Saturated heterocycles, 162 [1]. synthesis and steric structures of 3,4-disubstituted 1,6,7,11b-tetrahydropyrimido[6,1-a]isoquinolin-2-ones

The reaction of 1-(hydrazidomethyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline 3 with aromatic aldehydes yield hydrazones 4a,b or pyrimido[6,1-a]isoquinolines 5a-c depending upon the proportions of the reagents. With ketones, 3 gives only hydrazones 4a-d and 7 , which can be transformed to pyrimidoisoquinolines 10a-e and 11 with aldehydes. The ring closures are stereospecific; the relative configurations were determined by DNOE measurements.     

Gravity-induced convective flow in microfluidic systems: electrochemical characterization and application to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests

A way of using gravity flow to induce a linear convection within a microfluidic system is presented. It is shown and mathematically supported that tilting a 1 cm long covered microchannel is enough to generate flow rates up to 1000 nL.min(-1), which represents a linear velocity of 2.4 mm.s(-1). This paper also presents a method to monitor the microfluidic events occurring in a covered microchannel when a difference of pressure is applied to force a solution to flow in said covered microchannel, thanks to electrodes inserted in the microfluidic device. Gravity-induced flow monitored electrochemically is applied to the performance of a parallel-microchannel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with electrochemical detection. A simple method for generating and monitoring fluid flows is described, which can, for instance, be used for controlling parallel assays in microsystems.     

Determination of ambroxol in an automated multi-pumping pulsed flow system.

A new flow methodology exploiting the multi-pumping approach was developed for the spectrophotometric determination of ambroxol hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations. The flow manifold was implemented by using, exclusively, multiple solenoid-actuated micro-pumps, which acted simultaneously as sample insertion, solutions propelling and reagents commutation units. Linear calibration plots were obtained over an ambroxol concentration ranging from 10 to 200 mg l(-1) (r.s.d. < 0.5%, n = 15) and a sampling rate of about 60 samples per hour (flow rate = 1.92 ml min(-1), sample volume = 80 microl).     

Regular Liesegang patterns and precipitation waves in an open system

We investigate the regular and moving Liesegang pattern formation phenomena in an open system. First, simulations have been performed at fixed coupling between the reactive medium and the reservoir, later this control parameter was varied during the simulations resulting in various phenomena. We predicted and monitored for the first time various--dynamically changing--precipitation structures and a spatial hysteresis phenomenon, which is beyond the scope of the Turing instability. The dynamics of the reaction is well detectable using specific quantities: the total amount of precipitate and its center of gravity.     

Kinetics of the dehydration of CsNd(SO4)2 4 H2O

The kinetics of the dehydration of CsNd(SO₄)₂ · 4 H₂O to CsNd(SO₄)₂ · H₂O and then to CsNd(SO₄)₂ are studied by isothermal weight change. The reactions are phase-boundary-controlled. Reaction mechanism and activation energy depend on sample weight.     

Synthesis and stereochemistry of stereoisomeric 1,3-benzoxazino-1,3- and -3,1-benzoxazines

Partly saturated 3,1-benzoxazino[1,2-c][1,3]benzoxazines and 1,3-benzoxazino[3,2-c][1,3]benzoxazines were prepared in one-pot syntheses from different cyclic 1,3-aminoalcohols by treatment with salicylaldehyde or 5-bromosalicylaldehyde, followed by formaldehyde. The structures of tetracycles 3a and 5 were determined by means of X-ray diffraction.     

DNA polymerase template interactions probed by degenerate isosteric nucleobase analogs

The development of novel artificial nucleobases and detailed X-ray crystal structures for primer/template/DNA polymerase complexes provide opportunities to assess DNA-protein interactions that dictate specificity. Recent results have shown that base pair shape recognition in the context of DNA polymerase must be considered a significant component. The isosteric azole carboxamide nucleobases (compounds 1-5; ) differ only in the number and placement of nitrogen atoms within a common shape and therefore present unique electronic distributions that are shown to dictate the selectivity of template-directed nucleotide incorporation by DNA polymerases. The results demonstrate how nucleoside triphosphate substrate selection by DNA polymerase is a complex phenomenon involving electrostatic interactions in addition to hydrogen bonding and shape recognition. These azole nucleobase analogs offer unique molecular tools for probing nonbonded interactions dictating substrate selection and fidelity of DNA polymerases.     

Copper corrosion in buffered and non-buffered synthetic seawater: a comparative study

The electrochemical behaviour of copper in neutral buffered and non-buffered synthetic seawater and in pure chloride solutions has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, weight loss measurements, open circuit potential and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Values of the repassivation potentials of Cu in non-buffered and buffered synthetic seawater, at 50 mV s^–1, were 0.12 and 0.46 V vs. SCE, respectively. The sharpness, heights and location of the different peaks as well as their charges were shown to be influenced by the composition of the solution, buffering conditions, deoxygenation, polarization potential and time. High chloride concentrations lead to higher oxidation charges. The anodic and the cathodic charges were shown to increase as the chloride concentration increases. The open circuit potential transients of copper in non-deoxygenated, non-buffered synthetic seawater indicate pitting from the beginning of the exposure, while in buffered solutions the pitting appeared only after a quite long exposure period, i.e. after 40 days. Corrosion rates of Cu samples after 3 months of immersion were higher in solutions of pure chloride (0.5 M) than in synthetic seawater. After six months the differences were even more noticeable. SEM images have showed a somewhat higher density of pits on copper samples immersed in the chloride solution (0.5 M), in comparison with those in synthetic seawater.     

Excess volumes of mixing for some primary alcohols with secondary amines at 293.15 K and 323.15 K

The excess volumes of mixing for methanol and ethanol with secondary amines (diethylamine, di-n-propylamine and di-n-butylamine) have been measured over the whole composition range at 293.15 and 323.15 K. The excess volumes have been fitted to an equation of the type $$V^E /cm^3 mol^{--1} = x \left( {1 - x} \right) \sum\limits_{n = 0}^3 { A_n \left( {1 - 2x} \right)^n } $$ The different temperature dependences of the mixtures were explained by means of the association theory.