Plasma quantification of quazepam and its 2-oxo and N-desmethyl metabolites by capillary gas chromatography

The authors have developed a gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous quantification of quazepam in plasma and its two main metabolites, 2-oxoquazepam and N-desmethylquazepam. This method involves an extraction from plasma using butyl acetate, and an analysis by electron-capture detection on a CP-Sil 5 WSCOT capillary column. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were better than 10% for each of these three compounds, even near their detection limit estimated at 0.2 ng/ml. Linearity proved satisfactory between 0.2 and 60-70 ng/ml. For endogenous plasma components, adequate specificity was achieved. Despite some inconveniences, a long analysis time, a progressive saturation of the column owing to a low oven temperature, and a relatively short life-span of the CP-Sil 5 columns, this method was the only one available in the literature for the quantification of quazepam and its metabolites from the same plasma sample. It was successfully applied to phase I studies in healthy volunteers.     

Action of α-cyclodextrin on phospholipid assemblies

Interactions of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and Egg phosphatidylcholine (Egg-PC) were studied (i) by analyzing surface pressure-area isotherms and surface tension of phospholipid monolayers formed at the interface between air and α-CD aqueous solutions and (ii) by X-ray diffraction performed on fully hydrated α-CD/phospholipid binary mixtures. The cyclodextrin molecules strongly interact with the two-dimension phospholipid assembly. Their addition into the aqueous sub-phase leads to the removal of part of the phospholipids from the air-water interface: the higher the α-CD concentration, the higher the phospholipid depletion. This should preferentially involve interactions between cyclodextrin and the phosphatidylcholine head group as α-CD is water-soluble and not surface-active. At the three-dimension level, the bilayer packing of the phospholipid lamellar phase appears not affected by the presence of cyclodextrin as shown by X-ray scattering at small angles whereas wide-angle diffraction patterns reveal the formation of a crystalline phase organized in a pseudo-hexagonal lattice usually characteristic of α-CD dimers. These results point out that α-CD should interact with bilayer-forming phospholipid molecules but likely according to a process that would preserve intact at least a part of the multilamellar assembly.     

Using nitrile-derivatized amino acids as infrared probes of local environment

It is well-known that the C=N stretching vibration in acetonitrile is sensitive to solvent. Therefore, we proposed in this contribution to use this vibrational mode to report local environment of a particular amino acid in proteins or local environmental changes upon binding or folding. We have studied the solvent-induced frequency shift of two nitrile-derivatized amino acids, which are, AlaCN and PheCN, in H(2)O and tetrahydrofuran (THF), respectively. Here, THF was used to approximate a protein's hydrophobic interior because of its low dielectric constant. As expected, the C=N stretching vibrations of both AlaCN and PheCN shift as much as approximately 10 cm(-1) toward higher frequency when THF was replaced with H2O, indicative of the sensitivity of this vibration to solvation. To further test the utility of nitrile-derivatized amino acids as probes of the environment within a peptide, we have studied the binding between calmodulin (CaM) and a peptide from the CaM binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (MLCK(579-595)), which contains a single PheCN. MLCK(579-595) binds to CaM in a helical conformation. When the PheCN was substituted on the polar side of the helix, which was partially exposed to water, the C=N stretching vibration is similar to that of PheCN in water. In constrast, when PheCN is introduced at a site that becomes buried in the interior of the protein, the C=N stretch is similar to that of PheCN in THF. Together, these results suggest that the C=N stretching vibration of nitrile-derivatized amino acids can indeed be used as local internal environmental markers, especially for protein conformational studies.     

Trace element determination in vitamin E using ICP-MS

Vitamin E supplements are either isolated from plants sources or prepared synthetically. Isolation from plants includes eight different tocopherol structures. Vitamin E synthesis includes seven different stereoisomers, which involves the use of several catalysts that may lead to trace element contamination in the vitamin. The use of ICP-MS is an ideal technique for detecting these trace elements. However, the oily nature of the samples requires the development of a sample preparation methodology. This study was done upon the request of synthetic vitamin E manufacturers to test the trace metal purity of their samples. In this work, the comparison of an acid microwave digestion and emulsion preparation is discussed. Cromium, nickel, tin and lead were found in the synthetic vitamin E analyzed and 200, 60, 9 and 45 ppb were the concentrations found respectively for these elements.Digesting the samples gives slightly lower detection limits compared to the emulsion preparation.     

