Preparation of 17β‐estradiol surface molecularly imprinted polymers and their application to the analysis of biological samples

17β‐Estradiol (E2) surface molecularly imprinted polymers have been prepared using functionalized monodispersed poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate) beads as a support. The resulting polymers were found to be uniform in size (5 μm), and the surfaces of the microspheres possessed large pore‐like structures. A chromatographic experiment demonstrated that the resulting microspheres exhibited high levels of recognition and selectivity toward the target molecule. The particles were employed as a novel sorbent in a molecularly imprinted SPE protocol. A method was then developed involving the combination of the pretreatment with HPLC to determine the levels of estrogen secreted from Michigan Cancer Foundation‐7 cells. The obtained results revealed that the extraction recoveries of E2 from real samples were in the range of 73.0–97.5% with RSDs of < 7.5% (n = 3). Calibration curves were established with R values > 0.9996 for concentrations in the range of 0.50–100.00 ng/mL. The LOD of this new method was 0.14 ng/mL. Compared with traditional C₁₈ SPE agents, the particles showed high selectivity and extraction efficiency for E2 in the pretreatment process. The particles could therefore be used to determine trace estrogen in biological samples with a UV detector only.     

Preparation of 17β‐estradiol‐imprinted material by surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and its application

A novel 17β‐estradiol molecularly imprinted polymer was grafted onto the surface of initiator‐immobilized silica by surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The resulting molecularly imprinted polymer was characterized by elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The binding property of molecularly imprinted polymer for 17β‐estradiol was also studied with both static and dynamic methods. The results showed that the molecularly imprinted polymer possessed excellent recognition capacity for 17β‐estradiol (180.65 mg/g at 298 K), and also exhibited outstanding selectivity for 17β‐estradiol over the other competitive compounds (such as testosterone and progesterone). Then, the determination of trace 17β‐estradiol in beef samples was successfully developed by using molecularly imprinted polymer solid‐phase extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography. The limit of detection was 0.25 ng/mL, and the amount of 17β‐estradiol in beef samples was detected at 2.83 ng/g. This work proposed a sensitive, rapid, reliable, and convenient approach for the determination of trace 17β‐estradiol in complicated beef samples.     

Chiral separation of cathinone derivatives using β‐cyclodextrin‐assisted capillary electrophoresis–Comparison of four different β‐cyclodextrin derivatives used as chiral selectors

In the past decade, more than 100 different cathinone derivatives slopped over entire Europe due to their enormous popularity. Generally, these novel psychoactive substances are easily available via the internet. This fact leads to various social problems, since cathinones are substances with consciousness‐changing effects and are mainly misused for recreational matters by their consumers. Cathinones possess a chiral center including two enantiomeric forms with potentially different pharmacological behavior. This fact makes analytical method development regarding their chiral separation indispensable. In this study, a chiral capillary zone electrophoresis method for the enantioseparation of 61 cathinone and pyrovalerone derivatives was developed by means of four different β‐cyclodextrin derivatives. As chiral selectors, native β‐cyclodextrin as well as three of its derivatives namely acetyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, 2‐hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, and carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin were used. The cathinone and pyrovalerone derivatives were either purchased in internet stores or seized by police. As a result, overall 58 of 61 studied substances were partially or baseline separated by at least one of the four chiral selectors using 10 mM of β‐cyclodextrin derivative in a 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 2.5). Furthermore, the method was found to be suitable for simultaneous enantioseparations, for enantiomeric purity checks and to differentiate between positional isomers. Moreover, an intra‐ and an interday validation was performed successfully for each chiral selector to prove the robustness of the method.     

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer for prometryne clean‐up in the environment

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are prepared on the surface of modified silica gel using prometryne as a template, methacrylic acid as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a crosslinker, and 2,2‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The structure of the MIPs was characterized using SEM and FTIR spectroscopy. The selectivity of the MIPs for the template molecule prometryne was proven by adsorption experiments. Highly selective SPE cartridges of MIP particles were developed and an optimized prometryne procedure was developed for the enrichment and clean‐up of prometryne residues in water, soil, and wheat samples. The concentrations of prometryne in the samples were analyzed by HPLC. The average recoveries of prometryne spiked for water at 0.05～0.8 mg/L were 101.47–106.65% and the RSD was 2.63–4.71%. The average recoveries of prometryne spiked for soil at 0.05～0.8 mg/L were 87.34–94.91% with the RSD being 2.77–8.41%. The average recoveries of prometryne spiked for wheat plant at 0.2～2.0 mg/kg were 91.04–97.76% with the RSD being 6.53–10.69%. The method developed here can be regenerated and repeatedly used more than two dozen times.     

