A gadolinium-based magnetic ionic liquid for supramolecular dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by HPLC/UV for the determination of favipiravir in human plasma

Favipiravir is a potential antiviral medication that has been recently licensed for Covid-19 treatment. In this work, a gadolinium-based magnetic ionic liquid was prepared and used as an extractant in dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) of favipiravir in human plasma. The high enriching ability of DLLME allowed the determination of favipiravir in real samples using HPLC/UV with sufficient sensitivity. The effects of several variables on extraction efficiency were investigated, including type of extractant, amount of extractant, type of disperser and disperser volume. The maximum enrichment was attained using 50 mg of the Gd-magnetic ionic liquid (MIL) and 150 μl of tetrahydrofuran. The Gd-based MIL could form a supramolecular assembly in the presence of tetrahydrofuran, which enhanced the extraction efficiency of favipiravir. The developed method was validated according to US Food and Drug Administration bioanalytical method validation guidelines. The coefficient of determination was 0.9999, for a linear concentration range of 25 to 1.0 × 10⁵ ng/ml. The percentage recovery (accuracy) varied from 99.83 to 104.2%, with RSD values (precision) ranging from 4.07 to 11.84%. The total extraction time was about 12 min and the HPLC analysis time was 5 min. The method was simple, selective and sensitive for the determination of favipiravir in real human plasma.     

Polymer 4D printing: Advanced shape-change and beyond

4D printing is an exciting branch of additive manufacturing. It relies on established 3D printing techniques to fabricate objects in much the same way. However, structures which fall into the 4D printed category have the ability to change with time, hence the “extra dimension.” The common perception of 4D printed objects is that of macroscopic single-material structures limited to point-to-point shape change only, in response to either heat or water. However, in the area of polymer 4D printing, recent advancements challenge this understanding. A host of new polymeric materials have been designed which display a variety of wonderful effects brought about by unconventional stimuli, and advanced additive manufacturing techniques have been developed to accommodate them. As a result, the horizons of polymer 4D printing have been broadened beyond what was initially thought possible. In this review, we showcase the many studies which evolve the very definition of polymer 4D printing, and reveal emerging areas of research integral to its advancement.     

两个基于2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸和咪唑衍生物的超分子钴配位聚合物的结构及光催化反应

本文以咪唑衍生物为配体,通过水热合成法与钴离子制备出两个配位聚合物:{[Co(DTA)(1,4-DIB)(H₂O)]·H₂O}_n(1)和[Co(DTA)(1,3-BMIB)]_n(2)(1,4-DIB=1,4-二(1H-咪唑-1-基)苯; 1,3-BMIB=1,3-二(4-甲基-1H-咪唑-1-基)苯;H₂DTA=2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸)。利用X射线单晶衍射、粉末衍射、热失重、元素分析、红外光谱以及固体紫外-可见光谱等对两个配合物进行了表征。结构分析证实配合物1和2是通过二维结构堆积成的三维超分子化合物。粉末衍射测试则显示两个配合物在水中有很好的稳定性。固体紫外-可见光谱显示两个配合物属半导体材料,对紫外-可见光有很强的吸收作用。在光催化实验中,配合物1和2可加快亚甲基蓝的降解速度。     

Developing the Low-Temperature Oxidation Mechanism of Cyclopentane: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

At present, the reactivity of cyclic alkanes is estimated by comparison with acyclic hydrocarbons. Due to the difference in the structure of cycloalkanes and acycloalkanes, the thermodynamic data obtained by analogy are not applicable. In this study, a molecular beam sampling vacuum ultraviolet photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MB-VUV-PI-TOFMS) was applied to study the low-temperature oxidation of cyclopentane (CPT) at a total pressure range from 1–3 atm and low-temperature range between 500 and 800 K. Low-temperature reaction products including cyclic olefins, cyclic ethers, and highly oxygenated intermediates (e. g., ketohydroperoxide KHP, keto-dihydroperoxide KDHP, olefinic hydroperoxides OHP and ketone structure products) were observed. Further investigation of the oxidation of CPT – electronic structure calculations – were carried out at the UCCSD(T)-F12a/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31+ G(d,p) level to explore the reactivity of O₂ molecules adding sequentially to cyclopentyl radicals. Experimental and theoretical observations showed that the dominant product channel in the reaction of CPT radicals with O₂ is HO₂ elimination yielding cyclopentene. The pathways of second and third O₂ addition – the dissociation of hydroperoxide – were further confirmed. The results of this study will develop the low-temperature oxidation mechanism of CPT, which can be used for future research on accurately simulating the combustion process of CPT.     

Helicate tris(aryl)carbinolates bearing pendant NR2 donors – a new family of supporting ligands for the synthesis of Sc3+ alkyl complexes

The reactions of aryllithium reagents o-LiC₆H₄CH₂NR₂ with (MeO)₂CO afford two new tris(aryl)carbinols bearing pendant-NR₂ donor groups in the side chain [o-R NCH C H ] COH [R = Me, R + R = (CH) ]. These alcohols feature helical chirality due to differently inclined aromatic fragments and are presented in a crystalline cell as two M and P enantiomers. Carbinol (R = Me) readily reacts with (Me3SiCH2)3Sc(THF)2 to give a scandium bis(alkyl) complex [(o-C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂)₃CO]Sc(CH₂SiMe₃)₂ featuring rigid binding of the alkoxy anion through a κ¹-O, κ²-N chelating coordination mode     

