Stobbe Condensation of Aromatic Aldehydes with Diethyl Diglycollate

Piperonal, p-tolualdehyde, and p-chlorobenzaldehyde condense with diethyl diglycollate in the presence of sodium hydride to give predominantly the corresponding (Z)-half-esters 1. together with smaller yields of the diarylidene diacids 2 and 3 . The structure and configuration of the products was established by chemical and spectroscopic evidence.     

Recovery and Amino Acid Composition of Protein Precipitates Isolated from Rice Starch Processing Liquors

Precipitates containing 47.7% and 30.5% protein were isolated from rice starch steep and sorter liquors respectively by pH adjustment of these liquors. The pH for protein precipitation from the steep liquor was 7.0 and from the sorter liquor was 5.0. The acid hydrolysates of both precipitates contained at least seventeen amino acids, Glutamic acid and arginine constitute the largest proportions of these acids. Nine essential amino acids were found to be present in variable amounts. The industrial application of this method for the preparation of protein precipitates is discussed.     

Production of a transformer oil from paraffinic basestocks

The work described in this paper is concerned with the production of a high quality transformer oil from local Egyptian paraffinic basestocks. Analysis showed that a neutral base oil 70N was most suitable for producing transformer oils. This neutral base oil was chemically treated with a sulphonation process. Optimum sulphonation conditions were achieved by using oleum or SO₃ at a concentration of 6 wt. %. The sulphonation reaction was carried out in three stages, each with an equal portion of the sulphonating agent. The acidic oil was then neutralised with an alkaline solution. Oil colour improvement was effected using activated clay as an absorbent. Laboratory results and field trials indicated that such a treated neutral paraffinic oil meets the IEC 296 international specifications for transformer oils, with the exception of pour point (−12°C). However, such a pour point is not relevant in certain hot climatic conditions. Comparative evaluation of the treated oil with commercial transformer oils has shown its suitability.     

Optimizing the Antibacterial Activity of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Using Central Composite Design

This work aims to optimize the antibacterial activity of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. IONPs were greenly biosynthesized using Moringa oleifera leaves extract, and surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) was employed to investigate the combined effect of various experimental factors on the antibacterial activity of IONPs. The reaction and annealing temperatures besides precursor concentration were set as independent variables, while the antibacterial activity was set as a response to obtain the optimal conditions that maximizes IONPs antibacterial activity. Different characterization techniques such as UV–Vis, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX were employed to study the properties of the biosynthesized nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity was tested using the disk diffusion method. The characterizations results have confirmed the biosynthesis of Hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles of rhombohedral structure. The generated model has exhibited predicted values very close to the actual proving its validity to analyze and optimize the studied process. The model indicated that all the investigated parameters and their interactions have significantly affected IONPs antibacterial activity. An optimal antibacterial activity was achieved when biosynthesis factors at their lower levels (? 1). Furthermore, the effect of IONPs size on the antibacterial activity was studied and the results shown that the latter is significantly related to the nanoparticles size.

Graphical Abstract