Reversible carboxylation of N-heterocyclic carbenes

Spectroscopic analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and crossover experiments performed on a series of imidazolium carboxylates revealed carboxylation was reversible with N-aryl substituted adducts.     

Liquid chromatography of polymer mixtures by a combination of exclusion and full adsorption mechanisms. Three- and four-component polymer blends

Summary Coupling of full adsorption-desorption and size-exclusion chromatography (FAD-SEC) has been applied to the separation and molecular characterization of three- and four-component polymer blends. The method is based on the full adsorption of alln orn−1 components of the polymer blend in a specially designed FAD minicolumn. By appropriate eluent switching the adsorbed polymers are desorbed stepwise from the FAD minicolumn into an on-line SEC column for molecular characterization. It is shown that the desorption isotherms of particular blend components give valuable information about the appropriate displacer composition. The exact position of the desorption isotherms depends, however, both on the amount of polymer adsorbed and in the presence of other, chemically different, polymers within FAD column. The nature and composition of the displacer must, therfore, be adjusted if the intervals between the desorption of particular blend components are to be large enough to prevent displacement overlap. Presented at: Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 3–5, 1997.     

Autoxidation of cyclohexane: conventional views challenged by theory and experiment.

In spite of its industrial importance, the detailed reaction mechanism of cyclohexane autoxidation by O2 is still insufficiently known. Based on quantum chemical potential energy surfaces, rate coefficients of the primary and secondary chain propagation steps involving the cyclohexylperoxyl (CyOO) radical were evaluated using multiconformer transition-state theory. Including tunneling and hindered-internal-rotation effects, the rate coefficient for hydrogen-atom abstraction from cyclohexane (CyH) by CyOO was calculated to be k(T)= 1.46 x 10(-11) x exp(-17.8 kcal mol(-1)/ RT) cm3s(-1) (300-600K), close to the experimental data. A "Franck-Rabinowitch cage" reaction between the nascent cyclohexylhydroperoxide (CyOOH) and cyclohexyl radical, products from CyOO + CyH, is put forward as an initially important cyclohexanol (CyOH) formation channel. alphaH abstraction by CyOO. from cyclohexanone was calculated to be only about five times faster than that from CyH, too slow to explain all the observed side products. The a-hydrogen (alphaH) abstractions from CyOH and CyOOH by CyOO. are predicted to be about 10 and 40 times faster, respectively, than the CyOO. +CyH reaction. The very fast CyOO.+CyOOH reaction proceeds through the unstable Cy-alphaH .OOH radical that decomposes spontaneously into the ketone (Q=O) plus the OH radical; the "hot" .OH is found to produce the bulk of the alcohol via a second, "activated cage" reaction analogous to that above. It is thus shown how the very reactive CyOOH intermediate is the predominant source of ketone and alcohol, while it also leads to some side products. The alpha-hydroxycyclohexylperoxyl radical formed during the moderately fast oxidation of CyOH is shown to decompose fast into HO2 + cyclohexanone in a rapidly equilibrated reaction, which constitutes a smaller, second ketone source. These two fast cyclohexanone forming routes avoid the need for unfavorable molecular routes hitherto invoked as ketone sources. The theoretical predictions are supported and complemented by experimental findings. The newly proposed scheme is also largely applicable to the oxidation of other hydrocarbons, such as toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene.     

Sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of famotidine in plasma. Application to pharmacokinetic study.

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the quantitation of famotidine in human plasma is described. Clopamide was used as the internal standard. Plasma samples were extracted with diethyl ether to eliminate endogenous interferences. Plasma samples were then extracted at alkaline pH with ethyl acetate. Famotidine and the internal standard were readily extracted into the organic solvent. After evaporation of ethyl acetate, the residue was analysed by HPLC. The chromatographic separation was accomplished with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water (12:88, v/v) containing 20 mM disodium hydrogenphosphate and 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate, adjusted to pH 3. The HPLC microbore column was packed with 5 microns ODS Hypersil. Using ultraviolet detection at 267 nm, the detection limit for plasma famotidine was 5 ng/ml. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range 5-500 ng/ml. The inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation were found to be less than 10%. Applicability of the method was demonstrated by a bioavailability/pharmacokinetic study in normal volunteers who received 80 mg famotidine orally.     

A novel reactivity of SeO(2) with 1,3-dienes: formation of syn 1,2- and 1,4-diols via a facile C-Se bond oxidation

[reaction: see text] A novel reaction between 1,3-dienes and selenium dioxide to give syn 1,2- and 1,4-diol cyclic selenites was studied in detail. This study indicates that an initial concerted [4 + 2] cycloaddition followed by a stereospecific carbon-selenium bond oxidation is involved in this unprecedented syn dihydroxy addition reaction mediated by selenium dioxide.     

