Simultaneous Determination of Tobacco Alkaloids,Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines,and Solanesol in Consumer Products Using UPLC–ESI-MS/MS

The US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is responsible for collecting Federal excise taxes on tobacco products. Tobacco products in the USA may fall into several taxable categories including cigars, cigarettes, snuff, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own. The existence of these taxable categories means that the TTB is also responsible for the determination of proper tax classification. Not only does proper classification determine the amount of tax owed, but comprehensive classification procedures must also determine if a consumer product is subject to the tobacco excise tax. Since a product must contain tobacco to be subject to the excise tax, laboratory methods that test for the presence of tobacco can provide useful information to ascertain the taxable status of a product. To test for the presence of chemical markers associated with tobacco, an analytical method was developed that permits the simultaneous determination of nicotine and related alkaloids, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA), and solanesol in methanolic extracts of tobacco. The method utilizes ultra performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometric detection (UPLC–ESI-MS/MS) and was optimized for the analysis of nicotine, cotinine, nornicotine, anatabine, myosmine, anabasine, isonicoteine, nornicotyrine, nicotyrine, N-nitrosoanatabine (NAT), N-nitrosoanabasine (NAB), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), N′-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and solanesol. The analytical method was designed to attenuate the instrument response of nicotine, which is overwhelming, to permit simultaneous analysis of all analytes.     

Selective formation of heteroaryl thioethers via a phosphonium ion coupling reaction

Heteroaryl thioethers, comprised of pyridines and diazines, are an important class of compounds with relevance to medicinal chemistry. Metal-catalyzed cross-couplings and S_NAr reactions are traditionally used to form C–S bonds in these systems but are limited by available halogenated precursors. An alternative approach is presented where pyridines and diazines are transformed into heterocyclic phosphonium salts and then C–S bonds are formed by adding thiolate nucleophiles. The process is 4-selective for pyridines, simple to execute and can be used to make derivatives of complex pharmaceuticals.     

Surface-immobilized pyridine-functionalized gamma-cyclodextrin: alkanethiol co-adsorption-induced reorientation

Monolayers of di-6A,6B-deoxy-6-(4-pyridylmethyl)amino-gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD-(py)2) have been formed on polycrystalline platinum electrodes and investigated using electrochemical and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The behavior of self-assembled monolayers of (gamma-CD-(py)2) alone, (gamma-CD-(py)2) backfilled with 1-nonanethiol, and 1-nonanethiol are reported. The potential dependence of the capacitance indicates that the film capacitance is higher for the backfilled CD layers than for 1-nonanethiol layers, most likely due to ion flux through the CD cavity. SERS spectra of the backfilled layer exhibit features associated with both pyridine-functionalized CD and alkane moieties. Investigations using [Fe(CN)6]4- as a solution-phase probe indicate that the backfilled CD-alkane thiol layer exhibits enhanced blocking properties compared to gamma-CD-(py)2 films alone. Complete blocking was achieved by a combination of backfilling and insertion of a high-affinity guest 1-adamantylamine into the cavity. Significantly, an electroactive guest with high affinity for gamma-CD, [Co(biptpy)2]2+, does not exhibit a redox response at the gamma-CD-(py)2 layer but molecular recognition is turned on by backfilling the CD layer with 1-nonanethiol molecules. This switching on of the electrochemical activity suggests that the CD hosts are initially inaccessible but reorientate upon backfilling, exposing the CD opening to solution and permitting a supramolecular host-guest complex to form. The binding of [Co(biptpy)2]2+ to gamma-CD in the backfilled monolayer depends on the bulk concentration of guest and is modeled by the Langmuir isotherm, yielding an association constant for the Co2+ state of 1.45 +/- 0.46 x 105 M-1 and a limiting surface coverage 1.49 +/- 0.25 x 10-11 mol cm-2. The surface coverage of the divalent state is higher than the trivalent state, reflecting the dynamic nature of the inclusion.     

