1H and 13C NMR analysis of 2‐acetamido‐3‐mercapto‐3‐methyl‐N‐aryl‐butanamides and 2‐acetamido‐3‐methyl‐3‐nitrososulfanyl‐N‐aryl‐butanamide derivatives

The complete assignment of the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of various 2‐acetamido‐3‐mercapto‐3‐methyl‐N‐aryl‐butanamides and 2‐acetamide‐3‐methyl‐3‐nitrososulfanyl‐N‐aryl‐butanamides with p‐methoxy, o‐chloro and m‐chloro substituents is reported. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of the mineral composition of fresh bovine milk from the milk-producing areas located in the State of Sergipe in Brazil and evaluation employing exploratory analysis

In this work, the mineral composition of fresh bovine milk obtained from the milk-producing areas of the Brazilian State of Sergipe was examined. A dry-ashed digestion method and the ICP OES technique were used for the quantification of mineral elements (e.g., Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, Sr and Zn) in 27 samples of milk collected from properties located in milk-producing areas around Nossa Senhora da Glória. The following ranges of values (% m/v) were obtained: 0.063 to 0.117 for Ca; 0.060 to 0.114 for P; 0.024 to 0.064 for Na; and 0.087 to 0.164 for K. The ranges of values (mg L^− 1) for the other mineral elements were also found: 0.68 to 1.89 for Sr; 2.46 to 5.73 for Zn; and 54.2 to 109.9 for Mg. Additionally, the exploratory evaluation of the 27 milk samples was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) involving seven variables dealing with the effect of different management systems (conventional and organic) on milk composition. The results show that there are indeed differences between the mineral composition of milk from properties that use organic practices and those that use conventional management practices.     

Oxidation of glycated phosphatidylethanolamines: evidence of oxidation in glycated polar head identified by LC-MS/MS

Phosphatidylethanolamine glycation occurs in diabetic patients and was found to be related with oxidative stress and with diabetic complications. Glycated phosphatidylethanolamines seem to increase oxidation of other molecules; however, the reason why is not understood. In this work, we have studied the oxidation of glycated phosphatidylethanolamines (1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (PLPE) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (dPPE)) using a Fenton system. Liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization (ESI)–mass spectrometry and ESI–tandem mass spectrometry in both positive and negative modes were used for detecting and identifying the oxidation products. We were able to identify several oxidation products with oxidation in unsaturated sn-2 acyl chain of PLPE, as long- and short-chain products with main oxidation sites on C-7, C-8, C-9, and C-12 carbons. Other products were identified in both glycated PLPE and glycated dPPE, revealing that oxidation also occurs in the glycated polar head. This fact has not been reported before. These products may be generated from oxidation of glycated phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) as Schiff base, leading to short-chain product without the amine moiety, due to cleavage of glycated polar head and long-chain product with two keto groups linked to the glycated polar head or from glycated PE as Amadori product, short-chain products with –NHCHO and –NHCHOHCHO terminal in polar head. Oxidation of glycated phosphatidylethanolamines occurred more quickly than the oxidation of non-glycated phosphatidylethanolamines probably because of the existence of more oxidation sites derived from glycation of polar head group. Monitoring glycated polar head oxidation could be important to evaluate oxidative stress modifications that occur in diabetic patients.     

Statistical models of diffusion and aggregation for coke formation in a catalyst pore

We simulated models of diffusion and aggregation in long pores of small widths in order to represent the basic mechanisms of coke deposition in catalysts’ pores. Coke precursors are represented by particles injected at the pore entrance. Knudsen diffusion, which is usually expected inside the pores, is modeled by ballistic motion of those particles. The regime of molecular diffusion is also analyzed via models of lattice random walks biased along the pores. The aggregation at the surface or near previously aggregated particles was modeled by different probabilistic rules, accounting for the possibilities of more compact or more ramified deposits. In the model of Knudsen diffusion and in some cases of molecular diffusion, there is an initial regime of uniform deposition along the pore, after which the deposits acquire an approximately wedge shape, with the pore plugging near its entrance. After the regime of uniform deposition and before that of critical pore plugging, the average aggregation position slowly decreases with the number N of deposited particles approximately as N^-0.25. The apparently universal features of deposits generated by microscopic models are compared with those currently adopted in continuum models.     