Multi-residue method for rapid screening and confirmation of pesticides in crude extracts of fruits and vegetables using isocratic liquid chromatography with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A LC-MS-MS method capable of the quantitative determination of a range of pesticide residues present in crude extracts from a variety of fruit and vegetables has been developed. Isocratic LC conditions have been used in conjunction with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry to detect and identify up to 38 pesticides presented as various mixtures in different matrices. The utility of the method is demonstrated by the analysis of crude extracts, with no sample clean up, from grape, kiwi fruit, strawberry, spinach, lemon, peach and nectarine. Mean recoveries ranging from 63 to 96% with relative standard deviations < 20% were obtained for 30 of the 38 pesticides following analysis of organic produce fortified at concentrations between 0.01 and 0.8 mg/kg. Detected residues were quantified from interpolation against calibration data generated using matrix-matched standards that covered analyte concentration ranges between 0.005 and 0.8 microg/ml. Conditions suitable for the qualitative and quantitative confirmation of residues detected in samples are specified.     

Investigation of the addition of dialkyl(aryl)phosphine oxides to alkyl(aryl)vinyldialkoxysilanes

Conclusions Alkyl(aryl){2-[dialkyl(aryl)phosphoryl]ethyl}dialkoxysilanes were obtained as a result of addition of dialkyl(aryl)phosphine oxides to alkyl(aryl)vinyldialkoxysilanes.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 183–186, January, 1985.     

Synthesis of new fluorescent dyes in the benzoxazinone series: Aminobenzoxazinones with a rigidized structure

The structure of 7-aminobenzoxazinones was modified by enclosing their amino nitrogen atom in a julolidyl ring. This rigidization was expected to enhance the fluorescence performances in this series. Several fluorescent dyes and styryl derivatives were prepared and their spectral characteristics were investigated. Comparison with homologous benzoxazinones with a flexible amino group shows that rigidization does not improve the quantum yield and the photochemical stability, in contrast with the results reported for other classes of dyes, like coumarins or rhodamines.     

n-Hexane dehydrocyclization over Pt?Ni supported on alumina catalysts

Pt–Ni/-Al₂O₃ catalysts have been prepared and studied in n-hexane dehydrocyclization. The selectivity for benzene and toluene, a chain lengthening product formation was improved by Ni and correlated with its content.

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Pt–Ni/-Al₂O₃ -. Ni . Ni , .

     

PMTFP与中性磷萃取剂对钇(Ⅲ)的协同萃取

本文用萃取法测定了(Ⅰ)Y(Ⅲ)/0.5MNaClO_4/PMTFP—C_6H_6和(Ⅱ)Y(Ⅲ)/0.5MNaClO_4/PMTFP—TBP—C_6H_6及(Ⅲ)Y(Ⅲ)/0.5MNaClO_4/PMTFP—TOPO—C_6H_6体系的萃取平衡常数和协苹平衡常数,结果如下: 体系(Ⅰ)的1gK3_(30)=-3.36;体系(Ⅱ)的1gK_(32)=4.47; 体系(Ⅲ)的1gK_(31)=6.65、1gK_(32)=9.08。     

Analysis of organotin compounds by grignard derivatization and gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

The determination of organotin compounds in water using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) is described. Several organotin derivatives were synthesized by the reaction of organotin chlorides with Grignard reagents such as methyl-, propyl- and pentylmagnesium halides. After the optimization of the GC-MS-MS conditions, several derivatizations with the Grignard reagents were compared by evaluating the molar responses and volatilities of the derivatives and derivatization yields. As a result, the derivatizing reagent of choice is pentylmagnesium bromide. Calibration curves for the mono-, di- and tributyltins and mono-, di- and triphenyltins with pentylmagnesium bromide were linear in the range of 0.5-100 pg of Sn. The instrumental detection limits of six organotins ranged from 0.20 to 0.35 pg of Sn. The recovery tests from water samples (500 ml) were performed by using sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) as a complexing reagent. Except for monophenyltin, the absolute recoveries of organotins from pure water at 200 ng of Sn/l were satisfactory. The recoveries calibrated by surrogate compounds (perdeuterated organotin chlorides) ranged from 71 to 109%. The method detection limits ranged from 0.26 to 0.84 pg of Sn (500-ml sample). This method was applied to the recovery of organotins from river water and seawater. The calibrated recoveries were between 90 and 122%.