Mercury-platinum tunneling junctions incorporating supramolecular host-guest assemblies

Molecular junctions incorporating monolayers of surface-active cyclodextrins have been formed by bringing macroscopic platinum and mercury electrodes together. Monolayers of the host di-6A,6B-deoxy-6-(4-pyridylmethyl)amino-gamma-cyclodextrin (CD) have been formed on platinum electrodes and backfilled with 1-nonanethiol. Significantly, the tunneling current for bilayer junctions in which the mercury surface is modified with a C16 alkane thiol depends markedly on the nature of the CD guest. Junctions where nonconjugated guests, such as adamantane, are included in the CD show an order of magnitude lower current than junctions incorporating the conjugated guest C60. Moreover, monolayer junctions of CD backfilled with 1-nonanethiol exhibit potential-dependent currents in the presence of CD guest molecule [Co(biptpy)2](2+) but not for [Co(tpy)2](2+), which is structurally analogous but cannot associate with CD. Significantly, unlike bilayer systems, when only one electrode is modified, mechanical pressure is required to form a stable tunneling junction and these junctions cannot be formed and separated reversibly.     

Large Magnetization and Frustration Switching of Magnetoresistance in the Double‐Perovskite Ferrimagnet Mn2FeReO6

Ferrimagnetic A₂BB′O₆ double perovskites, such as Sr₂FeMoO₆, are important spin‐polarized conductors. Introducing transition metals at the A‐sites offers new possibilities to increase magnetization and tune magnetoresistance. Herein we report a ferrimagnetic double perovskite, Mn₂FeReO₆, synthesized at high pressure which has a high Curie temperature of 520 K and magnetizations of up to 5.0 μ_B which greatly exceed those for other double perovskite ferrimagnets. A novel switching transition is discovered at 75 K where magnetoresistance changes from conventional negative tunneling behavior to large positive values, up to 265 % at 7 T and 20 K. Neutron diffraction shows that the switch is driven by magnetic frustration from antiferromagnetic Mn²⁺ spin ordering which cants Fe³⁺ and Re⁵⁺ spins and reduces spin‐polarization. Ferrimagnetic double perovskites based on A‐site Mn²⁺ thus offer new opportunities to enhance magnetization and control magnetoresistance in spintronic materials.     

高T_c超导体YBCO磁通钉扎的计算机模拟研究

临界电流密度Jc是影响高温超导体在强电领域应用的一个重要参数,在实际应用中,特别在外加磁场下,临界电流密度与超导材料的磁通钉扎性质密切相关.因此,磁通钉扎一直是高温超导体研究中的一个重要领域.由于高温超导体磁通钉扎力密度Fp的标度律存在,本文根据D.Dew-Hughes总结的钉扎力函数,主要存在两种主要作用类型(正常相和△K).我们将D.Dew-HugBes给出的钉扎力密度Fp标度函数改进为一个简化的具有物理意义的函数表达式.结合文献中已有的实验数据,我们对YBcO进行了计算机模拟,确定了它的磁通钉扎类型,模拟的研究结果与实际情况比较吻合.     

Confirmation of a nanohybrid shish‐kebab (NHSK) structure in composites of PET and MWCNTs

Here, the confirmation of an oriented nanohybrid shish‐kebab (NHSK) crystalline structure in a series of composites of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is reported. The combined use of small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and thermal analysis has been used to investigate the morphology development in PET‐MWCNT nanocomposites under hot isothermal crystallization conditions. The MWCNTs act as both heterogeneous nucleating agents and surfaces (oriented shish structures) for the epitaxial growth of PET crystallites (kebabs) giving an oriented crystalline morphology. In contrast, the PET homopolymer does not show any residual oriented crystalline morphology during isothermal crystallization but gave a sporadic nucleation of a classic unoriented lamellar structure with slower crystallization kinetics. The results provide a valuable insight into the role of MWCNTs as nanoparticulate fillers in the morphology development and subsequent modification of physical properties in engineering polymers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 132–137