Determination of phenol and catechol concentrations with oxygen probes coated with immobilized enzymes or immobilized cells

The enzyme phenol 2-hydroxylase was immobilized on Sepharose and used in conjunction with an O₂ electrode for quantitating phenol. Similarly, catechol 1,2-oxygenase was used for quantitating catechol. A third probe was prepared by immobilization ofTrichosporon cutaneum cells rather than purified phenol 2-hydroxylase for phenol quantitation. The whole cell system gave results comparable to the immobilized enzyme system.     

A Study of the Silylation of 1,8-Dihydroxynaphthalene

Twelve compounds each having a six membered Si-contained heterocycle, have been successfully synthesized. Of these eleven compounds have never been reported in the literature. The structures were confirmed by Spectral analysis and elementary analysis. The stability and properties of these compounds is also discussed.     

Direct determination of gentamicin components by capillary electrophoresis with potential gradient detection

A simple and fast method was developed to determine non-UV active compounds directly without derivatization. The usefulness of the method was demonstrated by detecting the major components in aminoglycoside antibiotic mixtures using capillary zone electrophoresis with potential gradient detection. Under optimized separation conditions (0.2 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), 1 mM ammonium citrate, pH 3.5), gentamicin was separated into three major peaks (C1, C1a, and C2+C2a) within 15 min. This method showed better sensitivity than other capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods for determining underivatized gentamicin. The linear range was from 10 to 500 ppm. Because of its good repeatability and simplicity, this new method could be a good alternative for the current assays given by US Pharmacopoeia and European Pharmacopoeia.     

Gas-chromatographic determination of ultramicro amounts of selenium in pure sulphuric acid

Ultramicro amounts of selenium in pure sulphuric acid are converted into selenous acid with a bromine-bromide redox buffer solution. The selenous acid reacts quantitatively with 4-nitro-o-phenyl-enediamine to form 5-nitropiaselenol which can be extracted into toluene. The extract is very sensitive to electron-capture detection in gas chromatography, and the sensitivity is higher than that of 5-chloro-or 4, 5-dichloro-piaselenol. The calibration curve (peak heights) is linear up to 0.15 mug of selenium in 1 ml of toluene. Pure sulphuric acid, commercially available, contains 10(-6)$ 10(-5) % selenium.     

Studies on antimony oxides: Part I

Thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction studies of antimony(III) oxide, (Sb₂O₃), in air, nitrogen and argon atmospheres have been made. In air Sb₂O₃ becomes oxidized to Sb₂O₄ above 510°. The oxidation reaction proceeds in two stages as revealed by the TG and DTA curves. The behaviour of Sb₂O₃ is similar in both N₂ and Ar. Sb₂O₃ remains unaffected up to 430°, above which there is a slow, and continuous mass loss up to 550°. Above 550° Sb₂O₃ volatilizes resulting in an enormous weight loss. X-ray studies of the sublimate and the residue indicate the former to be the cubic form of Sb₂O₃ (Senarmontite) while the residue is the orthorhombic (Valentinite) structure. From the DTA curves in air, N₂ and Ar, the transition temperature for the cubic to the orthorhombic modification has been estimated to be around 610°.     

Luminarin 9: A new fluorescent reagent for the precolumn derivatizatioin of main volatile and non-volatile N-nitrosamines in RP-HPLC

Summary A sensitive precolumn fluorescence derivatization method for low level detection of the, volatile (N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosopyrrolidine) and non-volatile N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosoproline and N-nitrosodiethanolamine) an high-performance liquid chromatography was developed. This method is based on the denitrosation of the compounds of interest by a mixture of hydrobromic acid and acetic acid to produce the corresponding secondary amines. These are, then, able to react with, a quinolizinocoumarin derivative (luminarin 9^®) to form highly fluorescent labelled N-nitrosamine derivatives. The structural elucidation of the luminarin 9^® derivatives of N-nitrosoproline and N-nitrosodimethylamine by way of example, were established by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and by direct chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (CI-MS). The separation, derivatization and detection conditioins were optimized for all the studied compounds. The detection limits (signal to noise ratio=3) were between 0.4 and 1.0 pmol injected depending on the compound. The calibration graphs were linear for derivatized amounts in the range of 0.5–40 nmol for N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosopyrrolidine, 0.4–2- nmol for N-nitrosoproline and 1.0–40 nmol for N-nitrosodiethanolamine. The repeatability (RSD less than 3.5%, n=6) and reproducibility (RSD less than 4.8%, n-6) were satisfactory.     

