Determination of piracetam in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of piracetam in rat plasma was developed and validated over the concentration range of 0.1–20 µg/mL. After addition of oxiracetam as internal standard, a simplified protein precipitation with trichloroacetic acid (5%) was employed for the sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was performed by a Zorbax SB‐Aq column (150 × 2.1 mm, 3.5 µm). The mobile phase was acetonitrile–1% formic acid in water (10:90 v/v) delivered at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The MS data acquisition was accomplished in multiple reaction monitoring mode with a positive electrospray ionization interface. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 µg/mL. For inter‐day and intra‐day tests, the precision (RSD) for the entire validation was less than 9%, and the accuracy was within the 94.6–103.2% range. The developed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of piracetam in rats following single oral administration dose of 50 mg/kg. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic Screening of the Potential Targeted Protein of Salvianolic Acid B Using T7 Phage Display Library

Salvianolic acid B is one of the effective components from the Chinese traditional drug Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), which is widely used as a usual clinic drug for atherosclerosis-related disorder patients in China. But the targeting protein of salvianolic acid B is still not known. The possible targeting proteins of salvianolic acid B were explored by high throughput screening in this paper. Attached to the magnetic nanoparticles, salvianolic acid B was used for screening the high-affinity protein from the displaying cDNA peptide library phage. After biopanning, the selected protein or peptide sequences were used to explore the whole proteins containing the selected sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information website using blast. One of the selected phages was carried out by affinity analysis with salvianolic acid B using capillary electrophoresis (CE). The CE results indicated that the protein or peptide on the surface of the selected phages could bind the drug salvianolic acid B. The results are helpful to preliminarily explain the pharmacology of salvianolic acid B.     

Polarized spectral properties of Nd3+ ions in CaYAlO4 crystal

Nd:CaYAlO₄ single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski technique. The cell parameters were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The polarized absorption spectra, the polarized fluorescence spectra, and the fluorescence decay curve of the crystal were measured at room temperature. The spectroscopic parameters were determined by Judd–Ofelt theory and Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg formula. The effective intensity parameters Ω ₂, Ω ₄, and Ω ₆ were obtained to be 2.19, 8.16, and 8.57×10^?20 cm², respectively. The calculated radiative probabilities, branching ratios, and radiative lifetime were also evaluated for the ⁴F_3/2 excited state using the calculated intensity parameters. The results indicate Nd:CaYAlO₄ has potential as a laser gain medium for ultrashort laser system.     

A numerical and experimental hybrid approach for the investigation of aerodynamic forces on stay cables suffering from rain-wind induced vibration

The aerodynamic forces on a stay cable under a rain-wind induced vibration (RWIV) are difficult to measure directly in a wind tunnel test. This paper presents a hybrid approach that combines an experiment with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the investigation on aerodynamic forces of a stay cable under a RWIV. The stay cable and flow field were considered as two substructures of the system. The oscillation of the stay cable was first measured by using a wind tunnel test of a RWIV under an artificial rainfall condition. The oscillation of the cable was treated as a previously known moving boundary condition and applied to the flow field. Only the flow field with the known moving cable boundary was then numerically simulated by using a CFD method (such as Fluent 6.3). The transient aerodynamic forces of the stay cable with a predetermined cable oscillation were obtained from numerical calculations. The characteristics of the aerodynamic forces in the time domain and frequency domain were then analysed for various cases. To verify the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed hybrid approach, the transient aerodynamic forces were applied to a single-degree-of-freedom model (SDOF) of the stay cable to calculate the RWIV of the cable. A comparison was performed between the oscillation responses of the stay cable obtained from the calculated (SDOF model) and experimental results, and the results indicate that the hybrid approach accurately simulates the transient aerodynamic forces of the stay cable. The equivalent damping ratios induced by the aerodynamic forces were obtained for various wind speeds. Furthermore, a nonlinear model of the aerodynamic force is proposed based on the calculation results, and the coefficients in the model were identified by a nonlinear least-squares technique.     

