Synthesis of Ag nanoparticles for the electrochemical detection of anticancer drug flutamide

Ag nanoparticles were synthesized on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode modified with p‐tert‐butylcalix[4]arene and p‐tert‐butylcalix[6]arene by the deposition of Ag+at an open circuit potential ...     

Dielectric relaxation of polystyrene with side-chain- and chain-end-labels

Polystyrenes with different concentrations of side groups with cyano groups were prepared and complex dielectric constants were measured in the range of the glass transition temperature and the frequency range of 10^–2–10⁷ Hz.The GPC and DSC measurements showed that the molecular weight of these polystyrenes was about 10500 g/mole and the glass transition temperatures were 89.5°C for all samples.The dielectric relaxation spectra obtained for the side group polystyrene labels and also the chain-end polystyrene labels prepared before [9] were analyzed to find out the degree of coupling of the chain-end and side-group labels with the cooperative reorientation of the polymeric matrix. The analysis of the spectra was carried out using the analysis method developed by Mansour and Stoll [6].The results obtained showed that both end- and side-group labels are strongly coupled with the segmental reorientation and relax with relaxation times longer than that of the segments.The value of logf _m = (logf _m(label)) – logf _m(matrix)) was obtained from the recently designed comparison diagram suggested by Mansour and Stoll [6, 14]. The value of logf _m depends on the label length in the case of chain-end labels.It was surprising to find that the side groups relax slower than the segments by only 0.9 decades. These results obtained implied that the label relaxes through a multistep relaxation mechanism of the side and end groups and not through a diffusion mechanism of the whole chain. In addition, the effective lengths of the relaxing units were determined using the empirical equation obtained before in the case of rodlike molecules in polyisoprene [7].     

Dielectric relaxation of ball-like labels in polyisoprene

Ball-like molecules with strong dipoles (labels) were mixed with synthetic polyisoprene (IR305) in low concentrations (<1%) and measured dielectrically in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁷ Hz and the temperature range –70–0°C (glass relaxation region). Calorimetric measurements showed that this type of label has a plasticizing effect on the polymeric matrix. The dielectric measurements showed that these ball-like molecules relax through cooperative rotations with the polymeric segments and at the same relaxation frequency. In addition, the label molecules showed a high-frequency local relaxation process. The relaxation strength ratio of the local process (X _local) to the total relaxation strength of the label was found to be dependent on the volume as well as on the shape of the label. A comparison between the relaxation behaviors of the ball-and rod-like molecules, having the same volume, showed that the length of the label is also an important parameter for the determination of the local contribution as well as of the cooperative relaxation mechanism of the label. The label relaxation process is discussed in relation to the molecular packing of the host polymer.     

Multilinear gradient elution optimization in reversed-phase liquid chromatography based on logarithmic retention models: application to separation of a set of purines, pyrimidines and nucleosides

The analytical solutions of the fundamental equation of the multilinear gradient elution are derived in two cases, when the dependence of the logarithm of the solute retention (lnk) upon the volume fraction of organic modifier (φ) is a three-parameter logarithmic expression, and when a simple linear relationship between lnk and lnφ is adopted. The derived theoretical expressions for retention times under multilinear gradient conditions are embodied to simple algorithms for fitting gradient data and especially for resolution optimization. Their performance was examined by using a mixture of 16 model compounds chosen among purines, pyrimidine and nucleosides in eluting systems modified by acetonitrile. It was found that the accuracy of the predicted gradient retention times is very satisfactory even if the simple logarithmic expression for the retention behavior of solutes, i.e. the linear dependence of lnk upon lnφ, is used.     

