New flavonoid glycosides and other chemical constituents from Clerodendrum phlomidis leaves: isolation and characterisation

Phytochemical investigation of the plant Clerodendrum phlomidis Linn. F. (Lamiaceae) has now led to the isolation of two new flavonoid glycosides (1, 2) together with six known compounds identified as pectolinaringenin (3), pectolinaringenin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (4), 24β-ethylcholesta-5,22E,25-triene-3β-ol (5), 24β-ethylcholesta-5,22E,25-triene-3β-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), (2S,3S,4R,10E)-2-[(2′R)-2′-hydroxytetracosanoylamino]-10-octadecene-1,3,4-triol (7) and andrographolide (8) mainly by spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 4 and 6–8 are reported for the first time from C. phlomidis.     

Optimization and Validation of RP-LC/UV–VIS Detection Method for Simultaneous Determination of Fat-Soluble Anti-Oxidant Vitamins, all-trans-Retinol and α-Tocopherol in Human Serum: Effect of Experimental Parameters

A versatile isocratic reversed-phase liquid chromatographic/ultraviolet–visible detection method for simultaneous determination of all-trans-retinol and α-tocopherol in human serum was developed and validated after optimization of various chromatographic conditions and other experimental parameters. Analytes were separated on a Kromasil 100 RP₁₈ (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) analytical column protected by a Perkin Elmer RP₁₈ (30 × 4.6 mm, 10 μm) guard cartridge. The mobile phase, methanol–water (96:04 v/v) was pumped at a flow rate of 2.2 mL min^?1 and the column eluents were monitored at the wavelength of 292 nm using retinyl acetate (1.0 μg mL^?1) as the internal standard for both analytes. Sample preparation was based on protein precipitation and stabilization with 2,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methylphenol/ethanol and a two step extraction process using n-hexane followed by dichloromethane as extraction solvents. Sample size was kept 20 μL and separation of analytes was achieved in less than 7 min. The present method demonstrated acceptable values for specificity/selectivity, linearity within the expected concentration range, recovery, precision, sensitivity, stability of solutions, robustness, and system suitability specifications and tests. The method was used for monitoring all-trans-retinol and α-tocopherol concentrations in human serum samples and could also be applied to other sample matrices such as brain slices and cosmetic products if attention is paid to the extraction procedure.     

Anti-angiogenic activity of Morinda citrifolia extracts and its chemical constituents

Morinda citrifolia L. has been used for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. This study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-angiogenic effect of M. citrifolia fruits and leaves. Anti-angiogenic activity was evaluated in?vivo using the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. Bioactivity-guided fractionation and isolation were performed to identify the active constituent, and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was then used to quantify the amount of this active constituent in the active extracts and fraction. The methanol extracts of fruits and leaves of M. citrifolia and the subsequent chloroform fraction of the fruit methanolic extract were found to have potential anti-angiogenic activity and were more potent compared to suramin. Scopoletin was identified as one of the chemical constituents that may be partly responsible for the anti-angiogenic activity of M. citrifolia fruits. The present findings further support the use of M. citrifolia in cancer or other pathological conditions related to angiogenesis.     

The role of C-H and C-C stretching modes in the intrinsic non-radiative decay of triplet states in a Pt-containing conjugated phenylene ethynylene

The intrinsic non-radiative decay (internal conversion) from the triplet excited state in phosphorescent dyes can be described by a multi-phonon emission process. Since non-radiative decay of triplet excitons can be a significant process in organic light-emitting diodes, a detailed understanding of this decay mechanism is important if the overall device efficiency is to be controlled. We compare a deuterated Pt(II)-containing phenylene ethynylene with its non-deuterated counterpart in order to investigate which phonon modes control to the non-radiative decay path. We observe that deuteration does not decrease the non-radiative decay rate. A Franck-Condon analysis of the phosphorescence spectra shows that the electronic excitation is coupled strongly to the breathing mode of the phenyl ring and the C≡C carbon stretching modes, while high-energy C-H or C-D stretching modes play an insignificant role. We, therefore, associate the internal conversion process with the carbon-carbon stretching vibrations.     

Copolymers and two-layered composites of poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">o</Emphasis>-aminophenol) and polyaniline

Electroactive conducting copolymers of aniline (ANI) and o-aminophenol (OAP) and two-layered poly(o-aminophenol) (POAP)/polyaniline (PANI) composites were prepared in aqueous acidic solution by electrode potential cycling. Copolymerization was carried out at different feed concentrations of OAP and ANI on a gold electrode. A strong inhibition of electropolymerization was found at a high molar fraction of OAP in the feed. The copolymers showed good adherence on the electrode surface and gave a redox response up to pH=10.0. Two transitions were observed in the in situ conductivities of the copolymers (as with PANI), but the conductivities were lower by 2.5–3 orders of magnitude as compared to PANI. Electrosynthesis of PANI on POAP modified electrodes showed copolymer formation after reaction initiation and finally formation of a PANI layer at the copolymer/solution interface. The ‘memory effect’ of the bilayer structures of both polymers was discussed in terms of protonation/deprotonation and anion consumption taking place during redox processes of both polymers.     

