Highly efficient high‐performance liquid chromatographic separation of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters on a homemade DUT‐67(Zr) packed column

In this study, the baseline separations of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters on a homemade DUT‐67(Zr) packed column were achieved, respectively. The high selectivity for xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters was obtained with the increase in temperature and decrease in the retention time. The hydrophobicity of xylene isomers and phthalate acid esters resulted in the different separation time on the DUT‐67(Zr) packed column. The relative standard deviation values of retention time, peak area, peak height, and half peak width for five repeat separation of the xylene isomers were 0.26–0.35, 2.11–2.26, 1.51–2.03, and 0.29–0.77%, and the values of the phthalate acid esters on DUT‐67(Zr) column were 0.1–0.4, 4.4–5.2, 3.9–6.3, and 0.6–2.1%, respectively. The thermodynamic properties indicated that the separation of xylene isomers was controlled by ΔH and ΔS, but the separation of phthalate acid esters was mainly controlled by ΔS.     

Simultaneous determination of seven phthalic acid esters in beverages using ultrasound and vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive, rapid, and simple high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven phthalic acid esters (dimethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, di‐n‐butyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate, and di‐n‐octyl phthalate) in several kinds of beverage samples. Ultrasound and vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method was used. The separation was performed using an Intersil ODS‐3 column (C₁₈, 250 × 4.6 mm, 5.0 μm) and a gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of MeOH/ACN (50:50) and 0.2 M KH₂PO₄ buffer. Analytes were detected by a UV detector at 230 nm. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, repeatability, accuracy, and recovery. Calibration equations and correlation coefficients (> 0.99) were calculated by least squares method with weighting factor. The limit of detection and quantification were in the range of 0.019–0.208 and 0.072–0.483 μg/L. The repeatability and intermediate precision were determined in terms of relative standard deviation to be within 0.03–3.93 and 0.02–4.74%, respectively. The accuracy was found to be in the range of –14.55 to 15.57% in terms of relative error. Seventeen different beverage samples in plastic bottles were successfully analyzed, and ten of them were found to be contaminated by different phthalic acid esters.     

New application of chitosan‐grafted polyaniline in dispersive solid‐phase extraction for the separation and determination of phthalate esters in milk using high‐performance liquid chromatography

Chitosan‐grafted polyaniline was synthesized and applied as a sorbent for the preconcentration of phthalate esters in dispersive solid‐phase extraction. By coupling dispersive solid‐phase extraction with high‐performance liquid chromatography and response surface methodology (central composite design), a reliable, sensitive, and cost‐effective method for simultaneous determination of phthalate esters including dimethyl phthalate, di‐n‐butyl phthalate, and di(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate was developed. The morphology of sorbent had been studied by scanning electron microscopy and its chemical structure confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Under optimum condition, good linearity was observed in the range of 5.0–5000.0 ng/mL. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.1–0.3 and 0.3–1 ng/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviations were less than 8.8%. Finally, this procedure was employed for extraction of trace amounts of phthalic acid esters in milk samples, the relative recoveries ranged from 82 to 103%.     

Application of magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites for the solid‐phase extraction of phthalate esters in water samples

Magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites were successfully prepared in situ and used to develop a highly sensitive magnetic solid‐phase extraction method for the preconcentration of phthalate esters such as di‐n‐butyl phthalate, butyl phthalate, dihexyl phthalate, and di‐(2‐ethyl hexyl) phthalate from water. The adsorption and desorption of the phthalate esters on magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites were investigated and the parameters affecting the partition of the phthalate esters, such as adsorption, desorption, recovery, were assessed. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method showed excellent sensitivity with limits of detection (S/N = 3) in the range of 0.05–0.1 μg/L and precision in the range of 1.1–2.6% (n = 5). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples, and good spiked recoveries over the range of 79.4–99.4% were obtained. This research provides a possibility to apply this nanocomposite for adsorption, preconcentration, or even removal of various carbon‐based ring or hydrophobic pollutants.     

