Ion-pair extraction of pentacaine from biological materials

Simple and rapid extraction method for quantitative and selective isolation of the new local anesthetic pentacaine from biological materials is proposed. The technique of ion-pair formation was found to be more effective than usual access using the extraction of the nonionized species. The extraction yield of the unchanged molecule³H-pentacaine after double extraction and single scrubbing was found to be more than 90%. The radiochemical purity was over 90%. The method appears suitable for pharmacokinetic studies in the animal body.     

Interpretation of the vibrational spectra of matrix-isolated uracil from scaled ab initio quantum mechanical force fields

The vibrational spectrum of uracil trapped in an argon matrix has been interpreted based on ab initio Hartree–Fock SCF calculations with a split-valence 4?21 basis set. The directly computed theoretical general valence force field was scaled with empirical scale factors in order to correct for the systematic errors originating in the limitation of the theoretical model. Scale factors transferred from related molecules provided a priori prediction of fundamental frequencies and intensities, permitting several corrections to be proposed for earlier assignments. Using the observed spectrum with the few altered assignments, a new set of scale factors was optimized to give the best force field available from combined consideration of the experimental and the theoretical data. For unknown reasons, the out-of-plane force field predicted a spectrum agreeing slightly less well with experiment than did the in-plane force field. However, the overall agreement between theory and experiment provided additional support for the assumptions involved in the method. The computed force fields were compared with others available from previous work. The comparison demonstrated the importance of expanding the energy surface around the true energy minimum and of using a proper scaling procedure. Previous scaled CNDO /2 calculations were found to be surprisingly good despite the large corrections required and the fact that they were made at an incorrect geometry.     

Inter- and intramolecular potential for the N-formylglycinamide-water system. A comparison between theoretical modeling and empirical force fields

An intramolecular NEMO potential is presented for the N-formylglycinamide molecule together with an intermolecular potential for the N-formylglycinamide-water system. The intramolecular N-formylglycinamide potential can be used as a building block for the backbone of polypeptides and proteins. Two intramolecular minima have been obtained. One, denoted as C5, is stabilized by a hydrogen bonded five member ring, and the other, denoted as C7, corresponds to a seven membered ring. The interaction between one water molecule and the N-formylglycinamide system is also studied and compared with Hartree-Fock SCF calculations and with the results obtained for some of the more commonly used force fields. The agreement between the NEMO and SCF energies for the complexes is in general superior to that of the other force fields. In the C7 region the surfaces obtained from the intramolecular part of the commonly used force fields are too flat compared to the NEMO potential and the ab initio calculations. We further analyze the possibility of using a charge distribution obtained from one conformation to describe the charge distribution of other conformations. We have found that the use of polarizabilities and generic dipoles can model most of the changes in charge density due to the different geometry of the new conformations, but that one can expect additional errors in the interaction energies that are of the order of 1 kcal/mol.     

Shear and NMR experiments of materials with flow behaviour depending on the deformation history

Oxide ceramic masses react to simple shearing with hardening (peptisation: increase in the shear stress with the shear deformation). In the present study the correlation between the increase in the shear stress and the porosity, agglomeration processes and the type of flow are analysed. For this purpose oxide ceramic masses are tested in a shear device especially developed for pastes and analysed by rheometric experiments, NMR methods and particle size analysis. The results support the hypothesis that structural changes (hardening, increase in the mean porosity) of the material during the peptisation mainly depend on the magnitude and not on the kind of the energy input and thus of the type of flow. The fraction of bound (more generally, the immobilised) water increases with the shear displacement. Also crushing of primary particles could be observed. Both the crushing of solid particles causing an increased solid surface and the formation of a three-dimensional gel structure are microscopic effects capable of resulting in the binding or retaining water. On a macroscopic scale these phenomena cause hardening. Magnetic resonance imaging visualises flow-induced agglomerates, which form owing to the shear flow and increase the porosity averaged over the whole sample. After the shear experiment rolls of paste can be seen which indicate that the general assumption of a plane shear flow in the shear device is not warrantable. Received: 19 July 2001 Accepted: 25 October 2001     

Novel electroanalytical techniques for pollution analysis

Summary Two new analytical techniques are described. The so-called injection technique operates on evaluating a dynamic concentration signal as a result of following the concentration change in a certain part of a flow-through channel after injecting a sample or reagent at a small volume into the current of an appropriate solution flowing at a constant rate.The second technique, the programmed coulometric titration technique, also uses the flow-through channel principle; that means this novel technique allows the more precise titrimetric way of analysis in flowing solutions. In the case of both techniques potentiometric and voltammetric detectors were involved. Several examples proved the multifold advantages of these techniques for environmental analysis.

