The effects of steric aliphatic–aliphatic interactions in the coordination polymer of bis(N,N-diethylglycinato)copper(II): Experimental evidence and theoretical modeling

New coordination polymer catena-poly[(N,N-diethylglycinato-κO,κN)copper(II)-μ-[N,N-diethylglycinato-κO¹,κN:O²]] has been obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The copper(II) was surrounded with two amino N and two carboxyl O atoms in trans position in the coordination plane. Discrete polymeric chains were produced by axial coordinative bonding between copper(II) and carbonyl oxygen atom from adjacent asymmetric unit. Molecular mechanics (MM) force field developed to study the properties of copper(II) amino acid complexes reproduced well intermolecular aliphatic–aliphatic interactions between ethyl chains and C–H?O hydrogen bonding. The relative unit cell volume reproduction was 0.3%. Theoretical conformational analysis showed that experimentally obtained conformer was not the most stable in vacuo. The calculations of the unit cell packings and intermolecular interactions for a series of conformers elucidated the reasons that governed the experimentally obtained conformer to appear in the real crystal structure. MM results suggest that intermolecular aliphatic–aliphatic interactions between ethyl groups affected a conformational change concurrent with the change in the copper(II) coordination sphere upon crystallization.     

Electronic and infrared vibrational analysis of cyanidin-quercetin copigment complex

Copigment complex formation between cyanidin and quercetin, in aqueous buffered solutions, was studied by electronic absorption and infrared vibrational spectroscopies. It was found that the association of cyanidin with quercetin occurred at pH 3.0 and pH 5.0 including cyanidin flavylium ion and anhydrobase transformation forms, respectively. Obtained copigmentation constant values of K=2726.7 (pH 3.0) and K=1093.1 (pH 5.0) indicated good association ability of the investigated molecules. Infrared spectra revealed the existence of hydrogen bonds in the copigment complexes structures. The analysis of the deconvoluted infrared spectra indicated several types of hydrogen bonds, differently formed: the H--O...H bonds with the corresponding bands around 3500 cm(-1) and bonds formed via H(3)O(+), oxonium, ion of the molecules with the corresponding bands below 3000 cm(-1).     

Unmodified cadmium telluride quantum dots induce reactive oxygen species formation leading to multiple organelle damage and cell death

Quantum dots (QDs) are luminescent nanoparticles with unique optical properties that have been exploited for single-cell and whole-animal imaging. When coated with proteins or biocompatible polymers, QDs are not deleterious to cells and organisms. However, when QDs are retained in cells or accumulated in the body for a long period of time, their coatings may be degraded, yielding "naked" QDs. Here, we show that "naked" QDs induce damage to the plasma membrane, mitochondrion, and nucleus, leading to cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important players in mediating QD-induced cellular damage. QD-induced cytotoxicity can be reduced or even eliminated without covalent binding of protective agents to the QD surface. Results from these studies suggest the critical role of several subcellular compartments in QD-induced cytotoxicity and point toward multiple molecular targets in nonclassical apoptosis.     

The Synthesis of Novel Iodinated Iminodiacetic Acid Analogues as Hepatobiliary Imaging Agents

Summary. The synthesis and characterization of N-[2-[[4-iodo-2,6-bis(1-methylethyl)phenyl]amino]-2-oxoethyl]-N-(carboxymethyl)glycine and N-[2-[(4-iodo-2,6-diethylphenyl)amino]-2-oxoethyl]-N-(carboxymethyl)glycine is presented, as well as a modified and improved synthesis of N-[2-[(2,4-diiodo-6-methylphenyl)amino]-2-oxoethyl]-N-(carboxymethyl)glycine. These compounds are new agents for hepatobiliary imaging.     

Rectification and phase locking of graphite

Rectification phenomena and the phase locking in a two-dimensional overdamped Frenkel–Kontorova model with a graphite periodic substrate were studied. The presence of dc and ac forces in the longitudinal direction causes the appearance of dynamicalmode locking and the steps in the response function of the system. On the other hand, the presence of an ac force in the transverse direction causes the appearance of rectification, even though there is no net dc force in the transverse direction. It is found that whereas the longitudinal velocity increases in a series of steps, rectification in the transverse direction can occur only between two neighbor steps. The amplitude and phase of the external ac driving force affect the depinning force, rectification of the system and particles trajectories.     

Study of the degradation behavior of dapagliflozin propanediol monohydrate and metformin hydrochloride by a stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method

A simple, selective, precise, rapid and accurate stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for the estimation of dapagliflozin and metformin in tablet dosage form. In this work, methanol–ethyl acetate–ammonium acetate (6:4:0.1, V/V) as the mobile phase and aluminum-backed TLC plates pre-coated with 250 µm layer of silica gel 60F₂₅₄ as the stationary phase were used for the estimation of dapagliflozin and metformin. The wavelength selected for detection was 220 nm. The linearity range was found to be 20–100 ng/spot (r² = 0.9985) for dapagliflozin and 500–2500 ng/spot (r² = 0.9984) for metformin. Validation of the developed method was performed as per the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. Stress testing of dapagliflozin and metformin was performed under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions. The chromatographic conditions successfully resolved dapagliflozin and metformin from their degradation products, formed under various stress conditions. From stress testing, dapagliflozin was found to be significantly degrading under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions, while metformin was found to be significantly degrading in acidic and alkaline degradation conditions and stable under oxidative, photolytic and dry-heat degradation conditions. Tablet dosage form of dapagliflozin and metformin was analyzed by the developed method.

