Green solvents from ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents to natural deep eutectic solvents

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) are defined as mixtures of certain molar ratios of natural compounds such as sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and organic bases that are abundant in organisms. The melting points of these mixtures are considerably lower than those of their individual ingredients and far below ambient temperature. The first publications on the NADES concept in 2011 created a great expectation regarding their potential as green solvents that could replace conventional organic solvents in a wide range of applications. This was largely because many of the drawbacks of conventional synthetic ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs), particularly their toxicity and environmental hazards, could be solved using NADESs. Throughout the last 7 years, the interest in NADESs has increased enormously as reflected by the exponential growth of the number of related publications. The research on NADESs has rapidly expanded particularly into the evaluation of the feasibility of their application in diverse fields such as the extraction of (targeted) bioactive compounds from natural sources, as media for enzymatic or chemical reactions, preservatives of labile compounds, or as vehicles of non–water-soluble compounds for pharmaceutical purposes. Along with the exploration of these potential applications, there have been a large number of other studies related to their physicochemical features, the search for new NADESs, the research into the interactions between NADES components or with solutes, the recovery of solutes from NADES solutions, and the ways of circumventing inherent problems of NADESs such as their high viscosity and the consequent difficulties in handling them. This article contains a review of the applications of NADESs as extraction solvents, reaction media, and preservative, providing also a perspective of their future.     

High-performance fiber-optic temperature sensor using low-coherence interferometry

A temperature-sensor system based on low-coherence interferometry with a fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a phase modulator was implemented. A measurement range of 20 to 800 degrees C with a resolution of 0.025 degrees C (corresponding to 0.0004 fringe) was achieved with a 1-mm-long fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer as the sensing element.     

Resonant enhancement of low-contrast electro-optic effects

Ferroelectric liquid crystals can be optimized for speed, but such materials tend to have small switching angles and consequently low contrast in the smectic A(*) phase. We describe a method whereby such a low-contrast but fast-switching effect can be enhanced, in theory giving the same contrast as a material with a switching angle of 22.5 degrees . This method therefore promises liquid-crystal modulators of high contrast and with speeds of the order of hundreds of nanoseconds. The theoretical basis of this method and initial results that support this analysis are presented.     

Crystal structure of a macrocyclic tetraamine isocyanato zinc(II) complex

The complex, [Zn(L)(NCO)]Cl · 3H₂O (1) (L = 3,14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane), has been synthesized and structurally characterized. 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2₁/n with a = 10.530(3), b = 9.315(2), c = 27.188(3) Å, = 92.58(1)°, V = 2664.1(9)ų, and Z = 4. The zinc atom is in a distorted squarepyramidal environment with the four nitrogen atoms of the macrocycle and one nitrogen atom of the isocyanate ligand.     

Low temperature GaAs grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

Low temperature growth of GaAs by gas source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE) is investigated. Reflection high energy electron diffraction is used to monitor the low temperature buffer (LTB) growth and anneal conditions. Growth at low temperatures with dimeric arsenic is more sensitive to the V/III flux ratios and substrate temperatures than with As₄ used in solid source MBE. Temperature dependent conductivity and deep level transient spectroscopy measurements are presented to observe trap outdiffusion from the LTB into subsequently grown FET channels. Low temperature photoluminescence spectra show degradation of quantum well properties when LTBs are grown with increasing V/III flux ratios.     

Structure and properties of cobalt(II) complex with a tetraaza macrocycle containing 2-pyridylmethyl pendant arms

The complex [Co(L)]Cl₂·10H²O (1) (L = 2,13,-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-3,14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. Compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P-1 with a = 9.731(2) Å, b = 9.789(2) Å, c = 11.998(1) Å, = 66.66(1)°, = 76.95(1)°, = 87.99(2)°, V = 1020.4(3) ų, and Z = 1. The crystal structure of 1 shows that the complex is centrosymmetric and the cobalt(II) ion has a slightly distorted octahedral geometry with four nitrogen atoms of the macrocycle and two nitrogen atoms of the pendent arms at the axial positions. Cyclic voltammetry for 1 undergoes reversible one-electron oxidation to the Co(III) and irreversible one-electron reduction to the Co(I).     

Synthesis and crystal structure of macrocyclic nickel(II) complex bridged by chromate

A novel compound catena-(-CrO₄-O,O)[Ni(L¹)Ni(L²)] 3H₂O (1) (L¹ = 3,5,10,12-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane and L² = 2,5,9,12-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) has been synthesized for the first time and structurally characterized. 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P with a = 9.623(1), b = 10.084(1), c = 12.723 (3) Å, = 66.74(2), = 75.20(1), = 72.02(1)°, V = 1066.2(3) ų, and Z = 2. The coordination environment around the Ni(II) ions is an axially elongated octahedron with the secondary amines of the isomeric ligands and two oxygen atoms of [CrO₄]^2–.     

Chemodosimetric Hg2+-selective signaling by mercuration of dichlorofluorescein derivatives

The chemodosimetric behavior of dichlorofluorescein derivatives toward Hg(2+) ions was investigated. Simple chemodosimetric systems showed selective and efficient signaling behaviors toward micromolar concentrations of Hg(2+) ions over other common interfering metal ions in an aqueous environment. The signaling mechanism is selective mercuration of the 4',5'-position of the xanthene moiety, which results in efficient chromogenic and fluorogenic signaling of Hg(2+) ions in aqueous environment.     

Analytical procedure to simultaneously measure trace amounts of trenbolone acetate and beta-trenbolone residues in porcine muscle using HPLC-UVD and MS

The current study was undertaken to validate the performance for the determination of both TBA and beta-trenbolone (beta-TB) residues in porcine muscle at concentrations required to monitor compliance with the maximum residue limit (MRL). The method involves a one phase liquid-liquid extraction, cleanup with low-temperature fat precipitation, separation of the respective compounds by HPLC on a Capcell pak C(18) column, use of a methanol-water isocratic system as an eluent, and measurement by UV absorbance detection at 340 nm. Both compounds were confirmed using LC-MS/MS with electrospray interface (ESI) and a triple quadrupole (QqQ) analyzer. The method was found to be precise and accurate, with a linearity range of 1-10 microg/kg (r(2) >0.973). The intra- and interday precision showed good reproducibility with RSDs < or =13.25%. The LODs were 0.12 and 0.22 microg/kg, and the LOQs were 0.37 and 0.66 microg/kg, for TBA and beta-TB, respectively. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing real samples collected from major cities in the Republic of Korea. No residues of the selected compounds were detected in any of the samples. The advantages of our method are that it is: selective, sensitive, requires a short time for analysis (13 min), and performs simple sample extraction and clean-up procedure with low-temperature fat precipitation as compared to the previously published methods.     

Property (quasi‐α) and the denseness of norm attaining mappings

We introduce property (quasi ‐α), which implies property (A) defined by Lindenstrauss [10] and whose dual property is property (quasi‐β) [2]. We consider relations between this property and other sufficient conditions for property (A), and study the denseness of norm attaining mappings under the conditions of these properties. In particular, if each of the Banach spaces X_k , 1 ≤ k ≤ n – 1, has property (quasi‐α) and X_n has property (A), then the projective tensor product X₁ ··· X_n has property (A). (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)