FTIR, XRD, and DSC analysis of the rosemary extract effect on polyethylene structure and biodegradability

The purpose of this research study was evaluation of the utility of two common multivariate techniques, agglomerative cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA), as supplementary means of detecting incompatibilities, which can occur between active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients at the preformulation stage of a solid dosage form. For the detection of incompatibilities between atenolol (beta blocker) and selected excipients (mannitol, lactose, starch, methylcellulose, β-cyclodextrin, meglumine, chitosan, polyvinylpyrrolidone and magnesium stearate), the thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were chosen. The results have shown that compatibility between atenolol and an excipient can be identified in a CA dendrogram by two large clusters, from which one groups an excipient and physical mixtures with a high concentration of the excipient. Another cluster encompasses atenolol and mixtures with a high content of the drug. In the PCA plot, all samples are located along the first principal component axis (PC1), beginning from a single component located with the most negative PC1 value, through mixtures with gradually varying concentration of both ingredients, till the second component located close to the most positive PC1 values. The results have shown that CA and PCA fulfil their role as supporting techniques in the interpretation of the data acquired from the TG curves, and the obtained data are compatible with the results of DSC and FTIR analyses.     

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity of Co3O4/LiNbO3 composite

The Co₃O₄/LiNbO₃ composites were synthesized by impregnation of LiNbO₃ in an aqueous solution of cobalt nitrate and next by calcination at 400°C. The activity of produced samples has been investigated in the reaction of photocatalytic hydrogen generation. The crystallographic phases, optical and vibronic properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance (DR) UV-vis and resonance Raman spectroscopic techniques, respectively. The influence of cobalt content (range from 0.5 wt.% to 4 wt.%) on the photocatalytic activity of Co₃O₄/LiNbO₃ composites for photocatalytic hydrogen generation has been investigated. Co₃O₄/LiNbO₃ composites exhibited higher than LiNbO₃ photocatalytic activity for hydrogen generation. The highest H₂ evolution efficiency was observed for Co₃O₄/LiNbO₃ composite with 3 wt.% cobalt content. The amount of H₂ obtained in the presence of LiNbO₃ and Co₃O₄/LiNbO₃ (3 wt.% of cobalt content) was 1.38 µmol/min and 2.59 µmol min^?1, respectively.      

Convergent stereoselective synthesis of the visual pigment A2E

[chemical reaction: see text]. A stereoselective total synthesis of the visual pigment A2E has been achieved with use of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions in all key steps: a regioselective Suzuki or Negishi coupling of 2,4-dibromopyridine, a Sonogashira reaction, and a double Stille cross-coupling to complete the bispolyenyl skeleton.     

NH2(C2H4)2O]MX5: a new family of morpholinium nonlinear optical materials among halogenoantimonate(III) and halogenobismuthate(III) compounds. Structural characterization, dielectric and piezoelectric properties

This paper presents the structural features of ionic complexes formed by morpholine and metal ions which belong to group VA, namely Sb(III) and Bi(III). A series of target inorganic-organic hybrid compounds of the general formula [NH(2)(C(2)H(4))(2)O](2)MX(5) (where M = Sb, Bi; X = Cl, Br) has been synthesized by incorporating the organic component (morpholine) into the highly polarizable one-dimensional halogenoantimonate(III)/halogenobismuthate(III) chain network. Among the studied compounds, four were found to crystallize in the room temperature phase in the piezoelectric, orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), Z = 4, the feature being confirmed by the powder second harmonic generation of light and piezoelectric measurements. Dielectric dispersion studies between 200 Hz and 2 MHz disclosed a relaxation process below room temperature well described by the Cole-Cole equation. Based on crystal structures available in Cambridge Structural Database (version 5.32, November 2010) we attempt to show a relationship between the acentric symmetry of compounds and the type of anionic network within the R(2)MX(5)-subgroup (where R denotes organic cation) of halogenoantimonates(III) and halogenobismuthates(III).     

Poly[aqua[μ3‐(pyridin‐1‐ium‐3,5‐diyl)diphosphonato‐κ3O:O′:O′′][μ2‐(pyridin‐1‐ium‐3,5‐diyl)diphosphonato‐κ2O:O′]calcium(II)]

The rigid organic ligand (pyridine‐3,5‐diyl)diphosphonic acid has been used to create the title novel three‐dimensional coordination polymer, [Ca(C₅H₆NO₆P₂)₂(H₂O)]_n. The six‐coordinate calcium ion is in a distorted octahedral environment, formed by five phosphonate O atoms from five different (pyridin‐1‐ium‐3,5‐diyl)diphosphonate ligands, two of which are unique, and one water O atom. Two crystallographically independent acid monoanions, L1 and L2, serve to link metal centres using two different coordination modes, viz.η²μ₂ and η³μ₃, respectively. The latter ligand, L2, forms a strongly undulated two‐dimensional framework parallel to the crystallographic bc plane, whereas the former ligand, L1, is utilized in the formation of one‐dimensional helical chains in the [010] direction. The two sublattices of L1 and L2 interweave at the Ca²⁺ ions to form a three‐dimensional framework. In addition, multiple O—H...O and N—H...O hydrogen bonds stabilize the three‐dimensional coordination network. Topologically, the three‐dimensional framework can be simplified as a very unusual (2,3,5)‐connected three‐nodal net represented by the Schläfli symbol (4·8²)(4·8⁸·10)(8).     

The Coordination of NiII and CuII Ions to the Polyhistidyl Motif of Hpn Protein: Is It as Strong as We Think?

Hpn, one of Helicobacter pylori′s nickel‐accessory proteins, is an amazingly peculiar protein: Almost half of its sequence consists of polyhistidyl (poly‐His) residues. Herein, we try to understand the origin of this naturally occurring sequence, thereby shedding some light on the bioinorganic chemistry of Hpn′s numerous poly‐His repeats. By using potentiometric, mass spectrometric, and various spectroscopic techniques, we studied the Ni^II‐ and Cu^II complexes of the wild‐type Ac‐THHHHYHGG‐NH₂ fragment of Hpn and of its six analogues, in which consecutive residues (His or Tyr) were replaced by Ala (Ala‐substitution or Ala‐scan approaches), thereby resulting in Ac‐TAHHHYHGG‐NH₂, Ac‐THAHHYHGG‐NH₂, Ac‐THHAHYHGG‐NH₂, Ac‐THHHAYHGG‐NH₂, Ac‐THHHHAHGG‐NH₂, and Ac‐THHHHYAGG‐NH₂ peptides. We found that the His4 residue is critical for both Ni^II‐ and Cu^II‐ion binding and the effectiveness of binding varies even if the substituted amino acid does not take part in the direct binding interactions.     

Development and validation of an HPLC method to determine metabolites of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF)

The food component 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural is supposed to have antioxidative properties and is therefore used as an acting agent in a novel anticancer infusion solution, named Karal®, and an oral supplementation. Previous studies showed that after oral and intravenous application, the substance is completely decomposed to its metabolites: 5‐hydroxymethylfuroic acid, 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid, and N‐(hydroxymethyl)furoyl glycine. The formation of a fourth metabolite, namely 5‐sulphoxymethylfurfural, is still not clarified according to literature. Due to commercial unavailability, synthesis of 5‐sulphoxymethylfurfural was conducted and a synthesis procedure for N‐(hydroxymethyl)furoyl glycine had to be developed. Identification of the synthesised compounds was proven by LC‐MS and NMR. An appropriate HPLC method was established to obtain good separation of the four possible metabolic substances and 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural within 12 min via a HILIC column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) using a gradient grade system switching from mobile phase A (ACN/ammonium formate 100 mM, pH 2.35, 95:5, v/v) to mobile phase B (ACN/ammonium formate 100 mM, pH 2.35, 85:15, v/v). The procedure was afterward validated following ICH guidelines in terms of selectivity, linearity, precision, LOD, and LOQ.     

Chemoenzymatic formal synthesis of (-)- and (+)-epibatidine

The cis-dihydrocatechol, derived from enzymatic cis-dihydroxylation of bromobenzene using the microorganism Pseudomonas putida UV4, was converted into (-)-epibatidine in eleven steps with complete stereocontrol. In addition, an unprecedented palladium-catalysed disproportionation reaction gave the (+)-enantiomer of an advanced key intermediate employed in a previous synthesis of epibatidine.     

Effect of structural properties of carbon-based fuels on efficiency of direct carbon fuel cells

This research is focused on the effect of supplying solid oxide fuel cells with different graphite and carbon black powders on the cells’ efficiency. Before being tested in the fuel cell, the structures of carbon-based fuels were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal analysis method (DTA/TG). Total electrical conductivity measurements were also carried out for carbon samples. The relation between the structure and morphology of solid particles and their performance in direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells (DC-SOFC) was presented and discussed. It was found that structurally disordered carbon-based materials are the most promising fuels for oxidation in DC-SOFCs.     

Comparison of mouse plasma and brain tissue homogenate sample pretreatment methods prior to high‐performance liquid chromatography for a new 1,2,4‐triazole derivative with anticonvulsant activity

The focus of the study was to develop a bio‐analytical assay for a 1,2,4‐triazole derivative from plasma and brain tissue homogenate samples. The goal was to compare analytical techniques that facilitate high accuracy with simplified sample processing. In this study, commonly used standard protein precipitation and solid‐phase extraction methods utilizing C₁₈ and cartridges of Hybrid technology were compared in terms of their ability for sample pretreatment and removal of biological matrices before high‐performance liquid chromatography quantification. Fast classical reversed‐phase chromatography on a C₁₈ column paired with selective sample preparation using Hybrid solid‐phase extraction technology resulted in the most precise bio‐analytical determination of the hydrophobic 1,2,4‐triazole derivative in both biological samples studied. The obtained recovery values were above 95% with the coefficient of variation lower than 5%.