Quantification of Valerenic Acid in Valeriana jatamansi and Valeriana officinalis by HPTLC

A simple, rapid, cost-effective and accurate high performance thin layer chromatographic method has been developed for quantification of valerenic acid in Valeriana jatamansi and Valeriana officinalis which is one of the stable compounds of Valeriana officinalis and designated as a key marker compound. Valerenic acid makes substantial contribution to the sedative and spasmolytic activity of the essential oil and extract of Valeriana officinalis. Separation and quantification was achieved by HPTLC using ternary mobile phase of hexane: ethyl acetate: acetic acid (80:20:0.5 v/v) on precoated silica gel 60F₂₅₄ aluminium plates and densitometric determination was carried out after derivatization with anisaldehyde-sulphuric acid reagent at 700 nm, in absorption-reflectance mode. The calibration curves were linear in the range of (500 ng–2.5 μg). This is the first HPTLC report for the identification and quantification of valerenic acid in Valeriana jatamansi and Valeriana officinalis.     

Structural Changes of Cellulose Crystallites Induced by Mercerisation in Different Solvent Systems; Determined by Powder X-ray Diffraction Method

The completeness of mercerisation can be evaluated by investigating the changes in the crystalline regions of cellulose from cellulose I (C-I) to cellulose II (C-II) by the X-ray powder diffraction method. Mercerisation experiments in four different solution systems: ethanol/water, acetone, DMSO and xylene, are reported. Also the effect of some additives, external pressure, treatment time and alkalisation temperature were studied. In two-phase solvent systems, structural changes of cellulose crystallites depended primarily on the distribution and solubility of sodium hydroxide in the solvent phases. The sodium hydroxide concentration in the hydrophilic phase must exceed 7–8 w/w-% before complete crystal change from C-I to C-II can occur. The precipitation of sodium hydroxide due to high concentration prevents the successful use of one-phase ethanol/water system in slurry process. On the contrary, the 2-propanol/water/sodium hydroxide system separates into two layers; to the water-rich lower layer and the 2-propanol-rich upper layer, where the sodium hydroxide remains mainly in the water-rich lower layer. This prevents the precipitation of sodium hydroxide and promotes the alkalisation of cellulose. Ammonium chloride and ammonium hydroxide clearly had a positive effect by promoting the crystal changes, however, the urea concentration used in this study was obviously too small. In the advantageous two-phase 2-propanol/water systems, the alkalisation time was only 15 min when the treatment temperature was kept between 0 and 10 °C. Reduced external pressure was found to have a small but still detectable positive effect on cellulose alkalisation while over-pressure prevented crystal changes.     

6291型热变形温度和维卡软化温度测试仪的校准及故障排除

介绍6291型热变形温度和维卡软化温度测试仪的温度校准和位移校准方法，对测试仪的一些常见故障，例如电源故障，主温度传感器故障，电加热系统控制单元故障及测试站的温度偏差较大等进行了分析，并给出了排除故障的方法。     

Investigation of homo- and heterodimer alkali metal cation complexes of resorc[4]arenes by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Resorc[4]arenes are compounds with interesting properties, mainly because of their ability to form host-guest complexes with the guest located inside the cavity. The size of the guest limits the complexation, as shown by a competition experiment with tetraalkylammonium ions of different size. By electroscopy ionization tandem mass spectrometric experiments on resorc[4]arene heterodimers bearing an alkali metal ion as guest, it was found that there must be two different binding mechanisms for alkali metal ions with high surface charge density (Li(+) and Na(+)) on the one hand compared with those with a lower surface charge density on the other hand (K(+), Rb(+), Cs(+)).     

Alkylhydrazides and their protonated forms: Physical methods andab initio calculations

The basicity of hydrazides of the highest aliphatic carboxylic acids RC(O)NHNH₂ (R = C_nH_2n+1,n = 5-12) has been studied by potentiometric titration, and IR and¹H NMR spectroscopy.Ab initio Hartree-Fork calculations using the 6–31G^* basis set with full optimization of geometry were carried out on the simplest acy1hydrazines and their possible protonated forms. Based on these calculations, and the 1R and¹H NMR spectra, the tautomerism of alkylhydrazides and the structures of their protonated forms are discussed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2645–2649, November, 1996.     

