Synthesis of ether-linked fluorocarbon surfactants and their aggregational properties in organic solvents

A series of single- and double-tailed hydrocarbon-fluorocarbon (HF) surfactants were prepared to evaluate the effect of molecular structure on aggregate formation in organic solvents. The molecules were designed with ether linkages to permit facile syntheses of both sets of molecules. Solvent foaming studies were used to rapidly assess the surface-active properties of the surfactants, while dynamic light scattering provided quantitative critical micelle concentrations (CMC) and hydrodynamic radius (R(h)) measurements of the aggregates in solution. The single-tailed surfactants did not produce any foaming action in a number of hydrocarbon solvents, nor was any micellar formation observed up to 100 mM concentrations. Double-tailed surfactants, on the other hand, gave low CMC values in dodecane but with R(h) values that indicated a tight micelle structure. Bilayer formation was expected but not observed for these molecules, which is believed to be due to their unusual structural geometry, imparted by the glycerol backbone. No thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) behavior was observed for any of the single- or double-tailed molecules. These data contrast with the known behavior of perfluorinated alkanes and other fluorinated surfactants, suggesting that the ether linkage plays an important role in the self-organizing behavior of these molecules.     

Isolation and ultramicro determination of hydrogen sulphide in air or water by use of ion-exchange resin

Summary A method is described for the ultramicro determination of hydrogen sulphide in gaseous mixtures or water, based on the sorption of hydrogen sulphide on columns of Amberlite IRA 400, followed by elution with 4M sodium hydroxide and colorimetric estimation as Methylene Blue. The method permits the rapid determination of 1–20g of hydrogen sulphide present at dilutions of 0.07–20 ppm in air or down to 0.1 ppM in water. The resin retains the sulphide for about 10 days without loss.

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Zusammenfassung Ein Verfahren zur Ultramikrobestimmung von Schwefelwasserstoff in Gasgemischen oder in Wasser wurde beschrieben. Es beruht auf der Adsorption an Amberlit IRA 400 und nachfolgender Eluierung mit 4-m Natronlauge. Schließlich wird als Methylenblau kolorimetrisch gemessen. 1 bis 20g H₂S können in Verdünnungen von 0,07 bis 20 ppm in Luft bzw. bis zu 0,1 ppM in Wasser bestimmt werden. Der Austauscher hält das Sulfid für 10 Tage ohne Verlust.

     

Chemical constituents of the Mexican mistletoe (Psittacanthus calyculatus)

A phytochemical study of the methanol-soluble fraction of an aqueous extract of a sample of Psittacanthus calyculatus collected from the host plant Prosopsis laevigata (Smooth Mesquite) using several techniques, including co-chromatography coupled with UV detection, chromatographic purifications and IR, NMR and MS studies, resulted in the identification of gallic acid, two flavonol-3-biosides and the nonprotein amino acid N-methyl-trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline.     

All-glass leakage channel fibers with triangular core for achieving large mode area and low bending loss

A novel fiber design of large mode area (LMA) all-glass leakage channel fibers (LCF) with triangular core is proposed. The effective single mode behavior and bend characteristics of the fiber are numerically investigated. The designed LCFs can achieve LMA larger than 1400 μm², effective single mode operation and low bend loss by carefully choosing the diameters of the fluorine-doped silica rods.     

Cationic porphyrins with inverted pyridinium groups and their fluorescence properties

One of the applications of cationic porphyrins is their use in microbial photodynamic inactivation (PDI). For this purpose there is a constant quest for new cationic photoactive derivatives. In this work, we synthesized and fully characterized a new porphyrin 3a and the corresponding cationic derivative 3b. The results presented here show that meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (TPPF₂₀, 1) can be used as scaffold to prepare different soluble compounds with interesting photophysical properties.     

1H, 13C NMR, X-ray and conformational studies of new 1-alkyl-3-benzoyl-pyrazole and 1-alkyl-3-benzoyl-pyrazoline derivatives

The (1)H and (13)C NMR resonances of 22 1-alkyl-pyrazole and 25 1-alkyl-pyrazoline derivatives were assigned completely using the concerted application of one- and two-dimensional experiments (DEPT, gs-HMQC and gs-HMBC). Nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) effects, conformational analysis and X-ray crystallography confirm the preferred conformation of those compounds.     

Structure-based design of imidazole-containing peptidomimetic inhibitors of protein farnesyltransferase

A series of imidazole-containing peptidomimetic PFTase inhibitors and their co-crystal structures bound to PFTase and FPP are reported. The structures reveal that the peptidomimetics adopt a similar conformation to that of the extended CVIM tetrapeptide, with the imidazole group coordinating to the catalytic zinc ion. Both mono- and bis-imidazole-containing derivatives, 13 and 16, showed remarkably high enzyme inhibition activity against PFTase in vitro with IC50 values of 0.86 and 1.7 nM, respectively. The peptidomimetics were also highly selective for PFTase over PGGTase-I both in vitro and in intact cells. In addition, peptidomimetics and were found to suppress tumor growth in nude mouse xenograft models with no gross toxicity at a daily dose of 25 mg kg(-1).     

Enlightening the influence of mordant, dyeing technique and photodegradation on the colour hue of textiles dyed with madder - A chromatographic and spectrometric approach

Wool samples were dyed with madder and alum, copper, and iron salts at different concentration by pre-mordanting (MD) and simultaneous mordanting (M + D) procedures. Samples were artificially aged to identify the influence of the mordant on the madder chromophores photodegradation. A set of analytical techniques was used for complete characterisation of the dyed fibres before and after light exposure, which included colour and chromophore analysis (colourimetry and LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis), determination of mordant ions amounts in the fibres (FAAS and ICP-OES analysis), morphological characterisation of the fibres and punctual chemical analysis (SEM-EDS studies).Fibre colour hue was found to be dependent on the mordant ion nature, mordant bath concentration and dyeing procedure. Mordant ion quantification showed that the uptake of metal ion by the fibres is relatively small, with the Cu ion presenting the highest affinity for the fibre. MD method yields fibres with higher amounts of metal ions and larger chromophore chromatographic peak areas corresponding, in general, to stronger colour hues. Photodegradation was more severe in alum mordant samples and in the first 480 h of light exposure. Chromophore degradation rates are unequal and dependent on the mordant nature, contributing for colour changes observed after light exposure.     

Synthesis of 1‐nonanoyl/octadecanoyl‐4‐substituted thiosemicarbazides and substituted 1,2,4‐trizoles as biological active compounds

4‐Alkyl/aryl‐5‐nonanoyl/octadecanoyl‐2,4‐dihydro‐3H‐1,2,4‐triazoline‐3‐thiones were synthesized as potential antimicrobial agents. The course of synthesis included the reaction of nonanoyl/octadecanoyl hydrazines with selected alkyl/aryl isothiocyanates. The prepared thiosemicarbazides gave by cyclization the required 1,2,4‐triazoles. A number of synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro testing against two gram‐positive, two gram‐negative bacteria and two fungi.