Automated determination of fatty acid methyl ester and cis/trans methyl ester composition of fats and oils

The determination of the fatty acid composition (as methyl esters, FAMEs) of fats and oils and their cis/trans (CTME) distribution requires a simple, but manual and time-consuming sample preparation. The so-called BF3 method is often the preferred procedure. Because FAME/CTME analyses are encountered very frequently in the food industry, an automated, robot-based alternative is proposed which uses the sodium methylate procedure. After sample weighing and the (manual) addition of heptane (2 min), a XYZ robotic autosampler is used for all remaining work, which includes reagent addition, agitation, sample settling and the final injection into the gas chromatograph (10 min). The performance of the sodium methylate and BF3 methods are compared by analysing some 30 oil and fat samples. The novel procedure is much faster (less than 15 min versus ca. 1 h) and manual sample handling is drastically decreased. The experimental results obtained with the two methods frequently are the same, while small differences can be explained by (known) differences of the two methods in the conversion of minor oil/fat constituents, such as free fatty acids, wax esters and sterol esters. In case of FAME analyses, a hot injection is to be preferred over a cold injection. The RSDs of the peak areas were 1.5% for the major fatty acids to 11% for peaks that were just above the noise level. The detection limit were approximately 0.03%.     

Donor-functionalized polydentate pyrylium salts and phosphinines: synthesis, structural characterization, and photophysical properties

A series of donor-functionalized pyrylium salts have been prepared by classical condensation reactions which were further converted into the corresponding thienyl- and pyridyl-substituted polydentate lambda(3)-phosphinines by reaction with P(SiMe(3))(3). Further chemical modification of these phosphorus heterocycles with Hg(OAc)(2) in the presence of methanol resulted in the formation of lambda(5)-phosphinines. The photophysical properties of a selected series of thienyl- and pyridyl-functionalized pyrylium salts, lambda(3)- and lambda(5)-phosphinines, were investigated and the results compared and supported by theoretical calculations on the DFT level. Significant fluorescence was observed for the pyrylium salts and lambda(5)-phosphinines. In contrast, the heteroaromatic substituted lambda(3)-phosphinines show very little emission which is consistent with the low oscillator strength predicted by DFT calculations for this pi-->pi* transition. Furthermore, all three classes of compounds show readily observable phosphorescence in solution, which was determined by time-gated detection at low temperature.     

The Use of Non-Splitting Injection Techniques for Trace Analysis in Narrow-Bore Capillary Gas Chromatography

The use of hot splitless, cold splitless, and on-column injections for trace analysis in narrow-bore capillary GC is evaluated. Despite the low flow rates for the columns used, the required splitless times for splitless injections can be surprisingly short if liners with a small inside diameter are used. On-column injection can be applied by using an appropriate normal-bore precolumn coupled to the narrow-bore analytical column using a specially designed low dead volume column connector. The effects of the experimental conditions such as sample volume, injection temperature, and initial oven temperature on peak focusing and the discrimination and degradation behavior of the analytes are discussed. The possibilities to obtain sensitive and fast separations are illustrated by various applications.     

Synthesis,optical, and electrochemical properties of novel copolymers on the basis of benzothiadiazole and electron‐rich arene units

Novel alternating conjugated copolymers ( P1–P6 ) consisting of an electron‐deficient benzothiadiazole and a variety of electron‐rich thiophene‐arene‐thiophene units were synthesized by palladium‐catalyzed polycondensations (Stille and Suzuki reactions), aiming at processable materials with a reduced optical band gap. The structures of P1–P6 were confirmed by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR, and their molecular weights were determined by size exclusion chromatography. In the Suzuki polycondensation, the role of the catalyst [Pd(PPh₃)₄ and Pd(OAc)₂] on the resulting molecular weight was investigated. Pd(OAc)₂ enhances the molecular weight of the polymers for both thiophene and phenylene bis‐boronic esters as compared with Pd(PPh₃)₄. The optical properties of the polymers were examined in solution and the solid state. The polymers with n‐octyl substituents ( P1 , P4 , P5 , and P6 ) on the thiophene rings possessed less‐planar structures as a result of torsional steric hindrance, and their absorption spectra appeared blueshifted as compared with their unsubstituted analogues ( P2 and P3 ). The electrochemical properties of the polymers were studied using cyclic voltammetry. Although the alkyl substitution affects the oxidation potential, only marginal differences in the reduction potentials were observed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2360–2372, 2002     

