Epoxide assisted sol-gel synthesis of rutile NixTi1-3xSb2xO2 solid solution nanoparticles

Rutile Ni _x Ti_1-3x Sb_2x O₂ solid solution nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel route using propylene oxide as a gelation agent. Titanium oxide nanopowder and 12% TiCl₃ solution were used as the source for titanium to investigate the influence of the titanium precursors on the formation of the target materials. It was found that the nanoparticles prepared using 12% TiCl₃ solution showed a much lower phase formation temperature (700°C) as compared to those prepared from TiO₂ nanoparticles (1000°C). This lower phase formation temperature allowed a substantial reduction of the aggregation of the particles during calcination leading to the formation of nearly mono-dispersed nanoparticles of about 20 nm. The results of this work show that the epoxide assisted sol-gel method is capable to produce titanium-based ternary oxide solid solution nanoparticles, owing to the formation of a highly homogeneous precursor gel intermediate.     

Validation and application of a high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for sumatriptan in human plasma

A sensitive and convenient high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS) assay is described for the (5-HT(lB/lD)) receptor agonist sumatriptan in human plasma. Sumatriptan was recovered from plasma (81.8 +/- 6.8%) by liquid-liquid extraction. The mobile phase flow rate was 0.3 mL/min and consisted of methanol:water:formic acid (90:10:0.1, v/v/v). The analytical column (4.6 x 100 mm) was packed with Partisil C(8) (5 micro m). The standard curve was linear from 0.7 to 70.4 ng/mL (r(2) > 0.99). The lower limit of quantitation was 0.7 ng/mL. The assay was specific, accurate (percentage deviation from nominal concentrations were <15%), precise and reproducible (within- and between-day coefficients of variation <10.3%). Sumatriptan in plasma was stable over three freeze/thaw cycles and at room temperature for one day. The utility of the assay was demonstrated by following sumatriptan plasma concentrations in two healthy subjects for 8-12 h following a single 20 mg intranasal dose.     

Theoretical determination of chromophores in the chromogenic effects of aromatic neurotoxicants

We report the first computational study of the chromophores responsible for the chromogenic effects of aromatic neurotoxicants containing a 1,2-diacetyl moiety in their oxidation metabolites. A series of ab initio electronic structure calculations was performed on two representative aromatic compounds, 1,2-diacetylbenzene (1,2-DAB) and 1,2-diacetyl tetramethyl tetralin (1,2-DATT), the putative active metabolites of the neurotoxic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds 1,2-diethylbenzene (1,2-DEB) and acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin (AETT), and on the products of their possible reactions with proteins that result in chromogenic effects. The electronic excitation energies determined by three different computational approaches were found to be consistent with each other. The calculated results are consistent with the conclusion/prediction that the chromogenic effects of 1,2-DAB (or 1,2-DEB) and 1,2-DATT (or AETT) could result from ninhydrin-like reactions, rather than the formation of pyrrole-like compounds. Our pK(a) calculations further indicate that the chromophore, i.e., the product of the ninhydrin-like reaction showing the blue color, is deprotonated in neutral aqueous solution. The corresponding protonated structure has a different color as it absorbs in the blue region of the visible spectrum, and its chromogenic contribution would be significant in solution at low pH.     

Assembly of a supramolecular capsule on a molecular printboard

A molecular capsule based on ionic interactions between two oppositely charged calix[4]arenes, 1 and 2, was assembled both in solution and on a surface. In solution, the formation of the equimolar assembly 1.2 was studied by (1)H NMR, ESI-MS, and isothermal titration calorimetry, giving an association constant (K(a)) of 7.5 x 10(5) M(-1). A beta-cyclodextrin self-assembled monolayer (beta-CD SAM) on gold was used as a molecular printboard to anchor the tetraguanidinium calix[4]arene (2). The binding of tetrasulfonate calix[4]arene 1 was monitored by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Rinsing of the surface with a high ionic strength aqueous solution allows the removal of the tetrasulfonate calix[4]arene (1), while by rinsing with 2-propanol it is possible to achieve the complete desorption of the tetraguanidinium calix[4]arene (2) from the beta-CD SAM. The K(a) for the capsule formation on a surface is 3.5 x 10(6) M(-1), thus comparing well with the K(a) determined in solution.     

Multi-residue method for rapid screening and confirmation of pesticides in crude extracts of fruits and vegetables using isocratic liquid chromatography with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A LC-MS-MS method capable of the quantitative determination of a range of pesticide residues present in crude extracts from a variety of fruit and vegetables has been developed. Isocratic LC conditions have been used in conjunction with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry to detect and identify up to 38 pesticides presented as various mixtures in different matrices. The utility of the method is demonstrated by the analysis of crude extracts, with no sample clean up, from grape, kiwi fruit, strawberry, spinach, lemon, peach and nectarine. Mean recoveries ranging from 63 to 96% with relative standard deviations < 20% were obtained for 30 of the 38 pesticides following analysis of organic produce fortified at concentrations between 0.01 and 0.8 mg/kg. Detected residues were quantified from interpolation against calibration data generated using matrix-matched standards that covered analyte concentration ranges between 0.005 and 0.8 microg/ml. Conditions suitable for the qualitative and quantitative confirmation of residues detected in samples are specified.     

