Sandwich structures at oil-water interfaces under alkaline conditions

Equilibrium liquid crystal (LC) layer on an interface between crude oils and water was observed at high pH. This layer is composed mainly of sodium naphthenates produced in situ at the water/oil interface. Transient LC layer was also evolved at the interface of aqueous phase of sodium hydroxide solutions and oleic phase of naphthenic acid (NA) solutions as result of a chemical reaction between NaOH and NA. This chemical reaction causes transport process resulting in a disturbance of the interface. Optical observation of this interface disturbance reviled that the interface covered with LC shows considerably lower flexibility as compared to LC free interface. The LC layer eventually dissolves in the water phase at low oil-to-water ratio, while at high oil-to-water ratio it can form an equilibrium phase, which spreads spontaneously at the oil-water interface.     

Analysis of amino acids by combination of carrier ampholyte-free IEF with ITP

The use of carrier ampholyte-free IEF (CAF-IEF) with ITP mobilization and conductivity detection in ITP mode for preconcentration and analysis of amino acids is demonstrated. The analytical procedure consists of three subsequent steps. In the first step, amino acids are continuously dosed from an infinite volume reservoir by electromigration to the column, where a sharp, stationary neutralization reaction boundary (NRB) is created in between acidic and basic primary electrolyte. Here, amino acids are selectively focused (trapped), if their pI falls to the pH difference on both sides of the NRB (pH gap). Amino acids create sharp rectangular zones, arranged according to their pI values. In the second step, focused zones are mobilized. After accumulation of the detectable amount of amino acids, dosing electrolyte in the infinite volume reservoir is changed for the mobilizing electrolyte. The migration mode is changed from CAF-IEF to ITP and substances start to migrate toward the analytical capillary. In the third step, analytes are transferred into the analytical column equipped with a conductivity detector and are detected in the new leading electrolyte in an ITP migration mode. The presented CAF-IEF-ITP-ITP with time-dependent accumulation of the large-volume sample enables to achieve in a reasonable time a 100 times lower c-LOD (here in orders of nmol/L), than can be reached by conventional hyphenated ITP-ITP.     

H-aggregation of azobenzene-substituted amphiphiles in vesicular membranes

Photochemical switching has been studied of double-tailed phosphate amphiphiles containing azobenzene units in both tails in aqueous vesicular dispersions and in mixed vesicular systems with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). Since the ease of switching depends on the strength of the bilayer packing, particular emphasis has been placed on the occurrence of H-aggregation in the hydrophobic core of the vesicles. UV-vis spectrometry was employed to monitor H-aggregation and showed how this process depends on the ionic strength and on the mode of preparation of the vesicles. Two types of H-aggregates were observed in mixed DOPC vesicles with 5 mol % of azobenzene phosphate: one with lambda(max) at around 300 nm and one with lambda(max) at 305-320 nm. Those with lambda(max) at 300 nm could not be trans-cis photoisomerized, whereas those with lambda(max) at 305-320 nm are more loosely packed and can be photochemically switched. The permeability of the vesicular bilayers, as probed with leakage experiments using calcein as a fluorescent probe, was examined as another measure for the strength of bilayer packing. Leakage occurred only for DOPC vesicles containing more than 20 mol % of azobenzenephosphate, irradiated with UV light to induce trans-cis photoisomerization. We contend that detailed information on bilayer packing will be of crucial importance for fine-tuning the lateral pressure in vesicular membranes with the ultimate aim to steer the opening and closing of mechanosensitive protein channels of large conductance.     

Unsymmetrically substituted 9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracenes as versatile building blocks for boron-doped π-conjugated systems

The targeted hydrolysis of the 9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene adduct (Me(2)S)HB(C(6)H(4))(2)BH(SMe(2)) (1) with 0.5 equiv of H(2)O leads to formation of the borinic acid anhydride [(Me(2)S)HB(C(6)H(4))(2)B](2)O (2) and thereby provides access to the field of unsymmetrically substituted 9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracenes. Compound 2 reacts with tBuC≡CH to give the corresponding vinyl derivative in an essentially quantitative conversion. Subsequent cleavage of the B-O-B bridge by LiAlH(4) with formation of hydridoborate functionalities is possible but is accompanied by partial B-C(vinyl) bond degradation. This situation changes when the related mesityl derivative [MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)B](2)O (7) is employed, which can be synthesized from BrB(C(6)H(4))(2)BBr (6) by treatment with 1 equiv of MesMgBr and subsequent hydrolysis. The reaction of 7 with LiAlH(4) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) furnishes Li[MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)BH(2)] (8); hydride elimination with Me(3)SiCl leads to formation of the THF adduct MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)BH(THF) (9·THF). Alternatively, 7 can be transformed into the bromoborane MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)BBr (10) by treatment with BBr(3). A Br/H-exchange reaction between 10 and Et(3)SiH yields the donor-free borane MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)BH (9), which forms B-H-B bridged dimers (9)(2) in the solid state. The vinyl borane MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)BC(H)=C(H)Mes (14) is accessible from MesC≡CH and either 9·THF or 9. Compared with the related compound Mes(2)BC(H)=C(H)Mes, the electronic absorption and emission spectra of 14 reveal bathochromic shifts of Δλ(abs)=17 nm and Δλ(em)=74 nm, which can be attributed to the rigid, fully delocalized π framework of the [MesB(C(6)H(4))(2)B] chromophore.     

