Optimization of a multi-residue screening method for the determination of 85 pesticides in selected food matrices by stir bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption GC-MS

A multi-residue method to determine 85 pesticides, including organochlorine pesticides, carbamates, organophosphorus pesticides, and pyrethroids, in vegetables, fruit, and green tea, has been developed. The method is based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled to thermal desorption (TD) and retention time locked (RTL) GC-MS operating in the scan mode. Samples are extracted with methanol and diluted with water prior to SBSE. Dilution of the methanol extract before SBSE was optimized to obtain high sensitivity and to minimize adsorption onto the glass wall of the extraction vessel as well as to minimize sample matrix effects (particularly for the pesticides with high log K(o,w) values). The optimized method consists of a dual SBSE extraction performed simultaneously on respectively a twofold and a fivefold diluted methanol extract. After extraction, the two stir bars are placed in a single glass thermal desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The method showed good linearity (r2 > 0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: < 5 microg kg(-1)) for most of the target pesticides. The method was applied to the determination of pesticides at low microg kg(-1) in tomato, cucumber, green soybeans, spinach, grapes, and green tea.     

Time-resolved gas-phase kinetic and quantum chemical studies of the reaction of silylene with nitric oxide

Time-resolved kinetic studies of the reaction of silylene, SiH2, generated by laser flash photolysis of phenylsilane, have been carried out to obtain rate constants for its bimolecular reaction with NO. The reaction was studied in the gas phase over the pressure range 1-100 Torr in SF6 bath gas at five temperatures in the range 299-592 K. The second-order rate constants at 10 Torr fitted the Arrhenius equation log(k/cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1)) = (-11.66 +/- 0.01) + (6.20 +/- 0.10 kJ mol(-1))/RT ln 10 The rate constants showed a variation with pressure of a factor of ca. 2 over the available range, almost independent of temperature. The data could not be fitted by RRKM calculations to a simple third body assisted association reaction alone. However, a mechanistic model with an additional (pressure independent) side channel gave a reasonable fit to the data. Ab initio calculations at the G3 level supported a mechanism in which the initial adduct, bent H2SiNO, can ring close to form cyclo-H2SiNO, which is partially collisionally stabilized. In addition, bent H2SiNO can undergo a low barrier isomerization reaction leading, via a sequence of steps, ultimately to dissociation products of which the lowest energy pair are NH2 + SiO. The rate controlling barrier for this latter pathway is only 16 kJ mol(-1) below the energy of SiH2 + NO. This is consistent with the kinetic findings. A particular outcome of this work is that, despite the pressure dependence and the effects of the secondary barrier (in the side reaction), the initial encounter of SiH2 with NO occurs at the collision rate. Thus, silylene can be as reactive with odd electron molecules as with many even electron species. Some comparisons are drawn with the reactions of CH2 + NO and SiCl2 + NO.     

OH-terminated cyanopropyl silicones

Due to their high polarity and unique selectivity, cyanopropyl silicones are basic stationary phases for high resolution capillary gas chromatography. Different OH-terminated cyanopropyl silicones, containing a high cyanopropyl content, were synthesized and chromatographically evaluated. Special attention was paid to the degree of immobilization of the phases in FSOT columns. Depending on the problem at hand, a choice has to be made between immobilization and maximum selectivity.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of new oxorhenium and oxotechnetium complexes with XN2S-tetradentate semi-rigid ligands (X = O, S, N)

Twelve novel oxo-technetium and oxo-rhenium complexes based on N2S2-, N2SO- or N3S-tetradentate semi-rigid ligands have been synthesised and studied herein. By reacting the ligands with a slight excess of suitable [MO]3+ precursor (ReOCl3(PPh3)2 or [NBu4][99gTcOCl4]), the monoanionic complexes of general formula [MO(Ph-XN2S)]- could be easily produced in high yield. The complexes have been characterized by means of IR, electrospray mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, NMR and conductimetry. The crystal structures of [PPh4][ReO(Ph-ON2S)] 1b and [NBu4][99gTcO(Ph-ON2S)] 1c have been established. The [MO]3+ moiety was coordinated via the two deprotonated amide nitrogens, the oxygen and the terminal sulfur atoms in 1b and 1c. In both compounds, the ON2S coordination set is in the equatorial plane, and the complexes adopted a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with an axial oxo-group. The chemical and structural identity of the different prototypic complexes (rhenium, 99gTc complexes and their corresponding 99mTc radiocomplexes) have been also established by a comparative HPLC study.     

