Low-temperature infrared and raman studies: XI. The vibrational behaviour of ammonium perchlorate- its phase changes and the rotational freedom of its ions

An infrared, Raman and X-ray diffraction study on NH₄CIO₄. was conducted in the temperature ranges 300 to 17 °K, 300 to 130 °K and 300 to 120 °K respectively. The infrared studies also included the deuterated salt. The spectra are discussed and vibrational assignments made. Changes in the infrared spectra, as well as intensity measurements of the vibrational bands indicate anomalous behaviour in the region 100–110 °K as well as 17–50 °K. Possible reasons for these changes are proposed. The rotational behaviour of the ammonium ion upon cooling and hydrogen bonding are discussed.     

Determination of limonin in grapefruit juice and other citrus juices by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method has been developed for the quantitation of the bitter component limonin in grapefruit juice and other citrus juices. The sample clean-up consisted of centrifugation, filtration and a selective, rapid and reproducible purification with a C2 solid-phase extraction column. The limonin concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography on a C18 column with UV detection at 210 nm. A linear response was obtained from 0.0 to 45 ppm limonin. The minimum detectable amount was 2 ng. The minimum concentration which was detected without concentration with good precision was 0.1 ppm. The method was also used for the determination of limonin in different types of oranges, including navel oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, pomelos and uglis.     

Synthesis of 4-acetylisocoumarin: first total syntheses of AGI-7 and sescandelin

A practical synthetic route to 4-acetylisocoumarins and the first total synthesis of AGI-7 (5) and sescandelin (4) are described. The readily available homophthalate 8 was transformed to the vinylogous amide ester 13 in high overall yield. Upon treatment of 13 with refluxing aqueous formic acid, the desired 4-acetylisocoumarin (5) and its regioisomer 3-methyl-4-formylisocoumarin (17) were produced in a 3:1 ratio. After separation of the desired product (5) from the unwanted minor isomer, the enantioselective reduction of AGI-7 by borane in the presence of Corey's (S)-oxazaborolidine reagent afforded (+)-sescandelin (4) with a 93% ee.     

Isolation of essential oils from tobacco by gas co-distillation/solvent extraction

Summary The essential oils have been isolated from tobacco leaves using a simple gas co-distillation apparatus. The method involves co-distillation with water under the continuous stream of an inert gas with subsequent single solvent extraction of the distillate. The extract is analysed on GC and GC/MS in splitless injection mode without further concentration. The method was evaluated for reproducibility using n-octadecane as an internal standard. The distillation-extraction procedure was reporducible with an average deviation of ±3% for the major constituents. The present method was applied to the analyses of the essential oils of other agricultural products.Dedicated to Dr. L. S. Ettre on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Ab initio studies of structural features not easily amenable to experiment. 17. The molecular structures of some strained cyclic hydrocarbons and estimates of their strain energies

The molecular structures of tricyclohexane, norbornane, quadricyclane, and cubane were completely refined by standard ab initio force relaxation on the 4-21G level. The results can be used as a basis to interpret some contradictory experimental reports found in the literature and to establish some hitherto unobserved structural trends involving the C? C and C? H bond distances of the cases studied. Group Delta;E values for C? (H)₃(C), C? (H)₂(C)₂, and C? (H)(C)₃ (Benson's notation) derived from the total energies of the completely relaxed 4-21G geometries of a number of unstrained hydrocarbons are also listed. The values are used to estimate the strain energies of the systems studied and of the optimized 4-21G geometries of cyclopropane, cyclobutane, cyclohexane, and bicyclo (2.1.0)pentane. Cooperative effects in the strain energies are discussed.     

Dual fluorescence (S1, S2) in chrysene and 3,4-benzophenanthrene

S₂ and S₁ fluorescence of chrysene and 3,4 benzophenanthrene has been observed in the vapour phase under collision free conditions. It is shown that the intermediate strong couplinng model can be applied to these molecules. The efficiency of the transfer of the excess energy to collision partners is given for different gases.     

Gaussian overlap approximation in the projected Hartree–Fock method

A method for the approximate calculation of matrix elements with respect to projected Hartree–Fock wave functions is proposed. The method is tested on some calculations in the many-parameter AMO method. It is found that the approximation reduces the amount of work, involved in the evaluation of the energy, by a factor of five and that it reproduces the exact values to within a few per cent.     

Consequence of boar edible tissue consumption on urinary profiles of nandrolone metabolites. II. Identification and quantification of 19-norsteroids responsible for 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone excretion in human urine

In previous work (Le Bizec et al., Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2000; 14: 1058), it was demonstrated that a boar meal intake could lead to possible false accusations of abuse of 17beta-nortestosterone in antidoping control. The aim of the present study was to identify and quantify endogenous 19-norsteroids in boar edible tissue at concentrations that can alter the steroid urinary profile in humans, and lead to excretion of 19-norandrosterone (19-NA) and 19-noretiocholanolone (19-NE). The samples were analysed in two laboratories. The methodologies used for extraction and detection (GC/MS(EI) and LC/MS/MS(APCI+)) are compared and discussed. 19-Norandrostenedione (NAED), 17beta- and 17alpha-nortestosterone (bNT, aNT), and 17beta- and 17alpha-testosterone (bT, aT) were quantified. The largest concentrations of NAED and bNT were observed in testicles (83 and 172 microg/kg), liver (17 and 63 microg/kg) and kidney (45 and 38 microg/kg). A correlation between the bNT and NAED content of a typical meal prepared with boar parts and the excreted concentrations of 19-NA and 19-NE in human urine was demonstrated.