Optimisation of high performance liquid chromatography separation of neuroprotective peptides. Fractional experimental designs combined with artificial neural networks

The study of experimental design conjunction with artificial neural networks for optimisation of isocratic ion-pair reverse phase HPLC separation of neuroprotective peptides is reported. Different types of experimental designs (full-factorial, fractional) were studied as suitable input and output data sources for ANN training and examined on mixtures of humanin derivatives. The independent input variables were: composition of mobile phase, including its pH, and column temperature. In case of a simple mixture of two peptides, the retention time of the most retentive component and resolution were used as the dependent variables (outputs). In case of a complex mixture with unknown number of components, number of peaks, sum of resolutions and retention time of ultimate peak were considered as output variables. Fractional factorial experimental design has been proved to produce sufficient input data for ANN approximation and thus further allowed decreasing the number of experiments necessary for optimisation. After the optimal separation conditions were found, fractions with peptides were collected and their analysis using off-line matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was performed.     

The cleavage of heterocyclic compounds in organic synthesis II Use of 5‐nitroisatine for synthesis of various nitrogenous heterocycles

The reactions of 5‐nitroisatine were studied with nucleophiles like heterocyclic amines and alkaline hydroxide. With the use of alkaline hydroxide it was converted into 2‐amino‐5‐nitrophenylglyoxylic acid 2 , with piperidine, morpholine and carbethoxypiperazine to its amides 4a‐4c or by oxidation to 5‐nitroanthranilic acid 7. This acid was used for synthesis of 3‐hydroxy‐6‐nitro‐2‐phenyl‐1H‐quinolin‐4‐one 10. Semicarbazone of 5‐nitroisatine 11 was converted to 5‐(2‐amino‐5‐nitrophenyl)‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,2,4‐triazine‐3,5‐dione 12. Cyclocondensation of this compound to afford 8‐nitro‐2,3‐dihydro‐5H‐[1,2,4]triazino‐[5,6‐b]indol‐3‐one 13 was unsuccessful.     

Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with a rotating ball interface

A rotating ball interface for surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry was designed and tested. One side of the ball was exposed to atmospheric pressure and the other to the vacuum in a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer. Analytes (arginine, atenolol, reserpine, tofisopam, and chloropyramine) were applied using electrospray to a silicon substrate on the atmospheric side, the ball was rotated 180°, and the analyte was desorbed on the vacuum side using a pulsed, 200 Hz, 355 nm laser. In order to increase the desorption area, the laser focus was scanned over the substrate in a raster pattern repeated once every second. The design allows for rapid sample throughout with a sample turn‐around time as short as 5 s. Newly produced porous silicon substrates initially yielded very low ion signals, and they required several hundred laser shots to attain maximum sensitivity. In contrast, amorphous silicon did not require such ‘activation’. Quantitative analysis showed a sample‐to‐sample reproducibility of about 10%. The sensitivities with model analytes were in the 1000 to 10 000 ions/fmole range and detection limits in the low fg range. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylideneamino)-8-hydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid as a reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of boron in ceramic materials

A sensitive and selective spectrophotometric method for the determination of boron is described. The method is based on the colour reaction between boron and the reagent 1-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylideneamino)-8-hydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid (HMOA). In a HOAc-NH4OAc buffer of pH 5.5, HMOA reacts with boron to form a 1:2 yellow complex with a maximum absorption at 423 nm. The absorbance (lambdamax = 423 nm) is linear up to 1.2 microg ml(-1) boron in aqueous solution with a repeatability (RSD) of 1.12%. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity are 7.19 x 10(3) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.0015 microg cm(-2), respectively. The limit of quantification and limit of detection were found to be 17.1 and 5.2 ng ml(-1), respectively. The interference of various ions was examined in detail. All the metal ions studied can be tolerated in considerable amounts; in particular, the tolerance limits of Fe, Al, Zn, Ca and Mg are superior to those of other reagents such as Azomethine-H and Azomethine-HR. The proposed method was applied to the determination of boron in ceramic materials with satisfactory results.     

Compartmentalized polymerization initiated by oil-soluble initiators. Calculation of average number of radicals per particle

Expressions for calculating the stationary state distribution of radicals in compartmentalized systems with a constant number of reaction loci containing an oil-soluble initiator are given. Besides pairwise formation of radicals in the particles, desorption and reabsorption, water phase termination, solubility of the initiator in the aqueous phase, and the possibility of formation of a single radical species are taken into consideration. The calculation is based on a probabilistic analysis leading to a third-order recurrence relation solved using confluent, hypergeometric Kummer functions. Some calculated curves illustrating the de-pendence of the average number of radicals per particle on various relevant parameters are included. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The lowest singlet-triplet excitation energy of BN: A converged coupled cluster perspective

The notoriously small X 3Pi-a 1Sigma+ excitation energy of the BN diatomic has been calculated using high-order coupled cluster methods. Convergence has been established in both the one-particle basis set and the coupled cluster expansion. Explicit inclusion of connected quadruple excitations T4 is required for even semiquantitative agreement with the limit value, while connected quintuple excitations T5 still have an effect of about 60 cm(-1). Still higher excitations only account for about 10 cm(-1). Inclusion of inner-shell correlation further reduces Te by about 60 cm(-1) at the CCSDT, and 85 cm(-1) at the CCSDTQ level. Our best estimate, Te = 183+/-40 cm(-1), is in excellent agreement with earlier calculations and experiment, albeit with a smaller (and conservative) uncertainty. The dissociation energy of BN(X 3Pi) is De = 105.74+/-0.16 kcal/mol and D0 = 103.57+/-0.16 kcal/mol.