Microwave drying of granules containing a moisture-sensitive drug: a promising alternative to fluid bed and hot air oven drying

The impact of microwave drying and binders (copolyvidone and povidone) on the degradation of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and physical properties of granules were compared with conventional drying methods. Moist granules containing ASA were prepared using a high shear granulator and dried with hot air oven, fluid bed or microwave (static or dynamic bed) dryers. Percent ASA degradation, size and size distribution, friability and flow properties of the granules were determined. Granules dried with the dynamic bed microwave dryer showed the least amount of ASA degradation, followed by fluid bed dryer, static bed microwave oven and hot air oven. The use of microwave drying with a static granular bed adversely affected ASA degradation and drying capability. Dynamic bed microwave dryer had the highest drying capability followed by fluid bed, static bed microwave dryer and conventional hot air oven. The intensity of microwave did not affect ASA degradation, size distribution, friability and flow properties of the granules. Mixing/agitating of granules during drying affected the granular physical properties studied. Copolyvidone resulted in lower amount of granular residual moisture content and ASA degradation on storage than povidone, especially for static bed microwave drying. In conclusion, microwave drying technology has been shown to be a promising alternative for drying granules containing a moisture-sensitive drug.     

Column selection and optimization for sulfur compound analyses by gas chromatography

The analysis of sulfur-containing compounds using fused silica capillary columns and the Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detector has been investigated. This combination of an inert chromatographic system and a high sensitivity, selective detector provides significant advantages for the analysis of low levels of sulfur compounds in complex matrices over existing techniques. Capillary columns coated with thick films (1–4 μm) of methyl silicone stationary phase permit separation of most sulfur containing compounds and, when used with sub-ambient column temperatures, these columns can be used for the separation of sulfur gases. The effects of stationary film thickness, column length, and internal diameter for the measurement of sulfur compounds in hydrocarbon matrices has been determined.     

Electronic structures of tetrahedral CrO 4 2− , VO 4 3− and TiCl4

The electronic structures of the tetrahedral systems CrO ₄ ^2– , VO ₄ ^3– and TiCl₄ are discussed on the basis of semiquantitative LCAO MO calculations.

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Zusammenfassung Die Elektronenstrukturen der Tetraedersysteme CrO ₄ ^2– , VO ₄ ^3– und TiCl₄ werden an Hand halbquantitativer LCAO-MO Rechnungen diskutiert.

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Résumé Discussion des structures électroniques des systèmes tétraédriques CrO ₄ ^2– , VO ₄ ^3– et TiCl₄ sur la base de calculs semi-quantitatifs LCAO MO.

     

A Bang-Bang representation for 3×3 embeddable stochastic matrices

Summary It is proved that a 3×3 embeddable stochastic matrix has a representation as a product of a finite number of elementary stochastic matrices, with only one off-diagonal element positive. In particular if the determinant is 1/2 then only 6 matrices are needed and a necessary and sufficient condition for embeddability in this case is given.     

Sensitive,automatic method for the determination of diazepam and its five metabolites in human oral fluid by online solid‐phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A novel and simple online solid‐phase extraction liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of diazepam and its five metabolites including nordazepam, oxazepam, temazepam, oxazepam glucuronide, and temazepam glucuronide in human oral fluid. Human oral fluid was obtained using the Salivette^® collection device, and 100 μL of oral fluid samples were loaded onto HySphere Resin GP cartridge for extraction. Analytes were separated on a Waters Xterra C18 column and quantified by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry using the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The whole procedure was automatic, and the total run time was 21 min. The limit of detection was in the range of 0.05–0.1 ng/mL for all analytes. The linearity ranged from 0.25 to 250 ng/mL for oxazepam, and 0.1 to 100 ng/mL for the other five analytes. Intraday and interday precision for all analytes was 0.6–12.8 and 1.0–9.2%, respectively. Accuracy ranged from 95.6 to 114.7%. Method recoveries were in the range of 65.1–80.8%. This method was fully automated, simple, and sensitive. Authentic oral fluid samples collected from two volunteers after consuming a single oral dose of 10 mg diazepam were analyzed to demonstrate the applicability of this method.     

Expedient synthesis of pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles: preparation of the core of yuremamine

Pyrrolo[1,2- a]indoles are conveniently prepared from tetrahydro-1,2-oxazines, which in turn are generated through the reaction of nitrones with 1,1-cyclopropanediesters. The synthetic route proves to be highly diastereoselective and provides access to the core of the recently discovered pyrrolo[1,2- a]indole natural product yuremamine.     

Limited configuration interaction calculation of the optical spectrum for the permanganate ion

A series of limited configuration interaction calculations based upon an extended basis set is presented for the permanganate ion. The configurations have been selected so that they describe initial and final states equally well, and the size of the expansion has been increased until a reasonable convergence in the results has been assured. Both singlet and triplet states have been treated. Electron density changes occurring at the so-called charge-transfer transitions have been studied, and relaxation turns out to play an important role. The agreement with experimental spectra is satisfactory.     

Resonant two-step photoionization of molecules: Effects of pulse sequence,pulse duration and delay time of two lasers on ionization probability and selectivity

Using rate equations the effect of different pulse sequences, pulse durations, and delay times of two lasers on ionization probability and selectivity in resonant two-step photoionization of molecules is investigated. The results demonstrate to what extent a given selectivity of the absorption or relaxation of the intermediate electronic, state is influenced by a special combination of these parameters.     

Photorefractive two-step recording in a piezoelectric La3Ga5SiO14 crystal doped with praseodymium

The first experimental verification to the authors' knowledge of efficient two-step recording in a photorefractive and piezoelectric crystal of La(3)Ga(5)SiO(14):Pr(3+) with cw laser light (I<20W/cm(2)) is reported. We found nonlinear behavior of the photorefractive sensitivity and photovoltaic current, indicating that the excitation process is connected to excitation of 4f(2) electrons of the Pr(3+) dopant through an intermediate level to the conduction band. This two-step nature of the photorefractive effect makes the crystal an exciting new candidate for applications in holographic storage.