Catalyzed Addition of Aldehydes to Activated Double Bonds—A New Synthetic Approach

In the presence of cyanide ions as catalyst, aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes can be smoothly added to α,β-unsaturated ketones, esters, and nitriles in aprotic solvents to form γ-diketones, 4-oxo carboxylic esters, and 4-oxo nitriles. Thiazolium salts in the presence of bases are also suitable catalysts; they permit not only addition of aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes but also the addition of aliphatic aldehydes.     

The identification of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in diesel particulate extracts and their potential formation as artifacts during particulate collection

Summary The highly complex matrix of diesel particulate extracts was analyzed for nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) using fused-silica capillary-column gas chromatography along with a thermionic nitrogen-phosphorus detector (TID) and high-performance liquid chromatography followed by on-line catalytic reduction of the nitro-PAH to amino-PAH and subsequent fluorescence detection. Positive isomer identification and quantitation of nitro-PAH are from retention times of authentic standards and their mass spectra. The ease of nitro-PAH formation by nitration of PAH raises the question regarding the origin of these species, whether they are produced as “native” products during the engine combustion process and/or in the exhaust, or instead, formed as the result of chemical conversion to produce artifacts during the sampling procedure. This problem is assessed examing 1-nitropyrene-concentration in particulates of three light-duty diesel engines for different sampling times. 1-Nitropyrene concentrations show only a moderate increase with sampling time under average sampling conditions. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

A family of multiderivative methods for the numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation

A family of multiderivative methods with minimal phase-lag are introduced in this paper, for the numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation. The methods are called multiderivative since uses derivatives of order two, four or six. Numerical application of the new obtained methods to the Schrödinger equation shows their efficiency compared with other similar well known methods of the literature.Active Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts     

The Synthesis of Unusual Organic Molecules Using Cyclic Peroxides. New synthetic methods (3)

The photodecarboxylation of malonyl peroxides into α-lactones^[1] and the thermal conversion of the 1,4-endo-peroxide 4,5-epoxy-3,6-epidioxy-1-cyclohexene into the novel benzene trioxide^[2] are two recent examples of the potential of cyclic peroxides in the synthesis of unusual organic molecules. The former transformation entails a fragmentation, the latter a rearrangement process. Most reported examples fall into one of these two gross reaction types. Of the numerous examples that have been reported in the literature during the last two decades, only those shall be focused on that lead to unusual compounds or constitute efficient syntheses of known compounds, in order to stress the convenience of cyclic peroxides in the synthesis of organic compounds.     

Intramolecular,Stoichiometric (Li,Mg, Zn) and Catalytic (Ni,Pd, Pt) Metallo-Ene Reactions in Organic Synthesis [New Synthetic Methods (75)]

Metallo-ene reactions, hardly recognized until very recently, have experienced a breathtaking development when applied in an intramolecular sense. Efficient regio- and stereoselective magnesium-ene cyclizations have served as a cornerstone for numerous syntheses of structurally diverse natural products (e.g., sesquiterpenes of marine or plant origin, alkaloids, fragrances, insect defense compounds, and a fungitoxin). A brilliant example is the synthesis of the elusive odorant (+)-khusimone which outshines 20 years of work in the field of tricyclovetivane synthesis. Palladium-, platinum-, and nickel-catalyzed versions of the metallo-ene reaction are in a comparatively early stage of exploration, but, nevertheless, reveal intriguing potential. Hence an almost 100% stereospecific C? O→C? ;Pd-→ C? C chirality transfer permits simple and selective, cis- or trans-annelation processes. The mild cyclization conditions are compatible with various functional groups, such as nitrogen moieties, which offer interesting perspectives for the preparation of heterocycles (e.g., alkaloids) difficult to obtain by other methods. Carbon monoxide insertion reactions of the cyclized σ-metal intermediates were shown to afford annelated cyclopentanones and cyclopentenones with concomitant stereocontrolled formation of four carbon–carbon bonds. These and other observations, highlighted in this article, provide a platform for further extensions and applications of this powerful method in organic synthesis.     

Integrated Dust Analysis by Physical Methods

Environmental analyses show that the air which we breathe, and which is so essential to life, is in general a mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid components. The solid airborne particles, whose concentration, homogeneity, chemical composition, size, and shape can vary over wide ranges, and whose origin may be “natural” or “artificial” are referred to as “dust”. Dust particles can act, inter alia, as condensation nuclei, catalysts, and directly as hazardous materials. Unfortunately, we still know far too little about dust. Dust analysis is extremely difficult and challenging, even for modern analytical chemistry; it is still far from being fully automated. The simultaneous determination of as many “dust parameters” as possible, and particularly the synoptic consideration of all available data against a background of physicochemical and technological knowledge on the development, transformation, and effects of dust, are summarized as “integrated dust analysis”.     

Primary methods of measurement in chemical analysis

 Primary methods of measurement have a central function in metrology. They are an essential component in the realisation of the SI units and therefore are indispensable for establishing traceability of measurements of all kinds of physical quantities to the corresponding SI units. This is also true for chemical analysis. Gravimetry, titrimetry, coulometry, and isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) are evaluated with regard to their potential to be primary methods according to a general definition of primary methods recently given by the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM). Optical absorption spectrometry and methods based on colligative properties are also considered. A general scheme for establishing traceability of chemical measurements to the SI units using primary methods is discussed. Received: 17 April 1997 · Accepted: 9 August 1997     

Viscosity of mixtures of polymers and microemulsions — the Huggins interaction coefficient

Microemulsions used in enhanced oil recovery are usually used in conjunction with a polymer solution that provides mobility control by reducing the permeability of the formation and/or increasing the viscosity of the injected fluid. Microemulsions, which are mixtures of at least four components — water, oil, surfactant and cosurfactant (and, usually, inorganic salts) are complex even in the absence of polymer and consequently, studies of their phenomenon tend to be phenomenological. An approach found to be useful to circumvent this has been to consider the microemulsion particles dispersed in their external phase to be macromolecules which retain their integrity when diluted with external phase or when mixed with polymers. Thus the dispersed phase components are treated as a pseudocomponent. If this approach is followed, many features of the phase diagram of polymer-microemulsion mixtures can be rationalized. It is therefore of some interest to determine whether a similar approach can be used to understand or predict the viscosity of mixtures in which a simple mixing rule for viscosities can be utilized to gain further insight into the polymer-microemulsion interaction.     

The Formation of C?C Bonds with the Aid of α-Halogeno Ethers,Sulfides, and Amines

α-Halogeno ethers, sulfides, and amines are reactive compounds which can be used for the formation of new C? C bonds, either as nucleophilic or as electrophilic reagents, or by α-elimination. The use of these compounds in the synthesis of many classes of organic compounds is reviewed.     

Enantioselectivity of 6-O-alkyldimethylsilyl-2,3-di-O-methyl-β-cyclodextrins as chiral stationary phases in capillary GC

Summary Clenbuterol has been determined in urine by solidphase extraction on a C₁₈ cartridge, diazotization of the eluate with nitrite, coupling of the diazonium ion with 1-(naphthyl)ethylenediamine, and separation of the azo dye formed by HPLC with a C₁₈ column and a micellar mobile phase containing 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulphate, 12%n-butanol and 0.05 M citrate buffer, pH 3. Recoveries higher than 90% were obtained by mixing the samples with a 20% 0.2 M NaOH before extraction. Limits of detection of 51 and 6.7 ng L⁻¹ were obtained with spectrophotometric and thermal lens spectrometric detection, respectively; respective repeatabilities were 3.1% (5 μg mL⁻¹) and 5.6% (0.16 μg mL⁻¹).