Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Ferula latisecta and Mozaffariania insignis from Iran

The hydrodistilled oils from the aerial parts of Ferula latisecta and Mozaffariania insignis, which is endemic to Iran, were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. (Z)-Ocimenone (32.4%), (E)-ocimenone (20.3%), and cis-pinocarvone (11.4%) were the main components among the 22 constituents characterized in the oil of F. latisecta, representing 87.7% of the total components detected. Twenty-five compounds were identified in the oil of M. insignis, representing 99.0% of the total oil, with octyl acetate (41.1%), β-pinene (30.3%), and α-pinene (23.9%) as the main constituents. The essential oils were examined for their potential antimicrobial activities. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 561–563, November–December, 2006.     

Molybdenum (VI)‐functionalized UiO‐66 provides an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst in oxidation reactions

A novel heterogeneous nanocatalyst was established by supporting molybdenum (VI) on Zr₆ nodes in the structure of the well‐known UiO‐66 metal–organic framework (MOF). The structure of the UiO‐66 before and after Mo (VI) immobilization was confirmed with XRD, DR‐FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy, and the presence and amount of Mo (VI) was identified by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. TEM imaging confirmed the absence of Mo clusters on the MOF surface, while SEM confirmed that the appearance of the MOF has not changed upon immobilizing the Mo (VI) catalyst. BET adsorption measurements were used to confirm the porosity of the catalyst. The catalytic activity of this heterogeneous catalyst was investigated in oxidation of sulfides with H₂O₂ in acetonitrile and oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene. Easy work up, convenient and steady reuse and high activity and selectivity are prominent properties of this new hybrid material.     

Study of size, type and the kerma approximation for thermoluminescent dosimetry

This study aimed to investigate effects of the thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) size and type on the absorbed dose value by using of Monte Carlo calculations. The options in creating conditions to establish the kerma approximation were also studied. The Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNPX 2.4.0) transport code was used to design simulations. Results of this work indicate that if common mineral materials of TLDs are replaced by air and a huge volume is applied for the TLD, the accurate assessment of absorbed doses is possible while the photon energy fluence in the TLD cell is convoluted with mass energy absorption coefficients of the real TLD material. In this method the simulation run-time is strongly decreased.     

Optimization of a novel method based on solidification of floating organic droplet by high-performance liquid chromatography for evaluation of antifungal drugs in biological samples

In this study, a simple, rapid, and highly efficient liquid-phase microextraction method based on solidification of floating organic droplet was coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection (HPLC-PDA) for determination of ketoconazole, clotrimazole, and miconazole as antifungal drugs. Central composite design (CCD) was used for optimization of several factors affecting the extraction efficiency. The optimized conditions were established to be 550 rpm for stirring rate, 35 min for extraction time, 57 °C for extraction temperature, 8.5 for solution pH, 10 μl for organic solvent volume, and 7% (w/v) of NaCl for ionic strength. Limit of detections (LODs) of the extraction method ranged from 0.01 to 0.1 μg L⁻¹ and the linear dynamic ranges (LDRs) ranged from 0.1 to 300 μg L⁻¹ for the three antifungal drugs. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the proposed method were 5-11%. Preconcentration factors in the range of 306-1350 were obtained at extraction time of 35 min. Finally, performance of the proposed method was evaluated for the extraction and determination of the drugs’ levels in microgram per liter in samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Separation of trace amount of silver using dispersive liquid-liquid based on solidification of floating organic drop microextraction

In the present work, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop was developed as a simple and rapid technique for separation of silver ions from aqueous samples. In this technique, 700 μL 0.02% of 5-(4'-dimethylamino benzyliden)-rhodanine (chelating agent) was added into the 10 mL analyte sample in a test tube and 30.0 μL 1-undecanol (extraction solvent) was injected shortly thereafter. The test tubes were sonicated, centrifuged and then some effective parameters on extraction and complex formation, such as type and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH, the amount of chelating agent and extraction time were optimized. The effect of the interfering ions on the analytes recovery was also investigated. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.10-10.0 ng mL(-1) with detection limit of 0.056 ng mL(-1) (n=8). The relative standard deviation (RSD) was ±4.3% (n=8, C=5.0 ng mL(-1)) and the enrichment factor was 250.0. The proposed method was applied for extraction and determination of silver in different water samples.     

An Efficient One‐Pot,Four‐Component Synthesis of {[(1H‐1,2,3‐Triazol‐4‐yl)methoxy]phenyl}‐1H‐pyrazolo[1,2‐b]phthalazine‐5,10‐dione Derivatives

The 1‐{[(1H‐1,2,3‐Triazol‐4‐yl)methoxy]phenyl}‐1H‐pyrazolo[1,2‐b]phthalazine‐5,10‐dione derivatives 5 were synthesized by a simple and efficient method, i.e., by the four‐component, one‐pot condensation reaction of phthalohydrazide 4 , a (propargyloxy)benzaldehyde 1 , an active methylene compound 3 (malononitrile or ethyl cyanoacetate), and an azide 2 in the presence of Cu(OAc)₂/sodium L ‐ascorbate as catalyst and 1‐methyl‐1H‐imidazolium trifluoroacetate ([Hmim](CF₃COO)) as an ionic‐liquid medium in good to excellent yields (Scheme 1).     

Oxidative properties of a nonheme Ni(II)(O2) complex: Reactivity patterns for C-H activation, aromatic hydroxylation and heteroatom oxidation

Density functional theory calculations on the reactivity of a Ni(II)-superoxo complex in C-H bond activation, aromatic hydroxylation and heteroatom oxidation reactions have been explored; the Ni(II)-superoxo complex is able to react with substrates with weak C-H bonds and PPh(3).     

Non-Smooth Optimization for Robust Control of Infinite-Dimensional Systems

We use a non-smooth trust-region method for H _∞-control of infinite-dimensional systems. Our method applies in particular to distributed and boundary control of partial differential equations. It is computationally attractive as it avoids the use of system reduction or identification. For illustration the method is applied to control a reaction-convection-diffusion system, a Van de Vusse reactor, and to a cavity flow control problem.