The use of digital simulation to improve the cyclic voltammetric determination of rate constants for homogeneous chemical reactions following charge transfers.

Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is a very useful electrochemical tool used to study reaction systems that include chemical steps that are coupled to electron transfers. This type of system generally involves the chemical reaction of an electrochemically generated free radical. Published methods exist that are used to determine the kinetics of electrochemically initiated chemical reactions from the measurements of the peak current ratio (i(pa)/i(pc)) of a cyclic voltammogram. The published method requires working curves to relate a kinetic parameter to the peak current ratio. In the presented work, a digital simulation package was used to obtain improved working curves for specific working conditions. The curves were compared with the published results for the first- and second-order chemical reactions following the charge transfer step mechanisms. According to the presented results, the previously published working curve is reliable for a mechanism with a first-order chemical reaction; however, a change in the switching potential requires a recalculation of the curve. In the case of mechanisms with a second-order step (dimerisation and disproportionation), several different views exist on how the second-order chemical term should be expressed so that different values of the constant are obtained. Parameters such as electrode type, electrode area, electroactive species concentration, switching potential, scan rate and method for peak current ratio calculation modify the working curves and must always be specified. We propose a standardised method to obtain the most reliable kinetic constant values. The results of this work will permit researchers who handle simulation software to construct their own working curves. Additionally, those who do not have the simulation software could use the working curves described here. The revelations of the presented experiments may be useful to a broad chemistry audience because this study presents a simple and low-cost procedure for the study of free radicals that otherwise should be studied with more sophisticated and expensive techniques, such as ESR or pulse radiolysis.

Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical behavior of the main photodegradation product of nifedipine: the nitrosopyridine derivative.

PURPOSE: To characterize the electrochemical behavior of the photodegradation product of nifedipine, i.e., 2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-nitrosophenyl)-3,5-pyridine-carboxylic acid dimethyl ester (NPD) in different electrolytic media. We also evaluated the interaction between free radicals generated from NPD and xeno/endobiotics. METHODS: Tast polarography, differential pulse polarography, and cyclic voltammetry were used for the characterization. Controlled potential electrolysis and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy were used to generate and to detect the nitroso radical anion. RESULTS: In protic media, the NPD derivative gave a reversible well-defined peak either on Hg or glassy carbon electrodes in a reaction involving two electrons and two protons to give the hydroxylamine derivative. In mixed aqueous-organic media (pH 9) and in aprotic media, nitroso radical anion was isolated and characterized, exhibiting second-order dimerization rate constant (k2) values of 11,300 +/- 210 [Ms](-1) and 8,820 +/- 78 [Ms](-1), respectively. Reactivity of the nitroso radical anion with relevant pharmacologic targets revealed a significant interaction with the tested endo/xenobiotics (cysteamine, GSH, N-acetylcysteine, and adenine). CONCLUSIONS: Both in mixed and aprotic media, NPD generated free-radical species, the nitroso radical anion. Taking into account their respective interaction rate constants, the following tentative rank order of reactivity can be established as follows: cysteamine > N-acetylcysteine > GSH > adenine.

On-chip natural assembly of silicon photonic bandgap crystals.

Photonic bandgap crystals can reflect light for any direction of propagation in specific wavelength ranges. This property, which can be used to confine, manipulate and guide photons, should allow the creation of all-optical integrated circuits. To achieve this goal, conventional semiconductor nanofabrication techniques have been adapted to make photonic crystals. A potentially simpler and cheaper approach for creating three-dimensional periodic structures is the natural assembly of colloidal microspheres. However, this approach yields irregular, polycrystalline photonic crystals that are difficult to incorporate into a device. More importantly, it leads to many structural defects that can destroy the photonic bandgap. Here we show that by assembling a thin layer of colloidal spheres on a silicon substrate, we can obtain planar, single-crystalline silicon photonic crystals that have defect densities sufficiently low that the bandgap survives. As expected from theory, we observe unity reflectance in two crystalline directions of our photonic crystals around a wavelength of 1.3 micrometres. We also show that additional fabrication steps, intentional doping and patterning, can be performed, so demonstrating the potential for specific device applications.