Rapid separation of cyanidin‐3‐glucoside and cyanidin‐3‐rutinoside from crude mulberry extract using high‐performance countercurrent chromatography and establishment of a volumetric scale‐up process

This study describes the rapid separation of mulberry anthocyanins; namely, cyanidin‐3‐glucoside and cyanidin‐3‐rutinoside, using high‐performance countercurrent chromatography, and the establishment of a volumetric scale‐up process from semi‐preparative to preparative‐scale. To optimize the separation parameters, biphasic solvent systems composed of tert‐butyl methyl ether/n‐butanol/acetonitrile/0.01% trifluoroacetic acid, flow rate, sample amount and rotational speed were evaluated for the semi‐preparative‐scale high‐performance countercurrent chromatography. The optimized semi‐preparative‐scale high‐performance countercurrent chromatography parameters (tert‐butyl methyl ether/n‐butanol/acetonitrile/0.01% trifluoroacetic acid, 1:3:1:5, v/v; flow rate, 4.0 mL/min; sample amount, 200–1000 mg; rotational speed, 1600 rpm) were transferred directly to a preparative‐scale (tert‐butyl methyl ether/n‐butanol/acetonitrile/0.01% trifluoroacetic acid, 1:3:1:5, v/v; flow rate, 28 mL/min; sample amount, 5.0–10.0 g; rotational speed, 1400 rpm) to achieve separation results identical to cyanidin‐3‐glucoside and cyanidin‐3‐rutinoside. The separation of mulberry anthocyanins using semi‐preparative high‐performance countercurrent chromatography and its volumetric scale‐up to preparative‐scale was addressed for the first time in this report.     

Simultaneous determination of 22 phthalate esters in polystyrene food‐contact materials by ultra‐performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of 22 phthalate esters in polystyrene food‐contact materials has been established using ultraperformance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. In this method, 22 phthalate esters were analyzed in <3.5 min on an ACQUITY Tours 1‐AA column by gradient elution. The mobile phase, the compensation solvent, the flow rate of mobile phase, column temperature, and automatic back pressure regulator pressure were optimized, respectively. There was a good linearity of 20 phthalate esters with a range of 0.05–10 mg/L, diisodecyl phthalate and diisononyl phthalate were 0.25–10 mg/L, and the correlation coefficients of all phthalates were higher than 0.99 and those of 16 phthalates were higher than 0.999. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification of 15 phthalates were 0.02 and 0.05 mg/kg, meanwhile diallyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, di‐n‐butyl phthalate, and di(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate were 0.05 and 0.10 mg/kg, and diisodecyl phthalate and diisononyl phthalate were 0.10 and 0.25 mg/kg. The spiked recoveries were in the range of 76.26–107.76%, and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.78–12.10%. Results support this method as an efficient alternative to apply for the simultaneous determination of 22 phthalate esters in common polystyrene food‐contact materials.     

A porous carbon derived from amino‐functionalized material of Institut Lavoisier as a solid‐phase microextraction fiber coating for the extraction of phthalate esters from tea

In this work, a porous carbon derived from amino‐functionalized material of Institut Lavoisier (C‐NH₂‐MIL‐125) was prepared and coated onto a stainless‐steel wire through sol–gel technique. The coated fiber was used for the solid‐phase microextraction of trace levels of phthalate esters (diallyl phthalate, di‐iso‐butyl ortho‐phthalate, di‐n‐butyl ortho‐phthalate, benzyl‐n‐butyl ortho‐phthalate, and bis(2‐ethylhexy) ortho‐phthalate) from tea beverage samples before gas chromatography with mass spectrometric analysis. Several experimental parameters that could influence the extraction efficiency such as extraction time, extraction temperature, sample pH, sample salinity, stirring rate, desorption temperature and desorption time, were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the linearity existed in the range of 0.05–30.00 μg/L for green jasmine tea beverage samples, and 0.10–30.00 μg/L for honey jasmine tea beverage samples, with the correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.9939 to 0.9981. The limits of detection of the analytes for the method were 2.0–3.0 ng/L for green jasmine tea beverage sample, and 4.0–5.0 ng/L for honey jasmine tea beverage sample, depending on the compounds. The recoveries of the analytes for the spiked samples were in the range of 82.0–106.0%, and the precision, expressed as the relative standard deviations, was less than 11.1%.     

