The Phototoxic Potential of the Flavonoids,Taxifolin and Quercetin

Quercetin, one of the most abundant polyphenols in the plant kingdom has been shown to be photodegraded on exposure to UV light. Despite the fact, it is a component of several dermatological preparations. Its phototoxic potential has not been evaluated to date. The aim of this study was to assess whether photo‐induced degradation of quercetin is linked to phototoxic effects on living cells. Its dihydro derivative, taxifolin, was included in the study. For evaluation, the 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test according to OECD TG 432 was used. To better approximate human skin, HaCaT keratinocytes, normal human epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts were used, apart from the Balb/c 3T3 cell line. Quercetin showed a dose‐dependent photodegradation in aqueous and organic environments and a phototoxic effect on all used cells. Quercetin pretreatment and following UVA exposure resulted in increased reactive oxygen species production and intracellular glutathione level depletion in human dermal fibroblasts. Taxifolin was found completely nonphototoxic and photostable. As only in vitro methodology was used, further studies using 3D skin models and/or human volunteers are needed to confirm whether exposure to sunlight, tanning sunbeds and/or phototherapy in people using cosmetics containing quercetin is a health risk.     

SDDP for multistage stochastic programs: preprocessing via scenario reduction

Even with recent enhancements, computation times for large-scale multistage problems with risk-averse objective functions can be very long. Therefore, preprocessing via scenario reduction could be considered as a way to significantly improve the overall performance. Stage-wise backward reduction of single scenarios applied to a fixed branching structure of the tree is a promising tool for efficient algorithms like stochastic dual dynamic programming. We provide computational results which show an acceptable precision of the results for the reduced problem and a substantial decrease of the total computation time.     

Solid-state synthesis of undoped and Sr-doped K<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Na<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>NbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The solid-state synthesis of undoped K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ (KNN) and KNN doped with 1, 2 and 6 mol% Sr, from potassium, sodium and strontium carbonates with niobium pentoxide, was studied using thermal analysis and in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD). The thermogravimetry and the differential thermal analyses with evolved-gas analyses showed that the carbonates, which were previously reacted with the moisture in the air to form hydrogen carbonates, partly decomposed when heated to 200 °C. In the temperature interval where the reaction was observed, i.e., between 200 and 750 °C, all the samples exhibited the main mass loss in two steps. The first step starts at around 400 °C and finishes at 540 °C, and the second step has an onset at 540 °C and finishes with the end of the reaction between 630 and 675 °C, depending on the particle size distribution of the Nb₂O₅ precursor. According to the HT-XRD analysis, the perovskite phase is formed at 450 °C for all the samples, regardless of the Sr content. The formation of a polyniobate phase with a tetragonal tungsten bronze structure was detected by HT-XRD in the KNN with the largest amount of Sr dopant, i.e., 6 mol% of Sr, at 600 °C.     

Methyl 5-Deoxy-α and β-D-Xylofuranosides

Abstract

Synthesized from D-xylose, methyl 5-deoxy-α-D-xylofuranoside (1) and methyl 5-deoxy-β-D-xylofuranoside (2) were obtained in overall yields of 24 and 26 %, respectively. The key step in the synthesis was the separation of an anomeric mixture on a strong anion exchanger in OH^? form. NMR data and mass spectra of title compounds 1, 2, methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-5-deoxy-α-D-xylofuranoside (3), and methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-5-deoxy-β-D-xylofuranoside (4) are discussed. The conformations of 1 and 2 were established from the best fit between calculated and experimental coupling constants using Karplus equation.     

Zeptomole Detection of Streptavidin Using Carbon Paste Electrode and Square‐Wave Voltammetry

We compared the suitability of avidin and streptavidin for avidin‐biotin technology in view of the sensitivity of the analysis using square‐wave voltammetry. We found out during our preliminary experiments that streptavidin gave approximately 100 times higher electrochemical response in comparison with avidin at the same experimental conditions and concentration. Thus, we used two approaches for streptavidin determination – analysis directly in electrochemical cell and analysis by adsorptive transfer technique (AdTS). Ten minutes long accumulation on carbon paste electrode surface was ascertained as optimal in both cases. Limits of detection were 0.3 aM (electrochemical cell) and 30 aM (AdTS).     

