An unprecedented surface oxidation of polystyrene substrates by wet chemistry under basic conditions

The surface of polystyrene substrates has been modified by wet chemistry consisting of a treatment with sodium hydroxide in a water-methanol solution at 50 degrees C for 15 h, under air atmosphere. The resulting samples were analyzed by XPS and AFM. The surface functional groups (hydroxyl and carboxyl functions) were assayed by radiolabeling. All the results are consistent with a surface oxidation process.     

Gas-phase behaviour of negative ions produced from thiazidic diuretics under electrospray conditions

A systematic mass spectrometric study of 10 thiazidic diuretics and related compounds was undertaken by mass spectrometry (MS) with electrospray ionization in the negative ion mode. Collisional dissociation 'in-source' (CID-MS) and in a low-pressure collision cell (CID-MS/MS) were compared in both excitation regions. Spectra obtained by CID-MS and by CID-MS/MS were matched. Using the two methods, loss of HCl and consecutive dissociations from 2HCl losses were exhibited from compounds such as methyclothiazide and trichlormethiazide but not from other thiazidic diuretics that contain chlorine substituents in the aromatic moiety. However, deprotonated dichlorphenamide gave rise to loss of HCl by CID-MS and CID-MS/MS. For other diuretics such as hydroflumethiazide and hydrochlorothiazide, the loss of HCN and [HCN + SO(2)] was relevant. Reaction mechanisms were checked by means of deuterium-hydrogen exchange, which showed that deprotonation took place regioselectively on the heterocyclic moiety. The cleavage pathways require molecular isomerization forming ion-dipole complexes prior to decompositions, allowing long-distance proton transfer for neutral elimination. Identifications of the most specific fragmentations presented in this paper were applied to the screening and unambiguous identification of diuretics for horse doping control.     

Dialkylzinc-assisted alkynylation of nitrones

[reaction: see text]. Reaction of nitrones with terminal alkynes takes place readily in the presence of a substoichiometric amount of diethylzinc in toluene, affording N-propargyl-hydroxylamines in excellent yields and purity.     

Air-dispersion measurement by second-harmonic heterodyne interferometry

Interferometers with long optical paths in air usually require knowledge and control of air dispersion. In addition, the measurements at several wavelengths and the dispersion properties of air allow errors caused by air turbulence to be compensated for. An innovative technique for air-dispersion measurement is described for long-baseline ground-based stellar interferometers. The technique combines second-harmonic interferometry and heterodyne detection to permit high-resolution measurement even for low optical powers. Experimental results show measurements of air dispersion in good agreement with the values predicted from the Edlén equation.     

Reaction of lithium dimethylcuprate with conformationally biased β-acyloxy enol esters - regio and stereocontrolled access to functionalized six-carbon chiral synthons

Alkyl 2-acyloxy α-D-erythro-hex-2-enopyranoside diesters, readily available from D-hexoses, are versatile intermediates fro the expeditious preparation of six-carbon chiral synthons containing alternating and/or consecutive C-methyl and hydroxyl groups.     

Autocorrelation d'un diffuseur depolarisant

The autocorrelation of a depolarizing diffuser illuminated successively by two linearly polarized beams of light is proportional to the cosine of the angle between the directions of polarization. The speckle pattern exhibits the same properties of correlation.     

The synthesis of a leukotriene with SRS-like activity

The synthesis and biological characteristics of an SRS-like leukotriene are described.     

A theoretical study of the difference in the behavior ofl- andd-alanine toward the two inverse forms of kaolinite

The adsorption ofl- andd-alanine on kaolinite is studied by means of the self-consistent field method, the field created by the crystal being simulated by that of 230 point charges, corresponding to two layers. The absolute structure we have adopted for kaolinite is that for whichthe ( ) trihedron is direct. Indeed, it has been shown that, owing to the nuclear weak interactions, this structure is more stable than the inverse structure. On the adopted structure, the l forms of the positive ion and of the zwitterion are more easily adsorbed than the d forms. The difference between the adsorption energies of thel andd forms are 0.14 and 0.04 kJ mol^–1 for the positive ion and the zwitterion, respectively. These differences are considerably larger than those arising from the weak interactions (ca. 10^–17 kJ mol^–1) so that the asymmetrical adsorption on kaolinite seems to be one of the causes of thel homochirality observed for the amino acids of proteins.