Physicochemical properties and structures of room-temperature ionic liquids. 3. Variation of cationic structures

A series of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) were prepared with different cationic structures, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([bmim]), 1-butylpyridinium ([bpy]), N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium, ([bmpro]), and N-butyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium ([(n-C(4)H(9))(CH(3))(3)N]) combined with an anion, bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide ([(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N]), and the thermal property, density, self-diffusion coefficients of the cation and anion, viscosity, and ionic conductivity were measured over a wide temperature range. The self-diffusion coefficient, viscosity, ionic conductivity, and molar conductivity follow the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman equation for temperature dependencies, and the best-fit parameters have been estimated, together with the linear fitting parameters for the density. The relative cationic and anionic self-diffusion coefficients for the RTILs, independently determined by the pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo NMR method, appear to be influenced by the shape of the cationic structure. A definite order of the summation of the cationic and anionic diffusion coefficients for the RTILs: [bmim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [bpy][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [bmpro][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [(n-C(4)H(9))(CH(3))(3)N][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N], has been observed, which coincides with the reverse order to the viscosity data. The ratio of molar conductivity obtained from the impedance measurements to that calculated by the ionic diffusivity using the Nernst-Einstein equation quantifies the active ions contributing to ionic conduction in the diffusion components and follows the order: [bmpro][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [(n-C(4)H(9))(CH(3))(3)N][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [bpy][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [bmim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] at 30 degrees C.     

Purification and Characterization of Three Lectins Extracted from Cassia Fistula Seeds and Effect of Various Physical and Chemical Agents on Their Stability

Three lectins designated as CSL‐1, CSL‐2 and CSL‐3 were purified from Cassia fistula seeds by gel filtration on Sephadex G‐50 followed by ion‐exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose and finally by affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B. The molecular weights of the lectins CSL‐1, CSL‐2 and CSL‐3, determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G‐75 column were 37,000, 42,400 and 46,000, and by SDS gel electrophoresis were 37500, 42000 and 46500, respectively. All three lectins agglutinated rat red blood cells and the agglutination was inhibited specifically by galactose and galactose containing saccharide. The neutral sugar contents of the lectins, CSL‐1, CSL‐2 and CSL‐3 were estimated to be 3.5, 3.1 and 2.0%, respectively. The sugar composition of the lectins was found to be galactose in CSL‐1, galactose and glucose in CSL‐2, and galactose and mannose in CSL‐3. The lectins exhibited maximum hemagglutinating activities around pH 7.2 to 7.5 and at a temperature range of 20° to 35 °C. Biological activities of the lectins were abolished sequentially with the increase in concentration of acetic acid and denaturant solutions such as urea and guanidine‐HCl.     

Separation of chiral primary amino compounds by forming a sandwiched complex in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

Separation of chiral primary amino compounds was efficiently achieved under reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) conditions using a mixture of non-chiral crown ether (18-crown-6) and dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin (DM-β-CD) in the mobile phase. Under these conditions, the amino group of the chiral compound was protonated in a low pH mobile phase, and then interacted with 18-crown-6 and DM-β-CD to form a sandwiched complex [18-crown-6 + amine + CD]. Enantiomers of the compound in the sandwiched complex were separated with good enantioselectivity. Formation of the sandwiched complex among the chiral compound and additives in the mobile phase is a key step of the chiral separation. Four different chiral amino compounds namely, 1-aminoindan (AI), 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylamine (THNA), tyrosine (Tyr), and phenylalanine (Phe), were selected to demonstrate the separation using the sandwiched complex mechanism in RP-HPLC.     

Vortex‐ and CO2‐gas‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction with salt addition for the high‐performance liquid chromatographic determination of furanic compounds in concentrated juices and dried fruits

A novel microextraction method based on vortex‐ and CO₂‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction with salt addition for the isolation of furanic compounds (5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furaldehyde, 5‐methyl‐2‐furaldehyde, 2‐furaldehyde, 3‐furaldehyde, 2‐furoic and 3‐furoic acids) was developed. Purging the sample with CO₂ was applied after vortexing to enhance the phase separation and mass transfer of the analytes. The optimum extraction conditions were: extraction solvent (volume), propyl acetate (125 μL); sample pH, 2.4; vortexing time, 45 s; salt concentration, 25% w/v and purging time, 5 min. The analytes were separated using an ODS Hypersil C₁₈ column (250×4.6 mm i.d, 5 μm) under gradient flow. The proposed method showed good linearities (r² >0.999), low detection limits (0.08–1.9 μg/L) and good recoveries (80.7–122%). The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of the furanic compounds in concentrated juice (mango, date, orange, pomegranate, roselle, mangosteen and soursop) and dried fruit (prune, date and apricot paste) samples.     

An improved method for the preparations of nanostructured lipid carriers containing heat-sensitive bioactives

Heat-sensitive bioactive compounds such as β-carotene and tocols, are widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. Their chemical stability in delivery systems is one of the major concerns in the production of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). A previously established high-temperature high-pressure homogenisation technique involved in the preparation of NLCs can cause degradation of heat-sensitive compounds. Therefore, a novel preparation process needs to be developed to minimise the degradation of heat-sensitive active compounds during the preparation of NLCs. In this work, modified methods A and B were designed to minimise the degradation of β-carotene and tocols during the production of NLCs. These methods improved the chemical stability of heat-sensitive bioactive compounds (β-carotene and tocols) significantly compared to the previously established method. The physical stability of the formulation was maintained throughout study duration.     

Statistical evaluation of forming limit diagram for annealed Al 1350 alloy sheets using first order reliability method

This paper investigates the formability and forming limit curve of aluminium alloy sheet of grade Al 1350 with respect to annealing temperature and strain conditions through statistical approach. The uncertainty of forming limit curve (FLC) due to anisotropy parameter and strain hardening exponent have also been taken into consideration. The plastic instability criteria and its relevant equations given by Hill have been used to construct the theoretical FLC which is compared with experimental FLC. The stochastic modeling has been made on the statistical evaluation of the FLC with a high confidence level. First Order Reliability Method (FORM) and Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) methods have been used to compare the probability of the data points determining FLC by considering normal distribution of material properties.     

Handling equality constraints with agent-based memetic algorithms

In addition to inequality constraints, many mathematical models require equality constraints to represent the practical problems appropriately. The existence of equality constraints reduces the size of the feasible space significantly, which makes it difficult to locate feasible and optimal solutions. This paper presents a new equality constraint handling technique which enhances the performance of an agent-based evolutionary algorithm in solving constrained optimization problems with equality constraints. The technique is basically used as an agent learning process in the agent-based evolutionary algorithm. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on a set of well-known benchmark problems including seven new problems. The experimental results confirm the improved performance of the proposed technique.     

On Λ2-strong convergence of numerical sequences and Fourier series

We introduce the Λ²-strong convergence of numerical sequences and with it we generalize the concept of Λ-strong convergence of the results published by F. Móricz [2].