Development of an ultrasound‐assisted emulsification microextraction method for the determination of chlorpyrifos and organochlorine pesticide residues in honey samples using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid, and efficient ultrasound‐assisted emulsification microextraction method followed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode was developed for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in honey samples. The type and volume of organic extraction solvent, pH, effect of added salt content, and centrifuging time and speed were investigated. Under the optimum extraction conditions, 30 μL of 1, 2‐dibromoethane (extraction solvent) was immersed into an ultrasonic bath for 1 min at 40°C. The limits of detection and quantification for all target pesticides were 0.003–0.06 and 0.01–0.2 ng/g_, respectively. The extraction recovery was 91–100% and the enrichment factors were 168–192. The relative standard deviation for the method was <6% for intraday (n = 6) and <8% for interday precision (n = 4). The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides in honey samples.     

Synthesis and characterization of trichlorogermyl dioic acids: crystal structures and complementary hydrogen bonding motifs in 3-(trichlorogermyl) pentanedioic acid and 2-[(trichlorogermyl)methyl]butanedioic acid

A series of trichlorogermyl-substituted dicarboxylic acids of general formula HOOC–R′–COOH where R′=–CH₂CH(GeCl₃)CH₂– 1, –CH(CH₂GeCl₃)CH₂– 2, –CH(GeCl₃)CH₂– 3 and –CH(CH₃)CH(GeCl₃)– 4 were synthesized by the hydrogermylation reaction of unsaturated acids, such as trans-glutaconic (2-pentenedioic acid), itaconic (methylenebutanedioic acid), fumaric (2-butenedioic acid), and citraconic (2-methyl-2-butenedioic acid) acids with HGeCl₃, which was produced in situ by the reaction of GeO₂ with 37% HCl in presence of NaH₂PO₂ · H₂O. All these compounds were characterized by melting point, CHN analysis, FTIR, and multinuclear NMR (¹H; ¹³C; H,H-COSY). X-Ray crystal structures of 1 and 2 were analyzed to show supramolecular structures in which central Ge atom in each of these structures is four-coordinated with a slightly distorted tetrahedral geometry. Structurally, both compounds adopt supramolecular forms via strong intermolecular O–H–O interactions through 8-membered and 22-membered hydrogen bonded rings. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at Correspondence: Muhammad Mazhar, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.     

The Connection Between Isometries and Symmetries of Geodesic Equations of the Underlying Spaces

A connection between the symmetries of manifolds and differential equations is sought through the geodesic equations of maximally symmetric spaces, which have zero, constant positive or constant negative curvature. It is proved that for a space admitting so(n+1) or so(n,1) as the maximal isometry algebra, the symmetry of the geodesic equations of the space is given by so( or (where d ₂ is the two-dimensional dilation algebra), while for those admitting (where represents semidirect sum) the algebra is sl(n+2). A corresponding result holds on replacing so(n) by so(p,q) with p+q = n. It is conjectured that if the isometry algebra of any underlying space of non-zero curvature is h, then the Lie symmetry algebra of the geodesic equations is given by , provided that there is no cross-section of zero curvature at the point under consideration. If there is a flat subspace of dimension m, then the symmetry group becomes ).     

Negative band gaps in dilute InNxSb1-x alloys

A thin layer of InNSb has been fabricated by low energy nitrogen implantation in the near-surface region of InSb. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that nitrogen occupies approximately 6% of the anion lattice sites. High-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy of the conduction band electron plasma reveals the absence of a depletion layer for this alloy, thus indicating that the Fermi level is located below the valence band maximum (VBM). The plasma frequency for this alloy combined with the semiconductor statistics indicates that the Fermi level is located above the conduction band minimum (CBM). Consequently, the CBM is located below the VBM, indicating a negative band gap material has been formed. These measurements are consistent with k.p calculations for InN0.06Sb0.94 that predict a semimetallic band structure.     

Intrinsic electron accumulation at clean InN surfaces

The electronic structure of clean InN(0001) surfaces has been investigated by high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy of the conduction band electron plasmon excitations. An intrinsic surface electron accumulation layer is found to exist and is explained in terms of a particularly low Gamma-point conduction band minimum in wurtzite InN. As a result, surface Fermi level pinning high in the conduction band in the vicinity of the Gamma point, but near the average midgap energy, produces charged donor-type surface states with associated downward band bending. Semiclassical dielectric theory simulations of the energy-loss spectra and charge-profile calculations indicate a surface state density of 2.5 (+/-0.2)x10(13) cm(-2) and a surface Fermi level of 1.64+/-0.10 eV above the valence band maximum.     

