Liquid Chromatographic Determination of NSAIDs in Urine After Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Based on Solidification of Floating Organic Droplets

An environmentally benign method of sample preparation based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and solidification of floating organic droplets (DLLME-SFO) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection has been developed for analysis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in biological fluids. A low-toxicity solvent was used to replace the chlorinated solvents commonly used in conventional DLLME. Seven conditions were investigated and optimized: type and volume of extraction solvent and dispersive solvent, extraction time, effect of addition of salt, and sample pH. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained in the range 0.01–10 µg mL⁻¹, with coefficients of determination (r ²) >0.9949. Detection limits were in the range 0.0034–0.0052 µg mL⁻¹ with good reproducibility (RSD) and satisfactory inter-day and intra-day recovery (95.7–115.6 %). The method was successfully used for analysis of diclofenac, mefenamic acid, and ketoprofen in human urine. Analysis of urine samples from a patient 2 and 4 h after administration of diclofenac revealed concentrations of 1.20 and 0.34 µg mL⁻¹, respectively.

     

Separation Study of Eight Isoflavones by MEKC with Different Surfactants

Isoflavones are a very important group of natural products. This study investigated the separation of eight isoflavones, namely ononin, daidzin, genistin, biochanin A, formononetin, puerarin, genistein, and daidzein, from pueraria by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with different surfactants. The following micellar systems of MEKC were systematically compared for the analysis of these isoflavones: (1) a single surfactant comprising the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, the neutral surfactant polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20), and the ionic liquid-type surfactant (also a cationic surfactant) 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (C₁₂MIMBF₄); (2) different single surfactants with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMImBF₄) as an additive (modifier); and (3) mixed micelles of SDS + Tween 20 and C₁₂MIMBF₄ + Tween 20. Both SDS with BMImBF₄ as additive and mixed micelles of SDS + Tween 20 had the highest separation efficiency for the eight investigated compounds. Furthermore, the SDS with BMImBF₄ as additive was more stable (good repeatability of retention time and peak shape of analytes) than mixed micelles of SDS + Tween 20, which may be the result of a stabilizing effect of BMImBF₄. Therefore, the final analytical conditions were 15 mM SDS added with 50 mM BMImBF₄ in 30 mM sodium tetraborate (STB, pH 9.5) as running buffer; applied voltage, 20 kV; injection, 50 mbar for 5 s; cartridge temperature, 25 °C; compounds were detected at 260 nm. The developed method was fully validated (limit of detection, limit of quantification, intraday precision, inter-day precision, and recovery) and successfully applied to determine the eight analytes in three Radix Puerariae samples. The present study indicated that SDS with ionic liquids as additive in MEKC was suitable for the analysis of isoflavones.

     

A New and Facile Synthesis of Novel Pyrazolothienopyrimidines and Imidazopyrazolothienopyrimidines

4‐Amino‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐1H‐thieno[2,3‐c]pyrazole‐5‐carboxamide ( 5 ), which was synthesized by an innovative method, was used as a versatile precursor for synthesizing pyrazolothienopyrimidines and imidazopyrazolothienopyrimidines compounds. Reaction of amino thienopyrazole carboxamide 5 with triethyl orthoformate afforded thienopyrazolopyrimidine 6 . Chlorination of the latter compound, using phosphorus oxychloride afforded the chloro pyrazolothienopyrimidine 7 , which underwent nucleophilic substitution reactions with various primary and secondary amines to give the alkyl (aryl) amino pyrimidine compounds 8a–d . On the other hand, the reaction of chloropyrimidine 7 with thiourea afforded the pyrimidine thione compound 9 , which was alkylated with α‐halogentaed compounds to afford the S‐alkylated derivatives 10a–c . Also, chloroacetylation of the amino carboxamide 5 using chloroacetyl chloride yielded the chloromethyl pyrazolothienopyrimidine 12 , which underwent nucleophilic substitu‐ tion reactions with various primary and secondary amines to afford the alkyl (aryl) aminomethyl compounds 13a–f . The latter Compounds underwent Mannich reaction to give imidazopyrimidothieno‐ pyrazoles 14a–c . The newly synthesized compounds and their derivatives were fully characterized by elemental and spectral analysis.     

