Separation of 133Ba and 137Cs from Mixtures of 133Ba and 137Cs by Environmentally Benign PEG-Based Aqueous Biphasic System

Journal of Solution Chemistry - Thermodynamics of the protonation of chelidamic acid (4-oxo-1,4-dihydropyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid) was studied using potentiometry and calorimetry in...     

Advantage of Quantum Theory over Nonclassical Models of Communication

Quantum correlations provide dramatic advantage over the corresponding classical resources in several communication tasks. However, a broad class of probabilistic theories exists that attributes greater success than quantum theory in many of these tasks by allowing supra-quantum correlations in “space-like” and/or “time-like” paradigms. In this letter, a communication task involving three spatially separated parties is proposed where one party (verifier) aims to verify whether the bit strings possessed by the other two parties (terminals) are equal or not. This task is called authentication with limited communication, the restrictions on communication being: i) the terminals cannot communicate with each other, but (ii) each of them can communicate with the verifier through single use of channels with limited capacity. Manifestly, classical resources are not sufficient for perfect success of this task. Moreover, it is also not possible to perform this task with certainty in several nonclassical theories although they might possess stronger “space-like” and/or “time-like” correlations. Surprisingly, quantum resources can achieve the perfect winning strategy. The proposed task thus stands apart from all previously known communication tasks as it exhibits quantum advantage over other nonclassical strategies.     

Vertical distribution and radiological risk assessment of natural radionuclides in the alluvial soil profile of south-west Punjab,India

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Natural radionuclide levels are studied in alluvial sediments upto the depth of 900 cm. Eighteen profiles are selected from agricultural...     

Hydrophilic interaction LC–MS/MS method to avoid endogenous interference in the analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from dietary supplementation of fenugreek

4-Hydroxy isoleucine is one of the potent hypoglycemic active constituents of fenugreek seeds. A method capable of reducing biological interferences is required for bioavailability studies. An isocratic separation of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from endogenous interferences was achieved in ZIC-cHILIC column using 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile (20:80, % v/v) pumped at 0.5 ml/min. Quantification was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of m/z 148.1→102.1 and m/z 276.1→142.2 for 4-hydroxy isoleucine and homatropine (as internal standard), respectively. After full method validation, 4-hydroxy isoleucine levels in human plasma and commercial fenugreek formulations were determined. This method showed good linearity in the range of 50–2000 ng/mL. Intra- and interday accuracies were in the range of 90.64–109.0% and precision was <4.82% CV. The mean (SD) plasma concentration of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in healthy individuals at 2 h after oral administration of fenugreek tablet was found to be 1590 (260) ng/mL. Half of marketed formulations were found to contain <0.05% of 4-hydroxy isoleucine content. We developed a rapid hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human plasma. This method can be applied directly to conduct the clinical pharmacokinetics studies of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human population.     

A comparison of the effect of nanotube chirality and electronic properties on the π–π interaction of single‐wall carbon nanotubes with pyrazinamide antitubercular drug

Theoretical investigation on local electronic structure and stability of the π–π stacking interaction of pyrazinamide (PZA) with armchair (5,5) and zigzag (9,0) single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is performed using density functional theory (DFT). PZA is physisorbed onto nanotube sidewall through interaction of π orbitals of PZA and SWCNT and the enhanced structural stability of PZA/SWCNT systems is due to weak side‐on rather than the head‐on π‐interactions. The physisorption of PZA onto SWCNT sidewall is thermodynamically favored; as a consequence, it modulates the electronic properties of pristine nanotube in the vicinity of Fermi region and π–π stacked interactions is stronger in (9,0) SWCNT compared to (5,5) SWCNT. The density of states (DOS) analysis show that PZA contributes toward the enhancement of electronic states. Projected DOS and frontier orbital analysis in the vicinity of Fermi level region suggest the electronic states to be contributed from SWCNT rather than PZA. In addition, hybrid DFT calculation which includes the dispersion correction is employed to explain the non‐covalent π–π stacking interaction between PZA and SWCNT. The local density approximation and GGA results are compared with DFT‐D to explain near about accurately the weak nonbonded van der Waals interactions between PZA and SWCNTs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

