Alcohol determination using an acoustic wave sensor

An acoustic wave methodology was developed to quantify alcohols in aqueous solutions. The frequency at minimum impedance of a bare quartz crystal in contact with ethanol solutions was found to be a suitable parameter to quantify ethanol. Ethanol in several Portuguese white wines was analyzed both by the proposed methodology and by the usual areometric method with no statistically significant differences (alpha = 0.05) in precision or accuracy of the results.     

Capillary electrophoresis for short-chain organic acids and inorganic anions in different samples

This review article is a comprehensive survey of capillary electrophoresis methods developed for the measurement of short-chain organic acids and inorganic anions in a wide variety of matrices, such as food and beverages, environmental, industry, and other applications, as well as clinical applications in body fluids such as urine, plasma or cerebrospinal fluid. Details of sample pretreatment and of electrophoretic conditions have been collected in tables, arranged by the type of matrix. Strategies employed for method development for the analysis of these compounds by capillary electrophoresis in real samples are discussed.     

Alignment of carbon nanotubes under low magnetic fields through attachment of magnetic nanoparticles

The alignment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) has been accomplished through deposition of uniform layers of magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles (diameter = 6-10 nm) and use of an external magnetic field. The coating of CNTs with magnetic nanoparticles was performed by combining the polymer wrapping and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly techniques. The particle-coated MWNTs are superparamagnetic and can be aligned at room temperature on any substrate by deposition from an aqueous solution in an external field B = 0.2 T. The volume magnetization of the particle coated MWNTs is found to be enhanced by 17% compared to the pure particles in a powder indicating that either the adsorption process onto the CNTs changes the particle magnetization, or the MWNTs carry an intrinsic magnetization due to remaining Ni used as a catalyst for the growth process.     

Anionic platinum complexes with 2-pyridylphosphines as ligands for rhodium: synthesis of zwitterionic Pt-Rh organometallic compounds

Bimetallic zwitterionic platinum(II)-rhodium(I) complexes of the type [(C(6)F(5))(3)Pt(micro-PPy(n)Ph(3)(-)(n)Rh(CO)(2))] and [(C(6)F(5))(3)Pt(micro-PPy(n)Ph(3)(-)(n)())Rh(diene))] (n = 2, 3; Py = 2-pyridyl) have been prepared. The P end of the bridging ligands (micro-PPy(n)Ph(3)(-)(n)) is always coordinated to the Pt center, while the N-donor ends chelate the Rh atom, giving metallacycles comparable to pyrazolylborate-Rh complexes. These metallacycles can adopt two conformations, either with the Pt complex in pseudoaxial position approaching the Rh center or with the Pt complex in a remote position. The preferred conformation depends on the steric hindrance at the rhodium center. In less sterically demanding Rh-carbonyl complexes the Pt moiety gets close to the Rh moiety as this brings closer the opposite charges of the zwitterion. For diene complexes mixtures of conformers are obtained. The X-ray structures of [(C(6)F(5))(3)Pt(micro-PPhPy(2))Rh(COD)] (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) and [(C(6)F(5))(3)Pt(micro-PPhPy(2))Rh(CO)(2)] are reported.     

Extraction of nitrofurantoin and its toxic metabolite from urine by supercritical fluids. Quantitation by high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

A procedure is described for the determination of nitrofurantoin and its toxic metabolite in urine from patients with urinary infection using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and liquid chromatography. The standard solution of toxic metabolite (radical anion) was obtained by electrochemical reduction of nitrofurantoin in an aprotic medium and chemical reoxidation with oxygen. In our initial SFE studies to find the adequate extraction parameters, drug solutions were impregnated onto filter paper. Quantitative extractions were achieved when the experiments were carried out under 2500 psi of pressure at a temperature of 80 °C (oven and restrictor) after 20 min of static extraction and 5 min of dynamic extraction. The modifier used was acetonitrile (2.0 ml in a 10 ml extraction column). Nitrofurantoin and its toxic metabolite were detected in urine samples. Both compounds were quantified in the extracts by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection at 310 nm. The calibration graph of these compounds in acetonitrile was linear between 10.9 and 378.0 μM (R=0.9995) for nitrofurantoin and between 3.0×10⁻³ and 21.0 μM (R=0.9992) for the metabolite. The detection limits (LOD) were 12.1 and 0.9 μM, respectively. The drug was administered to two patients during 7 days, and all the urine eliminated between 1 day before and 2 days after administration was analyzed. One patient consumed the drug in the form of microcrystals and the other as macrocrystals.     

