Infrared Spectroscopic and Gravimetric Studies on the Dicyclopentylaminemetal(II) Tetracyanonickellate(II) Host–Aromatic Guest Systems

The host complexes M(Cyclopentylamine)₂Ni(CN)₄ (M=Co or Cd) havebeen prepared in powder form. The spectral data suggest that the structures of thesecompounds are similar to those of the Hofmann-dma-type hosts. The absorptionand the liberation processes of the aromatic guests (benzene, toluene, 1,2-, 1,3-,1,4-dichlorobenzene, 1,4-dibromobenzene o-, m-, p-xylene, naphthalene)in these hosts have been examined at room temperature by gravimetric and spectroscopicmeasurements. The desorption of the benzene guest against time has been measured. Thehost structures do not change on inclusion and liberation of the guests. The host compoundshave been suggested as sorbents for isomeric separations.     

Gliadin effect on fluctuation properties of phospholipid giant vesicles

Gliadin is a fraction of wheat gluten, a protein supramolecular complex known for its remarkable and biotechnologically relevant viscoelastic properties. Very high molecular mass characterise these systems, thus hindering high-resolution structural investigations. It is known, however, that these proteins comprise rather extended, extensively interassociated structures, which respond for their peculiar mechanical behaviour. Besides these properties, some of gluten's fractions, such as gliadin, are also known to be involved in a nutritionally relevant pathology of auto-immune character, the celiac disease, supposedly related to some unusual structural features of the protein. Despite its medical relevance, however, the role played by gliadin in the etiology of the celiac disease is not sufficiently understood to date. In this work, we investigated the role of gliadin on mechanical properties of a membrane model of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) giant unilamellar vesicles. The technique of micropipette aspiration, coupled to videomicroscopy, was applied. The microvesicles, produced by electric field pulsing over metal-covered plates, were suctioned into the micropipettes under varying applied pressures. A significant increase in the values of the bilayer curvature constant, k(c), was observed, with a saturation effect being verified at around 0.02-0.03 gliadin/DOPC mass ratio, indicating that the membrane becomes less elastic in the presence of the protein. Possible correlations between the observed membrane fluctuation properties and the celiac disease etiology are suggested and discussed.     

Simultaneous quantification of six phenylethanoid glycosides in some Turkish Scutellaria species by a new HPLC-DAD method

A new HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of six main phenylethanoid glycosides (calceolarioside D, neocalceolarioside D, verbascoside, isoverbascoside, leucoseptoside A and martynoside) in the aerial parts of four Scutellaria L. taxa from flora of Turkey. All standard compounds showed a good linearity (R ² > 0.999) in a relatively wide concentration range (1–120 μg/mL). The LOD of the compounds was in the range of 0.104–1.295 μg/mL and the LOQ was in the range of 0.450–2.536 μg/mL. The recoveries of the selected compounds were calculated in the range of 97.46–117.85%. The amounts of the phenylethanoid glycosides showed variation in the extracts. The developed method was found to be accurate, precise and reproducible, and successfully applied to identify and quantify the phenylethanoid glycoside composition of Scutellaria species.     

N,N'-disalicylidene-1,3-diaminopropane as a selective chelating titrant for copper(II)

This study was carried out to develop a new complexometric titration method for determination of copper. For this purpose, the standard solutions of copper(II) (10(-3)-10(-5) M) were potentiometrically titrated using N,N'-disalicylidene-1,3-diaminopropane (Schiff base) as titrant and copper(II)-selective electrode for end-point indication in both ammonium acetate and ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer media. The stoichiometry of titration reaction and interference effects of some metal ions on titration of copper were discussed. There was a good agreement between the results obtained by the proposed titration method and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) titration method. The accuracy and precision of Schiff base method were tested by five replicate determinations both on the standard solution of copper(II) and standard reference materials. The results have indicated that the percentage of copper in alloys can be safely determined by using the Schiff base method without interference from many other metals in alloys.     

A novel method for the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite in water

A rapid, simple, selective and sensitive method for the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite in water has been developed and optimum reaction conditions along with other analytical parameters have been evaluated. Nitrite reacts with barbituric acid in acidic solution to give the nitroso derivative, violuric acid. At analytical wavelength of 310 nm, Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range 0.00–3.22 ppm of nitrite. The molar absorptivity is 15330 ± 259.7 (95%) with pooled standard deviation of 355.57 and R.S.D. of 2.32%. As well as the method is sensitive (2.99 × 10⁻³ μg NO₂ cm⁻²) and selective, it tolerates most of the potential interferents. It has been successfully applied to nitrite determination in natural waters by use of a calibration graph with determination limit of 1.66 μg NO₂ in 100 mL working solution corresponding to minimum 9.5 ppb NO₂–N in water samples. Lower concentrations of nitrite (3.0 μg NO₂/L sample) is precisely analyzed by using the method of dilution with sample, with R.S.D. of lower than 0.5%. The results were compared with standard N-(1-naphtyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride method and very good agreement between the data was observed. The method can easily be applied in the field.     

