π-Selective stationary phases: (I) Influence of the spacer chain length of phenyl type phases on the aromatic and methylene selectivity of aromatic compounds in reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography

Phenyl type stationary phases of increasing spacer chain length (phenyl, methyl phenyl, ethyl phenyl, propyl phenyl and butyl phenyl, with 0–4 carbon atoms in the spacer chain, respectively) were synthesised and packed in house to determine the impact that the spacer chain length has on the retention process. Two trends in the aromatic selectivity, q_aromatic, were observed, depending on whether the number of carbon atoms in the spacer chain is even or odd. Linear log k′ vs ϕ plots were obtained for each stationary phase and the S coefficient was determined from the gradient of these plots. For the phenyl type phases, the S vs n_c plots of the retention factors of linear polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons vs the number of rings exhibit a distinct discontinuity that between 3 and 4 rings, which increases with increasing spacer chain length for even phases but decreases for odd phases. Accordingly, we suggest that the retention factors depend differently on the number of carbon atoms in the spacer chain depending on whether this number is even or odd and that this effect is caused by different orientations of the aromatic ring relative to the silica surface.

Acetylation of alcohols and phenols using continuous-flow, tungstosilicic acid-supported, monolith microreactors with scale-up capability

A highly scalable and efficient flow-system has been developed to perform the catalyzed acetylation of alcohols and phenols, such as salicylic acid, at room temperature in excellent yield. The volumetric throughput and the amount of product can be increased simply by increasing the diameter of a versatile catalytic 12-tungstosilicic acid-supported, silica monolith can be used to increase the quantity of product produced without having to changeing the optimal operatingreaction conditions.

Design of 1,2-dioxines with anti-Candida activity: aromatic substituted 1,2-dioxines

In an ongoing effort to rationally design new antimicrobials, 47 new 1,2-dioxines have been synthesised. Broad antifungal structure-activity relationships governing aromatically substituted epoxy-1,2-dioxines 2 and 3 and their parent 1,2-dioxines 1 were assessed primarily against the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, with haemolytic activity of selected examples also reported.