Ultrafast room-temperature reduction of graphene oxide by sodium borohydride,sodium molybdate and hydrochloric acid

Since graphene-based materials have shown great potential in many fields,it is important to explore ultrafast and high-efficient methods to synthesize reduced graphene oxide(rGO) using inexpensive reducing agents under mild conditions.Here,we reported a novel method for the ultrafast chemical reduction of graphene oxide(GO) at room temperature using sodium borohydride(NaBH₄),sodium molybdate(Na₂MoO₄) and hydrochloric acid(HCl).The reduction was carried out within 2 min.A series of characterization results revealed that the obtained reduced graphene oxide has higher reduction degree than that synthesized by NaBH₄ alone at high temperature.Moreover,rGO electrode based on the present reducing method exhibited a superior specific capacitance of 139.8 F/g at a current density of1 A/g,indicating that it can be used as electrode materials for supercapacitors.     

Quantitative determination of formic acid in apple juices by H NMR spectrometry

A quantitative determination method of formic acid in apple juices is proposed by means of the proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) technique. Formic acid gives a singlet signal at the 8.2-8.4 ppm interval of the spectrum, and its area is used to determine the concentration of the acid. 1,3,5-Benzenetricarboxylic acid is added to the juice as an internal standard. Since the chemical shift of both species varies with the pH, ascorbic acid is also added to adjust it at 2.74 and to avoid the overlapping of the signals. Recoveries between 95 and 109% are obtained when the standard addition method is applied to the juices of five different cider apple varieties. The coefficient of variation obtained is 3.9% for intra-day repeatability (n = 5), and 4.6% for inter-day repeatability (n = 10). The limit of detection is 1.49 mg/l, calculated from “3S_y/x + intercept”. The described method is direct and no previous derivatization is needed.     

群多普利溶液构象的NMR研究

采用1D和2D NMR技术对血管紧张素转化酶抑制剂群多普利在CDCl₃溶液中存在的两种构象进行了结构解析, 并结合分子动力学和密度泛函理论方法对其进行了结构的几何优化和能量计算. 结果表明, 群多普利因分子中酰胺键的旋转而形成反式构象A和顺式构象B, 两种构象的能量差为6.35 kJ/mol, 且顺式构象为该药物的优势构象.     

Selective preparation of glycosyl sulfone or glycal by treatment of phenyl thioglycoside of N-acetylneuraminic acid with m-chloroperbenzoic acid

Treatment of acetylated phenyl thioglycoside of N-acetylneuraminic acid with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (MCPBA) in CH₂Cl₂ affords quantitatively mixtures of the respective sulfone and glycal free from the sulfoxide. The outcome of the reaction does not depend on the anomeric configuration of the starting thioglycoside. The sulfone can be selectively prepared (yield 100%) by oxidation with an excess of MCPBA and NaHCO₃. In the presence of pyridine (2 equiv.) and MCPBA (2 equiv.), the major product is glycal (yields 81—88%). This version of the reaction can be regarded as a new method for the preparation of sialic acid glycals.     

RNA unrestrained molecular dynamics ensemble improves agreement with experimental NMR data compared to single static structure: a test case

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provides structural and dynamic information reflecting an average, often non-linear, of multiple solution-state conformations. Therefore, a single optimized structure derived from NMR refinement may be misleading if the NMR data actually result from averaging of distinct conformers. It is hypothesized that a conformational ensemble generated by a valid molecular dynamics (MD) simulation should be able to improve agreement with the NMR data set compared with the single optimized starting structure. Using a model system consisting of two sequence-related self-complementary ribonucleotide octamers for which NMR data was available, 0.3 ns particle mesh Ewald MD simulations were performed in the AMBER force field in the presence of explicit water and counterions. Agreement of the averaged properties of the molecular dynamics ensembles with NMR data such as homonuclear proton nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE)-based distance constraints, homonuclear proton and heteronuclear ¹H–³¹P coupling constant (J) data, and qualitative NMR information on hydrogen bond occupancy, was systematically assessed. Despite the short length of the simulation, the ensemble generated from it agreed with the NMR experimental constraints more completely than the single optimized NMR structure. This suggests that short unrestrained MD simulations may be of utility in interpreting NMR results. As expected, a 0.5 ns simulation utilizing a distance dependent dielectric did not improve agreement with the NMR data, consistent with its inferior exploration of conformational space as assessed by 2-D RMSD plots. Thus, ability to rapidly improve agreement with NMR constraints may be a sensitive diagnostic of the MD methods themselves.     

