Simultaneous determination of sweeteners and preservatives in preserved fruits by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

A micellar electrokinetic capillary method for the simultaneous determination of the sweeteners dulcin, aspartame, saccharin, and acesulfame-K and the preservatives sorbic acid; benzoic acid; sodium dehydroacetate; and methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, isopropyl-, butyl-, and isobutyl-p-hydroxybenzoate in preserved fruits is developed. These additives are ion-paired and extracted using sonication followed by solid-phase extraction from the sample. Separation is achieved using a 57-cm fused-silica capillary with a buffer comprised of 0.05 M sodium deoxycholate, 0.02 M borate-phosphate buffer (pH 8.6), and 5% acetonitrile, and the wavelength for detection is 214 nm. The average recovery rate for all sweeteners and preservatives is approximately 90% with good reproducibility, and the detection limits range from 10 to 25 microg/g. Fifty preserved fruit samples are analyzed for the content of sweeteners and preservatives. The sweeteners found in 28 samples was aspartame (0.17-11.59 g/kg) or saccharin (0.09-5.64 g/kg). Benzoic acid (0.02-1.72 g/kg) and sorbic acid (0.27-1.15 g/kg) were found as preservatives in 29 samples.     

Development of biodegradable co-poly( -lactic/glycolic acid) microspheres for the controlled release of 5-FU by the spray drying method

The water-soluble anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-fluoro-2,4-pyrimidinedione) (5-FU) is encapsulated into biodegradable co-poly ( -lactic/glycolic acid) (PLGA) using the spray drying method for the development of long-lasting controlled release systems. In this study, the effects of both polymeric composition and technological parameters on release profiles of 5-FU were investigated. The degradation of various microspheres was also investigated. The mixture of dichloromethane/chloroform/methanol (1:1:2 v/v) instead of dichloromethane/chloroform (1:1 v/v) resulted in the modification of morphology, while the physical structure of the microsphere varied from a porous PLGA microsphere to a dense PLGA microsphere. The results show that the average diameter was 2 μm and the anti-cancer drug loading of microspheres approached approximately 8% (w/w). In addition, the lactide/glycolide ratio of the polymer is an important parameter for controlling the release profile of the entrapped anticancer drug. Our results indicate that the mixture solvent using the spray drying method was more efficient than emulsification solvent diffusion.     

Structures and Mössbauer spectra of phosphido-bridged heterobimetallic complexes CpFe(CO)2(μ-PPh2)W(CO)5 and CpFe(CO)(μ-CO)(μ-PPh2)W(CO)4

Structures of non metal-metal bonded phosphido-bridged heterobimetallic complexes, including CpFe(CO)₂(μ-PPh₂)W(CO)₅ (1-W) and metal-metal bonded CpFe(CO)(μ-CO)(μ-PPh₂)W(CO)₄ (2), were determined by a single crystal X-ray diffraction study. In 1-W, the long distance between Fe and W indicates no metal-metal bond to exist. In 2, a Fe---W bond with bond length 2.851 Å and a semibridging carbonyl with W---C---O angle 153° were observed. Mössbauer spectra of 1-W and 2 were taken at 77 K. Isomer shifts of 1-W and 2 were − 0.0203 mm s⁻¹ and 0. 1917 mm s⁻¹ respectively.     

Hydrocarbon Formation in the Catalytic Conversion of Methanol Over Zeolite ZSM-5

The reaction mechanism of methanol conversion to hydrocarbons on HZSM-5 zeolite was studied. From the selectivity plots of products in an integral fixed-bed flow reactor, paraffins were classified as primary and secondary stable products, light olefins as primary unstable products, aromatics as primary and secondary unstable or stable products. The results of the ¹⁴C-labelled methanol reaction indicated that the C₁–C₅ surface intermediates generated by dimethyl ether / methanol equilibrium gave paraffins and olefins at 300°C. The concentration of intermediates and adsorbed methanol on ZSM-5 decreased with increasing temperature. The distribution of radioactivity showed that propylene played an important role in the autocatalysis of the reaction.     

