Enantioseparation of nicotine alkaloids in cigarettes by CE using sulfated β‐CD as a chiral selector and a capillary coated with amino groups

Nicotine (NC) and its related compounds (cotinine (CN), nornicotine (NN), anatabine (AT) and anabasine (AB)) were simultaneously enantioseparated by CE using a capillary with amino groups and sulfated β‐CD as a chiral selector. The optimum running conditions were found to be 30 mM acetate buffer (pH 5.0) containing 8% sulfated β‐CD with an applied voltage of +15 kV at 30°C using direct detection at 260 nm. Using a capillary coated with amino groups, the EOF migrates toward the positive pole. However, when sulfated β‐CD was added to the BGE, it was found that the EOF migrated toward the negative pole due to ionic adsorption of sulfated β‐CD to amino groups on the capillary inner wall. All the cationic analytes migrated as anions, suggesting that they formed stable anionic complexes with sulfated β‐CD. With this system and a simple pretreatment with mini‐cartridges, NC alkaloids in five cigarette samples were enantioseparated. As a result, each of the compounds except for CN was detected. In the case of NC, only (S)‐NC was detected (more than 99.9%), but in the case of NN, AT and AB, the ratios of (S)‐isomer to total isomers were in the ranges 58–70, 81–85 and 59–65%, respectively. On the other hand, only NC was detected in cigarette smoke and the ratio of (S)‐ and (R)‐NCs was 96:4. The amounts of NC alkaloids in cigarettes suggest that the production of (R)‐NC resulted from racemization due to the high temperature/burning of the cigarette.     

Nickel-catalyzed multi-component coupling reaction of aldimine, alkyne, and dimethylzinc via dimerization of butadiene

In the presence of a Ni/phosphine ligand catalyst, dimethylzinc, alkyne, butadiene, aldehyde, and primary amine were successively combined via dimerization of butadiene to provide (3E,7E,10Z)-dodecatrienylamine in good yields with excellent regio and stereoselectivities.     

Dienyl homoallyl alcohols via palladium catalyzed ene-type reaction of aldehydes with 1,3-dienes

The combination of Pd catalyst and Xantphos ligand in the presence of Et(3)B nicely promotes the allylation of aldehydes with conjugated dienes to provide dienyl homoallyl alcohols in excellent yields. The reaction occurs selectively at the C-C double bond bearing higher electron density.     

Four new ursane-type triterpenes, olibanumols K, L, M, and N, from traditional egyptian medicine olibanum, the gum-resin of Boswellia carterii

Four new ursane-type triterpenes, olibanumols K (1), L (2), M (3), and N (4), were isolated from traditional Egyptian medicine olibanum, the exuded gum-resin from Boswellia carterii BIRDW. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.     

Structures of novel norstilbene dimer, longusone A, and three new stilbene dimers, longusols A, B, and C, with antiallergic and radical scavenging activities from Egyptian natural medicine Cyperus longus

The methanolic extract of the whole plant of Cyperus longus originating in Egypt was found to show antiallergic effect on ear passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reactions in mice. By bioassay-guided separation, 11 stilbenes and stilbene dimers including a novel norstilbene dimer, longusone A, and three new stilbene dimers, longusols A, B, and C, were isolated. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. Among the isolates, longusol B (IC(50)=96 μM), luteolin (3.0 μM), resveratrol (17 μM), piceatannol (24 μM), and cassigarols E (84 μM) and G (84 μM) were found to inhibit the release of β-hexosaminidase, as a marker of antigen-induced degranulations, in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. In addition, the methanolic extract and the constituents showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (SC(50)=22 μg/ml and 2.8-29 μM, respectively).     

Properties of the πh 9/2 ⊗ νi 13/2 band in odd-odd 188Au

A new rotational band has been identified and assigned to ¹⁸⁸Au for the first time using the ¹⁷³Yb(¹⁹F,4nγ) reaction at the beam energies of 86 and 90 MeV. This band is proposed to be built on the πh _9/2 ⊗ νi _13/2 configuration by comparing the band properties with known bands in neighboring nuclei. The prolate-to-oblate shape transition through triaxial shape has been proposed to occur around ¹⁸⁸Au for the ηh _9/2 ⊗ νi _13/2 bands in odd-odd Au isotopes on the basis of total Routhian surface (TRS) calculations.

     

Influence of ordering change on the optical and thermal properties of inflation polyethylene films

Changes of thermal diffusivity inside femtosecond laser-structured volumes as small as few percent were reliably determined (with standard deviation less than 1%) with miniaturized sensors. An increase of thermal diffusivity of a crystalline high-density polyethylene (HDPE) inflation films by 10-20% from the measured (1.16 ± 0.01) × 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻¹ value in regions not structured by femtosecond laser pulses is considerably larger than that of non-crystalline polymers, 0-3%. The origin of the change of thermal diffusivity are interplay between the laser induced disordering, voids’ formation, compaction, and changes in molecular orientation. It is shown that laser structuring can be used to modify thermal and optical properties. The birefringence and infrared spectroscopy with thermal imaging of CH₂ vibrations are confirming inter-relation between structural, optical, and thermal properties of the laser-structured crystalline HDPE inflation films. Birefringence modulation as high as Δn ∼ ± 1 × 10⁻³ is achieved with grating structures.