Fluorination of 2-alkyl-substituted oxanes. The synthesis and purification of perfluoro(2-alkyl-substituted oxane)s

Five kinds of 2-alkyl-substituted oxanes like 2-ethyloxane, 2-n-propyloxane, 2-iso-propyloxane, 2-n-butyloxane and 2-n-amyloxane were fluorinated electrochemically to give the corresponding perfluoro(2-alkyloxane)s. The perfluoro(2-alkyloxane)s were obtained in good yields from these starting materials together with isomeric perfluoro(2-alkyloxolane)s, perfluoro(2-alkyl-5-methyloxolane)s and perfluoro(dialkyl ether)s. The purification of the perfluoro(2-alkyloxane)s which contained small amounts of isomeric perfluoro(2-alkyloxolane)s was successfully achieved by recovering the former unreacted after treating these mixture with anhydrous aluminum chloride at 150 /sR 160 °C during /sR 48 hrs in order to convert the latter into the easy-separable perfluoro(2,5,5- trichloro-2-alkyloxolane)s. Small quantities of new perfluoro(5,5-dichloroalkanoyl chloride)s were also among the chlorination products. The spectroscopic data as well as the physical properties of these new fluorination products, and perfluoro(2,5,5-trichloro-2-alkyloxolane)s and perfluoro(5,5-dichloroalkanoyl chloride)s are presented.     

Rapid PCR in a continuous flow device

Continuous flow polymerase chain reaction (CFPCR) devices are compact reactors suitable for microfabrication and the rapid amplification of target DNAs. For a given reactor design, the amplification time can be reduced simply by increasing the flow velocity through the isothermal zones of the device; for flow velocities near the design value, the PCR cocktail reaches thermal equilibrium at each zone quickly, so that near ideal temperature profiles can be obtained. However, at high flow velocities there are penalties of an increased pressure drop and a reduced residence time in each temperature zone for the DNA/reagent mixture, that potentially affect amplification efficiency. This study was carried out to evaluate the thermal and biochemical effects of high flow velocities in a spiral, 20 cycle CFPCR device. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to determine the steady-state temperature distribution along the micro-channel and the temperature of the DNA/reagent mixture in each temperature zone as a function of linear velocity. The critical transition was between the denaturation (95 degrees C) and renaturation (55 degrees C-68 degrees C) zones; above 6 mm s(-1) the fluid in a passively-cooled channel could not be reduced to the desired temperature and the duration of the temperature transition between zones increased with increased velocity. The amplification performance of the CFPCR as a function of linear velocity was assessed using 500 and 997 base pair (bp) fragments from lambda-DNA. Amplifications at velocities ranging from 1 mm s(-1) to 20 mm s(-1) were investigated. The 500 bp fragment could be observed in a total reaction time of 1.7 min (5.2 s cycle(-1)) and the 997 bp fragment could be detected in 3.2 min (9.7 s cycle(-1)). The longer amplification time required for detection of the 997 bp fragment was due to the device being operated at its enzyme kinetic limit (i.e., Taq polymerase deoxynucleotide incorporation rate).     

The behaviour of dyes at oil/water interfaces

Summary The adsorption of ionic dyes, the builder effect, and the interaction between ionic dyes and surface active agents were investigated by using the electrocapillarity at oil/water interfaces. The oil phase was the solution of tetra-butylammonium chloride, sodium cetylsulphate, cetylpyridinium chloride or stearylamine in methylisobutylketone, and the water phase contained various dyes in addition to the inorganic electrolyte. The interfacial tension decreased over the anodic (or cathodic) polarization range, when anionic (or cationic) dyes were added to the water phase, thus indicating the dye adsorption at the interface. The interfacial excess of dye ions was found to increase linearly with the cubic roots of dye concentration and of ionic strength of the water phase. The counterion binding took place at the oil/water interface between anionic (or cationic) dyes and positive (or negative) head groups of surface active agent ions adsorbed at the interface. It was found that the equilibrium constants of binding between anionic dyes and cationic surface active agents at the oil/water interface were of the same order of magnitude as, and a little larger than, those obtained at the water bulk phase.

