Synthesis and thermal properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)-graft-(cellobiosylamine-C15)

Model experiments for synthesis of a comb-shaped copolymer with cellulose side-chains were performed with cellobiose derivatives. A novel cellobiose monomer, N-(15-methacryloyloxypentadecanoyl)-2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl-4-O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl)-β-d-glucopyranosylamine (2) was prepared from heptaacetylcellobiosyl- amine. Homopolymerization of cellobiose monomer 2 and copolymerization of monomer 2 with methyl methacrylate (MMA) were performed using 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as an initiator to obtain homopolymers 3-i (i = 1–4) and copolymers 3-i (i = 5–7), poly(methyl methacrylate)-graft-(heptaacetylcellobiosylamine-C15). The size exclusion chromatography—multi-angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALS) measurements revealed that comb-shaped homopolymers 3-i (i = 1–4) had more compact structures compared to copolymers 3-i (i = 5–7) at the same elution volume. Selective deacetylation of polymers 3-i (i = 1–7) gave novel cellobiose polymers 4-i (i = 1–7), poly(methyl methacrylate)-graft-(cellobiosylamine-C15). The amide linkages between cellobiose moiety and long-chain alkyl group, and the ester linkages between PMMA main-chain and long-chain alkyl group remained after deprotection. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements revealed that the T _gs of the polymers 4-i (i = 1, 5, 6, 7) increased with increasing cellobiose composition in the polymers. It was indicated that cellobiose moieties of polymers 4-i (i = 1, 5, 6, 7) reduced the mobility of PMMA main-chain.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the addition of the phthalimid-n-oxyl radical to the double bond of vinyl compounds

The kinetics of the decomposition of the phthalimid-N-oxyl radical (PINO) in acetic acid has been studied. The rate constants of the addition of the radical to T bonds of molecules of vinyl compounds – styrene, methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, and methyl acrylate – have been measured. It was shown that electron-donor substituents in the monomer molecule increase, while electron-acceptor substituents decrease the rate of addition. The reactivity of monomers in the elementary step of addition of the PINO radical decreases in the order CH₂=C(CH₃)C₆H₅ > CH₂=CHC₆H₅ > CH₂=C(CH₃)COOCH₃ > CH₂=CHCOOCH₃ > CH₂=CHCN.     

Synthesis and characterization of molecularly imprinted polymers for recognition of ciprofloxacin

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), with special molecule recognition properties of ciprofloxacin (CIP), was prepared by thermal polymerization in which ciprofloxacin acted as template molecule, α-methacrylic acid (MAA) acted as functional monomer and trimethylolpropane trimethylacrylate (TRIM) acted as crosslinker. The optimized ratio was determined to be n(CIP): n (MMA):n(TRIM)51:6:16 by investigation of the effects of different concentrations of functional monomer and the crosslinker on the MIP’s recognition properties. Equilibrium binding experiment was used to investigate the adsorption dynamics, the binding ability to template molecule and the substrate selectivity. Scatchard analysis was used to study the MIP’s binding characteristic to template molecule. The results indicated that MIP has higher adsorption ability and selectivity. The equilibrium distribution coefficient K _D was 41.64 and the separation factor α was 1.62. Scatchard analysis showed that two different kinds of binding sites were produced in the polymer matrix and their dissociation constants were calculated to be K _d1 = 5.249 × 10⁻⁵ mol·L⁻¹, K _d2 = 2.237 × 10⁻³ mol·L⁻¹. __________ Translated from Chemistry, 2008, 71(2): 132–137     

Enantioselective extraction of mandelic acid enantiomers by <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">L</Emphasis>-dipentyl tartrate and <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-cyclodextrin as binary chiral selectors

A new binary chiral selector system effective for the enantioselective extraction of racemic mandelic acid is presented. While L-dipentyl tartrate and β-cyclodextrin had a very low enantioselectivity as single selectors, a preferential extraction of D-mandelic acid to the organic phase was found in the binary selector system. Using decanol as organic solvent and pH of a phoshate buffer equal to 2.3, the distribution coefficients of D-and L-mandelic acids as high as 14.9 and 7.0, respectively, and the enantioselectivity value of 2.1 were found at optimum concentration of β-cyclodextrin.     

