Estimating the PDMS-Coated, SPME-Fibre/Water- and Fibre/Gas-Partition Coefficients of Chlorinated Ethenes by Headspace-SPME

In this work, a simple, fast and reproducible method is presented for the determination of fibre/liquid-phase and fibre/gas-phase partition coefficients of five chlorinated ethenes on a poly-(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS-coated, solid-phase microextraction fibre, by employing a headspace HS-SPME coupled with gas chromatography. The partition coefficients were estimated by a numerical method using a Level-I fugacity method coupled with parameter-estimation software. Dimensionless partition coefficients between SPME fibre and liquid as well as gas phases were obtained at temperatures of 10 °C, 25 °C and 30 °C. The partition coefficients of the fibre and the gas phase, K _fg, increase with decreasing temperature by a factor of ≈2 to 6, and they are directly proportional to the linear slope of the regression line. The same tendency is observed for the partition coefficient of the fibre and liquid phase, K _fw, in a factor ≈1.2 to 2.0. The sorption enthalpy is higher in the gas phase; therefore, the sorption onto the fibre is favoured at lower temperatures. The correlation of the log K _ow versus log K _fw and log K _oa versus log K _fg shows a linear relationship with the number of chlorine atoms in the C = C molecule. Long-term experiments resulted in sorption to Teflon surfaces and possible losses in 43 mL vials, not observed in 250 mL Boston bottles.     

Efficiency assessment of wastewater treatment plant based on SPMD sampling

The efficiency of treatment processes forboth municipal and industrial wastewater (treatment plant-Ostrava, Czech Republic) focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was assessed. Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as a sampling system were applied. Exposed SPMDs were analyzed both for chemical contaminants of POPs and toxicity response. The chemical analyses of PAHs were made by HPLC-FLD, PCDD/Fs and PCBs were analysed by GC/MS/MS on GCQ or PolarisQ (Thermoquest). Ecotoxicity data on chlorococcal alga Desmodesmus subspicatus (Scenedesmus subspicatus) and luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri are presented here. All toxicity data as effective volume Vtox are expressed. The results show good treatment ability of the treatment plant and proved used system as an appropriate tool for efficiency assessment of treatment and/or decontamination processes.     

Construction of the benzylic quaternary carbon center of zoanthenol by intramolecular Mizoroki-Heck reaction of enone

[reaction: see text]. Stereocontrolled synthesis of the ABC ring framework of zoanthenol has been achieved. Our studies show that a beta,beta-disubstituted enone can act as a good acceptor of arylpalladium intermediates in the formation of a congested benzylic quaternary carbon center through an intramoleculer Mizoroki-Heck reaction. The cis B/C ring system was stereoselectively converted to the trans-fused framework through a SmI2-promoted deoxygenation of the alpha-hydroxy ketone.     

Determination of the complex formation constants for some water-soluble polymers with trivalent metal ions by differential pulse polarography

The formation of metal complexes between water-soluble polymers, poly(vinyl alcohol) [PVA], poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) [PVP], poly(acrylamide) [PAAm] and poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO] with trivalent metal ions, Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, and V³⁺ were studied by using differential pulse polarography (DPP). The general experimental observation is the shift of totally reversible reduction peaks (M³⁺+Hg+e^–M²⁺+Hg) towards more negative potentials when the complexing water-soluble polymers are added to the solution of trivalent metal ions. The negative shift in potential permitted the determination of complex formation constants (K_f) between trivalent metal ions and water soluble polymers. The complex formation constants for Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, and V³⁺ ions with these polymers increased in the order of V³⁺>Cr³⁺>Fe³⁺.     

New synthetic approach to substituted isoindolo[2,1-a]quinoline carboxylic acids via intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of 4-(N-furyl-2)-4-arylaminobutenes-1 with maleic anhydride

Acylation of substituted 4-(furyl-2)-4-arylaminobut-1-enes with maleic anhydride provided 2-allyl-6-carboxy-4-oxo-3-aza-10-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0^1,5]dec-8-enes in high yield under mild reaction conditions. The Diels-Alder adducts are formed via an initial amide formation followed by a stereoselective intramolecular [4+2] exo-cycloaddition reaction. Treatment of the tricyclic compounds with phosphoric acid at high temperatures (70-120 °C) promoted cyclic ether opening, intramolecular cyclization and aromatization to give the corresponding tetracyclic compounds, 5,6,6a,11-tetrahydro-10-carboxyisoindolo[2,1-a]quinolines, in moderate yields. The influence of the acid and the reaction temperature on the cyclization reactions are also discussed.     