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Zusammenfassung An Öl-Wasser-Grenzflächen wurde die Adsorption ionischer Farbstoffe, die Füllerwirkung und die Wechselwirkung zwischen ionischen Farbstoffen und grenzflächenaktiven Verbindungen mit Hilfe der Elektrokapillarität untersucht. Die Ölphase bestand aus einer Lösung von Tetrabutylammoniumchlorid, Natriumcetylsulfat und Cetylpyridiniumchlorid oder Stearylamin in Methylisobutylketon. Die wässerige Phase enthielt verschiedene Farbstoffe und anorganische Elektrolyte. Die Grenzflächenspannung wurde durch anodische (bzw. kathodische) Polarisation erniedrigt, wenn anionischer (bzw. kationischer) Farbstoff zur Wasserphase gegeben wurde. Dies zeigt an, daß Farbstoff an der Grenzfläche adsorbiert wird. Die Grenzflächenkonzentration des Farbstoffions nimmt linear mit der Kubikwurzel der Farbstoffkonzentration und mit der Ionenstärke zu. Als Gegenionen für die anionischen (bzw. kationischen) Farbstoffe an der Grenzfläche wirken die positiven (bzw. negativen) Endgruppen der Tenside, die ebenfalls in der Grenzschicht adsorbiert sind. Die Gleichgewichtskonstanten für die Wechselwirkung zwischen den ionischen Farbstoffen und den grenzflächenaktiven Verbindungen sind an der Öl-Wasser-Grenzfläche von der gleichen Größenordnung bzw. geringfügig größer als in der wässerigen Volumenphase.

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With 12 figures and 2 tables     

Hydrogenation of benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde in compressed CO2 medium with a Pt/C catalyst: a study on molecular interactions and pressure effects

The hydrogenation of benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde has been studied with a 5% Pt/C catalyst in compressed CO(2). The effect of CO(2) pressure on the total conversion was found to be different between the two aldehydes. The total conversion of benzaldehyde merely decreases with increasing CO(2) pressure, while that of cinnamaldehyde shows a maximum at a certain pressure. High-pressure FTIR measurements indicate the existence of interactions of CO(2) with the aldehydes. The absorption of nu(C=O) red-shifts at increasing CO(2) pressure, and this red-shift is more significant for cinnamaldehyde than for benzaldehyde, indicating that the C=O bond of the former becomes more reactive than the latter. The difference in the mode of interactions of CO(2) with these aldehydes has also been indicated by changes of nu(C=O) of CO(2). Thus, the conversion of benzaldehyde will decrease with increasing CO(2) pressure because of a simple dilution by introducing a larger quantity of CO(2). For cinnamaldehyde, the conversion will increase at low pressures because of increasing interactions with CO(2) molecules (increasing the reactivity of the C=O bond) but decrease at high pressures because of the simple dilution effect, similar to the case of benzaldehyde. The dense CO(2) molecules are not likely to change the catalytic activity of supported Pt particles, which was previously suggested from optical absorption of supported fine metal (Au) particles in a compressed CO(2) medium.     

Novel Knöevenagel-type reaction via titanium enolate derived from Ti(O-i-Pr)4 and diketene

Knöevenagel-type reaction between diketene and aldehydes proceeded in the presence of Ti(O-i-Pr)₄. This reaction proceeded via titanium enolate derived from Ti(O-i-Pr)₄ and diketene. As for the stereoselectivity of the products, E-isomers were produced predominantly in the case of aromatic aldehydes.     

Synthesis and properties of new polyesters having tetrahydrofuran rings in their main chains

New polyesters 6a–6c consisting of 2,4-linked tetrahydrofuran rings were synthesized by bulk polycondensation of methyl trans- and cis-4-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylates ( 5a and 5b ) and a stereoisomeric mixture of methyl 4-hydroxy-5-methyltetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylate ( 5c ) at high temperature. These monomers were prepared from methyl glycolate or methyl lactate and diethyl maleate through a four-step reaction sequence. The polycondensation was carried out without solvent at different temperatures ranging from 150 to 220°C. Titanium isopropoxide was most effective among the catalysts examined, giving polyesters with number-average molecular weights up to 2 × 10⁴. Polyester 6a consisting of trans-2,4-linked tetrahydrofuran rings was soluble in trifluoroacetic acid and a mixed solvent of chloroform and methanol (10/1, v/v). Polyester 6b composed of cis-2,4-linked tetrahydrofuran rings was soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide in addition to the two solvents for 6a . Polyester 6c with 5-methyl-substituted tetrahydrofuran rings was composed of a mixture of stereoisomeric units and thus was soluble in a variety of solvents including chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide, and dimethylformamide. The glass transition temperatures of 6a, 6b , and 6c determined by DSC were 109, 88, and 66°C. These polyesters were found to be very slowly hydrolyzed in a neutral phosphate buffer solution at ambient temperature. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