On-line ionic imprinted polymer selective solid-phase extraction of nickel and lead from seawater and their determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Nickel(II) and lead(II) ionic imprinted 8-hydroxyquinoline polymers were synthesized by a precipitation polymerization technique and were used as selective solid phase extraction supports for the determination of nickel and lead in seawater by flow injection solid phase extraction on-line inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. An optimum loading flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 2 min and an elution flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 1 min gave an enrichment factor of 15 for nickel. However, a low dynamic capacity and/or rate for adsorption and desorption was found for lead ionic imprinted polymer and a flow rate of 3.00 mL min⁻¹ for 4-min loading and a flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 1-min elution gave a enrichment factor of 5. The limit of detection was 0.33 μg L⁻¹ for nickel and 1.88 μg L⁻¹ for lead, with a precision (n = 11) of 8% (2.37 μg Ni L⁻¹) for nickel and 11% (8.38 μg Pb L⁻¹) for lead. Accuracy was also assessed by analyzing SLEW-3 (estuarine water) and TM-24 (lake water) certified reference materials, and the values determined were in good agreement with the certified concentrations.     

Chiral imidazole metalloenzyme models: Synthesis and enantioselective hydrolysis for α-amino acid esters

Chiral imidazole hydrolytic metalloenzyme models with characteristics of chiral centers directly link to imidazole N-atoms and varieties in both alkyl chain length and number of alkyl chains, have been synthesised and investigated for enantioselective hydrolysis of Boc-α-amino acid esters. The result indicates that both hydrolysis rates and enantioselectivities are increased with increases in the alkyl chain length and the number of the alkyl chains in the lipophilic chiral imidazole-type surfactants in many cases. The lipophilic chiral imidazole 4d ((S)-1-hexadecoxy-2-(1-imidazolyl)-propane), which has one long alkyl chain, shows higher hydrolysis rate and enantioselectivity (k_D = 132.5 × 10⁻⁵, k_D/k_L = 5.38), 5d ((S)-1,5-dihexadecoxy-2-(1-imidazolyl)-pentane), which has two long alkyl chains, shows the highest hydrolysis rate and enantioselectivity (k_D = 201.5 × 10⁻⁵, k_D/k_L = 11.72). Additionally, the effects of the metals, the additives, the solvents and the substrates on the hydrolysis rates and enantioselectivities are examined.     

Fluorescent sensing layer for the determination of<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps"> L</Emphasis>-malic acid in wine

An enzymatic method for determining L-malic acid in wine based on an L-malate sensing layer with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), L-malate dehydrogenase (L-MDH) and diaphorase (DI), immobilized by sol-gel technology, was constructed and evaluated. The sol-gel glass was prepared with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), water and HCl. L-MDH catalyzes the reaction between L-malate and NAD⁺, producing NADH, whose fluorescence (λ _exc = 340 nm, λ _em = 430 nm) could be directly related to the amount of L-malate. NADH is converted to NAD⁺ by applying hexacyanoferrate(III) as oxidant in the presence of DI. Some parameters affecting sol-gel encapsulation and the pH of the enzymatic reaction were studied. The sensing layer has a dynamic range of 0.1–1.0 g/L of L-malate and a long-term storage stability of 25 days. It exhibits acceptable reproducibility [s _r(%)≈10] and allows six regenerations. The content of L-malic acid was determined for different types of wine, and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) was used as a bleaching agent with red wine. The results obtained for the wine samples using the sensing layer are comparable to those obtained from a reference method based on UV-vis molecular absorption spectrometry, if the matrix effect is corrected for.     

A catalytically active molecularly imprinted polymer that mimics peroxidase based on hemin: application to the determination of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> p</Emphasis>-aminophenol

Despite the increasing number of applications of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) in analytical chemistry, the synthesis of polymers with hemin introduced as the catalytic center to mimic the active site of peroxidase remains as a challenge. In the current work, a new type of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized with 4-aminophenol (4-APh) as the template and two monomers: hemin, which acts as the catalytic center, and methacrylic acid (MAA), which is used to build the active sites. This work shows that MIP successfully mimics peroxidase. For this purpose, a flow injection analysis system coupled to an amperometric detector was investigated through multivariate analysis. The determination of 4-APh was not affected by the equimolar presence of structurally similar phenol compounds, including catechol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 2-aminophenol, guaiachol, chloroguaiachol and 2-cresol, thus highlighting the good performance of the imprinted polymer. Under the optimized experimental conditions, an analytical curve covering a wide linear response range from 0.8 up to 500 μmol L⁻¹ (r > 0.999) was obtained, and the method gave satisfactory precisions (n = 8), as evaluated via the relative standard deviation (RSD), of 4.1 and 3.2% for solutions of 4-APh of 50 and 500 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. Recoveries of 96–111% from water samples (tap water and river water) spiked with 4-APh were achieved, thus illustrating the accuracy of the proposed system. Figure Schematic presentation of the synthesis of the MIP     

