A New pH Indicator Based on 2,5‐Diaryl‐1‐salicylideneamino‐1,3,4‐triazole Derivative

2‐Phenyl‐5‐p‐tolyl‐1‐salicylideneamino‐1,3,4‐triazole (PTST) was studied among 2,5‐diaryl‐1‐salicylidene amino‐1,3,4‐triazole derivatives as a novel potential pH indicator. In terms of absorption intensity coming from the acid‐base reactions, PTST showed strong yellow‐green colour with high extinction coefficient in the pH range 7.0–9.5. In addition, the corresponding colour development at the transition point can be attributed to the resonance structures of PTST, which were caused by the hydrogen ion dissociation from the acidic form of the compound in the presence of alkali. The full geometric optimization and achievement of the electronic structure of the molecule were performed by an AM1 semiempirical method. The triazole compound was compared with phenolphthalein (PT), which is widely used as an acid‐base indicator in titrimetry, for accuracy test.     

First-Row Transition-Metal Cations (Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Fe2+) and Graphene (Oxide) Composites: From Structural Properties to Electrochemical Applications

Composites of graphene (oxide) (GO) and first-row transition-metal cations (Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺) are prepared by mixing GO and aqueous metal salt solutions. The amount of metal cation bound to GO nanosheets is calculated by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and the possible binding sites of the metals are investigated by means of attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Electrodes loaded with the metal/GO composites are prepared by a simple drop-casting technique without any binders or conductive additives. The effect of electrochemical reduction on the structure of the composite electrodes is investigated by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A detailed electrochemical characterization is performed for the utilization of the composite electrodes for electrochemical capacitors and possible oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disk electrode measurements. The highest areal capacitance is achieved with the as-deposited Fe/GO composite (38.7 mF cm⁻² at 20 mV s⁻¹). In the cyclic stability measurements, rCo/GO, rNi/GO, rMn/GO, and rFe/GO exhibit a capacitance retention of 44, 1.1, 73, and 87 % after 3000 cycles of CV at 100 mV s⁻¹, respectively.     

Poly(p‐phenylene) with Poly(ethylene glycol) Chains and Amino Groups as a Functional Platform for Controlled Drug Release and Radiotherapy

Conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or combination of these two result in side effects, which lower the quality of life of the patients. To overcome problems with these methods, altering the drug properties by conjugating them to carrier polymers has emerged. Such polymeric carriers also hold the potential to make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Herein, poly(p‐phenylene) (PPP) polymer with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains and primary amino groups (PPP‐NH₂‐g‐PEG) is synthesized and conjugated with anticancer drug Doxorubicin (DOX). pH dependent drug release experiments are performed at pH 5.3 and pH 7.4, respectively. Cell viability studies on human cervix adenocarcinoma cells show that lower doses of DOX inhibit cell proliferation when conjugated with nontoxic doses of PPP‐NH₂‐g‐PEG polymer. Additionally, PPP‐NH₂‐g‐PEG/Cys/DOX bioconjugate significantly increases radiosensitive properties of DOX. It is possible to use lower doses of DOX when conjugated to PPP‐NH₂‐g‐PEG in combination with radiotherapy.

     

Synthesis of polybenzoxazine precursors using thiols: Simultaneous thiol–ene and ring‐opening reactions

A new class of polybenzoxazine precursors of combined molecular structure of benzoxazine in the open and ring form has been developed. Thermally curable benzoxazine networks were obtained by simultaneous photoinduced thiol‐ene and Catalytic Opening of the Lateral Benzoxazine Rings by Thiols (COLBERT). The thiol‐ene reactions were initiated by photolysis of a free radical photoinitiator, 2, 2‐dimethoxy‐2‐phenyl acetophenone (DMPA), and the competing COLBERT reaction was triggered by thiol compound, 1,2‐ethanedithiol, present in the reaction mixture. The extent of reactions was evaluated by conducting experiments both under UV irradiation and in dark using model benzoxazines. The precursor soft films (pre‐P(B‐ala‐DTE)) were prepared by irradiating solutions of diallyl functional benzoxazine (B‐ala), 1,2‐ethanedithiol and DMPA. The obtained pre‐P(B‐ala‐DTE) films were then cured through thermally activated ring opening reaction of remaining benzoxazine groups yielding a more rigid and tough film. Thermal and mechanical properties of the films were investigated by DSC, DMA and TGA and compared with a typical polybenzoxazine, P(B‐ala). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and electro-spectroelectrochemistry of ferrocenyl naphthaquinones

