A simpler and greener protocol for the preparation of β-acetylamino ketones by a one-pot reaction of aryl aldehydes, enolisable ketones, acetyl chloride and acetonitrile in the presence of zeolite Hβ as a reusable catalyst

β-Acetylamino ketones have been obtained in a one-pot coupling of an aldehyde with an enolisable ketone, acetyl chloride and acetonitrile in the presence of zeolite Hβ as catalyst at room temperature (26-28 °C). The procedure has the advantages of mild workup, circumvention of high temperature and inert atmosphere. The catalyst was found to be recyclable.     

Ultrafast intermolecular electron transfer dynamics: Perylene in electron-accepting micellar medium

The dynamics of ultrafast photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer (ET) from the excited singlet (S1) state of perylene (Pe) to an electron-accepting cationic surfactant molecule, N-cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), in aqueous micellar solutions has been investigated using the femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic technique with temporal resolution of 120 fs. The Pe molecule is localized at or near the micellar surface, where it coexists with the pyridinium moieties (headgroups of the micelle) of the surfactant molecule. Following photoexcitation of Pe, an electron is transferred to the neat and geometrically restricted headgroup of the micelle. Dynamics of the forward ET process as well as the geminate recombination or back ET (BET) process have been followed by monitoring the temporal evolution of the S1 state of Pe and the cation radical of Pe (Pe*+), respectively. The multiexponential forward ET process indicates that the ET dynamics is highly correlated with the spatial distributions of the micellar headgroups around a donor Pe molecule and thus dependent on the donor-acceptor distance. The distance-dependent ET and BET rates have been calculated following the method of Weidemaier and Fayer (J. Chem. Phys. 1995, 102, 3820) to get the best fit parameters for the multiexponetial temporal profiles for the S1 state of Pe as well as Pe*+. Because the acceptor is a constituent of the neat micellar medium, their confinement on the surface of the microheterogeneous medium provides a very large concentration such that, even though the forward transfer rate is 0.06 ps(-1) at the distance of closest approach, the ET process is complete within a 200-ps time domain. If the concepts of distribution of ET distances are utilized, the possible role of material diffusion on the kinetics of forward ET is ruled out. This is an experimental study to show, for the first time, the ultrafast distance-dependent light-induced ET dynamics following both the excited state of the donor and the cation radical formed in an ET process using the transient absorption spectroscopic technique in a self-reactive restrictive environment.     

The influence of inert solids on ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The catalytic role of various inert solid supports on acceleration of alcohol fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. The enhanced rate of alcohol production was dependent on the nature of the support as well as on the amount used. Among all the tested supports, chitosan flakes showed the maximum yield of alcohol (93% of theoretical yield). This higher rate of alcohol production was associated with the twofold increase in the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase over control. Our results suggest that the addition of a small fraction of solids in submerged fermentations to facilitate cell anchorage for enhanced metabolic activity is easier and more economical compared to cell immobilization processes. IICT Communication No. 4266. Some of the results in this article are covered under a patent.     

Oxidative decarboxylation of arylacetic acids in water: One-pot transition-metal-free synthesis of aldehydes and ketones

One-pot transition-metal-free synthesis of aromatic aldehydes and ketones via oxidative decarboxylation of arylacetic acids in water is developed. Protocol relies on the direct decarboxylation of sp³-hybridized carbon in water without any over oxidation into carboxylic acids with minimal waste. Reaction mechanism is investigated and application of this protocol is demonstrated on a gram scale.     

Continuous Production of Thermostable α-Amylase by Immobilized Bacillus Cells in a Fluidized-Bed Reactor

The exponential cells ofBacillus cereus immobilized in calcium alginate and spun into microcylindrical particles were used in a fluidized-bed reactor for continuous synthesis of thermostable α-amylase. The reactor was operated over a period of 30 d with a dilution rate of 0.33 h^-1, producing 1000–1200 U/mL of enzyme. The productivity of the reactor was in the range of 330–396 kU/h. A 20-fold increase in the productivity with respect to batch fermentation with free cells was attained.     

Stability in the presence of degeneracy and error estimation

Received February 10, 1997 / Revised version received June 6, 1998 Published online October 9, 1998     

Approximation of tricomi problem with Neumann boundary condition

Summary The Tricomi problem with Neumann boundary condition is reduced to a degenerate problem in the elliptic region with a non-local boundary condition and to a Cauchy problem in the hyperbolic region. A variational formulation is given to the elliptic problem and a finite element approximation is studied. Also some regularity results in weighted Sobolev spaces are discussed.     

Errata: On semidefinite linear complementarity problems

We correct an error in the statement of Theorem 8 in [1]. Received: January 3, 2001 / Accepted: February 26, 2001?Published online May 18, 2001