Characterization of cocoa butters and other vegetable fats by pyrolysis-mass spectrometry

Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry (Py-MS) was used for the discrimination of cocoa butters from other vegetable fats. Mass spectra ranging from 50 amu to 250 amu were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and with neural nets. The application of neural nets leads to a good discrimination between the two classes. Detailed analysis of the nets revealed that only the first 60 masses were used within the net. The use of PCA requires a careful selection of the number of masses included in the calculation. Canonical variance analysis was applied to determine the significant masses. Optimal performance of PCA was observed only using the first 22 significant masses. Most of these masses were different from the ones used by the neural net. It seems that the mass spectra obtained by Py-MS contain sufficient information for the discrimination of pure cocoa butter from other vegetable fats, but none of the methods seems to be able to extract all information available. Neural net provides a very robust method for this task and no prior data selection was necessary. Received: 13 May 1996 / Revised: 7 August 1996 / Accepted: 7 August 1996     

Cloud point extraction of napropamide and thiabendazole from water and soil

The micellar extraction and enrichment of napropamide and thiabendazole using Genapol X 80 is described. Combined with their quantification by fluorescence, detection limits below 0.2 g/l with recovery rates of up to 95% were achieved. The recovery could be improved by lowering the extraction temperature and purificaton of the surfactants. This extraction method has been applied to the isolation and preconcentration of napropamide from standard soils. Experimental parameters affecting the recovery rates were examined.     

Hydrolysis in the system LiPF6—propylene carbonate—dimethyl carbonate—H2O

¹⁹F and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy were used to study the kinetics of the hydrolysis of LiPF₆ in the homogenous solvent system propylene carbonate (PC)—dimethyl carbonate (DMC)—H₂O. It was found that the main products of the hydrolysis are HF, LiPO₂F₂ and Li₂PO₃F. The content of POF₃ and PF₅ was negligibly low. We set up a hypothesis that the main factor determining the rate of the process is the so-called ‘secondary’ catalytic effect, caused by solvated H⁺ ions.     

Immunological method for the detection of nitroaromatic residues covalently bound to humic acids

The potential of the earlier reported sandwich-immunoassay principle for the detection of nitroaromatic residues bound to humic acids was examined. A synthetic conjugate derived by coupling a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene derivative to humic acid was used as a model substance for bound nitroaromatic residues. Spectrophotometric determination gave a content of 14 ± 1.6 μmol/g TNT-derivative in the synthetic conjugate, which was used as a calibration standard. Extensive blocking optimization was necessary to establish the sandwich-immunoassay. Experiments were carried out to check the selectivity of the developed test system. Trace amounts of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (25 μg/L) suppressed the assay signal completely by blocking the antibody binding sites. This was a proof for the excellent selectivity of the assay. The potential of quantitative determinations was examined with dilution experiments. During assay optimization strong non-immunological interactions between various proteins and humic acids were observed. This led to a significant improvement of the original sandwich-immunoassay, where the humic acid antibody was substituted by basic proteins. More sensitive calibration curves with higher signal intensities were achieved. This new immunoassay seems to be the method of choice for further immunological investigations of bound residues.     

Temperature dependent energy transfer in Ar-O3 collisions

The energy transfer between argon atoms and ozone complexes O3*, excited in the region of the dissociation threshold, is calculated for fixed temperatures (100 K< or =T < or =2500 K) using classical trajectories. The internal energy of ozone is resolved in terms of vibrational and rotational energies. For all temperatures, energy flows from O3* to Ar. The vibrational energy transfer, relative to k(B)T, is very small below 500 K, but gradually increases towards high temperatures. The relative rotational energy transfer, on the other hand, monotonously decreases with T; around 1100 K it falls below the relative vibrational energy transfer. Thermally averaged cross sections for vibrational and rotational energy transfers are also calculated. The implications for the stabilization of ozone complexes in the energy transfer model are discussed.     

Serendipitous synthesis of a ditwistane: a one-step access!

4-tert-Butyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one dimerizes in THF solution via its kinetic enolate, leading to di-tert-butylditwistane 8 in up to 36% yield (−78 °C → room temp., protonolysis, flash chromatography). X-ray crystallography shows that 8 incorporates one R and one S enantiomer of the starting ketone; none of the diastereomeric ditwistanes epi-8, epi’-8 or iso-8 was isolated. This means that the formation of 8 proceeds with mutual kinetic resolution and 100% induced diastereoselectivity.     

An Unexpectedly Stable Chiral Hydrido-Solvent Complex of RuII: A mechanistic link in the enantioselective hydrogenation of pyrones. Preliminary communication

The ligand (6,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl-2,2′-diyl)bis[3,5-di(tert-butyl)phenylphosphine] ( 1 ) forms an unexpectedly stable hydrido-bis-solvento complex of composition [RuH(isopropanol)₂( 1 )]BF₄, ( 2 ) under the conditions used in the enantioselective hydrogenation of pyrones. The structure of 2 , determined by X-ray diffraction, represents the first well-characterized chiral five-coordinate bis-phosphine ruthenium-hydride complex stable as a solvento complex, and provides a structural link in the enantioselective pyrone hydrogenation cycle catalyzed by [Ru(OAc)₂( 1 )]. Using the arene complex [RuH(p-cymene)( 1 )]BF₄ ( 3 ), the chiral pocket of coordinated 1 is shown to be relatively rigid, via NMR spectroscopy. This is reflected in restricted rotation about one of the four P–[3,5-di(tert-butyl)phenyl] P? C_ipso bonds at room temperature.