Application of water as a solvent in microwave-assisted extraction for analysis of PCBs and CBzs in fly ash

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs) are two classes of dioxin precursors formed in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs); they produce negative health effects similar to those of dioxins. Reducing the analytical time required for determining the concentrations of these compounds in MSWIs is important for quickly evaluating their importance and assessing associated health risks. In the present study, water is used as a safe and environmentally friendly solvent in microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for PCB and CBz analyses. MAE is compared with traditional Soxhlet extraction (SE) to determine the extraction efficiencies. The evaluation of extraction efficiencies shows that MAE has a high extraction efficiency compared with that of SE when water content is lower than 60%. Furthermore, the extraction time and organic solvent consumption are reduced with MAE compared with SE.     

中草药中有机磷及氨基甲酸酯类农药残留量的GC-MS测定

气相色谱-质谱法同时测定中草药中多种有机磷及氨基甲酸酯类农药残留量.采用V(乙腈)∶V(丙酮)＝3∶7混合溶剂微波辅助提取,弗罗里硅土和中性氧化铝层析柱净化,气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用检测,农药混标在0.01～1.0 μg/mL范围内线性良好,在0.5、0.1、0.05 μg/mL 3个水平添加平均回收率分别为86.5%～110.6%、81.2%～108.3%和72.9%～122.3%,相对标准偏差分别为2.6%～8.3%、4.6%～9.7%和2.3%～10.7%.     

Microwave-assisted conversion of N-substituted oxazolidin-2,4-diones into α-hydroxyamides

N-Substituted oxazolidin-2,4-diones have been synthesized in a novel one-pot reaction by reacting cyanohydrins stepwise with 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole and primary amines followed by acidic hydrolysis of the intermediate 4-imino-oxazolidin-2-ones. Their microwave-assisted conversion into α-hydroxyamides was accomplished by treatment with catalytic amounts of sodium methoxide in methanol.     

Determination of total mercury in environmental and biological samples by flow injection cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and accurate method has been developed for the determination of total mercury in environmental and biological samples. The method utilises an off-line microwave digestion stage followed by analysis using a flow injection system with detection by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry.

The method has been validated using two certified reference materials (DORM-1 dogfish and MESS-2 estuarine sediment) and the results agreed well with the certified values. A detection limit of 0.2 ng g⁻¹ Hg was obtained and no significant interference was observed. The method was finally applied to the determination of mercury in river sediments and canned tuna fish, and gave results in the range 0.1–3.0 mg kg⁻¹.     

Microwave-assisted efficient synthesis of spiro-fused heterocycles under solvent-free conditions

Spiro-fused heterocycles were synthesized in good to high yields by a pseudo four-component reaction of an aldehyde, urea and a cyclic β-diester or a β-diamide such as Meldrum’s acid or barbituric acid derivatives using microwave irradiation under solvent-free conditions.     

Application of divergent multi-component reactions in the synthesis of a library of peptidomimetics based on γ-amino-α,β-cyclopropyl acids

The multi-component condensation of organozirconocene, aldimine and zinc carbenoid was applied to the stereoselective synthesis of cyclopropane amino acid derivatives. These compounds served as scaffolds for the preparation of a 46-member library. The C- and N-termini of the cyclopropane amino acid derivatives were diversified by condensations with ten amines and ten acylating agents, respectively. To improve yields and accelerate library synthesis, most products were prepared under microwave irradiation and purified by polymer-bound scavengers and SPE methodology. All compounds were analyzed by LC-MS and a representative selection was fully characterized.     

Efficient, protection-free Suzuki-Miyaura synthesis of ortho-biphenyltetrazoles

We describe an efficient protocol for the Suzuki-Miyaura synthesis of ortho-biphenyltetrazoles from non-protected 2-bromophenyltetrazole and arylboronic acids. The optimised conditions were achieved using [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]dichloropalladium(II) as catalyst and Na₂CO₃ as base. A panel of structurally diverse arylboronic acids was used to demonstrate the scope of the coupling procedure.     

Microwave-assisted Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck-Mizoroki cross-coupling reactions of aryl chlorides and bromides in water using stable benzothiazole-based palladium(II) precatalysts

The catalytic activity of benzothiazole-based Pd(II)-complexes was evaluated in Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck-Mizoroki C-C cross-coupling reactions of aryl chlorides and bromides with olefins and arylboronic acids both under thermal as well as microwave irradiation conditions in water. The factors affecting the optimization of such reactions as well as the reusability of the Pd-precatalysts are studied.     

Temperature-dependent dry etching characteristics of III–V semiconductors in HBr- and HI-based discharges

Microwave discharges of HBr/H₂/Ar and H/H₂/Ar with additional do biasing of the sample were used to etch InP, GaAs, and AlGaAs at temperatures between 50–250°C. The etch rates increase by factors of 3–50 and 5–9, respectively, for HBr-and HI-based discharges over this temperature range, but display non-Arrhenius behavior. The etched surfaces became very rough above 100°C for InP with either discharge chemistry due to preferential loss of P, while GaAs and AlGaAs are more tolerant of the elevated temperature etching. The near-surface electrical properties of InP are severely degraded by etch temperatures above 100°C, while extensive hydrogen in-diffusion occurs in GaAs and AlGaAs under these conditions, leading to dopant passivation which can be reversed by annealing at 400°C.     

Synthesis of 5-arylhistidines via a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling

Microwave irradiation efficiently promoted the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of a 5-bromohistidine with various arylboronic acids in the presence of a palladium catalyst. This methodology allowed the synthesis of histidines substituted at position 5 of the imidazole ring with a phenyl, a substituted phenyl, a pyridyl or a thienyl ring. The corresponding 5-arylhistidines were obtained in moderate to good yields.