Non‐Invasive Salivary Electrochemical Quantification of Paraquat Poisoning Using Boron Doped Diamond Electrode

The present work describes the first electrochemical method for quantifying paraquat herbicide poisoning in human saliva samples. Paraquat shows two couples of well‐defined peaks in aqueous solution using a boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode. By using square wave voltammetry (SWV) technique under optimum experimental conditions, a linear analytical curve was obtained for paraquat concentrations ranging from 0.800 to 167 µmol L^?1, with a detection limit of 70 nmol L^?1. This method was applied to quantify paraquat spikes in human saliva samples and in two different water samples (tap and river). The recovery values obtained ranged from 83.0 to 104 % and 99.1 to 105 %, respectively, which highlight the accuracy of the proposed method.     

Optimal design of experiments applied to headspace solid phase microextraction for the quantification of vicinal diketones in beer through gas chromatography-mass spectrometric detection

Vicinal diketones, namely diacetyl (DC) and pentanedione (PN), are compounds naturally found in beer that play a key role in the definition of its aroma. In lager beer, they are responsible for off-flavors (buttery flavor) and therefore their presence and quantification is of paramount importance to beer producers. Aiming at developing an accurate quantitative monitoring scheme to follow these off-flavor compounds during beer production and in the final product, the head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) analytical procedure was tuned through experiments planned in an optimal way and the final settings were fully validated. Optimal design of experiments (O-DOE) is a computational, statistically-oriented approach for designing experiences that are most informative according to a well-defined criterion. This methodology was applied for HS-SPME optimization, leading to the following optimal extraction conditions for the quantification of VDK: use a CAR/PDMS fiber, 5 ml of samples in 20 ml vial, 5 min of pre-incubation time followed by 25 min of extraction at 30 °C, with agitation. The validation of the final analytical methodology was performed using a matrix-matched calibration, in order to minimize matrix effects. The following key features were obtained: linearity (R² > 0.999, both for diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione), high sensitivity (LOD of 0.92 μg L⁻¹ and 2.80 μg L⁻¹, and LOQ of 3.30 μg L⁻¹ and 10.01 μg L⁻¹, for diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, respectively), recoveries of approximately 100% and suitable precision (repeatability and reproducibility lower than 3% and 7.5%, respectively). The applicability of the methodology was fully confirmed through an independent analysis of several beer samples, with analyte concentrations ranging from 4 to 200 g L⁻¹.     

Synthesis of MgB4O7 and Li2B4O7 crystals by proteic sol–gel and Pechini methods

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Magnesium-tetraborates and lithium-tetraborates are excellent detectors for ionizing radiation. However, manufacturing these crystalline structures is...     

Discrete Orbits,Recurrence and Solvable Subgroups of $${{\mathrm{Diff}}\, ({{\mathbb {C}}}^2, 0)}$$

We discuss the local dynamics of a subgroup of \({{\mathrm{Diff}}\, ({{\mathbb {C}}}^2, 0)}\) possessing locally discrete orbits as well as the structure of the recurrent set for more general groups. It is proved, in particular, that a subgroup of \({{\mathrm{Diff}}\, ({{\mathbb {C}}}^2, 0)}\) possessing locally discrete orbits must be virtually solvable. These results are of considerable interest in problems concerning integrable systems.     

Oxaliplatin preformulation studies for the development of innovative topical drug delivery systems

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The objectives of this study were to verify the viability of the photoinitiating system using curcumin as a photoinitiator and glycerol as a...