Strength of interactions between immobilized dye molecules and sol-gel matrices

In this paper we present a new theory to re-examine the immobilization technique of dye doped sol-gel films, define the strength and types of possible bonds between the immobilized molecule and sol-gel glass, and show that the immobilized molecule is not free inside the pores as was previously thought. Immobilizing three different pH sensitive dyes with different size and functional groups inside the same sol-gel films revealed important information about the nature of the interaction between the doped molecule and the sol-gel matrix. The samples were characterized by means of ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mercury porosimetry (MP), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((29)Si NMR) and field-emission environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM-FEG). It was found that the doped molecule itself has a great effect on the strength and types of the bonds. A number of factors were identified, such as number and types of the functional groups, overall charge, size, pK(a) and number of the silanol groups which surround the immobilized molecule. These results were confirmed by the successful immobilization of bromocresol green (BCG) after a completely polymerized sol-gel was made. The sol-gel consisted of 50% tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and 50% methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) (w/w). Moreover, the effect of the immobilized molecule on the structure of the sol-gel was studied by means of a leaky waveguide (LW) mode for doped films made before and after polymerization of the sol-gel.     

Theoretical investigation into competing unimolecular reactions encountered in the pyrolysis of acetamide

Motivated by the necessity to understand the pyrolysis of alkylated amines, unimolecular decomposition of acetamide is investigated herein as a model compound. Standard heats of formation, entropies, and heat capacities, are calculated for all products and transition structures using several accurate theoretical levels. The potential energy surface is mapped out for all possible channels encountered in the pyrolysis of acetamide. The formation of acetamedic acid and 1-aminoethenol and their subsequent decomposition pathways are found to afford the two most energetically favored pathways. However, RRKM analysis shows that the fate of acetamedic acid and 1-aminoethenol at all temperatures and pressures is to reisomerize to the parent acetamide. 1-Aminoethenol, in particular, is predicted to be a long-lived species enabling its participation in bimolecular reactions that lead to the formation of the major experimental products. Results presented herein reflect the importance of bimolecular reactions involving acetamide and 1-aminoethenol in building a robust model for the pyrolysis of N-alkylated amides.     

Immobilization of Keggin and Preyssler tungsten heteropolyacids on various functionalized silica

The Keggin and Preyssler tungsten heteropolyacids, H3PW12O40 and H15P5W30O110, have been immobilized on the inner surface of mesoporous MCM-41, fume silica and silica-gel by means of chemical bonding to aminosilane groups. The materials were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, low-angle XRD and BET surface area analysis. The tendencies of heteropolyacids adsorption in solution on functionalized silicas have been investigated by UV-vis. Among the functionalized silica materials, MCM-41 showed the largest amine to silica and the least heteropolyacid to silica ratios. The BET surface area revealed that in all three cases the surface area decreased after grafting amine group and anchoring of the HPAs clusters. Low-angle XRD analysis showed that by introducing HPA into functionalized MCM-41 the intensity of the main reflection decreased significantly.     

Simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide and selected antidepressants using CZE

A simple CE method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide (CHL), amitriptyline, and nortriptyline (mixture I) or the determination of CHL and imipramine (mixture II) using the same BGE. Sertraline and amitriptyline were used as internal standards for the first and second mixtures, respectively. The method allows amitriptyline to be completely separated from its impurity and main metabolite nortriptyline, which can be quantified from 0.2 μg/mL. The separation was achieved using 20 mM potassium phosphate buffer pH 5 containing 12 mM β‐cyclodextrin and 1 mM carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. UV detection was performed at 200 nm and a voltage of 15 kV was applied on an uncoated fused‐silica capillary at 25°C. These experimental conditions allowed separation of the compounds to be obtained in 7 min. Calibration graphs proved the linearity up to 40 μg/mL for CHL, up to 100 μg/mL for amitriptyline and imipramine, and up to 5 μg/mL for nortriptyline. The accuracy and precision of the method have been determined by analyzing synthetic mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations. The analytical results were quite good in all cases indicating that the method was linear, sensitive, precise, accurate, and selective for both mixtures.     

A stereoselective synthesis of (+)-L-733,060 from ethyl (R)-(+)-2,3-epoxypropanoate

An asymmetric synthesis of neurokinin substance P receptor antagonist (+)-L-733,060 starting from enantiomerically pure ethyl (R)-(+)-2,3-epoxypropanoate (ethyl glycidate) is described. The synthesis relies on a diastereoselective reductive amination, regioselective intramolecular epoxide opening, and in situ cyclization as the key steps.