Simple and New Method for the Synthesis of β-Acetamido Ketones on a Solid Surface

Diels–Alder reactions of 3-vinylindoles were carried out with methyl acrylate and N-phenylmaleimide as dienophiles under microwave conditions to furnish unreported tetrahydrocarbazoles regio- and stereoselectively in good yields. Further dehydrogenation resulted in new substituted carbazoles.     

Synthesis and Application of a Novel Organosilane Modifier for Surface Paintability of Organosiloxane Sealants

A novel organosilane, N-n-butyl-γ-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane was synthesized through aminization reaction and the chemical structure of resulting products was characterized by ^1HNMR, ^13CNMR, FT-IR and elemental analysis. The results of test on probation for this organosilane proved that it was effective to modify surface-paintability of organosiloxane sealants.     

Development of an LC Method for Simultaneous Analysis of Cinnamic Acid and Paeonol in Rat Plasma, and Its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study after Intragastric Administration of Guizhi–Fuling Capsule

A specific and accurate high-performance liquid chromatographic method for analysis of cinnamic acid (CA) and paeonol (PN) in rat plasma has been developed and validated. Plasma samples were pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol, and the supernatant was injected for reversed-phase separation on a C₁₈ column with acetonitrile–0.1% phosphoric acid 24:76 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow-rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. Phenylbutyric acid was used as the internal standard. Good linear relationships were obtained between response and concentration in the range 0.130–52.0 μg mL^?1 (r = 0.9980) and 0.1785–71.4 μg mL^?1 (r = 0.9950) for CA and PN, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day assay precision (RSD, n = 6) at three concentrations was not above 15.1% for either CA and PN, and accuracy was from 94.3 to 104.7% and from 103.3 to 113.1% for CA and PN, respectively. Mean recovery of CA and PN from plasma samples was 87.5 and 86.8%, respectively, and recovery of the internal standard at a concentration of 1.00 mg mL^?1 was 88.5%. Results from a stability study suggested CA and PN were stable under the experimental conditions used. Finally, the validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of CA and PN in rats after intragastric administration of Guizhi–Fuling capsule. The results obtained would be very useful for evaluation of the clinical efficacy of GFC.     

Characterization of the Ion Beam Focusing in a Mass Spectrometer Using an IonCCD™ Detector

A position sensitive pixel-based detector array, referred to as the IonCCD, has been employed to characterize the ion optics and ion beam focusing in a custom built mass spectrometer designed for soft and reactive landing of mass-selected ions onto surfaces. The IonCCD was placed at several stages along the path of the ion beam to determine the focusing capabilities of the various ion optics, which include an electrodynamic ion funnel, two radiofrequency (rf)-only collision quadrupoles, a mass resolving quadrupole, a quadrupole bender, and two einzel lens assemblies. The focusing capabilities of the rf-only collision quadrupoles and einzel lenses are demonstrated by large decreases in the diameter of the ion beam. In contrast, the mass resolving quadrupole is shown to significantly defocus the mass-selected ion beam resulting in an expansion of the measured ion beam diameter. Combined with SIMION simulations, we demonstrate that the IonCCD can identify minor errors in the alignment of charged-particle optics that result in erratic trajectories and significant deflections of the ion beam. This information may be used to facilitate the design, assembly, and maintenance of custom-built mass spectrometry instrumentation.     

Turbulent Convective Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Graphene–Water Nanofluid Flowing Inside a Horizontal Circular Tube

Turbulent convective heat transfer of graphene–water nanofluids with various concentrations inside a uniformly heated circular tube is studied experimentally. For this purpose, experiments are conducted to measure thermal conductivity, viscosity, pressure drop, and heat transfer coefficient. Results show enhancement of thermal conductivity and moderate increment of viscosity with addition of low amounts of nanoparticles. Moreover, heat transfer coefficient shows relatively high augmentation, and pressure drop remains unchanged. The maximum enhancements are 10.30%, 4.95%, and 6.04% for thermal conductivity, viscosity, and heat transfer coefficient, respectively. UV–Vis spectroscopy results show that the nanofluids are highly stable.     

