Potentiometric determination of boron in graphite microspheres for nuclear engineering

The well-known acidimetric determination of boron via the boric acid-mannitol complex is applied to the analysis of boron-loaded graphite microspheres used in nuclear engineering. After the sample is accurately ground, it is fused with an oxidizing alkaline flux. The melt is dissolved with warm water, the solution is acidified to completely remove carbon dioxide and the boric acid is titrated potentiometrically with carbonate-free sodium hydroxide after its complexing with mannitol.The determination of at least 0.2% boron in graphite is carried out with an average error of less than 1%.     

An NMR study of translational diffusion and structural anisotropy in magnetically alignable nonionic surfactant mesophases

The diffusion of both water and surfactant components in aqueous solutions of the nonionic surfactant "C12E6"--which includes hexagonal, cubic, lamellar, and micellar mesophases--has been studied by pulsed-field-gradient NMR. Diffusion coefficients were measured in unaligned samples in all of these phases. They were also obtained in the hexagonal and lamellar phases in oriented monodomain samples that were aligned by slow cooling from the micellar phase in an 11.7 T magnet. Measured water and soap diffusion coefficients in the NMR-isotropic cubic and (high-water-content) micellar phases as well as diffusion anisotropy measurements in the magnetically aligned hexagonal phase were quantitatively consistent with the constituent structures of these phases being identical surfactant cylinders, with only the fraction of surface-associated water varying with the water-soap molar ratio. The values of the water and soap diffusion coefficients in the oriented lamellar phase suggest an increase in defects and obstructions to soap diffusion as a function of increasing water content, while those in the low-water-content micellar phase rule out the presence of inverse micelles.     

Host–Guest Interaction Study of Resveratrol With Natural and Modified Cyclodextrins

The aim of this work is to increase the stability and water solubility of resveratrol by complexation with different cyclodextrins. Furthermore, physical–chemical properties of each inclusion compound were investigated. Complexes of resveratrol with cyclodextrins both native (α, β, γ) and modified (2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin) were obtained by using the suspension method. An inclusion complex with β-cyclodextrin was also prepared by using the microwave. Solid state characterization of the products was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (DRX); solution studies were performed by UV–Vis spectrophotometry and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. Phase solubility profiles with all cyclodextrins employed were classified as A_N type, indicating the formation of 1:1 stoichiometric inclusion complexes. Stability constants (K _c) from the phase solubility diagrams were calculated. Stability studies in the solid state and in solution were performed; the photodegradation by UV–Vis spectrophotometry was monitored. The isomerization rate trans to cis, in ethanol solution, decreased with inclusion. The dissolution studies revealed that resveratrol dissolution rate was improved by the formation of inclusion complexes.     

Thermal transitions in associating aqueous block copolymers: light scattering,rheology and spectroscopy

Solutions containing a polyoxy-ethylene/polyoxy-propylene/polyoxy-ethylene (PEO–PPO–PEO) block copolymer, indicated as F68, in water were investigated as a function of composition and temperature. Hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) line width, chemical shift, self-diffusion, spin-lattice relaxation times, laser light scattering and rheological methods were used. The monomer–micelle equilibrium and the micelle–liquid crystalline phase transitions depend on the F68 content in the mixture and temperature. Significant changes in light scattering intensity and apparent hydrodynamic radius are associated to micelle formation above the critical micellar temperature (CMT). According to a Contin analysis, this behaviour is reflected in the presence of two populations in the intensity–intensity autocorrelation functions. The contributions due to molecules and micelles can be evaluated separately. No such effects are observed below the CMT. Micelle onset is also associated to variations in ¹H NMR spectra, affecting the chemical shift, line width and spin-lattice relaxation time of the PPO methyl protons and self-diffusion, as well. Spin-lattice relaxation times of PEO chains, conversely, change significantly at temperatures close to the micelle–liquid crystalline thermal transition. Similar results were obtained from the line width of ²H NMR spectra as a function of T. Significant changes in both viscous and elastic modulus were also observed and ascribed to PPO dehydration, at the CMT, as well as to squeezing and dehydration of PEO units in liquid crystal formation, respectively.     