Microwave‐assisted preparation of poly(ionic liquids)‐modified polystyrene magnetic nanospheres for phthalate esters extraction from beverages

The fabrication of novel poly(ionic liquids)‐modified polystyrene (PSt) magnetic nanospheres (PILs‐PMNPs) by a one‐pot miniemulsion copolymerization reaction was achieved through an efficient microwave‐assisted synthesis method. The morphology, structure, and magnetic behavior of the as‐prepared magnetic materials were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, etc. The magnetic materials were utilized as sorbents for the extraction of phthalate esters (PAEs) from beverage samples followed by high‐performance ultrafast liquid chromatography analysis. Significant extraction parameters that could affect the extraction efficiencies were investigated particularly. Under optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 0.5–50 (dimethyl phthalate), 0.3–50 (diethyl phthalate), 0.2–50 (butyl benzyl phthalate), and 0.4–50 μg/L (di‐n‐butyl phthalate), with correlation coefficients R ² > 0.9989. Limits of detection were in the range 125–350 pg. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine PAEs from beverage samples with satisfactory recovery ranging from 77.8 to 102.1% and relative standard deviations ranging from 3.7 to 8.4%. Comparisons of extraction efficiency with PSt‐modified MNPs as sorbents were performed. The results demonstrated that PILs‐PMNPs possessed an excellent adsorption capability toward the trace PAE analytes.     

Determination of phthalate esters from environmental water samples by micro‐solid‐phase extraction using TiO2 nanotube arrays before high‐performance liquid chromatography

We describe a highly sensitive micro‐solid‐phase extraction method for the pre‐concentration of six phthalate esters utilizing a TiO₂ nanotube array coupled to high‐performance liquid chromatography with a variable‐wavelength ultraviolet visible detector. The selected phthalate esters included dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, bis(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate and dioctyl phthalate. The factors that would affect the enrichment, such as desorption solvent, sample pH, salting‐out effect, extraction time and desorption time, were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of the proposed method was 0.3–200 μg/L. The limits of detection were 0.04–0.2 μg/L (S/N = 3). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of six phthalate esters in water samples and satisfied spiked recoveries were achieved. These results indicated that the proposed method was appropriate for the determination of trace phthalate esters in environmental water samples.     

Solid‐phase extraction based on chloromethylated polystyrene magnetic nanospheres followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry to determine phthalate esters in beverages

An ultrasound‐assisted magnetic solid‐phase extraction procedure with chloromethylated polystyrene‐coated Fe₃O₄ nanospheres as magnetic adsorbents has been developed to determine eight phthalate esters (bis(4‐methyl‐2‐pentyl) phthalate, dipentyl phthalate, dihexyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, bis(2‐butoxyethyl) phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, di‐n‐octyl phthalate, and dinonyl phthalate) simultaneously in beverage samples, in combination with gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for the first time. Several factors related to magnetic solid‐phase extraction efficiencies, such as amount of adsorbent, extracting time, ionic strength, and desorption conditions were investigated. The enrichment factors of the method for the eight analytes were over 2482. A good linearity was observed in the range of 10–500 ng/L for bis(2‐butoxyethyl) phthalate and 2–500 ng/L for the other phthalate esters with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9980 to 0.9998. The limits of detection and quantification for the eight phthalate esters were in the range of 0.20–2.90 and 0.67–9.67 ng/L, respectively. The mean recoveries at three spiked levels were 75.8–117.7%, the coefficients of variations were <11.6%. The proposed method was demonstrated to be a simple and efficient technique for the trace analysis of the phthalate esters in beverage samples.     

