Data analysis programs for comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography

User-friendly and easy-to-use laboratory-written programs for visualisation and interpretation of comprehensive two-dimensional chromatographic data were developed. The programs that are not tied to any particular commercial instrument, and data obtained either by comprehensive two-dimensional liquid (LC × LC) or gas (GC × GC) chromatography can be analysed. Operations of the programs allow visualisation of 2D and 3D plots, comparison of two 2D plots at a time, as well as determination of retention times and peak heights and volumes.     

Determination of Pt from coke samples by ICP-MS after microwave assisted digestion and microwave assisted cloud point extraction

Platinum in coke samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave-assisted sample digestion and temperature controlled microwave assisted cloud point extraction (MW-CPE). Interferences due to hafnium (¹⁷⁹Hf¹⁶O) were successfully eliminated using MW-CPE with 2-MBT prior to the determination of platinum by ICP-MS. The validity of the method was studied by spike recovery tests and by analyzing certified reference material (BCR-723 street dust). The results obtained for platinum in the BCR-723 were generally in good agreement with the certified values. Furthermore, the preliminary platinum results obtained for coke sample by ICP-MS after MW-CPE were compared to those obtained by a reference method (NiS-Fire Assay preconcentration/Te coprecipitation and ICP-MS determination).     

Ruthenium imidazole oxime carbonyls and their activities as CO-releasing molecules

Carbon monoxide has been found to possess various beneficial effects in living organisms. To study the effects of CO further and to develop potential pharmaceutical agents, a meaningful method for delivering CO to the target organ is needed. It has been found that under physiological conditions various metal carbonyl complexes release carbon monoxide. In this study six novel ruthenium carbonyl complexes Ru(IMOX)(CO)(2)(COOR)Cl(1) (IMOX: imidazolecarbaldehyde oxime, R: Me, Et) were prepared and tested as carbon monoxide releasing molecules (CORMs). Synthesis of the complexes was performed under mild conditions in alcoholic solutions. The ability to release CO was tested spectrophotometrically by following the transformation of deoxymyoglobin to carbonmonoxy myoglobin. All of the complexes studied were found to release CO. Compared to formerly studied ruthenium-based CORMs these complexes offer a way for slower CO release.     

Ruthenium(II) arene complexes with chelating chloroquine analogue ligands: synthesis, characterization and in vitro antimalarial activity

Three new ruthenium complexes with bidentate chloroquine analogue ligands, [Ru(η(6)-cym)(L(1))Cl]Cl (1, cym = p-cymene, L(1) = N-(2-((pyridin-2-yl)methylamino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine), [Ru(η(6)-cym)(L(2))Cl]Cl (2, L(2) = N-(2-((1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)methylamino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine) and [Ru(η(6)-cym)(L(3))Cl] (3, L(3) = N-(2-((2-hydroxyphenyl)methylimino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine) have been synthesized and characterized. In addition, the X-ray crystal structure of 2 is reported. The antimalarial activity of complexes 1-3 and ligands L(1), L(2) and L(3), as well as the compound N-(2-(bis((pyridin-2-yl)methyl)amino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine (L(4)), against chloroquine sensitive and chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria strains was evaluated. While 1 and 2 are less active than the corresponding ligands, 3 exhibits high antimalarial activity. The chloroquine analogue L(2) also shows good activity against both the chloroquine sensitive and the chloroquine resistant strains. Heme aggregation inhibition activity (HAIA) at an aqueous buffer/n-octanol interface (HAIR(50)) and lipophilicity (D, as measured by water/n-octanol distribution coefficients) have been measured for all ligands and metal complexes. A direct correlation between the D and HAIR(50) properties cannot be made because of the relative structural diversity of the complexes, but it may be noted that these properties are enhanced upon complexation of the inactive ligand L(3) to ruthenium, to give a metal complex (3) with promising antimalarial activity.     

Comparative toxicity study of Ag, Au, and Ag–Au bimetallic nanoparticles on Daphnia magna

A comparative assessment of the 48-h acute toxicity of aqueous nanoparticles synthesized using the same methodology, including Au, Ag, and Ag–Au bimetallic nanoparticles, was conducted to determine their ecological effect in freshwater environments through the use of Daphnia magna, using their mortality as a toxicological endpoint. D. magna are one of the standard organisms used for ecotoxicity studies due to their sensitivity to chemical toxicants. Particle suspensions used in toxicity testing were well-characterized through a combination of absorbance measurements, atomic force or electron microscopy, flame atomic absorption spectrometry, and dynamic light scattering to determine composition, aggregation state, and particle size. The toxicity of all nanoparticles tested was found to be dose and composition dependent. The concentration of Au nanoparticles that killed 50% of the test organisms (LC₅₀) ranged from 65–75 mg/L. In addition, three different sized Ag nanoparticles (diameters = 36, 52, and 66 nm) were studied to analyze the toxicological effects of particle size on D. magna; however, it was found that toxicity was not a function of size and ranged from 3–4 μg/L for all three sets of Ag nanoparticles tested. This was possibly due to the large degree of aggregation when these nanoparticles were suspended in standard synthetic freshwater. Moreover, the LC₅₀ values for Ag–Au bimetallic nanoparticles were found to be between that of Ag and Au but much closer to that of Ag. The bimetallic particles containing 80% Ag and 20% Au were found to have a significantly lower toxicity to Daphnia (LC₅₀ of 15 μg/L) compared to Ag nanoparticles, while the toxicity of the nanoparticles containing 20% Ag and 80% Au was greater than expected at 12 μg/L. The comparison results confirm that Ag nanoparticles were much more toxic than Au nanoparticles, and that the introduction of gold into silver nanoparticles may lower their environmental impact by lowering the amount of Ag which is bioavailable.     

