Flow injection atomic absorption spectrometery for the standardization of arsenic, lead and mercury in environmental and biological standard reference materials

Results of a thorough study and application of flow injection atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of As, Pb and Hg in parts per million to sub-parts per billion levels in environmental and biological samples have been described. Various standard reference materials from the National Bureau of Standards, USA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA, the Community Bureau of Reference, Brussels, Belgium and the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan and Standard Chinese river sediment were used. By flow injection hydride generation AAS the standard reference materials were analyzed for As and Pb. Mercury was determined by cold vapour flow injection AAS from environmental and biological standard reference materials. The technique is fast, simple and highly sensitive. It takes only 30 s for each analysis from the digested solution. The detection limits of As, Pb and Hg are 1.8 μg L^–1 and 2.0 μg L^–1 and 1.5 μg L^–1, respectively. The results show good agreement with the certified values. Received: 9 May 1996 / Revised: 13 August 1996 / Accepted: 14 August 1996     

Quantification of azoxystrobin and identification of two novel metabolites in lettuce via liquid chromatography–quadrupole-linear ion trap (QTRAP) mass spectrometry

Pesticide metabolite identification is gaining increased attention because of the interest in potential metabolite toxicity. Azoxystrobin is one of the most prevalent pesticide residues in foods in Europe. The majority of azoxystrobin metabolites have been identified using radiolabelled standards, which are either expensive or not readily available. Thus, alternative approaches for metabolite identification are desirable. Here, an LC-MS/MS method for quantifying azoxystrobin and identifying its metabolites using quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry is reported. Seven metabolites of azoxystrobin were identified 2 and 4 weeks after spraying lettuce with azoxystrobin. Among them, two metabolites are reported for the first time. The hydrolysis, reduction, hydroxylation, photoisomerisation and hydrolytic cleavage of ether bonds are identified as biotransformation processes involved in azoxystrobin metabolism in lettuce.     

Grafting acrylic acid monomer to poly-(vinyl alcohol) and methyl cellulose by ceric ion

A graft copolymer of acrylic acid on poly(vinyl alcohol) was prepared by use of the ceric ion–polyol redox system in aqueous medium. The graft copolymer obtained was water-soluble under the specified experimental conditions. The efficiency of grafting was determined by measuring carboxyl group content (as expected from acrylic acid unit) in the copolymer by applying the newly developed reverse dye-partition technique. The graft copolymer was also characterized by viscosity and solubility measurements. The effect of varying concentration of catalyst, monomer, and grafting time has also been determined.     

Studies on some radical transfer reactions. Part I. Hydrogen atom abstraction from some organic substrates by ȮH radicals

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate was carried out in aqueous and nonaqueous media in the presence of some sulfonated and carboxylic organic compounds, hydroxyl radicals generated from hydrogen peroxide being used as initiators of polymerization. The occurrence of radical transfer reactions by way of hydrogen atom abstraction from the organic substrates by the ?H radicals was demonstrated by the detection of sulfonate and carboxyl endgroups in the respective polymers. It was found that the radical transfer reactions were more favored in aqueous media than in nonaqueous systems.     

Extending the supramolecular synthon based fragment approach (SBFA) for transferability of multipole charge density parameters to monofluorobenzoic acids and their cocrystals with isonicotinamide: importance of C-H···O, C-H···F, and F···F intermolecular regions

An extension of the supramolecular synthon-based fragment approach (SBFA) method for transferability of multipole charge density parameters to include weak supramolecular synthons is proposed. In particular, the SBFA method is applied to C-H···O, C-H···F, and F···F containing synthons. A high resolution charge density study has been performed on 4-fluorobenzoic acid to build a synthon library for C-H···F infinite chain interactions. Libraries for C-H···O and F···F synthons were taken from earlier work. The SBFA methodology was applied successfully to 2- and 3-fluorobenzoic acids, data sets for which were collected in a routine manner at 100 K, and the modularity of the synthons was demonstrated. Cocrystals of isonicotinamide with all three fluorobenzoic acids were also studied with the SBFA method. The topological analysis of inter- and intramolecular interaction regions was performed using Bader's AIM approach. This study shows that the SBFA method is generally applicable to generate charge density maps using information from multiple intermolecular regions.     

Amine nucleophilic addition to nitroalkene as a new practical approach for the synthesis of fully substituted isoxazoline-N-oxide

The secondary amine nucleophilic addition to the nitroalkene was used to generate the active nitronate intermediate, followed by the sequential addition to aldehyde and ylide, giving the fully substituted isoxazoline-N-oxide in one-pot fashion. Mechanistic studies revealed the equilibrium nature of the diene intermediates, which provide the foundation for the asymmetric synthesis of this interesting heterocycles.     

Stereoselective synthesis of (+)-secosyrin 1

A Chiron approach for the synthesis of (+)-secosyrin 1 from d-mannitol has been described. The key steps are a stereoselective Wittig reaction and an intramolecular Michael addition on the disubstituted butenolide, leading to a highly stereoselective formation of the tertiary chiral centre of (+)-secosyrin 1.     

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics of the Excited States of 1‐Amino‐ and 1‐(N,N‐Dimethylamino)‐fluoren‐9‐ones

The dynamics of the excited states of 1‐aminofluoren‐9‐one (1AF) and 1‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐fluoren‐9‐one (1DMAF) are investigated by using steady‐state absorption and fluorescence as well as subpicosecond time‐resolved absorption spectroscopic techniques. Following photoexcitation of 1AF, which exists in the intramolecular hydrogen‐bonded form in aprotic solvents, the excited‐state intramolecular proton‐transfer reaction is the only relaxation process observed in the excited singlet (S₁) state. However, in protic solvents, the intramolecular hydrogen bond is disrupted in the excited state and an intermolecular hydrogen bond is formed with the solvent leading to reorganization of the hydrogen‐bond network structure of the solvent. The latter takes place in the timescale of the process of solvation dynamics. In the case of 1DMAF, the main relaxation pathway for the locally excited singlet, S₁(LE), or S₁(ICT) state is the configurational relaxation, via nearly barrierless twisting of the dimethylamino group to form the twisted intramolecular charge‐transfer, S₁(TICT), state. A crossing between the excited‐state and ground‐state potential energy curves is responsible for the fast, radiationless deactivation and nonemissive character of the S₁(TICT) state in polar solvents, both aprotic and protic. However, in viscous but strong hydrogen‐bond‐donating solvents, such as ethylene glycol and glycerol, crossing between the potential energy surfaces for the ground electronic state and the hydrogen‐bonded complex formed between the S₁(TICT) state and the solvent is possibly avoided and the hydrogen‐bonded complex is weakly emissive.