Use of expanded bed adsorption to purify flavonoids from Ginkgo biloba L.

Three techniques (liquid–liquid extraction, packed bed adsorption and expanded bed adsorption) have been compared for the purification of flavonoids from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. A crude Ginkgo extract was obtained by refluxing with ethanol for 3 h. The yield of flavonoids achieved by this crude extraction was about 19% (w/w) and the purity of flavonoids in the concentrated extract was between 1.9 and 2.3% (w/w). The crude extract was then dissolved in deionized water and centrifuged where necessary to prepare clarified feedstock for further purification. For the method using liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, the purity, concentration ratio and yield of flavonoids were 25.4–31.0%, 16–18 and >98%, respectively. For the method using packed bed adsorption, Amberlite XAD7HP was selected as the adsorbent and clarified extract was used as the feedstock. The dynamic adsorption breakthrough curves and elution profiles were measured. For a feedstock containing flavonoids at a concentration of 0.25 mg/mL, the appropriate loading volume to reach a 5% breakthrough point during the adsorption stage was estimated to be 550–600 mL for a packed bed of volume 53 mL and a flow rate of 183 cm/h. The results from the elution stage indicated that the majority of impurities were eluted by ethanol concentrations of 40% (v/v) or below and efficient separation of flavonoids from the impurities could be achieved by elution of the flavonoids with 50–80% ethanol reaching an average purity of ∼25%. The recovery yield of flavonoids using the packed bed purification method was about 60% of the flavonoids present in the clarified feedstock (corresponding to around 30% for the total flavonoids in the unclarified crude extract). For the method using expanded bed adsorption also conducted with Amberlite XAD7HP as the adsorbent, the optimal operation conditions scouted during the packed bed experiments were used but unclarified crude extract could be loaded directly into the column. For an expanded bed with a settled bed height of 30 cm, the loss of flavonoids in the column flow-through was about 30%. The two-step elution protocol again proved to be effective in separating the adsorbed impurities and flavonoids. More than 96% of the bound impurities were completely removed by 40% ethanol in the first elution stage and less than 4% remained in the final product eluted by 90% ethanol in the second elution stage. Also, ∼74% of the adsorbed flavonoids on column (corresponding to 51% of the total flavonoids in the unclarified feedstock) were recovered in the product. In addition to higher recovery yield, the average process time to obtain the same amount of product was decreased in the expanded bed adsorption (EBA) process. The results suggest that the adoption of EBA procedures can greatly simplify the process flow sheet and in addition reduce the cost and time to purify flavonoids from Ginkgo biloba. These results clearly demonstrate the potential for the use of EBA to purify pharmaceuticals from plant sources.     

Porphyrin‐Ryleneimide Hybrids: Low‐Bandgap Acceptors in Energy‐Transfer Cassettes

Energy‐transfer cassettes consisting of naphthaleneimide‐fused metalloporphyrin acceptors (M=Zn and Pd) and BODIPY donors have been designed and synthesized. These systems have rigid pseudo‐tetrahedral structures with a donor‐acceptor separation of ca. 17.5 Å. Spectroscopic investigations, including femtosecond transient absorption measurements, showed efficient excitation energy transfer (EET) occurring according to the Förster mechanism. Strong fluorescence of the donor units and significant spectral overlap of the donor and acceptor subunits are prerequisites for the efficient EET in these systems.     

Novel manganese (III) porphyrin containing peripheral “[RuCl(dppb)(X-bipy)]” cations [dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane and X = –CH3, –OMe, –Cl]. X-ray structure of the cis-[RuCl(dppb)(bipy)(4-Mepy)]PF6 complex

New tetraruthenated manganese (III) porphyrins were synthesized and characterized (³¹P NMR, cyclic voltammetry, UV–Vis). This new system presents four units of cationic “[RuCl(dppb)(X-bipy)]⁺”. The electrochemical and catalytic properties of the central manganese (III) show dependence on the characteristics of the peripheral ruthenium complexes as evidenced by the Mn^(III)/Mn^(II) reduction potential.     

Significant Effect of the Flexibility of Bridging Alkyl Chains on the Proximity of Stacked Porphyrin and Phthalocyanine Conjugated with a Fourfold Rotaxane Linkage

Spatial distance is an important factor in controlling the functional interactions between molecular units in a conjugate; therefore, the bridging unit has been closely examined. Here, we examined the effect of the flexibility of bridging alkyl chains on the proximity of stacked porphyrin and phthalocyanine conjugated with a fourfold rotaxane linkage. We found that closely stacking two π systems requires bridging alkyl chains above a certain length, and the shorter bridges hinder stacking because of their lower flexibility. The stacking distance between porphyrin and phthalocyanine in the conjugate with decyl (C₁₀) chains was estimated to be 4.03 Å and showed a unique physical character arising from short-distance interactions. The longer alkyl chains minimized steric restriction inside the fourfold rotaxane and allowed efficient communication between the porphyrin and phthalocyanine units. This is due to the flexibility of the side chains.     

First synthesis of dioxadithiaporphycene with a benzene ring fused onto the double bond

Dioxadithiaporphycenes 5 and 5′ were synthesized by using the Suzuki cross-coupling and McMurry coupling reactions as the key steps. This approach provided an access to the first dioxadithiaporphycene derivative 15 with a benzene ring fused onto the double bond.     

Electrochemical Arylation of N-Containing Chelate and Macrocyclic Complexes of Transition Metals with the Aid of Diphenyliodonium Salts

A new method of electrochemical arylation of complexes of transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni) with N-containing chelate and macrocyclic (dimethylglyoximate, porphyrin, etc.) ligands employs diphenyliodonium salts as arylating agents and permits the synthesis of compounds containing functional groups that are easily reduceable or sensitive to the action of organometallic compounds. A homogeneous redox catalysis (mediator 1,5-dinitroanthraquinone-9,10) reduces the reaction potential to –0.45 V (Ag/AgCl/KCl), thus substantially decreasing the contribution of side processes.     

Heptaphyrins: Expanded porphyrins with seven heterocyclic rings

Expanded porphyrins containing seven pyrrole/heterocyclic rings linked in a cyclic fashion are termed heptaphyrins. The number ofπ-electrons in heptaphyrins depends on the number ofmeso carbon bridges used to link the heterocyclic rings, accordingly heptaphyrins with 28π-electrons and 30π-electrons are reported to date. Both condensation reactions of the appropriate precursors and acid-catalysed oxidative coupling reactions have been utilized to synthesise the heptaphyrins. The 30π heptaphyrins exhibit rich structural diversity where some of the heterocyclic rings in the macrocycle undergo a 180° ring flipping. An overview of the synthetic methods employed for the synthesis of heptaphyrins, their spectroscopic properties, structural behaviour and aromatic properties are highlighted in this paper. Dedicated to Professor C N R Rao on his 70th birthday