New rac‐XP(O)(OC6H5)(NHC6H4‐p‐CH3) [X = N(CH3)(cyclo‐C6H11) and NH(C3H5)] and rac‐(C6H5CH2NH)P(O)(OC6H5)(NH‐cyclo‐C6H11) mixed‐amide phosphinates

The mixed‐amide phosphinates, rac‐phenyl (N‐methylcyclohexylamido)(p‐tolylamido)phosphinate, C₂₀H₂₇N₂O₂P, (I), and rac‐phenyl (allylamido)(p‐tolylamido)phosphinate, C₁₆H₁₉N₂O₂P, (II), were synthesized from the racemic phosphorus–chlorine compound (R,S)‐(Cl)P(O)(OC₆H₅)(NHC₆H₄‐p‐CH₃). Furthermore, the phosphorus–chlorine compound ClP(O)(OC₆H₅)(NH‐cyclo‐C₆H₁₁) was synthesized for the first time and used for the synthesis of rac‐phenyl (benzylamido)(cyclohexylamido)phosphinate, C₁₉H₂₅N₂O₂P, (III). The strategies for the synthesis of racemic mixed‐amide phosphinates are discussed. The P atom in each compound is in a distorted tetrahedral (N¹)P(=O)(O)(N²) environment. In (I) and (II), the p‐tolylamido substituent makes a longer P—N bond than those involving the N‐methylcyclohexylamido and allylamido substituents. In (III), the differences between the P—N bond lengths involving the cyclohexylamido and benzylamido substituents are not significant. In all three structures, the phosphoryl O atom takes part with the N—H unit in hydrogen‐bonding interactions, viz. an N—H...O=P hydrogen bond for (I) and (N—H)(N—H)...O=P hydrogen bonds for (II) and (III), building linear arrangements along [001] for (I) and along [010] for (III), and a ladder arrangement along [100] for (II).     

Preparation of a miniaturised iodide ion selective sensor using polypyrrole and pencil lead: effect of double-coating, electropolymerisation time, and current density

Polypyrrole (PPy) is a conducting polymer which can be used for producing different ion-selective electrodes. An iodide-doped (PPy-iodide) was prepared electrochemically by anodic polymerisation of pyrrole in the presence of an iodide ion in an aqueous solution on the surface of a pencil lead. Polymerisation was investigated under galvanostatic conditions. The effects of electropolymerisation conditions on the characteristics of the potential response of the sensor were examined. Concentrations of pyrrole, iodide ions, and conditioning solution plus current density and the time of electropolymerisation were optimised in relation to the slope and linearity of calibration graphs. This electrode showed a Nernstian behaviour of 61.1 mV per decade for I^? ion over a wide concentration range from 1.0 × 10^?5 M to 1.0 × 10^?1 M, with the limit of detection of 9.3 × 10^?6 M. The response time of the electrode was from 3–5 s. The selectivity coefficients of the prepared sensors over a wide spectrum of interference anions were also evaluated, revealing that selectivity improves as a result of double-coating with PPy. A similar improvement was observed under lower current density and longer electropolymerisation time. This sensor was applied in the determination of iodide ions using titration potentiometry. This electrode can be used for the determination of iodide in drug preparations.     

Theoretical studies on the rotamers and dynamic behaviors of ethyl-5-acetyl-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)-2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3-carboxylate

The potential energy surfaces of ethyl-5-acetyl-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)-2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3-carboxylate have been explored by density functional theory B3LYP with 6-31G* basis set method. All minima and maxima points have a flat boat conformation and the aryl ring lies above the 1,4-dihydropyridine ring. Therefore, the rotation of aryl, acetyl, and carboethoxy groups do not cause a major conformational change in this compound. However, the orientations of carbonyl groups and the distortion from planarity of dihydropyridine ring have been changed. Intramolecular H-contacts involving CH-groups as proton donors have also been investigated. Comparative analysis of the results indicates that the barrier to rotation for aryl group is smaller than that of the carbonyl groups. In addition, the barriers to rotation for the carbonyl and aryl groups of the corresponding pyridine, i.e., ethyl-5-acetyl-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)-2,6-dimethyl-pyridine-3-carboxylate, have also been computed by a similar basis set to investigate the effect of aromaticity of the dihydropyridine ring on the these parameters.     

