Terpenoids of the red alga laurenciapinnatifida

The structures of three brominated terpenoids which are natural products from the red alga Laurencia pinnatifida (Gmal. Lamour) are described. The structures of the sesquiterpenes $\text{4}$ and $\text{5}$ were determined by spectral comparison and chemical interconversion. The structure of the squalene-derived terpenoid $\text{8}$ was secured by chemical transformation into thyrsiferol, a brominated triterpene previously isolated from the red alga Laurencia thyrsifera.     

Application of a single model to study the adsorption kinetics of prednisolone on six carbonaceous materials

The knowledge of the adsorption processes of nonelectrolytes from liquid solution on solid materials involves the study of their kinetic and equilibrium aspects as well as the understanding of their thermodynamic functions. However, in most published papers adsorption isotherms are analyzed by using the Giles classification and other proposed equations which are either empirical or based on kinetic or thermodynamic criteria. Our opinion is that both the kinetic and the equilibrium studies must be complementary and that, in general, equations describing the adsorption isotherms come from the kinetic laws governing the different partial processes which determine the global process. These kinetic laws may be derived from single models. In this paper a single model is proposed, which makes it possible to establish a kinetic law satisfactorily fitting a great number of C (concentration) vs t (time) isotherms. This model has been applied to study the adsorption process of prednisolone by six carbonaceous materials from ethanol solution, the specific adsorption rate, and the activation thermodynamic functions being calculated. The results obtained have also been used to analyze the influence of the intraparticle diffusion on the kinetics of the process.     

A general method for C3 reductive alkylation of indoles

General indole C₃ reductive alkylation conditions have been developed. The scope of this reaction includes C₂ unsubstituted indoles, aryl and alkyl aldehydes, as well as N-H and N-alkyl indole substrates.     

Elucidation of the pore structure of SBA-2 using Monte Carlo simulation to interpret experimental data for the adsorption of light hydrocarbons

We have measured the adsorption of methane and ethane to high pressure on SBA-2, a structured mesoporous silica composed of spheres connected by narrow channels. The experimental data were analyzed by carrying out Monte Carlo simulations of adsorption in pore structure models of different complexity and then adjusting the parameters of the models to match the Monte Carlo results to the experimental data. We found that a model based on single-sized spherical cavities was inadequate and that it is necessary to explicitly account for the interconnecting channels. Further, we found that despite the basic regularity of the SBA-2 structure, it is necessary to allow for a distribution of the sizes of both the cavities and the channels. These size distributions were obtained by fitting the parameters of the model to the experimental adsorption data, revealing detailed structural information not previously known for this material. The channels were found to be 5-15 A in diameter, while the cavities were 40-50 A in diameter. There is some evidence that the distribution of channel sizes leads to a percolation effect whereby the pore structure is not equally accessible to all adsorptives.     

Laser ablation in analytical chemistry-a review

Laser ablation is becoming a dominant technology for direct solid sampling in analytical chemistry. Laser ablation refers to the process in which an intense burst of energy delivered by a short laser pulse is used to sample (remove a portion of) a material. The advantages of laser ablation chemical analysis include direct characterization of solids, no chemical procedures for dissolution, reduced risk of contamination or sample loss, analysis of very small samples not separable for solution analysis, and determination of spatial distributions of elemental composition. This review describes recent research to understand and utilize laser ablation for direct solid sampling, with emphasis on sample introduction to an inductively coupled plasma (ICP). Current research related to contemporary experimental systems, calibration and optimization, and fractionation is discussed, with a summary of applications in several areas.     

Theoretical analysis of the role of the solvent on the reaction mechanisms: One-step versus two-step ketene–imine cycloaddition

The effect of correlation energy, basis set size, zero-point energy (ZPE) correction, and solvation on the reaction mechanism of the ketene–imine cycloaddition reaction has been investigated. The electrostatic solvent effect was studied with a self-consistent reaction field method in which the solvation energy is obtained using a multipole expansion of the molecular charge distribution. The ab initio results have been analyzed by means of a theoretical method based on the expansion of the MOs of the supermolecule in terms of those of the reactants and the performance of the configuration analysis. In gas phase, due to the correlation energy and/or the ZPE corrections, the reaction is predicted to be a one-step process. In solution, the stabilization of the charge-transferred configurations results in the occurrence of a very stable, Zwitterionic intermediate giving a two-step mechanism. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Evaluation of micellar liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis for dope control in sport

Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) have been evaluated for the analysis of twelve banned drugs in sport including diuretics and -blockers. In MLC, a sodium dodecylsulphate aqueous solution has been used as mobile phase using an octadecylsilica column. In CZE, a pH 8 buffer solution and a silica capillary have been employed. Parameters of retention and efficiency have been compared. Limits of detection with UV detection at 254 nm and relative standard deviations for atenolol, furosemide, nadolol, spironolactone and triamterene were established and compared in both techniques. Examples of direct urine injection into the separation systems are presented. Drugs overlapping in MLC are well resolved in CZE, while the opposite is true for a limited number of drugs. Some interferences from urine may arise in CZE. The selectivity of analysis would be greatly enhanced by using both techniques, which require only filtration as pre-treatment.     

Physicochemical characterization of cholesterol-beta cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

Study and characterization of molecular complexes between cholesterol and beta cyclodextrin has been done using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹³C NMR). Whatever the value of the molar ratio cholesterol/βCD used during the preparation, the same compound is always obtained. Corresponding to a molar ratio 1/3 (cholesterol/βCD), this compound is a stable hydrate which, contrary toβCD, contains at room temperature a large amount of molecules of water. It can be dehydrated under low pressure but the thermal degradation occurs at 200°C (250°C forβCD). This implies that cholesterol is strongly bounded toβCD.