Validated Stability-Indicating GC-MS Method for Characterization of Forced Degradation Products of Trans-Caffeic Acid and Trans-Ferulic Acid

When dealing with simple phenols such as caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA), found in a variety of plants, it is very important to have control over the most important factors that accelerate their degradation reactions. This is the first report in which the stabilities of these two compounds have been systematically tested by exposure to various different factors. Forced degradation studies were performed on pure standards (trans-CA and trans-FA), dissolved in different solvents and exposed to different oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress conditions. Additionally, a rapid, sensitive, and selective stability-indicating gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for determination of trans-CA and trans-FA in the presence of their degradation products. Cis-CA and cis-FA were confirmed as the only degradation products in all the experiments performed. All the compounds were perfectly separated by gas chromatography (GC) and identified using mass spectrometry (MS), a method that additionally elucidated their structures. In general, more protic solvents, higher temperatures, UV radiation and longer storage times led to more significant degradation (isomerization) of both trans-isomers. The most progressive isomerization of both compounds (up to 43%) was observed when the polar solutions were exposed to daylight at room temperature for 1 month. The method was validated for linearity, precision as repeatability, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ). The method was confirmed as linear over tested concentration ranges from 1−100 mg L⁻¹ (r²s were above 0.999). The LOD and LOQ for trans-FA were 0.15 mg L⁻¹ and 0.50 mg L⁻¹, respectively. The LOD and LOQ for trans-CA were 0.23 mg L⁻¹ and 0.77 mg L⁻¹, respectively.     

The electronic structure of Rhodium: Angle-resolved studies of photoelectron and secondary electron emission

We report electron spectroscopic studies of the Rh(111) surface, with the aim to obtain bulk band-structure information. We have measured normal photoemision using tunable synchrotron radiation in the range of photon energies between 11 eV and 55 eV, and angle-dependent photoemission along the LUX and LKL azimuths using the He resonance lines (=21.2 eV, 40.8 eV). To complement these data, we studied angleresolved secondary electron emission after excitation with electrons and photons. We derive parts of the one-electron energy dispersionE(k) along L, and determine the energies of several bulk critical points (in eV):E(> ₇₊/₈₊)=–2.75±0.10,E(> ₈₊=–0.85±0.10,E(> _7–=16.1±0.5,E(> _6–/> _8–)=20.5±0.5,E(X ₇₊)=–5.0±0.1,E(L ₆₊)=–5.6±0.5,E(L ₆₊/L ₄₊₊₅₊)=–2.65±0.10,E(L ₆₊)=9.0±0.5 eV. Our results are compared to several available band structure calculations.     

Verfolgung der Verbrennungsreaktionen Exothermer Massen auf Basis von Aluminium,Fluoriden und Natriumverbindungen mit Differenzialthermoanalyse

Zusammenfassung Das Verbrennen von Mischungen der exothermen Systeme Al-NaF-NaNO₃ und Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃ wurde durch Röntgenanalyse ergänzte DTA untersucht. Um den Einfluß des durch Dissoziation von NaNO₃ gebildeten Sauerstoffs zu bestimmen wurden auch Mischungen, welche anstatt NaNO₃ NaNO₂ oder Na₂O₂ enthielten, geprüft.Zwei, bei 310° bzw. 850° einsetzende exotherme Reaktionen wurden in den Gemischen vom Typ Al-NaF-NaNO₃ gefunden. Die erste ist der Dissoziation von NaNO₃ zuzuschreiben, die zweite ist der Anwesenheit von Luft zuzuordnen.Beide exothermen Reaktionen wurden im System Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃ in Richtung höherer Temperaturen verschoben. Die Untersuchung der NaNO₂- oder Na₂O₂-haltigen Gemische anstatt NaNO₃ zeigte, daß die Dissoziation von NaNO₃ den zum Verbrennen benötigten Sauerstoff liefert, andererseits würde letztere Reaktion sonst nur in begrenztem Ausmaß stattfinden.

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Combustion of exothermic mixtures belonging to the system Al-NaF-NaNO₃ and Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃ was investigated by DTA and X-ray analysis. In order to determine the influence of the oxygen generated by dissociation of NaNO₃, the mixtures containing NaNO₂ or Na₂O₂ instead of NaNO₃ were also examined.Two exothermic reactions starting at 310° and 850° rsp. were found in the mixtures of the Al-NaF-NaNO₃ type. The first is due to the dissociation of NaNO₃ and the second proceeds independence of the availability of air.Both exothermic reactions were shifted to higher temperatures in the system Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃. Investigation of the mixtures containing NaNO₂ or Na₂O₂ instead of NaNO₃ has proved that the dissociation of NaNO₃ supplies the oxygen required for combustion which should otherwise proceed only in a limited extent.

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Résumé On a étudié, par ATD et par analyse aux rayons X, la combustion des mélanges exothermiques appartenant aux systèmes Al-NaF-NaNO₃ et Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃. Afin de déterminer l'influence de l'oxygène engendré par la dissociation de NaNO₃, on a étudié de même des mélanges contenant NaNO₂ ou Na₂O₂ au lieu de NaNO₃.On a trouvé, dans les mélanges du type Al-NaF-NaNO₃, des réactions exothermiques à partir des temperatures respectives de 310° et 850°. La première est due à la dissociation de NaNO₃ et la seconde dépend de l'air disponible.Dans le système Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃ les deux réactions sont déplacées vers les températures plus élevées. L'examen de mélanges contenant NaNO₂ ou Na₂O₂ au lieu de NaNO₃ à montré que c'est la dissociation de NaNO₃ qui fournit l'oxygène nécessaire pour la combustion. Celleci n'aurait lieu, autrement, que d'une manière limitée.

