Pentacyclic Triterpenoids,Phytosteroids and Fatty Acid Isolated from the Stem-bark of Cola lateritia K. Schum. (Sterculiaceae) of Cameroon origin; Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Activity

The phytochemical investigation on the chemical constituents of dichloromethane-methanol (1:1) stem-bark extract of Cola lateritia K. Schum. (Sterculiaceae) led to the isolation and characterization of five pentacyclic triterpenoids, one fatty acid and two phytosteroids. The compounds were identified as heptadecanoic acid (1), maslinic acid (2), betulinic acid (3), lupenone (4), lupeol (5), friedelin (6), β-stigmasterol (7) and ß-sitosterol-3-O-ß-D-glucoside (8). Their structures were determined by NMR analysis (¹H, ¹³C, DEPT-135, COSY, HMBC and HSQC), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and comparisons with published data in the literature. This work, to the best of our knowledge, is the first isolation and identification of these compounds in pure forms from Cola lateritia. Also, compounds 1–3 are reported for the first time from Cola genus. In vitro antibacterial activity of the isolated compounds (1–8) and the crude extract were evaluated against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella aerogenes with streptomycin, nalidixic acid and ampicillin as standard antibacterial drugs. Compound 2 was active against E. faecalis (MIC = 18.5 µg/mL), and it was 6.9 and 28 times lower and active than that of streptomycin (MIC 128 µg/mL) and nalidixic acid (MIC > 512 µg/mL) respectively. All the isolated compounds and crude extract showed significant activities against the tested bacterial strains.     

A rapid microwave-assisted acid extraction method based on the use of diluted HNO3-H2O2 followed by ICP-MS analysis for simultaneous determination of trace elements in coal samples

Before coal processing such as pyrolysis, liquefaction, gasification and combustion, it is very crucial to monitor the trace element concentration levels as that determines the coal quality. Therefore, the current study describes the development of microwave-assisted acid extraction (MW-AAE) method for extraction of 15 trace elements in coal samples prior to their determination using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Diluted HNO₃-H₂O₂ was used in order to reduce reagents amount used, eliminate matrix interferences caused by concentrated acids and to decrease waste produced in analytical laboratories. The optimisation of the proposed extraction method was carried out by using a full factorial design (2⁴) involving four factors; that is, temperature, extraction time, HNO₃ and H₂O₂ concentrations. The optimum conditions for the MW-AAE procedure were found to be 200°C, 5 min, 5 mol L^?1 and 2 mol L^?1 for temperature, extraction time, HNO₃ and H₂O₂ concentrations, respectively. Under optimum conditions, the accuracy of the MW-AAE method was examined by analysing three coal certified reference materials (SARM 18, 19 and 20) and recoveries of 80–115% were achieved for V, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Sr, Zr, Cs, Ba, Pb and U, except for Ti (10–25%) and Hf (27–70%). In addition, the precision of the proposed method, expressed in terms of relative standard deviation (SD) (n = 15), was within the accepted range (≤3.5%). The method detection limits of 0.001–0.57 µg g^?1 for all trace elements under the investigation were similar to the literature reported work, except for Ti (4.00 µg g^?1).     

Synthesis and characterization of palladium(II) and platinum(II) metal complexes with iminophosphine ligands: X-ray crystal structures of platinum(II) complexes and use of palladium(II) complexes as pre-catalysts in Heck and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions

The reactions of N-(2(diphenylphosphino) benzylidene) (phenyl) methanamine, Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₅H₄N, 1 and N-(2-(diphenylphosphino) (benzylidene) (thiophen-2-yl) methanamine, Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₄H₃S, 2 with MCl₂(cod) and MCl(cod)Me (M = Pd, Pt; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) yield the new complexes [M(Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₅H₄N)Cl₂], M = Pd1a, Pt1b, [M(Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₅H₄N)ClMe], M = Pd1c, Pt 1d, [M(Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₄H₃S)Cl₂], M = Pd2a, Pt 2b, and [M(Ph₂PPhNHCH₂-C₄H₃S)ClMe], M = Pd2c, Pt 2d, respectively. The new compounds were isolated as analytically pure crystalline solids and characterized by ³¹P-, ¹H-NMR, IR spectroscopy, electro spray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and elemental analysis. The representative solid-state molecular structures of the platinum complexes 1b and 2b were determined using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and revealed that the complexes exhibit a slightly distorted square-planar geometry. Furthermore, the palladium complexes were tested as potential catalysts in the Heck and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions.     