Solid-phase extraction of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine from serum with gas chromatography-electron-capture detection

A rapid, selective, and sensitive method is described for the purification and analysis of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine using a solid-phase extraction column and gas chromatography-electron-capture detection. Linear quantitative response curves for fluoxetine and norfluoxetine are generated over a concentration range of 20-200 ng/ml. Overall extraction efficiency of the extraction procedure is found to be greater than 90% and greater than 75% with correlation coefficients of 0.997 and 0.993 for fluoxetine and norfluoxetine, respectively.     

A New Convenient Method for the Resolution of 1, 1''''-Binaphthalene-2, 2''''-diol Via a Phosphite Using (-)-Menthol as Resolving Agent

Optically active 1,1-binaphthalene-2, 2-diol has become a quite important chiral source in different fields of chirotechnology, especially in asymmetric synthesis1. Its synthesis and resolution has been extensively studied and various resolution methods have been reported2. Among the reported resolution methods, the following three, namely, via the formation of phosphoric acid derivatives3, boric acid derivatives4 and inclusion complexes5, are the most important. OHOH+_( )-1(-)-(S)-1(+)-(R)…     

Kinetic modelling of the thermal oxidation of polyisoprene elastomers. Part 2: Effect of sulfur vulcanization on mass changes and thickness distribution of oxidation products during thermal oxidation

Thermal oxidation of sulfur vulcanized polyisoprene samples was studied by gravimetry and IR mapping of carbonyl groups (to determine the oxidized layer thickness (TOL)) at temperatures ranging from 60 to 150 °C in air. Oxidation appears noticeably lower than that for the starting non-vulcanized polyisoprene, revealing a stabilizing effect of sulfur-containing species. After a short period where mass loss presumably due to water evaporation predominates, the sample mass increases until a plateau corresponding to 6.3% (at 60 °C) to 0.5% (at 140 °C) mass gain. Practically no weight gain (∼0.1%) was observed at 150 °C. The mass uptake is due to oxygen grafting to the chains. TOL varies from about 4.6 mm (70 °C) to about 1 mm (150 °C).A kinetic model, derived from a mechanistic scheme of radical chain oxidation including stabilizing events due to hydroperoxide reduction by sulfur-containing groups and taking into account the diffusion-reaction coupling, was established and numerically resolved. The model predictions for mass changes and TOL values are in good agreement with experimental data.     

Zeta-potentials of self-assembled surface micelles of ionic surfactants adsorbed at hydrophobic graphite surfaces

The zeta-potentials of the self-assembled surface ionic surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate—SDS and hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide—CTAB) on graphite surfaces were determined both from streaming potential and electrophoretic mobility measurements. The adsorption of the surfactants at graphite–liquid interfaces has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) soft-contact imaging which shows the formation of linear, parallel hemicylinders with headgroups oriented towards the solution. The magnitude of the zeta-potential increased with an increase in surfactant concentration, reaching a constant value at a concentration corresponding to the point of surface micelle formation as confirmed from AFM imaging. The streaming potential and electrophoretic mobility measurements showed that the zeta-potentials of SDS and CTAB surface micelles adsorbed at the graphite surface were about −75 and +70 mV, respectively, well in agreement with the values reported for bulk phase micelles in the literature.     

Comparison of Omega and PPP techniques for reactivity calculations in methyl-substituted naphthalenes

The dependence of electron density, superdelocalizability and localization energy on the value of the parameter for the inductive effect of the methyl group in 1,4-dimethyl naphthalene is exactly the same when calculated by the Omega or by the Pople-Pariser-Parr techniques.

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Zusammenfassung Die Abhängigkeit der Elektronendichte, der Superdelokalisierbarkeit und der Lokalisierungsenergie vom Wert des Parameters für den induktiven Effekt der Methylgruppe in 1,4-Dimethylnaphthalin ist genau dieselbe, wenn man diese Größen mit der Omegatechnik oder der PPP-Methode berechnet.

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Résumé La densité électronique, la super délocalisabilité et l'énergie de localisation du 1,4 diméthyl naphtalène dépendent de la même manière de la valeur du paramètre de l'effet inductif du groupe méthyle selon que les calculs sont effectués par la méthode oméga ou par la méthode de Pople-Pariser-Parr.

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This work was done with financial assistance from the National Research Council of Canada. L.-K. H. wishes to acknowledge the award of a Colombo Plan scholarship.