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, l-NaF-NaNO₃ Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃. , NaNO₃, , NaNO₃, , NaNO₂ Na₂. , Al-NaF-NaNO₃ , 310° 850°. , . Al-CaF₂-NaNO₃ . , NaNO₂ Na₂O₂, , , , , .

     

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Analytical Methods for Determination of Phytic Acid and Other Inositol Phosphates: A Review

From the early precipitation-based techniques, introduced more than a century ago, to the latest development of enzymatic bio- and nano-sensor applications, the analysis of phytic acid and/or other inositol phosphates has never been a straightforward analytical task. Due to the biomedical importance, such as antinutritional, antioxidant and anticancer effects, several types of methodologies were investigated over the years to develop a reliable determination of these intriguing analytes in many types of biological samples; from various foodstuffs to living cell organisms. The main aim of the present work was to critically overview the development of the most relevant analytical principles, separation and detection methods that have been applied in order to overcome the difficulties with specific chemical properties of inositol phosphates, their interferences, absence of characteristic signal (e.g., absorbance), and strong binding interactions with (multivalent) metals and other biological molecules present in the sample matrix. A systematical and chronological review of the applied methodology and the detection system is given, ranging from the very beginnings of the classical gravimetric and titrimetric analysis, through the potentiometric titrations, chromatographic and electrophoretic separation techniques, to the use of spectroscopic methods and of the recently reported fluorescence and voltammetric bio- and nano-sensors.     

Anisotropic Electrical,Magnetic, and Thermal Properties of In3Ni2 Intermetallic Catalyst

We present the anisotropic electrical and thermal transport coefficients (electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, thermoelectric power, thermal conductivity), the magnetic properties, the specific heat and the electronic density of states of a monocrystalline In₃Ni₂ intermetallic compound, representing a precious-metal-free (and noble-metal-free) intermetallic catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The investigated physical parameters were determined along three orthogonal crystal-symmetry directions of the trigonal structure, the twofold axis, the 3 axis and within the mirror plane. All the investigated tensorial and vectorial quantities show the same anisotropy, with the quantities being isotropic for the twofold direction and in the mirror plane, whereas there is small, though still significant anisotropy to the 3 direction. The In₃Ni₂ crystal conducts the electricity and heat somewhat less efficiently along the 3 direction than along the twofold direction and in the mirror plane, but the differences are not large, of about 20 %. In₃Ni₂ is a diamagnetic intermetallic compound, with a presumably simple Fermi surface and electrons as the majority charge carriers.     

Chemometric Tools to Point Out Benchmarks and Chromophores in Pigments through Spectroscopic Data Analyses

Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in several scientific contexts i.e., in archaeometric applications. A systematic classification of natural powdered pigments of organic and inorganic nature through Principal Component Analysis with a multi-instruments spectroscopic study is presented here. The methodology allows the access to elementary and molecular unique benchmarks to guide and speed up the identification of an unknown pigment and its recipe. This study is conducted on a set of 48 powdered pigments and tested on a real-case sample from the wall painting in S. Maria Delle Palate di Tusa (Messina, Italy). Four spectroscopic techniques (X-ray Fluorescence, Raman, Attenuated Total Reflectance and Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopies) and six different spectrometers are tested to evaluate the impact of different setups. The novelty of the work is to use a systematic approach on this initial dataset using the entire spectroscopic energy range without any windows selection to solve problems linked with the manipulation of large analytes/materials to find an indistinct property of one or more spectral bands opening new frontiers in the dataset spectroscopic analyses.     

Sulla esistenza e sulla costruzione effettiva con la «piccola variazione» delle curve algebriche piane con assi di simmetria obliqua e in particolare ortogonale

Riassunto In primo luogo viene giustificata la possibilità per un diametro autoconiugato di una quartica piana di essere asse di simmetria obliqua (in particolare ortogonale) e dopo aver illustrato alcune proprietà sulla simmetria, vengono dati appropriati accorgimenti onde procedere, con la ?piccola variazione?, alla costruzione effettiva delle quartiche piane (dei vari generi) dotate di tutti i possibili assi di simmetria obliqua (in particolare ortogonale), dandone anche, caso per caso, la corrispondente equazione.

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Résumé D'abord on justifie la possibilité, pour les diamètres auto-conjugués, d'être aussi des axes de symmetrie oblique (en particulier orthogonale) pour les quartiques planes et après avoir illustré plusieurs propriétés sur la symmetrie, on donne quelques avisements opportuns pour procéder après à la construction effective, avec la ?petite variation? des quartiques planes (de tous les genres) douées de tous les possibles axes de symmetrie oblique (en particulier, orthogonale), en donnant aussi, chaque cas à part, l'équation correspondante.

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Nota II     

Chemically Treated Silver Electrodes for the Determination of Cysteine

 This paper describes the use of Ag/Ag₂S and Ag/AgI ion-selective electrodes by means of chemical pretreatment of a silver wire or tube for the determination of cysteine (RSH) in batch and flow injection analysis (FIA). Received December 15, 2000. Revision July 11, 2001.