Unusual electro-optical behaviour of the nematic polyacrylate

ABSTRACT

High sensitivity of liquid crystals to the electric field makes them highly demanded and widely used in different applications. Despite the large number of the electro-optical research on the low-molar-mass liquid crystals electro-optics of the liquid crystalline (LC) polymers is much less studied. Herein, the comparative electro-optical behaviour of two nematic comb-shaped polyacrylates with phenylbenzoate mesogenic side groups was studied in detail. These two polyacrylates have completely the same structure of polymer backbone and spacer length but different in the direction of the ester group in the phenylbenzoate fragments. It was found that this difference predetermines their completely opposite electro-optical properties.

The influence of the electric field of different strength and frequency on the orientation of the mesogenic groups of these polymers is studied. It is shown that application of the electric field at temperatures above the glass transition temperature (~25°C) induces reorientation of the mesogenic groups along or perpendicular to the electric field direction depending in its turn on the ester group direction. For one of the polyacrylates an unusual textural transition is found; during cooling of the polymer sample under applied field at definite temperature a sharp change in the mesogen’s orientation from homeotropic to planar one is found. This electro-optical phenomenon is observed for the first time and probably associated with sharp change in sign of anisotropy of dielectric permittivity from positive (at high temperatures) to negative one (at lower temperatures). Kinetics of the electro-optical switching at different temperatures, influence of the molar masses of the polymer and frequency of the applied AC field on electro-optical behaviour of the polymers are studied. The possibility of the fixation of the electroinduced homeotropic alignment of the mesogenic groups by photopolymerisation of the diacrylate dissolved in the polymer is demonstrated.     

Chemometric analysis for optimizing derivatization in gas chromatography‐based procedures

This paper focuses on the application of principal component analysis (PCA) to facilitate the optimization of the derivatization of oestrogenic steroids—estrone, 17β‐estradiol, estriol, 17α‐ethinylestradiol and diethylstilbestrol—in order to achieve (1) the complete derivatization of all the hydroxyl groups contained in the structure of the compounds and (2) the greatest effectiveness of this reaction. Six different derivatization reagents were used in this study, whereas 2‐methyl‐anthracene was applied as the internal standard to evaluate the effectiveness of the reactions. The experimental data were subjected to PCA. With PCA, the dimensionality of the original multivariable data set could be reduced and the selection of optimum conditions for derivatization facilitated. The mixture of 99% N,O‐bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide + 1% trimethylchlorosilane and pyridine (1:1, v/v) at 60 °C for 30 min has been established as the most convenient and efficient means of derivatizing the aforementioned oestrogenic steroids and diethylstilbestrol; the N‐methyl‐N‐(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide + pyridine (1:1, v/v) mixture seems to be a promising alternative. The application of PCA for optimizing the derivatization procedure, proposed for the first time in this study, is particularly useful in the development of multicomponent methods across several chemical classes of compounds. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of dimethylselenide and dimethyldiselenide in milk and milk by-products by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with atomic emission detection

A method based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography with microwave-induced plasma atomic emission detection for determining dimethylselenide (DMSe) and dimethyldiselenide (DMDSe) in milk and milk by-products is proposed. Parameters affecting the SPME, such as sample volume or mass, ionic strength, adsorption and desorption times and temperatures were optimized in the headspace mode. The matrix effect was evaluated for the different samples studied, concluding that standard additions calibration was required for quantification purposes. The detection limits ranged from 70 to 110 pg mL⁻¹ for DMSe and from 80 to 400 pg mL⁻¹ for DMDSe, depending on the sample under analysis. None of the twenty-three samples analyzed contained the studied compounds at concentrations above the corresponding detection limits.     

