Some applications of silica aerogels

Silica aerogels are very highly divided materials which are synthesised through the association of a chemical step, the so-called sol–gel chemistry, with a physical step which is a particular way of drying the wet gel, namely under supercritical conditions with respect to the liquid phase filling its porosity. This drying process preserves the texture of the dry material: in practice it strongly reduces the pore collapse. The resulting hyperporous solids that have bulk densities of the same magnitude as air develop new and very interesting physical and even chemical properties. Owing to their poor chemical reactivity, very large surface areas (of the order of 1,000 m ²/g), unusual porous volumes (greater than 95%), morphologies (monoliths or powders), optical properties (transparent, opaque or translucent), and very low thermal conductivity, they find high added-value applications in the physics of high-energy particles (Cherenkov emitters), transparent and superinsulating double windows, life and space science as well.     

Carboxamides of Dihydropyridin-2(1<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-ones

Summary. 3-Carboxamides and 3-carboxanilides of 6-alkyl and 6-aryldihydropyridin-2(1H)-ones have been prepared via different reaction pathways. All synthesized amides show hydrogen bonds in their NMR spectra. The 4-hydroxy compounds were obtained as a mixture of tautomers. Their configurations were elucidated by NMR experiments.Received December 16, 2002; accepted December 20, 2002 Published online June 2, 2003     

Determination of antibiotics such as macrolides,ionophores and tiamulin in liquid manure by HPLC–MS/MS

A method for the analysis of several macrolide and ionophore antibiotics as well as tiamulin in liquid manure was developed. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) tandem mass spectrometry was used for detection.High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of the antibiotics was achieved in 35 min. The analytes were extracted with ethyl acetate and the extracts were cleaned up by solid-phase extraction on a diol SPE cartridge. Recovery experiments with spiked liquid manure concentrations varying from 6 to 2,000 microg kg(-1) gave constant recovery rates. The recovery rates for the macrolides erythromycin, roxithromycin and oleandomycin were 75-94%, that for the ionophore salinomycin was 119%, while that for the pleuromutilin tiamulin was 123%, when using a macrolide internal standard. The relative standard deviation was found to be 15-36% and the limits of detection were 0.4-11.0 micro g kg(-1).The maximum concentrations found in manure samples were 43 micro g kg(-1) for tiamulin and 11 micro g kg(-1) for salinomycin.     

Synthesis and polymerisation of lipophilic peptide nucleic acids derived from stearic acid and pentacosa-10,12-diynoic acid

The adenine, cytosine and thymine peptide nucleic acid (PNA) monomers and PNA T₁₀ oligomers bearing either a diacetylenic or stearoyl moiety at the N- or C-terminus have been successfully prepared. The resulting thymine monomeric and T₁₀-mer derivatives have been subsequently incorporated into polydiacetylene-containing liposomes.     

Modification of polysulfone membranes 4. Ammonia plasma treatment

The effect of NH₃ and NH₃/Ar plasma on ultrafiltration polysulfone membranes have been studied. Results of contact angle, FTIR-ATR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments clearly showed that both plasmas introduced hydrophilic, nitrogen- and oxygen-containing moieties on the polymer surface and that NH₃/Ar plasma was more efficient. That plasma was also more aggressive--signs of strong etching could be seen on the SEM pictures. Redeposition of etched material seemed to take place inside the pores. On the contrary, ammonia plasma was soft and caused cleaning the surface and pores enlargement. Performance of ammonia plasma modified membranes was greatly improved and independent on solution pH. The last observation proved amphoteric character of the surface. NH₃/Ar plasma treatment gave membranes of acidic surface and filtration indices not so good as for ammonia plasma.     

Shape of the proton potential in an intramolecular hydrogen-bonded system. Part II

The crystals of 5,5′-dibromo-3-diethylaminomethyl-2,2′-biphenol N-oxide were studied by X-ray and FT-IR spectroscopy. Within this molecule two short OHO intramolecular hydrogen bonds are formed. The NO?H⁺?O⁻ bond between the OH and the N-oxide groups is very strong, of 2.419(7) Å between the oxygen atoms. The proton potential of this hydrogen bond is flat, broad and has probably no barrier—consequently it could not be located from X-ray diffraction data. The other hydrogen bond formed between two hydroxyl groups appears asymmetrical from FT-IR spectra, and shows also relatively limited proton polarizability. The molecular conformation is non-planar, due to strong overcrowding effect between the oxygen atoms involved in the hydrogen bonds.     

