Preliminary study to prepare a reference material of toluene metabolite – o-cresol and benzene metabolite-phenol – in human urine

The candidate reference material (RM) was prepared by freeze-drying pooled urine samples obtained from healthy persons occupationally exposed to toluene. Homogeneity testing yielded no significant differences of urinary concentrations of o-cresol and phenol in 15 randomly selected units of RM. Stability testing showed no significant changes of concentrations of the above analytes over a period of 6 months. Property (pre-certified) values of phenol and o-cresol concentrations and their uncertainties (9.06±0.47 mg l⁻¹ and 1.03±0.06 mg l⁻¹, respectively) were estimated from results of a small-scale interlaboratory comparison in which two laboratories participated using four different analytical methods.     

New type of bonding formed from an overlap between pi aromatic and pi C=O molecular orbitals stabilizes the coexistence in one molecule of the ionic and neutral meso-ionic forms of imidazopyridine

New bis(imidazo)pyridine dye has been synthesized and tested as a potential photoinitaitor for free-radical polymerization induced with the visible emission of an argon ion laser. The X-ray analysis based on data collected at 170 and 130 K, as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations, revealed the presence of two different forms of imidazopyridine rings within the same molecule. These two forms of the same moiety had not only different geometries but different electronic structures as well. One of the imidazopyridine rings was in the ionic form, while the other was in the meso-ionic form. DFT calculations provided an explanation for such an observed phenomena. The averaging of ionic and meso-ionic forms of imidazopyridine rings within the same molecule is hindered because of an attractive interaction between them. Analysis of electronic density revealed that, indeed, a new type of bonding is formed as the result of an overlap between pi aromatic and pi C=O molecular orbitals. This bonding, like the hydrogen bond, is primarily of electrostatic character, and its energy was estimated at 3.5 kcal/mol.     

Creatinine determination in urine from the point of view of reference values

In this paper, the creation of a certified reference material for urinary creatinine is described. We used the Jaffe method and HPLC method for establishment of the certified value. Homogeneity tests are also described. We obtained material with sufficient homogeneity, stability, and with certified value (expanded uncertainty, k=2 for CI 95%) (7.77±0.27) mmol·L⁻¹. This material was consequently used for the interlaboratory comparison (EQA Czech Republic for clinical chemistry). Twenty-nine percent of the participants obtained measurement results within the interval of the certified value ± expanded uncertainty, while 85% of the participants obtained values inside the interval of the certified value ± target measurement uncertainty. Direct use of the certified reference materials for method evaluation in EQA programs means a significant advance for monitoring and documentation traceability of results in routine measurements.     

Reference material “total protein in human urine”

Two batches of a reference material (RM) “total protein in human urine” were prepared for quality assurance in the determination of human urinary proteins. The material was prepared by freeze-drying of a pooled urine sample obtained from healthy volunteers. Protein concentrations in both batches were within physiological values, close to their upper limit. Interlaboratory comparisons conducted in 26 laboratories using the standard operation procedures elaborated for six of the most frequently employed methods (biuret, Bradford, Exton, Lowry, Pesce, and Watanabe) revealed that the results obtained by the individual methods were significantly different due to various reaction mechanisms involved. It was therefore necessary to certify the mean values and their uncertainties individually for each method. These operationally defined certified or information values are valid only when the prescribed standard operation procedures are strictly followed.     

1-Naphthols as components for multifunctional material systems (MFMS): the molecular modeling approach

Structural Chemistry - Increasing research interests have been paid to developing efficient multifunctional material systems (MFMS) by using various composite materials, owing to their useful...     

Easy and efficient deracemization of all trans-1,3-diphenyl-2,4-bis-[α-hydroxybenzyl]-cyclobutane and its bisphenylsulfanyl derivative and the assignment of the absolute configuration

An effective deracemization of all trans-1,3-diphenyl-2,4-bis-[α-hydroxybenzyl]-cyclobutane 1 was achieved by the application of the (R)-(?)-O-acylmandelic acid as a resolving agent, followed by the crystallization of the diastereomeric esters. The kinetic resolution was also observed in the esterification. Racemic 1 was transformed into bisphenylsulfanyl derivative 3. Enantioselective oxidation of 3 with a VO(acac)₂-chiral Schiff Base catalytic system led to a kinetic resolution, and highly enantiomerically enriched bissulfides/bissulfoxides were isolated. Assignment of the absolute configuration was made by spectroscopic methods and chemical correlation. Due to the rigid C₂-symmetric framework, chiral compounds 1 and 3 have strong steric requirements and may be useful in chiral recognition.     

Aziridine-2-carboxylic acid derivatives and its open-ring isomers as a novel PDIA1 inhibitors

Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds - Acyl derivatives of aziridine-2-carboxylic acid have been synthesized and tested as PDIA1 inhibitors. Calculations of charge value and distribution in...     

Dielectric properties and thermal stability of γ-irradiated inorganic nanofiller modified PVC

The dielectric characteristics of polyvinyl chloride nanocomposites containing titania, silica and alumina at the concentration of 5% were investigated by dielectric spectroscopy. The sharp modification in the permittivity and dielectric loss of neat and irradiated PVC samples over the low frequency range may be explained by the interaction between external electrical field and the dipoles formed during high energy exposure. The material characterization is completed by the thermal stability assay based on the accumulation of carbonyl units in the sample matrices, which provides the differences in the molecular level contact between host polymer and fillers.