Determination of phthalic acid esters in Chinese white spirit using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with sweeping β‐cyclodextrin‐modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A simple method that consumes low organic solvent is proposed for the analysis of phthalic acid esters in Chinese white spirit using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with sweeping‐micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Tetrachloromethane and white‐spirit‐containing ethanol were used as the extraction and dispersing solvents, respectively. The electrophoresis separation buffer was composed of 5 mM β‐cyclodextrin, 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 25 mM borate buffer (pH 9.2) with 9% acetonitrile, enabling the baseline resolution of the analytes within 13 min. Under the optimum conditions, satisfactory linearities (5–1000 ng/mL, r ≥ 0.9909), good reproducibility (RSD ≤ 6.7% for peak area, and RSD ≤ 2.8% for migration time), low detection limits (0.4–0.8 ng/mL) and acceptable recovery rates (89.6–105.7%) were obtained. The proposed method was successfully applied to 22 Chinese white spirits, and the content of dibutyl phthalate in 55% of the samples exceeded the Specific Migration Limit of 0.3 mg/kg established by the domestic and international regulations.     

Mesoporous Silica‐coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Mixed Hemimicelles Solid‐phase Extraction of Phthalate Esters in Environmental Water Samples with Liquid Chromatographic Analysis

To extract, preconcentrate and determine the trace level of environmental contaminants, a novel mixed hemimicelles solid‐phase extraction (MHSPE) method based on mesoporous silica‐coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄/meso‐SiO₂ NPs) as adsorbent was developed for extraction of phthalate esters from water samples. The Fe₃O₄/meso‐SiO₂ NPs were synthesized by using a combination of hydrothermal method and sol‐gel method. The obtained Fe₃O₄/meso‐SiO₂ NPs possessed a large surface area (570 m²/g), superparamagnetism, and uniform mesopores (2.8 nm). MHSPE parameters, such as the amount of surfactant, pH of sample, shaking and separation time, eluent and breakthrough volume that may influence the extraction of analytes greatly, were further investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction was completed in 20 min and a concentration factor of 500 was achieved by extracting 250 mL water sample. Detection limits obtained of butyl‐benzyl phthalate (BBP), di‐n‐butyl phthalate (DnBP), di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di‐n‐cotyl phthalate (DnOP) were 12, 21, 12, and 32 ng/L, respectively. The proposed method exhibited high extraction efficiency and relatively short time for extracting the target compounds.     

Preparative enantioseparation of propafenone by counter‐current chromatography using di‐n‐butyl l‐tartrate combined with boric acid as the chiral selector

This paper extends the research of the utilization of borate coordination complexes in chiral separation by counter‐current chromatography (CCC). Racemic propafenone was successfully enantioseparated by CCC with di‐n‐butyl l ‐tartrate combined with boric acid as the chiral selector. The two‐phase solvent system was composed of chloroform/ 0.05 mol/L acetate buffer pH 3.4 containing 0.10 mol/L boric acid (1:1, v/v), in which 0.10 mol/L di‐n‐butyl l ‐tartrate was added in the organic phase. The influence of factors in the enantioseparation of propafenone were investigated and optimized. A total of 92 mg of racemic propafenone was completely enantioseparated using high‐speed CCC in a single run, yielding 40–42 mg of (R)‐ and (S)‐propafenone enantiomers with an HPLC purity over 90–95%. The recovery for propafenone enantiomers from fractions of CCC was in the range of 85–90%.     

High‐performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of isoxazoline‐fused 2‐aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acids on a chiral ligand‐exchange stationary phase

The application of a chiral ligand‐exchange column for the direct high‐performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of unusual β‐amino acids with a sodium N‐((R)‐2‐hydroxy‐1‐phenylethyl)‐N‐undecylaminoacetate‐Cu(II) complex as chiral selector is reported. The investigated amino acids were isoxazoline‐fused 2‐aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid analogs. The chromatographic conditions were varied to achieve optimal separation. The effects of temperature were studied at constant mobile phase compositions in the temperature range 5–45°C, and thermodynamic parameters were calculated from plots of lnk or lnα versus 1/T. Δ(ΔH°) ranged from –2.3 to 2.2 kJ/mol, Δ(ΔS°) from –3.0 to 7.8 J mol^?1 K^?1 and –Δ(ΔG°) from 0.1 to 1.7 kJ/mol, and both enthalpy‐ and entropy‐controlled enantioseparations were observed. The latter was advantageous with regard to the shorter retention and greater selectivity at high temperature. Some mechanistic aspects of the chiral recognition process are discussed with respect to the structures of the analytes. The sequence of elution of the enantiomers was determined in all cases.     

