Three ginkgolide hydrates from Ginkgo biloba L.: ginkgolide A monohydrate,ginkgolide C sesquihydrate and ginkgolide J dihydrate,all determined at 120 K

A low‐temperature structure of ginkgolide A monohydrate, (1R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11aS)‐3‐(1,1‐dimethylethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐4,7b‐di­hydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxymethano‐1H,6aH‐cyclo­penta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]­furo­[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclopenta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione monohydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₉·H₂O, obtained from Mo Kα data, is a factor of three more precise than the previous room‐temperature determination. A refinement of the ginkgolide A monohydrate structure with Cu Kα data has allowed the assignment of the absolute configuration of the series of compounds. Ginkgolide C sesquihydrate, (1S,2R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11S,11aR)‐3‐(1,1‐di­methyl­ethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐2,4,7b,11‐tetrahydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxy­methano‐1H,6aH‐cyclopenta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]­furo­[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclo­penta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione sesquihydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₁₁·1.5H₂O, has two independent diterpene mol­ecules, both of which exhibit intramolecular hydrogen bonding between OH groups. Ginkgolide J dihydrate, (1S,2R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11aS)‐3‐(1,1‐di­methyl­ethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐2,4,7b‐tri­hydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxy­methano‐1H,6aH‐cyclo­penta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]furo[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclo­penta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione dihydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₁₀·2H₂O, has the same basic skeleton as the other ginkgolides, with its three OH groups having the same configurations as those in ginkgolide C. The conformations of the six five‐membered rings are quite similar across ­ginkgolides A–C and J, except for the A and F rings of ginkgolide A.     

Automated determination of nifedipine in human plasma by capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection

A rapid, sensitive, and reliable method for the determination of nifedipine in human plasma is described. Using a single-step solvent extraction and capillary gas chromatography combined with electron capture detection, an assay sensitivity of 2 ng/ml is achieved routinely using 0.5 ml of plasma. Intact nifedipine is quantitated and separated from its nitroso- and nitropyridine-derivatives. The suitability of the assay for pharmacokinetic studies is illustrated.     

Solvent effects on the copolymerization kinetics of ionic (AMPS) and non-ionic (HEAm) acrylamide derivatives

The free-radical copolymerization of two N-substituted acrylamide monomers, the ionic AMPS (2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) and the non-ionic HEAm (2-hydroxyethylacrylamide) is presented. Despite bearing similar polymerizable functionalities, HEAm is more reactive toward free-radical addition than AMPS in water. In a mixed aqueous solvent containing salt, (0.5 M LiNO₃, 50 wt%) and ethanol (50 wt%), the reactivity ratio was found to be r_AMPS = 0.53 and r_HEAm = 1.06 indicating that copolymers with a nearly random distribution of sulfonic and hydroxy functionalities can be prepared.     

Electrochemical Detection of Metals Using Thick Nanofibrous Nafion Web Modified Electrodes

In this work, GC electrodes modified with thick electrospun nanofibrous Nafion webs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and used for the extraction and electrochemical detection of cadmium by differential pulse voltammetry. Cadmium was detected after 10 min incubation at open circuit followed by anodic stripping using 60 s reduction at ?1.4 V. The electrode yielded well‐defined, undistorted and reproducible (RSD of 7.0 % based on 10 measurements) voltammetric response with two linear ranges from 0.1 to 3 µM (R²=0.994 ) and from 3 to 10 µM (R²=0.977) and a detection limit and sensitivity of 0.01 µM and 32 and 7.725 µA/µM for both linear portions of the curve respectively.     

Thermotropic poly(azomethine-urethane)s with non linear optical properties: Synthesis and characterization

Two series of the thermotropic main chain poly(azomethine-urethane)s were synthesized by the polyaddition of azadiol, 1,8-octandiol with methylene bis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI) and tolylene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) respectively. The mesomorphic properties and phase transition temperature of the polymers were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and hot stage polarizing microscopy. These polymers showed nematic messophase. The non linear optical (NLO) activity of the polymers was also investigated.     

Multi-output local Gaussian process regression: Applications to uncertainty quantification

We develop an efficient, Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification framework using a novel treed Gaussian process model. The tree is adaptively constructed using information conveyed by the observed data about the length scales of the underlying process. On each leaf of the tree, we utilize Bayesian Experimental Design techniques in order to learn a multi-output Gaussian process. The constructed surrogate can provide analytical point estimates, as well as error bars, for the statistics of interest. We numerically demonstrate the effectiveness of the suggested framework in identifying discontinuities, local features and unimportant dimensions in the solution of stochastic differential equations.     

Focused microwave-assisted extraction combined with solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the selective analysis of cocaine from coca leaves

An effective combination of focused microwave-assisted extraction (FMAE) with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) prior to gas chromatography (GC) is described for the selective extraction and quantitative analysis of cocaine from coca leaves (Erythroxylum coca). This approach required switching from an organic extraction solvent to an aqueous medium more compatible with SPME liquid sampling. SPME was performed in the direct immersion mode with a universal 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated fibre. Parameters influencing this extraction step, such as solution pH, sampling time and temperature are discussed. Furthermore, the overall extraction process takes into account the stability of cocaine in alkaline aqueous solutions at different temperatures. Cocaine degradation rate was determined by capillary electrophoresis using the short end injection procedure. In the selected extraction conditions, less than 5% of cocaine was degraded after 60 min. From a qualitative point of view, a significant gain in selectivity was obtained with the incorporation of SPME in the extraction procedure. As a consequence of SPME clean-up, shorter columns could be used and analysis time was reduced to 6 min compared to 35 min with conventional GC. Quantitative results led to a cocaine content of 0.70 +/- 0.04% in dry leaves (RSD <5%) which agreed with previous investigations.