Growth mechanism of gold nanoparticles decorated on polystyrene spheres via self-regulated reduction

Uniform polystyrene (PS) microspheres prepared for deposition of metallic nanoparticles were synthesized using the surfactant-free emulsion polymerization based on styrene/potassium persulfate/water (St/KPS/H₂O) system. Owing to the presence of sulfate groups, the PS microspheres can be utilized to reduce gold nanoparticles without adding extra reducing agent into the mixture. The synthesis and characterization of metal-polystyrene nanocomposites are reported, and a possible reduction mechanism is proposed: by heating the aqueous solution in the presence of metal ions and PS, the sulfate chain end groups of the PS hydrolyzed and transformed to hydroxyl groups firstly. The hydroxyl groups function as a reducing agent, and carboxylic groups provide a site to adsorb the gold nuclei. The Au nanoparticles grow in size with the coalescence and dissolving of nuclei through the Ostwald ripening process. The PS microspheres and Au nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray power diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analysis.     

Immobilization of Tyrosinase on Chitosan — An Optimal Approach to Enhance the Productivity of L‐DOPA from L‐Tyrosine

Tyrosinase was immobilized on Chitosan (CTS) beads to produce 3,4‐dihydroxy‐L‐phenylalanine (L ‐DOPA) from L ‐tyrosine. Epichlorohydrin (ECH), ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE), and glutaraldehyde (GLU) were used as coupling agents, respectively. Ultraviolet/visible measurements on CTS films showed that the reaction intermediate (L ‐dopaquinone) attacked the amino groups on CTS, so the amine residues on chitosan were capped by acetic acid anhydride (Ac) or formaldehyde (Fm) to avoid the deactivation of the immobilized tyrosinase. The pH and temperature of the maximal rate to produce L‐DOPA were investigated. GLU (coupling agent) and Ac (capping agent) were selected for practical utility. A 7.5% (w/v) concentration of GLU was found to attain maximal activity of the immobilized enzyme. The thermal stability of tyrosinase immobilized on CTS‐GLU‐Ac, and after treatment with sodium borohydride, was enhanced to a great extent. The L ‐DOPA converting efficiency in the environmental conditions of this study decreased from 45.1% to 39.9% (between 1^st and 30^th batch). This immobilized tyrosinase can be used practically in the production of L‐DOPA from L‐tyrosine.     

Syntheses of 2,4′-and 3,4′-Bipyridines Via Lithium Halogen Exchange of Bromopyridines and Addition to N-Ethoxycarbonylpyridinium Chloride in the Presence of Cul

2,4′-Bipyridines 4a, 4c, 4d and 3,4′-bipyridines 4b, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h are obtained in modest yield by the addition of organocuprate reagents derived from bromopyridines 2a-h to N-ethoxycarbonylpyridinium chloride 1 followed by air oxidation.     

A necessary and sufficient condition for the star decomposition of complete graphs

In this paper we prove the following result. Let m₁ ≥ m₂ ≥ … ≥ m₁ be nonnegative integers. A necessary and sufficient condition for the complete graph K_n to be decomposed into stars S_m1, S_m2, …, S_m1 is . © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Modelling transportation and transformation of nitrogen compounds at different influent concentrations in sewer pipe

A mathematical model was established to describe the transportation and transformation of nitrogen compounds in the sewer pipe. In order to verify the consistency between the experimental data and model simulation data, four runs of experiments were carried out in a 21 m long, 0.15 m diameter model sewer. The results showed a good consistency between the experimental and simulation values (all correlation coefficients >0.81). According to the good consistency, it was proved that the attached heterotrophic biofilm on the sewer bottom played a dominant role on degradation of compounds in the system. Readily biodegradable substrate (S_S) decreased with the test time due to aerobic and anoxic growth of heterotrophs. Ammonia and ammonium nitrogen (S_NH) increased with the test time. But nitrate and nitrite nitrogen (S_NO) and soluble organic nitrogen (S_ND) decreased. Dissolved oxygen (S_O) declined due to the microbial consumption and subsequently increased due to reaeration, forming a sag curve. Furthermore, the transformation pathways of different compounds were identified in this study.