Centrifugeless ultrasound‐assisted emulsification microextraction based on salting‐out phenomenon followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography for the simple determination of phthalate esters in aqueous samples

A fast, sensitive, and centrifugeless ultrasound‐assisted emulsification microextraction followed by a high‐performance liquid chromatography method is developed for the determination of some phthalate esters in aqueous samples. In this method, a simple approach is followed to eliminate the centrifugation step in dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction using an organic solvent whose melting point is near the ambient temperature, consumption of the extracting solvent is efficiently reduced, and the overall extraction time was found to be only 7 min. The variables affecting the method are optimized. Under the optimal experimental conditions (75 μL of 1‐undecanol, a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min, and an ultrasound irradiation of 1 min), the proposed method exhibits good preconcentration factors (52–97), low limits of detection (1.0–5.0 ng/mL), and linearities in the range of 5–1500 ng/mL (r ² ≥ 0.995). Finally, the method is successfully applied to the analysis of phthalate esters in the drinking and river water samples. To study the probable release of the phthalate esters from a polyethylene container into boiling water, the boiling water exposed to the polyethylene container was analyzed by the proposed method.     

Application of magnetized MOF‐74 to phthalate esters extraction from Chinese liquor

In this study, magnetized MOF‐74 (Ni) was prepared using an ultrasound‐assisted synthesis method. This novel functional magnetic adsorbent was characterized using various techniques. Using the prepared material as adsorbents, a magnetic solid‐phase extraction method coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was proposed for determining four phthalate esters in Chinese liquor samples. The extraction parameters, including solution pH, adsorbent amount, extraction time, and eluent type and volume, were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, proposed method showed good linearity within the range of 1.53–200 μg/L for diphenyl phthalate, 2.03–200 μg/L for butyl benzyl phthalate, 7.02–200 μg/L for diamyl phthalate, and 6.03–200 μg/L for dicyclohexyl phthalate, with correlation coefficients > 0.9944, low limits of detection (0.46–2.10 μg/L, S/N = 3), and good extraction repeatability (relative standard deviations of 3.7%, n = 6). This method was successfully used to analyze phthalate esters in Chinese liquor samples with recoveries of 74.4–104.8%. Two phthalate esters were detected in two samples, both at concentrations that satisfied the Chinese national standard, indicating this method has practical application prospects. The extraction efficiency of this method was also compared with conventional solid‐phase extraction using commercial C₁₈ cartridges. The results demonstrated that the proposed magnetic solid‐phase extraction is a simple, time‐saving, efficient, and low‐cost method.     

Convenient Synthesis of tert‐Butyl Esters of Indole‐5‐carboxylic Acid and Related Heterocyclic Carboxylic Acids

The tert‐butyl esters of indole‐5‐carboxylic acid and related compounds such as benzofuran‐ and benzothiophene‐5‐carboxylic acid were readily accessed by reacting the appropriate carboxylic acids with tert‐butyl trichloroacetimidate. To obtain the tert‐butyl esters of the 5‐carboxylic acids of 1H‐benzotriazole and 1H‐benzimidazole, position 1 of these heterocycles had to be protected by acetylation prior to reaction with tert‐butyl trichloroacetimidate. Cleavage of the acetyl residue of the obtained intermediates by dilute aqueous NaOH in ethanol led to the desired tert‐butyl 1H‐benzotriazole‐and 1H‐benzimidazole‐5‐carboxylates.     

