Rapid “one-pot” preparation of polymeric monolith via photo-initiated thiol-acrylate polymerization for capillary liquid chromatography

A facile approach was exploited for fast preparation of polymer-based monoliths in UV-transparent fused-silica capillaries via “one-pot” photo-initiated thiol-acrylate polymerization reaction of dipentaerythritolpenta-/hexaacrylate (DPEPA) and 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) in the presence of porogenic solvents (1-butanol and ethylene glycol). Due to relative insensitivity of oxygen inhibition in thiol-ene free-radical polymerization, the polymerization could be performed within 5 min. The effects of composition of prepolymerization solution on the morphology and permeability of poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monoliths were investigated in detail by adjusting the content of monomer and binary porogen ratio. The physical properties of poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monoliths were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurement. The evaluation of chromatographic performance was carried out by capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). The results indicated that the poly(ODT-co-DPEPA) monolith was homogeneous and permeable, and also possessed a typical reversed-phase retention mechanism in cLC with high efficiency (∼75,000 N m⁻¹) for separation of alkylbenzenes. Eventually, the further separation of tryptic digest of proteins by cLC tandem mass spectrometry (cLC-MS/MS) demonstrated its potential in the analysis of biological samples.     

Calibration of the complex matrix effects on the sampling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in milk samples using solid phase microextraction

Solid phase microextraction (SPME), a simple, fast and promising sampling technique, has been widely used for complex sample analysis. However, complex matrices could modify the absorption property of coatings as well as the uptake kinetics of analytes, eventually biasing the quantification results. In the current study, we demonstrated the feasibility of a developed calibration method for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in complex milk samples. Effects of the complex matrices on the SPME sampling process and the sampling conditions were investigated. Results showed that short exposure time (pre-equilibrium SPME, PE-SPME) could increase the lifetime of coatings, and the complex matrices in milk samples could significantly influence the sampling kinetics of SPME. In addition, the optimized sampling time, temperature and dilution factor for PAHs were 10 min, 85 °C and 20, respectively. The obtained LODs and LOQs of all the PAHs were 0.1–0.8 ng/mL and 1.4–4.7 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the accuracy of the proposed PE-SPME method for milk sampling was validated by the recoveries of the studied compounds in two concentration levels, which ranged from 75% to 110% for all the compounds. Finally, the proposed method was applied to the screening of PAHs in milk samples.     

贫燃条件 In-Ag/TiO2-γ-Al2O3催化 CO选择性还原NO

汽车尾气中主要污染成分 CO和 NOx可导致酸雨、光化学烟雾和臭氧空洞效应,对生物、环境及生态系统造成重大危害。污染源中 CO是性能优良的还原剂,如能不添加还原剂实现 CO催化还原 NOx,将成为最具经济技术优势的 NOx脱除技术。在富氧、低温条件下,利用 CO选择性催化还原 NOx为 N2,是目前选择性催化还原研究中的热点和难点。催化 CO还原 NOx常用的贵金属 Ir, Rh, Pt和Pd矿藏稀少,价格昂贵,有氧条件下活性急降,而分子筛催化剂和一些金属氧化物催化剂普遍存在反应温度高,尤其对 N2选择性差等问题。为解决上述问题,需寻找新的适合我国矿产资源的催化体系。研究发现,稀散金属基催化剂对氮氧化物的净化具有一定效果,因而可将我国的稀散金属资源优势转化为技术优势和经济优势。因此,本文以 TiO2-γ-Al2O3(TA)为载体, In/Ag为活性组分,采用等体积浸渍法制备了 InAg/TA以及 In/TA, Ag/TA和InAg/Al (γ-Al2O3为载体)催化剂,考察了贫燃条件下 CO选择性还原NO的催化活性。研究表明,双金属催化剂InAg/Al和 InAg/TA的活性比单金属催化剂In/TA和 Ag/TA高, In/TA催化剂中引入 Ag物种能降低起燃温度;另外,相比于InAg/Al催化剂, InAg/TA催化剂具有较高的催化活性,550?600°C时 N2产率超过60%,说明载体中引入TiO2可以提高催化剂活性。为了深入研究 InAg/TA催化剂中 Ag物种和TiO2对 In物种的作用,通过比表面测定、X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线光电子能谱、紫外-可见光吸收光谱、氢气程序升温还原、傅立叶变换红外线光谱等方法分析了催化剂结构和表面形态。结果表明, Ag物种可以提高 In物种的分散性, In和 Ag物种在 TA载体表面可以很好地分散,从而有利于提高催化活性。 In和 Ag物种在 TA载体表面以氧化态形式存在,并且 Ag物种可以提高 In物种表面含量,表面 In和 Ag物种含量越高,吸附活性位越多,催化活性越高;同时, TiO2也可以促进 NO吸附,从而提高 InAg/TA催化剂活性。 InAg/TA催化剂在450°C连续反应72 h进行稳定性测试,测试前后分别在50?600°C进行活性测试,并用 XRD和 TEM对反应后的催化剂进行表征测试。结果表明, InAg/TA催化剂具有较好的稳定性,连续反应前后催化剂活性基本保持不变,推测可能由于在有 CO和O2存在的体系中, Ag物种利用自身 Ag+与 Ag0之间的氧化还原反应抑制了活性组分 In2O3的还原和聚集,稳定了 In物种乃至催化剂活性。 InAg/TA催化剂用于贫燃条件下CO还原NO具有较好的催化效果,主要归因于催化剂活性组分分散性好,稳定性高,对NO吸附能力强。 Ag物种可以稳定In物种并提高其分散性, TiO2可以改善In物种和Ag物种的分散性并促进NO吸附。     

LaF3薄片的液相合成和表征

Single-crystalline LaF3 flakes was synthesized through a facile solution-phase approach in aqueous ammonia and ethylenediamine. Applying the thermal treatment at 100 ℃ for 20 h, the LaF3 recrystallized, grew epitaxially and precipitated into flakes in aqueous ammonia or ethylenediamine. The formation of flakes could be attributed to the coordination effect of the solvent.     