Association behavior of one-end hydrophobically modified poly[<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis><Superscript>5</Superscript>-(2-hydroxyethyl) <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-glutamine] in water/ethylene glycol mixed solvent

Amphiphilic polymers Cn-PHEG consisting of water-soluble poly[N ⁵-2-(hydroxyethyl) l-glutamine] (PHEG) and hydrophobic alkyl chain (carbon number n = 12, 14, 16, or 18) attached at the PHEG terminal was prepared, and association behavior and structure of associate for Cn-PHEG in selective solvent (water/ethylene glycol mixed solvent) have been investigated. α-Helix content of PHEG block for all the polymers increased with weight fraction of ethylene glycol in the mixed solvent (W _EG). By light scattering measurements, formation of a small micelle was suggested for C14-, C16-, and C18-PHEG when W _EG = 0. With the increase in W _EG, appearance of a larger associate was revealed for C16- and C18-PHEG. Evaluated molecular weight and radius of gyration suggested that the micelle is star-like sphere when W _EG = 0 and worm-like cylinder when W _EG = 0.7. C12-PHEG did not demonstrate any distinct micellization behavior because of the weak hydrophobicity of C12 chain.     

Covalent imprinted polymer for selective and rapid enrichment of ractopamine by a noncovalent approach

A novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the separation and concentration of ractopamine (RAC) was prepared by a covalent imprinting approach and the template was removed successfully by hydrolysis, so that four carboxylic acid groups were left in the cavities and could specifically rebind RAC through noncovalent interaction: hydrogen bonding. The conditions for synthesis of the MIP were optimized during the polymerization process, and a molar ratio of template–functional monomer complexes to cross-linker of 1:3 was confirmed. The adsorption capacity of the MIP was 4.1-fold that of the nonimprinted polymer, and the adsorption reaction reached equilibrium after 25 min at 50 mg L^-1 concentration. The results of the competitive adsorption test showed that the MIPs had specific recognition ability for the analyte RAC. In addition, the important factors affecting the efficiency of the method which was developed using the MIPs as a solid-phase sorbent for separation and determination of RAC combined with high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection were optimized. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the linear range of the calibration curve in the method was 0.05-5 μg L^-1 (R ² = 0.98) and the limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) was 0.01 μg L^-1. The proposed method was applied to determination of RAC in spiked feedstuffs and urine samples, with recoveries ranging from 74.17 to 114.46% and relative standard deviation (n = 3) below 4.55 in all cases.     

Thermal desorption characterisation of molecularly imprinted polymers. Part I: a novel study using direct-probe GC-MS analysis

A novel thermal desorption technique using a direct-probe device (Chromatoprobe) attached to a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer is presented for the thermal pretreatment, characterisation and analysis of molecularly imprinted polymers. The technique is demonstrated as effective for the removal of volatile materials, including template and unreacted monomers, from methacrylic acid–ethylene glycol dimethacrylate copolymers imprinted with 2-aminopyridine. Mass spectrometry is a powerful technique for polymer bleed characterisation. Thermal desorption studies on reloaded template and related compounds are reported as a means of assessing polymer morphology, specific binding by imprinted polymers compared with reference non-imprinted polymers and selective binding by an imprinted polymer for its template. Calibration studies on the thermal desorption technique using an internal standard are presented with R ² > 0.999. The technique provides a novel method for assessment of polymer thermal stability, composition and morphology.     

Structural and calorimetric investigations on nonaqueous liquid crystals and gel phases in the binary system K-stearate/glycerol

The K-stearate/glycerol (KC₁₈/Gl) binary system was studied at mole fractions of stearate of x _KC18 = 0.10, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.50. Small- and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were combined with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements at different temperatures. The investigations were intended to verify the previously published phase diagram and were targeted at the confirmation of the gel-like (G₁) phase and the isotropic (I) phase. The XRD and DSC measurements lead to the conclusion that the G₁ phase as well as the I phase, the existence of which had been proposed from texture observations, do in fact not exist. Consequently, a correction of the preliminary phase diagram is given. This corrected phase diagram reveals the crystalline phase (C) ⇆ gel phase (G) ⇆ hexagonal phase (H_α) ⇆ isotropic, micellar phase phase transitions for low KC₁₈ concentrations of x _KC18 = 0.15–0.3 and the C ⇆ G ⇆ lamellar phase (L_α) phase transitions for concentrations about or higher than x _KC18 = 0.35. The C, G, L_α and H_α phases have been further characterized by structural parameters (characteristic d values) as a function of temperature. The phase transitions C ⇆ G, G ⇆ L_α and G ⇆ H_α correlate with sharp shifts in the d value of the first small-angle reflections. Received: 20 April 1999 Accepted: 28 July 1999     

