Preparative high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of naphthodianthrones from St. John's Wort

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), a perennial flowering plant, has been used medicinally for thousands of years and has most recently been identified as an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression and neuralgic disorders. This work presents a procedure for the isolation of naphthodianthrones from St. John's Wort by an accelerated extraction and separation of marker compounds by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array detection. The accelerated extraction method minimizes the extraction time and increases the yield, and the marker compounds obtained by preparative HPLC are of 98% purity. The compounds are characterized by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (electrospray ionization) and NMR spectra.     

Effects of an amphipathic alpha-helical peptide on lateral pressure and water penetration in phosphatidylcholine and monoolein mixed membranes

The physicochemical properties of mixed membranes of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) and a nonlamellar-forming lipid, 1-monoolein (MO), and the effects of an amphipathic alpha-helical peptide, 18A (DWLKAFYDKVAEKLKEAF), on the membranes were investigated by fluorescence measurements and 31P NMR. The intramolecular excimer formation of dipyrenylphosphatidylcholines showed that the increased lateral pressure near the bilayer center by MO is reduced by the lamellar-cubic phase transition at an MO mole fraction of 0.7, while the lateral pressure near the polar-apolar interface increases even through the phase transition. The fluorescence lifetime of 2-(9-anthroyloxy)stearic acid revealed that water penetration into the interface region increases with the MO fraction. The insertion of the 18A peptide into the membrane interface region decreased both the lateral pressure near the interface and water penetration, and shifted the lamellar-cubic phase transition to a higher MO fraction. This suggests that 18A induces a positive curvature strain and lowers the lateral pressure and water penetration. Furthermore, the increase in the MO fraction in POPC/MO LUV promoted partitioning of 18A to the membranes. This preferential binding to the MO-containing membranes is presumably ascribed to the propensity of 18A to reduce the membrane strain.     

Syntheses of 2,4,6-tris(di-tetrahydrofurfuroxy)phosphinyl-s-triazine and its derivatives as fire-retardants for cellulose

The synthesis of 2,4,6-tris(di-tetrahydrofurfuroxy)phosphinyl-s-triazine (2) was achieved by the reaction of cyanuric chloride with tris(tetrahydrofurfuryl)-phosphite (1) or with sodium bis(tetrahydrofurfuryl)phosphite (5). 2 on treatment with anhydrous ammonia yielded ammonium salt of 2,4-diamino-6-tetrahydro-furfuroxy-phosphinyl-s-striazine (3), which on methylolation yielded (4). The reaction of 2 and 4 with cellulose powder under different experimental conditions was carried out and they were found to exhibit promising fire-retardant properties.     

Heat capacity and glass transition of ethylene oxide clathrate hydrate

The heat capacity of structure I ethylene oxide clathrate hydrate EO-6.86 H₂O was measured in the temperature range 6–300 K with an adiabatic calorimeter. The temperature and enthalpy of congruent melting were determined to be (284.11 ± 0.02) K and 48.26 kJ mol^–1, respectively. A glass transition related to the proton configurational mode in the hydrogen-bonded host was observed around 90 K. This glass transition was similar to the one observed previously for the structure II tetrahydrofuran hydrate but showed a wider distribution of relaxation times. The anomalous heat capacity and activation enthalpy associated with the glass transition were almost the same as those for THF-hydrate.Dedicated to Dr D. W. Davidson in honor of his great contributions to the sciences of inclusion phenomena.Author for correspondence.     

Reactivity of singlet oxygen generated by the photosensitization of tetraphenylporphyrin in liposomes