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers using acrylamide‐β‐cyclodextrin as a cofunctional monomer for the specific capture of tea saponins from the defatted cake extract of Camellia oleifera

Molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized using mixed tea saponins as a template and acrylamide‐β‐cyclodextrin as a cofunctional monomer for the specific binding and purification of tea saponins from the defatted cake extract of Camellia oleifera. The adsorption properties of the prepared polymers were systematically evaluated including adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and selective recognition characteristics. It showed that the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo first‐order kinetic model (R² = 0.995) with an equilibrium time of 3 h, adsorption isotherm data fitted well with the Langmuir–Freundlich model (R² = 0.984) with an adsorption capacity of 14.23 mg/g. The relative selectivity coefficient (k´) in the presence of the analogues glycyrrhizic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid were 1.16 and 17.21, respectively. The performance of the molecularly imprinted polymers as solid‐phase extraction materials was investigated and the results indicated that using acrylamide‐β‐cyclodextrin as a cofunctional monomer improved both the adsorption capacity and active sites stability of the imprinted polymers. The solid‐phase extraction using the polymers as packing materials was subsequently applied for the separation of tea saponins in raw C. oleifera press extract, and targets were obtained with a purity reaching 89%.     

Synthesis of β‐Haloketones by β‐Addition Reactions of α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones with BX3 (X = Br,Cl) as Halide Source

A series of β‐bromoketones and β‐chloroketones were synthesized by the addition reactions of α,β‐unsaturated ketones under BX₃ (X = Br, Cl) and ethylene glycol reaction system. The α,β‐unsaturated ester also was successfully converted to its corresponding β‐bromoester under the reaction condition.     

Investigation of ractopamine‐imprinted polymer for dispersive solid‐phase extraction of trace β‐agonists in pig tissues

Ractopamine, as an alternative β‐agonist to clenbuterol, is more and more used as leanness‐enhancing agent in the swine industry. This work presents a new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) using ractopamine as template for dispersive solid‐phase extraction of trace ractopamine and the structural related β‐agonists in animal tissues. The binding properties and selectivity of MIP were investigated. High selectivity in polar environment was found, since the extraction capacity of ractopamine with the MIP was 4.5‐fold as much as that with the non‐imprinted polymer in acetonitrile. Cross‐selectivity investigation indicates that the MIP preferentially binds the template and then the structural analogues according to their molecular similarity. Thermodynamic and kinetic investigation was performed to interpret the specific adsorption and molecular recognition of the MIP for ractopamine. Standard free energy, standard enthalpy, and standard entropy were determined. Related information suggested that adsorption of ractopamine onto MIP was an exothermic, spontaneous process. The MIP can be applied as dispersive solid‐phase extraction material for enrichment of ractopamine, isoxsuprine, fenoterol and clenbuterol in complex samples before HPLC analysis. The method revealed detection limits of 0.20–0.90 μg/L, recoveries of 83.8–115.2 and 85.2–110.2% for the spiked pig muscle and pig liver, respectively, with the RSD from 2.5 to 8.8%.     

Enamination of β‐Dicarbonyl Compounds with Amines

Enamination of a wide variety of primary amines was successfully described with excellent chemo‐selectivity in the presence of catalytic amounts of β‐cyclodextrin in water under mild conditions. Aliphatic amines also reacted efficiently to produce the corresponding enaminones.     

A facile and efficient one‐step strategy for the preparation of β‐cyclodextrin monoliths

A novel, facile, and efficient one‐step copolymerization strategy was developed for the preparation of β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) methacrylate monolithic columns using click chemistry. The novel mono‐(1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐ylmethyl)‐2‐methylacryl‐β‐CD monomer was synthesized by a click reaction between propargyl methacrylate and mono‐6‐azido‐β‐CD, and then monolithic columns were prepared through a one‐step in situ copolymerization of the mono‐(1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐ylmethyl)‐2‐methylacryl‐β‐CD monomer and ethylene dimethacrylate. The physicochemical properties and column performance of the fabricated monolithic columns were characterized by elemental analysis, SEM, and micro‐HPLC. Satisfactory column permeability, efficiency, and separation performance were obtained for the optimized poly(mono‐(1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐ylmethyl)‐2‐methylacryl‐β‐CD‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic columns. Additionally, typical hydrophilic interaction chromatography retention behavior was observed on the monoliths at high acetonitrile content in the mobile phase. Although the enantioselectivity of our monolithic columns did not meet the level of other reported β‐CD monolithic columns, this one‐step strategy based on click chemistry still provides an interesting and effective model as it offers the possibility to easily prepare related novel CD methacrylate monoliths through a one‐step copolymerization strategy.     