Reversed-phase porous silica rods, an alternative approach to high-performance liquid chromatographic separation using the sequential injection chromatography technique

A commercially available porous silica rod column was used as a separation tool for the sequential injection analysis (SIA). A porous solid monolithic column showed high performance at a low pressure, allowing sequential injection analysis to be used for the first time for separation in HPLC fashion. In this contribution, we tried to demonstrate a new separation concept with SIA manifold for the simultaneous determination of four different compounds (methylparaben (MP), propylparaben (PP), triamcinolone acetonide (TCA) and internal standard ketoprofen (KP)) in a pharmaceutical triamcinolon cream 0.1% formulation. A Chromolith Flash RP-18e, 25 mm x 4.6 mm column with a 10 mm pre-column (Merck, Germany) and a FIAlab 3000 system (USA) with an 8-port selection valve and 10 ml syringe were used for sequential injection chromatographic separations in our study. The mobile phase used was acetonitrile-methanol-water (35:5:65, v/v/v) + 0.05% nonylamine, pH 2.5, flow rate 0.6 ml min(-1). The analysis time was <6 min. A novel sequential injection chromatography (SIC) technique with UV spectrophotometric detection was optimised and validated.     

A novel synthesis of parent resorc[4]arene and its partial alkyl ethers

Treatment of 2,4-diisopropoxybenzyl alcohol with chlorotrimethylsilane in acetonitrile at room temperature for 1 h afforded a novel crystalline resorc[4]arene octaisopropyl ether in 96% yield. Protecting groups were cleaved by boron trichloride in dichloromethane within 30 min and the parent resorc[4]arene was isolated by flash chromatography in 76% yield. The outcome of the deprotection step was dependent on the conditions used as it is exemplified by a preparation of resorc[4]arene heptaisopropyl ether.     

Solubility of Lithium Nitrate in Solutions of Lithium Halides

Summary. Solubility isotherms in LiNO₃ – LiX – H₂O (X = Cl, Br, I) systems at 298.15 K were measured for the first time with special regard to the retrograde solubility of lithium nitrate trihydrate. The compositions of solutions used as media in absorption refrigerators and heat pumps were compared with the results and subsequently discussed.     

Alternative calibration approaches to compensate the effect of co-extracted matrix components in liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry analysis of pesticide residues in plant materials

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of different calibration approaches in a multi- and single-residue analysis of modern pesticides in plant matrices using liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS). In the first set of experiments the determination of eight pesticides representing different groups of polar/unstable pesticides (carbamates, benzimidazoles, azoles, benzoylphenylurea) in apple samples was performed. The trueness and precision of data obtained by using: (i) external solvent standard calibration, (ii) external matrix-matched standard calibration and (iii) echo-peak internal standard calibration was compared. The last mentioned method is a novel technique providing the possibility to inject internal standard of the same identity as a target analyte, so that its retention time is close to the analyte from the sample. According to expectation, when using external standard solvent calibration the results were under- or overestimated due to suppression or enhancement of analyte's signal by matrix components. On the other hand with the use of matrix-matched calibration accurate data were obtained. With echo-peak technique accurate results comparable to those obtained by matrix calibration were obtained for six out of eight pesticides. In the second set of experiment we used the echo-peak technique to overcome the problem with the response instability in the analysis of chlormequat in pear concentrate samples. As an internal standard method the echo-peak technique provided the possibility of monitoring of signal decrease during the analytical sequence and to compensate this decrease by relating sample peak area relatively to this internal standard.     

Determination of carbon,hydrogen and nitrogen in liquid samples without weighing

Summary The determination of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen in unweighed liquid samples is described. The sample is injected by microsyringe into an automatic analyser. The method was tested with an analyser based on frontal gas chromatography, the samples being volatile hydrocarbons, pyridine bases, chlorinated hydrocarbons and an organic sulphide.

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Bestimmung von C, H und N in Flüssigen, Ungewogenen Proben

Zusammenfassung Die Elementaranalyse des Kohlenstoffs, Wasserstoffs und Stickstoffs in flüssigen, ungewogenen Proben wurde beschrieben. Die Proben werden mit einer Mikroinjektionsspritze in ein automatisches Verbrennungsgerät eingegeben. Das Verfahren wurde in einem Analysator getestet, der nach dem Prinzip der Frontalgaschromatographie funktioniert. Es eignet sich für die Analyse flüchtiger Kohlenwasserstoffe, stickstoffhaltiger Verbindungen, vor allem der Pyridinreihe, für Chlorkohlenwasserstoffe und Sulfide.