Saccharose effects on surface association of phenol derivatives with porous graphitic carbon

In this paper, the effect of saccharose on the association of phenol derivatives on both the porous graphitic carbon (PGC) surface and the C18 stationary phase and for two methanol fractions (v/v) in the mobile phase is described. A novel approach based on an extended Langmuir distribution isotherms was used. The results demonstrated that: (i) the saccharose can be adsorbed on the PGC surface; (ii) the phenol derivatives can be associated with saccharose adsorbed on the PGC surface; and (iii) the saccharose do not interact with the C18 stationary phase. This was confirmed by the thermodynamic data and the Wyman equation parameters.     

Mild Arbuzov reactions of phosphonous acids

A very mild and simple method for the preparation of phosphinic acids from phosphonous acids through the intermediacy of silylalkyl phosphonites is described.     

A versatile organocatalyst for the asymmetric conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to enones

5-Pyrrolidin-2-yltetrazole performs as an improved catalyst for the asymmetric addition of a range of nitroalkanes to cyclic and acyclic enones, with good to excellent enantioselectivity.     

Sucrose dependence on the human serum albumin-dehydroepiandrosterone binding: Thermodynamic and fractal approach

In this paper, the effect of sucrose concentration (x) on the dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-human serum albumin (HSA) binding was investigated by a biochromatographic approach. A mathematical development based on fractal geometry is proposed to provide a more realistic picture of the DHEA-HSA binding. The fractal dimension D of the cavity surface and the thermodynamic data of the binding mechanism were calculated at different sucrose concentrations in the bulk solvent. Results showed that under a critical sucrose concentration value x_c (domain I), the enhancement of the DHEA-HSA binding intensity was principally due to the increase of hydrophobic interaction between DHEA and HSA cavity. Above x_c (domain II), the salting-out agent levelled the HSA cavity surface irregularity and, consequently, the DHEA affinity for the HSA decreased. Moreover, for the domain II, the HSA-DHEA binding and the thermodynamic data are discussed using fractal concept of surface fluctuations.     

Fluorescence probing investigation of the mechanism of formation of MSU-type mesoporous silica prepared in fluoride medium

The mechanism of formation of a MSU-type siliceous material from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of the nonionic surfactant tergitol T-15-S-12, sulfuric acid, and sodium fluoride has been investigated using mainly fluorescence probing techniques and, to a lesser extent, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and 29Si NMR spectroscopy. The tergitol micelles present in the systems obtained by progressively generating the reaction mixture giving rise to the mesostructured material by adding to an appropriate tergitol solution sulfuric acid, TEOS, and NaF were characterized by fluorescence probing (micelle aggregation number, micropolarity, and microviscosity) and also by dynamic light scattering (apparent micelle diameter). 29Si NMR experiments were also performed on selected systems after hydrolysis of the TEOS. The fluorescence probing techniques were also used to follow the changes of micelle characteristics with time during the evolution of the full reaction mixture from a limpid solution to a system containing a minor amount of condensed siliceous material. The synthesized solid material was characterized by X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analyses. The micelle aggregation number N was found to change only little, and the micropolarity remained constant when going from the tergitol solution to the full reaction mixture. The results of DLS measurements agree with this finding. Besides, while the condensation of silica took place after addition of NaF, the N value increased only very little with time up to the point where a small amount of mesostructured material precipitated out. These results indicate that the interaction between tergitol micelles and the siliceous species formed in the system by the hydrolysis of TEOS and also between micelles and the growing siliceous species must be very weak. As in our previous studies of the mechanism of formation of MCM41-type material from sodium silicate in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, it appears that the locus of formation of the mesostructured material is not the micelle surface but the bulk phase. Micelles only act as reservoirs of surfactant providing surfactant monomer that binds to the growing siliceous species.     