Silver nanoparticles‐tragacanth gel as a green membrane for effective extraction and determination of capecitabine

A novel eco‐friendly and effective electromembrane extraction method combining high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was developed for the enrichment and determination of capecitabine. Tragacanth‐silver nanoparticles conjugated gel was prepared by dissolving the tragacanth powder in synthesized silver nanoparticles solution and was used as a green membrane in electromembrane extraction. The porosity and presence of silver nanoparticles in the gel were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. This new electromembrane extraction approach uses neither organic solvent nor carrier agents to extract the target analyte. The best electromembrane extraction efficiency was obtained by using 4.0 mm membrane gel thickness containing 2.5% w/v of tragacanth gum, donor phase pH = 5.0, acceptor phase pH = 3.0, applied voltage 50 V, extraction time 20 min, and agitation rate 500 rpm. During method validation under the optimized conditions, good linearity dynamic range between 1 and 500 ng/mL with the coefficient of determination (R²) = 0.998 was obtained. Limit of detection and Limit of quantitation were estimated to be 0.84 and 1.0 ng/mL, respectively. Finally, the applicability of this method in real samples was confirmed by an acceptable performance in extraction and determination of capecitabine in human plasma samples.     

Biosynthesis of Highly Dispersed Palladium Nanoparticles Using Astraglmanna Aqueous Extract

Biosynthesis of nanoparticles has received increased attention due to a growing need to develop environmentally benign technologies in material synthesis and employment of secondary metabolites from plant extract that has emerged as a novel technology for this purpose. In this study, a rapid and biogenic process for fabrication of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) is reported. Highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles were successfully prepared by using aqueous extract of Astraglmanna, a non‐toxic and eco‐friendly material, without extra surfactant, capping agent, and template. The PdNPs were characterized by using UV—Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope ‐ energy dispersive spectra (SEM‐EDX), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images of the PdNPs were recorded and mean size of the biosynthesized nanoparticles was found to be approximately 15 nm.     

A Rapid and Sensitive LC–MS Method for Determination of Ezetimibe Concentration in Human Plasma: Application to a Bioequivalence Study

A selective and highly sensitive high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method has been developed for determination of ezetimibe concentrations in human plasma. Ezetimibe was extracted from plasma with ethyl acetate followed by evaporation of the organic layer and, then, reconstitution of the residue in mobile phase before injection to chromatograph. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-ammonium acetate (10 mM, pH 3.0), 75:25 (v/v). An aliquot of 10 μL was chromatographically analyzed on a prepacked Zorbax XDB-ODS C₁₈ column (2.1 × 100 mm, 3.5 micron). Detection of analytes was achieved by mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) interface in the negative ion mode operated under the multiple-reaction monitoring mode (m/z transition: ezetimibe 408–271). Standard curves were linear (r = 0.998) over the wide ezetimibe concentration range of 0.05–30.0 ng mL^?1 with acceptable accuracy and precision. The limit of detection was 0.02 ng mL^?1. The validated LC–APCI–MS method has been used successfully throughout a bioequivalence study on an ezetimibe generic product in 24 healthy male volunteers.     

Background correction by wavelength modulation using a microcomputer in atomic emission spectrometry

An Apple IIe microcomputer was employed to correct the background radiation in electrothermal atomization atomic emission spectrometry (ETA-AES). In ETA-AES, black-body radiation from the atomizer as well as any broadband molecular emission should be corrected to obtain an atomic signal alone. A quartz plate run by a G325D galvanometric motor was placed before the exit slit of a 256 mm Littrow monochromator. Improvements by a novel pulsed 3-step square waveform are demonstrated compared with the ordinatry 3-step square waveform. A soft delay was also applied in order to avoid taking data at transition stages of the quartz plate. A line and a continuum source are used to simulate offsetting of the DC component of the signal prior to the ADC. This provides a better utilization of the full dynamic range of the converter.     

