Catalytic activity of aluminium and copper-doped magnetite in the high temperature shift reaction

Aluminium and copper-doped magnetite was evaluated as high temperature shift catalyst and compared with a hematite-based sample. The first one is less active but can save energy in industrial processes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study on the Liquid Phase Adsorption by Starchy Materials in the Alcohol-Water System

Improving adsorptive processes demands a constant search for new adsorbents. In the case of alcohol-water separation, zeolites are widely used. The use of new adsorbents as a substitute for zeolites, mainly starch, has been proposed recently. This work is a thermodynamic and kinetic study of liquid phase adsorption of water from methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol-water mixtures using starch as the adsorbent. The thermodynamic data were obtained by means of the static method at three different temperatures (25, 40 and 50°C), and were correlated by the Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic data were obtained in a finite liquid bath cell. The influence of temperature and molecular chain length of the alcohol on the capacity and adsorption rate were determined.     

Ticlopidine quantification in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Application to bioequivalence study

A rapid, sensitive and specific method to quantify ticlopidine in human plasma using clopidogrel as the internal standard (IS) is described. The analyte and the IS were extracted from acidified plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using diethyl ether-hexane (80 : 20, v/v). The extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). Chromatography was performed isocratically on a Jones Genesis C(8) 4 microm analytical column (150 x 4.1 mm i.d.). The method had a chromatographic run time of 3.0 min and a linear calibration curve over the range 1.0-1000 ng ml(-1) (r(2) > 0.999427). The limit of quantification was 1.0 ng ml(-1). This HPLC/MS/MS procedure was used to assess the bioequivalence of two ticlopidine 250 mg tablet formulations (ticlopidine test formulation from Apotex do Brasil, Brazil, and Ticlid from Sanofi-Synthelabo, standard reference formulation). A single 250 mg dose of each formulation was administered to healthy volunteers. The study was conducted using an open, randomized, two-period crossover design with a 2 week washout interval. Since the 90% confidence interval for C(max) and area under the curve ratios were all inside the 80-125% interval proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that ticlopidine formulation from Apotex do Brasil is bioequivalent to Ticlid formulation with respect to both the rate and the extent of absorption.     

Accuracy and precision in instrumental neutron activation analysis of reference materials and lake sediments

The k₀-standardization method applied in instrumental neutron activation analysis depends on experimental parameters such as the calibration of the detector and the metrology of the irradiation position. The related systematic errors are evaluated; Student's t-test is applied to results obtained for reference materials by the k₀-method. Precision is estimated for the reference materials and routine lake sediments by a method suggested by Minkkinen based on duplicate measurements.     

Neutron activation analysis of reference materials by the k0-standardization and relative methods

Instrumental neutron activation analysis with the k₀-standardization method was applied to eight geological, environmental and biological reference materials, including leaves, blood, fish, sediments, soil and limestone. To a first approximation, the results were normally distributed around the certified values with a standard deviation of 10%. Results obtained by using the relative method based on well characterized multi-element standards for IAEA CRM Soil-7 are reported.