Determination of lead in seawater by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after separation and pre-concentration with cocrystallized naphthalene alizarin

An analytical method for separation and pre-concentration of lead in seawater for determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry has been investigated. Lead was retained in the solid phase (0.5 g) composed of co-precipitated naphthalene and alizarin red. The solid phase quantitatively sorbs Pb(II) at pH 8–9, and the metal was eluted using 5.0 ml of 2 mol l⁻¹ nitric acid. The effect of NaCl, KCl, BaCl₂, CaCl₂, Na₂SO₄, MgCl₂ and Na₃PO₄ on the sorption of Pb(II) in the solid phase was studied. A set of solutions containing varying amounts of electrolytes (0.5; 1.0; 3.0 and 5.0% m/v) with Pb (50 μg) was prepared and the recommended procedure applied. The Na₃PO₄ was found to interfere; the other electrolytes did not interfere up to 5% m/v. A pre-concentration factor of 40 was obtained in this analytical procedure. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for Pb(II) were 53 and 176 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Lead was determined in seawater samples collected in Salvador city, Bahia, Brazil. The precision, expressed as R.S.D., was 1.8–4.6%, and the recovery of lead added to seawater samples was 95–97%.     

Highly stereoselective Friedel-Crafts type cyclization. Facile access to enantiopure 1,4-dihydro-4-phenyl isoquinolinones

The present report describes a stereoselective synthesis of 1,4-dihydro-4-phenyl isoquinolinones 5 based on a stereoselective Friedel-Crafts type cyclization. Cyclization precursors 1 were prepared in two steps, from the readily available (S)-mandelic acid, in 60-80% overall yield. The stereoselective electrophilic cyclization was accomplished in 20-86% yield and with 20-97% ee. In the course of this work, the presence of the amide carbonyl was found to be particularly important to guarantee a stereospecific process during the electrophilic aromatic substitution.     

Analysis of organic acids in wines by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been a major point of development in many wine laboratories in recent years. It enables almost instant analysis of several properties of wine, usually with very good precision and accurate results. Nevertheless, validation procedures should not be forgotten and should be fully performed. Recovery experiments were performed by spiking wine samples with different amounts of organic acids (tartaric, malic, lactic, acetic and citric—the most prominent in wines). After FTIR analysis of the total acidity and of each organic acid concentration, recoveries were calculated. For total acidity recovery results were, in general, good and very close to 100% (64–111%). On the other hand, for individual organic acid concentrations, the recovery results were lower than 100% (11–73%) for all spiking additions. These results could be explained by spectroscopic interferences between the organic acids. Because they have similar infrared spectra, it is not easy to distinguish between them and, therefore, to achieve accurate calibration. When total acidity, with a different infrared spectrum from the other abundant compounds in the wine, was taken as a single property the recovery results were acceptable.     

A universal temperature controlled membrane interface for the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds

A universal temperature controlled membrane interface (TCMI) has been constructed for hollow-fibre membranes. The membrane temperature is controllable in the range -70 to 250 degrees C using an electric heater and a flow of cooled nitrogen or helium gas. Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds may be detected either by continuous diffusion across the membrane or by in-membrane pre-concentration followed by thermal desorption into the detector. The TCMI interface is demonstrated in combination with mass spectrometry and GC-MS, for the determination of VOCs and SVOCs in aqueous and air samples and for the on-line monitoring of a bioreactor.     

Design strategies for controlling the molecular weight and rate using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer mediated living radical polymerization

Living radical polymerization has allowed complex polymer architectures to be synthesized in bulk, solution, and water. The most versatile of these techniques is reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), which allows a wide range of functional and nonfunctional polymers to be made with predictable molecular weight distributions (MWDs), ranging from very narrow to quite broad. The great complexity of the RAFT mechanism and how the kinetic parameters affect the rate of polymerization and MWD are not obvious. Therefore, the aim of this article is to provide useful insights into the important kinetic parameters that control the rate of polymerization and the evolution of the MWD with conversion. We discuss how a change in the chain‐transfer constant can affect the evolution of the MWD. It is shown how we can, in principle, use only one RAFT agent to obtain a polymer with any MWD. Retardation and inhibition are discussed in terms of (1) the leaving R group reactivity and (2) the intermediate radical termination model versus the slow fragmentation model. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3189–3204, 2005     

