Spectrophotometric method for the determination of sorbic acid in various food samples with iron(III) and 2-thiobarbituric acid as reagents

A simple, rapid and accurate spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of sorbic acid in various food samples based on the oxidation of sorbic acid by iron(III) at 100 degrees C to malonaldehyde, which then reacts with 2-thiobarbituric acid to form a reddish brown product. The optimum experimental conditions for colour development have been assessed. Absorbance measurements were made at 529 nm in the presence of 0.4% m/V citric acid. The calibration graph was linear for 0-6 micrograms ml-1 of sorbic acid with a slope of 0.131 A micrograms-1 ml. The recoveries of sorbic acid at concentrations of 164-557 micrograms ml-1 ranged from 96 to 103%. The relative standard deviations of ten replicate determinations of sorbic acid in a synthetic cream soda sample spiked with 573 micrograms ml-1 of sorbic acid and in an onion juice sample containing 82 micrograms ml-1 of sorbic acid were 1.6 and 1.9%, respectively. Interferences from several common food additives can be minimised by extracting sorbic acid with diethyl ether and then back-extracting the acid with sodium hydrogen carbonate. The method has been applied successfully to the determination of sorbic acid in a wide range of food samples including beverages, cake, cake mate, garlic bread sprinkle, onion juice, oyster flavoured sauce and grenadine syrup.     

Structural and process controls of AIEgens for NIR-II theranostics

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a cutting-edge fluorescence technology, giving highly-efficient solid-state photoluminescence. Particularly, AIE luminogens (AIEgens) with emission in the range of second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) have displayed salient advantages for biomedical imaging and therapy. However, the molecular design strategy and underlying mechanism for regulating the balance between fluorescence (radiative pathway) and photothermal effect (non-radiative pathway) in these narrow bandgap materials remain obscure. In this review, we outline the latest achievements in the molecular guidelines and photophysical process control for developing highly efficient NIR-II emitters or photothermal agents with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) attributes. We provide insights to optimize fluorescence efficiency by regulating multi-hierarchical structures from single molecules (flexibilization) to molecular aggregates (rigidification). We also discuss the crucial role of intramolecular motions in molecular aggregates for balancing the functions of fluorescence imaging and photothermal therapy. The superiority of the NIR-II region is demonstrated by fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging of blood vessels and the brain as well as photothermal ablation of the tumor. Finally, a summary of the challenges and perspectives of NIR-II AIEgens for in vivo theranostics is given.

Structural and process controls of NIR-II AIEgens realize manipulating of radiative (R) and nonradiative (NR) decay for precise theranostics.     

NMR and monte carlo simulation studies of water adsorption dynamics

Nuclear magnetic resonance water proton spin-spin relaxation time T(2) was measured in wood samples with moisture contents ranging from 0.50 to 26.4%. The experimental results are discussed in terms of Monte Carlo simulations, which determine the correlation times tau for reorientation of the water molecule proton-proton vectors. We demonstrate that 1/T(2) and tau qualitatively follow the same behavior with surface hydration. The common application of the multisite exchange model to hydrated systems is discussed in light of the new results.     

Encoding method for OBOC small molecule libraries using a biphasic approach for ladder-synthesis of coding tags

In the "one-bead one-compound" (OBOC) combinatorial library method, each compound bead displays only one compound entity. Hundreds of thousands to millions of compound beads can be synthesized rapidly and screened simultaneously. Positive compound beads are then isolated for structural analysis. To fully exploit the power of OBOC combinatorial small molecule libraries, a robust and high throughput encoding method is needed to decode the positive compound beads. In this paper, we report on the development of a novel encoding strategy that combines the concepts of ladder-synthesis and chemical encoding on bilayer beads. In these encoded libraries, small molecule compounds are displayed on the bead surface, and cleavable coding tags consisting of a series of truncated molecules reside in the bead interior. Such a library can be easily constructed using the biphasic approach (J. Am. Chem. Soc.2002, 124, 7678) to topologically segregate the functionalities of the beads during library synthesis. The ladder members and coding tags are then released for MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. To simplify the interpretation of the mass spectra, we purposely add bromine into the cleavable linker so that the cleavage products generate a characteristic isotope fingerprint. The chemical structure of library compounds can be determined by analyzing the mass differences between adjacent peaks on the mass spectra. This encoding strategy also provides valuable information on the quality of the testing compound on the surface of the bead. To validate this methodology, a model OBOC small molecule library with 12,288 members was synthesized on TentaGel beads and screened against streptavidin. The chemical structures of the compound on each positive bead were unambiguously identified.     