Synthesis, characterization and antioxidant activity of new copper(I) complexes of scorpionate and water soluble phosphane ligands

New copper(I) complexes have been synthesised from the reaction of CuCl with potassium hydrotris(4-bromo-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)borate, KTp4Br or lithium bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)acetate, Li[L2CO2] ligands and 4- or 2-(diphenylphosphane)benzoic acid or tris(m-sulfonatophenyl)posphine trisodium salt (TPPTS) coligands. The complexes obtained have been characterized by elemental analyses and FT-IR in the solid state, and by NMR (1H and 31P[1H]) and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in solution. Single crystal structural characterisation was undertaken for the [Cu[PPh2(4-C6H4COOH)](Tp4Br)] derivative, an interesting dimeric supramolecular assembly. A chemiluminescence study has demonstrated the superoxide scavenging activity of these new copper complexes. The Comet assay was used to evaluate the impairment of DNA in rat epithelial cells exposed to different reactive nitrogen species. In addition, the same complexes were included in this study to determine their efficacy as antioxidants in mitigating oxidative DNA damage. The parameter tail moment, used as an index of DNA damage, showed that the complex [Cu[PPh2(4-C6H4COOH)](Tp4Br)] remarkably inhibited DNA strand breaks induced by the different nitrogen oxide species. The other copper complexes under study showed a different ability to reduce tail moment values depending on the type of RNOS donor used.     

Ene-yne-ene and ene-yne-yne metathesis of norbornene derivatives

Norbornene derivatives 4 and 5 containing sidechains bearing an internal alkyne and either a terminal alkene or a terminal alkyne were found to undergo a cascade of metathesis reactions when treated with ruthenium based metathesis catalysts to form highly functionalised pentacyclic products. The reactions illustrate an interesting difference in reactivity between Grubbs’ catalyst and the second generation catalyst, with the former being more reactive for the early steps of the cascade.     

Chemical composition,cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and antifungal activity of several essential oils

Essential oils (EOs) are known and used for their biological, antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. Numerous studies have shown that EOs exhibit a large spectrum of biological activities in vitro. The incidence of drug-resistant pathogens and the toxicity of antibiotics have drawn attention to the antimicrobial activity of natural products, encouraging the development of alternative treatments. The aim of this study was to analyse the phytochemical and the cytotoxic characteristic of 36 EOs; we then evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the less-toxic EOs on Gram-positive, Gram-negative and fungi strains. The results showed low cytotoxicity in seven EOs and good activity against Gram-negative and Candida spp. strains. Based on our results, EOs could be proposed as a novel group of therapeutic agents. Further experiments are necessary to confirm their pharmacological effectiveness, and to determine potential toxic effects and the mechanism of their activity in in vivo models.     

X-ray structure of [ReCl4(mu-ox)Cu(pyim)2]: a new heterobimetallic Re(IV)Cu(II) ferrimagnetic chain

A new heterobimetallic Re(IV)Cu(II) compound has been prepared and its crystal structure determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction; magnetic susceptibility measurements show that this compound behaves as a ferrimagnetic chain with significant antiferromagnetic interactions between Re(IV) and Cu(II) metal ions.     

New fragmentation mechanisms in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry of carbohydrates

The spectra recorded by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS) of complex carbohydrates from human milk are presented. Besides ions originating from glycosidic cleavages and from sugar ring fragmentations, these spectra show intense peaks that may be assigned to ions produced by three new fragmentation pathways involving a six-atom rearrangement. These ions, together with the A fragments from sugar ring fragmentations, open the possibility of obtaining a complete mapping of the linkage positions present in the carbohydrates investigated by MALDI-TOF/TOF.     

Phase transitions in aqueous triblock copolymers: NMR relaxation studies

Longitudinal NMR relaxation times were used to investigate the thermal transitions occurring in an aqueous triblock copolymer of the poly(oxyethylene)–poly(oxypropylene)–poly(oxyethylene) family. In such a system molecule–micelle and micelle–liquid crystal transitions are observed, depending on temperature and composition. The longitudinal relaxation time, R ₁, significantly changes when the aforementioned phase transitions take place. In the case of molecule–micelle equilibrium, changes in R ₁ values of the methyl (and methynic) group signal, located in the lipophilic portion of block copolymers, are observed. The effect is ascribed to a significant dehydration of the poly(oxypropylene) chains, as a consequence of micelle formation. Conversely, the thermal transitions from micelles to liquid-crystalline phases are associated with significant changes in the relaxation time of poly(oxyethylene) units. The latter effect is tentatively ascribed to a partial dehydration and/or interdigitation of the poly(oxyethylene) moieties in the block copolymer.