An extremely simple, convenient and mild one-pot reduction of carboxylic acids to alcohols using 3,4,5-trifluorophenylboronic acid and sodium borohydride

Acyloxyboron intermediates formed in situ from carboxylic acids and 3,4,5-trifluorophenylboronic acids react with sodium borohydride in THF to give alcohols in good to high yields.     

Extraction of multiple pure component H and C NMR spectra from two mixtures: Novel solution obtained by sparse component analysis-based blind decomposition

Sparse component analysis (SCA) is demonstrated for blind extraction of three pure component spectra from only two measured mixed spectra in ¹³C and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This appears to be the first time to report such results and that is the first novelty of the paper. Presented concept is general and directly applicable to experimental scenarios that possibly would require use of more than two mixtures. However, it is important to emphasize that number of required mixtures is always less than number of components present in these mixtures. The second novelty is formulation of blind NMR spectra decomposition exploiting sparseness of the pure components in the wavelet basis defined by either Morlet or Mexican hat wavelet. This enabled accurate estimation of the concentration matrix and number of pure components by means of data clustering algorithm and pure components spectra by means of linear programming with constraints from both ¹H and ¹³C NMR experimental data. The third novelty is capability of proposed method to estimate number of pure components in demanding underdetermined blind source separation (uBSS) scenario. This is in contrast to majority of the BSS algorithms that assume this information to be known in advance. Presented results are important for the NMR spectroscopy-associated data analysis in pharmaceutical industry, medicine diagnostics and natural products research.     

Investigation of tetracaine complexation with beta-cyclodextrins and p-sulphonic acid calix[6]arenes by nOe and PGSE NMR

Cyclodextrins (CD) and calixarenes are complexing agents that have been successfully used as pharmaceutical drug carriers, to improve the bioavailability of medicines. The aim of this work was to investigate the complexation of the local anesthetic tetracaine 1 with β-cyclodextrin 2, as well as with p-sulphonic acid calix[6]arene 3. ¹H NMR experiments were carried out in D₂O, i.e., with the charged tetracaine species 1. HR-DOSY ¹H NMR allowed determination of the fraction of complexed population (%p _bound = 55% and 70%) and the apparent association constants (K _a = 1358 and 3889 M⁻¹), respectively, for 1/2 and 1/3. These results confirm that a strong association takes place between 1 and 2, while the 1/3 complex is even more stable, due to the negatively charged sulphonic groups of 3. Studies conducted at pH 10 revealed that the association of the uncharged form of 1 with 3 is considerably weaker, while that with 2 increased significantly (K _a = 6597 M⁻¹), protecting the anesthetic against alkaline hydrolysis. ¹H-ROESY 1D NMR experiments allowed determination of the host-guest relative positions, revealing that the proposed topologies for the 1/2 and 1/3 complexes were quite different. The complexation of 1 with either 2 or 3 is being investigated in view of its potential use in new therapeutic formulations, designed to increase the bioavailability and/or to decrease the systemic toxicity of tetracaine, in anesthesia procedures.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry as a spectroscopic probe of the coordination sphere of a paramagnetic metal bound to a humic acid mixture

Protons on water molecules are strongly affected by paramagnetic ions. Since the acid-base properties of water facilitate rapid proton exchange, a single proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal is seen in aqueous solutions of paramagnetic ions. Proton relaxation times are significantly affected by paramagnetic species and the readily detectable single signal serves as a powerful amplifier of the information contained concerning the protons in the paramagnetic environment. Where water molecules coordinated to free paramagnetic ions and to metal complexes of ligands that form non-labile (on the NMR time scale) complexes, the effects on water in the two environments can be distinguished. This can provide information on the nature of the ligand binding sites. The example of Cu²⁺ bound to the Laurentian humic acid mixture reported here using convenient low field NMR relaxometers shows that the information can enrich our understanding of complexation and speciation in the presence of complex mixture ligands characteristic of natural water systems. In this case, the data underline the role of aggregation and conformation in defining the complexation sites.     