New enantiomeric polylactide-block-poly(butylene succinate)-block-polylactides: syntheses, characterization and in situ self-assembly

In situ self-assemblies of new biodegradable triblock PLLA-b-PBS-b-PLLA and PDLA-b-PBS-b-PDLA have been investigated in acetonitrile solution. At first, two series of PLLA-b-PBS-b-PLLA and PDLA-b-PBS-b-PDLA, respectively denoted as the P and Q triblock copolyester series, were prepared with fixed PBS block ((overline) M(n,NMR) = 6.9 kDa) and diverse enantiomeric PLLA/PDLA blocks. Further, their chemical structures and thermal properties were characterized by means of titration, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), polarimeter, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and thermal analytical instruments. When mixing the synthesized enantiomeric copolyester pairs denoted as P(1)/Q(1) - P(8)/Q(8) in acetonitrile solution at 60 degrees C, in situ self-assemblies were found to happen for the P(4)/Q(4) to P(8)/Q(8) pairs, bearing longer enantiomeric PLA block lengths. DSC and WAXD analysis of the self-assembled microparticles demonstrated that PLLA/PDLA racemic crystals were formed for the P(5)/Q(5) - P(8)/Q(8) systems, as evidenced by their melting points over 200 degrees C, and a new X-ray diffraction peak detected at 2theta = 11.8 degrees . Moreover, morphological studies by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated the formation of disk- or platelet-like microparticles. It was noted that the diameters of the microparticles self-assembled in situ decreased from 1.28-1.50 mum down to 480-660 nm, through tailoring the enantiomeric PLA block length. Other factors, such as a central PBS block, the enantiomeric block length and the preparation conditions were suggested to play important roles in the in situ self-assembly of these enantiomeric triblock copolyesters. These results provide a facile way to self-assemble hydrophobic, biodegradable microparticles, through tuning the important van der Waals stereocomplexation interactions between two enantiomeric blocks in solution.     

Preparation of monolithic silica column with strong cation-exchange stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography

A monolithic silica based strong cation-exchange stationary phase was successfully prepared for capillary electrochromatography. The monolithic silica matrix from a sol-gel process was chemically modified by treatment with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane followed by a chemical oxidation procedure to produce the desired function. The strong cation-exchange stationary phase was characterized by its substantial and stable electroosmotic flow (EOF), and it was observed that the EOF value of the prepared column remained almost unchanged at different buffer pH values and slowly decreased with increasing phosphate concentration in the mobile phase. The monolithic silica column with strong cation-exchange stationary phase has been successfully employed in the electrochromatographic separation of beta-blockers and alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). The column efficiencies for the tested beta-blockers varied from 210,000 to 340,000 plates/m. A peak compression effect was observed for atenolol with the mobile phase having a low phosphate concentration.     

Studies on the atom transfer radical polymerization of a maleimide AB* monomer and modification of the halogen end groups

The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of an AB* monomer, N-(4-α-bromobutyryloxy phenyl)maleimide (BBPMI), was conducted using the complex of CuBr/2,2′-bipyridine as catalyst. The study of kinetics of polymerization and the growth behavior of macromolecules show that the polymerization proceeds rapidly in first 1 h and then slows down. The decrease in the rate of polymerization is ascribed to the poor reactivity of maleimide radicals from A* to initiate the polymerization of maleimide double bonds. The molecular weight of the resulting polymer also increases with the dosage of catalyst. The coincidence of molecular weight determined by hydrogen proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) proves that the resulting polymer is of linear structure, which is further verified by ¹³C NMR measurement and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the hydrolysate of the resulting polymer. The stabilization modification of the halogen end groups of the resulting polymer by free-radical chain transfer reaction was attempted under ATRP condition. Isopropyl benzene was employed as the chain transfer agent. Indeed, the modified polymer with carbon-bromine bonds conversion of 40.7% shows enhanced thermal stability. The initial weight loss temperature has been increased from 193 to 243 °C. On the other hand, the atom transfer radical copolymerization of BBPMI with styrene resulted in the formation of hyperbranched polymer.     

An in silico ensemble method for lead discovery: decision forest

Recent progress in combinatorial chemistry and parallel synthesis has radically changed the approach to drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. At present, thousands of compounds can be made in a short period, creating a need for fast and effective in silico methods to select the most promising lead candidates. Decision forest is a novel pattern recognition method, which combines the results of multiple distinct but comparable decision tree models to reach a consensus prediction. In this article, a decision forest model was developed using a structurally diverse training data set containing 232 compounds whose estrogen receptor binding activity was tested at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). The model was subsequently validated using a test data set of 463 compounds selected from the literature, and then applied to a large data set with 57,145 compounds as a screening example. The results show that the decision forest method is a fast, reliable and effective in silico approach, which could be useful in drug discovery.     

Highly selective two-photon chemosensors for fluoride derived from organic boranes

[reaction: see text] Three organoboron compounds are shown to be two-photon fluorescent sensors for fluoride anion with high sensitivity and selectivity. The recognition mechanism is attributed to the unique steric structure of the bulky dimesitylboryl group and the Lewis acid-base interaction between trivalent boron atom and fluoride anion.