Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) is a powerful method for the NMR analysis of ionic liquids. Thus the dynamic-structural behaviour of imidazolium ionic liquids has been investigated by measurements of direct 1H diffusion coefficients in different solvents.

Hyptis pectinata is a herb popularly used in Brazil for the treatment of inflammations, pain, bacterial infections and cancer. In the present study, inflorescences (MPIn), leaves (MPL), branches (MPB), root (MPR) extracts and three compounds isolated from MPIn were assayed against breast tumor cell lines. The structures of the three compounds (pectinolide J, hyptolide and pectinolide E) were determined by means of spectroscopic analysis. Pectinolide J was isolated for the first time. The MPIn, MPL and MPR exhibited specific antiproliferative activity on tumor cell lines when compared to normal cell lines with IC 50 of 52.01 ± 0.64, 45.91 ± 0.02 g/mL and 82.84 ± 0.03 g/mL, respectively. Although the isolated substances did not present good antiproliferative activity, when the three were associated, a greater biological effect was observed, suggesting a synergistic effect. Hyptolide (5.6±0.4 g/mL) showed IC 50 sufficiently low to be considered as a drug prototype.

NMR is the most versatile tool for the analysis of organic compounds and, in combination with Diffusion-Ordered Spectroscopy ('DOSY'), can give information on compounds in complex mixtures without the need for physical separation. In mixtures where the components' diffusion coefficients are nearly identical, for example because of similar sizes, Matrix-Assisted DOSY ('MAD') can help separate the signals of different constituents, resolving their spectra. Unfortunately, DOSY (including MAD) typically fails where signals overlap, as is common in H NMR. Using F NMR avoids such problems, because the great sensitivity of the F chemical shift to local environment leads to very well-dispersed spectra. Another advantage is the absence of any F background signals from the matrices typically used, avoiding interference with the analyte signals. In this study, differentiation among fluorophenol and fluoroaniline isomers was evaluated using normal and reverse micelles-of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT)-as matrices. These surfactants provide useful diffusion separation in these difficult mixtures, with all the solutes interacting with the matrices to different extents, in some cases leading to differences in diffusion coefficient of more than 30%. The best matrices for separating the signals of both acid and basic species were shown to be AOT and CTAB, which are useful over a wide range of surfactant concentration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.