Chemistry of the phenoxathiins and isosterically related heterocycles. XXXII . The synthesis of 2-azathianthrene and selected analogs

The synthesis of 2-azathianthrene ([1,4]benzodithiino[2,3-c]pyridine), the only remaining monoazathianthrene yet to be reported, is described. Attempts at the direct condensation of disubstituted pyridines with the dianion of 1,2-dimercaptobenzene were generally unsuccessful requiring that the alternative condensation of the dianion with disubstituted pyridine 1-oxides be employed. The title compound was characterized by physical means including ¹³C-nmr spectroscopy. One analog, 4-nitro-2-azathianthrene was also studied by X-ray crystallographic means; the molecule crystallized with two molecules in the asymmetric unit P2₁/n, a = 20.712(3), b = 7.8109(13), c = 13.720(2)Å, β = 107.880(11)°, Z = 8, the data refined to a final R = 0.051 for 3061 reflections. Dihedral angles between the planes of the phenyl rings were 135.00(13) and 132.52(13)° for the two independent molecules contained in the crystal. Close non? bonded S ?O intramolecular contacts were observed in both molecules between the sulfur and nitro-group oxygens. Both nitro groups are twisted out of the plane of the pyridine ring and are oriented at angles of 28.75 and 38.82° respectively.     

Evaluation of the VIDAS Listeria (LIS) immunoassay for the detection of Listeria in foods using demi-Fraser and Fraser enrichment broths, as modification of AOAC Official Method 999.06 (AOAC Official Method 2004.06)

A multilaboratory study was conducted to compare the VIDAS LIS immunoassay with the standard cultural methods for the detection of Listeria in foods using an enrichment modification of AOAC Official Method 999.06. The modified enrichment protocol was implemented to harmonize the VIDAS LIS assay with the VIDAS LMO2 assay. Five food types--brie cheese, vanilla ice cream, frozen green beans, frozen raw tilapia fish, and cooked roast beef--at 3 inoculation levels, were analyzed by each method. A total of 15 laboratories representing government and industry participated. In this study, 1206 test portions were tested, of which 1170 were used in the statistical analysis. There were 433 positive by the VIDAS LIS assay and 396 positive by the standard culture methods. A Chi-square analysis of each of the 5 food types, at the 3 inoculation levels tested, was performed. The resulting average Chi square analysis, 0.42, indicated that, overall, there are no statistical differences between the VIDAS LIS assay and the standard methods at the 5% level of significance.     

Crystal engineering of urea alpha-network via I...O2N synthon and design of SHG active crystal N-4-iodophenyl-N'-4'-nitrophenylurea

Crystalline nitrodiphenyl ureas adopt the N-H...O tape alpha-network only when stabilization accrues from the I...O(2)N or C[triple bond]C-H...O(2)N synthon, otherwise the ureanitro motif is preferred; soft, weak interactions can direct polar self-assembly in strong N-HO hydrogen-bonded crystals.     

Computational studies of the thermal fragmentation of P-arylphosphiranes: have arylphosphinidenes been generated by this method?

CASSCF, CASPT2, CCSD(T), and (U)B3LYP electronic structure calculations have been performed in order to investigate the thermal fragmentation of P-phenylphosphirane (1) to phenylphosphinidene (PhP) and ethylene. The calculations show that generation of triplet PhP via a stepwise pathway is 21 kcal mol(-1) less endothermic and has a 12 kcal mol(-1) lower barrier height than concerted fragmentation of 1 to give singlet PhP. The formation of singlet PhP via a concerted pathway is predicted to be stereospecific, whereas formation of triplet PhP is predicted to occur with complete loss of stereochemistry. However, calculations on fragmentation of anti-cis-2,3-dimethyl-P-mesitylphosphirane (cis-1Me) to triplet mesitylphosphinidene (MesP) indicate that this reaction should be more stereospecific, in agreement with the experimental results of Li and Gaspar. Nevertheless, with a predicted free energy of activation of 42 kcal mol(-1), the formation of MesP from cis-1Me is not likely to have occurred in an uncatalyzed reaction at the temperatures at which this phosphirane has been pyrolyzed.     

Intramolecular Nitrene Insertion into Saturated C−H-Bond-Mediated C−N Bond Cleavage of a Coordinated NHC Ligand

Ruthenium(II) complexes bearing a tridentate bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligand reacted with iminoiodanes (PhI=NR) resulting in the formation of isolable ruthenium(III)–amido intermediates, which underwent cleavage of a C−N bond of the tridentate ligand and formation of an N-substituted imine group. The Ru^III–amido intermediates have been characterized by ¹H NMR, UV/Vis, ESI-MS, and X-ray crystallography. DFT calculations were performed to provide insight into the reaction mechanism.