Recent methodologies mediated by sodium borohydride in the reduction of different classes of compounds

Reduction is a fundamental transformation in organic synthesis. Since its discovery by Brown and co‐workers, sodium borohydride is the most frequently hydride used in reduction processes. Owing to the importance of this reagent in modern organic synthesis, the aim of this review is to highlight recent methodologies (2000–2006) mediated by sodium borohydride in the reduction of different classes of compounds. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conversion of N-acetylneuraminic acid glycosyl chloride into dibenzyl glycosyl phosphate: O-glycosylation in the absence of a promoter

Readily accessible N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) glycosyl chloride, which was regarded to be a poor glycosyl donor, was shown to react with dibenzyl phosphoric acid salts in the absence of glycosylation promoters to give the corresponding -Neu5Ac dibenzyl glycosyl phosphate in high yield.     

Metal-complex catalysis during the reduction of functional groups by sodium borohydride in the synthesis of pyrrolidine derivatives

A selective method was developed for the reduction of functional groups with sodium borohydride using complexes of CoCl₂ and CuCl₂ with triethylbenzylammonium chloride and cobalt and copper mesotetra[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridyl]porphyrinates as catalysts. __________ Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 205–208, February, 2006.     

邻酰氧基取代苯甲醛和苯甲醇在硼氢化钠水溶液中的还原反应

邻位上含有苯甲酰氧取代基的苯甲醛化合物2,5-双[(4-甲氧基苯甲酰)氧基]苯甲醛用NaBH~4还原时,产物与体系中是否含水有重要关系.在无水的情况下,还原按正常的方式进行,并生成相应的苯甲醇化合物;在有水的情况下,醛基首先被还原成醇,接着被还原成甲基,同时发生邻位(而不是间位)苯甲酰氧基的水解,产物为邻甲基酚类化合物.模型化合物邻(对甲氧基苯甲酰)氧基苯甲醛和间(对甲氧基苯甲酰)氧基苯甲醛的反应证实了上述发现.这一特殊反应可以推广到邻位上含有酰氧取代基的基本甲醛及其相应的醇.     

双甘肽稀土配合物溶液结构的13C和1H NMR研究

~(13)C and ~1H NMR technique was used to study the interaction of Gly-Gly with heavy lanthanide cations Dy~(3+), Ho~(3+), Er~(3+), Tm~(3+) and Yb~(3+) in aqueous solution. The stability constants for the 1:1 and 1:2 complexes of Gly-Gly with Ho~(3+) and Yb~(3+) were determined from the titration curves of chemical shift versus concentration ratio of lanthanide to Gly-Gly. The solution structure of the Ln-Gly-Gly complex was analyzed based upon the ~(13)C and ~1H lanthanide-induced shifts and the results show that in the complex Gly-Gly is coordinated to the lanthanide ion through the carboxyl oxygens with the backbone of the ligand in an extended state.     

Slc11a2第六跨膜区在十二烷基磷酰胆碱胶束中的结构

采用圆二色谱和核磁共振波谱研究了Slc11a2第六跨膜区在十二烷基磷酰胆碱(DPC)膜模拟环境中的结构和定位.结果表明,Slc11a2第六跨膜区在DPC胶束中N端和C端各形成一小段α螺旋,两段螺旋中间通过高度灵活的区域连接,整个肽插入到DPC胶束中.H267A突变使螺旋长度变长,H272A突变使螺旋长度略有变短,突变后结构的变化可能和蛋白功能缺失相关.     

