HKUST-1 metal-organic framework for dispersive solid phase extraction of 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) prior to its determination by ion mobility spectrometry

The authors describe a method for the extraction of the herbicide 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) from agricultural products. The metal organic framework (MOF) HKUST-1 (a copper(II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) was used as a sorbent for efficient clean-up and preconcentration of MCPA. The effects of pH value, stirring time, amount of sorbent on extraction were optimized by central composite design. Ultrasonic waves were used for desorption procedure and its advantage was demonstrated for an increase in extraction recovery. Corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was then applied for fast and sensitive determination of MCPA. The method was validated in terms of sensitivity, recovery and reproducibility. Under the optimum conditions the calibration plot is linear between 0.035–0.200 μg. L^?1. The detection limit is 10 ng L^?1, with relative standard deviations of <5%. Real samples (water, soil and agricultural product) were spiked and then analyzed by this method, and the results revealed efficient solid phase extraction and recovery.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of a procedure for extraction of an organochlorine pesticide (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid) from agriculture products using the HKUST-1 metal-organic framework prior to determination by ion mobility spectrometry based on its ionization in drift cell.

     

Hydroarylation of cinnamic acid with phenols catalyzed by acidic ionic liquid [H-NMP]HSO<Subscript>4</Subscript>: computational assessment on substituent effect

Hydroarylation of cinnamic acid with different substituted phenols, in the presence of acidic ionic liquid, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidonum hydrosulfate ([H-NMP]HSO₄) gave the corresponding dihydrocoumarins in high yields and excellent selectivity. Among these substituted phenols, while methyl phenol afforded the corresponding dihydrocoumarin, nitrophenol under the same reaction conditions diverted the course of reaction, affording 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-3-phenylpropanoic acids. We investigated this behavior from the energetic and electronic points of view, using quantum chemistry computational methods. In this respect, the electronic energy change values for the conversion reaction of substituted phenyl cinnamate esters to dihydrocoumarin compounds have been obtained via density functional theory calculations. We demonstrated that the conversion reaction in the presence of CH₃ substituent is more favorable energetically than NO₂ substituent. Moreover, we have concentrated on topological analysis of electron density on some key bond and ring critical points and their associated bond paths to assess the conversion of substituted phenyl cinnamate esters to dihydrocoumarins. Our calculated results showed that para-methyl phenyl cinnamate has more of electronic tendency to undergo the intramolecular cyclization step and, consequently, generate the corresponding dihydrocoumarin.     

Determination of MTBE in drinking water using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is an organic compound which is used as a gasoline additive. Contamination of ground and surface water can occur due to large scale use of MTBE and its high solubility in water. According to United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), MTBE is a possible human carcinogen at high doses and its detection and measurement in the water is important as concerned about human health. In this work, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) equipped with a corona discharge ionization source was used for determination of MTBE in drinking water. Both pure and aqueous solutions of MTBE were studied and their ion mobility spectra were obtained at different temperatures. Using a calibration curve for detection of MTBE in drinking water, a detection limit (LOD) of 1 mg/L was obtained by IMS. This work proved that, IMS with corona discharge can be used for fast and direct detection of MTBE in water sample without any sample preparation.     

Oxazolidinones as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric aldol reactions applied to total synthesis

Asymmetric aldol reactions of oxazolidinones as chiral auxiliaries have been achieved and attracted significant consideration as one of the most powerful synthetic tools for the carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions. The methodology has been highly successful in the stereoselective construction of a number of natural products, antibiotics, and other medicinally important compounds. The present review is focused on the utility and versatility of oxazolidinones (Evans chiral auxiliaries) in the asymmetric aldol condensations for the total synthesis of natural products and complex targets.     

Parametric excitation of a thin ring under time-varying initial stress; theoretical and numerical analysis