LC–MS–MS Method for Simultaneous Analysis of Abacavir and Lamivudine in Human Plasma, and Its Application to a Bioequivalence Study

A rapid and sensitive LC–MS–MS method has been developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of abacavir (ABA) and lamivudine (LAM) in human plasma. The analytes were extracted from human plasma by SPE. Nelfinavir (NEL) and emtricitabine (EMT) were used as the internal standards for ABA and LAM, respectively. An RP18 column enabled chromatographic separation of the analytes. The method involves simple isocratic chromatography and MS detection in positive-ionization mode. Validation of the method showed response was a linear function of concentration in the ranges 100.0–7000.0 ng mL^?1 for ABA and 80.0–5000.0 ng mL^?1 for LAM. At the LOQ levels, inter-run and intra-run precision were within 5.80 and 3.51%, respectively, for ABA and within 4.68 and 3.16%, respectively, for LAM. Overall recovery for ABA and LAM was 59.32 and 105.18%, respectively. Total elution time was 2 min only, which enabled quantification of more than 200 plasma samples per day. This validated method was used successfully for analysis of plasma samples from a bioequivalence study.     

Immobilization and Characterization of Glucose Oxidase on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Its Application to Sensing Glucose

The negatively charged （at pH 8.2） glucose oxidase （GOx, pI ca. 4.2） was assembled onto the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWNT）, which was covered （or wrapped） by a layer of positively charged polyelectrolyte poly（dimethyldiallylammonium chloride） （PDDA）, via the electrostatic interaction forming GOx-PDDASWNT nanocomposites. Fourier transform infrared （FTIR）, UV-Vis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS） were used to characterize the growth processes of the nanocomposites. The results indicated that GOx retained its native secondary conformational structure after it was immobilized on the surface of PDDA-SWNT. A biosensor （Nafion-GOx-PDDA-SWNT/GC） was developed by immobilization of GOx-PDDA-SWNT nanocomposites on the surface of glassy carbon （GC） electrode using Nafion （5%） as a binder. The biosensor showed the electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of glucose under the presence of ferrocene monocarboxylic acid （FcM） as an electroactive mediator with a good stability, reproducibility and higher biological affinity. Under an optimal condition, the biosensor could be used to detection of glucose, presenting a typical characteristic of Michaelis-Menten kinetics with the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of KM^app ca. 4.5 mmol/L, with a linear range of the concentration of glucose from 0.5 to 5.5 mmol/L （with correlation coefficient of 0.999） and the detection limit of ca. 83 μmol/L （at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3）. Thus the biosensor was useful in sensing the glucose concentration in serum since the normal glucose concentration in blood serum was around 4.6 mmol/L. The facile procedure of immobilizing GOx used in present work would promote the developments of electrochemical research for enzymes （proteins）, biosensors, biofuel cells and other bioelectrochemical devices.     

Application of Validated TLC—Densitometric Method for Simultaneous Identification and Determination of Losartan Potassium,Telmisartan, and Valsartan in Tablets

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The antihypertensive effect of sartans is a result of inhibition of the binding of angiotensin (AT) II to the AT1 receptor in...     

Water Dissociation Phenomena on a Bipolar Membrane──Current-voltage Curve in Relation with IonicTransport and Limiting Current Density

The water dissociation mechanism on a bipolar membrane under the electrical field was investigated and characterized in terms of ionic transport and limiting current density. It is considered that the depletion layer exists at the junction of a bipolar membrane, which is coincided with the viewpoint of the most literatures, but we also consider that the thickness and conductivity of this layer is not only related with the increase of the applied voltage but also with the limiting current density. Below the limiting current density, the thickness of the depletion layer keeps a constant and the conductivity decreases with the increase of the applied voltage; while above the limiting current density, the depletion thickness will increase with the increase of the applied voltage and the conductivity keeps a very low constant. Based on the data reported in the literatures and independent determinations, the limiting current density was calculated and the experimental curves Ⅰ-Ⅴ in the two directions were com     

Modeling of the Subsonic–Supersonic Flow and Heat Transfer in a DC Arc Plasma Torch

