Studies on the conversions of diols and cyclic ethers—49: Stereochemistry of cyclodehydration of 1,4-diols on the action of brönsted and lewis acids: a comprehensive study

The stereochemistry of the cyclodehydration of (±)- and meso-2,5-hexanediol on the action of various dehydrating agents was investigated. The earlier assumed and confirmed intramolecular S_N2 mechanism for acid-catalysed ring-closure was found to hold in most cases. Various extents of racemisation can be observed on the action of certain Lewis acids, and the solvents concentrated H₂SO₄ and HMPT (hexamethyl phosporic acid triamide) under previously unexamined reaction conditions.     

Optimization of a multi-residue screening method for the determination of 85 pesticides in selected food matrices by stir bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption GC-MS

A multi-residue method to determine 85 pesticides, including organochlorine pesticides, carbamates, organophosphorus pesticides, and pyrethroids, in vegetables, fruit, and green tea, has been developed. The method is based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled to thermal desorption (TD) and retention time locked (RTL) GC-MS operating in the scan mode. Samples are extracted with methanol and diluted with water prior to SBSE. Dilution of the methanol extract before SBSE was optimized to obtain high sensitivity and to minimize adsorption onto the glass wall of the extraction vessel as well as to minimize sample matrix effects (particularly for the pesticides with high log K(o,w) values). The optimized method consists of a dual SBSE extraction performed simultaneously on respectively a twofold and a fivefold diluted methanol extract. After extraction, the two stir bars are placed in a single glass thermal desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The method showed good linearity (r2 > 0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: < 5 microg kg(-1)) for most of the target pesticides. The method was applied to the determination of pesticides at low microg kg(-1) in tomato, cucumber, green soybeans, spinach, grapes, and green tea.     

Synthesis and x-ray crystal structure of the TiMgCl5(OOCCH2Cl) · (ClCH2COOC2H5)3 Adduct

The synthesis of the TiMgCl₅(OOCCH₂Cl) · (ClCH₂COOC₂H₅)₃ adduct, obtained by reacting TiCl₄ with a solution of MgCl₂ in dry ClCH₂COOC₂H₅, is reported together with its molecular and crystal structure as determined by x-ray diffraction. The structure was solved by direct and Fourier methods and refined by least-squares techniques to R = 0.057 for 1318 independent observed reflections. Crystals are monoclinic, space-group P2₁/c, with 4 formula units in a unit-cell of dimensions a = 10.480(4), b = 19.641(9), c = 16.597(6) Å, β = 120.21(5)°. The titanium(IV) atom is octahedrally coordinated by five chlorine atoms and an oxygen atom of a OOCCH₂Cl residue. The magnesium atom is similarly coordinated by two chlorine atoms, the carbonyl oxygen atoms of three ClCH₂COOC₂H₅ molecules and an oxygen atom of the OOCCH₂Cl residue. The two octahedra share an edge by a double chlorine bridge between the magnesium and the titanium atoms and are also connected by the COO group of the OOCCH₂Cl residue. Changes in the configurations and dimensions with respect to the free acceptor and donor molecules are discussed.     

Large‐scale extrusion processing and characterization of hybrid nylon‐6/SiO2 nanocomposites

Solution impregnations, pulltrusion and film stacking are widely used methods to prepare thermoplastic composite materials. Extruders are used to melt the polymer and to incorporate fibers into the polymer in order to modify physical properties. In this article, the compounding of colloidal silica nanoparticles filled polyamide‐6 (PA‐6) is achieved using a twin‐screw extruder, which has a significant market share due to its low cost and easy maintenance. The experiments were performed at 250 rpm and the bulk throughput was 6 kg h^?1 with a pump pressure of 30 bars. The composites were characterized with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As determined by WAXD, the PA‐6 showed higher amounts of γ‐phase when compared to other synthesis methods such as in situ polymerization. TEM pictures showed that the silica particles aggregated nevertheless, upon addition of 14% (w/w) silica the E‐modulus increased from 2.7 to 3.9 GPa indicating that an effective mechanical coupling with the polymer was achieved. The behavior, illustrated with dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) curves, indicated that in general when a filled system is compared to unfilled material, the values of the moduli (E′ and E″) increased and tan δ decreased. Determination of molecular mass distribution of the samples by means of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled to a refractive index (RI), viscosity (DV) and light scattering (LS) detector revealed that the addition of silica did not decrease the average molecular weight of the polymer matrix, which is of importance for composite applications. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of Intermolecular Interactions on Second-Order Susceptibilities of Molecular Crystals: Application to the m-Nitroaniline Crystal

The effects of intermolecular interactions on the second-order susceptibilities (⁽²⁾) of molecular crystals are studied by using a semiempirical quantum–chemical method. These effects are discussed on the basis of the super-molecular approach. The influence of the electrostatic interactions between adjacent unit cells on the tensor components of ⁽²⁾ was modeled by using the technique of cumulative atomic multipole moments (CAMMs).     

Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of novel optically active tryptophan analogues

[reaction: see text] Both unsaturated proline derivatives and optically active tryptophan analogues have been obtained via Pd-catalyzed cyclization of aniline-containing acetylenic amino acids. The side chain length of the cyclization precursor determines which one of the two possible products will be formed.     

