Selective formation of aromatic amines by selenium-catalyzed reduction of aromatic nitro compounds with CO/H2O under atmospheric pressure

An efficient method for the catalytic reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding aromatic amines is reported. In the presence of selenium as a catalyst, the aromatic nitro compounds are quantitively reduced by CO/H2O to form the corresponding amines under atmospheric pressure. The reduction occurs in high selectivity regardless of other reducible functionalities present on the aromatic ring. There exists a phase transfer process of the catalyst selenium in the reaction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct characterization of bitter acids in a crude hop extract by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

The applicability of on-line coupling of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the separation and characterization of hop acids mixture from the crude extract of Humulus lupulus was investigated. The solvent system consisting of acetonitrile-aqueous formic acid was used to give proper separation of the six main hop bitter acids within 30 min. Further structural information about the components was acquired by collision-induced dissociation (CID). On the basis of analyses of the fragmentation patterns of the major alpha- and beta-bitter acids respectively, identification of the minor ones was performed using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) with a group of qualitatively relevant selected precursor-product ion transitions for each bitter acid in a single high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) run. Using this technique, six minor hop acids, including "adprelupulone" observed for the first time in natural resources, were detected along with the six major acids. This hyphenated techniques provides potency for rapid qualitative determination of analogs and homologs in mixtures. (C) 2004 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

Efficient reductive selenation of aromatic aldehydes to symmetrical diselenides with Se/CO/H2O under atmospheric pressure

An efficient method for the synthesis of symmetrical diselenides is described. Reductive selenation of aromatic and heterocyclic aromatic aldehydes (ArCHO) with Se/CO/H2O in DMF afforded diselenides (ArCH2SeSeCH2Ar) in yields up to 94% under atmospheric pressure without use of a base.

Dinoflagellate cysts as potential indicators of industrial pollution in a Norwegian Fjord

Variation in dinoflagellate cyst assemblages through the last approximately 300 years was studied in two sediment cores, one from the heavily polluted Frierfjord, and one from the adjoining, relatively unpolluted Brevikfjord, in order to docu1ent possible dinoflagellate responses to pollution. Changes in the cyst-flora were compared with historical information on the development of industry and also with geochemistry of the sediments, reflecting aspects of pollution. In the Frierfjord core, increasing pollution was accompanied by a decrease in cyst concentration, possibly reflecting reduced production, at least of dinoflagellates, and a shift toward more heterotrophic species, possibly reflecting reduced light penetration in the euphotic zone, or increased production of prey for the heterotrophs. These trends seem to have reversed as pollution decreased after about 1975, suggesting that cyst assemblages contain signals that may prove useful for tracing the development of pollution. Cyst assemblages in the Brevikfjord core only showed minor changes.