Interpretative optimization and artificial neural network modeling of the gas chromatographic separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

An interpretative strategy (factorial design experimentation+total resolution analysis+chromatogram simulation) was employed to optimize the separation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene) in temperature-programmed gas chromatography (GC). Also, the retention behavior of PAHs in the same GC system was studied by a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN). GC separation was investigated as a function of one (linear temperature ramp) or two (linear temperature ramp+the final hold temperature) variables. The applied interpretative approach resulted in rather good agreement between the measured and the predicted retention times for PAHs in both one and two variable modeling. The ANN model, strongly affected by the number of input experiments, was shown to be less effective for one variable used, but quite successful when two input variables were used. All PAHs, including difficult to separate peak pairs (benzo(k)fluoranthene/benzo(b)fluoranthene and indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene/dibenzo(a,h)anthracene), were separated in a standard (5% phenyl-95% dimethylpolysiloxane) capillary column at an optimum temperature ramp of 8.0 degrees C/min and final hold temperature in the range of 260-320 degrees C.     

Application of capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to comparative studying of the reactivity of antitumor ruthenium(III) complexes differing in the nature of counter-ion toward human serum proteins

Varying the counter-ion is a highly supportive practice in tackling the problem of poor water-solubility of metal complexes of pharmaceutical importance. As a matter of fact, the relevant structural modification may alter the metabolic pathways and possibly the mode of action of a drug. To prove that this does not take place for one of the lead anticancer metal-based developmental compounds, indazolium trans-[RuCl(4)(1H-indazole)(2)] (KP1019), its reactivity toward human serum proteins was assessed under simulated physiological conditions and compared to that of a much more soluble analogue, sodium trans-[RuCl(4)(1H-indazole)(2)] (KP1339). For such kinetic assaying, capillary electrophoresis (CE) interfaced online with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to specifically monitor changes in the metal speciation following the formation of ruthenium-protein adducts was applied. The rate constants of interaction with albumin and transferrin were determined at pharmacologically fitting drug-to-protein ratios as on average 0.0319+/-0.0021 min(-1) and 0.0931+/-0.0019 min(-1) (KP1019) and 0.0316+/-0.0018 min(-1) and 0.0935+/-0.0053 min(-1) (KP1339), respectively. The results of this brief study showed that changing from organic to inorganic counter-ion at the stage of formulation could commonly be recommended for improving ruthenium-based drug solubility and bioavailability.     

Generalized approximation to the reaction path: the formic acid dimer case

A set of mass-weighted internal coordinates was derived and applied to the double proton transfer reaction in the formic acid dimer (FAD). The coordinate set was obtained starting from the Hirschfelder "mobile" by an optimization procedure consisting of a sequence of kinematic rotations. In FAD, the optimization procedure leads to three coordinates that do change significantly along the reaction path. These coordinates span the reaction space, whereas the remaining modes are treated in a harmonic approximation. The effect that the dimer dissociative motion has on the ground and excited vibrational states dynamics was explored. In the frequency region corresponding to the symmetric OH-stretch vibration four doublets have been identified with splittings of 2.76, 0.07, 0.60, and 4.03 cm(-1).     

Spatial and temporal probing of a laser-induced plasma plume by cavity ringdown spectroscopy

The laser-induced plasma plume of a Ti target in vacuum is probed by the technique of cavity ringdown spectroscopy. A model is developed to perform a forward convolution of atomic absorption line profile measurements. The model accounts for laser-induced plasma characteristics such as anisotropy of the plume and velocity distributions of the ablated particles as well as of the cavity ringdown features such as geometry and time selectivity. The absorption lineshapes of atomic transitions are calculated and discussed for given sets of parameters. Calculated line profiles are fitted to experimental line profiles obtained from nanosecond-laser ablation of the target and provide data about the plume dynamics.     

Gold-ligand interaction studies of water-soluble aminoalcohol capped gold nanoparticles by NMR

Novel reproducible preparations of gold nanoparticles capped by aminoalcohols have been set up by reduction of HAuCl4 with NaBH4 in aqueous solution. The characterization of Au@aminoalcohol nanoparticles performed by 1H NMR, ATR-FTIR, UV-vis spectroscopies, and TEM microscopy highlighted the binding site and the nature of the Au-NH bond.     