Combined use of liquid chromatography-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the characterization of an acarbose degradation product

Directly coupled LC-MS and LC-NMR were applied to identify and structurally characterize an acarbose degradation product A in acidic media. A comparative analysis of the stop-flow LC-NMR (1H and TOCSY) and LC-MS data provided evidence that A is structurally related to acarbose, differing from the parent compound in a number of subunits present in the molecule. Spectral analysis revealed that A was the alpha-glucosidase inhibitor amylostatin XG. Complementary information obtained from the two methods led to the structural elucidation of A which was later corroborated by high-resolution NMR spectroscopy of the isolated molecule.     

Self-diffusion of water-ethanol mixtures in polyacrylic acid-polysulfone composite membranes obtained by pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The self-diffusion of water, ethanol and water-ethanol mixtures in polyacrylic acid (PAA) and PAA-polysulfone (PSF) composite membranes was measured with pulsed-field gradient (PFG)-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The partial solubilities and self-diffusion coefficients were obtained. An attempt was made to explain the transport properties of water and ethanol through the PAA layer and PAA-PSF composite membranes. It was concluded that there are two types of channels for diffusate transfer in PAA: an ionogenic hydrophilic channel which is selective for water and a hydrophobic channel which contains a predominance of ethanol molecules. The existence of aluminum nitrate in PAA influences the morphology of the latter channel. There is a good agreement between of the separation factors estimated from PFG-NMR data and those obtained by pervaporation testing.     

Aggregation behavior of acrylamide/2-phenoxyethyl acrylate and its interaction with sodium dodecyl sulfate in aqueous solution studied by proton 1D and 2D NMR

¹H NMR self-diffusion coefficient, spin-lattice relaxation time, spin-spin relaxation time, and two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement (2D NOESY) measurements have been used to study the association behavior of a novel hydrophobically associating copolymer composed of acrylamide (AM) and a small amount of 2-phenoxyethyl acrylate (POEA), and its interaction with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Three sets of copolymers with approximately the same composition but with different hydrophobic POEA contents were investigated. The POEA contents for these copolymers were about 1.41, 1.03, and 0.56 mol% respectively, as validated by ¹H NMR spectra. Self-diffusion coefficient measurements show that the aggregation process occurs in a relative narrow concentration range and the critical association concentrations (cacs), of these copolymers are within this narrow concentration range, which are in agreement with those measured by viscosity measurements (6 g L^–1). Above this concentration, the hydrophobic POEA moieties are found to associate and possibly build a transitory three-dimensional network along the polyacrylamide (PAM) backbones, which induces a strong decrease in NMR parameters including self-diffusion coefficients and relaxation times. The surfactant SDS showed a significant interaction with the copolymer in the dilute solution. Addition of SDS resulted in the binding of SDS on copolymer POEA-PAM segments and reinforced the interchain transient network formation of copolymer at a concentration below its cac. In the SDS/POEA-PAM mixed systems, the hydrophobic methylene groups of the SDS molecules were preferentially located in the vicinity of the phenoxy groups of the POEA hydrophobes.     

Characterization of sodium laureth sulfate by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection and H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A direct and effective method utilizing reversed-phase liquid chromatography combined with evaporative light scattering detection was developed to determine the relative ratio of different alkyl chain lengths, to quantify the average ethylene oxide (EO) level and to identify EO distribution in the presence of sodium laureth sulfates. A C8 bonded silica gel column and an acetonitrile–water gradient mobile phase containing ammonium acetate were used as the best stationary and mobile phase, respectively. The results were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The detection limit was 80 μg/mL and the calibration curve, i.e., the log–log plots (peak area vs. concentration), was linear in the working range of 80–4200 μg/mL with R² values of above 0.999 (in the case of 3 mol sodium laureth sulfates). Furthermore, the application of the chromatographic method to a commercial product without pretreatment was presented. The raw material was identified by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry.