Application of gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to the analysis of pesticides in fruits and vegetables

A new analytical method was devised using gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) for the routine analysis of 31 multi-class pesticide residues and approximately 8000 fresh fruit and vegetable samples (green bean, cucumber, pepper, tomato, eggplant, watermelon, melon, and marrow). Extraction of the pesticides with dichloromethane was carried out. The optimal ionization mode, either electron impact or chemical ionization, was selected for each pesticide in the same run. Carbofrit was used in the liner and combined with the selectivity of the detector this avoided additional clean-up. Thus, not only was money and time saved, the uncertainty of the method was decreased in its application to routine analysis. The average recoveries in cucumber obtained for each pesticide ranged between 71 and 119% at two different fortification levels (n=10 each) that ranged between 7 and 300 ng g(-1) (depending on the pesticide). The relative standard deviation was lower than 19% for all compounds tested. The calculated limits of detection and quantification were typically <1 ng g(-1) which were much lower than the maximum residue levels established by European legislations.     

Fractal calibration in size-exclusion chromatography I. An introduction

The elution behaviour of different polymer-solvent systems in three types of organic columns for SEC has been compared and interpreted. The experimental data show that the classical universal calibration is not accomplished. Deviations from a unique curve are observed due to the binary and ternary interactions between the components of the system (solvent, polymer and gel) which results on secondary mechanisms accompanying the main pure or "ideal" SEC separation mechanism. Both, enthalpic and entropic effects are interpreted in terms of the swelling and crosslinking degrees of the gel packings, and are also related with the fractal characteristics of their surfaces, such as the fractal dimension and the available pore size. Moreover, a relationship between the fractal dimension of the pore surface and the chromatographic distribution coefficient is proposed.     

Photobleaching of compounds of the 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin Series (m-THPP,m-THPC,and m-THPBC)

[reaction: see text] 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (m-THPP) yielded novel quinonoid porphyrins upon irradiation in aqueous methanol. True photobleaching was observed for 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (m-THPC) and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)bacteriochlorin (m-THPBC) under the same conditions; several fragmentation products (imides, methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, dipyrrin derivatives) were recognized.     

Composition and morphology of stack emissions from coal and oil fuelled boilers

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used in the study of fly ash from large electric power and heating plants. Two basic kinds of fly ash originating either from brown coal or heavy-oil combustion can be characterized both by morphology and trace element composition. INAA technique used consisted of both short (1 min) and long (2 h) activations to ensure the determination of 30–40 elements in each fly ash sample. The average composition and determination limits obtained by INAA for coal fly ash produced in several electric power plants burning two kinds of brown coal have been compared with those obtained for fly ash originating from heating plants burning heavy-oil. Coal fly ash showed much higher concentrations of many elements especially of Sc. La, Th, Cs, Ce, Sm, Rb and Al in comparison with oil fly ash. On the other hand, the latter contained relatively high concentrations of V and Ni. The results of INAA of fly ash samples can be used for the projection of efficient separating devices and for the evaluation and prediction of contamination levels in the vicinity of large emission sources.     

Radio-high-performance liquid chromatography for ecotoxicity assessment of insect growth regulators

The described radiochromatographic method permits fast and high-sensitivity monitoring of soil biodegradation products of an insect growth regulator for its environmental risk assessment. We analyzed and compared two diastereoisomers of ethyl N-(2-(4-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl) methyl]phenoxy)ethyl)carbamate, namely its cis-(1S,2S) isomer JN-W330 and a trans-(1R,2S) isomer JN-W331. Microbial conversion of the cis-isomer to the trans-isomer was proved by mass spectrometry analyzer. Among the chromatographic columns tested, the best separation was found with a 125 mm x 4 mm i.d. column packed with Supersphere 100 RP-C18, 5 microm and an acetonitrile-water gradient. The detection limit for the both isomers was in the range of 120-250 Bq (0.3-0.8 ng) at a concentration of 2 ng/ml with radiometric detection. The calibration curves for standard solutions were linear in the range of 150Bq-150kBq (r = 0.996). The method enabled us to compare the analyzed juvenoids with biologically active oostatic peptides in terms of their environmental safety.     

