Inorganic speciation of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in natural water with GF-AAS using solid phase extraction technology

The paper presents a procedure for the multi-element inorganic speciation of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in natural water with GF-AAS using solid phase extraction technology. Total As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) were determined according to the following procedure: titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was used to adsorb inorganic species of As, Se and Sb in sample solution; after filtration, the solid phase was prepared to be slurry for determination. For As(III), Se(IV) and Sb(III), their inorganic species were coprecipitated with Pb-PDC, dissolved in dilute nitric acid, and then determined. The concentrations of As(V), Se(VI) and Sb(V) can be calculated by the difference of the concentrations obtained by the above determinations. For the determination of As(III), Se(IV) and Sb(III), palladium was chosen as a modifier and pyrolysis temperature was 800 °C. Optimum conditions for the coprecipitation were listed for 100 ml of sample solution: pH 3.0, 15 min of stirring time, 40.0 μg l⁻¹ Pb(NO₃)₂ and 150.0 μg l⁻¹ APDC. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace amounts of As(III, V), Se(IV, VI) and Sb(III, V) in river water and seawater.     

1H-NMR Relaxation of Water Molecules in the Aqueous Microcrystalline Cellulose Suspension Systems and Their Viscosity

An intensive study for aqueous microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) suspensions was carried out in view of the relationship between a viscosity and a 1H spin-spin relaxation time (T2) of water. An investigation was carried out for four suspension systems with the different particle size distributions. The proton mole ratio () of bound water against MCC particles and T2 of bound water (T2,b) were evaluated from the T2 values obtained by Carr-Purcell- Meiboom-Gill (C.P.M.G) method and those by solid echo method, respectively. As a result of these analyses, the T2,b value for the aqueous MCC suspension was evaluated as 5 × 10–3 s and it was found that the system having a larger tended to show a higher viscosity. By relating the above results to the observation of the suspensions by an optical microscope, it was concluded that a network formed by MCC particles plays an important role in generating a high viscosity of MCC suspension, and that an averaged mobility of water molecules is sensitively affected by the network structure.     

Flux decline behaviors in dead-end microfiltration of activated sludge and its supernatant

The properties of dead-end microfiltration were explored under constant pressure using two types of activated sludge controlled under the condition of different air flow rates. The activated sludge cultured at the air flow rate of 0.15 L min⁻¹ (the anaerobic condition) exhibited a significant flux decline compared with the case of the air flow rate of 2.33 L min⁻¹ (the aerobic condition). It was found from the results of microfiltration of the supernatant separated by centrifugation that the constituents in the supernatant caused a major cake resistance in microfiltration of the activated sludge. The average specific filtration resistance for filtration of the activated sludge was closely consistent with that for filtration of the supernatant at low pressure (49 kPa). However, the cake resistance of the microbial floc in microfiltration of the activated sludge became substantial with increasing filtration pressure because of high compressibility of the microbial floc. Moreover, the foulant and the fouling mechanism in microfiltration of the supernatant were evaluated from both microfiltration test of the supernatant and microfiltration test of the filtrate collected thereby. As a result, the effects of the pore size and material of the microfiltration membrane on the flux decline behaviors in dead-end microfiltration were reasonably elucidated.     

Medicinal foodstuffs. XXVII. Saponin constituents of gotu kola (2): structures of new ursane- and oleanane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, centellasaponins B, C, and D, from Centella asiatica cultivated in Sri Lanka

Ursane- and oleanane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, centellasaponins B, C, and D, were isolated from the aerial parts of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban cultivated in Sri Lanka together with madecassoside, asiaticoside, asiaticoside B, and sceffoleoside A. The chemical structures of centellasaponins B, C, and D were determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence to be madecassic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, madasiatic acid 28-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and 3beta,6beta,23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, respectively.     

