Design and Application of a Set of Vitreous Standards for EDS-SEM Microanalysis of Melting Shop Slags

Non-metallic inclusions in steel are formed due to interactions between liquid steel and its environment in the melting shop (refractories and slags). Particles not trapped in the slag remain in the cast steel, impairing steel properties in service. Inclusion composition varies and certified standards covering the whole compositional range are unavailable.The present study describes the preparation of a set of homogeneous, glassy and crystalline standards with a wide compositional range for use in analysing non-metallic steel inclusions. For this, materials were designed based on knowledge of the compositional range of interest in the Al₂O₃–SiO₂–CaO–MgO–CaF₂ system, which is the matrix of the most frequent steel inclusions. The composition and microstructural homogeneity of the reference materials was verified.     

Determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk by slurry sampling hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A simple and fast analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi in milk samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). Samples were treated with aqua regia for 10 min in an ultrasound water bath and pre-reduced with KBr for total Se and Te determination or with KI and ascorbic acid for total As and Sb, the determination of Bi being possible in all with or without pre-reduction. Slurries of samples, in the presence of antifoam A, were treated with NaBH₄ in HCl medium to obtain the corresponding hydrides, and AFS measurements were processed in front of external calibrations prepared and measured in the same way as samples. Results obtained by the developed procedure compare well with those found after microwave-assisted complete digestion of samples. The proposed method is simple and fast, and only 1 ml of milk is needed. The values obtained for detection limit are 2.5, 1.6, 3, 6 and 7 ng l⁻¹ for As, Sb, Se, Te and Bi respectively in the diluted samples, with average relative standard deviation values of 3.8, 3.1, 1.9, 6.4 and 1.2% for three independent analysis of a series of commercially available samples of different origin. Data found in Spanish market samples varied from 3.2±0.3 to 11.3±0.2 ng g⁻¹ As, from 3.1±0.2 to 11.6±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Sb, from 10.7±0.5 to 25.5±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Se, from 0.9±0.2 to 9.4±0.6 ng g⁻¹ Te and from 11.5±0.1 to 27.7±0.4 ng g⁻¹ Bi.     

Thermolytic carbonates for potential 5'-hydroxyl protection of deoxyribonucleosides

Thermolytic groups structurally related to well-studied heat-sensitive phosphate/thiophosphate protecting groups have been evaluated for 5'-hydroxyl protection of deoxyribonucleosides as carbonates and for potential use in solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis. The spatial arrangement of selected functional groups forming an asymmetric nucleosidic 5'-O-carbonic acid ester has been designed to enable heat-induced cyclodecarbonation reactions, which would result in the release of carbon dioxide and the generation of a nucleosidic 5'-hydroxyl group. The nucleosidic 5'-O-carbonates 3-8, 10-15, and 19-21 were prepared and were isolated in yields ranging from 45 to 83%. Thermolytic deprotection of these carbonates is preferably performed in aqueous organic solvent at 90 degrees C under near neutral conditions. The rates of carbonate deprotection are dependent on the nucleophilicity of the functional group involved in the postulated cyclodecarbonation reaction and on solvent polarity. Deprotection kinetics increase according to the following order: 4 < 5 < 10 < 6 < 12 < 7 < 13 < 8 < 14 congruent with 19-21 and CCl4 < dioxane < MeCN < t-BuOH < MeCN:phosphate buffer (3:1 v/v, pH 7.0) < EtOH:phosphate buffer (1:1 v/v, pH 7.0). Complete thermolytic deprotection of carbonates 7, 8, 13, and 14 is achieved within 20 min to 2 h under optimal conditions in phosphate buffer-MeCN. The 2-(2-pyridyl)amino-1-phenylethyl and 2-[N-methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)]aminoethyl groups are particularly promising for 5'-hydroxyl protection of deoxyribonucleosides as thermolytic carbonates.     

Palladium-catalyzed cascade reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones with aryl iodides

Unlike traditionally used acyclic 1,2-disubstituted alkenes, the reaction of alpha,beta-unsaturated phenyl sulfones with aryl iodides under Heck reaction conditions (Pd(OAc)(2) as catalyst, Ag(2)CO(3) as base in DMF at 120 (0)C) takes place mainly by a cascade process, involving one unit of the alkene and three units of the aryl iodide, to afford a substituted 9-phenylsulfonyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene. The dominant formation of this 3:1 coupling product, instead of the Heck trisubstituted olefin, shows that aromatic C-H bond activation processes can compete with the usually fast syn beta-hydrogen elimination step in the Heck arylation of an acyclic olefin. The structural scope of this palladium-catalyzed cascade arylation of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones has proved to be wide with regard to substitution at the beta-position (alkyl, aryl, or alkenyl substitution), substitution at the sulfone unit (alkyl or phenyl sulfones), and configuration at the CdoublebondC bond (trans or cis). Moreover, although less favored than in the case of the arylation of alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones, similarly substituted 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes have also been obtained in the case of alpha,beta-unsaturated phosphine oxides and alpha,beta-unsaturated phosphonate esters. A Pd(0)-Pd(II)-Pd(IV) mechanistic pathway involving the successive formation of highly electrophilic sigma-alkylpalladium intermediates and palladacycles is proposed for this multicomponent arylation.     

