Separation of organoselenium compounds and their electrochemical detection

A simplified procedure based on ion-exchange separation of selenourea (Se-U) and selenocystamine (Se-CM), which have very close half-wave potential when they are simultaneously analyzed by voltammetric techniques, has been developed and optimized. Thus, selenocystamine remains in the cation exchanger Purolite C 100 H, whereas selenourea is found in the effluent and is determined by square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry using Na₂CO₃ as electrolyte. Selenocystamine is then eluted from the cation exchanger using 4 M HCl and analyzed by square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry in the HCl solution. For each voltammetric determination the corresponding parameters were investigated and optimized; the obtained detection limits were 0.3 ng Se mL^–1 for Se-CM and 2 ng Se mL^–1 for Se-U. A flow sheet for the separation of inorganic (Se(IV) and Se(VI)) and organoselenium compounds (Se-U, Se-CM, (CH₃)₂Se₂, and (CH₃)₂Se) developed for their electrochemical detection is presented and it was successfully applied to a certified reference material, an environmental soil sample, and a urine sample.     

A characteristic CH band in VCD of methyl glycosidic carbohydrates

Novel vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) studies in the CH region of a series of methyl glycosidic carbohydrates were examined. The specific CH stretching VCD band predicts absolute stereochemistries of their anomeric positions. The C-1 chiral information was extracted to the methoxy substituent as a probe. The concept of the vibrational chirality probe from a single chiral center in the presence of numerous such centers might be useful in determining the absolute configuration, when a multiplicity of chiral centers is present in a molecule such as a carbohydrate.     

Dynamic chirality: keen selection in the face of stereochemical diversity in mechanically bonded compounds

The template-directed syntheses, employing bisparaphenylene-[34]crown-10 (BPP34C10), 1,5-dinaphthoparaphenylene-[36]crown-10 (1/5NPPP36C10), and 1,5-dinaphtho-[38]crown-10 (1/5DNP38C10) as templates, of three [2]catenanes, whereby one of the two bipyridinium units in cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) is replaced by a bipicolinium unit, are described. The crude reaction mixtures comprising the [2]catenanes all contain slightly more of the homologous [3]catenanes, wherein a "dimeric" octacationic cyclophane has the crown ether macrocycles encircling the alternating bipyridinium units with the bipicolinium units completely unfettered. X-ray crystallography, performed on all three [2]catenanes and two of the three [3]catenanes reveals co-conformational and stereochemical preferences that are stark and pronounced. Both the [3]catenanes crystallize as mixtures of diastereoisomers on account of the axial chirality associated with the picolinium units in the solid state. Dynamic (1)H NMR spectroscopy is employed to probe in solution the relative energy barriers for rotations by the phenylene and pyridinium rings in the tetracationic cyclophane component of the [2]catenanes. Where there are co-conformational changes that are stereochemically "allowed", crown ether circumrotation and rocking processes are also investigated for the relative rates of their occurrence. The outcome is one whereby the three [2]catenanes containing BPP34C10, 1/5NPPP36C10, and 1/5DNP38C10 exist as one major enantiomeric pair of diastereoisomers amongst two, four, and eight diastereoisomeric pairs of enantiomers, respectively. The diastereoisomerism is a consequence of the presence of axial chirality together with helical and/or planar chirality in the same interlocked molecule. These [2]catenanes constitute a rich reserve of new stereochemical types that might be tapped for their switching and mechanical properties.     

Chiral separation of enantiomers of amino acid derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography on a norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase

A novel norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase (NVC-CSP) was synthesized by using the chiral selector of norvancomycin. The chiral separation of enantiomers of several dansyl-amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the reversed-phase mode is described. The effects of some parameters, such as organic modifier concentration, column temperature, pH and flow rate of the mobile phase, on the retention and enantioselectivity were investigated. The study showed that ionic, as well as hydrophobic interactions were engaged between the analyte and macrocycle in this chromatographic system. Increasing pH of buffers usually improved the chiral resolution for dansyl--amino-n-butyric acid (Dns-But), dansyl-methionine (Dns-Met) and dansyl-threonine (Dns-Thr), but not for dansyl-glutamic acid (Dns-Glu) which contains two carboxylic groups in its molecular structure. The natural logarithms of selectivity factors (ln ) of all the investigated compounds depended linearly on the reciprocal of temperature (1/T), most processes of enantioseparation were controlled enthalpically. Interestingly, the process of enantioseparaton for dansyl-threonine was enthalpy-controlled at pH of 3.5, while at pH of 7.0, it was entropy-controlled according to thermodynamic parameters Δ_R,SΔH° and Δ_R,SΔS° afforded by Van’t Hoff plots. In order to get baseline separation for all the solutes researched, norvancomycin was also used as a chiral mobile phase additive. In combination with the NVC-CSP, remarkable increases in enanselectivity were observed for all the compounds, as the result of a “synergistic” effect.     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法结合多糖衍生物手性固定相拆分氰戊菊酯

