Novel poly(amide-imide)s from 2,6-bis(5-amino-1-naphthoxy) pyridine

Reaction of 5-amino-1-naphthol with 2,6-dichloropyridine resulted in preparation of 2,6-bis(5-amino-1-naphthoxy) pyridine (AN). This pyridine-based ether diamine was reacted with two moles of trimellitic anhydride (TMA) to synthesize related diimide-diacid (DIDA). Direct polycondensation reaction of DIDA with different diamines in the presence of triphenyl phosphite (TPP) afforded seven different poly(amide-imide)s. All the polymers were characterized and their physical and thermal properties were studied. The inherent viscosity of the polymers was about 0.44-0.50 dl g⁻¹ and they showed high thermal stability.     

Triterpenoid saponin from the bark of Guaiacum officinale L

A new triterpenoid saponin, guaianin R (1) was isolated from the n-BuOH extract of bark of Guaiacum officinale L. It was characterized as akebonic acid-3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside]-28-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-ester. The structure was established with the help of a comparative study of 1D and 2D 1H- 13C NMR methods. A number of other saponins were isolated and reported from the same species.     

Efficient and Selective Conversion of Trimethylsilyl and Tetrahydropyranyl Ethers to their Corresponding Acetates and Benzoates Catalyzed by Bismuth(III) Salts

 A variety of TMS and THP ethers are efficiently converted to their corresponding acetates and benzoates with acetic and benzoic anhydrides in the presence of catalytic amounts of Bi(III) salts such as BiCl₃, Bi(TFA)₃, and Bi(OTf)₃. The present method is also effective for the selective acetylation and benzoylation of TMS and THP ethers of alcohols in the presence of phenolic ethers.     

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopic method for the determination of zerumbone in human plasma and its application to pharmacokinetics

A rapid, sensitive, specific and selective LC-MS/MS method for the determination of zerumbone (ZER) in human plasma using 2,4-diamino-6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine (DMTZ) as an internal standard (IS) has been developed and validated. ZER was chromatographed on C8 column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 ml min(-1) . Quantitation was achieved using ESI+ interface, employing multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode at m/z 219 > 81 and 218 > 134 for ZER and IS, respectively. The calibration standards were linear over a range of 5-3000 ng ml(-1) (r(2)=0.9994) with an LLOQ of 5 ng ml(-1) (RSD %; 11.4% and bias%; 9.5%). Intra- and inter-day precision of ZER assay ranged from 0.18 to 3.56% with accuracy (bias) that varied between -5.09 and 4.3%, demonstrating good precision and accuracy. Recoveries of ZER and the IS from human plasma were above 85%. The developed method was validated for the determination of ZER in rat plasma. Linearity, stability of ZER and the ME on rat plasma were discussed. The applicability of the developed method was demonstrated by measuring ZER in rat plasma samples following intravenous and intraperitoneal administration of ZER prepared in hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), respectively, in 20 mg kg(-1) and this study indicated a clear significant difference (p<0.05) in pharmacokinetic parameters of ZER in ZER/HPβCD complex compared with ZER in CMC preparation.     

Solubilization of triphenylamine, triphenylphosphine, triphenylphosphineoxide and triphenylmethanol in single and binary surfactant systems

Solubilization and co-solubilization of triphenyls (TPs) viz., triphenylphosphine (TPP), triphenylphosphineoxide (TPPO), triphenylamine (TPA) and triphenylmethanol (TPM) were studied in various single and binary surfactant systems at 25 °C using UV-visible spectroscopy and HPLC. The solubilization capacities of different micelles towards TPs were found to be a function of the nature and structure of solubilizates, locus of solubilization, size of micelles and the nature of interactions between the solubilizate and micelles. The effect of surfactant mixing on the solubilization of TPs was evaluated using the Regular Solution Approach (RSA). The solubility enhancement of TPs within mixed micelles relative to that observed in single surfactant systems was explained in light of the structural micellar changes associated with the mixing of ionic and non-ionic surfactants. Moreover, kinetics of oxidation of TPP by hydrogen peroxide investigated in these surfactant systems was found to be sensitive to the nature of micelle and the locus of solubilization of TPP within the micelles.     