Correlation between electron delocalization and structural planarization in small water rings

The discovery of the covalent‐like character of the hydrogen bonding (H‐bonding) system [Science 342 , 611(2013)] has promoted a renewal of our understanding of the electronic and geometric structures of water clusters. In this work, based on density functional theory calculations, we show that the preferential formation of a stable quasiplanar structure of (H₂O)_n(n = 3–6) is closely related to three kinds of delocalized molecular orbitals (MOs; denoted as MO‐I, II, and III) of water rings. These originate from the 2p lone pair electrons of oxygen (O), the 2p bond electrons of O and the 1s electrons of H and the 2s electrons of O and 1s electrons of H, respectively. To maximize the orbital overlaps of the three MOs, geometric planarization is needed. The contribution of the orbital interaction is more than 30% in all the water rings according to our energy decomposition analysis, highlighting the considerable covalent‐like characters of H‐bonds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Theoretical study on the degradation mechanism of methamidophos and chloramine phosphorus with OH radicals

Theoretical investigation on the gas‐phase degradation reaction mechanism of methamidophos (MAP) and chloramine phosphorus (CHP) with OH radicals is performed. The equilibrium geometries and the harmonic vibration frequencies of the stationary points are obtained at M06‐2x/6‐31+G(d,p) level, and the higher‐level energetic information is further refined at M06‐2x/6–311++G(3df,2p) level. The rate constants for the 14 reaction channels are calculated by the improved canonical variational transition state theory with small‐curvature tunneling correction over the temperature range 200–2000 K. The three‐parameter expressions of k₁(T) = 1.53 × 10^?19T^2.74exp(?1005.12/T), k₂(T) = 1.36 × 10^?20T^3.02exp(?1259.56/T) are given. The total rate constants of all reaction channels of MAP with OH radicals are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Our results indicate that the H‐abstraction reactions on methyl are the major channels for the reaction of MAP and CHP with OH radicals. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A DFT study of DMC formation on Rh‐doped Cu/AC surfaces

The activity and selectivity of heterogeneous catalysts can be significantly improved by dispersion of another active component in the metal substrate. The impact of Rh promoter on the formation of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) via oxidative carbonylation of methanol on Cu–Rh/AC (activated carbon) catalyst was investigated by density functional theory calculations. The most stable configurations of reacting species (CO, OH, CH₃O, monomethyl carbonate, and DMC) adsorbed on the Cu⁰(zero‐valent copper)/AC and Cu–Rh/AC surfaces were determined on the basis of the calculated results. The reaction energy and activation energy of the rate‐limiting steps on the Cu–Rh/AC and Cu⁰/AC surfaces were compared. The activation energies of the rate‐limiting step of CO insertion into dimethoxide are 206.3 and 304.8 kJ mol^?1 on the Cu–Rh/AC and Cu⁰/AC surfaces, respectively. The activation energies of the rate‐limiting step of CO insertion into methoxide are 78.5 and 92.7 kJ/mol on the Cu–Rh/AC and Cu⁰/AC surfaces, respectively. The calculated results indicate that the addition of Rh atom has a significant effect on decreasing the active energy the main pathway for DMC formation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Terpenoids from the Stems of Drypetes congestiflora

Two new eremophilane‐type sesquiterpenoids, 1α‐hydroxyeremophila‐6,9,11‐trien‐8‐one ( 1 ), 4α‐hydroxyeremophila‐1,9‐diene‐3,8‐dione ( 2 ), and a new friedelane‐type triterpenoid, friedelane‐3α,16β‐diol ( 4 ), along with six known terpenoids, 3 and 5 – 9 , have been isolated from the stems of Drypetes congestiflora. Their structures and relative configurations were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses and by comparison of their NMR data with those reported in the literature. All of the compounds, 1 – 9 , were isolated for the first time from this species. Compound 3 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against the A549 and B16F10 cell lines.     

How Does Photoreceptor UVR8 Perceive a UV‐B Signal?

UVR8 is the only known plant photoreceptor that mediates light responses to UV‐B (280–315 nm) of the solar spectrum. UVR8 perceives a UV‐B signal via light‐induced dimer dissociation, which triggers a wide range of cellular responses involved in photomorphogenesis and photoprotection. Two recent crystal structures of Arabidopsis thaliana UVR8 (AtUVR8) have revealed unusual clustering of UV‐B‐absorbing Trp pigments at the dimer interface and provided a structural framework for further mechanistic investigation. This review summarizes recent advances in spectroscopic, computational and crystallographic studies on UVR8 that are directed toward full understanding of UV‐B perception at the molecular level.