Ferromagnetic spin alignment in head-to-tail coupled oligo(1, 4-phenyleneethynylene)s and Oligo(1,4-phenylenevinylene)s bearing pendant p-phenylenediamine radical cations

The intramolecular and long-range ferromagnetic coupling between p-phenylenediamine radical cations in head-to-tail coupled oligo(1, 4-phenyleneethynylene)s and oligo(1,4-phenylenvinylene)s between neighbors and next-nearest neighbors is described. UV/vis/near-IR experiments show that the radical cations are localized in the pendant p-phenylenediamine units of the conjugated oligomers. The ESR spectra of these oligo(1,4-phenyleneethynylene) and oligo(1, 4-phenylenvinylene) di(radical cation)s are consistent with those of a triplet state. A linear behavior is observed for the doubly integrated ESR intensity of the DeltaM(s) = +/-1 and DeltaM(s) = +/-2 signals with the inverse temperature (I approximately 1/T), consistent with Curie's law. This behavior indicates a triplet ground-state diradical with a large triplet-singlet energy gap or possibly a degeneracy of singlet and triplet states.     

Imaging the In Vivo Degradation of Tissue Engineering Implants by Use of Supramolecular Radiopaque Biomaterials

For in situ tissue engineering (TE) applications it is important that implant degradation proceeds in concord with neo‐tissue formation to avoid graft failure. It will therefore be valuable to have an imaging contrast agent (CA) available that can report on the degrading implant. For this purpose, a biodegradable radiopaque biomaterial is presented, modularly composed of a bisurea chain‐extended polycaprolactone (PCL2000‐U4U) elastomer and a novel iodinated bisurea‐modified CA additive (I‐U4U). Supramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between the components ensure their intimate mixing. Porous implant TE‐grafts are prepared by simply electrospinning a solution containing PCL2000‐U4U and I‐U4U. Rats receive an aortic interposition graft, either composed of only PCL2000‐U4U (control) or of PCL2000‐U4U and I‐U4U (test). The grafts are explanted for analysis at three time points over a 1‐month period. Computed tomography imaging of the test group implants prior to explantation shows a decrease in iodide volume and density over time. Explant analysis also indicates scaffold degradation. (Immuno)histochemistry shows comparable cellular contents and a similar neo‐tissue formation process for test and control group, demonstrating that the CA does not have apparent adverse effects. A supramolecular approach to create solid radiopaque biomaterials can therefore be used to noninvasively monitor the biodegradation of synthetic implants.     

Development and validation of an analytical method for detection of estrogens in water

An analytical procedure enabling routine analysis of four environmental estrogens at concentrations below 1 ng L^–1 in estuarine water samples has been developed and validated. The method includes extraction of water samples using solid-phase extraction discs and detection by gas chromatography (GC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) in electron-impact (EI) mode. The targeted estrogens included 17- and 17-estradiol (aE2, bE2), estrone (E1), and 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2), all known environmental endocrine disruptors. Method performance characteristics, for example trueness, recovery, calibration, precision, accuracy, limit of quantification (LOQ), and the stability of the compounds are presented for each of the selected estrogens. Application of the procedure to water samples from the Scheldt estuary (Belgium – The Netherlands), a polluted estuary with reported incidences of environmental endocrine disruption, revealed that E1 was detected most frequently at concentrations up to 7 ng L^–1. aE2 was detected once only and concentrations of bE2 and EE2 were below the LOQ.Presented at the 9th FECS Conference on Chemistry and the Environment, Bordeaux, France, 29 August–1 September 2004     

A new method for the automated selection of the number of components for deconvolving overlapping chromatographic peaks

Mathematical deconvolution methods can separate co-eluting peaks in samples for which (chromatographic) separation fail. However, these methods often heavily rely on manual user-input and interpretation. This is not only time-consuming but also error-prone and automation is needed if such methods are to be applied in a routine manner.