New isostructural transition metal complexes with a non‐innocent dithiolate ligand

Three new complexes with 3,6‐dichlorobenzene‐1,2‐dithiol (bdtCl₂), namely methyltriphenylphosphonium bis(3,6‐dichlorobenzene‐1,2‐dithiolato‐κ²S,S′)cobaltate(1−), (C₁₉H₁₈P)[Co(C₆H₂Cl₂S₂)₂], (I), bis(methyltriphenylphosphonium) bis(3,6‐dichlorobenzene‐1,2‐dithiolato‐κ²S,S′)cuprate(2−) dimethyl sulfoxide disolvate, (C₁₉H₁₈P)₂[Cu(C₆H₂Cl₂S₂)₂]·2C₂H₆OS, (II), and methyltriphenylphosphonium bis(3,6‐dichlorobenzene‐1,2‐dithiolato‐κ²S,S′)cuprate(1−), (C₁₉H₁₈P)[Cu(C₆H₂Cl₂S₂)₂], (III), have been synthesized and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The X‐ray structure analyses of all three complexes confirm that the four donor S atoms form a slightly distorted square‐planar coordination arrangement around the central metal atom. An interesting finding for both the Cu^II and Cu^III complexes, i.e. (II) and (III), respectively, is that the coordination polyhedra are principally the same and differ only slightly with respect to the interatomic distances.     

Boron- versus Nitrogen-Centered Nucleophilic Reactivity of (Cyano)hydroboryl Anions: Synthesis of Cyano(hydro)organoboranes and 2-Aza-1,4-diborabutatrienes

Cyclic alkyl(amino)carbene-stabilized (cyano)hydroboryl anions were synthesized by deprotonation of (cyano)dihydroborane precursors. While they display boron-centered nucleophilic reactivity towards organohalides, generating fully unsymmetrically substituted cyano(hydro)organoboranes, they show cyano-nitrogen-centered nucleophilic reactivity towards haloboranes, resulting in the formation of hitherto unknown linear 2-aza-1,4-diborabutatrienes.     

Laser Desorption Ionization of As<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ch<Subscript>3</Subscript> (Ch = S,Se, and Te) Chalcogenides Using Quadrupole Ion Trap Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: A Comparative Study

Laser desorption ionization using time-of-flight mass spectrometer afforded with quadrupole ion trap was used to study As₂Ch₃ (Ch = S, Se, and Te) bulk chalcogenide materials. The main goal of the study is the identification of species present in the plasma originating from the interaction of laser pulses with solid state material. The generated clusters in both positive and negative ion mode are identified as 10 unary (S _p ^+/– and As _m ^+/– ) and 34 binary (As _m S _p ^+/– ) species for As₂S₃ glass, 2 unary (Se _q ^+/– ) and 26 binary (As _m Se _q ^+/– ) species for As₂Se₃ glass, 7 unary (Te _r ^+/– ) and 23 binary (As _m Te _r ^+/– ) species for As₂Te₃ material. The fragmentation of chalcogenide materials was diminished using some polymers and in this way 45 new, higher mass clusters have been detected. This novel approach opens a new possibility for laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry analysis of chalcogenides as well as other materials.

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Application of carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction sorbent for analysis of chlorophenols in water samples

The aim of this work was to investigate the efficiency of various MWCNTs as SPE materials for the preconcentration of chlorophenols. The COOH-functionalized MWCNTs and MWCNTs were used as SPE sorbents. To evaluate the capability of MWCNTs for the preconcentration of chlorophenols from water samples, 2,4-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol, 2,4,6-chlorophenol, 2,6-chlorophenol, 3,4-chlorophenol, and 2-chlorophenol were used as model compounds. Chlorophenols were extracted with acetone, methanol, ethanol, and dichloromethane, and determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. COOH-functionalized MWCNTs <8 nm were found to be the best sorbent for the tested chlorophenols. For COOH-functionalized MWCNTs <8 nm, the recovery rates for all chlorophenols were higher than 50% when acetone or ethanol was used as eluents. In the case of dichloromethane elution, recovery rates for chlorophenols were from 62.0% for 2,6-DCP to 116.8% for 2,4-DCP; only for 2,4,6-TCP was the recovery rate 30.6%. Similar percentage recoveries were achieved with methanol as the eluent.     

