Determination of Pd,Rh, Pt,Au in road dust by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with slurry sampling

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry coupled with ultrasonic slurry sampling electrothermal vaporization (USS-ETV-ICP-MS) has been applied to determine Pd, Rh, Pt and Au in 0.5% m/v slurries of several road dust samples. 2% m/v ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) was used as the modifier to enhance the ion count. The influence of instrument operating conditions, slurry preparation and interferences on the ion count was reported. This method has been applied to the determination of Pd, Rh, Pt and Au in BCR 723 Road Dust and NIST SRM 2709 San Joaquin Soil reference materials and two road dust samples collected locally. The analysis results of the standard reference materials agreed with the certified values. Precision between sample replicates was better than 10% for all the determinations. The method detection limits estimated from standard addition curves were 0.9, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.4 ng g⁻¹ for Pd, Rh, Pt and Au, respectively, in original dust samples.     

Investigation of Some Functionalization Reactions of 4‐Benzoyl‐5‐phenyl‐1‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carbonyl Chloride and Their Antimicrobial Activity

The 1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxylic acid 1 was converted via reactions of its acid chloride 3 with various asymmetrical disubstituted urea and alcohol derivatives into the corresponding novel 4‐benzoyl‐N‐(N′,N′‐dialkylcarbamyl)‐1‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxamide 4a , b and alkyl 4‐benzoyl‐1‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxylate 7a‐c , respectively, in good yields (57%‐78%). Friedel‐Crafts reactions of 3 with aromatic compouns for 15 min.‐2 h led to the formation of the 4‐3‐diaroyl‐1‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐5‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazoles 9a‐c , 4‐benzoyl‐1‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐3‐aroyl‐5‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazoles 10a , b and than from the acylation reactions of 9a‐c were obtained the 3,4‐diaroyl‐1‐(4‐acyloxyphenyl)‐5‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazoles 13a‐d . The structures of all new synthesized compounds were established by NMR experiments such as ¹H, and ¹³C, as well as 2D COSY and IR spectroscopic data, and elemental analyses. All the compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities (agar diffusion method) against eight bacteria and two yeasts.     

Novel B,O-chelated fluorescent probe for nitric oxide imaging in Raw 264.7 macrophages and onion tissues

A novel fluorescent probe based on B,O-chelated dipyrromethene chromophore in far-visible and near-infrared spectral region (600–900 nm), boron chelated 8-(3,4-diaminophenyl)-3,5-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indancene (BOPB), has been first developed for nitric oxide (NO) imaging. BOPB, a turn-on fluorescent probe, can react with NO rapidly under physiological condition. The reaction product of BOPB with NO, BOPB-T, emits bright red fluorescence at 643 nm when excited at 622 nm. Meanwhile, BOPB-T displays high fluorescent quantum yield of 0.21 and good photostability. The selectivity for NO over other reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and ascorbic acid has been investigated and BOPB has good specificity for the detection of NO. MTT assay shows that the toxicity of BOPB (below 10 μM) to living cells can be neglected. Based on these investigations, BOPB has been used for NO imaging in Raw 264.7 cells and onion tissues. Meanwhile, mechanical injury to onion tissues results in a brighter fluorescence around the wound, which indicates that more NO has been produced in plant tissues in response to external stimuli. Our studies illustrate that BOPB has advantages of high sensitivity, low background interference and little photo damage on fluorescence imaging of NO.     

Simultaneous derivatization and air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction of some aliphatic amines in different aqueous samples followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection

The paper presents a new method based on simultaneous derivatization and air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (AALLME) for the extraction and preconcentration of some aliphatic amines prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Primary aliphatic amines are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with butylchloroformate (derivatization agent/extraction solvent) under mild conditions. The mixture of butylchloroformate and aqueous sample solution is rapidly sucked into a 10-mL glass syringe and then is injected into a test tube with conical bottom and the procedure is repeated seven times. After centrifuging the resulted cloudy solution, the derivatized analytes in the sedimented phase are determined by GC-FID. The influence of main factors on the efficiency of derivatization/extraction procedure is studied. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment factors (EFs) for aliphatic amines are obtained in the range of 248–360 and limits of detection (LODs) are between 0.30 and 2.6 μg L⁻¹. The obtained extraction recoveries ranged from 50 to 72% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 4.8% for intra-day (n = 6) and inter-days (n = 4) precision. The method is successfully applied to determine some aliphatic amines in environmental water samples.     

Fabrication and application of a new modified electrochemical sensor using nano-silica and a newly synthesized Schiff base for simultaneous determination of Cd,Cu and Hg ions in water and some foodstuff samples

A new chemically modified carbon paste electrode was constructed and used for rapid, simple, accurate, selective and highly sensitive simultaneous determination of cadmium, copper and mercury using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The carbon paste electrode was modified by N,N′-bis(3-(2-thenylidenimino)propyl)piperazine coated silica nanoparticles. Compared with carbon paste electrode, the stripping peak currents had a significant increase at the modified electrode. Under the optimized conditions (deposition potential, −1.100 V vs. Ag/AgCl; deposition time, 60 s; resting time, 10 s; SW frequency, 25 Hz; pulse amplitude, 0.15 V; dc voltage step height, 4.4 mV), the detection limit was 0.3, 0.1 and 0.05 ng mL⁻¹ for the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺, respectively. The complexation reaction of the ligand with several metal cations in methanol was studied and the stability constants of the complexes were obtained. The effects of different cations and anions on the simultaneous determination of metal ions were studied and it was found that the electrode is highly selective for the simultaneous determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺. Furthermore, the present method was applied to the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ in water and some foodstuff samples.     