Transition metal-mediated intramolecular [2+2+2] cycloisomerizations of cyclic triynes and enediynes

[reaction: see text] Nitrogen-containing 15-membered triacetylenic macrocycles known as 1,6,11-tris(arylsulfonyl)-1,6,11-triazacyclopentadeca-3,8,13-triynes (1) and enediynic macrocycles called 1,6,11-tris(arylsulfonyl)-1,6,11-triazacyclopentadeca-3-ene-8,13-diynes (4 and 5) were satisfactorily prepared. [2+2+2] cycloisomerization processes catalyzed by transition metals were tested in the above-mentioned macrocycles. Readily available and familiar cyclotrimerization precatalysts were examined for efficiency. Among them, the RhCl(CO)(PPh(3))(2) complex was found to catalyze the cycloisomerization reaction giving the desired cycloadducts in high yields.     

DFT and NMR parameterized conformation of valeranone

A Monte Carlo random search using molecular mechanics, followed by geometry optimization of each minimum energy structure employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G* level and a Boltzmann analysis of the total energies, generated accurate molecular models which describe the conformational behavior of the antispasmodic bicyclic sesquiterpene valeranone (1). The theoretical H-C-C-H dihedral angles gave the corresponding 1H, 1H vicinal coupling constants using a generalized Karplus-type equation. In turn, the 3J(H,H) values were used as initial input data for the spectral simulation of 1, which after iteration provided an excellent correlation with the experimental 1H NMR spectrum. The calculated 3J(H,H) values closely predicted the experimental values, excepting the coupling constant between the axial hydrogen alpha to the carbonyl group and the equatorial hydrogen beta to the carbonyl group (J(2beta, 3beta)). The difference is explained in terms of the electron density distribution found in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of 1. The simulated spectrum, together with 2D NMR experiments, allowed the total assignment of the 1H and 13C NMR spectra of 1.     

Determination of vitamin C and preservatives in beverages by conventional capillary electrophoresis and microchip electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

The separation and detection of commonly used preservatives (benzoate, sorbate) and vitamin C by both conventional CE and microchip electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection is presented. The separation was optimized by adjusting the pH-value of the buffer and the use of hydroxypropyl-beta-CD (HP-beta-CD) and CTAB as additives. For conventional CE, optimal separation conditions were achieved in a histidine/tartrate buffer at pH 6.5, containing 0.025% HP-beta-CD and 0.1 mM CTAB. LOD ranged from 0.5 to 3 mg/L (S/N = 3) and the RSDs for migration time and peak area were less than 0.1 and 2%, respectively. A considerable reduction of analysis time can be accomplished by using microchip electrophoresis without significant loss in sensitivity under optimal separation conditions. A histidine/tartrate buffer at pH 6.5, incorporating 0.06% HP-beta-CD and 0.25 mM CTAB, gave detection limits ranging between 3 and 10 mg/L and satisfactory reproducibilities of < or =0.4% for the migration time and < or =3.5% for the peak area. The methods developed are useful for the quantitative determination of food additives in real samples such as soft drinks and vitamin C tablets.     

Chemoselective hydrogenation catalysts: Pt on mesostructured CeO2 nanoparticles embedded within ultrathin layers of SiO2 binder

Pt on mesostructured CeO(2) nanoparticles embedded within ultrathin layers of highly structured SiO(2) binder shows highest activity reported with 80% selectivity for the chemoselective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde. Characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), CO adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show the presence of small Pt metal particles, preferentially located on CeO(2) (70%) together with the formation of Pt-CeO(2-x) sites at the interface between Pt and CeO(2) (4 nm) nanoparticles. These sites are able to polarize the carbonyl group and facilitate the selective hydrogenation of this with respect to the double bond.     

Determination of Phenolic Compounds Based on Co‐Immobilization of Methylene Blue and HRP on Multi‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes

This work evaluated an amperometric biosensor based on multi‐wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), chemically modified with methylene blue (Met) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP), for detection of phenolic compounds. The dependences of the biosensor response due to the enzyme immobilization procedure, HRP amounts, pH and working potential were investigated. The amperometric response for catechol using the proposed biosensor showed a very wide linear response range (1 to 150 μmol L^?1), good sensitivity (50 nA cm^?2 μmol^?1 L), excellent operational stability (after 300 determinations the response remained at 97%) and very good storage stability (lifetime>3 months). Based on all these characteristics, it is possible to affirm that the material is promising for phenol detection due to its good electrochemical response and enzyme stabilization. The biosensor response for various phenolic compounds was investigated.     

Determination of drug-cyclodextrin binding constants by capillary zone electrophoresis

Binding constants of the optical isomers of Deprenyl® (selegiline) and its potential metabolites with (2,6-di-O-methyl)--cyclodextrin were determined using electrophoretic mobility data gained from separations performed by capillary electrophoresis, and absorbancies obtained from spectrophotometric experiments. To calculate equilibrium constants l: l complex formation have been assumed. The comparison of the equilibrium constants calculated from different methods shows similar values in their order of magnitude. Their difference may probably be explained by the different media of the measurements. The effect of the structure of compounds on chiral discrimination were also elucidated.