MWCNTs/metal (Ni, Co, Fe) oxide nanocomposite as potential material for supercapacitors application in acidic and neutral media

Supercapacitive properties of synthesised metal oxides nanoparticles (MO where M = Ni, Co, Fe) integrated with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (BPPGE) were investigated. Successful modification of the electrode with the MWCNT-MO nanocomposite was confirmed with spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Supercapacitive properties of the modified electrodes in sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) and sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) electrolytes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic constant current charge–discharge (CD) techniques. The specific capacitance values followed similar trend with that of the cyclic voltammetry and the electrochemical impedance experiments and are slightly lower than values obtained using the galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling. MWCNT-NiO-based electrode gave best specific capacitance of 433.8 mF?cm^?2 (ca 2,119 F?g^?1) in H₂SO₄. The electrode exhibited high electrochemical reproducibility with no significant changes over 1,000 cyclic voltammetry cycles.     

一些二茂铁苯基亚胺化合物的合成与表征

通过回流对应的二茂铁苯胺和芳香醛的混合物的同样路径合成了一系列新颖的二茂铁苯基亚胺化合物(5~12)。当暴露于空气时化合物5~12稳定,不发生任何分解。所有化合物均用¹H、¹³C NMR,MS,IR,UV-Vis和元素分析表征。还报导了化合物N-(3-bromo-2-hydroxylbenzylidene)-4-ferrocenylimine(10)的单晶结构,其结晶属单斜晶系P2₁/c空间群。     

Thermal stability of amine-functionalized MCM-41 in different atmospheres

In the present work, we report on the thermal stability of NH₂-MCM-41 hybrid material under different atmospheres (nitrogen and air). The thermal stability of this hybrid material is very important because of its common use in catalysis, adsorption, biomedical and biotechnological applications, based on mesoporous and aminopropyl functionalities. Samples were prepared by one pot co-condensation method with different loadings of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The thermal stability of hybrid samples (NH₂-MCM-41) heat treated in nitrogen and air at 30–800 °C has been investigated. Samples were synthesized under basic media in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) as structure-directing agent, tetraethyl orthosilicate as silica source, and APTES as functionalizing agent with molar composition of 0.055 CTABr:045 SiO₂:0.054 APTES:5.32 NH₄OH:14.99 H₂O at 50 °C for 24 h at pH 12.4. The obtained hybrid materials have been characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), derivative thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and surface area determination by the BET method. Based on TG measurements of the treated samples, it was found out that the thermal stability varied greatly in different atmospheres.     

The vibrational spectra of the boron halides and their molecular complexes, part 5 An ab initio study of the infrared spectrum of the boron trifluoride-carbon dioxide complex

The optimized structures, interaction energies, Mulliken charges and vibrational spectra of three conformers of a 1:1 complex between boron trifluoride and carbon dioxide have been determined by means of ab initio calculations at the second-order level of M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory, using the 6-31G* basis set. All three structures feature a B⋯O electron donor-acceptor interaction. One of the structures, in which the carbon dioxide axis eclipses one of the BF bonds, was found to be a genuine minimum, one (the corresponding staggered form) a first-order saddle point and the third (a linearly bonded B⋯OCO species) a second-order transition state. The computed infrared spectrum of the preferred conformer has been used to predict the appearance of the spectrum of boron trifluoride and carbon dioxide co-deposited in cryogenic matrices, which will be reported in a forthcoming publication. Received: 18 November 1996 / Accepted: 11 March 1997     

Time-dependent responses of wounded human skin fibroblasts following phototherapy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The penetration and distribution of laser light in target tissue is dependent on the wavelength of the light. One problem with most of the published data on laser irradiation is that most studies do not record the duration between the exposure and the evaluation. This study aimed to establish if the dose, wavelength or duration of effect (1h or 24h) influences the biological responses of irradiated fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study established cellular responses of normal and wounded human skin fibroblasts to helium-neon (632.8 nm), diode (830 nm) and Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser irradiation using one exposure of 5 J/cm(2) or 16 J/cm(2) on day 1 and again on day 4. Cellular responses to laser irradiation were evaluated by measuring changes in cell viability (ATP viability and caspase 3/7 activity) and cell proliferation (ALP enzyme activity and bFGF expression), 1h and 24h post irradiation. RESULTS: Wounded cells exposed to 5 J/cm(2) using 632.8 nm showed an increase in ATP viability after 1h, a decrease in caspase 3/7 activity after 24h and an increase in cell proliferation after 24h. The results suggest that changes in parameters such as ATP viability should be observed directly after laser irradiation (1h) whereas other parameters such as caspase 3/7 activity, bFGF expression and ALP enzyme activity should be measured at least 24h after the final exposure. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that the duration of effect should be included as one of the main laser parameters when reporting on the effects of laser irradiation. It is important to establish time-dependent responses as the results may provide an understanding of the cellular responses following laser irradiation.