基于快速神经网络架构搜索的鲁棒图像水印网络算法

为解决深度学习在图像水印算法中计算量大且模型冗余的问题，提高图像水印算法在抵抗噪声、旋转和剪裁等攻击时的鲁棒性，提出基于快速神经网络架构搜索（neural architecture search，NAS）的鲁棒图像水印网络算法。通过多项式分布学习快速神经网络架构搜索算法，在预设的搜索空间中搜索最优网络结构，进行图像水印的高效嵌入与鲁棒提取。首先，将子网络中线性连接的全卷积层设置为独立的神经单元结构，并参数化表示结构单元内节点的连接，预先设定结构单元内每个神经元操作的搜索空间；其次，在完成一个批次的数据集训练后，依据神经元操作中的被采样次数和平均损失函数值动态更新概率；最后，重新训练搜索完成的网络。水印网络模型的参数量较原始网络模型缩减了92%以上，大大缩短了模型训练时间。由于搜索得到的网络结构更为紧凑，本文算法具有较高的时间性能和较好的实验效果，在隐藏图像时，对空域信息的依赖比原始网络更少。对改进前后的2个网络进行了大量鲁棒性实验，对比发现，本文算法在CIFAR-10数据集上对抵抗椒盐噪声和旋转、移除像素行（列）等攻击优势显著；在ImageNet数据集上对抵抗椒盐高斯噪声、旋转、中值滤波、高斯滤波、JPEG压缩、裁剪等攻击优势显著，特别是对随机移除行（列）和椒盐噪声有较强的鲁棒性。     

One-pot,one-step,and selective terpolymerization of ethylene oxide,propylene oxide,and COS to copoly(thioether)s with tunable thermal properties

Facile construction of sulfur-rich polymers using readily available raw chemicals is an area aggressively pursued but challenging. Herein we use common feedstocks of ethylene oxide (EO), propylene oxide (PO), and carbonyl sulfide (COS) to synthesize copoly(thioether)s which are traditionally produced from unpleasant and difficult to store episulfides. In this protocol, the EO/COS coupling selectively generates a pure poly(ethylene sulfide) (PES) with melting temperature (T_m) values up to 172°C and high yields up to 98%. The EO/PO/COS terpolymerization leads to the incorporation of soft poly(propylene sulfide) (PPS) and hard PES segments together, affording a random PES-co-PPS copoly(thioether) with the complete consumption of EO and PO. Additionally, by simply varying the EO/PO feeding ratio, the obtained copoly(thioether)s possess tunable thermal properties, T_m values in the range of 76–144°C, and excellent solubility. These copolymerizations are conducted in one-pot/one-step at industrially favored reaction temperatures of 100–120°C using catalysts of common organic bases, suggesting a facile and practical manner. Especially, the copoly(thioether) exhibits high refractive indices up to 1.68 owing to its high sulfur content, suggesting a broad application prospect in optical materials.     

Application of microcrystalline cellulose as an efficient and cheap sorbent for the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater before HPLC–MS/MS determination

A dispersive solid-phase extraction method based on a new sorbent has been performed on plasma and wastewater samples to determine metoprolol by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In this study, the analyte was adsorbed from the samples onto microcrystalline cellulose as a green and efficient sorbent and then eluted for use in the determination step. In the mass spectrometer, the analyte was detected in the positive mode and selectivity of the analysis was increased by sequential mass analysis through multiple reaction monitoring. All of the effective parameters in the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater were optimized. Under optimal conditions the method was linear in the ranges of 1–1,000 and 0.1–1,000 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.30 and 0.03 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The data showed that the method provides low detection limit, wide linear range, good precision and high extraction recovery. Finally several plasma and wastewater samples were successfully analyzed using the method. The use of a small amount of a green and inexpensive sorbent and a low volume of plasma without the need for further pretreatment steps are the main advantages of the method.     

Chemical bonding in representative astrophysically relevant neutral,cation, and anion HCnH chains

Most existing studies assign a polyynic and cumulenic character of chemical bonding in carbon-based chains relying on values of the bond lengths. Building on our recent work, in this paper we add further evidence on the limitations of such an analysis and demonstrate the significant insight gained via natural bond analysis. Presently reported results include atomic charges, natural bond order and valence indices obtained from ab initio computations for representative members of the astrophysically relevant neutral and charged HC_2k/2k+1H chain family. They unravel a series of counter-intuitive aspects and/or help naive intuition in properly understanding microscopic processes, e.g., electron removal from or electron attachment to a neutral chain. Demonstrating that the Wiberg indices adequately quantify the chemical bonding structure of the HC_2k/2k+1H chains—while the often heavily advertised Mayer indices do not—represents an important message conveyed by the present study.     

对氯苯甲酸构筑的铜(Ⅱ)配合物的合成、HSA结合及细胞毒性

本文合成了配合物[Cu(pcba)₂·(phen)(H₂O)] (pcba =对氯苯甲酸,phen = 1,10-邻菲罗啉),该配合物属于三斜晶系,P1空间群,晶胞参数为a=0.790 98(2) nm,b=1.072 40(4) nm,c=1.487 19(6) nm,α=100.613(3)°,β=95.239(3)°,γ=108.334(3)°,Z=2,D_c=1.638 g·cm^-3,F(000)=582,最终结构残差因子R₁=0.035 9,wR₂=0.089 1。采用紫外及荧光研究了配合物和人血清蛋白(HSA)的相互作用方式。结果表明,配合物静态猝灭HSA荧光,可求得配合物与HSA的猝灭常数K_sv=2.35×10⁵ L·mol^-1,猝灭速率常数K_q=2.35×10¹³ L·mol^-1·s^-1,结合常数为K_a=2.14×10¹³ L·mol^-1,结合位点n=2.37。同时,研究了配合物对胃癌细胞A549、宫颈癌细胞Hela和肝癌细胞HepG2的抗增殖能力。