Strategies for synthesis of adducts of omicron-quinone metabolites of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with 2'-deoxyribonucleosides

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major environmental carcinogens produced in the combustion of fossil fuels, tobacco, and other organic matter. Current evidence indicates that PAHs are transformed enzymatically to active metabolites that react with DNA to form adducts that result in mutations. Three activation pathways have been proposed: the diol epoxide path, the radical-cation path, and the quinone path. The latter involves aldo-keto reductase mediated oxidation of PAH dihydrodiol metabolites to catechols that enter into redox cycles with quinones. This results in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that attack DNA, and the PAH quinones also react with DNA to form adducts. Several strategies for synthesis of the stable adducts formed by the o-quinone metabolites of carcinogenic PAHs with 2'-deoxyribonucleosides were investigated and compared. The PAH quinones studied were benz[a]anthracene-3,4-dione and its 7-methyl- and 7,12-dimethyl- derivatives. The parent PAHs represent a range of carcinogenicity from inactive to highly potent. Two synthetic methods were devised that differ in the catalyst employed, Pd(OAc)(2) or CuI. The Pd-mediated method involved coupling a protected amino-catechol PAH derivative with a halo-2'-deoxyribonucleoside. The copper-mediated method entailed reaction of a halo-PAH catechol derivative with a 2'-deoxyribonucleoside. Adducts of benz[a]anthracene-3,4-dione (and its 7-methyl- and 7,12-dimethyl- derivatives) with 2'-deoxyadenosine and 2'-deoxyguanosine were prepared by these methods. Availability of adducts of these types through synthesis makes possible for the first time biological studies to determine the role of these adducts in tumorigenesis. The copper-mediated method offers advantages of economy, adaptability to large-scale preparation, utility for synthesis of (13)C- or (15)N-labeled analogues, and nonformation of bis-adducts as secondary products.     

Cyanoborohydride‐Based Ionic Liquids as Green Aerospace Bipropellant Fuels

In propellant systems, the most common bipropellants are composed of two chemicals, a fuel (or reducer) and an oxidizer. Currently, the choices for propellant fuels rely mainly on hydrazine and its methylated derivatives, even though they are extremely toxic, highly volatile, sensitive to adiabatic compression (risk of detonation), and, therefore, difficult to handle. With this background, the search for alternative green propellant fuels has been an urgent goal of space science. In this study, a new family of cyanoborohydride‐based ionic liquids (ILs) with properties and performances comparable to hydrazine derivatives were designed and synthesized. These new ILs as bipropellant fuels, have some unique advantages including negligible vapor pressure, ultra‐short ignition delay (ID) time, and reduced synthetic and storage costs, thereby showing great application potential as environmentally friendly fuels in bipropellant formulations.     

Retention characteristics of alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in normal phase liquid chromatography

Summary Retention characteristics of series of polymethyl and mono-n-alkyl derivatives of benzene and pyrene, and also of parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), were studied using silica and aminopropyl- and cyanopropyl-modified silica. Differences in the selectivities for the studied compound groups were found between the three phases. Deviations from linear behaviour in plots of log (k′)vs. carbon number were observed for the methyl series. These are explained in terms of differences in π-electron delocalisation within the aromatic ring systems. Further, the effect of methyl substitution on selectivity decreased with an increasing number of aromatic rings. Results were obtained which indicated that the primary adsorption site in a cyano column used in normal phase mode, at least for PAH molecules, is the cyano group.     

Role of methyl radicals in the growth of PAHs

The role of methyl radicals in the networking of sp² carbons has been explored through kinetic analysis of mass spectra of the gas-phase products of the pyrolysis of toluene and toluene/acetone mixtures. Pyrolytic reactions were performed in a flow tube reactor at temperatures of 1140–1320 K and a constant total pressure of 10.38 Torr with a residence time of 0.585 s. On addition of acetone, methyl substituted products and their derivatives were enhanced. Mass peaks were observed in several sequences at an interval of 14 mass units; these ions correspond to methyl substituted products formed as a result of hydrogen abstraction (−H) followed by methyl radical addition (+CH₃). Each major peak was usually preceded by a peak at two mass units lower, which was likely produced through dehydrogenation/dehydrocyclization (−H₂) of methyl substituted products. Detected species include a large number of alkyl, cyclotetrafused (CT), cyclopentafused (CP) mono-, di-, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) along with primary PAHs. The analysis showed that MAC (methyl addition/cyclization) has a unique capacity to induce the sequential growth of hexagonal networks of sp² carbons from all fusing sites [1] of a PAH. Moreover, MAC was found capable of answering an important question in PAH growth, which is expansion of the CT → CP → hexagonal network for which other reported mechanisms are inefficient.     