Substituent effects on scalar J(13C, 13C) couplings in pyrimidines. An experimental and DFT study

One- two- and three 13C, 13C (n = 1, 2, 3) scalar couplings, (n)J(C,C) in a set of pyrimidine derivatives were studied both experimentally at natural abundance and theoretically by their DFT calculation of all four contributions. Trends of non-contact terms are discussed and substituent effects are rationalized, comparing some of them with the corresponding values in benzene and pyridine. Although substituent effects on non-contact terms are relatively important, the whole trend is dominated by the Fermi contact term. According to the current literature, substituent effects on 1J(C,C) couplings in benzene derivatives are dominated by the inductive effect, which, apparently, is also the case in nitrogen heteroaromatic compounds. However, some differences observed in this work for substituent effects on 1J(C,C) couplings in pyrimidine derivatives suggest that in the latter type of compounds substituent effects can be affected by the orientation of the ring nitrogen lone pairs.     

Stereoselective synthesis of stannyl enones via palladium-catalyzed and free radical hydrostannation of alkynyl ketones with trineophyltin hydride

A study on the addition of trineophyltin hydride (1) to alkynones under free radical (AIBN and Et3B) and palladium-catalyzed [(PPh3)2PdCl2] conditions is reported. The results obtained indicate that the addition of 1 to eight ynones catalyzed by bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride led in all cases to addition products in very high yields (80-96%). These additions take place with excellent regio- and stereochemistry, leading to the alpha adducts as major products in seven out of the eight cases studied. Also the E adducts, resulting from a syn attack, were the only (seven cases) or the predominant (one case) products. The radical hydrostannations initiated by AIBN of ynones 2-5 with 1 led to addition products in good yields (60-88%); with the more hindered ketones 6 and 7-9 the yields obtained were lower. The radical additions initiated by triethylboron to ynones 2-6 follow a similar pattern but with lower yields; no addition products in the hydrostannation of ynones 7-9 were detected. The new acyl-substituted vinylstannanes, owing to their greater stability compared with that of their tributyl- and trimethylstannyl analogues, can be purified by column chromatography using neutral alumina (in all cases) or silica gel 60 (in most cases) as adsorbents. Full 1H, 13C, and 119Sn NMR data are given.     

New Anderson-Based Polyoxometalate Covalent Organic Frameworks as Electrodes for Energy Storage Boosted Through Keto-Enol Tautomerization

The unique electrochemical properties of polyoxometalates (POMs) render them ideal components for the fabrication of next-generation high-performance energy storage systems. However, their practical applications have been hindered by their high solubility in common electrolytes. This problem can be overcome by the effective hybridization of POMs with other materials. Here we present the design and synthesis of two novel polyoxometalate-covalent organic frameworks (POCOF) via one-pot solvothermal strategy between an amino-functionalized Anderson-type POM and a trialdehyde-based building unit. We show that structural and functional complexity can be enriched by adding hydroxyl groups in the 2,4,6 position to the benzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde allowing to exploit for the first time in POCOFs the keto-enol tautomerization as additional feature to impart greater chemical stability to the COFs and enhanced properties leading to large specific surface area (347 m²/g) and superior electrochemical performance of the POCOF-1 electrodes, when compared with POCOF-2 electrodes that possess only imine-type linkage and with pristine POM electrodes. Specifically, POCOF-1 electrodes display remarkable specific, areal, and volumetric capacitance (125 F/g, 248 mF/cm² and 41.9 mF/cm³, respectively) at a current density of 0.5 A/g, a maximum energy density (56.2 Wh/kg), a maximum power density (3.7 kW/kg) and an outstanding cyclability (90 % capacitance retention after 5000 cycles).     

Determination of iron in water samples by adsorptive stripping voltammetry with a bismuth film electrode in the presence of 1-(2-piridylazo)-2-naphthol

An adsorptive stripping voltammetry method for the determination of iron has been developed. The procedure is based on the adsorptive collection of a complex of iron with 1-(2-piridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) on a bismuth-coated glassy carbon electrode (BiFE). Factors affecting the stripping performance, such as pH, PAN concentration (C(PAN)), potential, accumulation time (E(ads), t(ads)), and interference by other ions were also studied. The optimum conditions were obtained in a 0.1 mol L(-1) acetate buffer at pH 4.0, C(PAN) 5.0 micromol L(-1), t(ads) 60 s, E(ads) -400 mV, pulse height 4.0 mV, pulse amplitude 25 mV, and frequency 15 Hz. The detection limit was found to be 0.1 microg L(-1) when a t(ads) of 60 s was used, and the linear range was from 0.4 to 60.0 microg L(-1). The proposed procedure was validated by determining of Fe(III) in CRM-MFD, QCS-19 and CRM-SW certified reference materials and applied in seawater samples with satisfactory results.