Reply to the Letter-to-the-Editor of Dr. Noble Jacob regarding article “Radon isotope assessment of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) in Coleroon River Estuary,Tamil Nadu,India”, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-5877-2

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry -     

Shock tunnel study of spiked aerodynamic bodies flying at hypersonic Mach numbers

A three-component accelerometer balance system is used to study the drag reduction effect of an aerodisc on large angle blunt cones flying at hypersonic Mach numbers. Measurements in a hypersonic shock tunnel at a freestream Mach number of 5.75 indicate more than 50% reduction in the drag coefficient for a 120° apex angle blunt cone with a forward facing aerospike having a flat faced aerodisc at moderate angles of attack. Enhancement of drag has been observed for higher angles of attack due to the impingement of the flow separation shock on the windward side of the cone. The flowfields around the large angle blunt cone with aerospike assembly flying at hypersonic Mach numbers are also simulated numerically using a commercial CFD code. The pressure and density levels on the model surface, which is under the aerodynamic shadow of the flat disc tipped spike, are found very low and a drag reduction of 64.34% has been deduced numerically.     

Synthesis of Novel 2-Iminothiazolidin-4-ones

Abstract

Thiazolidin-4-ones are known to exhibit diverse biological activities such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiarrheal, anticonvulsant, antidiabetic, antihistaminic, and antifungal activities. In the present investigation, a series of 2-haloacetamides was prepared by reacting chloroacetyl chloride with amines in dry benzene under reflux conditions. The formed 2-haloacetamides reacted with potassium thiocyanate in refluxing dry acetone to afford new 2-iminothiazolidin-4-ones. The 5-arylidene-2-imino-3 (napthalen-2yl)-thiazolidin-4-ones were prepared by condensing 2-iminothiazolidin-4-ones with substituted benzaldehydes. All the products were characterized by infrared, mass, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR techniques.     

Impurity Profile Study of Venlafaxine Hydrochloride,an Antipsychotic Drug Substance

Venlafaxine hydrochloride is a phenyl ethylamine derivative, used for the treatment of depression. During the process development of venlafaxine hydrochloride, six process-related potential impurities were detected in high-performance liquid chromatography. All these impurities were identified, synthesized, and subsequently characterized by their respective spectral data (IR, mass, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR) as described in this article.     

Estimation of Olefin Dimerisation Products by GC/GC–MS and IR Techniques

A GC and IR based protocol was developed for monitoring the isobutene dimerisation process wherein the complete characterisation of the products was carried out by GC coupled with mass spectrometry. In the dimerisation process, LPG from FCC process comprising a mixture of saturated and unsaturated C4 hydrocarbons is subjected to a dimerisation process using a catalyst to produce C8 hydrocarbons. The reaction is carried out keeping in view the demand for high-octane blending components in gasoline. The isooctene generated in the process (mainly from the dimerisation of isobutene) is converted into isooctane having the RON and MON value 100. The monitoring process requires the use of two different column chemistries, viz., a 100 m CPSIL PONA CB non-polar column for C8 and its isomers and an Alumina PLOT column for C4 hydrocarbons. A 100 m non-polar column does not separate the C4 mixture since the column is meant for gasoline range products containing C5 and above hydrocarbons. Therefore, a need was felt for an improvised method which can handle both the analyses simultaneously. A cryogenic oven program starting from 0 °C was developed for separating the isomers of C4 hydrocarbons and C8 hydrocarbons on a single column during the single run by Detailed Hydrocarbon Analyzer. The data obtained using the cryo programme was validated with data obtained using Alumina PLOT column on C4 mixture since the Alumina PLOT column is the widely accepted column chemistry for separating the C4 hydrocarbons. An IR method for the estimation of the total olefin content was developed using 2,2,4-trimethyl pentene-1 as the reference standard. The total olefins generated during the process were identified by GC–MS, quantified by DHA-FID and validated by infrared spectroscopy. A good correlation was found between GC and IR spectral results (correlation coefficient R ²  = 0.99).     