Kinetics and mechanism of the aminolysis of O-aryl S-methyl thiocarbonates

[reaction: see text] The reactions of secondary alicyclic (SA) amines and quinuclidines (QUI) with 4-nitrophenyl and 2,4-dinitrophenyl S-methyl thiocarbonates (1 and 2, respectively) and those of SA amines with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl S-methyl thiocarbonate (3) are subjected to a kinetic study in aqueous solution, at 25.0 degrees C, and an ionic strength of 0.2 M (KCl). The reactions of thiocarbonates 1, 2, and 3 were followed spectrophotometrically at 400, 360, and 220 nm, respectively. Under amine excess, pseudo-first-order rate coefficients (k(obsd)) are found. Plots of k(obsd) vs amine concentration at constant pH are linear, with the slope (kN) independent of pH. The Br?nsted-type plots (log kN vs pKa of aminium ions) are linear for all the reactions, with slopes beta = 0.9 for those of 1 with SA amines and QUI, beta = 0.36 and 0.57 for the reactions of 2 with SA amines and QUI, respectively, and beta = 0.39 for the reactions of SA amines with 3. The magnitude of the slopes indicates that both aminolyses of 1 are governed by stepwise mechanisms, through a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate (T+/-), where expulsion of the nucleofuge from T+/- is the rate-determining step. The values of the Br?nsted slopes found for the aminolyses of thiocarbonates 2 and 3 suggest that these reactions are concerted. By comparison of the reactions under investigation between them and with similar aminolyses, the following conclusions arise: (i) Thiocarbonate 2 is more reactive than 1 toward the two amine series. (ii) The change of the nonleaving group from MeO in 4-nitrophenyl methyl carbonate to MeS in thiocarbonate 1 results in lower kN values. (iii) The greater reactivity of this carbonate than thiocarbonate 1 is attributed to steric hindrance of the MeS group, compared to MeO toward amine attack. (iv) The change of a pyridine to an isobasic SA amine or QUI destabilizes the T+/- intermediate formed in the aminolyses of 2. (v) The change of 4-nitrophenoxy to 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorphenoxy or 2,4-dinitrophenoxy as the leaving group destabilizes the tetrahedral intermediate formed in the reactions with SA amines, changing the mechanism from a stepwise process to a concerted reaction.     

Selective extraction of benzoic acid from landfill leachate by solid-phase extraction and ion-exchange chromatography

In this work a simple method was described for selective extraction of benzoic acid from landfill leachate samples. The samples were submitted to solid-phase extraction (SPE) with XAD-4 resin as the stationary phase and ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) using the ion-exchange resin Amberlyst A-27. The instrumental analysis was performed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MSD). Benzoic acid was isolated, identified and quantified. The extraction process is rapid, simple and of low cost. It was also environmental friendly, that is, it was used a minimum amounts of hazardous organic solvents and produced also minimum quantities of residues.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the reactions of S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-substituted thiobenzoates with secondary alicyclic amines

[reaction: see text] The title reactions, in 44 wt % ethanol-water at 25.0 degrees C, exhibit slightly curved Br?nsted-type plots (log kN versus pKa of amines) with slopes beta1 = 0.1-0.44 (at high pKa) and beta2 ca. 0.7 (at low pKa). The magnitude of some of these slopes, together with the fact that the curvature center (pKa(0) = 9.5-10.8) does not change with the electronic effects of the benzoyl substituent, suggests that these reactions are not stepwise, but concerted.     

Molecular-level control of the photoluminescence from PPV nanostructured films

The fabrication of varied molecular architectures in layer-by-layer (LbL) films is exploited to control the photoluminescence (PL) of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) in an unprecedented way. This was achieved by controlling the F?rster energy transfer between PPV layers (donors) and layers of a commercial azodye, Brilliant Yellow (BY) (acceptors). Energy transfer was controlled by inserting spacer layers of inert polymers between PPV and BY layers and by photoaligning the BY molecules via trans-cis-trans isomerization. The PPV/BY LbL films displayed polarized PL whose intensity could be varied almost continuously by changing the time of photoalignment, which was carried out by impinging a linearly polarized laser light simultaneously to the PL experiments. For PPV/BY films with no spacer layers, PL was completely quenched, but its intensity increased with the number of spacing layers. Further increase in PL was obtained by photoaligning the BY molecules perpendicularly to the PPV molecules. This minimizes energy transfer, since F?rster processes are directional, dipole-dependent resonant transfers. Energy transfer is also controlled by imparting a preferential orientation of the PPV chains on PPV/BY LbL films deposited onto flexible Teflon substrates that may be stretched.     

Synthesis,characterization and biological activity of bis(3‐Aryl‐1‐hexahydropyrimidinyl)methanes. Novel heterocyclic polyamine derivatives

A method is described for the synthesis of bis(3‐aryl‐1‐hexahydropyrimidinyl)methanes 1, by condensation of N‐aryl‐1,3‐propanediarnines 2 with formaldehyde. The reaction mechanism involves N‐arylhexahydropyrimidines 3 as intermediates. Such compounds can also be prepared efficiently by a methylene exchange reaction between bis‐hexahydropyrimidines 1 and the corresponding diamines 2. The antimicrobial activity of compounds 1 was evaluated by the disk diffusion method and some of them showed moderate to good growth inhibition activity.