Photoinduced metalation of nonactivated C-Cl bonds with samarium diiodide: synthesis of alkenes with high (Z)-selectivity through beta-elimination reactions

[reaction: see text] The photoinduced metalation of nonactivated C-Cl bonds of O-acetyl chlorohydrins is promoted by samarium diiodide. As a result of this, beta-elimination of O-acetyl chlorohydrins is achieved, affording the corresponding (Z)-alkenes with total or high stereoselectivity.     

Study of cork (from Quercus suber L.)-wine model interactions based on voltammetric multivariate analysis

The cork from Quercus suber L. is the premium raw material used to produce wine-bottling stoppers; however, being a natural product, cork can be contaminated and attacked in different ways that could promote differences in its proprieties. A specific contamination is the defect known in the industry as “Mancha Amarela—Yellow spot” (MA). This cork shows modifications in its mechanical, structural and optical properties and is potentially able to cause off-flavours in wine. In this study, a new analytical approach is proposed for the rapid screening of cork-wine model interactions in order to determine if the cork were able to contaminate a wine. Cork samples classified as standard (S) and cork MA were put in contact with a wine model matrix. The model matrix was analysed by cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry in function of different contact times. Considering that matrices in contact with cork S and MA exhibited different pH, the influence of this parameter on the distinction power was also evaluated. The data sets obtained from the different techniques were treated by principal component analysis (PCA) and PLS_Cluster. The major difference between samples S and MA is the occurrence of an important peak at ca. 580 mV in the MA voltammograms. This more positive peak may be assigned to lignin related phenolics; therefore, it can be proposed as a possible marker to follow lignin degradation.     

Non-Born-Oppenheimer treatment of the H2 Hookean molecule

We show that the exact non-Born-Oppenheimer Schrodinger equation for the Hookean diatomic molecule H2 (a two-proton, two-electron system where the electron-proton interaction is harmonic while the proton-proton and electron-electron interactions are Coulombic) can be decoupled into equations describing the relative motion of the electrons, the relative motion of nuclei, the motion of a collective mode representing a three-dimensional harmonic oscillator, and the motion of a free particle expressed as a linear combination of the individual center-of-mass coordinates of the nuclei and electrons. Analytic solutions to the relative motion of electrons can be readily obtained for the given values of the harmonic coupling constant. However, exact analytic solutions to the equation for the relative motion of the nuclei cannot be obtained simultaneously due to the fact that the harmonic constants in these two equations are coupled. For this reason, we present for the relative nuclear motion approximate analytic wave functions, one of them obtained variationally and the other by a series solution where the coefficients are determined recursively. We also explore a variational solution to the Taylor-series expansion of the nuclear interaction potential. Properties of the electronic and nuclear intracule densities are examined at different values of the coupling constant. An interesting result of the present non-Born-Oppenheimer treatment of this harmonic model is the fact that the relative nuclear motion occurs in a highly correlated regime. This leads in a natural way to a spatial localization of the nuclei akin to Wigner electronic crystallization.     

C2对称的类卟啉手性双噁唑啉的合成及其应用

合成了6个具有C2对称性的类卟啉手性双(口恶)唑啉配体,将这些化合物与RuCl3配位,NaIO4作氧化剂,应用于反式1,2-二苯基乙烯的不对称环氧化反应,获得了较高的产率(46.0%),但ee值(6.3%)较低.     

The first fluorogenic assay for detecting a Baeyer-Villigerase activity in microbial cells

The first fluorogenic assay allowing for detection of microbial enzymes able to perform Baeyer-Villiger oxidation is described. This is based on the use of 4-oxopentyl umbelliferyl ether 1 as a fluorogenic substrate. When Baeyer-Villigerases active against this test ketone are present in the selected whole cells, 1 is transformed into 3-hydroxypropyl umbelliferyl ether 3, which, in a subsequent step, releases the fluorescent product umbelliferone. Different microorganisms, known to be endowed with Baeyer-Villigerase activity, were assayed.