Nucleophilic substitution in certain bicyclic sesquiterpene alcohols under chemical lonization conditions

Substitution of amino for hydroxyl groups in certain sesquiterpene alcohols has been studied by chemical ionization mass spectrometry using ammonia and ammouia-d₃ as the reagent gases, and by mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry and collision-induced decomposition mass-analysed ion kinetic energy measurements. Depending upon the source conditions and the nature of the substrates, both S_Ni and S_N1 mechanisms have been found to operate. No evidence is obtained for an S_N2 mechanism in these compounds. In centdarol and isocentdarol, addition of NH₃ to the double bond, followed by elimination of H₂O, also contributes to the substitution process. Attack of [NH₄]⁺ on the epoxide function, followed by loss of H₂O, appears to lead to the substitution ions in epoxycentdarol, epoxyisocentdarol and epoxyhimachalol.     

Reatarding effect of nitrogen ylide for the polymerization of N-vinyl pyrrolidone

-Picolinium-p-chlorophenacylide (-PCFY) acts as a retarder for polymerization of N-vinyl pyrrolidone. The polymerization runs were carried out at 60°C using benzene as an inert solvent. The kinetic equation for the present system may be written asR _p [-PCPY]^–1.0 [AIBN]^0.66[N-VP]^1.0. The value of overall energy of activation for polymerization in presence and absence of-PCPY was computed as 44.0 and 42.3 kJ mol^–1, respectively. The inverse relationship ofR _p and¯M _v with-PCPY suggests that-PCPY acts as a polymerization retarder. The retarding effect is also evidenced by higher initiator exponent value and higher value of energy of activation in presence of ylide. A mechanism is also proposed in which polymer propagating chain combines with one ylide component to give resonance stabilized radical.     

Ultrathin films of functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes: a potential bio-sensing platform

ABSTRACT

The Langmuir monolayer is a special class of lyotropic liquid crystalline system wherein phase transition essentially depends on surface density, temperature and ion-content in the aqueous medium. The variety of surface phases can be transferred onto devices by the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. The Langmuir monolayer of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) exhibited gas and liquid-like phases. The LB film of SWCNTs shows target surface pressure dependent interesting morphologies. The methane gas sensing using parallel alignment of SWCNTs was found to be better than that of randomly oriented SWCNTs. The SWCNTs can be functionalised chemically to enhance the ease of film processability and affinity towards analytes. These are essential parameters for the development of a sensor. In this article, we present our work on Langmuir monolayer and LB films of octadecylamine functionalised SWCNTs (ODACNTs) and its sensing application towards bio-analytes, e.g. L-aspartic acid and bovine serum albumin. The sensing performance of LB film of ODACNTs was compared with that of spin-coated films of ODACNTs. The sensing performance of LB films of ODACNTs indicated a potential platform for bio-sensing application.     

Synthesis of dicationic ionic liquids and their application in the preparation of hierarchical zeolite Beta

Piperidine- and imidazole-based dicatoinic ionic liquids have been developed for the synthesis of zeolite Beta. Hierarchical Beta has a larger surface area and pore volume than conventional Beta. Beta derived from a dicationic ionic liquid exhibited remarkably higher catalytic activity than the conventional Beta. Experimental evidence and DFT calculations suggest that only a suitable conformation of such dicationic ionic liquids is able to form zeolite Beta (see scheme).     

Local environment and distribution of alkali ions in polyelectrolyte complexes studied by solid-state NMR

Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) formed by the addition of substoichiometric amounts of (poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride)) (PDADMAC) solutions to sodium or lithium poly(styrene sulfonate) (Na- or Li-PSS) solution contain adjustable amounts of charge balancing Li(+) or Na(+) cations, which possess ionic mobility of interest for solid electrolyte applications. Very little is known regarding the local environments and the spatial distributions of these cations and their interactions with the polyelectrolyte chains in these amorphous materials. To address such issues, the present work develops a comprehensive solid state NMR strategy based on complementary high-resolution magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR and various dipolar spectroscopic techniques. (6,7)Li and (23)Na chemical shifts measured on a series of PECs with general composition described by B((2x-1))PSS(x)PDADMA((1-x)) (B = Li or Na and 0.53 ≤x≤ 1) reveal composition-independent local cation environments. In contrast, (7)Li{(6)Li} spin echo double resonance (SEDOR) experiments measured on (6)Li enriched materials and (7)Li{(1)H} rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) experiments are consistent with an approximately random ion distribution. The same conclusion is suggested by (23)Na{(1)H} REDOR measurements on the analogous sodium containing system indicating a non-segregated PEC structure. In apparent contrast to this conclusion, (23)Na spin echo decay spectroscopy yields nearly constant dipolar second moments over a wide composition range. This can be explained by considering that the (23)Na spin echo decays are affected by both (23)Na-(23)Na homonuclear dipolar couplings and (23)Na-(1)H heteronuclear dipolar interactions in the presence of strong homonuclear (1)H-(1)H spin exchange. In protonated Na-PSS both contributions are of comparable magnitude. In the PECs the contribution from (23)Na-(23)Na interactions decreases, while that from (23)Na-(1)H dipolar couplings with the protons from the PDADMA chains increases with decreasing Na content, resulting in superimposed opposite dependences on the ion concentration. All results for Li and Na containing PECs point at a non-phase separated polymer network with uniform ionic sites of very similar environment. The cations can be viewed as randomly distributed and located close to the polyion sulfate groups.     

