Investigation of a cylindrical chemosorptive denuder for sampling and phase separation of toluene diisocyanate aerosols

A cylindrical chemosorptive denuder in series with a glass fibre filter has been evaluated for sampling toluene diisocyanate (TDI) aerosols. The sampler is designed for measuring personal exposure to diisocyanates. Several denuder coatings and derivatising reagents were investigated. Dimethylpolysiloxane (SE-30) and 5% phenyl dimethylpolysiloxane (SE-54) with either dibutylamine (DBA) or dipentylamine (DPeA) as derivatising reagents yielded the lowest vapour breakthrough (the amount (%) of the vapour that passes through the denuder), close to values predicted by theory. Immobilisation of the SE-30 denuder coating by in-situ cross-linking yielded comparable results. With an SE-30/DBA-coated denuder operating within an airflow range of 100–500 mL min^–1, the phase separation was shown to be consistent with theoretical predictions derived by use of the Gormley–Kennedy equation. This provides a means of calculating the vapour breakthrough and correcting experimentally obtained values with regard to vapour–particulate phase distribution, suggesting that the denuder can provide accurate phase-distribution measurements. The SE-30/DBA denuder can be used over a concentration range spanning nearly six orders of magnitude. Its capacity is sufficient to perform 15-min exposure measurements of a TDI aerosol with air concentrations as high as 1,700 g m^–3, 40 times higher than the Swedish occupational exposure limit (OEL). At the other end of the range, the estimated limit of detection (LOD) was less than 2 ng m^–3 for both the vapour and the aerosol phases when LC–ESI–MS–MS was used for chemical analysis.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material for this article is available at     

Isolation of selenium organic species from antarctic krill after enzymatic hydrolysis

Total selenium content and its distribution in the soluble and insoluble protein-bound fractions obtained after aqueous extraction of antarctic krill samples were determined. About 26% of the total selenium (2.4 g g^–1 dry weight) was found in the supernatant; the rest was in the pellet. Isolation of low molecular selenium-containing fractions was also performed by enzymatic digestion of the protein, followed by size-exclusion chromatography in conjunction with atomic absorption spectrometry. From the applied various proteinases (pronase E, subtilisin Carlsberg, trypsin, chymotrypsin, proteinase and proteinase N from Bacillus subtilis and Novo 0.6 MPX enzyme), the treatment with pronase E led to best recovery of selenium. About 96% of the total Se was found in the hydrolysate, mainly in low molecular weight fractions. Eighty percent of the Se species were in fractions with molecular weights in the range of amino acids and short peptides. High-performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) allowed the identification of selenomethionine and the assumption that selenocystine or its derivatives were the main species in these fractions.     

CERTAIN SINGLET OXYGEN QUENCHERS AFFECT THE PHOTOREACTION BETWEEN 8-MOP and DNA

The effect of certain chemicals known as singlet oxygen quenchers on the photoreaction between 8-MOP and DNA has been studied in vitro; sodium azide, l,4-diazabicyclo-(2,2,2)-octane, p-carotene and dimethylsolfoxide (used as a solvent) appeared to be capable of reducing significantly the 8-MOP ability to induce both monoadducts and cross-links in DNA. Therefore, these chemicals seem to be not useful in studying the singlet oxygen implication in the induction of biological effects of 8-MOP sensitization.     

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of epimeric alkaloid N-oxides from Thalictrum simplex L.

A simple and precise method was developed for the analytical and preparative reversed-phase HPLC separation of a mixture of epimeric pavine N-oxides containing 49.1% of (−)-thalimonine N-oxide A and 50.1% of (−)-thalimonine N-oxide B isolated from Thalictrum simplex L. (Ranunculaceae). A reversed-phase system with Nucleosil C₁₈ analytical and preparative columns and ethanol-1.5% aqueous orthophosphoric acid (15:85) as the mobile phase was used. The epimeric pavine N-oxides were completely separated within 50 min.     

Determination of fatty acids in atmospheric samples via GC/MS

Summary Atmospheric precipitation and aerosol samples are characterized by a complex mixture of several organic compounds. A simple method for the simultaneous determination of the main compound classes by GC/MS is presented. In detail, seasonal variations of C₈–C₃₂ fatty acids in precipitation in a semirural area have been studied. Total fatty acids concentrations of 7–53 g/l were detected. Summer rain is characterized by high amounts of fatty acids >C₂₀ and lower amounts of C₁₁–C₂₀ species. Two effects may be responsible: larger emission rates of fatty acids during vegetation periods and an increased influence of vapour phase due to higher temperatures during summer. CPI values showed no general trend; lower CPI values for winter rain could not be observed. This would be expected if anthropogenic sources play an important role. Monounsaturated fatty acids (C_16:1, C_18:1) were more abundant during winter than in summer. High concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (C_18:x) could be detected during summer. High relative concentrations of the potential oxidation products of the unsaturated species, nonanedioic acid and w-oxononanoic acid, are associated with relatively low concentrations of their precursors.     