The application of ultrafiltration for treatment of ships generated oily wastewater

The wastewaters collected from ships were preliminary separated in harbour installation into an oil fraction (slop oil) and the aqueous phase. The oil phase was then separated from slop oil, and the resulting water phase was subjected to the treatment in a coagulation/flotation process. The effluent (oil content 7–13 ppm) from these processes was further purified in biological wastewater treatment plant. A composition of bilge water is variable what affects the efficiency of coagulation/flotation process and the effluents may contain a significant amount of oil residues. The purification of effluents from coagulation/flotation process was performed in this work with ultrafiltration (UF), using FP100 membranes. The turbidity of obtained UF permeate was varied in the range of 0.08–0.26 NTU and the oil content was at a level of 0.9–1.1 ppm. Such purified water can be utilized for rinsing the oil–water separation devices located in the wastewater treatment plant, instead of tap water used so far. The obtained UF retentate contained 30 ppm of oil can be recycled to the coagulation/flotation process. Fouling of UF membranes was observed during the separation process, however, the FP100 membranes were effective cleaned with alkaline cleaning agents P3 Ultrasil 11.     

Synthesis of β-cyclodextrin-lysozyme conjugates and their physicochemical and biochemical properties

Recently a great interest in the field of protein engineering and the design of innovative drug delivery systems employing specific ligands such as cyclodextrins is observed. The paper reports the solid state, thermal method for protein coupling with β-cyclodextrin and the physicochemical and biological properties of the obtained conjugates. The structure of the obtained conjugates was investigated via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, dynamic light scattering and circular dichroism analysis. The presented conjugates were biologically active and covalently bound β-cyclodextrin preserved the ability to form inclusion complexes with the model compound. This report demonstrates the great potential of cyclodextrin as a modifying unit that can be used to modulate the properties of therapeutic proteins, additionally giving such conjugates the possibility to transport many therapeutic substances in the form of inclusion complexes. In addition, the paper presents the potential of protein-cyclodextrin conjugates to construct innovative bioactive molecules for biological and medical applications.     

A ring which is a sum of two PI subrings is always a PI ring

We prove that a ring which is a sum of two PI subrings is a PI ring as well. This answers a question of K. I. Beidar and A. V. Mikhalev that has been open since 1995.     

Diffusion induced void nucleation in SnPb solder joints

Towards a simple and robust model for void-based fatigue prediction, we investigate the interaction of voids with its surrounding by using a multi-field method. We couple the concentration fields of tin c₁ and lead c₂ with an additional field c₃, where the latter is assigned with a void field. The interaction potential manifests three stable states. Two are obtained by experimental results of tin-lead (SnPb) and the void stable state is postulated by construction. The logarithmic form of the thermodynamically consistent configurational entropy is approximated within this study by a fourth order polynom. It has been shown that the interfacial energy coefficient is independent of void's size, but rather depends numerically on the mesh size, which is used in the model presented here. Both governing equations follows a Cahn-Hilliard-type equation to mimic the microstructural changes. (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Indirectly Detected DNP-Enhanced 17O NMR Spectroscopy: Observation of Non-Protonated Near-Surface Oxygen at Naturally Abundant Silica and Silica-Alumina

Recent studies have shown that dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) can be used to detect ¹⁷O solid-state NMR spectra of naturally abundant samples within a reasonable experimental time. Observations using indirect DNP, which relies on ¹H mediation in transferring electron hyperpolarization to ¹⁷O, are currently limited mostly to hydroxyls. Direct DNP schemes can hyperpolarize non-protonated oxygen near the radicals; however, they generally offer much lower signal enhancements. In this study, we demonstrate the detection of signals from non-protonated ¹⁷O in materials containing silicon. The sensitivity boost that made the experiment possible originates from three sources: indirect DNP excitation of ²⁹Si via protons, indirect detection of ¹⁷O through ²⁹Si nuclei using two-dimensional ²⁹Si{¹⁷O} D-HMQC, and Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill refocusing of ²⁹Si magnetization during acquisition. This ²⁹Si-detected scheme enabled, for the first time, 2D ¹⁷O−²⁹Si heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy in mesoporous silica and silica-alumina surfaces at natural abundance. In contrast to the silanols showing motion-averaged ¹⁷O signals, the framework oxygens exhibit unperturbed powder patterns as unambiguous fingerprints of surface sites. Along with hydroxyl oxygens, detection of these moieties will help in gaining more atomistic-scale insights into surface chemistry.     

Role of Gut Microbiota,Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Cardiovascular Diseases

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in identifying and applying new, naturally occurring molecules that promote health. Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host”. Quite a few fermented products serve as the source of probiotic strains, with many factors influencing the effectiveness of probiotics, including interactions of probiotic bacteria with the host’s microbiome. Prebiotics contain no microorganisms, only substances which stimulate their growth. Prebiotics can be obtained from various sources, including breast milk, soybeans, and raw oats, however, the most popular prebiotics are the oligosaccharides contained in plants. Recent research increasingly claims that probiotics and prebiotics alleviate many disorders related to the immune system, cancer metastasis, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. However, little is known about the role of these supplements as important dietary components in preventing or treating cardiovascular disease. Still, some reports and clinical studies were conducted, offering new ways of treatment. Therefore, the aim of this review is to discuss the roles of gut microbiota, probiotics, and prebiotics interventions in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.