Cyclodextrin Host‐Guest Recognition Approach for Simultaneous Quantification and Voltammetric Studies of Levodopa and Carbidopa in Pharmaceutical Products

An electrochemical sensor for simultaneous quantification of Levodopa (L‐dopa) and Carbidopa (C‐dopa) using a β‐cyclodextrin/poly(N‐acetylaniline) (β‐CD/PNAANI) modified carbon paste electrode has been developed. Preconcentrating effect of β‐CD as well as its different inclusion complex stability with L‐dopa and C‐dopa was used to construct an electrochemical sensor for quantification of these important analytes. The overlapping anodic peaks of L‐dopa and C‐dopa at 810 mV on bare carbon paste electrode resolved in two well‐defined voltammetric peaks at 450 and 880 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively, with a drastic enhancement of the anodic peak currents. Under optimized conditions, linear calibration curves were obtained in the ranges of 0.5–117 µM and 1.6–210 µM with detection limits down to 0.2 and 0.8 µM for L‐dopa and C‐dopa, respectively. The proposed electrode was successfully applied for the determination of L‐dopa /C‐dopa in pharmaceutical formulations and the results were in close agreement with the labeled values.     

Resolvent Operator and Self-Adjointness of Sturm–Liouville Operators with a Finite Number of Transmission Conditions

In this paper, we consider a Sturm–Liouville operator with eigenparameter-dependent boundary conditions and transmission conditions at a finite number of interior points. We introduce a Hilbert space formulation such that the problem under consideration can be interpreted as an eigenvalue problem for a suitable self-adjoint linear operator. We construct Green function of the problem and resolvent operator. We establish the self-adjointness of the discontinuous Sturm–Liouville operator.     

Sitting-atop complex formation of free base meso-tetraarylporphyrins with zirconium(IV) chloride

We have succeeded in the preparation and spectroscopic characterization of sitting-atop (SAT) complexes of meso-tetraarylporphyrins (H₂t(X)pp) with zirconium(IV) chloride under mild conditions and at room temperature, where two pyrrolenine nitrogens in the SAT complexes, [(H₂t(X)pp)ZrCl₄], coordinate to a zirconium atom and two protons still remain on the pyrrole nitrogens. UV–Vis and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectral data show that the porphyrin core of the SAT complexes is distorted and two pyrrolenine nitrogen atoms of the porphyrin act as electron donors to the zirconium atom of ZrCl₄.     

Efficient Synthesis of β‐Acetamido Ketones and Esters Using Aluminum Chloride as an Inexpensive and Green Catalyst

Aluminum chloride (AlCl₃) efficiently catalyzes one‐pot multicomponent condensation of enolizable ketones or alkyl acetoacetates with aldehydes, acetonitrile and acetyl chloride to afford β‐acetamido ketone or ester derivatives in high to excellent yields and in relatively short reaction times. Moreover, by this synthetic method, some novel β‐acetamido ketones and esters (i.e. one complex structure) are prepared.     

Spectrally resolved bioluminescence optical tomography

Spectrally resolved bioluminescence optical tomography is an approach to recover images of luciferase activity within a volume using multiwavelength emission data from internal bioluminescence sources. The underlying problem of uniqueness associated with nonspectrally resolved intensity-based bioluminescence tomography is highlighted. Reconstructed images of bioluminescence are presented by using as input both simulated and real multiwavelength data from a tissue-simulating phantom. The location of the internal bioluminescence is obtained with 1 mm accuracy. Further, the amplitude of the reconstructed source is proportional to the actual bioluminescence intensity.     

Nano-Graphene Layer from Facile,Scalable and Eco-Friendly Liquid Phase Exfoliation Strategy as Effective Barrier Layer for High-Performance and Durable Direct Liquid Alcohol Fuel Cells

Graphene, in spite of exceptional physio-chemical properties, still faces great limitations in its use and industrial scale-up as highly selective membranes (enhanced ratio of proton conductivity to fuel cross-over) in liquid alcohol fuel cells (LAFCs), due to complexity and high cost of prevailing production methods. To resolve these issues, a facile, low-cost and eco-friendly approach of liquid phase exfoliation (bath sonication) of graphite to obtain graphene and spray depositing the prepared graphene flakes, above anode catalyst layer (near the membrane in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA)) as barrier layer at different weight percentages relative to the base membrane Nafion 115 was utilized in this work. The 5 wt.% nano-graphene layer raises 1 M methanol/oxygen fuel cell power density by 38% to 91 mW·cm⁻², compared to standard membrane electrode assembly (MEA) performance of 63 mW·cm⁻², owing to less methanol crossover with mild decrease in proton conductivity, showing negligible voltage decays over 20 h of operation at 50 mA·cm⁻². Overall, this work opens three prominent favorable prospects: exploring the usage of nano-materials prepared by liquid phase exfoliation approach, their effective usage in ion-transport membrane region of MEA and enhancing fuel cell power performance.