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Neue elektroanalytische Verfahren für die Umweltanalyse

Zusammenfassung Zwei neue Methoden werden beschrieben. Die sog. Injektionstechnik wertet ein dynamisches Konzentrationssignal aus, das sich aus der Änderung in einem Durchflußkanal ergibt, wenn Probe oder Reagens in kleinen Volumina in einen konstant fließenden Flüssigstrom injiziert werden. Das zweite Verfahren, die programmierte coulometrische Titration, erlaubt die Anwendung der genaueren titrimetrischen Technik auf fließende Lösungen. Bei beiden Methoden werden potentiometrische und voltammetrische Detektoren verwendet. Mehrere Beispiele zeigen die vielfachen Vorteile dieser Verfahren bei der Anwendung auf die Analyse von Umweltmaterial.

Presented at the 6th Annual Symposium on Recent Advances in the Analytical Chemistry of Pollutants, April 21–23, 1976; Vienna, Austria     

Resolution method for overlapping peaks based on the fractional-order differential

Equations between the differential order and the maximum of the fractional-order differential for the specified peak signals are developed based on the variation of the maximum of the specified peak signals at different orders. Also, equations between the differential order and the zero-crossing of the fractional-order differential of the specified peak signals are proposed according to the variation of the zero-crossing of the specified peak signals at different orders. Characteristic paramters of the Gaus- sian peak, Lorentzian peak, and Tsallis peak can be estimated using estimator I and estimator II which are obtained by the equations above. As a result, a new method is presented to resolve the overlapped peaks signal. Firstly, a fractional-order differential of the specified peak signals is obtained with the fractional-order differentiation filter. Then, characteristic paramters of the specified peak signals can be extracted using estimator I and estimator II. Finally, the Tsallis peak is used as a model to assign the overlapping peak signals correctly. Experimental results show that the proposed method is efficient and effective for the simulated overlapping peaks and detected overlapping voltammetric peak signals.     

Growth of ramification-like ZnO rods in the presence of polyaniline

To obtain new materials with synergetic or complementary behaviors, polyaniline composite filled with ZnO rods in ramification-like structure was prepared by a hydrothermal approach. Comparative experiments of ZnO preparation in the presence of some metal ions were also carried out. The results indicated that the morphology of ZnO was strongly affected by the preparation condition. The method to grow ZnO rods in the presence of polyaniline offers a simple approach to obtain polyaniline composite filled with linear ZnO structure. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the strong interaction between ZnO and polyaniline possibly exists to cause the charge transfer.     

Synthesis of 5-Substituted 1,3-Dimethylpyrazolo[4,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>][1,2,4]triazines

Summary.  A novel method for the synthesis of a new series of 5-substituted 1,3-dimethyl pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazines is described. The new synthetic strategy is based on the classical Bischler 1,2,4-benzotriazine synthesis. This approach involves the preparation of 5-hydrazinopyrazole from 5-chloro-1,3-dimethyl-4-nitropyrazole followed by acylation and nitro group reduction to form the corresponding 4-amino-3-(acylhydrazino)pyrazoles. Intramolecular oxidative cyclization of the latter derivatives, using polyphosphoric acid, produced the respective target pyrazolotriazines.     

Remarkably enhanced capacitance of ordered polyaniline nanowires tailored by stepwise electrochemical deposition

A stepwise deposition method was employed to create ordered polyaniline (PANI) nanowires with remarkably enhanced capacitance. Cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance, and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling were employed to investigate the electrochemical performance of the PANI electrodes. The PANI-deposited electrode exhibits much higher capacitance than those prepared by one-step deposition method, which were mainly contributed from the unique nano structure of PANI and the increased biological, economical, and technical surface areas. The superior capacitive behaviors of the nano PANI electrodes show great potential in preparation of high efficient electrochemical capacitors or rechargeable batteries.     

Detection of environmental chemicals by SPR assay using branched cyclodextrin as sensor ligand

We obtained the association constants Ka of estrogen (E2) and environmental chemicals by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay using the immobilized mono-6-O-α-maltosyl-β-CD (G₂βCD) compared with the immobilized β-CD and the immobilized estrogen receptor (ER). The association behavior of G₂βCD was shown as a ER model compound. The calibration curve was determined by the initial rate of association depending on the various concentrations, and the minimum detectable concentrations in the order of parts per billion were calculated. The SPR assay has advantages that the pre-treatment of the sample is not necessary and the immobilized ligand is stable and useful for the repeated measurement.