Ester derivatives of hexahomotrioxacalix[3]naphthalenes: conformational and binding properties with alkali metal cations

The syntheses of the triesters formed between ethyl bromoacetate and hexahomotrioxacalix[3]naphthalene 8, and its tert-butyl analogue 11, are described. Depending on the conditions employed, cone or partial cone conformers are produced. The conformations appear to have some influence on their complexation in neutral medium, with alkali metal cations. The X-ray structure of the partial cone triester 10 is presented.     

Ring-A hydroxylated dolastanes from the marine brown alga Dictyota dichotoma (Huds.) Lamour

Marine brown alga Dictyota dichotoma (Dictyotaceae) collected from Karachi coast of Arabian Sea yielded two new dolastane-diterpenoids named: dichototetraol (1) and dichotopentaol (3) along with 2 of the same skeleton as a new source. Their structures have been characterized with the aid of 2D-NMR spectroscopic techniques.     

Facile one‐pot method of initiator fixation for surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on carbon hard spheres

An efficient and novel one‐pot process is developed to immobilize the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators onto the surface of fully pyrolyzed carbon hard spheres (CHSs) via a radical trapping process from the in situ thermal decomposition of bis(bromomethylbenzoyl)peroxide. The CHSs do not require any additional preparative treatment prior to the initiator immobilization. Styrene and methyl methacrylate are polymerized onto initiator‐immobilized CHSs by surface‐initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization (SI‐ATRP). Samples are characterized using Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These methods of characterization confirmed that all the CHSs are coated with a uniform layer of grafted polymer. This efficient, one‐pot immobilization of ATRP‐initiators represents an exceptionally simple route for the rapid preparation of various polymer‐coated carbon‐based nanomaterials using SI‐ATRP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3314–3322     

Underwater femtosecond laser micromachining of thin nitinol tubes for medical coronary stent manufacture

Microprofiling of medical coronary stents has been dominated by the use of Nd:YAG lasers with pulse lengths in the range of a few milliseconds, and material removal is based on the melt ejection with a high-pressure gas. As a result, recast and heat-affected zones are produced, and various post-processing procedures are required to remove these defects. This paper reports a new approach of machining stents in submerged conditions using a 100-fs pulsed laser. A?comparison is given of dry and underwater femtosecond laser micromachining techniques of nickel–titanium alloy (nitinol) typically used as the material for coronary stents. The characteristics of laser interactions with the material have been studied. A femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser system (wavelength of 800?nm, pulse duration of 100?fs, repetition rate of 1?kHz) was used to perform the cutting process. It is observed that machining under a thin water film resulted in no presence of heat-affected zone, debris, spatter or recast with fine-cut surface quality. At the optimum parameters, the results obtained with dry cutting showed nearly the same cut surface quality as with cutting under water. However, debris and recast formation still appeared on the dry cut, which is based on material vaporization. Physical processes involved during the cutting process in a thin water film, i.e. bubble formation and shock waves, are discussed.     

MEKC determination of vanadium from mineral ore and crude petroleum oil samples using precapillary chelation with bis(salicylaldehyde)tetramethyl‐ethylenediimine

An analytical procedure has been developed for the separation of Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Fe(II), Pd(II), Th(IV), V(IV), and determination of Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and V(IV) by MEKC after chelation with bis(salicylaldehyde)tetramethylethylenediimine (H₂SA₂Ten). Uncoated fused silica capillary was used with an applied voltage of 30 kV with photo‐diode array detection at 228 nm. SDS was added as micellar medium at pH 8.2 with sodium tetraborate buffer (0.1 M). Linear calibrations were established within 0.015–1000 μg/mL of each element with LOD within 5–67 ng/mL. The method was applied for the determination of vanadium from crude oil and ore samples in the range 0.34–2.40 and 114.2–720.7 μg/g with RSD 1.7–3.8 and 0.98–2.30% (n = 3), respectively. Fe, Ni, and Co present in crude oil and ore samples were also determined with RSD 1.3–2.8, 1.1–4.1, and 1.2–3.5% (n = 3), respectively. The results were compared with that of supplier's specifications and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Method was evaluated by standard addition technique.     

Comparative study of spectroscopic techniques for the estimation of iron in apple and vegetables

Iron has been determined in apple and vegetables spectrophotometrically, by complexing it with xylenol orange. 1:1 complex formed in a highly acidic medium is measured for its absorbance at its λ_max of 585 nm. The results have been compared by employing atomic absorption technique. Apples and vegetable samples were collected from local markets of Pakistan. Statistical manipulations, t-test and F-test, were performed and it was found that the results from the two techniques have an excellent agreement.     

Wiener-Hopf equations technique for variational inequalities

In recent years, the theory of Wiener-Hopf equations has emerged as a novel and innovative technique for developing efficient and powerful numerical methods for solving variational inequalities and complementarity problems. In this paper, we provide an account of some of the fundamental aspects of the Wiener-Hopf equations with major emphasis on the formulation, computational algorithms, various generalizations and their applications. We also suggest some open problems for further research with sufficient information and references.     

The kinetics study of the reduction of Fast Green dye with cetylpyridinum chloride as cationic surfactant

The kinetics of the reaction of Fast Green dye (FG) with cetylpyridinum chloride was studied in alkaline medium by UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Reduction of Fast Green dye was carried out by varying the fast green dye concentration, cetylpyridinum chloride concentration and concentration of sodium hydroxide. In the present study the reduction of dye was carried out in order to reduce the color content. The interaction of dye was carried out with reducing analyte (cetylpyridinum chloride). The rate of the reaction was determined by varying the above parameters at different temperatures. It was observed that the reduction followed pseudo first-order kinetics with respect to dye, surfactant, OH⁻ ion concentration according to the following reaction pathway. The mechanism for the photo bleaching of the dye has been proposed and well confirmed by the data simulation procedure. The activation parameters of the reaction like entropy of activation (ΔS) and free energy of activation (ΔG) showed the extremely solvated states of transient complex which was less disorderly arranged than the oxidized form of dye, whereas E _a values reflects a high amount of energy required for the reduction of dye with cetylpyridinum chloride.