Sonochemical and sonocatalytic degradation of monolinuron in water

The degradation of the phenylurea monolinuron (MLN) by ultrasound irradiation alone and in the presence of TiO(2) was investigated in aqueous solution. The experiments were carried out at low and high frequency (20 and 800 kHz) in complete darkness. The degradation of MLN by ultrasounds occurred mainly by a radical pathway, as shown the inhibitory effect of adding tert-butanol and bicarbonate ions to scavenge hydroxyl radicals. However, CO(3)(-) radicals were formed with bicarbonate and reacted in turn with MLN. In this study, the degradation rate of MLN and the rate constant of H(2)O(2) formation were used to evaluate the oxidative sonochemical efficiency. It was shown that ultrasound efficiency was improved in the presence of nanoparticles of TiO(2) and SiO(2) only at 20 kHz. These particles provide nucleation sites for cavitation bubbles at their surface, leading to an increase in the number of bubbles when the liquid is irradiated by ultrasound, thereby enhancing sonochemical reaction yield. In the case of TiO(2), sonochemical efficiency was found to be greater than with SiO(2) for the same mass introduced. In addition to the increase in the number of cavitation bubbles, activated species may be formed at the TiO(2) surface that promote the formation of H(2)O(2) and the decomposition of MLN.     

High‐performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of Mitragyna inermis alkaloids in order to perform pharmacokinetic studies

In Africa, Mitragyna inermis (Willd.) O. Kuntze (Rubiaceae) is commonly used in traditional medicine to treat malaria. Antimalarial activity is mostly due to the hydromethanolic extract of M. inermis leaves and especially to the main alkaloids, uncarine D and isorhynchophilline. In the present study, we describe for the first time an HPLC method for the simultaneous quantification of uncarine D and isorhynchophylline in biological matrices. SPE was used to extract the components and the internal standard naphthalene from human and pig plasma samples. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C‐18 reversed column at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, using methanol–phosphate buffer (10:90, pH 7), as a mobile phase. Good linearity was observed over the concentration ranges of 0.0662–3.31 μg/mL for uncarine D and 0.0476–2.38 μg/mL for isorynchophylline. The precision was less than 12% and the accuracy was from 86 to 107% without any discrepancy between the two species. Uncarine D and isorhynchophylline recoveries were over 80%. These results allowed the quantification of both uncarine D and isorhynchophylline in pig plasma after intravenous administration of M. inermis extract.     

Colloidal behavior of wine galloylated tannins

Tannins are one of the four key components determining wine organoleptic quality. First, they play an important gustative role since they are responsible for wine astringency and/or bitterness. Second, they act as a structuring compound directly linked to red wine turbidity and stability. This second role is the consequence of their colloidal behavior. In the present work, we demonstrate that wine tannins exhibit different colloidal behaviour whether they are or not galloylated. Procyanidins, when galloylated, are more inclined to form micelles than their non-galloylated form, letting us suggest that they could act as structuring agent in wine. However, the size of the formed micelles is of the nanometer range suggesting that procyanidins, up to trimers, are not involved alone in wine turbidity.     

Rhodium/olefin-catalyzed reaction of arylboronic acids with an α-acetamido acrylic ester: Mizoroki–Heck-type reaction versus asymmetric conjugate addition

In this paper we present our results concerning the rhodium/olefin-catalyzed reaction of arylboronic acids with an α-acetamido acrylic ester. With a chiral norbornadiene ligand rather low enantioselectivities (up to 21% ee) were obtained. Besides the expected conjugate adduct, we also observed the formation of a significant amount of Mizoroki–Heck-type product. The ratio of the conjugate adduct/Mizoroki–Heck product could be adjusted by a proper choice of the olefin ligand.     

Cooling and polarization of a sodium atomic beam by a two mode laser

Cooling and optical pumping by a circularly polarized two mode laser is applied to a Na atomic beam in transverse geometry. The low velocity components of the beam are transversly cooled to the Doppler limit temperature of 240 µK and are simultaneously spin polarized for more than 90%.     

