Rapid determination of acetaminophen in physiological fluids by liquid chromatography using SDS mobile phase and ED detection

Acetaminophen is determined in serum and urine samples by a rapid, sensitive, and precise chromatographic method without any pretreatment step in a C18 column using a pure micellar mobile phase of 0.02M sodium dodecyl sulfate at pH 7. Acetaminophen is eluted in less than 5 min with no interference of the protein band. The use of electrochemical and UV detection is compared. Linearities (r > 0.999), as well as intra- and interday precision, are studied in the validation of the method. Limits of detection (LOD) are also calculated to be 0.56, 0.83, and 0.74 ng/mL in micellar solution, serum, and urine using electrochemical detection. The developed micellar liquid chromatographic method is useful for the quantitation of acetaminophen in serum and urine. Recoveries in the biological matrices are in the 98-107% range and results are compared with those obtained using a reference method. Drug excretion (in urine) and serum distribution are studied in several healthy volunteers, and no interference from metabolites is found. The developed procedure can be applied in routine analyses, toxicology, and therapeutic monitoring.     

ZnS bubble clusters with onion-like structures

Following recent studies which showed that the most stable structures for (ZnS)(n) clusters (n= 10-47) are the so-called "bubble clusters", in which all the atoms are three-coordinated, we have used simulated annealing techniques to find the most stable structure for a larger cluster, (ZnS)(60). We find an onion-like structure, with one small cluster enclosed inside a bigger one. The inner cluster has the structure of a sodalite cage. Bonding between the inner and the outer clusters creates a network of four-coordinated atoms.     

Characterization and TLC-Bioautographic Detection of Essential Oils from Some Thymus Taxa. Determination of the Activity of the Oils and their Components Against Plant Pathogenic Bacteria

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The chemical composition of the oils of four thyme (Lamiaceae) chemotypes (Thymus vulgaris L., Thymus serpyllum L., Thymus x...     

Determination of manganese in brain samples by slurry sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple procedure for the determination of manganese in different sections of human brain samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry has been developed. Brain sections included cerebellum, hypothalamus, frontal cortex, vermix and encephalic trunk. Two sample preparation procedures were evaluated, namely, slurry sampling and microwave-assisted acid digestion. Brain slurries (2% w/v) could be prepared in distilled, de-ionized water, with good stability for up to 30 min. Brain samples were also digested in a domestic microwave oven using 5 ml of concentrated HNO₃. A mixed palladium+magnesium nitrate chemical modifier was used for thermal stabilization of the analyte in the electrothermal atomizer up to pyrolysis temperatures of 1300 °C, irrespective of the matrix. Quantitation of manganese was conducted in both cases by means of aqueous standards calibration. The detection limits were 0.3 and 0.4 ng ml⁻¹ for the slurry and the digested samples, respectively. The accuracy of the procedure was checked by comparing the results obtained in the analysis of slurries and digested brain samples, and by analysis of the NIST Bovine Liver standard reference material (SRM 1577a). The ease of slurry preparation, together with the conventional set of analytical and instrumental conditions selected for the determination of manganese make such methodology suitable for routine clinical applications.     

Linked crystallites in the conducting topmost layer of polymer bilayer films controlled by temperature: from micro- to nanocrystallites.

Temperature has great impact on the structure and size of the linked crystallites of the conducting topmost layer formed at the surface of a polycarbonate film via the reaction BEDT-TTF+IBr [BEDT-TTF=bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene]. We show that fine temperature control permits formation of a semiconducting topmost layer of alpha'-(BEDT-TTF)(2)(I(x)Br(1-x))(3) crystallites with either micro- or nanometre size, a result that opens a route to miniaturized conducting plastic materials.     

