Profiling fatty acids in vegetable oils by reactive pyrolysis-gas chromatography with dimethyl carbonate and titanium silicate

A novel methodology in on-line pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) for the fast analysis of fatty acids in vegetable oils with minimal sample treatment and the use of non-toxic reagents is described. Pyrolysis at 500 degrees C for 10 s of sub-microgram quantity of vegetable oil dissolved in dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and in the presence of nanopowder titanium silicon oxide resulted in the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) as unique products. Pyrolysis performed by means of a resistively heated filament pyrolyser interfaced to a GC-MS apparatus enabled the direct analysis of evolved FAMEs. The DMC/Py-GC-MS analysis was tested on soybean, coconut, linseed, walnut and olive oil and the results compared to the classical BF(3)-methanol as reference methodology. The DMC method exhibited a lower precision and was biased towards lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in comparison to the BF(3)-methanol method, but was more advantageous in terms of reduced sample treatment, waste generation and risk factors of employed chemicals.     

On-line identification of tropane alkaloids from Erythroxylum vacciniifolium by liquid chromatography-UV detection-multiple mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry

The bark of catuaba (Erythroxylum vacciniifolium Martius, Erythroxylaceae), a tree native to the northern part of Brazil, was investigated for its alkaloid content. With the aim of obtaining preliminary structure information on-line, the alkaloid extract was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array UV detection, to mass spectrometry and to nuclear magnetic resonance. Interpretation of on-line spectroscopic data obtained from this extract led to structural elucidation of six new alkaloids and partial identification of 18 potentially original alkaloids bearing the same tropane skeleton esterified in positions 3 and 6 by 1-methyl-1H-pyrrol-2-carboxylic acid and/or 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid.     

Probing in vitro digestion at oil–water interfaces

Interfacial layers have been widely applied to study the formation and stability of emulsion-based systems. However, the application of isolated interfaces to address digestibility of emulsions is often limited because of the complexity of experimental methods and results. This review summarizes the latest developments in analytical methods and literature data on effects of digestion on interfacial layers. Particular emphasis is given to understand the changes on interfacial magnitudes during oral, gastric, and duodenal digestion, either applied separately or sequentially. Limitations of interfacial aspects and key factors that influence emulsion microstructure in bulk and lipid digestion are identified. Understanding the behavior of interfacial layers upon gastrointestinal digestion promotes an accurate tracking of the physiological fate of emulsions.     

Effect of the reaction state on the polymerization of p-xylenesulfonium salts

1,4-Phenylenebis(methylene) sulfonium salts were polymerized under different conditions to yield p-xylylene sulfonium salt polyelectrolytes in a broad range of molecular weights. The aqueous reaction mixture formed a reversible gel at initial monomer concentrations higher than 1.0M, but at lower concentrations it remained as an emulsion until reaction completion. The effect of reaction time on intrinsic viscosities and polymer yields for both the emulsion and the gel state is discussed. The higher yields obtained when the reaction was carried out in the presence of a water-immiscible organic solvent were apparently due to the effect of this solvent on increasing the concentration of the reactive intermediate that led to the polyelectrolyte. Both the addition of an organic solvent and the variation of the initial monomer concentrations allowed some control over the molecular weight of the polyelectrolyte formed.     

Fermentation characteristics and the dynamic trend of chemical components during fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata

As a representative of traditionally fermented Chinese medicine, Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) shows the functions of invigorating the spleen and stomach and promoting digestion, which plays an important role in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The fermentation mechanism and the key factors that affect the quality of MMF have not been revealed yet, which has become an urgent issue that limits its clinical application. This article aims to systematically and comprehensively reveal the transformation of physical properties and the dynamic trend of chemical components including substrate components, volatile components, and lactic acid as anaerobic fermentation product during MMF fermentation. Along with obvious hyphae growth observed for MMF, the weight of MMF decreased, and the moisture and temperature increased. Through the quantified 14 components from substrate, ferulic acid increased from 45.53 ± 6.94 to 141.89 ± 78.40 μg/g, while glycosides and phenolic acids declined except caffeic acid. Also, within the 66 volatile components analyzed, alcohols and acids increased, while aldehydes and ketones decreased. Lactic acid was not detected in the fermentation substrate, but an apparent increase in lactic acid content was observed along with the increased fermentation days, resulting in 2.54 ± 0.15 mg/g on day 8. Based on the tested components, the fermentation process of MMF was discriminated into three distinct stages by principal component analysis, and an optimal fermentation time of four days was proposed. The results of this study will be of great significance to clarify the characteristics of fermentation and conduce to improving quality standards of MMF.     

Qualitative properties of pulsating fronts for reaction–advection–diffusion equations in periodic excitable media

In this paper, we study the pulsating fronts of reaction–advection-diffusion equations with two types of nonlinear term in periodic excitable media. Firstly, for the case with combustion nonlinearity, the unique front is proved to decay exponentially when it approaches the unstable limiting state. Secondly, for the degenerate monostable type nonlinearity, it is shown that the front with critical speed is unique, monotone and decays exponentially at negative end, while the fronts of noncritical speeds decay to zero non-exponentially.     

Asymptotic stability of the Degasperis–Procesi antipeakon–peakon profile

The aim of this paper is to prove that the Degasperis–Procesi antipeakon–peakon profile is asymptotically stable for all time. We start by proving the asymptotic stability of a single Degasperis–Procesi peakon and antipeakon with respect to perturbations having a momentum density that is first negative and then positive. Then this result is extended towards a well-ordered trains of antipeakons–peakons under such perturbations. In particular, the asymptotic stability of the antipeakon–peakon profile holds.     

Minimax principles for elliptic mixed hemivariational–variational inequalities

In this paper, minimax principles are explored for elliptic mixed hemivariational–variational inequalities. Under certain conditions, a saddle-point formulation is shown to be equivalent to a mixed hemivariational–variational inequality. While the minimax principle is of independent interest, it is employed in this paper to provide an elementary proof of the solution existence of the mixed hemivariational–variational inequality. Theoretical results are illustrated in the applications of two contact problems.     

Synthetic strategies and functional reactivity of versatile thiophene synthons

Abstract

Thiophenes are a highly important group of heterocycles and have been of great interest to researchers due to their various reactivities. Many synthetic strategies are used to generate functionalized thiophene derivatives. Several reactions are described, depending on the reactivity of the substituents attached to the thiophene nucleus toward different nucleophiles to yield the versatile thiophene products. Many diverse applications have been utilized for thiophenes from medicinal chemistry to material science.