Determination of drug and fatty acid binding capacity to pluronic f127 in microemulsions

We propose that one can deduce very insightful information regarding the drug and fatty acid binding capacity of microemulsions through simple turbidity experiments. Pluronic F127-based oil-in-water microemulsions of various compositions were synthesized and titrated to turbidity with concentrated amitriptyline, an antidepressant drug. We observed that, above certain Pluronic F127 concentrations, turbidity was never observed, irrespective of how much amitriptyline was added to the microemulsion. We also observed that whenever sodium caprylate fatty acid was not included in the microemulsion formulation, turbidity never occurred. On the basis of these findings, we were able to determine the point at which all sodium caprylate present in the microemulsion formulation was bound to the F127 in the microemulsion (i.e., no fatty acid was free in the bulk in monomer form). By the same logic we were also able to determine how much amitriptyline was binding to the microemulsions. We also measured the dynamic surface tension, foamability, and fabric wetting time of the microemulsion formulations to further prove the hypothesis that all fatty acid is bound to the F127 in the microemulsion above a critical Pluronic F127 concentration. On the basis of this research, we have concluded that there are approximately 11 molecules of sodium caprylate fatty acid bound per molecule of Pluronic F127 and approximately 12 molecules of amitriptyline bound per molecule of Pluronic F127 in the optimal microemulsion formulation. These findings give us valuable information about the charge density at the oil/water interface and about the mechanism of binding of the drug to the microemulsion.     

Localization of Fatty Acyl and Double Bond Positions in Phosphatidylcholines Using a Dual Stage CID Fragmentation Coupled with Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry

A high content molecular fragmentation for the analysis of phosphatidylcholines (PC) was achieved utilizing a two-stage [trap (first generation fragmentation) and transfer (second generation fragmentation)] collision-induced dissociation (CID) in combination with travelling-wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS). The novel aspects of this work reside in the fact that a TWIMS arrangement was used to obtain a high level structural information including location of fatty acyl substituents and double bonds for PCs in plasma, and the presence of alkali metal adduct ions such as [M?+?Li]⁺ was not required to obtain double bond positions. Elemental compositions for fragment ions were confirmed by accurate mass measurements. A very specific first generation fragment ion m/z 577 (M-phosphoryl choline) from the PC [16:0/18:1 (9Z)] was produced, which by further CID generated acylium ions containing either the fatty acyl 16:0 (C₁₅H₃₁CO⁺, m/z 239) or 18:1 (9Z) (C₁₇H₃₃CO⁺, m/z 265) substituent. Subsequent water loss from these acylium ions was key in producing hydrocarbon fragment ions mainly from the α-proximal position of the carbonyl group such as the hydrocarbon ion m/z 67 (+H₂C-HC?=?CH-CH?=?CH₂). Formation of these ions was of important significance for determining double bonds in the fatty acyl chains. In addition to this, and with the aid of ¹³C labeled lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) 18:1 (9Z) in the ω-position (methyl) TAP fragmentation produced the ion at m/z 57. And was proven to be derived from the α-proximal (carboxylate) or distant ω-position (methyl) in the LPC.     

One-pot, three-component reaction of isocyanides, dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, and non-cyclic anhydrides: synthesis of 2,5-diaminofuran derivatives and dialkyl (E)-2-[(N-acyl-N-alkylamino)carbonyl]-2-butenedioates

Abstract  

Isocyanides, dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, and non-cyclic anhydrides, for example acetic anhydride or benzoic anhydride, react in one-pot to afford 2,5-diaminofuran derivatives and dialkyl (E)-2-[(N-acyl-N-alkylamino)carbonyl]-2-butenedioates in fairly good yields at room temperature.     

Effect of Temperature on Cd2+ Sorption by Mixed Oxides of Iron and Silicon

The current study focuses on the synthesis and sorption properties of two mixed oxides of iron and silicon prepared by physical mixing (M₁) and sequential precipitation methods (M₂). Both the mixed oxides were synthesized from equimolar ratios of Fe(OH)₃ and SiO₂ and characterized for surface area, EDX, XRD and PZC. The surface area, micropore volume and average pore width of the oxide M₁ were higher as compared to the oxide M₂. However, potentiometric titrations revealed that mixed oxide synthesized by this method had a very high capacity towards Cd²⁺ ions as compared to the mixed oxide M₁. Sorption of Cd²⁺ ions at pH 5 on mixed oxide, M₂ was found to increase with temperature in the range 288 to 318 K. Langmuir equation was found applicable to the sorption data with R²>0.99. Entropy (ΔS^?), enthalpy (ΔH^?) and free energy changes (ΔG^?) were calculated which revealed the process to be endothermic and spontaneous in nature.