–trifluoroacetic acid as mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL min^?1 and the detection wavelength 215 nm. The stressed samples were quantified against a qualified reference standard and the mass balance was found close to 99.0% (w/w) when the response of the degradant was considered to be equal to the analyte (i.e. desipramine). The developed RP-LC method was validated in agreement with ICH requirements.     

Electrophoretically deposited sulfonated poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) on a screw for microextraction of cationic dyes from aqueous solutions

In the present work, a novel solid-phase microextraction on a screw (MES) was employed to extract cationic dyes (malachite green, methylene blue, and rhodamine B) from food samples and fish breeding pool water. The sulfonated poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) was electrophoretically deposited on the surface of the grooves of a screw. Then the screw was placed inside a silicon tube as a holder to create a channel to run a test solution through it. The extracted dyes on the coated screw were eluted by a suitable eluent. High-performance liquid chromatography with an ultraviolet/visible detector was utilized for the separation and analysis of the analytes. The effective parameters of the analyte extraction efficiency were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detection were 0.15 μg/L, and calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.50–250.00 μg/L, with coefficients of determination > 0.989 for all studied dyes. The relative standard deviations of intra and inter-day (n = 3) were in the range of 2.8%–7.0% and 7.0%–9.5%, respectively. The MES was applied as a simple and repeatable method with acceptable relative recoveries (82.0%–103.0%) for the determination of cationic dyes in grape nectar, ice pop, jelly powder, and fish breeding pool water.     

Recent Advances in Nanomaterial‐Modified Pencil Graphite Electrodes for Electroanalysis

Pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) have several advantages over other carbon‐based or commercial metal electrodes, including widespread availability, very low cost, and ease of modification. To make the best use of PGEs in electroanalysis, significant recent advances in the development of different nanomaterial‐PGEs have been observed. The literature published up to mid‐2015 is summarized in the present review, with a focus on the various methodologies used to readily modify graphite pencil electrodes using nanomaterials. This review also touches on the surface characterization of these electrodes and their potential applications in a variety of electrochemical detection applications. The review outlines the scope for further research in this area and discusses the importance of surface modifications of conventional PGE electrodes using nanomaterials or a combination of nanomaterials and electroactive polymers.     

Antioxidant activity of different parts of Pistacia khinjuk Stocks fruit and its correlation to phenolic composition

The fruits of Pistacia khinjuk Stocks were collected from Ilam province, Iran. The aim of this study was to analyse antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of different parts of P. khinjuk fruit. The antioxidant capacity of extracts was measured using different assays: ferric reducing ability of plasma, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and nitric oxide radical scavenging. The phenolic composition of P. khinjuk fruit is reported for the first time. Amongst different parts of the fruit analysed in this study, hull extract contained the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents. We observed a high correlation between different antioxidant activity and total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Therefore, antioxidant capacity can be related to total phenolic and flavonoid contents. A correlation analysis revealed that ascorbic acid, gallic acid, rutin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and sinapic acid were the phenolic compounds mainly responsible for antioxidant power of the fruit extracts.