Synthesis of new optically active α,α′,β‐trisubstituted‐β‐lactones as monomers for stereoregular biopolyesters

Various optically active (4R)‐alkyloxycarbonyl‐3,3‐dialkyl‐2‐oxetanones as monomers were synthesized from L‐(S)‐malic acid in six steps to prepare a new family of stereopolyesters for biomedical applications. The synthesis began with an esterification followed of a dialkylation in the aim to introduce hydrophobic groups as methyl or reactive group as allyl. Then, a saponification has permitted to obtain the corresponding diacids that reacted with appropriate alcohols to furnish different monoesters. The last and most important step was activation of hydroxyl group of monoesters with the asymmetric carbon configuration inversion according to the Mitsunobu reaction. Thus, this reaction has provided lactones from monoesters with 100% enantiomeric excess which was confirmed by ¹H NMR and by the synthesis of corresponding isotactic and semicrystalline homopolyesters. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2586–2597     

Enantiomeric separation of 2‐arylpropionic acid nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs by HPLC with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as chiral mobile phase additive

The enantio‐separations of eight 2‐arylpropionic acid nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (2‐APA NSAIDs) were established using reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD) as chiral mobile phase additive for studying the stereoselective skin permeation of suprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, indoprofen, fenoprofen, furbiprofen, ibuprofen and carprofen. The effects of the mobile phase composition, concentration of HP‐β‐CD and column temperature on retention and enantioselective separation were investigated. With 2‐APA NSAIDs as acidic analytes, the retention times and resolutions of the enantiomers were strongly related to the pH of the mobile phase. In addition, both the concentration of HP‐β‐CD and temperature had a great effect on retention time, but only a slight or almost no effect on resolutions of the analytes. Enantioseparations were achieved on a Shimpack CLC‐ODS (150 × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm) column. The mobile phase was a mixture of methanol and phosphate buffer (pH 4.0–5.5, 20 mM) containing 25 mM HP‐β‐CD. This method was flexible, simple and economically advantageous over the use of chiral stationary phase, and was successfully applied to the enantioselective determination of the racemic 2‐APA NSAIDs in an enantioselective skin permeation study. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies on the Mass Spectra of N‐Aryl α,β‐Unsaturated γ‐Lactams

The mass spectra of a series of N‐aryl α,β‐unsaturated γ‐lactams were studied. Besides the molecular ion, the three characteristic fragments such as [M⁺‐29], [M⁺‐55], and [M⁺‐82] were commonly found in a series of N‐Aryl α,β‐unsaturated γ‐lactams in EI/MS. Further more the mechanism for the interpretation of these fragments is also de scribed.     

Synthesis of multiresponsive β‐cyclodextrin nanocomposite through surface RAFT polymerization for controlled drug delivery

In this study, a unique magnetic, pH, and thermo‐responsive hydrogel nanocomposite was synthesized via surface reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and N‐isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) in the presence of magnetic β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD). The nanocomposite demonstrated a pH‐responsiveness behavior at pHs 3 and 9. Moreover, swelling behaviors of nanocomposite were measured in solutions with various temperatures. Furthermore, the nanocomposites exhibited high swelling capacity by applying an external magnetic field because of the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in the polymer structure. Besides, the doxorubicin (DOX) loading and releasing behaviors of the hydrogel nanocomposites were studied because of the stimuli‐responsive properties of the synthesized carriers. The adsorption of DOX obeyed a pseudo‐second‐order model and fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model with the maximum adsorption capacity uptake of 291 mg g^?1. In conclusion, the hydrogel nanocomposites were found to be as potential nanocarriers for use in controlled release applications.     

A Mild Isomerization Reaction for β,γ‐Unsaturated Ketone to α,β‐Unsaturated Ketone

A series of β,γ‐unsaturated ketones were isomerized to their corresponding α,β‐unsaturated ketones by the introduction of DABCO in iPrOH at room temperature. The endo‐cyclic double bond (β,γ‐position) on ketone was rearranged to exo‐cyclic double bond (α,β‐position) under the reaction conditions.     