Umpolung of the allylpalladium reactivity: mechanism and regioselectivity of the electrophilic attack on bis-allylpalladium complexes formed in palladium-catalyzed transformations

The structure and reactivity of various bis-allylpalladium complexes occurring as catalytic intermediates in important synthetic transformations have been studied by applying density functional theory at the B3PW91(DZ + P) level. It was found that n1,n3 coordinated bis-allylpalladium complexes are readily formed from the corresponding n3,n3 complexes, especially in the presence of pi-acceptor phosphine ligands. The theoretical calculations indicate dsigma-->pi type hyperconjugative interactions occurring in the n1-coordinated allyl moiety of the n3,n3 coordinated complexes. These hyperconjugative interactions influence the structure of the complexes and dramatically increase the reactivity of the double bond in the n1-moiety. The DFT results indicate a remarkably low activation barrier for the electrophilic attack on the n1-allyl functionality. In bridged n1,n3 complexes, the electrophilic attack occurs with a very high regioselectivity, which can be explained on the basis of d-pi type hyperconjugative interactions.     

Preparation of new 2,3-diphenylpropenoic acid esters - good yields even for the more hindered Z isomers

The potassium salt of E- and Z-2,3-diphenylpropenoic acids prepared in situ could be esterified efficiently in DMSO with the appropriate alkyl halides at room temperature. In this way 10 previously undescribed esters of these acids were synthesised and characterised. Excellent yields were observed for most of the E isomers and the more hindered Z esters were also obtained in good yields, far better than those obtained applying the classical acid-catalysed esterification reaction.     

Bestimmung des Osmiums auf katalytischer Grundlage mittels einer Photokomparationsmethode

Zusammenfassung Auf Grund seiner katalytischen Wirkung auf die Lumineszenzreaktion von Luzigenin mit Wasserstoffperoxid läßt sich Osmiumtetroxid im Konzentrationsbereich von 1 bis 60g/5 ml mit Hilfe der Simultan-komparationsmethode hinreichend genau bestimmen. Die störenden Ionen des Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Co, Ni, Ca und Mg lassen sich mit ÄDTA maskieren.

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Summary Osmium tetroxide can be detected in the concentration range of 1 to 60g/5 ml through its luminescence reaction with hydrogen peroxide and lucigenin with sufficient precision by means of the simultaneous comparation method. The interfering ions (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Co, Ni, Ca, and Mg) can be masked with EDTA.

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Résumé En utilisant l'action catalytique du tétroxyde d'osmium sur la réaction de luminescence de la lucigénine avec l'eau oxygénée, on peut le doser avec suffisamment de précision dans le domaine des concentrations allant de 1 à 60g/5 ml par la méthode de comparaison photométrique. On peut masquer par l'EDTA les ions gênants de Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Co, Ni, Ca et Mg.

     

Aldol condensations over reconstructed Mg-Al hydrotalcites: structure-activity relationships related to the rehydration method

Two different rehydration procedures in the liquid or gas phase have been applied to reconstruct mixed oxides derived from calcined hydrotalcite-like materials to be used as catalysts for aldol condensation reactions. The as-synthesized hydrotalcite, its decomposition product, as well as the reconstructed solids upon rehydration were characterized by XRD, N(2) adsorption, He pycnometry, FTIR, SEM, TEM, (27)Al MAS-NMR and CO(2)-TPD (TPD=temperature-programmed desorption). Compared to the Mg-Al mixed oxide rehydrated in the gas phase (HT-rg), that rehydrated in the liquid phase (HT-rl) exhibits a superior catalytic performance with respect to the aldol condensation of citral with ketones to yield pseudoionones and in the self-aldolization of acetone. The textural properties of HT-rl and HT-rg differ strongly and determine the catalytic behavior. A memory effect led to a higher degree of reconstruction of the lamellar structure when the mixed oxide was rehydrated in the gas phase rather than in the liquid phase, although liquid-phase rehydration under fast stirring produced a surface area that was 26 times greater. This contrasts to typical statements in the literature claiming a higher degree of reconstruction in the presence of large amounts of water in the medium. CO(2)-TPD shows that the number of OH(-) groups and their nature are very similar in HT-rg and HT-rl, and cannot explain the markedly different catalytic behavior. Accordingly, only a small fraction of the available basic sites in the rehydrated samples is active in liquid-phase aldol condensations. Our results support the model in which only basic sites near the edges of the hydrotalcite platelets are partaking in aldol reactions. Based on this, reconstructed materials with small crystallites (produced by exfoliation during mechanical stirring), that is, possessing a high external surface area, are beneficial in the reactions compared to larger crystals with a high degree of intraplatelet porosity.