Synthesis,Structure, Luminescent and Intramolecular Proton Transfer in Some Imidazole Derivatives

A group of novel 2-aryl imidazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by NMR spectra, X-ray, mass and CHN analysis. An excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process in hydroxy imidazoles (dmip and dmtip) have been studied using emission spectroscopy and it was detected that the two distinct ground state rotamers of I and II are responsible for the normal and the tautomer emission respectively. In hydrocarbon solvent, the tautomer emission predominates over the normal emission for both dmip and dmtip. This reveal that rotamer II is responsible for the tautomer emission and it is stabler than rotamer I which causes the normal emission. In alcoholic solvent like ethanol, a dramatic enhancement of normal emission is observed which was due to increased solvation, the more polar rotamer I become stabler than rotamer II. In dioxane—water mixtures it is observed that the addition of water inhibits the ESIPT process due to the formation of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding involving water. DFT calculations on energy, dipole moment, charge distribution of the rotamers in the ground and excited states of the imidazole derivatives were performed and discussed. PES calculation indicates that the energy barrier for the interconversion of two rotamers is too high in the excited state than the ground state.     

Solvent Effect on Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra of Three Biologically Active Carboxamides (C<Subscript>1</Subscript>, C<Subscript>2</Subscript> and C<Subscript>3</Subscript>). Estimation of Ground and Excited State Dipole Moment from Solvatochromic Method Using Solvent Polarity Parameters

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of three Carboxamides namely (E)-2-(4-Chlorobenzylideneamino)-N-(2-chlorophenyl)-4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxamide (C₁), (E)-N-(3-Chlorophenyl)-2-(3, 4-dimethoxybenzylideneamino)-4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxamide (C₂) and (E)-N-(3-Chlorophenyl)-2-(3, 4, 5-trimethoxybenzylideneamino)-4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxamide (C₃) have been recorded at room temperature in solvents of different polarities using dielectric constant (ε) and refractive index (n). Experimental ground (μ_g) and excited (μ_e) state dipole moments are estimated by means of solvatochromic shift method and also the excited dipole moments are estimated in combination with ground state dipole moments. It was estimated that dipole moments of the excited state were higher than those of the ground state of all three molecules. Further, the changes in dipole moment (Dm \Delta \mu ) were calculated both from solvatochromic shift method and on the basis of microscopic empirical solvent polarity parameter (E_T^N E_T^N ) and the values are compared.     

Interaction of (G4)2 and (X4)2 DNA quadruplexes with Cu+, Ag+ and Au+ metal cations: a quantum chemical calculation on structural,energetic and electronic properties

Structural Chemistry - The present study is focused to cast light on the structural, electronic and energetic properties of isolated (G4)2 and (X4)2 DNA quadruplexes with transition metal cations...     

Engineered C–N Lyase: Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Synthons for Artificial Dipeptide Sweeteners

Aspartic acid derivatives with branched N‐alkyl or N‐arylalkyl substituents are valuable precursors to artificial dipeptide sweeteners such as neotame and advantame. The development of a biocatalyst to synthesize these compounds in a single asymmetric step is an as yet unmet challenge. Reported here is an enantioselective biocatalytic synthesis of various difficult N‐substituted aspartic acids, including N‐(3,3‐dimethylbutyl)‐l ‐aspartic acid and N‐[3‐(3‐hydroxy‐4‐methoxyphenyl)propyl]‐l ‐aspartic acid, precursors to neotame and advantame, respectively, using an engineered variant of ethylenediamine‐N,N′‐disuccinic acid (EDDS) lyase from Chelativorans sp. BNC1. This engineered C–N lyase (mutant D290M/Y320M) displayed a remarkable 1140‐fold increase in activity for the selective hydroamination of fumarate compared to that of the wild‐type enzyme. These results present new opportunities to develop practical multienzymatic processes for the more sustainable and step‐economic synthesis of an important class of food additives.