1.Synthesis of fatty acid methyl ester from the transesterification of high- and low-acid-content crude palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) and karanj oil (Pongamia pinnata) over a calcium-lanthanum-aluminum mixed-oxides catalyst.
Syamsuddin Y1, Murat MN2, Hameed BH3. Bioresour Technol. 2016 Apr 19;214:248-252. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.04.083. [Epub ahead of print]
The synthesis of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from the high- and low-acid-content feedstock of crude palm oil (CPO) and karanj oil (KO) was conducted over CaO-La2O3-Al2O3 mixed-oxide catalyst. Various reaction parameters were investigated using a batch reactor to identify the best reaction condition that results in the highest FAME yield for each type of oil. The transesterification of CPO resulted in a 97.81% FAME yield with the process conditions of 170°C reaction temperature, 15:1 DMC-to-CPO molar ratio, 180min reaction time, and 10wt.% catalyst loading. The transesterification of KO resulted in a 96.77% FAME yield with the conditions of 150°C reaction temperature, 9:1 DMC-to-KO molar ratio, 180min reaction time, and 5wt.% catalyst loading. The properties of both products met the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standard requirements. The above results showed that the CaO-La2O3-Al2O3 mixed-oxide catalyst was suitable for high- and low-acid-content vegetable oil.
2.Anhydroecgonine methyl ester, a cocaine pyrolysis product, may contribute to cocaine behavioral sensitization.
Garcia RC1, Torres LH2, Balestrin NT3, Andrioli TC3, Flório JC4, Oliveira CD5, Costa JL6, Yonamine M3, Sandoval MR7, Camarini R8, Marcourakis T9. Toxicology. 2016 Apr 26. pii: S0300-483X(16)30039-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2016.04.009. [Epub ahead of print]
Crack cocaine has a high potential to induce cocaine addiction and its smoke contains cocaine's pyrolysis product anhydroecgonine methyl ester (AEME), a partial agonist at M1- and M3-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor and an antagonist at the remaining subtypes. No reports have assessed AEME's role in addiction. Adult male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally administered with saline, 3mg/kg AEME, 15mg/kg cocaine, or a cocaine-AEME combination on every other day during a period of 9 days. After a 7-days withdrawal period, a challenge injection of the respective drugs was performed on the 17th day. The locomotor activity was evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 17, as well as dopamine levels (9th day) and dopaminergic receptors proteins (D1R and D2R on the 17th day) in the caudate-putamen (CPu) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). AEME was not able to induce the expression of behavioral sensitization, but it substantially potentiates cocaine-effects, with cocaine-AEME combination presenting higher expression than cocaine alone.
3.Semi-Crystalline Polar Polyethylene: Ester-Functionalized Linear Polyolefins Enabled by a Functional-Group-Tolerant, Cationic Nickel Catalyst.
Long BK1, Eagan JM1, Mulzer M1, Coates GW2. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2016 May 2. doi: 10.1002/anie.201601703. [Epub ahead of print]
A dibenzobarrelene-bridged, α-diimine NiII catalyst (rac-3) was synthesized and shown to have exceptional behavior for the polymerization of ethylene. The catalyst afforded high molecular weight polyethylenes with narrow dispersities and degrees of branching much lower than those made by related α-diimine nickel catalysts. Catalyst rac-3 demonstrated living behavior at room temperature, produced linear polyethylene (Tm =135 °C) at -20 °C, and, most importantly, was able to copolymerize ethylene with the biorenewable polar monomer methyl 10-undecenoate to yield highly linear ester-functionalized polyethylene.
