Electrocatalytic Behavior of Glassy Carbon Electrodes Modified with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Cobalt Phthalocyanine for Selective Analysis of Dopamine in Presence of Ascorbic Acid

This work describes the development, electrochemical characterization and utilization of a cobalt phthalocyanine modified carbon nanotube electrode for the quantitative determination of dopamine in 0.2 mol L^?1 phosphate buffer contaminated with high concentration of ascorbic acid. The electrode surface was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy which showed a modified surface presenting a charge transfer resistance of 500 Ω, against the 16.46 kΩ value found for the bare glassy carbon surface. A pseudo rate constant value of 5.4×10^?4 cm s^?1 for dopamine oxidation was calculated. Voltammetric experiments showed a shift of the peak potential of DA oxidation to less positive value at 390 mV as compared with that of a bare GC electrode at 570 mV. The electrochemical determination of dopamine, in presence of ascorbic acid in concentrations up to 0.1 mol L^?1 by differential pulse voltammetry, yielded a detection limit as low as 2.56×10^?7 mol L^?1.     

Novel chiral calix[4]arenes by direct asymmetric epoxidation reaction

We report the first asymmetric synthesis of trans optically active (+) C 2 1,3-bisarylepoxide of calix[4]arene in excellent chemical yield and >99% ee, and its enantiospecific conversion to the corresponding bis-dioxolane.     

Colloidal CdS Fluorescence Quenching by MV2+ Under Continuous Irradiation

This paper describes the photochemical behavior of the colloidal CdS/MV2+/COP system in excess of Na2S. We determined the rate constants for all the reactions which take place in solution under continuos irradiation and put into evidence the following intermediates: the monomer radical MVradical+ which dimerizes in (MVradical+)2 radical and the double reduced form MV0 of methylviologen. By this continuos irradiation technique we showed that the same reactions which take place on CdS particle surface with ultra fast rates can undergo also in bulk, but with a much slower rates.     

Calculated optical and magnetic properties of hexafluorouranate (V) anion: UF- 6

Our ab initio all-electron Dirac-Fock and the corresponding nonrelativistic limit calculations performed at four U-F bond distances yield for octahedral UF(6) (-) the optimized U-F bond distance of 2.091 and 2.088 A, respectively. We have also performed Dirac scattered wave calculations at the optimized U-F bond distances using the first-order pertubational procedure to obtain the Zeeman and hyperfine magnetic tensors for the octahedral anion UF(6) (-). The calculated isotropic Zeeman tensor of Deltag=-2.87 is in fairly good agreement with the value of Deltag=-2.78+/-0.10 obtained in electron spin resonance experiments on the H(3)O(+)UF(6) (-) adduct and the unpaired electron-spin spends approximately 2.5% of its time on the fluorine 2p(3/2) spinors. The calculated relativistic transition energies of the near-IR and visible absorption bands are also in good agreement with the experimental results. The octahedral uranium hexafluoride anion has a simple crystal field f(1) configuration; however, relativistic four-component wave functions are necessary to interpret correctly the available magnetic data, while a relativistic treatment taking into account double group symmetrized basis functions should suffice for the interpretation of the optical data.     

Porous silicon-based optical biosensors and biochips

Porous silicon multilayered microstructures have unique optical and morphological properties that can be exploited in chemical and biological sensing. The large specific surface of nanostructured porous silicon can be chemically modified to link different molecular probes (DNA strands, enzymes, proteins and so on), which recognize the target analytes, in order to enhance the selectivity and specificity of the sensor device. We designed fabricated and characterized several photonic porous silicon-based structures, which were used in sensing some specific molecular interactions. The next step is the integration of the porous silicon-based optical transducer in biochip devices: at this aim, we have tested an innovative anodic bonding process between porous silicon and glass, and its compatibility with the biological probes.     

Variable strategy toward carbasugars and relatives. 4. Viable access to (4a-carbapentofuranosyl)amines, (5a-carbahexopyranosyl)amines,and amino acids thereof

A chiral, divergent synthesis of two carbafuranosylamines, 1 and 2, two carbapyranosylamines, 3 and 4, two carbafuranosylamino acids, 5 and 6, and two carbapyranosylamino acids, 7 and 8, has been achieved. Highlights of the procedure include the following: a diastereoselective crossed vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol coupling between N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-[(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy]pyrrole (TBSOP, 9) and 2,3-O-isopropylidene-D-glyceraldehyde (10) for the assembly of the target compound carbon backbone; a high-yielding silylative cycloaldolization that gives the cyclopentanoid and cyclohexanoid motifs; and a reductive or hydrolytic breakage of the lactam C(O)-N link to liberate the carbasugar and install the desired pseudo-anomeric amine and the hydroxymethyl or carboxyl functionalities. The sequences leading to trans-configured carbafuranosyl compounds 1 and 5 and carbapyranosyl compounds 3 and 7 were 12- and 13-step processes, with overall yields of 34%, 35%, 17%, and 16%. Cis-configured isomers 2, 4, 6, and 8 were obtained only in minor yields.