THE ACTION SPECTRUM OF DAPHNIA MAGNA (CRUSTACEA) PHOTOTAXIS IN A SIMULATED NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract— The action spectrum of phototaxis in Daphnia magna (Crustacea) was measured in a chamber which simulated a natural angular distribution of underwater light. A 17% step-down in irradiance was used to stimulate the phototactic response at all wavelengths and irradiances tested. Peaks in the spectral response curves depended on the fluence rate to which the zooplankton were acclimated. The wavelength of maximum response (Z_max) shifted from yellow-green at the highest acclimation fluence rate (5.1 × 10⁻² Wm⁻²) to blue-violet at moderate rates. At low acclimation fluence rates, the blue-violet maximum was retained and another maximum developed in the red. At the lowest fluence rate (1.6 × 10⁻⁵ Wm⁻²), the blue-violet and red maxima were lost and another maximum developed in the near ultraviolet. The action spectrum indicates the presence of three, and possibly four, photopigments with Z_max, at ∼405, 440, 570 and 690nm. The 440 and 690nm maxima may belong to the same photopigment; however, this was not tested. Changes in zooplankton swimming speed, caused either by large changes in irradiance or by mechanical stimuli, were accompanied by changes in the strength of the phototactic response to the −17% stimulus at any irradiance level for white and monochromatic light, and indicated the presence of a mechanism connecting swimming speed and photosensitivity.     

Pinwheel motifs: formation of unusual homo- and hetero-nuclear aggregates via bridging thiolates

The homohexanuclear complexes [Ni2[Ni(L1)]4](BF4)4 x MeCN, 1, [Pd2(Pd(L2)]4](BF4)4, 2, and the heteropentanuclear aggregate [Cu2[Ni(L3)]3](PF6)2, 3, all adopt a 'pinwheel' type structural motif via thiolate bridging between square-planar Ni(II) or Pd(II) and between trigonal planar Cu(I) centres, respectively.     

New artificial standards for the HPLC analysis of natural glucosinolates

The separation of new, artificial, non-sulfated glucosinolates and desulfated natural glucosinolates on different apolar (C8, TMS, phenyl) or weakly polar (CN) bonded stationary phases by gradient elution has shown that apolar or weakly polar bonded silica-based adsorbents, in addition to the C8 phase chosen for the standard procedure, can be used with benefit for the analysis of glucosinolate mixtures. The use of new artificial glucosinolates, not present in cruciferae, as internal standards for the standard HPLC method for the determination of the main glucosinolate composition and content of rapeseed is discussed. The main factors influencing the retention and selectivity toward several natural and artificial non-sulfated glucosinolates for different chromatographic systems have been studied, and for additional information the retention data have been analyzed statistically by factor analysis. The first results from this study show that the mechanism of the HPLC retention of glucosinolates is the sum of only two methematically independent physico-chemical phenomena. The first is associated with the hydrophobicity of compounds. A better understanding of the chromatographic behavior of glucosinolates has made it possible to investigate the synthesis of new, artificial standard glucosinolates with the intention of providing an ideal standard for every kind of analysis. It also supplies a tool to enable laboratories to choose the best chromatographic system for a particular selectivity problem.     

Di­chloro­maleic anhydride

Although mol­ecules of the title compound, 3,4‐di­chloro‐2,5‐dihydro­furan‐2,5‐dione (di­chloro­maleic anhydride, C₄Cl₂O₃), (I), possess approximate non‐crystallographic C_2v symmetry, the two chlorine substituents deviate from the ring plane. Their deviations are in the same direction, but with values of 0.0356 (17) and 0.0167 (17) Å, they differ significantly in magnitude. The closest intermolecular contact is of 2.888 (2) Å between a carbonyl O atom and the C atom of a carbonyl group, with the O?C direction orthogonal to the C=O bond [O5?C2ⁱ=O2ⁱ 93.6 (2)°; symmetry code: (i) ? x, ?½ + y, z]. These contacts form infinite chains of mol­ecules running parallel to the crystallographic b direction.     

A comparative study of commercial liquid chromatographic detectors for the analysis of underivatized amino acids

This study compares the main commercial detectors that can detect amino acids in their underivatized form. The detectors tested are: the chemiluminescent nitrogen detector (CLND), the evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD), the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, conductivity detector, refractive index, UV, and electrospray quadrupole mass spectrometry (in simple and tandem MS mode). As ELSD, CLND and MS require a volatile mobile phase, an ion-pair reversed-phase liquid chromatographic system was selected, consisting of an octadecyl column and an aqueous mobile phase containing pentadecafluorooctanoic acid as volatile ion-pairing reagent. Underivatized taurine, hypotaurine, aspartic acid, hydroxyproline, asparagine, serine, glycine, glutamine, cysteine, glutamic acid, threonine and alanine were simultaneously analysed with each detector. In order to test the applicability of these detectors to "real world" samples, the amino acid stoichiometry of the tetrapeptide Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala was determined with each detector after acid hydrolysis. The detectors were compared in terms of linearity, limit of detection, advantages and disadvantages as well as special features (capacity to provide structural information, specificity, quantification with single calibration curve, etc.).