Study of the acidity of H3PW12O40 supported on activated carbon by microcalorimetry and methanol dehydration reaction

H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/activated carbon catalysts have been studied by microcalorimetry and by the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether. It has been shown that the acidity of the polyacid is greatly reduced upon grafting on activated carbon. The decrease is so high that, at low polyanion loadings, the catalysts are relatively inactive in the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether.     

Simultaneous fabrication of superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic polyimide surfaces with low hysteresis

Polyimide is of great interest in the field of MEMS and microtechnology. It is often used for its chemical, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. In this paper, an original study is performed on controlled variation of polyimide film wettability. A two-step microtexturing method is developed to transform hydrophilic polyimide surfaces into a superhydrophobic surface with low magnitude of hysteresis (Δθ ≈ 0° and contact angle θ ≈ 158°). This method is based on the conception of a new kind of fakir surface with triangular cross-section micropillars, the use of a two-scale roughening, and a C(4)F(8) coating. We demonstrate that the absence of hysteresis is related to a combination of two scales of structuring and the pillar shape. The technology that has been developed results in the simultaneous fabrication of adjacent superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic small areas, which allows an effect of self-positioning of water droplets when deposited on such a checkerboard-like surface.     

Structure and cytotoxicity of phidianidines A and B: first finding of 1,2,4-oxadiazole system in a marine natural product

Two indole alkaloids, phidianidines A (1) and B (2), exhibiting an uncommon 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring linked to the indole system, have been isolated from the marine opisthobranch mollusk Phidiana militaris. The structures of the two metabolites have been elucidated by spectroscopic techniques. Phidianidines exhibit high cytotoxicity against tumor and nontumor mammalian cell lines in in vitro assays.     

Synthesis of N,N'-Disubstituted α,ω-Alkanediamines,Precursors of Linear bisDithiocarbamates

Linear bis dithiocarbamates are conveniently obtained from symmetrical disubstituted α,ω-alkanediamines whose preparation is reported.     

Inclusion complexes of trivalent lutetium cations with an acidic derivative of per(3,6-anhydro)-alpha-cyclodextrin

The cyclodextrin derivative (hexakis (2-O-carboxymethyl-3,6-anhydro)-alpha-cyclodextrin) forms mono- and bimetallic complexes with lutetium(III) in aqueous solution; the X-ray structure of the binuclear complex [Lu2(ACX)(H2O)2] is the first example of a lanthanide-cyclodextrin inclusion complex.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of α-halogeno-3-octanol and 4- or 5-nonanols. Application to the preparation of chiral epoxides

A study of the microbiological reduction of different α-halogenoketones (4-chloro-3-octanone, 4-chloro-5-nonanone, 5-bromo-4-nonanone and 5-chloro-4-nonanone) with several strains of microorganism showed great difficulty in reducing ketone functions located in the middle of carbon chains. However, by choosing the appropriate microorganism, several enantiomerically pure diastereoisomers of the corresponding halohydrins have been obtained and were transformed into chiral epoxides.     

Water-soluble ruthenium(II) catalysts [RuCl2(eta6-arene)[P(CH2OH)3]] for isomerization of allylic alcohols and alkyne hydration

The novel water-soluble ruthenium(II) complexes [RuCl(2)(eta(6)-arene)[P(CH(2)OH)(3)]]2a-c and [RuCl(eta(6)-arene)[P(CH(2)OH)(3)](2)][Cl]3a-c have been prepared in high yields by reaction of dimers [[Ru(eta(6)-arene)(micro-Cl)Cl](2)](arene = C(6)H(6)1a, p-cymene 1b, C(6)Me(6)1c) with two or four equivalents of P(CH(2)OH)(3), respectively. Complexes 2/3a-c are active catalysts in the redox isomerization of several allylic alcohols into the corresponding saturated carbonyl compounds under water/n-heptane biphasic conditions. Among them, the neutral derivatives [RuCl(2)(eta(6)-C(6)H(6))[P(CH(2)OH)(3)]]2a and [RuCl(2)(eta(6)-p-cymene)[P(CH(2)OH)(3)]]2b show the highest activities (TOF values up to 600 h(-1); TON values up to 782). Complexes 2/3a-c also catalyze the hydration of terminal alkynes.     

Determination of ochratoxin A in domestic and imported beers in italy by immunoaffinity clean-up and liquid chromatography

A method first developed to quantify ochratoxin A in wine has been applied to the analysis of domestic and imported beers in Italy. The method uses commercial immunoaffinity columns for clean-up and high-performance liquid chromatography for quantification of the toxin. Beer was degassed, then diluted with a polyethylene glycol-sodium hydrogencarbonate solution and applied to an OchraTest immunoaffinity column. Ochratoxin A was eluted from the immunoaffinity column with methanol and quantified by reversed-phase HPLC with fluorometric detector. Average recoveries of ochratoxin A from blank beer spiked at levels from 0.04 to 1.0 ng/ml ranged from 93.8% to 100.4%, with relative standard deviations between 3.3% and 5.7%. The detection limit was 0.01 ng/ml based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1. The analysis of 61 samples of domestic (10) and imported (51) beers showed ochratoxin A levels ranging from <0.01 to 0.135 ng/ml with an incidence of contamination of 50% and no substantial difference between strong and pale beers.