Ultra-high pressure LC determination of glucosamine in shrimp by-products and migration tests of chitosan films

Chitosan, a multiple applications molecule, was isolated from shrimp by-products by fermentation. The amount of chitosan in the solid fraction of the fermented extract was measured after its conversion in the respective glucosamine units. The procedure includes an acid hydrolysis (110 °C, 4 h with HCl 8 M) and a derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (Fmoc-Cl). Ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography method was developed and optimized. Excellent peaks resolution was achieved in just 10 min. The method was evaluated in what concerns to validation parameters such as linearity, repeatability, quantification limit, and recovery. Migration tests of films prepared with chitosan were carried out in two simulants: ultrapure water and ethanol 95% (v/v).     

An extended approach for computing the critical properties in the two-and three-dimensional lattices within the effective-field renormalization group method

In this letter we employing the effective-field renormalization group (EFRG) to study the Ising model with nearest neighbors to obtain the reduced critical temperature and exponents ν for bi- and three-dimensional lattices by increasing cluster scheme by extending recent works. The technique follows up the same strategy of the mean field renormalization group (MFRG) by introducing an alternative way for constructing classical effective-field equations of state takes on rigorous Ising spin identities.     

The G2 sphere of a 4-manifold

We bring to light a G ₂ structure existing on the unit sphere tangent bundle S _M of any given orientable Riemannian 4-manifold M. The associated 3-form φ is co-calibrated if, and only if, M is an Einstein manifold—a result which leads to new examples of co-calibrated G ₂ spaces. We hope to be contributing both to the knowledge of special geometries and to the study of 4-manifolds.     

Interplay between H‐Bonding and Preorganization in the Evolution of Self‐Assembled Systems

Cooperative π–π interactions and H‐bonding are frequently exploited in supramolecular polymerization; however, close scrutiny of their mutual interplay has been largely unexplored. Herein, we compare the self‐assembly behavior of a series of C₂‐ and C₃‐symmetrical oligophenyleneethynylenes differing in their amide topology (N‐ or C‐centered). This subtle structural modification brings about drastic changes in their photophysical and supramolecular properties, highlighting the reciprocal impact of H‐bonding vs. preorganization on the evolution and final outcome of supramolecular systems.     

Isolation of phytosterols of Dalbergia ecastophyllum (L.) Taub. (Leguminosae) and modulation of antibiotic resistance by a possible membrane effect

Globally there are a larger number of strains of microorganisms resistant to multiple drugs mainly due to misuse and indiscriminate, resulting in increased morbidity, costs inherent benefits of health care, as well as mortality rates for infections. As a result of this a large number of researches have been conducted emphasizing the antimicrobial properties of plant products. In this study, the ethanol extract and hexane fraction of Dalbergia ecastophyllum (L.) Taub. (Leguminosae) have been used to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal activity and for modulating the resistance of antimicrobials against bacterial strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans and fungal strains of Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis. The antibacterial and modulatory activity was determined by microdilution. Inhibition of the growth of bacteria and fungi tested extract was ?1024. The activity was enhanced when aminoglycosides were associated with sub-inhibitory concentrations of the ethanol extract and hexane fraction of Dalbergia ecastophyllum. Therefore, it is suggested that the ethanol extract and hexane fraction of Dalbergia ecastophyllum (L.) Taub. (Leguminosae) can be used as a source of natural products with a view to changing the resistance of these microorganisms to antimicrobials.     

Thermal effect on the dielectric function and small polaron hopping conduction in organic molecular crystals

A Green function formalism is applied to study the dielectric function spectra and the small polaron hopping conduction in organic molecular crystals. In the calculations, the electron-phonon interaction is considered within the Hartree-Fock approximation, and the temperature effect is taken into account. Our theoretical approach is based on the polar electron-phonon interaction (Fröhlich type) to characterize the non-degenerate polaron gas, with the assumption of the electronic hopping between the first-neighbor.     

Microwave Irradiation: Alternative Heating Process for the Synthesis of Biologically Applicable Chromones,Quinolones, and Their Precursors

Microwave irradiation has become a popular heating technique in organic synthesis, mainly due to its short reaction times, solventless reactions, and, sometimes, higher yields. Additionally, microwave irradiation lowers energy consumption and, consequently, is ideal for optimization processes. Moreover, there is evidence that microwave irradiation can improve the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity aspects of vital importance in synthesizing bioactive compounds. These crucial features of microwave irradiation contribute to its inclusion in green chemistry procedures. Since 2003, the use of microwave-assisted organic synthesis has become common in our laboratory, making our group one of the first Portuguese research groups to implement this heating source in organic synthesis. Our achievements in the transformation of heterocyclic compounds, such as (E/Z)-3-styryl-4H-chromen-4-ones, (E)-3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-styryl-1H-pyrazole, (E)-2-(4-arylbut-1-en-3-yn-1-yl)-4H-chromen-4-ones, or (E)-2-[2-(5-aryl-2-methyl-2H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)vinyl]-4H-chromen-4-ones, will be discussed in this review, highlighting the benefits of microwave irradiation use in organic synthesis.     

Complete assignment of 1H and 13C NMR data for three aryltetralin lignan lactones

We describe the complete 1H and 13C NMR analysis of three aryltetralin lignan lactones (polygamain, morelensin and 4,5-dimethoxymorelensin) using modern NMR techniques such as COSY, HMQC, HMBC, 2D-J-resolved and NOE experiments. The relative stereochemistry of these compounds, which is very important with regard to their biological activity, was completely determined.     

Ab initio study of the conformational equilibrium of ethylene glycol

Summary The conformational equilibrium of ethylene glycol (CH₂OHCH₂OH) has been examined by performing geometry optimizations at the 6-31G*, MP2/6-31G* and 6-31G** levels. Final energies have been calculated at the MP3 level with the optimized geometries. The two most stable conformers are atGg andgGg but it is verified that the inclusion of electronic correlations reduces their energy difference of 0.6 kcal/mol at the HF level to less than 0.2 kcal/mol. The possible coexistence of the two most stable conformers is in agreement with some previous studies of Frei et al. For thetXg conformer a detailed analysis of the intramolecular potential as a function of rotation around the C-C bond is also reported.