Sampling procedure and a radio-indicator study of mercury determination in whole blood by using an AMA 254 atomic absorption spectrometer

A sampling procedure appropriate for the determination of mercury in whole blood was tested by using both inactive controls and a ¹⁹⁷Hg mercury radio-indicator. To exclude the influence of the instrumental device (an AMA 254 single-purpose mercury atomic absorption spectrometer) on the determination of mercury in whole blood, the function of the instrument was checked by using rat blood with metabolised ¹⁹⁷Hg. The measurement procedure was found to be free of errors. However, the study showed that the material used for the sampling vessels is a crucial parameter for obtaining accurate analytical results. The stability of solutions and samples was tested towards polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) vessels. PE displayed a time-dependent increase in the mercury content both in the samples and in the blood control material. The probable cause of this increase was direct contamination from the material of the vessel and/or diffusion of mercury from the environment through the vessel walls related to a strong complexing affinity of the sample matrix. This assumption was confirmed by supplying the vessels with the complexing agent Na₂EDTA (0.05 mol L^–1). Commercial PP vessels for blood sampling (Sarstedt S-Monovette Metall Analytik) did not give rise to statistically significant variations in mercury content in the samples and blood control material over a 30-day period.     

Electron capture dissociation of polypeptides using a 3 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) of polypeptides has been demonstrated using a commercially available 3 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) instrument. A conventional rhenium filament, designed for high-energy electron impact ionisation, was used to effect ECD of substance P, bee venom melittin and bovine insulin, oxidised B chain. A retarding field analysis of the effective electron kinetic energy distribution entering the ICR cell suggests that one of the most important parameters governing ECD for this particular instrument is the need to employ low trapping plate voltages. This is shown to maximise the abundance of low-energy electrons. The demonstration of ECD at this relatively low magnetic field strength could offer the prospect of more routine ECD analysis for the wider research community, given the reduced cost of such magnets and (at least theoretically) the greater ease of electron/ion cloud overlap at lower field.     

Finite-size scaling for Potts models

Recently, Borgs and Kotecký developed a rigorous theory of finite-size effects near first-order phase transitions. Here we apply this theory to the ferromagneticq-state Potts model, which (forq large andd2) undergoes a first-order phase transition as the inverse temperature is varied. We prove a formula for the internal energy in a periodic cube of side lengthL which describes the rounding of the infinite-volume jumpE in terms of a hyperbolic tangent, and show that the position of the maximum of the specific heat is shifted by _m (L)=(Inq/E)L ^–d +O(L ^–2d ) with respect to the infinite-volume transition point _t . We also propose an alternative definition of the finite-volume transition temperature _t (L) which might be useful for numerical calculations because it differs only by exponentially small corrections from _t .     

Blaschke-Süss type theorems for closed plane curves

A C¹-class of plane closed curves is considered, which contains all ovals and rosettes. This class is divided into some subclasses for which greatest lower bounds of numbers of antipodal and arc-antipodal sets are determined.     

Electrochemical studies and square-wave voltammetric determination of fenofibrate in pharmaceutical formulations

The electrochemical reduction of fenofibrate at a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, square-wave voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. Different buffer solutions were used over a wide pH range (3.0–10.0). The best definition of the analytical signals was found in borate buffer (pH 9.0)–tetrabutylammonium iodide mixture containing 12.5% (v/v) methanol at –1.2 V (versus Ag/AgCl). According to cyclic voltammetric studies, the reduction was irreversible and diffusion controlled. The diffusion coefficient was 2.38×10^–6 cm² s^–1 as determined by chronoamperometry. Under optimized conditions of square-wave voltammetry, a linear relationship was obtained between 0.146–4.96 g mL^–1 of fenofibrate with a limit of detection of 0.025 g mL^–1. Validation parameters such as sensitivity, accuracy, precision, and recovery were evaluated. The proposed method was applied to the determination of fenofibrate in pharmaceutical formulations. The results were compared with those obtained by a published high-performance liquid chromatography method. No difference was found statistically.