Mild Dehydration Using Trichlorotrifluoroacetone

The reaction of 1,1,1-trichloro-3,3,3-trifluoroacetone with 1[ddot] and 2[ddot] alcohols form the corresponding hemiketals which spontaneously eliminate water in presence of a catalytic amount of p-toluenesulfonic acid to produce the olefins in high yield.     

Investigation of solid-state reaction in Ag/Sn nanostructured thin films at room temperature

Diffusion intermixing processes in nanostructured Ag/Sn thin-film system at room temperature were investigated by means of secondary neutral mass Spectrometry depth profiling technique. As it was confirmed by X-ray diffraction too, the reaction started already in the as-deposited sample. Since the bulk diffusion was frozen at room temperature, the Ag₃Sn phase was formed along the grain boundaries (GBs), gradually consuming the interior of grains, and was grown perpendicular to the GBs. At the same time, formation and growth of a small compact reaction layer near the interface were observed and the shift of the bordering parallel interfaces was controlled by GB diffusion. From the kinetics of the diffusion process in the above two mechanisms, both the interface velocity in the diffusion-induced grain boundary motion regime as well as the coefficient of parabolic growth in the planar growth regime were determined.     

Musa sp. Leaves Extract Ameliorates the Hepato-Renal Toxicities Induced by Cadmium in Mice

Heavy metals intoxication causes several health problems that necessitate finding new protective and therapeutic approaches. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Musa sp. leaves extract (MLE) on hepato-renal toxicities induced by cadmium (Cd) in male mice. The phytochemical screening, metal chelating activity (MCA), and the median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of MLE were determined. Fifty CD-1 male mice were used and intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with MLE (1000 to 5000 mg/kg b.wt) for MLE LD₅₀ determination. Another 50 mice were used for evaluating the effect of MLE on Cd toxicity. Blood samples were collected for hematological, liver, and kidney functions assessments. Liver tissue homogenates were used for determination of oxidant/antioxidant parameters. Liver and kidney tissues were harvested for histopathological and molecular investigations. MLE showed potent in vitro antioxidant activities. The MCA and LD₅₀ of the MLE were 75 µg/mL and 3000 mg/kg b.wt, respectively. MLE showed beneficial therapeutic activity against hepato-renal toxicities in Cd-intoxicated mice, evidenced by improving the hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and molecular alterations.     

Side-by-side comparison of disposable microchips with commercial capillary cartridges for application in capillary isoelectric focusing with whole column imaging detection

Simple-structured, well-functioned disposable poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchips were developed for capillary isoelectric focusing with whole column imaging detection (CIEF-WCID). Side-by-side comparison of the developed microchips with well-established commercial capillary cartridges demonstrated that the disposable microchips have comparable performance as well as advantages such as absence of lens effect and possibility of high-aspect-ratio accompanied with a dramatic reduction in cost.     

Flexural,impact, rheological and physical characterizations of POM reinforced by carbon nanotubes and paraffin oil

The paraffin oil dispersion technique innovated in the recent years to synthesize bulk polymer nanocomposite materials has a uniform dispersion. This research work aims to study the effect of added carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on flexural, impact and rheology behaviors of polyoxymethylene (POM) reinforced by 0–0.03 wt% of CNT using paraffin oil dispersion technique. The wettability and lamellar thickness were measured and rheological performance investigated using a parallel plate rheometer. The flexural and impact mechanical properties were also evaluated. The fracture surfaces were then examined by microscopy. The results showed that the energy to break, flexural strength and modulus increased proportionally with the addition of the amount of CNT in the matrix. For the rheology behavior, the viscosity decreased at the low percentage of CNT and then increased with increase in the percentage weight ratio of CNT in the POM matrix. It was also noted that the water contact angle rose with the increase the CNT percentages. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study between two fabricated potentiometric sensors to enhance selectivity towards ferrous ions

Electroanalytical methods are highly selective for measuring electrical quantities including the charge, potential and current with their relation to chemical parameters. They are widely applied in various fields such as biochemical analysis, industrial quality control and environmental monitoring. They have many advantages over other techniques in that they are not time consuming and are specific for certain oxidation states of certain elements which give these techniques high selectivity and sensitivity features. This paper is based on two parts: the first part describes the fabrication of screen‐printed electrodes (SPEs) modified with methyl red as electroactive material, while second part describes the preparation and characterization of Fe(II)–methyl red complex using various spectroscopic tools, the complex being used for the construction of carbon paste electrodes (CPEs). The two proposed electrodes were successfully applied for the determination of Fe(II) in water and pharmaceutical (pharovit) samples. The electrodes under investigation show potentiometric response for Fe(II) in the concentration range 8.0 × 10^?7–1.0 × 10^?2 and 5.0 × 10^?7–1.0 × 10^?2 M at 25°C for SPE and CPE, respectively, and the electrode response is independent of pH in the range 1.5–7.0. These sensors show Nernstian slopes of 29.1 ± 0.2 and 29.7 ± 0.16 mV decade^?1 with detection limit values of 8.0 × 10^?7 and 5.0 × 10^?7 M for SPE and CPE, respectively. These electrodes show fast response time of 6 and 4 s and exhibit a lifetime of 100 and 30 days for SPE and CPE, respectively. The mechanism of chemical reaction between modifier and Fe(II) on the SPE surface was studied using infrared spectra, scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis. The proposed potentiometric method was validated according to the IUPAC recommendations. The results obtained using the proposed sensors were comparable with those obtained with inductively coupled plasma analysis.     