β‐Cyclodextrin as an Efficient and Recyclable Supramolecular Catalyst for the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds

β‐Cyclodextrin (β‐CD ), a naturally occurring supramolecular structure, is an effective catalyst for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Its ubiquity, high performance, nontoxicity, ease of separation, and reusability have drawn the attention of green chemists. Here we present the synthetic procedures of heterocyclic compounds catalyzed by β‐CD in water and compare them with those using organic solvents. In many cases, using water as the solvent shows better efficiency than conventional organic solvents with regard to catalytic activity and simplicity of recycling procedures. This review highlights the applications of β‐CD in catalysis covering the years 2004–2016.     

Combined use of ionic liquid and sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin as electrolyte additives for separation and determination of camptothecin alkaloids by CZE

This work reported that ionic liquid (IL) ([Bmim] [PF₆]) and sulfobutylether‐β‐CD (SBE‐β‐CD) were used as electrolyte additives for the separation and determination of camptothecin (CPT) alkaloids by CZE. Separation parameters such as the buffer type, pH, and concentration of the running buffer, the concentration of SBE‐β‐CD and IL, temperature, and separation voltage were all investigated in order to achieve the maximum possible resolution. The four analytes were baseline separated within 10 min in capillary at the separation voltage of 15 kV with a running buffer consisting of 20 mM borate buffer, 20 mM IL, and 100 mM SBE‐β‐CD at pH 9.0. Under such conditions, good linearity about two orders of magnitudes of peak areas was achieved for the investigated CPT alkaloids with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9946 to 0.9985. For all analytes, detection limits (S/N = 3) and quantitation limits (S/N = 10) range from 0.05 to 0.92 μg/mL and 0.17 to 3.06 μg/mL, respectively. The proposed method has not only been successfully applied to the separation and determination of CPT alkaloids but also showed that IL seemed to be a promising additive in CZE separation.     

A Novel Electrochemical Sensor for β2‐Agonists with High Sensitivity and Selectivity Based on Surface Molecularly Imprinted Sol‐gel Doped with Antimony‐Doped Tin Oxide

A novel strategy to improve the sensitivity of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensors was proposed for the determination of β₂‐agonists. The imprinted sol‐gel film was prepared by mixing silica sol with a functional monomer of antimony‐doped tin oxide (ATO) and a template of β₂‐agonists. ATO, which was embedded in the surface of the molecularly imprinted sol‐gel film, not only provides the excellent conductivity for biosensor but also increases the stability and the surface area of the MIP film. The imprinted sensor was characterised by field emission scanning electron microscope, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the peak current was linear with the logarithm of the concentration of clenbuterol (CLB) in the range of 5.5 nM–6.3 µM, and a detection limit of 1.7 nM was obtained. Meanwhile, the electrochemical sensor showed excellent specific recognition of the template molecule among structurally similar coexisting substances. Furthermore, the proposed sensor was satisfactorily applied to determine β₂‐agonists in human serum samples. The good results indicated that highly effective molecularly imprinted sol‐gel films doped with ATO can be employed for other analytes.     

β‐cyclodextrin‐capped palladium nanoparticle‐catalyzed ligand‐free Suzuki and Heck couplings in low‐melting β‐cyclodextrin/NMU mixtures

Low‐melting β‐cyclodextrin/N‐methylurea (NMU) mixture, an efficient catalytic system for ligand‐free Suzuki and Heck couplings in the presence of fresh native β‐CD‐capped Pd⁰ nanoparticles, has been successfully reported. This natural and convenient system can be performed in air and could afford the corresponding cross‐coupled products in good to excellent isolated yields after a simple workup under every low Pd loading (0.05 mol%). Remarkably, the catalytic system can be recycled and reused without loss of catalytic activity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis of β‐Lactams and Cyclo‐β‐dipeptides

Different cyclo‐β‐dipeptides were prepared from corresponding N‐substituted β‐alanine derivatives under mild conditions using PhPOCl₂ as activating agent in benzene and Et₃N as base. To evaluate β³‐substituent influence, the amino acids 7 – 26 were synthesized, and a β‐lactam formation reaction was carried out instead of cyclo‐β‐dipeptide formation. The crystal structures of three derivatives of cyclo‐β‐peptides and one β‐lactam are presented.