     

On a class of backward doubly stochastic differential equations

In this paper, a new class of backward doubly stochastic differential equations is studied. This type of equations has a more general form of the forward Itô integrals compared to the ones which have been studied until now. We conclude that unique solutions of these equations can be represented with the help of solutions of the corresponding backward doubly stochastic differential equations, considered earlier in paper [5] by Pardoux and Peng. Some comparison theorems are also given, as well as a probabilistic interpretation for solutions of the corresponding quasilinear stochastic partial differential equations.     

Simultaneous determination of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime in real urine sample using voltammetric and high-performance liquid chromatographic methods

Two rapid, accurate and sensitive methods are developed and validated for the quantitative simultaneous determination of cefotaxime (CFX) and its active metabolite desacetylcefotaxime (DCFX) in urine.Based on the previous results which showed the four electron reduction of CFX at ≈ −0.5 V, and the new findings that DCFX reduction occurred at more positive potential (−0.23 V), the new adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetric (AdSDPV) method was developed for determination of CFX in the presence of DCFX. Linear responses were observed over a wide concentration range (0.07-0.52 μg/ml for CFX and 0.22-1.3 μg/ml for DCFX) in urine.The second assay involves subsequent separation on a reversed-phase HPLC column, with ultraviolet detection at 262 nm. Retention times were 4.057 and 1.960 min for CFX and DCFX, respectively. Linear responses were observed over a wide range, 0.55-6.60 μg/ml for CFX and 1.10-11.00 μg/ml for DCFX, in urine.The statistical evaluation for both methods was examined by means of within-day repeatability (n = 5) and day-to-day precision (n = 3) and was found to be satisfactory with high accuracy and precision.     

Simultaneous analysis of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide: an improved HPLC method with the aid of a chemometric protocol

Experimental design method was used for HPLC determination of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide in combined dosage forms. The traditional approach for optimization of experiments is time-consuming, involves a large number of runs and does not allow establishing the multiple interacting parameters. The main advantages of the experimental design method include the simultaneous screening of a larger number of factors affecting response and the estimation of possible interactions. On the basis of preliminary experiments, three factors-independent variables were selected as inputs (methanol content, pH of the mobile phase and temperature) and as dependent variables, five responses (resolution, symmetry of irbesartan peak, symmetry of hydrochlorothiazide peak, retention factor of irbesartan and retention factor of hydrochlorothiazide) were chosen. A full 23 factorial design, where factors were examined at two different levels ("low" and "high") was used to determine which factors had an effect on the studied response. Afterwards, experimental design was used to optimize these influent parameters in the previously selected experimental domain. The novelty of our method lies in the optimization step accomplished by Derringer's desirability function. After optimizing the experimental conditions a separation was conducted on a Supelcosil C(18) (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 mm particle size) column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-tetrahydrofuran-acetate buffer 47:10:43 v/v/v, pH 6.5 and a column temperature of 25 °C. The developed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous separation of these drug-active compounds in their commercial pharmaceutical dosage forms.     

Hydrogen sorption on palladium-doped sepiolite-derived carbon nanofibers

The hydrogen sorption behavior of novel Pd-doped sepiolite-derived carbon nanofibers (SDCNs) was investigated. Two chemical doping methods of ethanol/toluene reduction and a polyol process were applied to control Pd(0) formation in the SDCNs at different Pd doping levels. Hydrogen storage capacity was observed to vary depending on the Pd particle size and doping amount as the Pd particle surface area and the carbon Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area change with them, suggesting the existence of an optimum Pd doping level at each doping method for the best hydrogen storage capacity. Among the samples prepared using the polyol method at different Pd amounts, the maximum hydrogen uptake of about 0.41 wt % was obtained at 298 K and 90 bar for the 5 wt % Pd-doped SDCN that has a relatively high Pd particle surface area and carbon BET surface area. Samples prepared using the ethanol/toluene reduction method exhibited a higher hydrogen uptake of about 0.59 wt % at lower Pd doping levels (3 wt % Pd) due to a smaller Pd particle size and relatively high carbon BET surface area. The hydrogen desorption behavior investigated by differential scanning calorimeter exhibited that a higher amount of hydrogen desorbed at around 860 K from the Pd-doped SDCNs compared to that from the undoped SDCN. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis suggested that some of the weak chemisorbed hydrogen changes to a normal covalent bond during the heating and effuses at around 860 K.