Ligandless dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the separation of trace amounts of silver ions in water samples and flame atomic absorption spectrometry determination

In this article, a new ligandless dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method has been developed for preconcentration of trace quantities of silver as a prior step to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. In the proposed approach, carbon tetrachloride and ethanol were used as extraction and dispersive solvents. Several factors that may be affected on the extraction process, like, extraction solvent, disperser solvent, the volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH of the aqueous solution and extraction time were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 5.0 ng mL⁻¹ to 2.0 μg mL⁻¹ of silver with R² = 0.9995 (n = 9) and detection limit based on three times the standard deviation of the blank (3S_b) was 1.2 ng mL⁻¹ in original solution. The relative standard deviation for eight replicate determination of 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ silver was ±1.5%. The high efficiency of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction to carry out the determination of silver in complex matrices was demonstrated. The proposed method has been applied for determination of trace amount of silver in standard and water samples with satisfactory results.     

Bilayer Cylindrical Conduit Consisting of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofibers and DSC Cross‐Linked Sodium Alginate Hydrogel to Bridge Peripheral Nerve Gaps

Herein, a bilayer cylindrical conduit (P‐CA) is presented consisting of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers and sodium alginate hydrogel covalently cross‐linked with N,N′‐disuccinimidyl carbonate (DSC). The bilayer P‐CA conduit is developed by combining the electrospinning and outer–inner layer methods. Using DSC, as a covalent crosslinker, increases the degradation time of the sodium alginate hydrogel up to 2 months. The swelling ratio of the hydrogel is also 503% during the first 8 h. The DSC cross‐linked sodium alginate in the inner layer of the conduit promotes the adhesion and proliferation of nerve cells, while the electrospun PCL nanofibers in the outer layer provide maximum tensile strength of the conduit during surgery. P‐CA conduit promotes the migration of Schwann cells along the axon in a rat model based on functional and histological evidences. In conclusion, P‐CA conduit will be a promising construct for repairing sciatic nerves in a rat model.     

KAl(SO4)2 · 12H2O (alum) a reusable catalyst for the synthesis of some 4-substituted coumarins via Pechmann reaction under solvent-free conditions

A simple, efficient, and practical procedure for the Pechmann condensation using KAl(SO₄)₂ · 12H₂O (alum) as a non-toxic, reusable, inexpensive, and easily available catalyst is described under solvent-free condition at 65°C. These improved reaction conditions allow the preparation of a wide variety of some new substituted coumarins in high yields (86–96%) and purity under mild reaction conditions. Compared to the classical Pechmann condensation, this new method consistently has the advantage of high yields. Correspondence: Ali A. Mohammadi, Department of Chemistry, Shahid Beheshti University, P.O. Box 19839-4716, Tehran, Iran.     

Determination of fatty acids by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection using precolumn derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate

A new high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of fatty acids in seed oils. The method was based on precolumn derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate as a labeling agent and fluorescence detection. Fatty acids were extracted from the samples and subjected to derivatization with the reagent at 60°C for 10?min. The chromatographic separation of 14 fatty acids (C10–C22) was achieved on a combined loading compression octadecyl sulfate (CLC-ODS) column with a run time of 30?min. Three-step gradient elution of a mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and water was used, and the signal was monitored at excitation and emission wavelengths of 265 and 315?nm, respectively. The method indicated favorable sensitivity and reproducibility for fatty acids’ derivatives. The detection limits, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, were 0.01–0.05?µg/ml and relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 0.27%. Excellent linear responses were observed with coefficients of 0.9995. This method was applied to quantify fatty acids in white, brown, and black sesame seeds’ oil.     