Two-dimensional modeling results are presented concerning the subsonic–supersonic flow and heat transfer within a DC plasma torch used for low-pressure (or soft vacuum) plasma spraying. The so-called fictitious anode method is used in the modeling in order to avoid inclusion of the complex three-dimensional effects near the anode arc root and also to avoid the forced heating of all the incoming cold gas stream by the arc. A nonorthogonal boundary-conforming grid, nonstaggered variable arrangement and the all-speed SIMPLE algorithm are employed for the solution of the governing equations, including gas viscous effects, temperature-dependent properties, and compressible effects. Good agreement of the predictions with available results for a few benchmarked compressible flow problems shows that the new version of the FAST-2D program can be employed for the present plasma flow modeling. Temperature, axial velocity, Mach number, and static pressure contours, and streamlines within the DC arc plasma torch are presented to show the flow and heat transfer characteristics. The flow transits gradually from upstream subsonic regime into downstream supersonic regime with the subsonic–supersonic transition within the cylindrical segment of the torch nozzle. Additional numerical tests show that gas viscosity and Lorentz force have only a slight effect on the plasma flow.     

Conformational Heterogeneity of a Tripeptide in the Solid State and in Solution: Characterization of a γ-Turn Containing Incipient Hairpin in Solution

A terminally blocked tripeptide Boc--Ala-Aib--Ala-OMe 1 with noncoded amino acids forms a novel type of hairpin structure containing a -turn instead of a conventional -turn in the central loop region in solution. This new type structural motif was characterized by NMR and restraint molecular dynamics simulation study. In the solid state peptide 1 adopts an extended backbone conformation and self-assembles to form supramolecular -sheet.     

Rapid and Sensitive LC-MS/MS Method for Quantification of Fexofenadine in Human Plasma——Application to a Bioequivalence Study in Chinese Volunteers

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method（LC-MS/MS）was developed and validated for the quantification of fexofenadine in human plasma,to conduct comparative bioavailability studies.Human plasma was extracted with a mixture of dichloromethane-diethyl ether（volume ratio 2∶3）in a basic environment and the extract was separated on a C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-methanol-10 mmol/L ammonium acetate（volume ratio 45∶45∶10）.The analytes were detected via electrospray ionization（ESI）tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction-monitoring（MRM）mode.The linearity was within a range of 1-1000 ng/mL.The intra-and inter-day precision were〈4.1% and〈4.8%,respectively,and the accuracy was in the range of 95.0%-105%.The method was applied to the quantification of fexofenadine human plasma from 20 healthy male Chinese volunteers,according to a single dose,randomized,two-way crossover design with a two-week washout period.The mean values of major pharmacokinetic parameters of ρmax,AUC0-48,AUC0-∞,tmax,and t1/2 were determined from the plasma concentration.The analysis of variance（ANOVA）did not show any significant difference between the two products of fexofenadine and 90% confidence intervals fell within the acceptable range for bioequivalence.     

Alternative LC–MS–MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Proguanil, Its Active Metabolite in Human Plasma and Application to a Bioequivalence Study

An alternative rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of proguanil (PRO) and cycloguanil (CYC) in human plasma. The analytes were extracted from human plasma by solid phase extraction. Riluzole (RIL) was used as an internal standard for proguanil and cycloguanil. A HyPURITY Advance C18 column provided chromatographic separation of analytes followed by detection with mass spectrometry. The method involves simple isocratic chromatography conditions and mass spectrometric detection in the positive ionization mode using an API-4000 system. The proposed method has been validated with linear range of 1.5–150.0 ng mL^?1 for PRO and 0.5–50.0 ng mL^?1 for CYC. The inter-run and intra-run precision values are within 2.54, 9.19% for PRO and 1.99, 10.69% for CYC at LOQ levels. The overall recoveries for PRO and CYC were 102.52 and 106.72%, respectively. Total elution time was as low as 2.50 min. This validated method was used successfully for analysis of plasma samples from a bioequivalence study.     

Synthesis and Application of a New Acrylic Ester Resin for Recycling SIPA from its Water Solution

A new acrylic ester polymer YWB-7 resin was prepared and characterized. The properties of YWB-7 resin were compared with those of the commercial Amberlite XAD-7, Diaion HP2MG and hypercrosslinked macroporous polymer NDA-150 resins. Both surface area and micropore area of YWB-7 resin were bigger than those of XAD-7 resin and HP2MG resin. The YWB-7 resin was successfully employed to recycle 5-sodiosulfoisophthalic acids （SIPA） from its solutions with and without methanol.     