γ-irradiation of polypropylene in vacuum and in air

Polypropylene films were irradiated with ⁶⁰Co γ-rays in vacuum or in air and stored in air. Just after irradiation, the concentration of carbonyl group of the sample irradiated in air only increased with dose. The concentrations of both samples increased with storage time. The more the absorbed doses, the higher the increasing rates. The increasing rate of the concentration of carbonyl group during irradiation in air was higher than those during storage in air. Just after irradiation, the tensile strengths and the elongations of the both samples somewhat increased with dose at the doses less than 5 Mrad, but decreased at doses more than 13 Mrad. The tensile strength and the elongation of the sample irradiated in air decreased with storage time. Those of the sample irradiated in vacuum also decreased with storage time but the decreasing rates were much smaller than those in the sample irradiated in air. The gel fractions of the samples irradiated in vacuum and annealed in vacuum were somewhat higher than those irradiated in vacuum and not annealed. To elucidate high oxidation rate in the sample irradiated in air during and after irradiation, reaction mechanisms were discussed. To clarify the difference of mechanical properties between the samples irradiated in vacuum and in air, the effect of crosslink was considered, together with the oxidation.     

Simultaneous determination of tetrahydro-β-carbolines and β-carbolines

Summary Reversed-phase ion-pair HPLC with fluorimetric detectors connected in series was studied for the simultaneous determination of two tetrahydro--carbolines and two -carbolines. After additon of internal standards the samples were reacted with fluorescamine, and then subjected to serial extractions to remove their precursor (tryptamine) from the analytical system. This treatment not only suppressed the artefactual formation of tetrahydro--carbolines and -carbolines during analysis, but also effectively purified them. Under optimum conditions, using trifluoroacetic acid as counter ion, all analytes were separated within 14 min and without major interfering peaks. The quantitative ranges were 0.25–80.0 ng mL^–1 for both tetrahydro--carbolines and 0.1–30.0 ng mL^–1 for both -carbolines. Replicate spiking experiments showed that recovery from most of the samples tested was over 90% and the relative standard deviation ranged from 0.7 to 10.4% within and between assays. The proposed method was applicable to various materials such as soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, tabasco, beer, wine, sake, whisky, brandy, cows' milk, coffee, cocoa, cheese, cigarette smoke and urine.     

Thermostability of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cromobacterium viscosum</Emphasis> lipase in AOT/isooctane reverse micelle

The thermostability of Cromobacterium viscosum lip ase (EC 3.1.1.3) entrapped in AOT (sodium bis-[2-ethylhexyl] sulfosuccinate) reverse micelles was in creased by the addition of short-chain polyethylene glycol (PEG 400). Two different approaches were considered: (1) the determination of half-life time and (2) the mechanistic analysis of deactivation kinetics. The half-life of lipase entrapped in AOT/isooctane reverse micelles with PEG 400 at 60°C was 28h, ninefold higher than that in reverse micelles without PEG 400. The lip ase entrapped in both reverse micellar systems followed a series-type deactivation mechanism involving two first-order steps. The deactivation constant for the first step at 60°C in PEG containing reverse micelles was 0.055 h¹¹, 11-fold lower than that in reverse micelles without PEG, whereas it remained almost constant for the second step. The inactivation energy of the lip ase entrapped in reverse micelles with and without PEG 400 was 88.12 and 21.97 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Regioselective lithiation of II-(arene)chromium tricarbonyl complexes

Chromium tricarbonyl complexes of 3-methoxybenzyl alcohol and related compounds were selectively lithiated at the 4-position in contrast to the corresponding metal free arene compounds. The resulting 4-lithio complexes were converted to the 4-substituted arene compounds in moderate to excellent yields through the reactions with proper electrophiles and subsequent demetalation.