A practical approach to ferrocenyl naphthaquinone derivatives involving thermal rearrangement of variously substituted 4-aryl-4-hydroxycyclobutenones was described. The reaction of 3-ferrocenyl-4-isopropoxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione with different aryl lithiums gave the corresponding 4-aryl-4-hydroxycyclobutenones, which were heated in p-xylene at reflux open to the air to yield ferrocenyl naphthaquinones. The redox chemistry of the ferrocenyl naphthaquinones was studied by electrochemical and in situ spectroelectrochemical techniques in CH₂Cl₂ solution and in CH₃CN solution with water, weak and strong acidic additives. Ferrocenyl naphthaquinones displayed reversible two reduction processes involving semiquinone radical anion (Fc-snq⁻), dianion (Fc-nq²⁻) species and a one-electron oxidation process based on the ferrocenium/ferrocene (Fc⁺-nq/Fc-nq) couple in CH₂Cl₂. The redox reaction mechanism of the ferrocenyl naphthaquinones in the presence of the additives proceeded via hydrogen bonding or proton-coupled electron transfer. Effects of the substituents on the reduction potentials and intramolecular charge-transfer bands of ferrocenyl naphthaquinones were also discussed.     

Determination of glutathione disulfide levels in biological samples using thiol-disulfide exchanging agent, dithiothreitol

A reverse-phase HPLC method incorporating dithiothreitol (DTT) reduction for quantitative determination of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in biological samples is described here. This method is based on our previous enzymatic reduction technique that uses N-1-(pyrenyl) maleimide (NPM) as a derivatizing agent. In our earlier method, glutathione disulfide (GSSG) was measured by first reducing it to GSH with glutathione reductase (GR) in the presence of NADPH. However, this is a very costly and time-consuming technique. The method described here employs a common and inexpensive thiol-disulfide exchanging agent, DTT, for reduction of GSSG to GSH, followed by derivatization with NPM. The calibration curves are linear over a concentration range of 25-1250 nm (r(2) > 0.995). The coefficients of variations for intra-run precision and inter-run precision range from 0.49 to 5.10% with an accuracy range of 1.78-6.15%. The percentage of relative recovery ranges from 97.3 to 103.2%. This new method provides a simple, efficient, and cost-effective way of determining glutathione disulfide levels with a 2.5 nm limit of detection per 5 microL injection volume.     

Crystallization behavior of Mg–Cu–Y amorphous alloy

Amorphous Mg₆₁Cu₂₄Y₁₅ ribbons were manufactured by melt-spinning at wheel speeds in the range 5?C20?ms^?1. The crystallization behavior of amorphous ribbons was investigated by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffractometry. DSC measurements showed that the amorphous ribbons exhibit distinct glass transition temperature and wide supercooled liquid region before crystallization. During continuous heating three exothermic peaks and two endothermic peaks were observed. The characteristic thermodynamic parameters such as T _g, T _x , ??T _x , and T _rg are around 432?C439, 478?C485, 46?C54?K, and 0.55?C0.56, respectively. Isothermal annealing DSC traces for this amorphous alloy, the first crystallization peak showed a clear incubation period and Avrami exponent was found to be 2.30?C2.74, which indicate that the transformation reaction involved nucleation and three-dimensional diffusion controlled growth. Mechanical properties of the as-quenched and subsequently annealed ribbons were examined by Vickers microhardness (HV) measurements. Results showed that microhardness of the as-quenched ribbons were about 309?HV. However, the results also showed that microhardness of the rapidly solidified ribbons increases with the increasing temperature.     

Canonical equilibrium distribution derived from Helmholtz potential

Plastino and Curado [A. Plastino, E.M.F. Curado, Phys. Rev. E 72 (2005) 047103] recently determined the equilibrium probability distribution for the canonical ensemble using only phenomenological thermodynamical laws as an alternative to the entropy maximization procedure of Jaynes. In the current paper we present another alternative derivation of the canonical equilibrium probability distribution, which is based on the definition of the Helmholtz free energy (and its being constant at the equilibrium) and the assumption of the uniqueness of the equilibrium probability distribution. Noting that this particular derivation is applicable for all trace-form entropies, we also apply it to the Tsallis entropy, showing that the Tsallis entropy yields genuine inverse power laws.     

Synthetic Strategies to Combine High Performance Benzoxazine Thermosets with Polymers

Summary: Polybenzoxazines are newly developed thermosetting polymers exhibiting versatility in a wide range of applications including electronics and aerospace industries. They exhibit highly competitive combination of properties compare to the conventional thermosets. In this paper we present synthetic strategies to incorporate thermally curable benzoxazine functions into polymers as main and side chain groups in order to further improve various properties. The strategies successfully employed include monomer synthesis, macromonomer method, polycondensation, oxidative polymerization, photo-polymerization, click chemistry and hydrosilylation processes. In the case of macromononomer method functional initiators were used in various controlled/living polymerizations to give polymers with benzoxazine end groups. The thermal curing behaviors of the obtained polymers were also demonstrated.