Determination of nickel in alloys and plant leaves with salicylaldehyde 3-oxobutanoylhydrazone by spectrophotometry.

A simple and highly sensitive reagent of salicylaldehyde 3-oxobutanoylhydrazone (salicylaldehyde acetoacetic acid hydrazone, SAAH) was synthesized and studied for the spectrophotometric determination of nickel in detail. In the pH range 6, which greatly increased the selectivity, nickel reacted with SAAH to form a 1:1 yellow complex, having a sensitive absorption peak at 405 nm. Under the optimal conditions, Beer's law was obeyed over the range from 0.0117 to 0.1174 microg cm(-3). The apparent molar absorptivity was 3.025 x 10(5) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1). The detection limit and the variation coefficient were found to be 1.752 ng cm(-3) and 1.0%, respectively. The method has been applied to the quantitative determination of nickel in different alloys and leaves.     

Novel solid-phase extraction and preconcentration technique coupled with ICP-AES for the determination of Cr(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in various water samples

Newly synthesized 2-propylpiperidine-1-carbodithioate (2-PPC) was used for the extraction of Cr(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) from various water samples. In the present investigation, the use of a syringe loaded with sorbent for the separation and enrichment of Cr(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) prior to their determination by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was proposed to substitute the batch and column techniques. The described method was compared with the column technique with respect to fastness, simplicity, recovery, and risk of contamination. The syringe was loaded with 1.0 g of sorbent in order to retain the analyte elements. Next, 7.0 mL of sample solution (pH 5.0 ± 0.2) was drawn into the syringe in 15 s and discharged over 15 s. Then, an eluent (3.0 M HCl) was drawn into the syringe and ejected back to desorb the analyte elements. At the optimum conditions, the percentage recoveries of Cr(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) were in the range of 94.50 to 99.62% with a standard deviation (S.D.) of 0.03%. The elements could be concentrated by drawing and discharging several portions of sample successively and eluting only one time. The detailed study of various interferences proved the method to be highly selective. The risk of contamination is less than that with the column technique. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cr(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in spiked and natural water samples. The results obtained are in good agreement with those obtained by the reported methods at the 95% confidence level. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Facile and Sensitive Spectrophotometric Determination of Propoxur in Formulations and Environmental Samples

A facile, rapid, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of propoxur in insecticidal formulations, fortified water, vegetables, agricultural wastewater, and agricultural soil samples has been elaborated. The proposed method is based on the hydrolysis of propoxur under basic conditions, followed by instantaneous azo coupling of the resulting 2‐isopropoxyphenol with the anilines 2a – c . This yielded the orange‐red chromophore 3a (λ_max=at 470 nm), the pale‐red coupling product 3b (490 nm), or the red derivative 3c (478 nm), which are stable for 46 h, 38 h, and 24 h, respectively, and could be readily analyzed spectrophotometrically.     

Spectrophotometric determination of traces of selenium(IV) in various environmental samples using the flow-injection technique (FIT)

A simple, sensitive, and rapid flow-injection spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of trace amounts of selenium(IV). The method is based on the oxidation reaction of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone hydrochloride (MBTH) by selenium(IV) followed by the coupling reaction with chromotropic acid (4.5-dihydroxy naphthalene-2.7-disulphonic acid) in a basic medium (phosphate buffer, pH 10.5) to give a pink derivative with λ_max 530 nm that is stable for more than 7 days at 35°C. The reaction and flow conditions of the full experimental design were optimized. A detection limit (2s) of 0.25 μg/L Se(IV) was obtained at a sampling rate of 10 samples per hour. Beer’s law is obeyed for a Se(IV) concentration range of 0.05–0.5 μg/mL at the wavelength of maximum absorption. The detailed study of various interference ions indicates that the method is highly selective. The method was successfully applied to the determination of traces of selenium(IV) in various water samples. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained by the reported methods at the 95% confidence level. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Determination of rhodium in water samples using cloud point extraction (CPE) coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS)

Cloud point extraction was applied as a method for preconcentration of rhodium after formation of a complex with 2-propylpiperidine-1-carbodithioate (2-PPC), and later determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry using TritonX-114 as surfactant. Rhodium was complexed with 2-PPC in an aqueous phase and kept for 15 min in a thermostatted bath at 40 °C. Separation of the two phases was accomplished by centrifugation for 15 min at 4000 rpm. The chemical variables affecting the cloud point extraction were optimized and successfully applied to rhodium determination in various water samples. Under optimized conditions, the preconcentration system (100 mL sample) permitted an enhancement factor of 50. The detection limits obtained under optimal conditions was 0.052 ng mL⁻¹. The extraction efficiency was investigated at different rhodium concentrations (7.0–42.0 μg mL⁻¹), and good recoveries (96.42–99.14%) were obtained using this method. It has been applied to the determination of rhodium in water and was compared with reported methods in terms of Student’s ‘t’-test and variance ratio ‘f’-test.     

A convergent approach towards the synthesis of the 2-alkyl-substituted tetrahydroquinoline alkaloid (−)-cuspareine

A convergent approach towards the synthesis of the 2-alkyl-substituted tetrahydroquinoline alkaloid (?)-cuspareine via enantiospecific construction of the (R)-benzyl 2-formyl-3,4-dihydroquinoline-1(2H)-carboxylate. We have achieved an efficient enantiospecific synthesis of (?)-cuspareine starting from known key starting materials. The reactions employed for individual transformations are simple and high yielding, and the strategy could potentially be easily extended.     

Synthesis of Privileged Scaffolds by Using Diversity‐Oriented Synthesis

An elegant reagent‐controlled strategy has been developed for the generation of a diverse range of biologically active scaffolds from a chiral bicyclic lactam. Reduction of the chiral lactam with LAH or alkylation with LHMDS to trigger different cyclization reactions have been shown to generate privileged scaffolds, such as pyrrolidines, indolines, and cyclotryptamines. Their amenability to substitution allows us to create various compound libraries by using these scaffolds. In silico studies were used to estimate the drug‐like properties of these compounds. Selected compounds were subjected to anticancer screening by using three different cell lines. In addition, all these compounds were subjected to antibacterial screening to gauge the spectrum of biological activity that was conferred by our DOS methodology. Gratifyingly, with no additional iterative cycles, our method directly generated anticancer compounds with potency at low nanomolar concentrations, as represented by spiroindoline 14 .     

Thermal Microscopy and DSC Studies of 4-[4-n-pentyloxybenzylideneamino] Azobenzene

Phase transition studies of the liquid crystal, 4-[4-n-pentyloxybenzylidene–amino]–azobenzene (PBAAB) have been investigated by thermal microscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) studies. From these studies it is confirmed that the compound, PBAAB exhibits nematic, smectic A and smectic B phases. The textures exhibited by different phases are presented. The enthalpies and entropies at various phase transitions are also reported.