建立了以多糖衍生物为手性固定相的高效液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)直接拆分氰戊菊酯对映体的方法。在反相液相色谱条件下,考察了手性固定相的种类、流动相组成、柱温、流速对氰戊菊酯4个立体异构体分离的影响。同时,利用热力学方法对氰戊菊酯的立体异构体与固定相之间的色谱保留和分离的热力学机理进行了探讨。结果表明:采用Lux Cellulose-3(纤维素-三(4-甲基苯甲酸酯))手性色谱柱,在以流动相为乙腈-水(5 mmol/L甲酸铵)=(55:45,V:V)流速0.4 mL/min,柱温30℃的条件下,可在14 mins内实现氰戊菊酯4个立体异构体的基线分离。拓展了HPLC-MS/MS在菊酯类手性农药对映体分离及检测上的应用。     

Transport properties of alkanes through ceramic thin zeolite MFI membranes

Polycrystalline randomly oriented defect free zeolite layers on porous α-Al₂O₃ supports are prepared with a thickness of less than 5 μm by in situ crystallisation of silicalite-1. The flux of alkanes is a function of the sorption and intracrystalline diffusion. In mixtures of strongly and weakly adsorbing gases and a high loadings of the strongly adsorbing molecule in the zeolite poze, the flux of the weakly adsorbing molecule is suppressed by the sorption and the mobility of the strongly adsorbing molecule resulting in pore-blocking effects. The separation of these mixtures is mainly based on the sorption and completely different from the permselectivity. At low loadings of the strongly adsorbing molecules the separation is based on the sorption and the diffusion and is the same as the permselectivity. Separation factors for the isomers of butane (n-butane/isobutane) and hexane (hexane/2,2-dimethylbutane) are respectively high (10) and very high (> 2000) at 200°C. These high separation factors are a strong evidence that the membrane shows selectivity by size-exclusion and that transport in pores larger than the zeolite MFI pores (possible defects, etc) can be neglected.     

Molecular origins of the remarkable chiral sensitivity of second-order nonlinear optics.

Recent observations of remarkably large chiroptical effects in second-harmonic generation (SHG) and sum-frequency generation (SFG) measurements suggest exciting possibilities for the development of new chiral-specific spectroscopies and novel chiral materials for nonlinear optics. Several fundamental studies designed to elucidate the molecular and macromolecular origins of the chiral responses are reviewed to provide a framework for development of this emerging field. In general, the chiral activity in SHG and SFG has the potential to arise from complex interactions between hosts of different competing effects. Fortunately, relatively simple electric dipole-allowed mechanisms routinely dominate the nonlinear optical chiral activities of most practical systemsexpressions can often be generated to link the. This substantial reduction in complexity allows for the development of simple models connecting the macroscopic nonlinear optical response to intuitive molecular and supramolecular properties.     

Phase separation of Lal3 inside single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Simple binary solids can be found to adopt unprecedented structures when confined into nanometre-sized cavities, such as the inner cylindrical bore of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). In the case of the discussed Lal(x)@SWNT encapsulation composite, the Lal2 "crystal" fragment adopts the structure of bulk Lal3, with one third of the iodine positions unoccupied. A complete characterisation of the encapsulation composite was achieved using an enhanced digital restoration approach of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. The resulting complex exit surface wave provides information about the precise structural data of both filling material and host SWNT, establishing the SWNT's chirality and thus enabling a prediction of the composite's overall electron-transport properties.     

X=Y=ZH Systems as potential 1,3-dipoles. Part 58: Cycloaddition route to chiral conformationally constrained (R)-pro-(S)-pro peptidomimetics

Imines of (1S,9S)-t-butyl-9-amino-octahydro-6,10-dioxo-6H-pyridazino[1,2-a][1,2]diazepine-1-carboxylate undergo thermal (toluene, 110°C) or LiBr-DBU catalysed (MeCN, room temperature) regio- and stereo-specific cycloaddition to a range of chiral dipolarophiles giving enantiopure spiro-cycloadducts in excellent yield. The reactions proceed via intermediate NH azomethine ylides and litho azomethine ylides, respectively and results in the multiplication of chiral centres from 2 (one of which is lost in the process) to 5.     

Enantioselective separation in capillary electrophoresis using a novel mono-6-propylammonium-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector

The chiral resolving ability of a novel single-isomer cationic β-cyclodextrin (CD), mono-6^A-propylammonium-6^A-deoxy-β-cyclodextrin chloride (PrAMCD), as a chiral selector in capillary electrophoresis (CE) is reported in this work for the enantioseparation of hydroxy, carboxylic acids and amphoteric analytes. The effect of chiral selector concentration on the resolution was studied. Good resolutions were achieved for hydroxy acids. Optimum resolutions were obtained even at 3.5 mM CD concentration for carboxylic acids. The electrophoretic method showed good linearity and reproducibility in terms of migration times and peak areas, which should make it suitable for routine analysis. In addition, baseline chiral separation of a six-acid mixture was achieved within 20 min. PrAMCD proved to be an effective chiral selector for acidic analytes.