Strong enhancement of the chemiluminescence of the Cu(II)-H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> system on addition of carbon nitride quantum dots,and its application to the detection of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> and glucose

The authors report that carbon nitride quantum dots (CN QDs) exert a strong enhancing effect on the Cu(II)/H₂O₂ chemiluminescent system. Chemiluminescence (CL) intensity is enhanced by CN QDs by a factor of ~75, while other carbon nanomaterials have a much weaker effect. The possible mechanism of the effect was evaluated by recording fluorescence and CL spectra and by examining the effect of various radical scavengers. Emitting species was found to be excited-state CN QDs that produce green CL peaking at 515 nm. The new CL system was applied to the sensitive detection of H₂O₂ and glucose (via glucose oxidase-catalyzed formation of H₂O₂) with detection limits (3σ) of 10 nM for H₂O₂ and 100 nM for glucose. The probe was employed for glucose determination in human plasma samples with satisfactory results.

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Graphical abstract The effect of carbon nitride quantum dots (CN QDs) on Cu(II)-H₂O₂ chemiluminescence reaction was studied and the new CL system was applied for sensitive detection of glucose based on the glucose oxidase (GOx)-catalyzed formation of H₂O₂.

     

Noether symmetries and conserved quantities for spaces with a section of zero curvature

In an earlier paper (Feroze, 2010 [21]), the existence of new conserved quantities (Noether invariants) for spaces of different curvatures was discussed. There, it was conjectured that the number of new conserved quantities for spaces with an m$m$-dimensional section of zero curvature is m$m$. Here, along with the proof of this conjecture, the form of the new conserved quantities is also presented. For the illustration of the theorem, an example of conformally flat spacetime is constructed which also demonstrates that the conformal Killing vectors (CKVs), in general, are not symmetries of the Lagrangian for the geodesic equation.     

Dapholidins A – C,New Isomeric Biisoflavonoids From Daphne oleoides

Three new isomeric biisoflavonoids, dapholidins A–C ( 1 – 3 , resp.), have been isolated from the AcOEt‐soluble fraction of the MeOH‐soluble extract of the roots of Daphne oleoides, along with the known compounds daphwazirin ( 4 ), daphnetin 8‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 5 ), daphnin ( 6 ), daphneticin 4″‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 7 ), and 6,7‐dihydroxy‐3‐methoxy‐8‐[2‐oxo‐2H‐1‐benzopyran‐7‐(O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)‐8‐yl]‐2H‐1‐benzopyran‐2‐one ( 8 ). The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectroscopic analyses, including 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR.     

Fe3O4 Nanoparticles as an Efficient and Magnetically Recoverable Catalyst for the Synthesis of α,β-Unsaturated Heterocyclic and Cyclic Ketones under Solvent-Free Conditions

An efficient and green procedure has been developed for the synthesis of monoarylidenes of cyclic and heterocyclic ketones. The reaction was carried out under solvent-free conditions in the presence of a catalytic amount of nanosized magnetite (Fe₃O₄). The catalyst was easily removed by using an external magnet. The structures of the products were deduced from their ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications^® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.]     

Dispersive solid phase extraction of metronidazole and clarithromycin from human plasma using a β-cyclodextrin grafted polyethylene polymer composite

In this work, for the first time, a polymeric composite based on β-cyclodextrin grafted with polyethylene has been prepared through ball milling and used as an efficient sorbent for dispersive solid phase extraction of metronidazole and clarithromycin from plasma samples. The prepared sorbent was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. In the extraction process, after precipitating the proteins, the sorbent was added into the sample solution, and the mixture was vortexed to facilitate and speed up the sorption of the analytes onto the sorbent surface. After centrifuging, the sorbent particles were contacted with methanol to elute the analytes under the vortexing process. After this step, an aliquot of the eluate was taken and injected into high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector for quantitative analysis. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the extraction recoveries for metronidazole and clarithromycin were 76 and 83%, respectively. The limits of detection were 2.6 and 2.2 ng/ml for metronidazole and clarithromycin, respectively. The repeatability of the offered approach, expressed as relative standard deviation, was equal to or less than 4.7%. Finally, the method was successfully applied to plasma samples of the patients treated with metronidazole and clarithromycin.