N-Heterocyclic carbene complexes of palladium(II) and rhodium(I) with pendant ferrocenylmethyl groups: synthesis and electrochemistry

1-Ferrocenylmethyl-3-benzylimidazolidinium iodide and 1-ferrocenylmethyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)imi-dazolidinium iodide were prepared in good yields by boiling, under reflux, a solution of (ferrocenylmethyl)- trimethylammonium iodide and the appropriate N-alkyl-2-imidazoline in MeCN. From the 1-ferrocenylmethyl-3-ben- zylimidazolidinium iodide salt, N-heterocylic carbene complexes of Pd^II and Rh^I were synthesized by in situ deprotonation and subsequent trapping. The new compounds were characterized by C, H, N analyses, ¹H-n.m.r., ¹³C-n.m.r. and by cyclic voltammetry. The n.m.r. properties of the complexes are compared with those of non-ferrocenylated carbene derivatives. The c.v.'s of these compounds show a number of resolved redox processes, indicating that CH₂Fc substituents are electronically isolated from the remaining molecular framework.     

Determination of Anomalin and Deltoin in Seseli resinosum by LC Combined with Chemometric Methods

Liquid chromatography–chemometric methods [LC-Partial least squares (LC-PLS), LC-principle component regression (LC-PCR) and LC-artificial neural network (LC-ANN)] were developed for the determination of (?)-anomalin (ANO) and deltoin (DEL) in the root and aerial part of Seseli resinosum Freyn et Sint. (Umbelliferae). Firstly, chemometric conditions were optimized by testing different mobile phases at various proportions of solvents with various flow rates in different wavelengths by using a normal phase column to obtain the best separation and recovery results. As a result, a mobile phase consisting of n-hexane and ethyl acetate (75:25 v/v) at a constant flow rate of 0.8 mL min^?1 on the above column system at ambient temperature were found to be the optimal chromatographic condition for good separation and determination of ANO and DEL in samples. Multichromatograms for the concentration set containing ANO and DEL compounds in the concentration range of 50–400 ng mL^?1 were obtained by using a diode array detector (DAD) system at selected wavelength sets, 300 (A), 310 (B), 320 (C), 330 (D) and 340 (E). Three LC-chemometric approaches were applied to the multichromatographic data to construct chemometric calibrations. As an alternative method, traditional LC at single wavelength was used for the analysis of the related compounds in the plant extracts. All of the methods were validated by analyzing various synthetic ANO–DEL mixtures. After the above step, traditional and chemometric LC methods were applied to the real samples consisting of extracts from roots and aerial parts of S. resinosum. The results obtained by LC-chemometric approaches were compared to each other and with those obtained by traditional LC.     

Liquid-membrane electrode sensitive to ammonia and aliphatic amines based on 1-[(2-oxyphenyl)iminomethly]-2-oxybenzene-O,O',N-ammin-nickel(II) complex

In this study, an ammonia-gas-sensing liquid-state membrane electrode based on 1-[(2-oxyphenyl)iminomethyl]-2-oxybenzene-O,O',N-ammin-nickel(II) (Ni(II)-Schiff base) as an ionophore was developed. This membrane electrode gave a very good performance and exhibited linear response with near-Nernstian slope of 50.7+/-0.5 mV per decade, within a concentration range of 1.0x10(-1)-1.0x10(-3) M. The electrode performance depends on the pH of the test solution and the optimum pH range was 10.0-11.5. The effect of concentration of internal solutions in the electrode was also investigated. The selectivity properties of the electrode towards aliphatic amines at a pH value of 10.2 were investigated with the mixed-solution method. Furthermore, the response time and lifetime of the electrode prepared were determined.     

Optimization of the electrodeposition of copper on poly-1-naphthylamine for the amperometric detection of carbohydrates in HPLC

A modified electrode consisting of copper dispersed in a poly-1-naphthylamine (p-1-NAP/Cu) film on a glassy carbon electrode was used as an amperometric detector for the on-line analysis of various carbohydrates separated by high performance liquid chromatography. The results obtained with this new sensor were compared to those obtained with a modified electrode based on the same polymer but with copper ions incorporated at open circuit, as described in a previous paper. In this new modified electrode the copper microparticles were electrochemically deposited into the polymeric matrix by single potential step chronoamperometry. A nucleation and growth mechanism was proposed to explain the current transients of copper electrodeposition. The experimental results were fitted to the proposed mechanism by using a mathematical equation that considers three-dimensional growth and progressive nucleation, assuming a no overlap and no diffusion mechanism. Cyclic voltammetric experiments showed that the electrodeposited copper microparticles provided a catalytic surface suited for the oxidation of glucose and several carbohydrates. The sensitivity of the electrode was influenced by the amount of copper electrodeposited, which in turn depended on the applied overpotential used for the deposition of copper. Liquid chromatographic experiments were carried out to test the analytical performance of these electrodes for the determination of various carbohydrates.     

Electrochemical Investigation of Metal-Free and Nickel-Containing Porphyrazines Carrying Eight Tosylaminoethylthia Groups

Summary.  In this study, the electrochemical properties of metal-free and nickel-containing porphyrazines with eight tosylaminoethylthia groups were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, double potential step chronoamperometry, double potential step chronocoulometry, and controlled potential coulometry. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed that both compounds exhibit two quasi-reversible and an irreversible reduction waves. The first electron transfer reaction was followed by an irreversible chemical reaction, the second one by a reversible chemical reaction for both species. The electrode processes of metal-free and nickel-containing porphyrazines are diffusion controlled, but the double potential step chronocoulometry measurements indicated that the nickel porphyrazine is adsorbed at the electrode. However, a small adsorption current has no significant effect on the mass transport mechanism of the system. Diffusion coefficients of both compounds were determined by both cyclic voltammetric and chronocoulometric measurements. The diffusion coefficients of the reduced forms of the porphyrazines were found to be smaller than those of the neutral forms. Received October 29, 2001. Accepted (revised) December 17, 2001