Effect of film thickness and supercooling on the performance of cholesteryl cinnamate liquid crystal capillary columns

Improved separations of the isomers of olefinic aliphatic insect pheromones were obtained on cholesteryl cinnamate glass capillary columns by operating in the supercooled temperature range of the liquid crystal. Capillary columns were prepared with varying film thickness of the stationary phase; choice of the correct film thickness ensured optimum retention for a wide range of compounds within the most effective temperature range of the liquid crystal. The deactivation procedures described made the liquid crystal columns suitable for separation of the geometric isomers of polar and nonpolar compounds.     

Volume and compressibility changes of complex formation between 18-Crown-6 and NaCl,KCl, and CsCl in water

The apparent molal volumes and compressibilities of NaCl, KCl, and CsCl in mixtures of 18-Crown-6 and water have been calculated from density and speed-of-sound measurements at 25°C. The partial molal volumes and compressibilities of the salts when all cations have formed complexes with 18-Crown-6 molecules have been evaluated. The sign and magnitude of the volume and compressibility changes of complex formation strongly suggest that the charge of the cation becomes very effectively screened by the crown ether.     

Baker''''s yeast mediated reduction of substituted acenaphthenequinones: Regio-and enantioselective preparation of mono-hydroxyacenaphthenones

Baker's yeast mediated reduction of acenaphthenequinone within 4-10 h afforded mono-hydroxyacenaphthenone mainly with low enantioselectivity, the substrate and mono-hydroxyacenaphthenone product almost converted to dihydroxyacenaphthene after 48 h. By control of the reaction time and in the presence of DMF as co-solvent, the reduction of 6-substituted acenaphthenequinones under vigorous agitation afforded the corresponding 2-hydroxyacenaphthenones in 24-84% yields with 10-93% ee.     

Simultaneous speciation of mercury and butyltin compounds in natural waters and snow by propylation and species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry analysis

A robust method has been developed for simultaneous determination of mercury and butyltin compounds in aqueous samples. This method is capable of providing accurate results for analyte concentrations in the picogram per liter to nanogram per liter range. The simultaneous determination of the mercury and tin compounds is achieved by species-specific isotope dilution, derivatization, and gas chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (GC–ICP–MS). In derivatization by ethylation and propylation, reaction conditions such as pH and the effect of chloride were carefully studied. Ethylation was found to be more sensitive to matrix effects, especially for mercury compounds. Propylation was thus the preferred derivatization method for simultaneous determination of organomercury and organotin compounds in environmental samples. The analytical method is highly accurate and precise, with RSD values of 1 and 3% for analyte concentrations in the picogram per liter to nanogram per liter range. By use of cleaning procedures and SIDMS blank measurements, detection limits in the range 10–60 pg L^–1 were achieved; these are suitable for determination of background levels of these contaminants in environmental samples. This was demonstrated by using the method for analysis of real snow and seawater samples. This work illustrates the great advantage of species-specific isotope dilution for the validation of an analytical speciation method—the possibility of overcoming species transformations and non-quantitative recovery. Analysis time is saved by use of the simultaneous method, because of the use of a single sample-preparation procedure and one analysis.     

Ion Transfer in CdF<Subscript>2</Subscript>-based Iso- and Polyvalent Solid Solutions

The ionic conductivity of solid solution Cd_0.77Sr_0.23F₂ is 1.6 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm at 500 K. The conduction mechanism changes from a vacancy mechanism to an interstitial one at 523–553 K. In solid solutions Cd_0.9R_0.1F_2.1 (R = La-Lu, Y), the activation enthalpy of conduction decreases from 0.9 to 0.8 eV with decreasing ionic radius of R³⁺, raising the 500-K conductivity from 6 ×10⁻⁶ S/cm for La³⁺to 6 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm for Lu³⁺. For crystalline Cd_0.95In_0.05F_2.05, ionic and electronic conductivities at 313 K equal 5 × 10⁻⁴ and 5 − 10⁻⁶ S/cm.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 5, 2005, pp. 627–632.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Sorokin, Buchinskaya, Sul’yanova, Sobolev.