Speciation of arsenic in ground water samples: A comparative study of CE-UV, HG-AAS and LC-ICP-MS

The performance of capillary electrophoresis-ultraviolet detector (CE-UV), hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) and liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) have been compared for the speciation of arsenic (As) in groundwater samples. Two inorganic As species, arsenite (As^III), arsenate (As^V) and one organo species dimethyl arsenic acid (DMA) were mainly considered for this study as these are known to be predominant in water. Under optimal analytical conditions, limits of detection (LD) ranging from 0.10 (As^III, AsT) to 0.19 (DMA) μg/l for HG-AAS, 100 (As^III, DMA) to 500 (As^V) μg/l for CE-UV and 0.1 (DMA, MMA) to 0.2 (As^III, As^V) μg/l for LC-ICP-MS, allowed the determination of the above three species present in these samples. Results obtained by all the three methods are well correlated (r² = 0.996*** for total As) with the precision of <5% R.S.D. except CE-UV. The effect of interfering ions (e.g. Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻) commonly found in ground water on separation and estimation of As species were studied and corrected for. Spike recovery was tested and found to be 80-110% at 0.5 μg/l As standard except CE-UV where only 50% of the analyte was recovered. Comparison of these results shows that LC-ICP-MS is the best choice for routine analysis of As species in ground water samples.     

Phosphorescence of thermally oxidised poly(butadiene) and model enones: temperature dependence

The temperature dependence of phosphorescence of model enone compounds in poly (methyl methacrylate) matrix and glassy methylcyclohexane/isopentane solution and of enones formed from thermal oxidation of poly (butadiene) has been studied over the temperature range 77–220°K. The single discontinuity in the plot for the model enone-glassy solvent is due to the freezing of a (solvent perturbed) barrier to rotation in the enone, and an analogous transition is also observed in the model enone poly (methyl methacrylate) samples and in thermally oxidised poly (butadiene). In the polymer matrices, a second transition corresponding to the γ-transition in poly (methyl methacrylate) and the glass transition temperature T_g in poly (butadiene) are also revealed in the Arrhenius plots. The results demonstrate that care must be taken in ascribing such discontinuities solely to polymer properties since intrinsic properties of the luminescence probe itself may exhibit similar features.     

Approximate radial functions

The approximate 4s and 3d radial wavefunctions of Richardsonet al. [J, chem. Physics 36, 1057 (1962)] for first-row transition-metal atoms and ions have been extended to additional electronic configurations. The results suggest several improvements in the 4s wavefunction parameters. Formulas are reported for extending the double- 3d wavefunctions over the range of atomic orbitalsd ¹ throughd ¹⁰. The results are intended for use in calculations of chemical bonding.     

A method for calculating <Superscript>16</Superscript>o/<Superscript>18</Superscript>o peptide ion ratios for the relative quantification of proteomes

A method is described for the identification and relative quantification of proteomes using accurate mass tags (AMT) generated by nLC-dual ESI-FT-ICR-MS on a 7T instrument in conjunction with stable isotope labeling using 16O/18O ratios. AMTs were used for putative peptide identification, followed by confirmation of peptide identity by tandem mass spectrometry. For a combined set of 58 tryptic peptides from bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human transferrin, a mean mass measurement accuracy of 1.9 ppm +/-0.94 ppm (CIM99%) was obtained. This subset of tryptic peptides was used to measure 16O/18O ratios of 0.36 +/- 0.09 (CIM99%) for BSA (micro = 0.33) and 1.48 +/- 0.47 (CIM99%) for transferrin (micro = 1.0) using a method for calculating 16O/18O ratios from overlapping isotopic multiplets arising from mixtures of 16O, 18O1, and 18O2 labeled C-termini. The model amino acid averagine was used to calculate a representative molecular formula for estimating and subtracting the contributions of naturally occurring isotopes solely as a function of peptide molecular weight. The method was tested against simulated composite 16O/18O spectra where peptide molecular weight, 16O/18O ratio, 18O1/18O2 ratios, and number of sulfur atoms were varied. Relative errors of 20% or less were incurred when the 16O/18O ratios were less than three, even for peptides where the number of sulfur atoms was over- or under-estimated. These data demonstrate that for biomarker discovery, it is advantageous to label the proteome representing the disease state with 18O; and the method is not sensitive to variations in 18O1/18O2 ratio. This approach allows a comprehensive differentiation of expression levels and tentative identification via AMTs, followed by targeted analysis of over- and under-expressed peptides using tandem mass spectrometry, for applications such as the discovery of disease biomarkers.     

Laser photolysis studies of spiropyran-merocyanine aggregate formation in solution

The photoinduced processes leading to formation of J-aggregate stacks of 1-(β-methacryloxyethyl)-3,3-dimethyl-6′- nitrospiro-(indoline-2,2′-[2H-[2H-1] benzopyran) d its associated ring opened merocyanine form B have been determined by N₂-laser transient spectroscopy. Detailed mechanisms for formation of complexes AB, A₂B, and J-aggregate stacks (A₂B) _n in aliphatic and aromatic solvents are presented.