Officinalioside,a new lignan glucoside from Borago officinalis L.

A new lignan glucoside, officinalioside (1), was isolated from n-BuOH fraction of the aerial parts of Borago officinalis L., together with four known compounds: actinidioionoside (2), roseoside (3), crotalionoside C (4) and kaempferol 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (5). The structure of the new compound was established by means of spectroscopic and chemical analyses. Compounds 1 and 2 showed a moderate DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC₅₀: 52.6 ± 1.70 and 41.3 ± 0.25 μM, respectively) comparable with that of the standard trolox (16.6 ± 2.2 μM) without any significant cytotoxicity towards human cell line A549 (IC₅₀ > 100 μM).     

MALDI-TOF/TOF de novo sequence analysis of 2-D PAGE-separated proteins from Halorhodospira halophila, a bacterium with unsequenced genome

Because protein identifications rely on matches with sequence databases, high-throughput proteomics is currently largely restricted to those species for which comprehensive sequence databases are available. The identification of proteins derived from organisms with unsequenced genomes mainly depends on homology searching. Here, we report the use of a simplified, gel-based, chemical derivatization strategy for de novo sequence analysis using a MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer. This approach allows the determination of de novo peptide sequences of up to 20 amino acid residues in length. The protocol was applied on a proteomic study of 2-D PAGE-separated proteins from Halorhodospira halophila, an extremophilic eubacterium with yet unsequenced genome. Using three different homology-based search algorithms, we were able to identify more than 30 proteins from this organism using subpicomole quantities of protein.     

New star-shaped trinuclear Ru(II) polypyridine complexes of imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline derivatives: syntheses, characterization, photophysical and electrochemical properties

A series of new star-shaped trinuclear Ru(II) complexes of imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline derivatives, [{Ru(bpy)(2)}(3){μ-mes(1,4-phO-Izphen)(3)}](ClO(4))(6)·4H(2)O (6), [{Ru(phen)(2)}(3){μ-mes(1,4-phO-Izphen)(3)}](ClO(4))(6)·3H(2)O (7), [{Ru(bpy)(2)}(3){μ-mes(1,2-phO-Izphen)(3)}](ClO(4))(6)·4H(2)O (8), and [{Ru(phen)(2)}(3){μ-mes(1,2-phO-Izphen)(3)}](ClO(4))(6)·3H(2)O (9) [mes(1,4-phO-Izphen)(3) (4) = 2,4,6-tri methyl-1,3,5-tris(4-oxymethyl-1-yl(1H-imidazo-2-yl-[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline)phenyl)benzene and (mes(1,2-phO-Izphen)(3) (5) = 2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3,5-tris(2-oxymethyl-1-yl(1H-imidazo-2-yl[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline)phenyl)benzene] have been synthesized and characterized. Their photophysical and electrochemical properties have also been studied. The core molecule, 1,3,5-tris(bromomethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene (1) and the trialdehyde intermediate, 2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3,5-tris(4-oxymethyl-1-formylphenyl)benzene (2) are characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction: triclinic, P1[combining macron]. The complexes 6-9 exhibit Ru(II) metal centered emission at 618, 601, 615, and 605 nm, respectively, in fluid solution at room temperature. The emission profile and emission maxima are similar and independent of the excitation wavelength for each complex. The complexes 6-9 undergo metal centered oxidation and the E(1/2) values for the Ru(II)/Ru(III) redox couples are 1.33, 1.34, 1.35, and 1.35 V versus Ag/Ag(+), respectively, which are cathodically shifted with respect to that of the mononuclear complex [Ru(bpy)(2)(PIP)](2+) (PIP = 2-phenylimidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline). The study demonstrates the versatility of the highly symmetric trinucleating imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline-based core ligands 4 and 5 in forming trinuclear Ru(II) complexes.     

Support vector regression scoring of receptor-ligand complexes for rank-ordering and virtual screening of chemical libraries

The community structure-activity resource (CSAR) data sets are used to develop and test a support vector machine-based scoring function in regression mode (SVR). Two scoring functions (SVR-KB and SVR-EP) are derived with the objective of reproducing the trend of the experimental binding affinities provided within the two CSAR data sets. The features used to train SVR-KB are knowledge-based pairwise potentials, while SVR-EP is based on physicochemical properties. SVR-KB and SVR-EP were compared to seven other widely used scoring functions, including Glide, X-score, GoldScore, ChemScore, Vina, Dock, and PMF. Results showed that SVR-KB trained with features obtained from three-dimensional complexes of the PDBbind data set outperformed all other scoring functions, including best performing X-score, by nearly 0.1 using three correlation coefficients, namely Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall. It was interesting that higher performance in rank ordering did not translate into greater enrichment in virtual screening assessed using the 40 targets of the Directory of Useful Decoys (DUD). To remedy this situation, a variant of SVR-KB (SVR-KBD) was developed by following a target-specific tailoring strategy that we had previously employed to derive SVM-SP. SVR-KBD showed a much higher enrichment, outperforming all other scoring functions tested, and was comparable in performance to our previously derived scoring function SVM-SP.