Reactions of 4-substituted 5H-1,2,3-dithiazoles with primary and secondary amines: fast and convenient synthesis of 1,2,5-thiadiazoles, 2-iminothioacetamides and 2-oxoacetamides

The treatment of 5H-1,2,3-dithiazole-5-thiones 1 in chloroform under reflux and 5H-1,2,3-dithiazol-5-ones 2 in THF at room temperature with primary aliphatic amines and benzylamine afforded 1,2,5-thiadiazole-3(2H)-thiones 3 and 1,2,5-thiadiazol-3(2H)-ones 6, respectively. The structure of dithiazolone 3f was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The reaction of dithiazolone 2e bearing an electron-donating methyl group in the 4-position gave 2-oxoacetamide 7e in high yield. The reaction of thiones 1 with secondary aliphatic amines in DMSO yielded 2-iminothioacetamides 8 in moderate yields together with elemental sulfur. Interestingly, the treatment of dithiazolones 2 with secondary amines under the same conditions afforded 2-oxoacetamides 9—the products of the hydrolysis of corresponding imino derivatives 10, which was isolated as 10b. A general mechanism was proposed for the formation of the products.     

Isophorone- and pyran-containing NLO-chromophores: a comparative study

A series of merocyanines containing isophorone or pyran rings in the spacer have been synthesized. For a given pair of donor and acceptor groups, the isophorone derivatives show higher second-order optical nonlinearities, but lower thermal stabilities. The first NLO-chromophores endowed with a dihydropyran fragment in the spacer have also been prepared and studied.     

Novel Ionophores for Barium‐Selective Electrodes: Synthesis and Analytical Characterization

A novel way of synthesis is developed for the Ba²⁺ selective neutral Ionophore 2a : 2,2′‐[1,2‐phenylenebis(oxyethane‐2,1‐diyloxy)]bis(N‐benzyl‐N‐phenylacetamide) and its methyl ( 2b ), buthyl ( 2c ), and hexyl ( 2d ) derivatives. Ba²⁺ selective electrodes based on Ionophores 2a – d are compared with those with commonly used Ionophore 1 : N,N,N′,N′‐tetracyclohexyl‐oxybis(o‐phenyleneoxy) diacetamide. It is shown that Ionophores 2a – d , particularly 2b , are superior for measurements of Ba²⁺ in the presence of Ca²⁺, and in acidic solutions. Segmented sandwich membrane studies suggest formation of complexes IL₂²⁺ for Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions with Ionophore 2b , while H⁺ ions apparently form complexes H₂L²⁺. The values of the complex formation constants are consistent with the selectivity coefficients.     

Interplay between the Ribosomal Tunnel,Nascent Chain,and Macrolides Influences Drug Inhibition

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Highlights? Macrolides exhibit nascent polypeptide chain–dependent inhibition ? Peptides can form specific interactions with the ribosomal tunnel ? A covalent bond between tylosin and the ribosome is necessary for inhibitory activity     

Evaluation of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the simultaneous determination of chlorophenols and haloanisoles in wines and cork stoppers using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was evaluated for the simultaneous determination of five chlorophenols and seven haloanisoles in wines and cork stoppers. Parameters, such as the nature and volume of the extracting and disperser solvents, extraction time, salt addition, centrifugation time and sample volume or mass, affecting the DLLME were carefully optimized to extract and preconcentrate chlorophenols, in the form of their acetylated derivatives, and haloanisoles. In this extraction method, 1mL of acetone (disperser solvent) containing 30μL of carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected by a syringe into 5mL of sample solution containing 200μL of acetic anhydride (derivatizing reagent) and 0.5mL of phosphate buffer solution, thereby forming a cloudy solution. After extraction, phase separation was performed by centrifugation, and a volume of 4μL of the sedimented phase was analyzed by GC-MS. The wine samples were directly used for the DLLME extraction (red wines required a 1:1 dilution with water). For cork samples, the target analytes were first extracted with pentane, the solvent was evaporated and the residue reconstituted with acetone before DLLME. The use of an internal standard (2,4-dibromoanisole) notably improved the repeatability of the procedure. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits ranged from 0.004 to 0.108ngmL(-1) in wine samples (24-220pgg(-1) in corks), depending on the compound and the sample analyzed. The enrichment factors for haloanisoles were in the 380-700-fold range.