MWCNTs-ZrO2 as a reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of N-heterocyclic scaffolds under green reaction medium

A simple, efficient, and facile heterogeneous multi-walled carbon nanotubes-zirconia nanocomposite (MWCNTs-ZrO₂) has been synthesized using natural feedstock coconut juice (água-de-coco do Ceará). The synthesized catalyst was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The heterogeneous nanocomposite has been used for one-pot synthesis of various N-heterocyclic compounds like pyrazoles, 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles, 2-arylbenzazoles, and 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones under green reaction medium at room temperature. This novel method has several advantages, such as short reaction time, simple work-up, excellent yield, and green reaction conditions. The catalyst was recycled up to four times without significant loss in catalytic activity.     

Coumarinyl azoimidazolyl complexes of osmium(II) hydridocarbonyls: spectroscopic and structural characterization,oxidation catalysis,photovoltaic effect and density functional theory computation

Os(II) hydridocarbonyl complexes of coumarinyl azoimidazoles, [Osh(CO)(PPh₃)₂(CZ‐4R‐R′)]^0/+ ( 3 , 4 ) (CZ‐R‐H = 2‐(coumarinyl‐6‐azo)‐4‐substituted imidazole or 1‐alkyl‐2‐(coumarinyl‐6‐azo)‐4‐substituted imidazole), were characterized from spectroscopic data and the single‐crystal X‐ray data for one of the complexes, [Osh(CO)(PPh₃)₂(CZ‐4‐Ph)] ( 3c ) (CZ‐4‐Ph = 2‐(coumarinyl‐6‐azo)‐4‐phenylimidazolate), confirmed the structure. The complexes show higher emission (quantum yield ? = 0.0163–0.16) and longer lifetime (τ = 1.4–10.3 ns) than free ligands (? = 0.0012–0.0185 and τ = 0.685–1.306 ns). Cyclic voltammetry shows quasi‐reversible metal oxidation at 0.67–0.94 V for [Os(III)/Os(II)] and 1.21–1.36 V for [Os(IV)/Os(III)] and subsequent azo reductions (?0.68 to ?0.95 V for [? N?N? ]/[? N N? ]^? and irreversible < ?1.2 V for [? N N? ]^?/[? N? N? ]^2?) of the chelated coumarinyl azoimidazole. The complexes are photostable and show better photovoltaic power conversion efficiency than free ligands. Also, the complexes were used as catalysts for the oxidation of primary/secondary alcohols to aldehydes/ketones using oxidizing agents like N‐methylmorpholine N‐oxide, t‐BuOOH and H₂O₂. Density functional theory computation was carried out from the optimized structures and the data obtained were used to interpret the electronic and photovoltaic properties. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ab initio study on the noncovalent adsorption of camptothecin anticancer drug onto graphene, defect modified graphene and graphene oxide

The application of graphene and related nanomaterials like boron nitride (BN) nanosheets, BN-graphene hybrid nanomaterials, and graphene oxide (GO) for adsorption of anticancer chemotherapeutic camptothecin (CPT) along with the effect on electronic properties prior to functionalization and after functionalization has been reported using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The inclusion of dispersion correction to DFT is instrumental in accounting for van der Waals π–π stacking between CPT and the nanomaterial. The adsorption of CPT exhibits significant strain within the nanosheets and noncovalent adsorption of CPT is thermodynamically favoured onto the nanosheets. In case of GO, surface incorporation of functional groups result in significant crumpling along the basal plane and the interaction is basically mediated by H-bonding rather than π–π stacking. Docking studies predict the plausible binding of CPT, CPT functionalized graphene and GO with topoisomerase I (top 1) signifying that CPT interacts through π stacking with AT and GC base pairs of DNA and in presence of nano support, DNA bases preferentially gets bound to the basal plane of graphene and GO rather than the edges. At a theoretical level of understanding, our studies point out the noncovalent interaction of CPT with graphene based nanomaterials and GO for loading and delivery of anticancer chemotherapeutic along with active binding to Top1 protein.