Interaction between the conjugated polyelectrolyte poly{1,4-phenylene[9,9-bis(4-phenoxybutylsulfonate)]fluorene-2,7-diyl} copolymer and the lecithin mimic 1-O-(l-Arginyl)-2,3-O-dilauroyl-sn-glycerol in aqueous solution

In this paper, the interaction between the water-soluble conjugated polyelectrolyte poly{1,4-phenylene[9,9-bis(4-phenoxybutylsulfonate)]fluorene-2,7-diyl} copolymer and the amino acid glyceride conjugate 1-O-(L-arginyl)-2,3-O-dilauroyl-sn-glycerol dichlorohydrate (a mimic for the phospholipid lecithin) has been studied in aqueous solution by electronic spectroscopy (absorption and fluorescence) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). A significant increase in the polymer fluorescence and blue shift in its emission are observed on association with the surfactant. This is suggested to be due to breakup of polymer aggregates. In addition, the spectroscopic and photophysical data suggest this is followed by the vesicle to ribbon transition characteristic of this surfactant, leading to incorporation of single chains of the polymer within mixed polymer-surfactant aggregates. Support for this comes from preliminary SANS measurements, from which evidence for polymer dissolution and formation of two-dimensional structures has been obtained.     

A new family of luminescent compounds: platinum(II) imidoylamidinates exhibiting pH-dependent room temperature luminescence

The imidoylamidinate platinum(II) compounds [Pt{NH=C(R)NC(Ph)NPh}2] (R = CH2Ph 2, p-ClC6H43, Ph 4) were prepared by the reaction of the appropriate trans-[PtCl2(RCN)2] with 4 equiv of the amidine PhC(NH)NHPh giving 2-4 and 2 equivs of the salt PhC(=NH)NHPh.HCl. We also synthesized, by the double alkylation of 4 with MeOSO2CF3, complex [Pt{NH=C(Ph)N(Me)C(Ph)=NPh}2][CF3SO3]2 (5) which models the bis-protonated form of 4. The complexes were characterized by 1H, 13C NMR, and IR spectroscopies, FAB-MS and by C, H, N elemental analysis. The X-ray crystallography of 4.2CH2Cl2 enables the confirmation of the square planar coordination geometry of the metal center with almost planar imidoylamidine ligands, while in 5.2CHCl3 the planarity of the metallacycles is lost and and the central N atom is sp3-hybridized. The imidoylamidinate complexes represent a new family of Pt(II)-based luminescent complexes and they are emissive at room temperature both in solution and in the solid state, with an emission quantum yield ranging from 3.7 x 10(-4) to 6.2 x 10(-2) in methanol solution; the emission intensity is pH-dependent, being quenched at low pH. UV-visible and luminescence spectroscopies indicate that the lowest excited state of these compounds is 3MLCT or 3IL with significant MLCT character, with emission lifetimes of a few micros. A blue shift of both the absorption and emission with increasing solvent polarity and with decreasing pi-electron withdrawing properties of the ligand substituent was observed.     

Amidoximes provide facile platinum(II)-mediated oxime-nitrile coupling

The nucleophilic addition of amidoximes R'C(NH(2))═NOH [R' = Me (2.Me), Ph (2.Ph)] to coordinated nitriles in the platinum(II) complexes trans-[PtCl(2)(RCN)(2)] [R = Et (1t.Et), Ph (1t.Ph), NMe(2) (1t.NMe(2))] and cis-[PtCl(2)(RCN)(2)] [R = Et (1c.Et), Ph (1c.Ph), NMe(2) (1c.NMe(2))] proceeds in a 1:1 molar ratio and leads to the monoaddition products trans-[PtCl(RCN){HN═C(R)ONC(R')NH(2)}]Cl [R = NMe(2); R' = Me ([3a]Cl), Ph ([3b]Cl)], cis-[PtCl(2){HN═C(R)ONC(R')NH(2)}] [R = NMe(2); R' = Me (4a), Ph (4b)], and trans/cis-[PtCl(2)(RCN){HN═C(R)ONC(R')NH(2)}] [R = Et; R' = Me (5a, 6a), Ph (5b, 6b); R = Ph; R' = Me (5c, 6c), Ph (5d, 6d), correspondingly]. If the nucleophilic addition proceeds in a 2:1 molar ratio, the reaction gives the bisaddition species trans/cis-[Pt{HN═C(R)ONC(R')NH(2)}(2)]Cl(2) [R = NMe(2); R' = Me ([7a]Cl(2), [8a]Cl(2)), Ph ([7b]Cl(2), [8b]Cl(2))] and trans/cis-[PtCl(2){HN═C(R)ONC(R')NH(2)}(2)] [R = Et; R' = Me (10a), Ph (9b, 10b); R = Ph; R' = Me (9c, 10c), Ph (9d, 10d), respectively]. The reaction of 1 equiv of the corresponding amidoxime and each of [3a]Cl, [3b]Cl, 5b-5d, and 6a-6d leads to [7a]Cl(2), [7b]Cl(2), 9b-9d, and 10a-10d. Open-chain bisaddition species 9b-9d and 10a-10d were transformed to corresponding chelated bisaddition complexes [7d](2+)-[7f](2+) and [8c](2+)-[8f](2+) by the addition of 2 equiv AgNO(3). All of the complexes synthesized bear nitrogen-bound O-iminoacylated amidoxime groups. The obtained complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, high-resolution ESI-MS, IR, and (1)H NMR techniques, while 4a, 4b, 5b, 6d, [7b](Cl)(2), [7d](SO(3)CF(3))(2), [8b](Cl)(2), [8f](NO(3))(2), 9b, and 10b were also characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.