Tandem dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with micro-sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for rapid determination of lead(II) and cadmium(II) ions in environmental water samples

ABSTRACT

Tandem dispersive liquid liquid microextraction coupled with micro - sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for rapid determination of lead2 and cadmium2 ions in environmental water samples. A simple method termed as tandem dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with micro-sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry is used for determination of the lead(II) and cadmium(II) ions in different environmental water samples. According to the proposed method, the target analytes are extracted from an aqueous sample solution (10 mL) into a micro-volume of an organic solvent, and then they are selectively back-extracted into an aqueous acceptor solution (150 μL) to increase the compatibility of the extractant phase with a final analyser system and provide a suitable enrichment factor. The developed method is very fast, implemented in just about 7 min, and provides a high sample clean-up. The factors influencing the extraction efficiency including the type and volume of the organic solvent, pH and volume of the acceptor solution, and number of extractions are thoroughly examined and optimised. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the developed method provides a good linearity (in the range of 0.4–300 ng mL^?1 (R² ≥ 0.994)), and low limits of detection (in the range of 0.07–0.31 ng mL^?1). Finally, the method is successfully applied for the direct determination of the understudied analytes in the river, dam, and well water samples.     

On the thermodynamics of some generalized second-grade fluids

The generalized second-grade fluids, which have been used for modeling the creep of ice and the flow of coal-water and coal-oil slurries, are among the simplest non-Newtonian fluid models that can describe shear-thinning/thickening and exhibit normal stress effects. In this article, we conduct thermodynamic analysis on a class of generalized second-grade fluids, one distinguishing feature of which is the existence of a constitutive function Φ that describes frictional heating. We work within the framework of Serrin’s original formulation of neoclassical thermodynamics, where internal energy and entropy functions, if they exist for a continuous body at all, are to be derived from the classical First Law and (quantitatively reformulated) Second Law of thermodynamics for cycles. For the class of generalized second-grade fluids in question, we show from the First Law that an internal energy density u exists, and we derive the equation of energy balance; from the Second Law, we demonstrate the existence of an entropy density s and derive the Clausius–Duhem inequality that it satisfies. We obtain explicit expressions for u, s and the frictional heating Φ, and derive thermodynamic restrictions on the material functions of temperature μ, α ₁, and α ₂ that appear in the constitutive relation for the Cauchy stress. For the special case of second-grade fluids, our expressions for u and s agree with those which Dunn and Fosdick [6] derived under the theoretical framework of the rational thermodynamics of Coleman and Noll.     

Three new phosphoric triamides with a [C(O)NH]P(O)[N(C)(C)]2 skeleton: a database analysis of C—N—C and P—N—C bond angles

In N,N,N′,N′‐tetraethyl‐N′′‐(4‐fluorobenzoyl)phosphoric triamide, C₁₅H₂₅FN₃O₂P, (I), and N‐(2,6‐difluorobenzoyl)‐N′,N′′‐bis(4‐methylpiperidin‐1‐yl)phosphoric triamide, C₁₉H₂₈F₂N₃O₂P, (II), the C—N—C angle at each tertiary N atom is significantly smaller than the two P—N—C angles. For the other new structure, N,N′‐dicyclohexyl‐N′′‐(2‐fluorobenzoyl)‐N,N′‐dimethylphosphoric triamide, C₂₁H₃₃FN₃O₂P, (III), one C—N—C angle [117.08 (12)°] has a greater value than the related P—N—C angle [115.59 (9)°] at the same N atom. Furthermore, for most of the analogous structures with a [C(=O)NH]P(=O)[N(C)(C)]₂ skeleton deposited in the Cambridge Structural Database [CSD; Allen (2002). Acta Cryst. B 58 , 380–388], the C—N—C angle is significantly smaller than the two P—N—C angles; exceptions were found for four structures with the N‐methylcyclohexylamide substituent, similar to (III), one structure with the seven‐membered cyclic amide azepan‐1‐yl substituent and one structure with an N‐methylbenzylamide substituent. The asymmetric units of (I), (II) and (III) contain one molecule, and in the crystal structures, adjacent molecules are linked via pairs of N—H...O=P hydrogen bonds to form dimers.