Spironolactone and its Complexes with β-cyclodextrin: Modern NMR Characterization and Structural DFTB-SCC Calculations

In the present work, inclusion complexes of spironolactone (SP) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) in solid phase and aqueous solution were studied by solubility methods, NMR spectroscopy and thermal analysis. The results showed different kinds of complexations when freeze-drying and kneading methods were used. The freeze-drying product (1:1, SP:β-CD) showed lower degree of complexation and stability than the (1:2, SP:β-CD) compound obtained by kneading method. The spironolactone molecule was also studied by NMR spectroscopy at 400 MHz. The chemical shifts of all spironolactone atoms and their inclusion compounds were assigned. Extensive use of 1D and 2D NMR techniques, including ROESY experiment, allowed verifying the position of the spironolactone molecule inside the cyclodextrin cavity in both situations. In addition, DFTB-SCC quantum mechanical calculations of the inclusion compounds were performed. The predicted structural properties are in good agreement with ROESY NMR results.     

Gas chromatography-optical fiber detector for the speciation of aromatic hydrocarbons in confined areas

An analytical method, based on separation with gas chromatography (GC) and detection with optical fiber (OF), was used for the separation, detection and quantification of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p-xylene, m-xylene and o-xylene. The use of OF as a detector is based on the variations of the reflected optical power detected when the aromatic compounds eluted from the GC column are sorbed in a thin polymeric film on a single-mode OF. General figures of merit, such as the analytical time, analytical error and analytical performance of GC-OF were similar to those of the classical analytical methods, such as a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). However, the developed GC-OF method constitutes a much less expensive alternative for the speciation of aromatic hydrocarbons compounds, with high accuracy, and being most suitable for actual monitoring work on confined environments.     

Topological charge quantization via path integration: An application of the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation

Editorial note: The complete text of this paper, dedicated to Professor Asim O. Barut, will appear in the August 1993 issue ofFoundations of Physics.     

The symmetry aspects of quantum field theory in general relativity 1

Some proposed models for a quantum field theory in general relativity are briefly analyzed. Their main difficulties are a consequence of the initial choice of the group of symmetries of the (quantum) field equations. The necessity of selecting space-time isometries in a general covariant theory and the unphysical character of the Poincaré translations in a tangent plane theory are discussed. Starting from some basic requirements, a model is proposed in which the groups of symmetries are derived from the proper homogeneous groups of isometries of the minimal isometric local embedding spaces of space-times.This essay received an honorable mention (1977) from the Gravity Research Foundation-Ed.     

Evidence on the influence of fission channels on fission phenomena

Partial fission channel widths can be extracted from fission cross-section analysis only up to a rotation in the space of fission vectors. We propose to obtain a physically significant basis for fission vectors taking into account information from other fission characteristics such as the valley-to-peak ratio of the mass distribution and the number of prompt neutrons emitted per fission event. Fission widths and other channel characteristics are calculated for 0⁺ resonances in low energy neutron induced fission of ²³⁹Pu.     

Probabilities of muon induced nuclear reactions involving charged particle emission

The probabilities for the reactions (μ^?, p), (μ^?, pn), (μ^?, p2n), (μ^?, p3n) and (μ^?, α) were measured by activation experiments on 18 elements from Na to Bi. The results suggest the following systematics : (i) the probability W of each type of reaction depends on the atomic number of the target and can be described by W = aexp( -bV), where V is the Coulomb barrier of the compound nucleus for the ejected charged particle; (ii) the factor b is the same for all (μ^?, pxn) reactions and not very different for (μ^?, α) reactions; (iii) the relative probabilities for (μ^?, pxn) reactions for a given target vary as 1 :6 :4 :4 for x = 0, 1, 2, 3. The experimental results are compared with a theoretical estimate of the reaction probability and with the corresponding 14 MeV neutron induced reactions.     

A green function approach to the relaxation time of phonon assisted tunneling

Although many elegant formulations of the phonon assisted tunneling problem have been given, the calculation of the relaxation time itself always has been based on the “golden rule”, which requires the artifice of a fictitious static field. In this communication the relaxation time is given by means of linear response theory, unitary transformations and an application of the Bogoliubov inequality. The artifice of a static field is no longer required.     

Transformation of the free propagator to the quadratic propagator

A space and time transformation is found, which changes the classical action for a quadratic lagrangian into that for a free particle. It is shown that the propagator for a time-dependent damped oscillator can be obtained from the free propagator.