Combined Fourier-transform infrared imaging and desorption electrospray-ionization linear ion-trap mass spectrometry for analysis of counterfeit antimalarial tablets

This paper reports use of a combination of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic imaging and desorption electrospray ionization linear ion-trap mass spectrometry (DESI MS) for characterization of counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets. The counterfeit artesunate antimalarial tablets were analyzed by both techniques. The results obtained revealed the ability of FTIR imaging in non-destructive micro-attenuated total reflection (ATR) mode to detect the distribution of all components in the tablet, the identities of which were confirmed by DESI MS. Chemical images of the tablets were obtained with high spatial resolution. The FTIR spectroscopic imaging method affords inherent chemical specificity with rapid acquisition of data. DESI MS enables high-sensitivity detection of trace organic compounds. Combination of these two orthogonal surface-characterization methods has great potential for detection and analysis of counterfeit tablets in the open air and without sample preparation.     

Interfacial bridge-mediated electron transfer: mechanistic analysis based on electrochemical kinetics and theoretical modelling

Understanding the physical and chemical factors that control the kinetics of interfacial electron-transfer (ET) reactions is important for a large number of technological applications. The present article describes electrochemical kinetic studies of these factors, in which standard interfacial ET rate constants (k(0)(l)) have been measured for ET between substrate Au electrodes and various redox couples attached to the electrode surfaces by variable lengths (l) of oligomethylene (OM), oligophenylenevinylene (OPV) and oligophenyleneethynylene (OPE) bridges, which were constituents of mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The k(0)(l) measurements employed the indirect laser-induced temperature jump (ILIT) technique, which permits the measurement of interfacial ET rates that are orders of magnitude faster than those measurable by conventional techniques using the macroelectrodes that are the most convenient substrates for the mixed SAMs. The robustness of the measured rate constants (k(0)(l)), together with the Arrhenius activation energies (E(a)(l)) and preexponential factors (A(l)), is demonstrated by their invariance with respect to several experimental system parameters (including the chemical nature and length of the diluent component of the mixed SAM). Analysis of the kinetic results demonstrates that all of the observed interfacial ET processes proceed through a common type of transition state (predominantly associated with solvent reorganization around the redox moiety) and that the actual ET step involves direct electronic tunnelling between the Au electrode and the redox moiety. However, for the full range of l investigated, a global exponential decay of A(l) is not found for any of the three types of bridges. Possible reasons for this behavior, including the role of rate determining steps associated with adiabatic mechanisms within or beyond the transition state theory framework, are discussed, and comparisons with related conductance measurements are presented.     

Synthesis of New Morphinan Opioids by TBADT-Catalyzed Photochemical Functionalization at the Carbon Skeleton**

The synthesis of new morphinan opioids by the addition of photochemically generated carbon-centered radicals to substrates containing an enone in the morphinan C-ring, is described. Using tetrabutylammonium decatungstate (TBADT) as a hydrogen atom transfer photocatalyst, diverse radical donors can be used to prepare a variety of C8-functionalized morphinan opioids. This work demonstrates the late-stage modification of complex, highly functionalized substrates.     

Influence of ethanol and ultrasound on drying,bioactive compounds,and antioxidant activity of strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa)

This study aimed to evaluate the use of ethanol (ET) and ultrasound (US) in convective drying of strawberry slices, as well as the effect on physicochemical, bioactive, and antioxidant parameters. For this, strawberry slices with a thickness of 0.005 m were pretreated with ET (in different volume fractions), US, and a combination of both. Drying kinetics were performed for control strawberry slices (without ET and US) and pretreated with 50% ethanol (ET50), 50% ethanol and ultrasonic (ET50US), 100% ethanol (ET100), and 100% ethanol and ultrasonic (ET100US) at a temperature of 60 °C. Empirical and diffusive models were fitted to the experimental data to describe the drying kinetics, and the fresh and dried slices were analyzed according to the parameters of water activity (aw), water content, total phenolic compounds (TPC), total anthocyanins (ATS), vitamin C and antioxidant activity (AA) (ABTS?+, DPPH?, and FRAP). The use of the ET100US combination provided an increase in the moisture transport process, higher drying rate, shorter process time (570 min), and reduction of a_w to a safe value (a_w <0.5), however, it sharply degraded the TPC, ATS, and AA. The ET50US pre-treatment even with a drying time of 690 min was the most efficient, since the values of TPC, ATS, and vitamin C suffered smaller reductions, where the AA varied in only 10.32%, 13.78% and 6.54% for the methods ABTS?+, DPPH?, and FRAP, respectively when compared to fresh strawberry. In this sense, it can be stated that the pre-treatment with 50% ethanol and ultrasound (ET50US) showed less reduction in the degradation of bioactive and antioxidant properties, and in the minimization of drying time for strawberry slices.     

最小一乘估计的最优化方法与灵敏度分析

最小一乘估计是人们最常用的回归方法之一,因为其回归结果受奇异点的影响较小,从而受到人们越来越多的关注,鉴于此方法所构造模型的非光滑性,进而增加了其计算的难度.针对不同观测结果及需求,将最小一乘模型转化成不同的线性规划模型,利用相应的求解软件进行求解.并针对不同情况对结果进行了灵敏度分析,从而找出了影响结果的因素.     

A Short,Convenient Synthesis of 2-Arylglycidates via Aryl-Grignard Addition to an α-Bromopyruvate

A simple procedure has been developed for the preparation of a series of 2-arylglycidates required for herbicidal evaluation. Treatment of the α-bromopyruvate 5 with various aryl Grignard reagents at low temperature gave directly the glycidates 4. Saponification of these then afforded the desired sodium salts 7.     

Experimental and theoretical study of dicyanocarbene C(CN)2

Dicyanocarbene C(CN)₂ and its radical cation (m/z 64) were generated by dissociative ionization of tetracyanoethene, dicyanofuroxan and dicyanofurazan and characterized by collisional activation (CA) and neutralization-reionization (NR) mass spectrometries and tandem MS³ experiments performed in a ‘hybrid’ tandem mass spectrometer having a sector-quadrupole-sector configuration. In both neutral and ionized forms, dicyanocarbene is found to be a stable and detectable species. Existence of the peaks at m/z 52, 24 and 12 in the CA/NR spectra suggests however some possible post-collisional rearrangements. The carbene was further studied by ab initio calculations using B3LYP/6-311+G(3df) for geometries and CASPT2(14,12) and MR-SDCI with the cc-pVTZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets for relative energies. The dicyano form NC-C-CN is consistently more stable than its isocyano isomers CN-C-CN and CN-C-NC, irrespective of the electronic state. Each neutral carbene exhibits a triplet ground state lying up to 2.6 eV below the singlets. All the triplet, singlet and ionized states of dicyanocarbene have a linear shape. The other states have either linear or bent shape but small barriers to linearity. Adiabatic ionization energies (IE_a) were estimated as follows: NC-C-CN: 11.3 eV with linear ²Π_u cation; NC-C-NC: 10.4 eV with linear ²Π cation, and CN-C-NC: 9.9 eV with bent ²A₁ cation.