Contribution of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and UV detections for the analysis of a complex vegetable oil – Application for characterization of a Kniphofia uvaria extract

Lipids are an important and diverse group of naturally occurring organic compounds present in all biological entities. They play many essential roles in the survival of the organisms. Analysis of lipids is extremely complex due to their large variety of chemistries. In this work, we describe an innovative method for the characterization of the lipid composition in a complex and unknown vegetable oil: an extract of Kniphofia uvaria seeds; using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) coupled to Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI), High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) and UV detections. Thanks to the properties of supercritical CO₂ allowing the use of a large number of chromatographic columns, an effective separation for this complex matrix was obtained.     

Determination of Alkylphenols in Water by Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Based on Solid Formation without a Disperser

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solid formation without a disperser combined with high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed for the determination of 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol. This method is rapid, easy, and uses only 10 µL of a low toxicity organic solvent (1-hexadecanethiol) for the extraction solvent and no disperser solvent. The extraction time and centrifugation time require less than 10 min. The linear range was 1–500 ng mL^?1 for 4-tert-butylphenol, 2–1000 ng mL^?1 for 4-tert-octylphenol, and 5–500 ng mL^?1 for 4-n-nonylphenol with r² ≥ 0.9986. The detection limits were between 0.2 and 1.5 ng mL^?1. The recoveries of lake and river water samples were in the range of 79% to 108%, and the relative standard deviations were 5% to 10%.     

The FUNPET—a New Hybrid Ion Funnel-Ion Carpet Atmospheric Pressure Interface for the Simultaneous Transmission of a Broad Mass Range

An atmospheric pressure interface transports ions from ambient pressure to the low-pressure environment of a mass spectrometer. A capillary coupled to an ion funnel is widely used. However, conventional ion funnels do little to negate the large amount of energy picked up by high-mass ions from the gas flow through the capillary. There has been little work done on the effects of gas flow on ion transmission, and the previous studies have all been limited to low-mass, low-charge ions. In this work, we account for the effects of gas flow, diffusion, and electric fields (static and oscillating) on ion trajectories and use simulations to design a new hybrid ion funnel-ion carpet (FUNPET) interface that transmits a broad mass range with a single set of instrument conditions. The design incorporates a virtual jet disruptor where pressure buildup and counter flow dissipate the supersonic jet that results from gas flow into the interface. This, and the small exit aperture that can be used with the FUNPET, reduces the gas flow into the next stage of differential pumping. The virtual jet disruptor thermalizes ions with a broad range of masses (1 kDa to 1 GDa), and once thermalized, they are transmitted into next region of the mass spectrometer with low excess kinetic energy. The FUNPET interface is easy to fabricate from flexible printed circuit board and a support frame made by 3D printing. The performance of the interface was evaluated using charge detection mass spectrometry.

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LC–MS–MS Simultaneous Determination of Paracetamol, Pseudoephedrine and Chlorpheniramine in Human Plasma: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine and chlorpheniramine in human plasma. Diphenhydramine was used as the internal standard. Analytes were extracted from alkalized human plasma by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) using ethyl acetate. After electrospray ionization positive ion fragments were detected in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. The method was linear in the concentration range of 20.0–10000.0 ng mL^?1 for paracetamol, 1.0–500.0 ng mL^?1 for pseudoephedrine and 0.1–50.0 ng mL^?1 for chlorpheniramine. The intra- and inter-day precisions were below 14.5% and the bias was between ?7.3 and +2.8% for all analytes. The validated LC–MS–MS method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in which each healthy Chinese volunteer received a tablet containing 300 mg benorylate, 30 mg pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and 2 mg chlorpheniramine maleate. This is the first assay method described for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine and chlorpheniramine in human plasma samples.     

Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Benzimidazolium Bronsted Acid Ionic Liquid and Its Application in the Synthesis of Arylic Esters

A novel Brφnsted acid task specific ionic liquid 1-ethylbenzimidazolium tetrafluoroborate （[Hebim]BF4） with functional benzimidazolium cation was synthesized and characterized by ^1H NMR, IR, MS spectra and elemental analysis. This novel ionic liquid was successfully used as dual solvent-catalyst for the synthesis of arylic esters. Higher yields were obtained in the presence of [Hebim]BF4 in comparison with other imidazolium ionic liquids because of the good solubility of the aromatic alcohols and aromatic carboxylic acids in [Hebim]BF4. The product could be separated conveniently from the reaction system, and the ionic liquid could be easily reused after removal of water under vacuum. After 10 times reuse, the selectivity of the ester was still 100%.