α,α-Dialkylglycines obtained by solid phase Ugi reaction performed over isocyanide functionalized resins

The multicomponent Ugi reaction is a straightforward method that can be used for the synthesis of highly hindered C-tetrasubstituted amino acids by reacting an amine, a ketone or aldehyde, a carboxylic acid and an isocyanide. In the present work, the synthesis of several α,α-dialkylglycines (α,α-diethylglycine, Deg; α,α-dipropylglycine, Dpg; 1-amino-1-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, Ac₆c) was achieved by solid phase Ugi reaction using resins functionalized with the isocyanide group. Since no resins with these features were available commercially, the functionalization of an aminomethylated resin started by the use of glycine (Gly), β-alanine (β-Ala) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as spacers. After spacer N-formylation, followed by dehydration, isocyanide functionalised resins were obtained. The resins were then used in solid phase Ugi reaction, using phenylacetic acid as the acid component, 4-methoxybenzylamine as the amine component and different ketones, to afford the desired N-acylated α,α-dialkylglycines in good overall yields (60–80%), after acidolytic cleavage from the resin, thus proving the feasibility of this approach.     

Straightforward Preparation of (2E,4Z)-2,4-Heptadien-1-ol and (2E,4Z)-2,4-Heptadienal

Abstract

A concise synthesis of (2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadien-1-ol and (2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadienal is presented. Commercially available (Z)-2-penten-1-ol was converted to ethyl-(2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadienoate by reaction with activated MnO₂ and (carboethoxymethylene)triphenylphosphorane in the presence of benzoic acid as a catalyst. Ethyl-(2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadienoate was converted to (2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadien-1-ol with LiAlH₄. The alcohol was partially oxidized to (2E,4Z)-2,4-heptadienal with MnO₂. The title compounds are male-specific, antennally active volatile compounds from the Saltcedar leaf beetle, Diorhabda elongata Brulle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and have potential use in the biological control of the invasive weed saltcedar (Tamarix spp).     

Benzothiadiazole-based dyes that emit red light in solution,solid, and liquid state

In this paper, we report the preparation and red-light-emitting behavior of benzothiadiazole–tris(alkyloxy)phenylethene dyes. In solution, we observed an efficient red light emission with high fluorescence quantum yields (up to 0.78). With increase in solvent polarity, the emission bands shifted to longer wavelengths accompanied by a large Stokes shift of up to 152 nm. A moderate fluorescence quantum yield of 0.52 could be achieved even in the polar solvent dimethylformamide. Red light emission with good fluorescence quantum yields (up to 0.50) was also observed in the bulk solid, liquid, and film state.     

Annealing of silver nanolayers sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene

Silver nanolayers sputtered on polytetrafluoroethylene and their changes induced by post‐deposition annealing at 100–300 °C are studied. Changes in surface morphology and roughness are examined by atomic force microscopy and by measurement of electrical sheet resistance by two‐point technique. Chemical composition was determined by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrokinetic analysis in dependence on the gold layer thickness. The annealing at 300 °C leads to significant rearrangement of the silver layer, and the transition threshold increases to 35 nm. The presence of oxidized structures on silver‐coated samples is observed in XPS spectra and by electrokinetic analysis, too. Annealing of pristine and silver‐coated poly(tetrafluoroethylene) at 300 °C results in significant change of the sample surface morphology and chemistry. There is observed formation of isolated silver islands on the surface, which could be connected with silver melting. Later, the silver agglomeration takes place. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Propylene Glycol and Ethoxylated Surfactant Effects on the Phase Behavior of Water/Sucrose Stearate/Oil System

In this work, we studied the phase behavior as function of temperature of water/sucrose stearate/propylene glycol/oil and water/sucrose stearate/ethoxylated mono‐di‐glyceride/oil systems. The oils were R (+)‐limonene, isopropylmyristate, and caprylic‐capric triglyceride. It was found that adding propylene glycol and ethoxylated mono‐di‐glyceride to the water/sucrose stearate/R (+)‐limonene and water/sucrose stearate/isopropylmyristate systems decreases the temperature and surfactants concentration needed for the formation of a microemulsion phase region and no three phase region is observed. In the case of water/sucrose stearate/caprylic‐capric triglyceride system a three phase region is observed. In the caprylic‐capric based system, it was found that increasing the propylene glycol and ethoxylated mono‐di‐glyceride contents decrease the phase inversion temperature and increases the efficiency. In the case where the mixed surfactants (sucrose stearate and ethoxylated mono‐di‐glyceride) were present in the system, the efficiencies observed are higher than those observed in the system based on the mixture of sucrose stearate and propylene glycol.