Rapid quantitative analysis of individual anthocyanin content based on high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection with the pH differential method

A new quantitative technique for the simultaneous quantification of the individual anthocyanins based on the pH differential method and high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection is proposed in this paper. The six individual anthocyanins (cyanidin 3‐glucoside, cyanidin 3‐rutinoside, petunidin 3‐glucoside, petunidin 3‐rutinoside, and malvidin 3‐rutinoside) from mulberry (Morus rubra) and Liriope platyphylla were used for demonstration and validation. The elution of anthocyanins was performed using a C₁₈ column with stepwise gradient elution and individual anthocyanins were identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Based on the pH differential method, the high‐performance liquid chromatography peak areas of maximum and reference absorption wavelengths of anthocyanin extracts were conducted to quantify individual anthocyanins. The calibration curves for these anthocyanins were linear within the range of 10–5500 mg/L. The correlation coefficients (r²) all exceeded 0.9972, and the limits of detection were in the range of 1–4 mg/L at a signal‐to‐noise ratio ≥5 for these anthocyanins. The proposed quantitative analysis was reproducible with good accuracy of all individual anthocyanins ranging from 96.3 to 104.2% and relative recoveries were in the range 98.4–103.2%. The proposed technique is performed without anthocyanin standards and is a simple, rapid, accurate, and economical method to determine individual anthocyanin contents.     

Formation of lithium,sodium and potassium complexes with 1,3,5‐triamino‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol (taci)

Single crystals of (1,3‐diamino‐5‐azaniumyl‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol‐κ³O²,O⁴,O⁶)(1,3,5‐triamino‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol‐κ³O²,O⁴,O⁶)lithium(I) diiodide dihydrate, [Li(C₆H₁₆N₃O₃)(C₆H₁₅N₃O₃)]I₂·2H₂O or [Li(Htaci)(taci)]I₂·2H₂O (taci is 1,3,5‐triamino‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol), (I), bis(1,3,5‐triamino‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol‐κ³O²,O⁴,O⁶)sodium(I) iodide, [Na(C₆H₁₅N₃O₃)₂]I or [Na(taci)₂]I, (II), and bis(1,3,5‐triamino‐1,3,5‐trideoxy‐cis‐inositol‐κ³O²,O⁴,O⁶)potassium(I) iodide, [K(C₆H₁₅N₃O₃)₂]I or [K(taci)₂]I, (III), were grown by diffusion of MeOH into aqueous solutions of the complexes. The structures of the Na and K complexes are isotypic. In all three complexes, the taci ligands adopt a chair conformation with axial hydroxy groups, and the metal cations exhibit exclusive O‐atom coordination. The six O atoms of the resulting MO₆ unit define a centrosymmetric trigonal antiprism with approximate D_3d symmetry. The interligand O...O distances increase significantly in the order Li < Na < K. The structure of (I) exhibits a complex three‐dimensional network of R—NH₂—H...NH₂—R, R—O—H...NH₂—R and R—O—H...O(H)—H...NH₂—R hydrogen bonds. The structures of the Na and K complexes consist of a stack of layers, in which each taci ligand is bonded to three neighbours via pairwise O—H...NH₂ interactions between vicinal HO—CH—CH—NH₂ groups.     

Novel Red Phosphorescent Polymers Bearing Both Ambipolar and Functionalized IrIII Phosphorescent Moieties for Highly Efficient Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

A series of novel red phosphorescent polymers is successfully developed through Suzuki cross‐coupling among ambipolar units, functionalized Ir^III phosphorescent blocks, and fluorene‐based silane moieties. The photophysical and electrochemical investigations indicate not only highly efficient energy‐transfer from the organic segments to the phosphorescent units in the polymer backbone but also the ambipolar character of the copolymers. Benefiting from all these merits, the phosphorescent polymers can furnish organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) with exceptional high electroluminescent (EL) efficiencies with a current efficiency (η _L) of 8.31 cd A⁻¹, external quantum efficiency (η _ext) of 16.07%, and power efficiency (η _P) of 2.95 lm W⁻¹, representing the state‐of‐the‐art electroluminescent performances ever achieved by red phosphorescent polymers. This work here might represent a new pathway to design and synthesize highly efficient phosphorescent polymers.

