On-line Method for Montelukast Determination in Bile Salt Medium with Multivariate Optimization and Fluorescent Detection

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - The present development involved a flow injection strategy using a mini-column of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and fluorescent detection (λex of 283 nm,...     

Ozonolysis of a Series of Methylated Alkenes: Reaction Rate Coefficients and Gas‐Phase Products

The gas‐phase ozonolysis of three methylated alkenes, i.e., trans‐2,2‐dimethyl‐3‐hexene (22dM3H), trans‐2,5‐dimethyl‐3‐hexene (25dM3H), and 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene (4M1P), has been investigated in the presence of sufficient hydroxyl radical scavenger in a laminar flow reactor at ambient temperature (296 ± 2 K) and P = 1 atm of dry air (RH ≤ 5%). Ozone levels in the reactor were monitored by an automatic analyzer. Alkene and gas‐phase product concentrations were determined via online sampling either on three‐bed adsorbent cartridges followed by thermodesorption and GC/FID‐MS analysis or on 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) cartridges for subsequent HPLC/UV analysis. Reaction rate coefficients of (3.38 ± 0.12) × 10^?17 for 22dM3H and (2.71 ± 0.26) × 10^?17 for 25dM3H, both in cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 units, have been obtained under pseudo–first‐order conditions. Primary carbonyl products have been identified for the three investigated alkenes, and branching ratios are reported. In the case of 4M1P ozonolysis, the yield of a Criegee intermediate was indirectly determined. Kinetics and product study results are compared to those of literature when available. This work represents the first investigation of reaction products in the ozonolysis of 22dM3H, 25dM3H, and 4M1P in a flow reactor.     

Photoluminescent properties and Raman spectra of ZnO-based scintillating glasses

Glasses in SiO₂–ZnO–BaO system with the different ZnO/BaO ratio were studied. In some cases, BaF₂ was introduced to substitute for BaO on the equal base. Photoluminescent spectra showed that ZnO in glass matrices behaved somewhat differently from ZnO crystals. Especially, the introduction of fluorine ions led to dramatic shift of UV emission band of glasses closer to that of ZnO crystals. Raman spectral analysis provided consistent results. In particular, Raman bands in the high frequency region are sensitive to effects of different ZnO/BaO or BaF₂/BaO ratio on structure of glasses.     

Biosorption of Chromium(III) by Biomass of Seaweed Sargassum sp. in a Fixed-Bed Column

This work aimed at modeling chromium biosorption using the biomass of seaweed Sargassum sp. in a fixed-bed column. The mathematical model used was obtained from the mass balance of the component in the liquid phase and in the biosorbent material. The effects of both axial dispersion in the column and the resistance to mass transfer in the solid were considered for the solution of the partial differential equations of the model, using the Galerkin method on finite elements. To represent the equilibrium data of the batch system the Langmuir isotherm were used. The chromium ion adsorption capacity of the seaweed Sargassum sp., at a temperature of 30°C and pH 3.5, was 2.61 mmol/g. The model performance was evaluated from experimental data obtained at 30°C for flow rates of 2, 6 and 8 mL/min. The parameters of the model, mass transfer and axial dispersion coefficients, were adjusted from these experimental data. The model proved adequate to describe chromium biosorption dynamics in fixed-bed columns.     

Loss in a rectangular optical waveguide induced by the crossover of a second waveguide

We calculate the loss induced in a single-mode rectangular optical waveguide by the presence of a second waveguide, perpendicular to the first, which crosses over the first waveguide at a variable distance d. Our calculation is applied to the analysis of several doped silica waveguides of practical importance for optical circuit design.     

High-throughput purification of combinatorial libraries I: a high-throughput purification system using an accelerated retention window approach

We have developed a high-throughput purification system to purify combinatorial libraries at a 50-100-mg scale with a throughput of 250 samples/instrument/day. We applied an accelerated retention window method to shorten the purification time and targeted one fraction per injection to simplify data tracking, lower QC workload, and simplify the postpurification processing. First, we determined the accurate retention time and peak height for all compounds using an eight-channel parallel LC/UV/MS system, and calculated the specific preparative HPLC conditions for individual compounds. The preparative HPLC conditions include the compound-specific gradient segment for individual compounds with a fixed gradient slope and the compound-specific UV or ELSD threshold for triggering a fraction collection device. A unique solvent composition or solvent strength was programmed for each compound in the preparative HPLC in order to elute all compounds at the same target time. Considering the possible deviation of the predicted retention time, a 1-min window around the target time was set to collect peaks above a threshold based on UV or ELSD detection. Dual column preparative instruments were used to maximize throughput. We have purified more than 500 000 druglike compounds using this system in the past 3 years. We report various components of this high-throughput purification system and some of our purification results.     

High-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detection for the determination of phospholipid classes in human milk,infant formulas and phospholipid sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

We developed and validated a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of phospholipid classes in human milk, infant formulas and phospholipidic sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) used in paediatric nutrition. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin were separated in less than 25 min using an Extrasil silica column (150 x 4.0 mm I.D., 3-microm particle size) by isocratic elution with a mixture of isopropanol-hexane-water. Phospholipids were determined by an evaporative light-scattering detector. Several chromatographic conditions were assayed to optimise the method, whose suitability is shown by the detection limits, linearity ranges and precision rates obtained. The main advantages of the proposed method are its speed and the direct determination of the main phospholipids present in human milk, infant formulas and the phospholipid sources of LC-PUFAs used in paediatric nutrition.     

Preparation of quinoxalines, dihydropyrazines, pyrazines and piperazines using tandem oxidation processes

Alpha-hydroxyketones undergo MnO2-mediated oxidation followed by in situ trapping with aromatic or aliphatic 1,2-diamines to give quinoxalines or dihydropyrazines, respectively, in a one pot procedure which avoids the need to isolate the highly reactive 1,2-dicarbonyl intermediates. Modifications of the procedure allow the formation of pyrazines and piperazines.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of zearalenone from wheat and corn

A microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method has been developed for determination of zearalenone in wheat and corn by LC-MS with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface (APCI). Matrix effects were minimized by use of matrix-matched standard curves for quantification of the analyte. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 30 ng g(-1) in wheat and 20 ng g(-1) in corn. The rapid LC-MS method enabled analysis of the extracts without clean-up, thereby reducing analyte losses, the time required for the analytical procedure, and costs. A factorial design approach was used to examine the effect on extraction efficiency of the main extraction conditions - time, temperature, and solvent. On the basis of results from statistical assessment extraction was performed with 1:1 (v/v) methanol-acetonitrile at 80 degrees C for 5 min. When these extraction conditions were applied to a wheat sample from a recently conducted international proficiency test, 92% (103 ng g(-1)) of the assigned zearalenone concentration (112 ng g(-1)) in the test material was obtained. This result was within the uncertainty (u) range of the assigned value of the test material (u=+/-15.8 ng g(-1), alpha=0.05) thereby demonstrating the accuracy of the method was sufficient. The precision of the whole method was also confirmed to be adequate, because the observed relative standard deviation (RSD) of 12% (n=10) also fulfils the quality criteria recommended by European guidelines for in-house method validation.