Application of a chemometric method for simultaneous determination of acetaminophen and diclofenac in content-uniformity and drug-dissolution studies

A new, repeatable, and rapid method has been developed for resolution of binary mixtures of acetaminophen and diclofenac with minimum sample pretreatment and without separation of the analytes. The method, based on the PLS1 processing of absorbance data in the UV region, was successfully used for quantification of the drug content of three tablet preparations. The results obtained were in good agreement with HPLC recovery data. The method also enabled determination of drug-dissolution profiles of these commercial tablets, by simultaneous determination of both analytes during the dissolution test.     

Electrical Conductance and Volumetric Studies in Aqueous Solutions of DL-Pyroglutamic Acid

Conductivity measurements of DL-pyroglutamic acid and sodium pyroglutamate in dilute aqueous solutions were performed in the 288.15–323.15 K temperature range. The limiting molar conductances of pyroglutamate anion, λ^o(pGlu⁻, T) and the dissociation constants of pyroglutamic acid, K(T) were derived from the Onsager, and the Quint and Viallard conductivity equations. Densities of aqueous solutions with molalities lower than 0.5 mol-kg⁻¹ were determined at 5 K intervals from T = 288.15 K to 333.15 K. Densities served to evaluate the apparent molar volumes, V_2,φ(m, T), the cubic expansion coefficients, α (m,T) and the changes of the isobaric heat capacities with respect to pressure, (∂ C_P/∂ P)_T,m. They were correlated qualitatively with the changes in the structure of water when pyroglumatic acid is dissolved in it.     

Mutual storage mode ion/ion reactions in a hybrid linear ion trap

Ion/ion proton transfer reactions involving mutual storage of both ion polarities in a linear ion trap (LIT) that comprises part of a hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometer have been effected. Mutual ion storage in the x- and y-dimensions arises from the normal operation of the oscillating quadrupole field of the quadrupole array, while storage in the z-dimension is enabled by applying unbalanced radio-frequency amplitudes to opposing sets of rods of the array. Efficient trapping (>90%) is achieved for thermalized ions over periods of several seconds. Reactions were demonstrated for multiply charged protein/peptide cations formed by electrospray with anions derived from glow discharge ionization of perfluoro(methyldecalin) (PMD) introduced from the side of the LIT rod array. Doubly and singly charged protein ions are readily formed via ion/ion reactions. The parameters that affect ion/ion reactions are discussed, including the degree of RF unbalance on the LIT rods, vacuum pressure, nature of the buffer gas, reaction time, anion abundance, and the low mass cutoff for ion/ion reaction. The present system has a demonstrated upper mass-to-charge ratio limit of at least 33,000. The system also has high flexibility with respect to defining MS(n) experiments involving both collision-induced dissociation (CID) and ion/ion reactions. Experiments are demonstrated involving beam-type CID in the pressurized collision quadrupole (Q2) followed by ion/ion reactions involving the product ions in the LIT. Ion parking experiments are also demonstrated using the mutual storage ion/ion reaction mode in the LIT, with a parking efficiency over 60%.     

Etude calorimetrique de l'absorption de l'hydrogene sulfure dans des solutions aqueuses d'ethanolamines

Résumé La chaleur dégagée par l'absorption du sulfure d'hydrogène dans des solutions aqueuses de monoéthanolamine (MEA), diéthanolamine (DEA) et triéthanolamine (TEA) est mesurée directement par calorimétrie.Les valeurs des enthalpies obtenues sont comparées à celles obtenues par d'autres auteurs par calcul à partir des résultats d'expériences de solubilité ainsi qu'aux enthalpies de protonation par HC1 à 25.

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Absorption heats of hydrogen sulphide in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine were determined by calorimetry. The measured enthalpies were compared to those calculated on the basis of solubility measurement and to the enthalpies of protonation of hydrogen chloride at 25.

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Zusammenfassung Die durch Absorption von Schwefelwasserstoff in wÄssrigen Lösungen von MonoÄthanolamin (MEA), DiÄthanolamin (DEA) und TriÄthanolamin (TEA) abgegebene WÄrme wurde unmittelbar durch Kalorimetrie gemessen. Die erhaltenen Enthalpiewerte wurden mit Versuchsergebnissen der Löslichkeit sowie der Protonierung durch HC1 bei 25 anderer Autoren verglichen.

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-, - . 25.

     

Syntheses and spectroscopic studies on zinc(II) and mercury(II) complexes of isatin-3-thiosemicarbazone

Zinc(II) and mercury(II) complexes were prepared by reacting isatin-3-thiosemicarbazone (ISTSCH) with zinc(II) acetate or mercury(II) bromide. The complexes were characterized by IR, Raman, diffuse reflectance, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra and elemental analysis. Tetrahedral structures for Zn(ISTSC)₂ and Hg(ISTSCH)Br₂ are suggested.