Evaluation of a dual electrospray ionization/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source at low flow rates (∼50 µL/min) for the analysis of both highly and weakly polar compounds

The atmospheric pressure ionization (API) source for a commercial mass spectrometer was modified to operate as a dual source in both the electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) techniques by simultaneously utilizing the electrospray probe and the corona discharge needle. A switching box was designed to operate in either manual or programmable modes to permit rapid switching between ionization techniques without changing sources, probes, or breaking vacuum. The source can be operated using the following ionization techniques: ESI only, APCI only, ESI/APCI simultaneously, and ESI/APCI alternatingly. The optimum operating conditions for these ionization techniques were similar to the manufacturer’s original specifications except that the APCI flow rate was lower (～50 µL/min versus 1000 µL/min) and externally heated nebulizing gas was found to be desirable. A four-component mixture, introduced by flow injection, was used to demonstrate the versatility of the dual ESI/APCI source.     

Combining gel and capillary electrophoresis, nano-LC and mass spectrometry for the elucidation of post-translational modifications of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I

N-Glycosylation of cellobiohydrolase I from the fungus Trichoderma reesei (strain Rut-C30) is studied using a combination of electrophoretic, chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques. As four potential N-glycosylation sites and several uncharged and phosphorylated high-mannose glycans are present, a large number of glycoforms and phospho-isoforms can be expected. Isoelectric focusing both in gel and in capillary format was successfully applied for the separation of the phospho-isoforms. They were extracted in their intact form from the gel and subsequently analysed by nanospray-Q-TOF-MS, thereby making use of a powerful two-dimensional technique. Nano-LC/MS/MS on a Q-Trap MS further allowed the determination of the glycosylation sites. As a novel approach, an oxonium ion was used in precursor ion scanning for selective detection of glycopeptides containing phosphorylated high-mannose glycans.     

Possible role of relativistic effects in the plasticity of the coordination geometry of cadmium(II). A voltammetric study of the stability of the complexes of cadmium(II) with 12-crown-4,15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6 in aqueous solution and the structures of [Cd(benzo-18-crown-6)(NCS)(2)] and [K(18-crown-6)][Cd(SCN)(3)

A differential pulse voltammetric study of complexes of Cd(II) and Pb(II) with crown ethers is reported. Measured log K(1) values for Cd(II) with 18-crown-6 (1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane), 15-crown-5 (1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxacyclopentadecane), and 12-crown-4 (1,4,7,10-tetraoxacyclododecane) are respectively 2.53 (+/-0.06), 1.97 (+/-0.07), and 1.72 (+/-0.08) and for Pb(II) with 18-crown-6 is 4.17 (+/-0.03), all at 25 degrees C in 0.1 M LiNO(3). Cd(II) is smaller than is usually associated with strong bonding with crown ethers. The high log K(1) values for Cd(2+) with crown ethers found here are discussed in terms of distortion of Cd(II) by relativistic effects. The resulting plasticity of the coordination geometry of the Cd(II) ion allows it to meet the metal ion size requirements of all the crown ethers, allowing high log K(1) values to occur. Crystal structures for [Cd(bz-18-crown-6)(SCN)(2)] (1) (bz-18-crown-6 = benzo-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane) and [K(18-crown-6)][Cd(SCN)(3)] (2) are reported. 1 was triclinic, space group P1, a = 8.5413(2), b = 10.0389(2), and c = 13.4644(2) A, alpha = 94.424(1), beta = 102.286(1), and gamma = 93.236(1) degrees, Z = 2, and final R = 0.023. 2 was orthorhombic, space group Cmc2(1), a = 14.7309(3), b = 15.1647(3), and c = 10.6154(2) A, Z = 4, and final R = 0.020. In 1, the Cd occupies the cavity of the bz-18-crown-6 with long average Cd-O bond lengths of 2.65 A and is N-bonded to the thiocyanates with short average Cd-N bonds of 2.12 A. In [Cd(bz-18-crown-6)(SCN)(2)], the linear coordination involving the Cd and the two N-bonded thiocyanate groups in 1 is discussed in terms of the role of relativistic effects in the tendency to linear coordination geometry in group 12 metal ions. In 2 Cd forms a polymeric structure involving thiocyanate bridges between Cd atoms and K(+) occupies the cavity of the crown ether. 2 highlights the fact that cadmium is almost never S-bonded to thiocyanate except in bridging thiocyanates.     

Emulsion polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate using a hydrophobically modified inulin and comparison with other surfactants

The use of a new class of graft polymer surfactants, based on inulin, in emulsion polymerization of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) particles is described. PS and PMMA were synthesized by emulsion polymerization, and stable particles with a high monomer content (50 wt %) were obtained with a very small amount of polymeric surfactant ([surfactant]/[monomer] = 0.0033). The latex dispersions were characterized by dynamic light scattering and by transmission electron microscopy to obtain the average particle size and the polydispersity index, and the stability was determined by turbidimetry measurements and expressed in terms of critical coagulation concentration. The last section gives a comparison of PMMA particles prepared by emulsion polymerization using classical surfactants from different types as emulsifiers with that obtained using the copolymer surfactant. It shows the superiority of INUTEC SP1 as it is the only one that allows stable particles at 20 wt % monomer content, with a smaller ratio [surfactant]/[monomer] = 0.002.