Tuning the hydrophobicity of mica surfaces by hyperthermal Ar ion irradiation

The hydrophobicity of surfaces has a strong influence on their interactions with biomolecules such as proteins. Therefore, for in vitro studies of bio-surface interactions model surfaces with tailored hydrophobicity are of utmost importance. Here, we present a method for tuning the hydrophobicity of atomically flat mica surfaces by hyperthermal Ar ion irradiation. Due to the sub-100 eV energies, only negligible roughening of the surface is observed at low ion fluences and also the chemical composition of the mica crystal remains almost undisturbed. However, the ion irradiation induces the preferential removal of the outermost layer of K(+) ions from the surface, leading to the exposure of the underlying aluminosilicate sheets which feature a large number of centers for C adsorption. The irradiated surface thus exhibits an enhanced chemical reactivity toward hydrocarbons, resulting in the adsorption of a thin hydrocarbon film from the environment. Aging these surfaces under ambient conditions leads to a continuous increase of their contact angle until a fully hydrophobic surface with a contact angle >80° is obtained after a period of about 3 months. This method thus enables the fabrication of ultrasmooth biological model surfaces with precisely tailored hydrophobicity.     

Quantification of the six major α-dicarbonyl contaminants in peritoneal dialysis fluids by UHPLC/DAD/MSMS

During heat sterilization of peritoneal dialysis solutions, glucose is partially transformed into glucose degradation products (GDPs), which significantly reduce the biocompatibility of these medicinal products. Targeted α-dicarbonyl screening identified glyoxal, methylglyoxal, 3-deoxyglucosone, 3,4-dideooxyglucosone-3-ene, glucosone, and 3-deoxygalactosone as the major six GDPs with α-dicarbonyl structure. In the present study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed which allows the separation of all relevant α-dicarbonyl GDPs within a run time of 15 min after derivatization with o-phenylenediamine. Hyphenated diode array detection/tandem mass spectrometry detection provides very robust quantification and, at the same time, unequivocal peak confirmation. Systematic evaluation of the derivatization process resulted in an optimal derivatization period that provided maximal derivatization yield, minimal de novo formation (uncertainty range ±5%), and maximal sample throughput. The limit of detection of the method ranged from 0.13 to 0.19 μM and the limit of quantification from 0.40 to 0.57 μM. Relative standard deviations were below 5%, and recovery rates ranged between 91% and 154%, dependent on the type and concentration of the analyte (in 87 out of 90 samples, recovery rates were 100 ± 15%). The method was then applied for the analysis of commercial peritoneal dialysis fluids (nine different product types, samples from three lots of each).     

Highly hydrophilic surfaces from polyglycidol grafts with dual antifouling and specific protein recognition properties

Homopolymer grafts from α-tert-butoxy-ω-vinylbenzyl-polyglycidol (PGL) were prepared on gold and stainless steel (SS) substrates modified by 4-benzoyl-phenyl (BP) moieties derived from the electroreduction of the parent salt 4-benzoyl benzene diazonium tetrafluoroborate. The grafted BP aryl groups efficiently served to surface-initiate photopolymerization (SIPP) of PGL. In similar conditions, SIPP of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) permitted the production of PHEMA grafts as model surfaces. Water contact angles were found to be 66°, 15°, and 0° for SS-BP, SS-PHEMA, and SS-PPGL, respectively. The spontaneous spreading of water drops on SS-PPGL was invariably observed with 1.5 μL water drops. PPGL thus appears as a superhydrophilic polymer. Resistance to nonspecific adsorption of proteins of PPGL and PHEMA grafts on gold was evaluated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) using antibovine serum albumin (anti-BSA). The results conclusively show that PPGL-grafts exhibit enhanced resistance to anti-BSA adsorption compared to the well-known hydrophilic PHEMA. PPGL grafts were further modified with BSA through the carbonyldiimidazole activation of the OH groups providing immunosensing surfaces. The so-prepared PPGL-grafted BSA hybrids specifically interacted with anti-BSA in PBS as compared to antimyoglobin. It is clear that the superhydrophilic character of PPGL grafts opens new avenues for biomedical applications where surfaces with dual functionality, namely, specific protein grafting together with resistance to biofouling, are required.     

Metabolite profiling and antioxidant activity of Prunus padus L. flowers and leaves

Six phenolics were obtained from the leaves of Prunus padus by activity-guided isolation: isorhamnetin 3-O-β-xylopyranosyl-(1?→?2)-β-galactopyranoside (1), astragalin (2), hyperoside (3), quercetin 3-O-β-xylopyranosyl-(1?→?2)-β-galactopyranoside (4), quercetin 3-O-β-xylopyranosyl-(1?→?2)-β-glucopyranoside (5) and chlorogenic acid (6). The antioxidant potential of 70% methanolic extracts from the flowers and leaves collected over the growing season was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and 2,2′-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced linoleic acid (LA) peroxidation tests in relation to the contents of the isolates 1-6, total phenolics, total proanthocyanidins and total quercetin. The IC?? values were expressed in gram dry weight per gram of DPPH or LA, respectively, and were in the range of 1.42-2.42 for the DPPH test and 1.78-4.92 for the LA peroxidation, with superior activity found for the flowers and the autumn leaves. Significant linear correlation of these values to the sum of proanthocyanidins and compounds 1-6 (R2?>?0.87) showed that the listed phenolics are synergists of the tested activity.