Chloryl nitrate: a novel product of the OClO + NO3 + M recombination

The products of the reaction of OClO with NO3 were investigated between 220 and 298 K using a flow reactor and infrared, visible, and ultraviolet analysis. At temperatures below 250 K new infrared and ultraviolet absorption features were observed and assigned to the novel compound chloryl nitrate (O2ClONO2). Additionally, ClO and NO2 were observed as reaction products, indicating the existence of a second reaction channel. O2ClONO2 formation predominates at temperatures below 230 K. The reaction rate constant at 220 K is estimated to be on the order of 10(-14) cm3 molecule-1 s-1 in 1-5 Torr of helium. These observations suggest that O2ClONO2 may exist in the terrestrial stratosphere.     

Mechanism of antioxidative activity of fluvastatin-determination of the active position

In order to clarify the mechanism of action for the antioxidative activity of fluvastatin sodium (FLV, (+/-)-sodium (3RS, 5RS, 6E)-7-[3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(1-methylethyl)-1H-indol-2-yl]-3, 5-dihydroxy-6-heptanoate) and its derivatives, reaction of the corresponding methyl ester of FLV with di-tert-butyl diperoxyoxalate was examined, and the corresponding keto derivative was isolated from the reaction mixture. On the basis of this result, it was concluded that the active site is the allylic carbon conjugated with the indole ring.     

Grafting of phosphonate groups on the silica surface for the elaboration of ion-sensitive field-effect transistors

Ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) sensitive to Ca(2+) ions could be elaborated by means of a new grafting process of the phosphonate group at the surface of the silica gate of FETs. A grafting process involving only one chemical reaction step at the surface afforded a significant improvement of the ISFET properties. The sensitivity of the ISFET towards Ca(2+) ions at pH 10 was quasi-linear in the concentration range from 10(-1) to 10(-3) M, and the slope was 10 mV pCa(-1). The site-binding model works well in predicting the experimental data, giving the complexation constant of 10(2.7) and a low value of the grafting density. The origin of the poor response of ISFETs sensitized by means of a multistep grafting process was investigated on silica powders of high specific area: the cleavage of the organic grafts at the SiOSi bonds occurring at each step could be disclosed by means of elemental analyses, infrared, and cross-polarization and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance of the grafts.     

Electronic and molecular properties of an adsorbed protein monolayer probed by two-color sum-frequency generation spectroscopy

Two-color sum-frequency generation spectroscopy (2C-SFG) is used to probe the molecular and electronic properties of an adsorbed layer of the green fluorescent protein mutant 2 (GFPmut2) on a platinum (111) substrate. First, the spectroscopic measurements, performed under different polarization combinations, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) show that the GFPmut2 proteins form a fairly ordered monolayer on the platinum surface. Next, the nonlinear spectroscopic data provide evidence of particular coupling phenomena between the GFPmut2 vibrational and electronic properties. This is revealed by the occurrence of two doubly resonant sum-frequency generation processes for molecules having both their Raman and infrared transition moments in a direction perpendicular to the sample plane. Finally, our 2C-SFG analysis reveals two electronic transitions corresponding to the absorption and fluorescence energy levels which are related to two different GFPmut2 conformations: the B (anionic) and I forms, respectively. Their observation and wavelength positions attest the keeping of the GFPmut2 electronic properties upon adsorption on the metallic surface.