A novel MCR of isocyanates, aldehydes, and dienophiles

[reaction: see text] A novel one-pot procedure for the three-component coupling reaction of isocyanates, aldehydes, and dienophiles (IAD reaction) has been developed. Condensation of isocyanates and aldehydes and subsequent Diels-Alder reactions with electron-deficient dienophiles furnishes endo-selective amino-substituted cyclohexenes in good yield.     

Structural characterization of a pentacene monolayer on an amorphous SiO2 substrate with grazing incidence x-ray diffraction

Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction reveals that a pentacene monolayer, grown on an amorphous SiO2 substrate that is commonly used as a dielectric layer in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), is crystalline. A preliminary energy-minimized model of the monolayer, based on the GIXD data, reveals that the pentacene molecules adopt a herringbone arrangement with their long axes tilted slightly from the substrate normal. Although this arrangement resembles the general packing features of the (001) layer in single crystals of bulk pentacene, the monolayer lattice parameters and crystal structure differ from those of the bulk. Because carrier transport in pentacene OTFTs is presumed to occur in the semiconductor layers near the dielectric interface, the discovery of a crystalline monolayer structure on amorphous SiO2 has important implications for transport in OTFTs.     

Structural basis for the highly selective inhibition of MMP-13

Inhibitors for matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are under investigation for the treatment of cancer, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease. Here, we report a class of highly selective MMP-13 inhibitors (pyrimidine dicarboxamides) that exhibit no detectable activity against other MMPs. The high-resolution X-ray structures of three molecules of this series bound to MMP-13 reveal a novel binding mode characterized by the absence of interactions between the inhibitors and the catalytic zinc. The inhibitors bind in the S1' pocket and extend into an additional S1' side pocket, which is unique to MMP-13. We analyze the determinants for selectivity and describe the rational design of improved compounds with low nanomolar affinity.     

Aging effect on the mechanical properties of hybrid gels

Sol-gel derived unsupported films and thin rods have been obtained from co-hydrolysis of triethoxysilane and methyldiethoxysilane. The materials are flexible, dense and transparent. Films and rods have been aged for different periods of time in air at room temperature. The elastic modulus has been measured by means of tensile or flexural tests. Measurements showed an increase of elastic modulus with aging time and showed different values for films and rods. The observed evolution of mechanical properties has been related to a corresponding structural modification as highlighted mainly by MAS-NMR studies. Analyses pointed out the crucial role of condensation processes and showed that the stiffness increase arises from the formation of relatively few bonds which link and constrain pre-existing mobile network regions.     

Relative quantification of erythropoietin receptor-dependent phosphoproteins using in-gel 18O-labeling and tandem mass spectrometry

On examining different proteomics approaches for the investigation of structure-function relationships of erythropoietin (EPO) receptor signaling, it was found that two-dimensional gel electrophoresis/mass spectrometry procedures are clearly limited in their ability to detect low-expressed signaling proteins. Instead it was found that a strategy involving anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitation, one-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1DE), and capillary liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) provides the sensitivity required for identification of signaling proteins. In the present work the immunoprecipitation/1DE/LC/MS approach was combined with an in-gel 18O-labeling technique to analyze EPO receptor-dependent proteins. Identification and relative quantification of more than 180 EPO receptor-dependent proteins were achieved directly based on the in-gel 18O-labeling approach.