New photoswitching unit for magnetic interaction: diarylethene with 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)-3-thienyl group

Photoswitching of the intramolecular magnetic interaction was demonstrated using diarylethenes with 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)-4-methyl-3-thienyl side group. Two nitroxide radicals were placed at each end of the 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)-4-methyl-3-thienyl group. Three kinds of aryl groups, 2,5-thienylene, p-phenylene, and m-phenylene groups, were used in the arylethynyl moiety. The diarylethene photoswitching units have an extended pi-conjugated chain on one side of the diarylethene. The photochromic reactivity was dependent on the arylethynyl group. Diarylethenes with m-phenylene group showed an efficient photochromic reactivity. Along with the photochromic reaction the diarylethenes showed photoswitching of an ESR spectrum originating from the change in the magnetic interaction between two unpaired electrons. The open-ring isomer showed stronger exchange interaction than the photogenerated closed-ring isomer. The magnetic interaction between two radicals via the pi-conjugated chain was altered by photocyclization due to the change of the hybrid orbital at the 2-position of the thiophene ring from sp(2) to sp(3).     

Convergent synthesis of polycyclic ethers via the intramolecular allylation of alpha-acetoxy ethers and subsequent ring-closing metathesis

The Lewis acid mediated reaction of alpha-acetoxy ethers 15-22 gave the corresponding cyclized products 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, and 36 in good yields with high stereoselectivities. Those cyclized products were subjected to ring-closing metathesis to afford the polycyclic ethers 38-42, 44, and 45 in good yields. The usefulness of the present methodology was demonstrated by the convergent synthesis of the CDEF ring system of brevetoxin B (1) and the CDEFG ring system of gambierol (2).     

Nigellamines A3, A4, A5, and C, new dolabellane-type diterpene alkaloids, with lipid metabolism-promoting activities from the Egyptian medicinal food black cumin

New dolabellane-type diterpene alkaloids, nigellamines A(3), A(4), A(5), and C, were isolated from the methanolic extract of an Egyptian medicinal food, black cumin (the seeds of Nigella sativa). Their absolute configurations were determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. Nigellamines were found to lower triglyceride levels in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes, and in particular, the activity of nigellamine A(5) was equivalent to that of the hypolipidemic agent, clofibrate.     

Sensitive determination of bisphenol A and alkylphenols by high performance liquid chromatography with pre-column derivatization with 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole

A new and sensitive high-performance chromatographic method for the determination of bisphenol A and 8 alkylphenols with fluorescence detection is reported. Each phenol was derivatized by reaction with 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole at 40 degrees C for 60 min. The fluorescence derivatives were separated on a Wakosil 5C18 column (4.0 i.d. x 300 mm, 5 microm) with methanol:water (10:90) as mobile phase (detection wavelength: lambda(ex) 336 nm, lambda(em) 440 nm). The detection limits were in the range of 0.1-10.0 pg/mL in serum. The calibration graphs were linear to 1.0 microg/mL. The relative standard deviations were 7.2-8.9%, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of bisphenol A in mother and infant rat serum.     

Rational design and crystal structure determination of a 3-D metal-organic jungle-gym-like open framework

A new three-dimensional (3-D) jungle-gym-like open metal-organic framework has been synthesized from a two-dimensional (2-D) layer compound using a heterogeneous pillar insertion reaction. Both the starting 2-D layer and the resulting 3-D open compounds have been characterized using X-ray crystallography.     

Prediction of measurement precision of apparatus using a chemometric tool in electrochemical detection of high-performance liquid chromatography

The relative standard deviation (RSD) of measurements in high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) was predicted by a chemometric tool based on the 1/f fluctuation model which is made up of white noise and a Markov process, called the Function of Mutual Information (FUMI) theory. FUMI theory can provide aprecise and reliable detection limit from a single measurement of noise and signal in HPLC-ECD. To obtain RSD (n = 5) for determination of (-)-epicatechin at five concentrations required 12.5 h, while the predicted RSD by FUMI theory required only 0.5 h (one measurement). Moreover, to trace the source of instrumental noise, power spectra of chromatographic baseline were used. Selection of a suitable apparatus in HPLC-ECD system, acquisition of RSD, and detection limits for determination of catechins by HPLC-ECD were simply and easily made by this chemometric tool within a very short time. The use of the FUMI theory for the prediction of measuring precision was more efficient and the optimization was less time-consuming to be suited for determination.