Identification of the EPR signal of S₂⁻ in green ultramarine pigments

Green and blue ultramarine pigments are characterized by the sodalite structure Na(6)(Al(6)Si(6)O(24)) and colored inserted species. These chromophores are sulfur species: S(3)(-) (blue) and S(2)(-) (yellow). Both radicals are encapsulated inside the β-cages. They contribute to the EPR spectrum of ultramarine pigments. The well-known strong EPR signal observed in all ultramarine pigments Continuous-Wave (CW) spectra has long been assigned to S(3)(-) (g = 2.029). In contrast, the S(2)(-) contribution is still subject to controversy because its signal in ultramarine pigments was not resolved even at low temperature in CW-EPR experiments. In this study, we identify unambiguously for the first time by CW-EPR and field sweep-echo detected (FS-ED) EPR the signal of S(2)(-) in ultramarine pigments and we determine its tensor components: g(1) = 2.69(6), g(2) = 2.03(4) and g(3) = 1.86(4).     

Highly demanding cross-metathesis in the synthesis of the C16-C30 fragment of dolabelide C

A highly demanding cross-metathesis (CM) reaction for the formation of the C24-C25 trisubstituted olefin of dolabelide C has been optimized. A difference in reactivity between the E and Z enone isomers in this reaction was uncovered, and the selection of the Z isomer of the starting enone was critical for the success of the cross-metathesis. Application to the synthesis of the C16-C30 fragment of dolabelide C is reported.     

Synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of cyanide- and phenolate-bridged [M(III)NiII]2 tetranuclear complexes (M=Fe and Cr)

The binuclear complex NiII2L(H2O)2(ClO4)2(1) and the neutral tetranuclear bimetallic compounds [{M(III)(phen)(CN)4}2{NiII2L(H2O)2}].2CH3CN with M=Fe (2) and Cr (3)[H2L=11,23-dimethyl-3,7,15,19-tetraazatricyclo[19.3.1.1(9,13)]hexacosa-2,7,9,11,13(26),14,19,21(25),22,24-decaene-25,26-diol] have been synthesized and the structures of and determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. and are isostructural compounds whose structure is made up of centrosymmetric binuclear cations [Ni2(L)(H2O)2]2+ and two peripheral [M(phen)(CN)4]- anions [M=Fe (2) and Cr (3)] acting as monodentate ligands towards the nickel atoms through one of their four cyanide nitrogen atoms. The environment of the metal atoms in 2 and 3 is six-coordinated: two phen-nitrogen and four cyanide-carbon atoms at the iron and chromium atoms and a water molecule, one cyanide-nitrogen and two phenolate-oxygens and two imine-nitrogens from the binucleating ligand L2- at the nickel atom build distorted octahedral surroundings. The values of the FeNi and CrNi separations through the single cyanide bridge are 5.058(1) and 5.174(2)A respectively, whereas the Ni-Ni distances across the double phenolate bridge are 3.098(2)(2) and 3.101(1) A (3). The magnetic properties of have been investigated in the temperature range 1.9-290 K. The magnetic behaviour of corresponds to that of an antiferromagnetically coupled nickel(II) dimer with J=-61.0(1) cm-1, the Hamiltonian being defined as H=-J S(A).S(B). An overall antiferromagnetic behaviour is observed for and with a low-lying singlet spin state. The values of the intramolecular magnetic couplings are J(Fe-Ni)=+17.4(1) cm-1 and J(Ni-Ni(a))=-44.4(1) cm-1 for and J(Cr-Ni)=+11.8(1) cm-1 and J(Ni-Ni(a))=-44.6(1) cm-1 for [H=-J(M-Ni)(S(M).S(Ni)+S(Ma).S(Nia))-J(Ni-Nia)S(Ni)S(Nia)]. Theoretical calculations using methods based on density functional theory (DFT) have been employed on in order to analyze the efficiency of the exchange pathways involved and also to substantiate the exchange coupling parameters.