Preparation of cyclic boramides from salicylaldehydes,ammonium acetate and sodium borohydride

Borohydride reduction of salicylaldehyde imines yields surprisingly a cyclic boramide. This is a fairly stable compound, and X-ray analysis shows it has a tetrahedral boron atom. Mechanistic studies show a reaction pathway through an oxazaborinane intermediate. The reaction also works with halogen substituted salicylaldehydes and for the preparation of non-symmetrical boramides.     

Eco-friendly rapid synthesis of 3-substituted-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones in choline chloride based deep eutectic solvent

A series of 3-substituted-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones and 6-iodo-3-substituted-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones were synthesized in choline chloride/urea deep eutectic solvent. Substituted 2-mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinones were synthesized from anthranilic acid or 5-iodoanthranilic acid and appropriate isothiocyanates in good to excellent yields. Isolation of final product was easy and required no further purification. Synthesis of these compounds was rapid, selective, and catalyst free, while preparation of deep eutectic solvent was easy, components are readily available, cheap, and environmentally friendly.     

Determination of UV filters in packaging by focused ultrasonic solid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography

A focused ultrasonic solid-liquid extraction (FUSLE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector (DAD) is proposed for the determination of ten fat-soluble UV filters in packaging. FUSLE technique is relatively new and has been used for the extraction of a few analytes; such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other organic pollutants. In this work, it has been demonstrated that FUSLE is a useful, fast and simple extraction methodology for UV filters because the complete extraction was carried out with just 6ml of tetrahydrofuran and in only one cycle of 30s. The developed method has been validated and applied to the analysis of polyethylene-based multilayer packaging samples. The FUSLE-based method allows the sensitive detection of most of the UV-filters in polyethylene, with limits of detection between 0.4 and 8.5ngmg(-1) (except for BDM). Intra and inter-day relative standard deviation values were below 5 and 14%, respectively, except for MBP. In addition, the proposed method was more efficient than tetrahydrofuran extraction under reflux for 2.5h for all the analytes except for EMT and BDM. Therefore, the developed method can be used to establish the absorption capability of different types of packaging and this information will be very useful in packaging selection.     

Multielement analysis of gypsiferous soils using a sequential inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometric method

The amount of major, minor, and trace elements (Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, Sr, Mn, Cu, Cr, V, Mo, B, Ni, Li, and Ba) in gypsiferous soils formed by evaporitic processes was determined. A sequential analysis method by atomic emission spectroscopy with an inductively coupled plasma was used, working with partial matrix matching between the reference standards and the real samples. Furthermore, a simplified method, based on two calibration graphs (Fe and Li), was developed for calibrating the analysis procedure.     

Differentiation between the Green and Turkish Blue Solid Solutions of Vanadium in a Zircon Lattice Obtained by the Sol-Gel Process

In this communication, zircon containing vanadium samples which gradually turn greenish have been prepared by controlling the composition (fluoride addition) and the method of preparation (sol-gel, ceramic and solid impregnation) in order to investigate how to affect the shape and size of the vanadium particles, and their location, clustering and distribution. The level of green color, and consequently the amount of V5+ in the sample, could be associated with the development of an Si-O-Si network in the zircon lattice, bonding with the highly reactive zirconium precursors.     

Determination of odour-causing volatile organic compounds in cork stoppers by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction

Multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been applied in order to determine 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA), guaiacol, 1-octen-3-ol and 1-octen-3-one in three samples of cork stoppers. These compounds are responsible for cork taint in wine and can modify the organoleptic properties of bottled wine. Variables such as temperature, addition of water, extraction time, and amount of cork were studied. The extractions were performed with a 50/30 microm divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane (DVB-CAR-PDMS) fibre for 45 min at 100 degrees C using 20 mg of cork. For calibration, 50 microL of VOC aqueous solutions were used and the extraction were carried out for 45 min at 75 degrees C. The limits of detection of the method expressed as ng of VOC per g of cork were 0.3 for 2,4,6-TCA, 7.5 for guaiacol, 1.7 for 1-octen-3-one and 1.9 for 1-octen-3-ol. Relative standard deviation of replicate samples was less than 10%. Significant losses of analytes were observed when the samples were ground at room temperature. Finally, a recovery study was performed and the MHS-SPME results were validated using Soxhlet extraction results.     

Development of a headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the identification of odour-causing volatile compounds in packaging materials

A method for the identification of volatile organic compounds in packaging materials is presented in this study. These compounds are formed by thermooxidative degradation during the extrusion coating process in the manufacture of packaging. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used as sample preparation technique prior to the determination of the volatile organic compounds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The effects of extraction variables, such as the type of fibre, the incubation temperature, the pre-incubation time, the size of the vial and the extraction time on the amounts of the extracted volatile compounds were studied. The optimal conditions were found to be: carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane 75 microm fibre, 5 min of pre-incubation time, 100 degrees C of incubation temperature, 20-ml vial, and 15 min of extraction time. The chromatograms obtained by HS-SPME and static headspace extraction were compared in order to show that the HS-SPME method surpasses the static headspace method in terms of sensitivity. Twenty-five compounds were identified including carbonyl compounds (such as 3-methyl-butanal, 3-heptanone or octanal), carboxylic acids (such as pentanoic acid or hexanoic acid) known as odour causing compounds and hydrocarbons (such as decane, undecane or dodecane). Finally, the method was applied to different packaging samples (one odour-unacceptable, two odour-acceptable, and three odourless samples) and to the raw materials in order to find out the odour-responsible volatile organic compounds and their source.     

Capillary electrophoretic separation of phenolic diterpenes from rosemary

The major phenolic diterpenes responsible for the antioxidant properties of rosemary extracts, namely carnosol and carnosic acid, were separated by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using a 56 cm long uncoated fused-silica capillary and a 50 mM disodium tetraborate buffer of pH 10.1. The effect of the buffer type, pH and concentration, and the capillary length on the separation, was studied. Carnosol and carnosic acid were identified in the electrophoregrams of rosemary extracts through their migration times and UV spectra obtained by CZE analysis of pure compounds isolated from a rosemary extract by HPLC fractionation. The CZE method had good reproducibility (relative standard deviation less than 5%) and was applied to compare the contents of carnosol and carnosic acid in solid and oil-dispersed commercial extracts of rosemary and in rosemary leaves. The separation of carnosol and carnosic acid was accomplished in less than 11 min.