Optimization of lantadenes isolation and preparation of 22 β-hydroxyoleanonic acid

The lantadenes fraction from Lantana camara was isolated and transformed to the medicinally important intermediate 22β-hydroxyoleanonic acid. The compound was studied for hepatotoxicity using lantadene A as standard and found to be nontoxic. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 357–358, July–August, 2006.     

Cation transport by a redox-active synthetic ion channel

The synthesis, cation binding and transmembrane conductive properties of a novel group of synthetic ion channels containing a redox-active centre are described. Experiments using a black lipid membrane preparation revealed that these compounds function effectively as ion channels. Subsequent 23Na NMR spectroscopy studies focused on a synthesized ion channel with a ferrocene centre. When incorporated in vesicular bilayers, this channel was demonstrated to support a Na+ flux that was at least six times faster than ion transport by monensin. Since oxidation of the ferrocene moiety completely inhibited the Na+ transport, the redox-active centre provides a potential mechanism for controlling ion flux.     

Reactions of Titanium Alkoxides with N-Methylaminoalcohols

N-methylaminoalkoxides of titanium of the type Ti(OR)_4?n(O · CHR′ · CH₂ · NR″R?)_n where R = Et and Pr¹; n = 1–4; and R′ = R″ = H, R? = Me; R′ = H, R″ = R? = Me; R′ = R″ = R? = Me, synthesized by the reactions of titanium alkoxides with aminoalcohols, show interesting variations in their properties like physical state, volatility and molecular complexity. I.r. and p.m.r. spectra of these derivatives have been recorded. A few interchange reactions with methanol and tert-butanol have also been carried out. These aminoalkoxides get cleaved with acetyl chloride and undergo insertion reactions with phenylisocyanate, thus providing the first examples of insertion reactions in such derivatives.     

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.     

Studies in bivalent chromium salts

Summary As shown above, the estimations of potassium persulphate, hydrogen peroxide and dissolved oxygen in water, can be carried out with the help of chromous sulphate, by either of the two methods: (i) adding excess of chromous sulphate and titrating the excess with ferric solution using thiocyanate as indicator; (ii) adding to an excess of ferrous solution and titrating the ferric iron produced with chromous sulphate, using neutral red or thiocyanate as indicator. The results obtained by the above two methods are fairly satisfactory.Part III: cf. Z. analyt. Chem. 159, 5 (1958).The authors' thanks are due to the College authorities for providing the necessary facilities for work.     

Titrations with hypovanadous salts

Summary In the present investigations, the standardization of vanadium(II) solution against ferric and cupric salts has been described and a few visual indicators have been shown to be applicable in the above titrations. When iron(III) solution is added to vanadium(II) solution neutral red marks the end point for V^II to V^III change. This change is also noted when vanadium(II) solution is added to ferric solution in the presence of excess of concentrated hydrochloric acid at an elevated temperature and neutral red and phenosafranine as visual indicators. Under the same conditions, the end point with eupric solution also corresponds to this change.When vanadium(II) solution is added to ferric solution at an elevated temperature in the presence of methylene blue or gallocyanine as visual indicators, the end point marks V^II to V^IV change. A mixture of iron and copper has also been titrated successfully with the help of visual indicators.

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Zusammenfassung Zur Einstellung von Vanadium(II)-lösungen mit Eisen(III)- oder Kupfer(II)-salzen werden als visuelle Indicatoren Neutralrot, Phenosafranin, Methylenblau oder Gallocyanin benutzt. Bei Zugabe von Eisen(III)-lösung zur Vanadium(II)-lösung zeigt Neutralrot den Übergang V^II V^III an. Dieser Übergang wird ebenfalls von Neutralrot und Phenosafranin angezeigt, wenn Vanadium(II)-lösung in Gegenwart von überschüssiger konz. Salzsäure bei erhöhter Temperatur zu Eisen(III)- oder Kupfer(II)-lösung gegeben wird. Der Übergang V^II V^IV wird von Methylenblau oder Gallocyanin angezeigt, wenn Eisen(III)-lösung bei erhöhter Temperatur mit Vanadium(II)-lösung titriert wird. Die Titration eines Gemisches von Eisen(III) und Kupfer(II) wird ebenfalls ausgeführt.

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Thanks of the authors are due to the C.S.I.R. authorities for providing a Junior Research Fellowship to one of them (R.K.M.).     

Cerate oxidimetry : Oxidation of formic,glycolic, malic,malonic and tartaric acids

1. Contrary to the observations of earlier workers, it has been shown that formic acid can be quantitatively oxidixed by ceric sulphate in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid. 2. Tartaric, malonic, malic and glycolic acids can also be oxidized completely to carbon dioxide and water by the following general procedure : to a known amount of the organic acid is added ceric sulphate (excess) solution in dilute sulphuric acid and the mixed solution refluxed for ten to fifteen minutes. Concentrated sulphuric acid (double the volume of the reaction mixture) is then added taking care that formic acid is not lost during the addition, and the mixture again refluxed for 45 to 50 minutes. The excess ceric sulphate is determined by titrating against ferrous ammonium sulphate. 3. The complete oxidation of the above acids provides satisfactory methods for their quantitative estimation.     

Dielectric Relaxation Study of Liquids Having Chloro Group with Associated Liquids. I. Chlorobenzene with Methanol, Ethanol, and 1-Propanol

The complex permittivity for chlorobenzene–alcohol binary mixtures have been determined over the frequency range of 10 MHz to 20 GHz, at 15, 25, 35, and 45°C, using the time-domain reflectometry (TDR) method for 11 concentrations of each chlorobenzene–alcohol system. The alcohols used were methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol. The values of static dielectric constant, relaxation time, the corresponding excess properties, the Redlich–Kister coefficients up to the third order, the Kirkwood correlation factor, and thermodynamic parameters of the mixtures have been determined. The excess permittivity is found to be negative for chlorobenzene–methanol and chlorobenzene–ethanol, whereas it is positive in the 1-propanol rich region. The excess inverse relaxation time is negative for all the systems studied here. The Kirkwood effective correlation factor increases with an increasing in the molecular size of the alcohol, but decreases with increasing temperature.