Study on an on-line molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography for separation and determination of trace estrone in environment

Estrone is one of the important potential endocrine-disrupting compounds, and the sensitive and reliable analytical methods for the determination of estrone are required for the assurance of human health. In this paper, using estrone as template molecule, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as function monomer, and tetraethoxysilicane as cross-linker, a highly selective molecularly imprinted microsphere was synthesized by surface molecular imprinting technique combined with a sol–gel process. The imprinted material was characterized by the Fourier transform infrared and static adsorption experiments, and the results showed that it exhibited good recognition and selective ability for estrone. A novel method for separation and determination of trace estrone in environmental sample was developed using on-line molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography. With a sample loading flow rate of 2.6 mL min⁻¹ for a 9.6-min extraction, the enrichment factor obtained by the slopes of the linear portion in comparison with the direct injection of 10 μL standard sample solution was 1,045. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was 5.7 ng L⁻¹, and the relative standard deviations for nine replicate extractions of 5.0 μg L⁻¹ estrone was less than 10.0%. This method was evaluated for quantitative determination of estrone in well and lake water samples spiked at two levels (0.5 and 1.0 μg L⁻¹) with recoveries ranging from 86% to 95%.      

Selenium metabolites in human urine after ingestion of selenite, <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">L</Emphasis>-selenomethionine,or <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">DL</Emphasis>-selenomethionine: a quantitative case study by HPLC/ICPMS

To obtain quantitative information on human metabolism of selenium, we have performed selenium speciation analysis by HPLC/ICPMS on samples of human urine from one volunteer over a 48-hour period after ingestion of selenium (1.0 mg) as sodium selenite, L-selenomethionine, or DL-selenomethionine. The three separate experiments were performed in duplicate. Normal background urine from the volunteer contained total selenium concentrations of 8–30 μg Se/L (n=22) but, depending on the chromatographic conditions, only about 30–70% could be quantified by HPLC/ICPMS. The major species in background urine were two selenosugars, namely methyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-1-seleno-β-D-galactopyranoside (selenosugar 1) and its deacylated analog methyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-1-seleno-β-D-galactopyranoside (selenosugar 3). Selenium was rapidly excreted after ingestion of the selenium compounds: the peak concentrations (∼250–400 μg Se/L, normalized concentrations) were recorded within 5–9 hours, and concentrations had returned to close to background levels within 48 hours, by which time 25–40% of the ingested selenium, depending on the species ingested, had been accounted for in the urine. In all experiments, the major metabolite was selenosugar 1, constituting either ∼80% of the total selenium excreted over the first 24 hours after ingestion of selenite or L-selenomethionine or ∼65% after ingestion of DL-selenomethionine. Selenite was not present at significant levels (<1 μg Se/L) in any of the samples; selenomethionine was present in only trace amounts (∼1 μg/L, equivalent to less than 0.5% of the total Se) following ingestion of L-selenomethionine, but it constituted about 20% of the excreted selenium (first 24 hours) after ingestion of DL-selenomethionine, presumably because the D form was not efficiently metabolized. Trimethylselenonium ion, a commonly reported urine metabolite, could not be detected (<1 μg/L) in the urine samples after ingestion of selenite or selenomethionine. Cytotoxicity studies on selenosugar 1 and its glucosamine isomer (selenosugar 2, methyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-1-seleno-β-D-glucosopyranoside) were performed with HepG2 cells derived from human hepatocarcinoma, and these showed that both compounds had low toxicity (about 1000-fold less toxic than sodium selenite). The results support earlier studies showing that selenosugar 1 is the major urinary metabolite after increased selenium intake, and they suggest that previously accepted pathways for human metabolism of selenium involving trimethylselenonium ion as the excretionary end product may need to be re-evaluated.     

