Phase behavior of a DNA-based surfactant mixed with water and n-alcohols

The self-assembly behavior of a cationic surfactant (dodecyltrimethylammonium, DTA) with DNA as counterion in mixtures of water and n-alcohols (decanol, octanol, hexanol, butanol, and ethanol) was investigated. The phase diagrams were established and the different regions of the phase diagram characterized with respect to microstructure by (2)H NMR, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and other techniques. The DNA-DTA surfactant is soluble in all of the studied alcohols, showing increased solubility from decanol down to ethanol. All of the phase diagrams are analogous with respect to the occurrence of liquid crystalline (LC) regions, but the area of the LC region increases as one goes from decanol to ethanol. In all phase diagrams, hexagonal phases (of the reversed type) for the alcohol-rich side and lamellar phases for the other side were detected. For balanced proportions of the components, there is a coexistence of the lamellar and the hexagonal phase, here detected with a double quadrupole splitting in the (2)H NMR spectra. The correctness of the phase diagrams is confirmed by the fact that along the tie-lines the splitting magnitude remains nearly constant. All of the alcohols except for ethanol act as cosurfactants penetrating the DNA-DTA film. Adding salt to the ternary mixtures causes an increase in the unit cell dimension of the lamellar and the hexagonal phases. The phase diagram becomes more complicated when butanol is used for the alcohol phase. Here, there is the occurrence of a new isotropic phase with some properties analogous to those of the disordered sponge (L3) phase obtained for simple surfactant systems.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman investigation of the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion reactions with C8 guanosine derivatives

A nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (ns-TR3) spectroscopic study of the reactions of the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion with several C8-substituted guanosine derivatives is reported. The TR3 spectra show that the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion reacts with the C8-substituted guanosine derivatives (C8-methylguanosine and C8-bromoguanosine) to produce C8 intermediates with the methyl and bromine moieties still attached to the intermediate species at the C8 position. The C8-bromoguanosine species was observed to be less reactive toward the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion compared to the guanosine and C8-methylguanosine species. Comparison of the TR3 spectra to the results obtained from density functional theory calculations was used to characterize the C8 intermediates observed to learn more about their structure and properties. The implications of these results for the chemical reactivity of arylnitrenium ions toward substituted guanosine derivatives are briefly discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of cellulose nanofibers from banana peels

Cellulose nanofibers were isolated from banana peel using a combination of chemical treatments, such as alkaline treatment, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis. The suspensions of chemically treated fibers were then passed through a high-pressure homogenizer 3, 5, and 7 times, to investigate the effect of the number of passages on the properties of the resulting cellulose nanofibers. The cellulose nanofibers isolated in this study had a dry basis yield of 5.1 %. Transmission electron microscopy showed that all treatments effectively isolated banana fibers in the nanometer scale. The micrographs of the process steps used to isolate the nanofibers revealed gradual removal of amorphous components. Increasing number of passages in the homogenizer shortened the cellulose nanofibers while furnishing more stable aqueous suspensions with zeta potential values ranging from ?16.1 to ?44.1 mV. All the samples presented aspect ratio in the range of long nanofibers, hence being potentially applicable as reinforcing agents in composites. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that homogenized nanofiber suspensions were more crystalline than non-homogenized suspensions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that alkaline treatment and bleaching removed most of the hemicellulose and lignin components present in the banana fibers. Thermal analyses revealed that the developed nanofibers exhibit enhanced thermal properties. In general, the nanoparticles isolated from the banana peel have potential application as reinforcing elements in a variety of polymer composite systems.     

Effects of tin(IV) chloride and of organotin compounds on aquatic micro-organisms

The growth response of the alga Chlorella kessleri and the euglenoid Euglena gracilis has been studied as a model system to determine the effects of a tin salt (SnCl₄·5H₂O) and of some organotin (OT) derivatives, namely tetrabutyltin (TeBT), tributyltin (TBT) and tributyltin oxide (TBTO). Abiotic degradation was studied as well. Cells were exposed to a toxicity series (0–50 μg/mL⁻¹) for the four chemicals in seven-day bioassays. Both microorganisms are tolerant of the inorganic salt, but growth inhibition was significant for all OT compounds, and especially large for TBT and TBTO. Although C. kessleri and E. gracilis are known to be tolerant towards metals and organic chemicals, the present results show that both are sensitive to organotin compounds: the inhibition of the growth was greater for C. kessleri. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of zearalenone from wheat and corn

A microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method has been developed for determination of zearalenone in wheat and corn by LC-MS with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface (APCI). Matrix effects were minimized by use of matrix-matched standard curves for quantification of the analyte. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 30 ng g(-1) in wheat and 20 ng g(-1) in corn. The rapid LC-MS method enabled analysis of the extracts without clean-up, thereby reducing analyte losses, the time required for the analytical procedure, and costs. A factorial design approach was used to examine the effect on extraction efficiency of the main extraction conditions - time, temperature, and solvent. On the basis of results from statistical assessment extraction was performed with 1:1 (v/v) methanol-acetonitrile at 80 degrees C for 5 min. When these extraction conditions were applied to a wheat sample from a recently conducted international proficiency test, 92% (103 ng g(-1)) of the assigned zearalenone concentration (112 ng g(-1)) in the test material was obtained. This result was within the uncertainty (u) range of the assigned value of the test material (u=+/-15.8 ng g(-1), alpha=0.05) thereby demonstrating the accuracy of the method was sufficient. The precision of the whole method was also confirmed to be adequate, because the observed relative standard deviation (RSD) of 12% (n=10) also fulfils the quality criteria recommended by European guidelines for in-house method validation.     

Catalytic asymmetric hydrosilylation of acetophenone with new chiral thiourea ligands containing the (S)-α-phenylethyl group

New chiral thioureas 1–8 containing 1,2-ethylendiamine or trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane as the carbon skeleton, and containing an (S)-α-phenylethyl group have been prepared (79–98% yield). Thioureas 1–8 were used as ligands for the zinc-based catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of acetophenone with polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS). The best result was achieved with monothiourea 1 (up to 75% ee), in toluene and a catalyst load of 5 mol %.     

Development and validation of a rapid assay based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectromtetry for determining macrolide antibiotic residues in eggs

A simple and rapid method able to determine residues of erythromycin A, tylosin and tilmicosin in whole eggs is presented here. The analytical protocol involves a one-step extraction followed by liquid chromatography (LC)–tandem mass spectrometry. Analytes were extracted from 1 g of egg spiked with an internal standard (josamycin) with acetonitrile. In terms of accuracy, matrix effect and ion signal stability, no extract cleanup was found to be necessary. After partial solvent removal, the final extract was injected into the LC column. Extraction was effective, since absolute recovery of the analyte in egg at their maximum residue limit (MRL) level was 85–102%. Estimated limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.2–0.5 ng/g. Based on the EU Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, the method was in-house validated in terms of ruggedness, specificity, linearity, within-laboratory reproducibility, decision limit (CCα) and detection capability (CCβ). The within-laboratory reproducibility, expressed as RSD (n = 18 at the MRL levels), was not higher than 13%. After validation, a short study on EA depletion in eggs was conducted after administration of this drug to laying hens.     

Ritter-enabled catalytic asymmetric chloroamidation of olefins

Intermolecular asymmetric haloamination reactions are challenging due to the inherently high halenium affinity (HalA) of the nitrogen atom, which often leads to N-halogenated products as a kinetic trap. To circumvent this issue, acetonitrile, possessing a low HalA, was used as the nucleophile in the catalytic asymmetric Ritter-type chloroamidation of allyl-amides. This method is compatible with Z and E alkenes with both alkyl and aromatic substitution. Mild acidic workup reveals the 1,2-chloroamide products with enantiomeric excess greater than 95% for many examples. We also report the successful use of the sulfonamide chlorenium reagent dichloramine-T in this chlorenium-initiated catalytic asymmetric Ritter-type reaction. Facile modifications lead to chiral imidazoline, guanidine, and orthogonally protected 1,2,3 chiral tri-amines.

Intermolecular haloamination reactions are challenging due to the high halenium affinity of the nitrogen atom. This is circumvented by using acetonitrile as an attenuated nucleophile, resulting in an enantioselective halo-Ritter reaction.     

Spectral Properties of Effective Dynamics from Conditional Expectations

The reduction of high-dimensional systems to effective models on a smaller set of variables is an essential task in many areas of science. For stochastic dynamics governed by diffusion processes, a general procedure to find effective equations is the conditioning approach. In this paper, we are interested in the spectrum of the generator of the resulting effective dynamics, and how it compares to the spectrum of the full generator. We prove a new relative error bound in terms of the eigenfunction approximation error for reversible systems. We also present numerical examples indicating that, if Kramers–Moyal (KM) type approximations are used to compute the spectrum of the reduced generator, it seems largely insensitive to the time window used for the KM estimators. We analyze the implications of these observations for systems driven by underdamped Langevin dynamics, and show how meaningful effective dynamics can be defined in this setting.