The influence of mobile phase demixion on thin-layer chromatographic enantioseparation of ibuprofen and naproxen

In our earlier article we presented the results of tracing the enantioseparation of the two test analytes (ibuprofen and naproxen) by means of video densitometry and scanning densitometry. In that way we demonstrated an excellent performance of this combined approach to the thin-layer chromatographic detection in the area of enantioseparation. In this paper we study an impact of the four different mobile phases on the enantioseparation of the scalemic mixtures of ibuprofen and naproxen on the silica gel layers impregnated with L-arginine as chiral selector. The main component of all the investigated mobile phases is 2-propanol. Mobile phase 1 consists of pure 2-propanol, while mobile phases 2-4 contain, respectively, ca. 0.66, 1.32, and 1.98 g/L of glacial acetic acid in 2-propanol. Acetic acid is used to protonate L-arginine, as the involved retention mechanism consists of the ion pair formation between L-arginine in the cationic form and the chiral 2-arylpropionic acids (2-APAs), ibuprofen and naproxen, in the anionic form. It is shown that in the absence of glacial acetic acid no enantioseparation can be obtained. Then with adding of 0.66 g/L glacial acetic acid partial enantioseparation of the naproxen and ibuprofen antimers is obtained, with a simultaneous effect of the mobile phase demixion. With the amount of acetic acid increasing, the effect of demixion becomes increasingly perceptible. In that case the displacement effect is observed (and mathematically modeled), which results in compressing of the antimer pairs by the second front of mobile phase. The obtained results allow a deeper insight into the mechanism of enantioseparation with the two test 2-APAs. A combined impact of the crystalline chirality of silica gel and the molecular chirality of L-arginine on the vertical and the horizontal enantioseparation of ibuprofen and naproxen is also discussed.     

Lower Bounds on the Lowest Spectral Gap of Singular Potential Hamiltonians

We analyze Schr?dinger operators whose potential is given by a singular interaction supported on a sub-manifold of the ambient space. Under the assumption that the operator has at least two eigenvalues below its essential spectrum we derive estimates on the lowest spectral gap. In the case where the sub-manifold is a finite curve in two dimensional Euclidean space the size of the gap depends only on the following parameters: the length, diameter and maximal curvature of the curve, a certain parameter measuring the injectivity of the curve embedding, and a compact sub-interval of the open, negative energy half-axis which contains the two lowest eigenvalues. Dedicated to Krešimir Veselić on the occasion of his 65^th birthday. Submitted: February 20, 2006; Accepted: May 8, 2006     

A novel method for the detection of plasma jet boundaries by exploring DNA damage

The coupled-channel optical method (CCOM) is implemented in this work to study the scattering of electron on rubidium atom at 20 eV. In order to provide a realistic calculation, the continuum effect of the scattering system is accounted by incorporate an ab initio optical potential into the CCOM calculation. The differential cross sections (DCS), as well as the reduced Stokes parameters of 5p excitation are reported and compared to the available experimental and theoretical data.     

Characteristics of dextrin adsorption by elemental sulfur

Characteristics of dextrin adsorption by elemental sulfur were investigated by the means of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy, total organic carbon (TOC) measurements, BET measurements as well as molecular dynamics simulation (MDS). Adsorption isotherms for dextrin adsorption by sulfur were compared to isotherms for dextrin adsorption by other hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces taken from the literature. The three-dimensional structure of dextrin was studied in detail and possible mechanisms of adsorption are discussed. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations provided further insight into the mechanism of dextrin adsorption by elemental sulfur.     

New approach to the determination phosphorothioate oligonucleotides by ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

This text presents a novel method for the separation and detection of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides with the use of ion pair ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry The research showed that hexafluoroisopropanol/triethylamine based mobile phases may be successfully used when liquid chromatography is coupled with such elemental detection. However, the concentration of both HFIP and TEA influences the final result. The lower concentration of HFIP, the lower the background in ICP-MS and the greater the sensitivity. The method applied for the analysis of serum samples was based on high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Utilization of this method allows determination of fifty times lower quantity of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides than in the case of quadrupole mass analyzer. Monitoring of ³¹P may be used to quantify these compounds at the level of 80 μg L⁻¹, while simultaneous determination of sulfur is very useful for qualitative analysis. Moreover, the results presented in this paper demonstrate the practical applicability of coupling LC with ICP-MS in determining phosphorothioate oligonucleotides and their metabolites in serum within 7 min with a very good sensitivity. The method was linear in the concentration range between 0.2 and 3 mg L⁻¹. The limit of detection was in the range of 0.07 and 0.13 mg L⁻¹. Accuracy varied with concentration, but was in the range of 3%.     

Molecular and electronic structures, infrared spectra, and vibrational assignment for ap and sc conformers of hexafluoro-iso-propanol

Comprehensive studies of the molecular structures, vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities of the antiperiplanar (ap) and synclinal (sc) conformers of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) have been performed by the density functional (B3LYP) method using the extended 6-311++G(df,pd) basis set. The detailed natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis has revealed the nature of the hyperconjugative interactions, which stabilize each conformer, in the gas phase. The mid-infrared spectra of HFIP in carbon tetrachloride solution were measured, and the experimental intensities of each conformer were obtained by the curve–resolution procedure. The relative abundance of the two conformers, calculated from the relative intensities, shows nearly equimolar ratio (N_sc/N_ap ≈ 1), in this solution. The DFT-predicted frequencies show very good agreement with the experimental data. The clear-cut vibrational assignment for each conformer is reported on the basis of the calculated potential energy distributions. Several controversies in an earlier assignment of HFIP have been elucidated.