Preparation and characterization of multiresponsive polymer composite microspheres with core–shell structure

Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) [P(NIPAM-co-DMA)] multiresponsive composite microspheres with core–shell structure were synthesized by template precipitation polymerization. First, the magnetite nanoparticles were coated with silica and then modified with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyl methacrylate (MPS). Subsequently, the Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ particles grafted with MPS were used to seed the precipitation copolymerization of NIPAM and DMA. The composite microspheres with core–shell structure were superparamagnetic, pH-sensitive, and thermoresponsive. The swelling ratio (D_{25 °C, pH = 3}/D_{50 °C, pH = 9})³ coupling of pH and temperature increased up to 21.2, which was much higher than that without comonomer DMA.     

Molecular imprinting polymerization by Fenton reaction

The aim of this study is the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers by employing a redox pair as initiator system. Bulk molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized by using Fenton reagents as initiator system. Theophylline, methacrylic acid, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate were employed as model template, functional monomer, and crosslinking agent, respectively. Conventional imprinted polymers were also prepared by using 2,2′-azoisobutyronitrile in order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed initiator system. Redox molecularly imprinted polymers and conventional molecularly imprinted polymers were characterized by water uptake measurement, while the imprinting effect of synthesized polymers were evaluated by performing binding experiments in organic (acetonitrile) and in water (buffered water solution at pH = 7.4) media.     

Analysis of Carbon Metabolism and Improvement of γ-Polyglutamic Acid Production from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> NX-2

Bacillus subtilis NX-2 produces γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) when using glucose and l-glutamate as carbon sources. The conversion of carbon sources into γ-PGA was analyzed with the ¹³C-NMR method after enriching the media with ¹³C-labeled glucose. The results showed that the percentage of γ-PGA monomers derived from glucose was relatively low, approximately 6% and 9%, respectively, with an initial glucose concentration of 30 and 40 g L⁻¹. It was concluded that glucose was utilized mainly as the growth-limiting substrate for cell growth and supplied the required energy during γ-PGA biosynthesis, while l-glutamate was preferred as the main substrate for γ-PGA formation. To achieve an efficient conversion of l-glutamate and enhance the γ-PGA production, a fed-batch culture was proposed by feeding of glucose. By this method, supplied l-glutamate (40 g L⁻¹) was completely depleted, and γ-PGA yield was attained 42 g L⁻¹.     

An easy access to a 3,6-branched mannopentaoside bearing one terminal [1-<Superscript>13</Superscript>C]-labeled <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">D</Emphasis>-mannopyranose residue

Methyl 2,4-di-O-benzoyl-α-D-mannopyranoside was used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of 3,6-branched mannopentaoside bearing one terminal D-[1-¹³C]mannopyranose residue, viz., methyl 6-O-[3,6-di-O-(α-D-mannopyranosyl)-α-D-mannopyranosyl)-3-O-{α -D-[1-¹³C]mannopyranosyl}-α-D-mannopyranoside. Dedicated to Academician N. K. Kochetkov on the occasion of his 90th birthday. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1250–1255, May, 2005.     

Stereospecific mannosylations of myo -inasitol: Synthesis of manno- myo -inositol fragment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Methyl iodide activated stereospecific α-mannosylations utilising 2-pyridyl-1-thiomannopyranoside derivatives (2,3,4) as donors and suitably protected myo-inositol derivatives (1,25,27,29) as acceptors to prepare 2-0-α-D-mannopyranosyl-6-[O-α-D-mannopyranosyl-(1–6)-O-α-D-mannopyranosyl-(l-6)-O-α-D-mannopyranosyl]-D-myo-inositol derivative (31) is described. IICT Commun. No. 3355     

Chromatographic evaluation of polymers imprinted with analogs of chloramphenicol and application to selective solid-phase extraction

To obtain a highly selective material for the antibiotic chloramphenicol, which has several harmful side effects in humans, different molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared. In order to avoid a major traditional drawback associated with MIPs of residual template bleeding, molecules that are structurally related to chloramphenicol were used as templates for polymer synthesis. Chromatographic evaluation indicated that the employed template imparted a significant influence on the recognition properties of the corresponding polymer. A strong retention of chloramphenicol under nonpolar elution conditions (k = 68.03, IF = 17.72) and under aqueous elution conditions (k = 92.44, IF = 1.35) was achieved. After chromatographic evaluation, the MIP was utilized as the recognition sorbent in a solid-phase extraction to determine chloramphenicol using either an organic or aqueous washing solvent. Recoveries of nearly 100% from the chloramphenicol standard solution and nearly 90% from honey samples spiked with chloramphenicol were attained. Furthermore, the applicability of the MIP for sample cleanup was demonstrated.