Application of factorial design and Box-Behnken matrix in the optimisation of a microwave-assisted extraction of essential oils from Salvia mirzayanii

Essential oil of Salvia mirzayanii cultivated in Iran was obtained by microwave assisted extraction (MAE) procedures. The essential oil was analysed by capillary gas chromatography using flame ionisation and mass spectrometric detections. The effects of different parameters, such as microwave power, temperature, time and type of solvent on the MAE of Salvia mirzayanii oil were investigated. Results of the two-level fractional factorial design (2(4-1)) based on an analysis of variance demonstrated that only the power, temperature and type of solvent were statistically significant. Optimal conditions for the extraction of essential oils were obtained by using Box-Behnken design. For optimum recovery of essential oil the variables power, temperature and solvent values were 115?W, 50°C and 14?s, respectively. Under the optimised experimental conditions, the extraction yield of microwave assisted extraction was 11.2% (w/w).     

Differentiation and quantification of xylene isomers by combining headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography and self-ion molecule reaction in an ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

A headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated fiber coupling with GC/self-ion molecule reaction (SIMR)/MS/MS (GC/SIMR/MS/MS) has been developed for the differentiation of o-, m-, and p-xylene isomers. The optimization parameters of this method are: extraction time 20 min, stirring rate 1200 rpm, sampling temperature 28 degrees C, and salt concentration 5%. The LODs were found to be in the range of 3-9 ng/mL under the SIM mode of GC/MS. The RSDs were below 1% (n=5). The linear dynamic range of the calibration curve was from 0.05 to 10.0 microg/mL with correlation coefficient (r2)>0.9089. The advantages of this technique are sensitive, selective, ease of operation, simple device, solvent free, and extremely little sample consumption. This technique is the first example using SIMR combined MS/MS applied in the GC/MS and it can be applied to other volatile compounds for future application.     

Antimicrobial polymers prepared by ROMP with unprecedented selectivity: a molecular construction kit approach

Synthetic Mimics of Antimicrobial Peptides (SMAMPs) imitate natural host-defense peptides, a vital component of the body's immune system. This work presents a molecular construction kit that allows the easy and versatile synthesis of a broad variety of facially amphiphilic oxanorbornene-derived monomers. Their ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and deprotection provide several series of SMAMPs. Using amphiphilicity, monomer feed ratio, and molecular weight as parameters, polymers with 533 times higher selectivitiy (selecitviy = hemolytic concentration/minimum inhibitory concentration) for bacteria over mammalian cells were discovered. Some of these polymers were 50 times more selective for Gram-positive over Gram-negative bacteria while other polymers surprisingly showed the opposite preference. This kind of "double selectivity" (bacteria over mammalian and one bacterial type over another) is unprecedented in other polymer systems and is attributed to the monomer's facial amphiphilicity.     

New heterobimetallic complexes containing copper(II) and a group IV metal

Summary Novel heterobimetallic chelates [Cu(en)₂Cl₂M₂Cl₄] (M = Si, Ge, Sn, Ti and Zr; en = ethylenediamine) and [Cu(en)₂Cl₂SnPh₄] prepared by reacting [Cu(en)₂]Cl₂ with group IV metal tetrachlorides and dichlorodiphenyltin(IV), respectively, were characterized by e.s.r., electronic and i.r. spectroscopy, elemental analysis and conductivity measurements. The e.s.r. spectral g-values indicate square planar geometry for [Cu(en)₂]Cl₂ and an octahedral environment for copper(II) in heterobimetallic complexes. Conductivity measurements show [Cu(en)₂]Cl₂ to be ionic and the heterobimetallic chelates to be covalent.     

Simultaneous determination of uranium and thorium in high grade thorium ores

A routine procedure has been developed for the simultaneous determination of uranium and thorium in high concentration thorium ores. INAA is used to determine the uranium and thorium concentration. However, for very low concentrations of uranium a radiochemical procedure based on the use of NPy/benzene as an extractant has to be employed. The precision and accuracy of the method has been determined by analyzing IAEA and NBL standard thorium/uranium ores.