Analysis of sulphonated polyphenols, synthetic tanning agents in heavily polluted tannery wastewaters

A method is presented for the analysis of sulphonated polyphenols, acting as synthetic tanning agents, in heavily polluted tannery wastewater. It consists of ion-pair solid-phase extraction (RP-18) with tetrabutylammonium bromide followed by reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography on a C₁₈ stationary phase with UV detection. The detection limit is 15 μg/1. The influence of the wastewater matrix on extraction and the effects of pH and temperature on the HPLC separation are discussed. The procedure is not affected by the high contents of dissolved organic carbon and inorganic salts of tannery wastewater. The tannery effluents investigated contained around 40 mg/1 of sulphonated polyphenols. These compounds appear to be refractory against both anaerobic and aerobic biological wastewater treatment. They might, thus, contribute to the dissolved organic sulphur content of surface waters.     

Theory and simulation of organic solar cell model compounds: from atoms to excitons

We approach the electronic properties of a simple model of organic solar cells, a binary mixture of αα'-oligothiophenes and buckminsterfullerene, from a theoretical and numerical perspective. Close-packed model geometries are generated using a Monte Carlo method, the electronic structure is described by a reparametrized semiempirical Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonian. All electronic properties, such as optical absorption spectra, tightly-bound charge transfer states and exciton bands, arise from the same atomistic Hamiltonian using a configuration interaction method involving single excitations. The absorption spectra are dominated by intramolecular contributions, whereas in the optical gap low-lying charge transfer states are predicted. The efficiency of the solar cell crucially depends on the structure of the charge-transfer exciton bands and on the relaxation mechanism. We discuss how these findings may help improve the design of organic solar cells from an excitonic view.     

Enantioselective radical cyclisation reactions of 4-substituted quinolones mediated by a chiral template

Six 4-substituted quinolones 6-8, which bear an ω-iodoalkyl chain, were prepared and subjected to reductive radical cyclisation conditions employing BEt(3)/O(2) as the initiator and either Bu(3)SnH or TMS(3)SiH as hydride source. 4-(4-Iodobutyl)-quinolone (6a) and 4-(3-iodopropylthio)-quinolone (8a) gave the respective 6-endo-cyclisation products in good yields. 4-(3,3-Dimethyl-4-iodobutyl)-quinolone (6b) cyclised in a 5-exo-fashion, while the other substrates delivered only reduction products. The cyclisation reactions could be conducted in the presence of a chiral template (1) with high enantiomeric excess (94-99% ee). The association behaviour of substrate 6a to 1 was studied by NMR titration experiments. In the enantioselective cyclisation of 6b a significant nonlinearity was observed when comparing the product ee with the ee of the template.     

Fluorescence probing of the temperature-induced phase transition in a glycolipid self-assembly: hexagonal ↔ micellar and cubic ↔ lamellar

Water-driven self-assembly of lipids displays a variety of liquid crystalline phases that are crucial for membrane functions. Herein, we characterize the temperature-induced phase transitions in two compositions of an aqueous self-assembly system of the octyl β-D-glucoside (βGlcOC(8)) system, using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The phase transitions hexagonal ? micellar and cubic ? lamellar were investigated using tryptophan (Trp) and two of its ester derivatives (Trp-C(4) and Trp-C(8)) to probe the polar headgroup region and pyrene to probe the hydrophobic tail region. The polarity of the headgroup region was estimated to be close to that of simple alcohols (methanol and ethanol) for all phases. The pyrene fluorescence indicates that the pyrene molecules are dispersed among the tails of the hydrophobic region, yet remain in close proximity to the polar head groups. Comparing the present results with our previously reported one for βMaltoOC(12), increasing the tail length of the hexagonal phase from C(8) to C(12) leads to less interaction with pyrene, which is attributed to the more random and wobbling motion of the longer alkyl tail. We measured a reduction (more hydrophobic) in the ratio of the vibronic peak intensities of pyrene (I(1)/I(3)) for the lamellar phase compared to that of the cubic phase. The higher polarity in the cubic phase can be correlated to the nature of its interface, which curves toward the bulk water. This geometry also explains the slight reduction in polarity of the headgroup region compared to the other phases. Upon the addition of Trp-C(8), the fluorescence lifetime of pyrene is reduced by 28% in the lamellar and cubic phases, whereas the I(1)/I(3) value is only slightly reduced. The results reflect the dominant role of dynamic interaction mechanism between the C(8) chain of Trp-C(8) and pyrene. This mechanism may be important for these two phases since they participate in the process of membrane fusion. Both lipid compositions show completely reversible temperature-induced phase transitions, reflecting the thermodynamic equilibrium structures of their mesophases. Probing both regions of the different lipid phases reveals a large degree of heterogeneity and flexibility of the lipid self-assembly. These properties are crucial for carrying out different biological functions such as the ability to accommodate various molecular sizes.     

Rigid orthogonal bis-TEMPO biradicals with improved solubility for dynamic nuclear polarization

The synthesis and characterization of oxidized bis-thioketal-trispiro dinitroxide biradicals that orient the nitroxides in a rigid, approximately orthogonal geometry are reported. The biradicals show better performance as polarizing agents in dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) NMR experiments as compared to biradicals lacking the constrained geometry. In addition, the biradicals display improved solubility in aqueous media due to the presence of polar sulfoxides. The results suggest that the orientation of the radicals is not dramatically affected by the oxidation state of the sulfur atoms in the biradical, and we conclude that a biradical polarizing agent containing a mixture of oxidation states can be used for improved solubility without a loss in performance.