Simultaneous determination of melatonin and pyridoxine in tablets by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of melatonin plus pyridoxine commercial tablets is described. Melatonin and pyridoxine were simultaneously determined by GC-MS after extraction from ground tablets with methanol and derivatization with N-methyl-N-N-trimethlylsilyltrifluoroacetamide (MSTFA). The mass chromatograms were generated using 232 m/z ion for melatonin and 280 m/z ion for pyridoxine, respectively. Splitless injection offers good reproducibility with a standard deviation of 2%. The developed method was applied to analyze the melatonin and pyridoxine content from two different tablet formulations. Also, recovery, detection and quantification limits are reported.

Electrochemical, UV--visible and EPR studies on nitrofurantoin: nitro radical anion generation and its interaction with glutathione.

This paper deals with the reactivity of the nitro radical anion electrochemically generated from nitrofurantoin with glutathione. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and controlled potential electrolysis were used to generate the nitro radical anion in situ and in bulk solution, respectively and cyclic voltammetry, UV--Visible and EPR spectroscopy were used to characterize the electrochemically formed radical and to study its interaction with GSH. By cyclic voltammetry on a hanging mercury drop electrode, the formation of the nitro radical anion was possible in mixed media (0.015M aqueous citrate/DMF, 40/60, pH 9) and in aprotic media. A second order decay of the radicals was determined, with a k2 value of 201 and 111 M(-1) s(-1), respectively. Controlled potential electrolysis generated the radical and its detection by cyclic voltammetry, UV--Visible and EPR spectroscopy was possible. When glutathione (GSH) was added to the solution, an unambiguous decay in the signals corresponding to a nitro radical anion were observed and using a spin trapping technique, a thiyl radical was detected. Electrochemical and spectroscopic data indicated that it is possible to generate the nitro radical anion from nitrofurantoin in solution and that GSH scavenged this reactive species, in contrast with other authors, which previously reported no interaction between them.

Voltammetric study of ketorolac and its differential pulse polarographic determination in pharmaceuticals.

A differential pulse polarographic method for the quantitative determination of ketorolac is described. Ketorolac is an antiinflamatory-analgesic agent that is directly electroreducible at the mercury electrode. The polarographic reduction is due to the reduction of the benzoyl moiety in the ketorolac molecule. For analytical purposes, a very well resolved diffusion controlled differential pulse polarographic peak obtained at pH 9 was selected. This peak was used to develop a new method for the determination of ketorolac in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Recovery study shows that the method is sufficiently accurate and precise to be applied in the individual tablet assay of commercial samples.

Polarographic determination of loratadine in pharmaceutical preparations.

Loratadine, a potent antihistamine drug, is not directly electroreducible at a dropping mercury electrode; however, by means of a nitration procedure it is possible to obtain a nitro-loratadine derivative which has been identified as 4-(8-chloro-7-nitro-5,6-dihydro-11 H-benzo-[5,6]-cyclohepta-[l,2-b]-pyridin-l l-ylidene)-1-piperidine carboxylic acid ethyl ester. The electrochemical reduction of this derivative at different pHs and concentrations using polarography and cyclic voltammetry was studied. The derivative exhibits a differential pulse polarographic peak due to the reduction of the nitro group. This peak was used in order to develop an analytical procedure for determining loratadine in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The recovery study shows adequate accuracy and precision for the developed assay and the excipients do not interfere in the determination.

All-optical switching in an asymmetric silicon Fabry-Perot étalon based on the free-carrier plasma effect.

We demonstrate all-optical switching at 1.3 and 1.5 µm in the reflection mode of an asymmetric silicon Fabry-Perot étalon by a control beam at 0.85 µm. Both switch-on and switch-off operations are demonstrated at different locations of the etalon. Based on the free-carrier plasma effect, a modulation depth as large as 10% is obtained and a frequency response as high as 0.5 GHz is achieved.

Electrochemical reduction of nicergoline and its analytical determination in dosage forms.

Electrochemical reduction of nicergoline was studied at different pH and concentrations using differential pulse polarography and linear sweep voltammetry. Both techniques reveal that the reduction process occurs with strong adsorption of the product. Nicergoline is an excellent model for the previously developed theory related to the effects of strong adsorption of electroactive species in voltammetry. At concentrations below 0.1 mM, the adsorption prepeak is linearly dependent on nicergoline concentration. This peak was used to develop a new differential pulse polarographic method for the determination of the drug in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The method is simple and not time-consuming because nitrogen purging of samples and previous separation of the excipients were not needed. A comparative UV spectrophotometric assay was applied. Recovery data and composite and uniformity content studies for both methods are reported.