Determination of biologically active substances in roasted coffees using a diode-array HPLC system.

We studied the simultaneous quantitative analysis of biologically active substances, such as nicotinic acid, trigonelline, caffeine, qunolinic acid and tannic acid and pyrogallic acid, in several roasted coffees by an HPLC/diode-array system with a home-made sol-gel and ODS-2 columns. A simple method for simultaneous quantitative analysis of biologically active substances in the coffee brew became feasible by an HPLC/diode-array system with a sol-gel column at a single wavelength of 210 nm. The most efficient condition of the Rs value was above 1.05 when two sol-gel columns were connected. In addition, the elution behavior of nicotinic acid in brew extracted from commercially available coffee beans suggests the thermal decomposition process during roasting, and indicated the maximum value for full city roasted coffee.     

Novel UV‐induced photografting process for preparing poly(tetrafluoroethylene)‐based proton‐conducting membranes

A novel process comprising the UV‐induced photografting of styrene into poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films and subsequent sulfonation has been developed for preparing proton‐conducting membranes. Although under UV irradiation the initial radicals were mainly generated on the surface of the PTFE films by the action of photosensitizers such as xanthone and benzoyl peroxide, the graft chains were readily propagated into the PTFE films. The sulfonation of the grafted films was performed in a chlorosulfonic acid solution. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the grafted and sulfonated membranes. With a view to use in fuel cells, the proton conductivity, water uptake, and mechanical properties of the prepared membranes were measured. Even through the degree of grafting was lower than 10%, the proton conductivity in the thickness direction of the newly prepared membranes could reach a value similar to that of a Nafion membrane. In comparison with γ‐ray radiation grafting, UV‐induced photografting is very simple and safe and is less damaging to the membranes because significant degradation of the PTFE main chains can be avoided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2624–2637, 2007     

Determination of midodrine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A simple and sensitive fluorometric high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of midodrine in human plasma. After liquid-liquid extraction from plasma, the drug and 2-phenylglycinol (internal standard) were convened into the corresponding fluorescent derivatives by reaction with 3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxy-4-methyl-3-oxoquinoxaline-2-carbonyl chloride, a fluorescence derivatization reagent for amines. The derivatives were separated within 30 min on a reversed-phase column using isocratic elution with acetonitrile-methanol-water (10:30:60, v/v) and were detected spectrofluorometrically at 485 nm with excitation at 400 nm. The detection limit for midodrine was 0.3 pmol (76 pg) per mL plasma at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.     

Electrodeposition of mercury on gold from very dilute mercury(II) solution

Flameless atomic absorption spectrometry (flameless a.a.s.) was applied to study the state of mercury deposited on a gold plate electrode from very dilute mercury(II) solution by controlled-potential electrolysis. A stable monolayer is formed on the gold electrode by the electrolysis at a potential about 200 mV more positive than the reversible Nernst potential for the reduction of mercury(II) to mercury(0). After the monolayer formation, bulk mercury is deposited on the monolayer at the reversible potential and an adatom layer is also found. The difference of activation free energies between the evaporation of mercury from the monolayer and that from bulk mercury corresponds to the underpotential shift for the electrodeposition of mercury on the gold electrode.     

Porphyrin acids

The structural change from the porphyrin free base to monoacid and diacid by successive protonation has been studied by the IR, visible and NMR spectroscopy. The results have indicated that the cation and anion of the porphyrin diacid are strongly associated through H-bonding. The far IR spectra show especially marked differences in the free base, monoacid, and diacid due to the changes of the inner core of the porphyrin ring.     

Self-assembling structures of long-chain phenyl glucoside influenced by the introduction of double bonds

Four long-chain phenyl glucoside amphiphiles possessing a saturated or unsaturated long alkyl chain group as the self-assembling unit of a highly organized molecular architecture were synthesized. Their self-assembling properties were investigated by EF-TEM, SEM, CD, FT-IR, and XRD. Compound 2 possessing one double bond in the lipophilic portion showed twisted helical fibers, which formed a bilayered structure with a 3.59 nm period, while compound 3 showed the helical ribbons and left-handed nanotubular structures with 150-200 nm inner diameters and ca. 20 nm of wall. Very interestingly, compound 4 possessing three double bonds showed a nanotubular structure with ca. 70 nm of inner diameter through a helical ribbon, which formed a loose bilayered structure with 4.62 nm. These results indicate that self-assembling properties strongly depend on the number of cis double bonds.     

Exploratory Investigations Probing a Preparatively Versatile, Pyridinium Salt Photoelectrocyclization-Solvolytic Aziridine Ring Opening Sequence

A novel pyridinium salt photoelectrocyclization-nucleophilic bicyclic aziridine ring opening reaction sequence has been investigated in order to determine its preparative potential. N-Alkylpyridinium perchlorates were found to undergo photoinduced electrocyclization upon irradiation in nucleophilic solvents, such as H(2)O and MeOH, to efficiently produce 6-alkyl-6-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-en-4-yl alcohols and ethers. The bicyclic aziridine photoproducts react with a number of different nucleophiles (e.g., H(2)O, MeOH, AcOH, AcSH) under acid-catalyzed conditions to produce 5-(nucleophile-substituted)-4-(alkylamino)cyclopenten-3-yl alcohols and ethers. The aziridine ring opening processes are both regioselective and stereoselective, yielding trans,trans-trisubstituted cyclopentenes exclusively, apparently as a consequence of the operation of an SN(2) mechanism. The effects of C-alkyl substitution on the regiochemistry of the pyridinium cation photocyclization reaction were briefly probed, and a method was developed to produce trans,cis-trisubstituted cyclopentenes by use of this tandem preparative sequence.