Design of Two Pyrazole-Based Sensors with Similar Configuration and Different Fluorescent Response to Anions

Two simple fluorescent anion receptors based on 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrozole-5-one-4-one phenylhydrazone (L1) and 1-phenyl-3-methylpyrozole-5-one-4-one p-nitrophenylhydrazone (L2) were designed, synthesized and characterized with ¹H NMR, COSY spectrum, ¹³C NMR, ESI-mass and elemental analyse. Interestingly, two receptors with similar configuration exhibited different anion binding behaviors in DMSO solution. The results of Job plots and ESI-mass spectrum indicate that L1 bind anions such as F⁻, AcO⁻, H₂PO₄⁻ to form 2:1 host-guest complexation, while L2 bind anions to form 1:1 host-guest complexation in the solution.     

Synthesis of Diethyl Oxalate by a Coupling-Regeneration Reaction of Carbon Monoxide

This article describes a process for the synthesis of diethyl oxalate by a coupling reaction of carbon monoxide, catalyzed by palladium in the presence of ethyl nitrite. The kinetics and mechanism of the coupling and regeneration reaction are also discussed. This paper presents the results of a scale-up test of the catalyst and the process based on an a priori computer simulation.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of a new one-dimensional system with end-to-end single dicyanamide bridges between nickel(II) centres

The complex [Ni(tn)₂{N(CN)₂}]ClO₄ (tn=trimethylenediamine) has been synthesized and the structure has been determined. The complex forms a one-dimensional chain structure via the bidentate bridging ligand dicyanamide. A two-dimensional networks is formed via interchain hydrogen bond interactions.     

Effects of retrograde-zoning of garnet on Sm-Nd isotopic dating of eclogite and oxygen isotopic disequilibrium between eclogitic minerals

The compositional zoning of the garnet in a strongly deformed eclogite from Raobazhai foliated peridotite has been recognized. The CaO concentrations of the garnet are decreased from the core to the rim, while its MnO concentrations are increased, suggesting the retrograde origin of such CaO—MnO zoning. The tie line of garnet + omphacite from this eclogite gives a Sm-Nd age of (187 ± 5) Ma, which is less significant than the Sm-Nd ages of (221±5)—(228 ± 3) Ma and (210 ± 6)—(214 ± 6) Ma for ultrahigh-pressure eclogites in the southern Dabie zone and in the northern Dabie zone, respectively. This younger Sm-Nd age could result from the¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴ Nd ratio decrease of the retrograde zone in the garnet. The δ¹⁸O values of the garnet and omphacite show that their fractionation values are less than the equilibrium fractionation value between the garnet and omphacite at 500—900°C, which suggests an oxygen isotopic disequilibrium between them.     

Synthesis and Characterization of a New Layered Aluminophosphate [Al3P4O16][(CH3)2NHCH2CH2NH(CH3)2][H3O]

A new layered aluminophosphate, denoted AlPO-CJ12, has been synthesized in the system Al(OPrⁱ)₃-H₃PO₄-tetramethylethylenediamine-triethyleneglycol and its structure solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It is further characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, ICP, TG, DTA, and elemental analyses. The compound has an empirical formula of [Al₃P₄O₁₆][(CH₃)₂NHCH₂CH₂NH(CH₃)₂][H₃O], and crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 (No. 2) with a=8.9907(6) Å b=9.8359(6) Å, c=14.5566(8) Å, α=75.872(3)°, β=88.616(3)°, γ=63.404(3)°, Z=2, R₁=0.0451, and wR₂=0.1094. The alternation of tetrahedral AlO₄ and PO₃ (=O) units forms a sheet structure with a 4×6×8 network. The inorganic layers stacked in an AAAA sequence are held together by the protonated organic amine and water molecules. The co-templating role of the water molecules is studied by the calculation of the nonbonding host-guest interaction energies through a computational simulation.