Selective spectrophotometric determination of TNT in soil and water with dicyclohexylamine extraction

Contaminated land and groundwater remediation in military waste dumping sites often necessitates the use of simple, cost-effective, and rapid tests for detecting trinitrotoluene (TNT) residues in the field along with their dinitro-analogues. A simple, rapid, low-cost, and field-adaptable (on-site) colorimetric method was developed for quantifying TNT in the presence of RDX, PETN, picric acid, 2,4-DNT (dinitrotoluene), dinitrophenol, and dinitroaniline. Most commercialized methods for TNT assay-with the exception of Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory of the U.S. Army (CRREL) method-use proprietary chemicals, and the color stability and intensity are highly dependent on the composition of the organic solution comprised of acetone or methanol. The developed colorimetric method is based on the extraction of TNT from water-acetone solution into an organic solvent mixture of dicyclohexylamine (DCHA)-isobutyl methyl ketone (IBMK) (10:1, v/v), filtration through a filter paper into a stoppered optical cell containing anhydrous sodium sulfate, and measurement of the absorbance of the organic extract at 531 nm after 5 min. The red-violet color of the extract was due to intermolecular charge-transfer (CT) between the electron attracting TNT and electron-donating DCHA, and the molar absorptivity for TNT in final organic solution was (1.16 ± 0.02) × 10⁴ L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹.The R.S.D. of the slope of calibration line was 0.7%. The LOD of the method in the final organic phase was 0.38 μM TNT, and LOD values expressed on the basis of original soil TNT content were 0.5, 1.3, and 1.5 ppm (μg g⁻¹) for clay, loamy clay, and sandy soils, respectively. Unlike other spectrophotometric methods, the developed assay was basically tolerant to common cations and anions found in soil and water at 100-fold weight ratios, and to soil humic acids. Among a number of compounds that may be encountered in polynitro-explosive storage and waste reclaimation sites such as picric acid, dinitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, dinitroaniline, RDX, PETN, and tetryl, only tetryl interfered with the developed TNT assay. Water tolerance and exploitability over a wide pH range were other superiorities over the CRREL method. The CT-complex was relatively stable, as the absorbance of the organic extract was not significantly influenced from the dilution of the water-acetone phase. Aside from the extractive-photometric procedure established for aqueous solutions, a simulated field colorimetric assay for TNT directly applicable to soil was also devised, based on direct color development in a 4:1 (v/v) acetone-dicyclohexylamine organic extract of soil at a liquid-to-solid ratio of 5 mL g⁻¹.     

Catalytic air oxidation of manganese in synthetic waters

An attempt was made to study the oxidation of manganese by air in synthetic waters. A series of batch experments were performed at differnet values of concentration, temperature and pH. Unoxidized manganese in the solution was determined by formaldoxime spectrometric method. Results of these studies indicated that the air oxidation of manganese soluble in water can be effectively performed in basic media and that oxidation yield increasedwith an increase in pH and concentration. The yield was very high in the presence of manganese dioxide, sepiolite or clinoptilolite in solution and, the oxidation was almost completed especially at high values of pH and concentration. The reaction was found to be first order with respect to Mn²⁺ with a very low activation energy. A yield of 62% was obtained for the air oxidation of wastewater taken from the treatment plant of Corum Municipality.     

Isolierung und Struktur von Pteridinen (Lumazinen) aus Russula sp. (Täublinge; Basidiomycetes)

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Pteridines (Lumazines) from Russula sp. (Basidiomycetes) Extensive chromatogaphic separations and spectroscopic investigations have led to the isolation and identification of several water-soluble pteridines from Russula sp., the so-called russupteridines, namely: 1-(5-amino-2-6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetrahydeopyrimidin-4-yl)amino-1-deoxy-D -ribitol ( 1 ; a pro-lumazine; first identification in a basidiomycete(; l-deoxy-l-(6-methyl-2-4,7-trioxo-1,2,3,4,7,8-hexahydro-pteridin-8-yl)-D -ribitol ( 3 ) and l-deoxy-1-(2,4,7-trioxo-1,2,3,4,7,8-hexahydeopteridin-8-yl)-D -ribitol ( 4 ); both compounds found for the first time in higher fungi; they belong to the components with the strongest violet-blue fluorescence in Russula sp.; riboflavine ( 6 ; now recognized as an important yellow colorant in a great many of Russula sp.); russupteridine-yellow I (= l-(6-amino-7-(N-fromylimino)-2,4-dioxo-1,2,3,4,7,8-hexahydropteridin-8-yl)-1-deoxy-D -ribitol; 5 ; a component with very strong fluorescence; the first derivative of the novel 6,7-diamino-lamazine); russupteridine-yellow IV (= l-deoxy-1-)(2,6,8-trioxo-2,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H-imidazolo[4,5-g]pteridin-4-yl)-D -ribitol (7)). Two further yellow russupteridines (yellow II and Yellow V) with very strong fluorescence have been isolated and characterized.