A hydrophobic porphyrin derivative, tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), was used as a sensitizer, and an anionic dye, methyl orange (MO), was employed as a substrate of photooxidation. TPP was incorporated into the hydrophobic environment of phosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayer membranes, liposomes. When oxygen was purged out of the liposome suspension by nitrogen bubbling, the degradation of MO was completely inhibited. A specific superoxide scavenger, superoxide dismutase, had no effect on the MO degradation. The replacement of H₂O by D₂O resulted in a 10 times enhancement in the photodegradation of MO. These results suggested that singlet oxygen was generated by the TPP photosensitization and worked as the mediator of the photoreaction from TPP. Trisulphonated TPP,-phenyl-,, -tri(p-sulphonyl)porphyrin (TPPS), is soluble in aqueous solution. The light irradiation to an aqueous solution of TPPS gave rise to the rapid bleaching (decomposition) of the sensitizer itself. On the other hand, TPP in the hydrophobic environment of liposomes was stable during light irradiation and worked as a sensitizer for the continuous photoreaction. Maximum reactivity was observed at the PC/TPP mole ratio of 50. When TPP molecules were incorporated into liposomes at larger concentrations (PC/TPP<50), a part of the excitation energy of the sensitizer molecules was nonradiatively converted into the lattice energy by the resonance between the closely located TPP molecules. This led to lower efficiency for the photoactivation of oxygen. On the other hand, the increase in liposome concentration resulted in the enhancement of the MO binding to lipid membranes and the retardation of MO degradation. Also, the electrostatic attraction and repulsion between the membrane and the substrate influenced the reaction rate greatly. The oxidative degradations of the substrate by singlet oxygen were considered to be much faster in the polar environment than in the less polar environment. The charge transfer or the polarized transition complex of singulet oxygen and MO are presumed to be stabilized in the polar environment. The distribution of substrate between the less polar membrane surface and the polar bulk aqueous solution was another important factor in the photooxidation.     

Saccharide Blocking Layers in Solid State Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

The adsorption of saccharides on dye sensitized, nanocrystalline metal oxide films is shown to improve the efficiency of solid state dye sensitized solar cells. The function of the saccharide treatment is evaluated by transient optical studies, and correlated with device photovoltaic performance. A range of saccharides, including cyclodextrins and their linear analogue amylose, are investigated. The saccharide blocking layer is shown to retard interfacial charge recombination losses, resulting in increased device open circuit voltage. Highest device performance is achieved with linear saccharide amylose, resulting in a 60 % improvement in device efficiency relative to the non‐treated control, with a device open circuit voltage of 1 V.     

An in situ study of plasticization of polymers by high-pressure gases

A high-pressure differential scanning calorimetric technique is described for studying polymer plasticization by compressed gases at pressures to 100 atm. The in situ measurements avoid problems due to gas desorption encountered with conventional DSCs, thus providing an accurate way to determine the change in glass transition temperature, T_g, with pressure, p. The entire T_g–p curve can be established in less than 2 days. The glass transition was observed as a sharp step in the case of 100–200-μm thin samples, whereas thicker samples gave a broad transition; highly reproducible results were obtained for the thin samples. For PS–CO₂, the measured T_gs under various pressures were found to be in good agreement with literature values. Results for the systems PS–HFC134a, PVC–CO₂, and PC–CO₂ are also reported. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 977–982, 1998     

High-precision gravimetric technique for determining the solubility and diffusivity of gases in polymers

An in situ gravimetric technique, employing an electrobalance, is described for determining the solubility and diffusivity of gases in polymers over extended ranges of temperature and pressure. Solubilities of CO₂ in polystyrene at 35°C were measured as a test case; the results are in excellent agreement with the literature values determined by the pressure decay method. Solubility and diffusivity results are also reported for PVC-CO₂ at 35°C and for PS-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane at 30, 90, and 120°C. A comparison with other studies shows the in situ method to be more efficient and precise than the ones based on weighing the gas-saturated polymer under ambient conditions. The kinetics of gas sorption were analyzed in terms of two data reduction techniques to derive diffusion coefficients. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 2025–2032, 1998     

Preparations and reactions of 2-trifluoromethylketenimines

Preparations and reactions of a series of 2-trifluoromethylketenimines are described. Trifluoromethylketenimines were prepared from trifluoropropanoic acids via corresponding imidoyl chlorides in good yields. 2-Trifluoromethylketenimine was functionalized at its β-position by electrophilic addition of halide, followed by dehydrohalogenation. Addition of nucleophile at α-position gave trifluoroethylated β-amino acid derivative via 1,3-proton shift.     

Biodegradation of bisphenol a by fungi

The biologic degradation of 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (bisphenol A [BPA]; 1) was studied with 26 fungi. An initial BPA concentration of 40 ppm in an aqueous solution was degraded in the dark for 14 d. Among the 26 strains tested, 11 degraded BPA at 50% or more. Furthermore, four strains (F. sporotrichioides NFRI-1012, F. moniliforme 2-2, A. terreus MT-13, and E. nidulans MT-98) were more effective for degradation of BPA.