Initial stress in rings is one of the destructive effects which is almost inevitable due to various reasons such as being subsystems of a shrink-fitted joint, imperfections in the manufacturing, assembly or misalignment of the supporting mounts, and unbalancing in rotating condition. So, in this paper we focus on the effect of the initial stress and its variation with time on the dynamics of the pre-stressed ring. For this purpose, the equation of motion for in-plane bending vibration of a thin ring is derived using Hamilton’s principle. It is assumed that the initial stress is due to the distributed radially time-varying pressure. By representing the dynamic initial stress in the coefficients of the equation of motion; the equation is converted to Mathieu’s equation. The strained parameters method has been used to obtain the stability regions of motion and transition curves. Furthermore, to validate the obtained stability regions, numerical solutions of the equation of motion and Floquet theorem are used in some selected values of the parameters of the initial stress (magnitude of static and dynamic components of the initial stress). The fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm is used for numerical analysis of the equation of motion. The results show that the parameters of initial stress have direct impact on the stability of dynamic response. The obtained results from theoretical and numerical methods which are notably consistent with each other demonstrate that the initial stress, which has been almost always neglected in dynamic models of the systems, has a significant effect on the dynamics of the system, and it may even lead to an unstable dynamic response, while the excitation frequency is far enough from resonance region. So this paper can present the other application of modal analysis to non-destructive measure of initial stress.     

An iterative method for solving absolute value equations and sufficient conditions for unique solvability

We describe an iterative method for solving absolute value equations. The result gives a sufficient condition for unique solvability of these equations for arbitrary right-hand sides. This sufficient condition is compared with that one by Mangasarian and Meyer.     

Chemo- and diastereoselective synthesis of new oxa[3.3.3]propellane via a domino cascade four-component reaction based on diketene

A highly convergent, eco-friendly and straightforward synthesis of new O-fused heterocycles, functionalized indeno[1,2-b]furan derivatives was successfully accomplished through a one-pot four-component cascade reaction involving, ninhydrin, malononitrile, diketene and various primary amines in the presence of a catalytic quantity of triethylamine in ethanol at ambient temperature, in one pot fashion. This new efficient cascade reaction generates two rings by the simultaneous construction of C-N (one), C-O (two) and C-C (two) multiple bonds, presumably through a sequence of Knoevenagel reaction/Michael addition/intramolecular O-cyclization and imine-enamine/keto-enol tautomerization. The merits of this protocol are highlighted as utilization of inexpensive commercially accessible starting materials, operational simplicity, atom economy, clean reaction profile, simple work-up procedure being conducted at ambient temperature in relatively short reaction times, preventing chromatographic purification, giving excellent yields, and tolerance to a wide variety of functional groups.     

Surface characterizations of membranes and electrospun chitosan derivatives by optical speckle analysis

In this paper, we show that laser speckle pattern provides useful information toward revealing discrimination between nanofibers and membranes. Chitosan materials particularly organosoluble chitosan derivatives have a number of applications. The surface characteristics of these materials are very critical for specific applications. The analysis of laser speckles, both numerical and graphical, includes information about the surface structure. The development of digital electronics brought the ease of image processing and has opened new perspectives for a spectrum of laser speckle analysis (LASCA) applications. Our results show reasonable differences between the LASCA parameters of nanofibers and membranes. The methodology may be considered as a quantitative assessment tool for similar samples.     

Health risk assessment of neonicotinoid insecticide residues in pistachio using a QuEChERS-based method in combination with HPLC-UV

There is an increasing need to address the potential risks arising from combined exposures to multiple residues from pesticides in the diet. Pesticide residue-related pollution is a problem that arises because of the increased use of pesticides in agriculture to meet the growing demands of food production. In this study, pesticide residue data were obtained based on an optimized extraction method. For this purpose, we established a method based on qu ick, e asy, ch eap, e ffective, r ugged, and s afe (QuEChERS) extraction for simultaneous determination of imidacloprid (IMI) and acetamiprid (ACT) in pistachio nuts. The parameters influencing the QuEChERS method were the sample-to-water ratio and adsorbent amounts. As a result, both were optimized to improve the recovery of the analytes as well as the clean-up efficiency of the pistachio matrix. Our results indicated that a freeze-out step and use of primary and secondary amines as an adsorbent led to much cleaner chromatograms with lower baseline drift, without using graphitized carbon black and C₁₈-based adsorbent, which reduced both cost and time of analysis. Following extraction, the pesticide residues were separated and quantified by reverse-phase HPLC. For validation purposes, recovery studies were carried out using a concentration range from 20 to 2500 μg/L at nine levels. The suitable linearity, precision, and accuracy were obtained with HPLC–UV with recoveries of 70.37%–89.80% for IMI and 81.05%–113.57% for ACT, with relative standard deviations <12%. The validated method was successfully applied to the analysis of pistachio samples collected from a field trial to estimate maximum residue limits. There was no significant health risk for consumers via pistachio consumption.