Rapid and nondestructive analysis of phthalic acid esters in toys made of poly(vinyl chloride) by direct analysis in real time single‐quadrupole mass spectrometry

In the European Community, selected phthalic acid esters (PAE) are restricted in their use for the manufacture of toys and childcare articles to a content of 0.1% by weight. As PAE are mainly used as plasticisers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a rapid screening method for PVC samples with direct analysis in real time ionisation and single‐quadrupole mass spectrometry (DART‐MS) was developed. Using the ions for the protonated molecules, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.05% was obtained for benzyl butyl phthalate, bis(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, while for dibutyl phthalate, di‐n‐octyl phthalate and diisodecyl phthalate the LOD was 0.1%. Validation of identification by the presence of ammonium adducts and characteristic fragment ions was possible to a content of ≥1% for all PAE, except for benzyl butyl phthalate (≥5%). Based on the fragment ions, bis(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate could clearly be distinguished from di‐n‐octyl phthalate, if the concentrations were ≥5% and ≥1% at measured DART helium temperatures of 130 and 310°C, respectively. The complete analysis of one sample only took about 8 min. At the generally used gas temperature of 130°C, most toy and childcare samples did not sustain damage if their shape fitted into the DART source. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CE‐ESI‐MS coupled with dynamic pH junction online concentration for analysis of peptides in human urine samples

In this article, an approach has been developed for the analysis of some small peptides with similar pI values by CE‐ESI‐MS based on the online concentration strategy of dynamic pH junction. The factors affected on the separation, detection and online enrichment, such as BGE, injection pressure, sheath flow liquid and separation voltage have been investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions, i.e. using 0.5 mol/L formic acid (pH 2.15) as the BGE, preparing the sample in 50 mM ammonium acetate solution (pH 7.5), 50 mbar of injection pressure for 300 s, using 7.5 mM of acetic acid in methanol–water (80% v/v) solution as the sheath flow liquid and 20 kV as the separation voltage, four peptides with similar pI values, such as L ‐Ala‐L ‐Ala (pI=5.57), L ‐Leu‐D ‐Leu (pI=5.52), Gly‐D ‐Phe (pI=5.52) and Gly‐Gly‐L ‐Leu (pI=5.52) achieved baseline separation within 18.3 min with detection limits in the range of 0.2–2.0 nmol/L. RSDs of peak migration time and peak area were in the range of 1.45–3.57 and 4.93–6.32%, respectively. This method has been applied to the analysis of the four peptides in the spiked urine sample with satisfactory results.     

Synthesis of Bis‐Heterocyclic 1H‐Imidazole 3‐Oxides from 3‐Oxido‐1H‐imidazole‐4‐carbohydrazides

The reaction of 1H‐imidazole‐4‐carbohydrazides 1 , which are conveniently accessible by treatment of the corresponding esters with NH₂NH₂?H₂O, with isothiocyanates in refluxing EtOH led to thiosemicarbazides (=hydrazinecarbothioamides) 4 in high yields (Scheme 2). Whereas 4 in boiling aqueous NaOH yielded 2,4‐dihydro‐3H‐1,2,4‐triazole‐3‐thiones 5 , the reaction in concentrated H₂SO₄ at room temperature gave 1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐amines 6 . Similarly, the reaction of 1 with butyl isocyanate led to semicarbazides 7 , which, under basic conditions, undergo cyclization to give 2,4‐dihydro‐3H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐ones 8 (Scheme 3). Treatment of 1 with Ac₂O yielded the diacylhydrazine derivatives 9 exclusively, and the alternative isomerization of 1 to imidazol‐2‐ones was not observed (Scheme 4). It is important to note that, in all these transformations, the imidazole N‐oxide residue is retained. Furthermore, it was shown that imidazole N‐oxides bearing a 1,2,4‐triazole‐3‐thione or 1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐amine moiety undergo the S‐transfer reaction to give bis‐heterocyclic 1H‐imidazole‐2‐thiones 11 by treatment with 2,2,4,4‐tetramethylcyclobutane‐1,3‐dithione (Scheme 5).