     

Morphological Investigation of Midblock‐Sulfonated Block Ionomers Prepared from Solvents Differing in Polarity

Recent developments regarding charged multiblock copolymers that can form physical networks and exhibit robust mechanical properties herald new and exciting opportunities for contemporary technologies requiring amphiphilic attributes. Due to the presence of strong interactions, however, control over the phase behavior of such materials remains challenging, especially since their morphologies can be solvent‐templated. In this study, transmission electron microscopy and microtomography are employed to examine the morphological characteristics of midblock‐sulfonated pentablock ionomers prepared from solvents differing in polarity. Resultant images confirm that discrete, spherical ion‐rich microdomains form in films cast from a relatively nonpolar solvent, whereas an apparently mixed morphology with a continuous ion‐rich pathway is generated when the casting solvent is more highly polar. Detailed 3D analysis of the morphological characteristics confirms the coexistence of hexagonally‐packed nonpolar cylinders and lamellae, which facilitates the diffusion of ions and/or other polar species through the nanostructured medium.

     

A novel imaging tool for hepatic portal system using phase contrast technique with hydrogen peroxide‐generated O2 gas

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of hydrogen peroxide‐generated oxygen gas‐based phase contrast imaging (PCI) for visualizing mouse hepatic portal veins. The O₂ gas was made from the reaction between H₂O₂ and catalase. The gas production was imaged by PCI in real time. The H₂O₂ was injected into the enteric cavity of the lower sigmoid colon to produce O₂ in the submucosal venous plexus. The generated O₂ gas could be finally drained into hepatic portal veins. Absorption contrast imaging (ACI) and PCI of O₂‐filled portal veins were performed and compared. PCI offers high resolution and real‐time visualization of the O₂ gas production. Compared with O₂‐based ACI, O₂‐based PCI significantly enhanced the revealing of the portal vein in vivo. It is concluded that O₂‐based PCI is a novel and promising imaging modality for future studies of portal venous disorders in mice models.     

Perfect 1‐Factorizations of a Family of Cayley Graphs

A 1‐factorization of a graph G is a decomposition of G into edge‐disjoint 1‐factors (perfect matchings), and a perfect 1‐factorization is a 1‐factorization in which the union of any two of the 1‐factors is a Hamilton cycle. We consider the problem of the existence of perfect 1‐factorizations of even order 4‐regular Cayley graphs, with a particular interest in circulant graphs. In this paper, we study a new family of graphs, denoted , which are Cayley graphs if and only if k is even or . By solving the perfect 1‐factorization problem for a large class of graphs, we obtain a new class of 4‐regular bipartite circulant graphs that do not have a perfect 1‐factorization, answering a problem posed in 7 . With further study of graphs, we prove the nonexistence of P1Fs in a class of 4‐regular non‐bipartite circulant graphs, which is further support for a conjecture made in 7 .     

The Rayleigh law in silicon doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

A wealth of studies have confirmed that the low‐field hysteresis behaviour of ferroelectric bulk ceramics and thin films can be described using Rayleigh relations, and irreversible domain wall motion across the array of pining defects has been commonly accepted as the underlying micro‐mechanism. Recently, HfO₂ thin films incorporated with various dopants were reported to show pronounced ferroelectricity, however, their microscopic domain structure remains unclear till now. In this work, the effects of the applied electric field amplitude, frequency and temperature on the sub‐coercive polarization reversal properties were investigated for 10 nm thick Si‐doped HfO₂ thin films. The applicability of the Rayleigh law to ultra‐thin ferroelectric films was first confirmed, indicating the existence of a multi‐domain structure. Since the grain size is about 20–30 nm, a direct observation of domain walls within the grains is rather challenging and this indirect method is a feasible approach to resolve the domain structure. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The role of copper(II) and zinc(II) in the degradation of human and murine IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme

Amylin or islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is a 37‐residue peptide hormone secreted from the pancreatic islets into the blood circulation and is cleared by peptidases in the kidney. IAPP aggregates are strongly associated with β‐cell degeneration in type 2 diabetes, as demonstrated by the fact that more than 95% of patients exhibit IAPP amyloid upon autopsy. Recently, it has been reported that metal ions such as copper(II) and zinc(II) are implicated in the aggregation of IAPP as well as able to modulate the proteolytic activity of IAPP degrading enzymes. For this reason, in this work, the role of the latter metal ions in the degradation of IAPP by insulin‐degrading enzyme (IDE) has been investigated by a chromatographic and mass spectrometric combined method. The latter experimental approach allowed not only to assess the overall metal ion inhibition of the human and murine IAPP degradation by IDE but also to have information on copper‐ and zinc‐induced changes in IAPP aggregation. In addition, IDE cleavage site preferences in the presence of metal ions are rationalized as metal ion‐induced changes in substrate accessibility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.