Molecular Architecture Manipulation in Free Radical Copolymerization: An Advanced Monte Carlo Approach to Screening Copolymer Chains with Various Comonomer Sequence Arrangements

A Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation approach has been adopted in this study to capture evolutionary events in the course of free radical copolymerization, through which batch and starved‐feed semibatch processes are compared. The implementation of the KMC code deve­loped in this work: (i) enables satisfactory control of the molecular weight of the copolymer by tracking the profiles of concentrations of macroradicals, monomers, and polymer as well as degree of polymerization, polydispersity, and chain length distribution; (ii) captures the bivariate distribution of chain length and copolymer composition; (iii) comprehensively tracks and analyzes detailed information on the molecular architecture of the growing chains, thus distinguishing between sequence length and polydispersity of chains produced in batch and starved‐feed semibatch operations; (iv) makes possible the screening of products, based on such details as the number and weight fractions of products having different comonomer units located at various positions along the copolymer chains. The aforementioned characteristics are achieved by stochastic calculations through code developed in‐house. This KMC simulator becomes a very useful tool for the development of tailored copolymers through free radical polymerization, with blocks separated with single units of a different type.

     

Highly Efficient and Practical Syntheses of Lavendamycin Methyl Ester and Related Novel Quinolindiones

The novel 7-(N-formyl-, 7-(N-acetyl-, and 7-(N-isobutyrylamino)-2-methylquinoline-5,8-diones were synthesized in excellent overall yields in three steps via the nitration of the commercially available 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline followed by a reduction-acylation step and then oxidation. Acid hydrolysis of 7-(N-acetylamino)-2-methylquinoline-5,8-dione (14a) afforded the novel 7-aminoquinoline-5,8-dione 7 in excellent yields. Due to our efficient preparation of dione 14a, we now report a short and practical method for the total synthesis of the potent antitumor agent lavendamycin methyl ester (1b) with an excellent overall yield.     

Two-Dimensional Legendre Wavelets for Solving Time-Fractional Telegraph Equation

In this paper, we develop an accurate and efficient Legendre wavelets method for numerical solution of the well known time-fractional telegraph equation. In the proposed method we have employed both of the operational matrices of fractional integration and differentiation to get numerical solution of the time-telegraph equation. The power of this manageable method is confirmed. Moreover, the use of Legendre wavelet is found to be accurate, simple and fast.     

Similitude généralisée et modélisation géométrique à complexité réduiteGeneral similitude solutions and low-complexity geometric models

We present low complexity models for the transport of passive scalars for environmental applications. The model uses partial observations assimilation. Similitude solutions are proposed in a non symmetric metric based on travel times. The approach does not require the solution of any PDE and is mesh free. Also, the solution can be computed in one point only without computing the whole solution. To cite this article: B. Mohammadi, J.-M. Brun, C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

Removal of Amoxicillin from Aqueous Media by Fenton-like Sonolysis/H2O2 Process Using Zero-Valent Iron Nanoparticles

High concentrations of antibiotics have been identified in aqueous media, which has diminished the quality of water resources. These compounds are usually highly toxic and have low biodegradability, and there have been reports about their mutagenic or carcinogenic effects. The aim of this study was to apply zero-valent iron-oxide nanoparticles in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and the sonolysis process for the removal of the amoxicillin antibiotic from aqueous media. In this study, zero-valent iron nanoparticles were prepared by an iron chloride reduction method in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄), and the obtained nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM). Then, using a Fenton-like process, synthetic wastewater containing 100 to 500 mg/L amoxicillin antibiotic was investigated, and the effects of different parameters, such as the frequency (1 and 2 kHz), contact time (15 to 120 min), the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (0.3%, 0.5%, and 6%), the dose of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (0.05, 0.1, 0.5 g/L), and pH (3, 5, 10) were thoroughly studied. A pH of 3, hydrogen peroxide concentration of 3%, ultrasonic-wave frequency of 130 kHz, zero-valent iron nanoparticles of 0.5 g/L, and contaminant concentration of 100 mg/L were obtained as the optimal conditions of the combined US/H2O2/nZVI process. Under the optimal conditions of the combined process of zero-valent iron nanoparticles and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ultrasonic waves, a 99.7% removal efficiency of amoxicillin was achieved in 120 min. The results show that the combined US/H2O2/nZVI process could be successfully used to remove environmental contaminants, including antibiotics such as amoxicillin, with a high removal percentage.