Reversible intramolecular C-C bond formation/breaking and color switching mediated by a N,C-chelate in (2-ph-py)BMes2 and (5-BMes2-2-ph-py)BMes2

A diboron compound with both 3-coordinate boron and 4-coordinate boron centers, (5-BMes2-2-ph-py)BMes2 (1) and its monoboron analogue, (2-ph-py)BMes2 (2) have been synthesized. Both compounds are luminescent but have a high sensitivity toward light. UV and ambient light cause both compounds to isomerize to 1a and 2a, respectively, via the formation of a C-C bond between a mesityl and the phenyl group, accompanied by a drastic color change from yellow or colorless to dark olive green or dark blue. The structures of 1a and 2a were established by 2D NMR experiments and geometry optimization by DFT calculations. Both 1a and 2a can thermally reverse back to 1 and 2 via the breaking of a C-C bond, with the activation barrier being 107 and 110 kJ/mol, respectively. The N,C-chelate ligands in 1 and 2 were found to play a key role in promoting this unusual and reversible photo-thermal isomerization process on a tetrahedral boron center. Reactions with oxygen molecules convert 1a and 2a to 5-BMes2-2-[(2-Mes)-ph]-pyridine (1b) and 2-(2-Mes)-ph-pyridine (2b), respectively.     

A potential high-throughput method for the determination of lipase activity by potentiometric flow injection titrations

Potentiometric FIA titrations were performed to determine enzyme activities of lipase type B from Candida antarctica, CAL-B. Two substrates, triacetin and tributyrin were hydrolyzed in phosphate buffer solutions, and the concentration change of the base component of the buffer was titrated in a carrier solution containing hydrochloric acid and potassium chloride. The system was calibrated with butyric acid and acetic acid, respectively. FIA titration peaks were evaluated with respect to peak height and peak area. Butyric acid and acetic acid could be titrated in the buffer solution from 3 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ to 0.1 mol L⁻¹. The detection limit of enzyme activity was determined to be 0.07 U mL⁻¹ (15 min reaction time) and the minimum activity was calculated to be 0.035 units corresponding to 35 nmol min⁻¹. The specific activities of lipase B for the hydrolysis of tributyrin and triacetin were determined as 16 ± 2 U mg⁻¹ and 2 ± 0.2 U mg⁻¹ (per mg commercial lipase preparation), respectively.     

Quantum dynamics of H2, D2, and HD in the small dodecahedral cage of clathrate hydrate: evaluating H2-water nanocage interaction potentials by comparison of theory with inelastic neutron scattering experiments

We have performed rigorous quantum five-dimensional (5D) calculations and analysis of the translation-rotation (T-R) energy levels of one H(2), D(2), and HD molecule inside the small dodecahedral (H(2)O)(20) cage of the structure II clathrate hydrate, which was treated as rigid. The H(2)- cage intermolecular potential energy surface (PES) used previously in the molecular dynamics simulations of the hydrogen hydrates [Alavi et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 024507 (2005)] was employed. This PES, denoted here as SPC/E, combines an effective, empirical water-water pair potential [Berendsen et al., J. Phys. Chem. 91, 6269 (1987)] and electrostatic interactions between the partial charges placed on H(2)O and H(2). The 5D T-R eigenstates of HD were calculated also on another 5D H(2)-cage PES denoted PA-D, used by us earlier to investigate the quantum T-R dynamics of H(2) and D(2) in the small cage [Xu et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 24806 (2006)]. In the PA-D PES, the hydrogen-water pair potential is described by the ab initio 5D PES of the isolated H(2)-H(2)O dimer. The quality of the SPC/E and the PA-D H(2)-cage PESs was tested by direct comparison of the T-R excitation energies calculated on them to the results of two recent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) studies of H(2) and HD inside the small clathrate cage. The translational fundamental and overtone excitations, as well as the triplet splittings of the j=0-->j=1 rotational transitions, of H(2) and HD in the small cage calculated on the SPC/E PES agree very well with the INS results and represent a significant improvement over the results computed on the PA-D PES. Our calculations on the SPC/E PES also make predictions about several spectroscopic observables for the encapsulated H(2), D(2), and HD, which have not been measured yet.     

Polarization dependence of transition intensities in double resonance experiments: unresolved spin doublets

The polarization dependence of transition intensities in multiple resonance spectroscopic experiments can provide information useful for making rotational assignments. A formalism to describe the polarization dependence of transition intensities in multiple resonance experiments, particularly for cases when two rotational/fine structure quantum numbers are needed to specify the state of the system, is presented. The formalism is presented in a form usable both when the transitions between the underlying fine structure components are experimentally resolved, as well as when they are unresolved, to form composite lines. This sort of treatment is necessary for cases when the two quantum numbers that specify the fine structure differ significantly, such as is the case at low N, when the difference between J and N becomes comparable to the value of J. Ratios of transition intensities in different experimentally convenient polarization arrangements are evaluated for the case of composite N transitions formed by combining the spin components of a doublet system. The formalism is expressed in a form easily extendable to accommodate experimental cases of more than two excitation steps, or a combination of excitation steps and an external static electric field. This polarization diagnostic has been experimentally applied to assign spectral features in double resonance Rydberg spectra of CaF.