Kinetics and products of the reactions of ozone with toluene and its derivatives in acetic anhydride

The reactions of ozone with toluene and its derivatives in acetic anhydride were studied. It was found that competing parallel reactions of ozone with the aromatic ring and substituents occurred in the ozone-arene-acetic anhydride system. The ratio between these reaction paths depended on the arene structure and reaction conditions. The selectivity of the oxidation of toluene and its derivatives at the methyl group varied from 0 to 40%. The fraction of aromatic products decreased as the number of methyl groups at the ring was increased. Tri- and tetramethylbenzenes were oxidized only at the aromatic ring. The stability of an aromatic system increased upon the introduction of electron-acceptor substituents into the benzene ring. Aminotoluenes and hydroxytoluenes were oxidized with ozone mainly at the NH₂ and HO groups; however, as in the case of toluene, the aromatic ring and methyl group became the main directions upon their acylation. The oxidation of the methyl group in acetic anhydride in the presence of sulfuric acid was finished at the step of the formation of the acylated derivatives of benzyl alcohols and benzaldehydes, which are resistant to the action of ozone.     

Heterocyclic studies—XXIV: Mass spectra of some pteridin-4(3H)-ones and 3-methoxypteridin-4(3H)-ones

Mass spectra of pteridin-4(3H)-one and all its mono-, di- and tri-C-methyl derivatives are recorded. Spectra of 3-methoxypteridin-4(3H)-one and four of its mono- and dimethyl derivatives are also recorded. Pteridin-4(3H)-one fragments mainly by loss of CO and HCN in either order. Methyl substitution in the pyrazine ring leads to that ring fragmenting in preference to the oxygen bearing pyrimidine ring. Elucidation of fragmentation pathways was facilitated by changes in peak positions with changing methyl substitution patterns. 3-Methoxypteridin-4(3H)-ones fragment mainly through initial loss of CH₂O, but the ions so produced break down differently from isomeric molecular ions of pteridin-4(3H)-ones. Several fragmentation pathways are discussed.     

掺混含氧燃料的柴油替代物部分预混火焰中多环芳香烃的荧光光谱和碳烟浓度

为研究不同含氧燃料与柴油掺混后碳烟降低机理, 本文在自行设计的燃烧器上构建部分预混层流火焰, 采用甲苯和正庚烷混合物(T20, 20%(体积分数)甲苯、80%正庚烷)作为柴油替代物,并分别添加甲醇、乙醇、正丁醇、丁酸甲酯和2,5-二甲基呋喃(DMF), 且保证混合燃料的含氧量均为4%. 进而应用激光诱导荧光法和激光诱导炽光法分别测量不同混合燃料的火焰中多环芳香烃(PAHs)的荧光光谱和碳烟浓度. 结果表明: 通过PAHs的荧光光谱可测量不同燃料火焰中PAHs的生成和增长历程. 四环芳香烃(A4)的生成氧化规律和碳烟基本一致, 说明通过分析A4变化可以预测碳烟变化. 添加含氧燃料后, T20燃料中甲苯含量降低是导致PAHs的荧光光谱强度降低和碳烟生成量减少的主要原因; 同时不同含氧燃料本身对多环芳香烃的生成贡献能力也是影响PAHs的荧光强度和碳烟生成的重要原因. 含氧量相当时, 掺混正丁醇后PAHs的荧光光谱强度和碳烟浓度比添加甲醇、乙醇、丁酸甲酯和DMF这四种含氧燃料的更低. 因此从含氧燃料结构来讲, 正丁醇掺混入T20燃料中降低PAHs和碳烟作用最显著.     

Quantum-chemical simulation of the elementary step of the oxidation reactions of styrene and its derivatives involving <Superscript>1</Superscript>О<Subscript>2</Subscript> (<Superscript>1</Superscript>Δg)

The results of simulation of the oxidation reaction of styrene and its methyl (two isomers) and phenyl derivatives with molecular oxygen in the excited singlet state (¹Δg) have enabled the conclusion that the reaction can proceed through several mechanisms. For styrene and its phenyl derivative, three reaction channels are possible, and for the methyl derivative, there are four possible channels. For the first two substrates, the major channel is 1,2-addition to form dioxetane; for the methyl derivatives, an extra channel to give a hydroperoxide species is possible in addition to the above channel. The multichannel reaction character revealed by calculations makes it possible to qualitatively understand the reason behind the moderate selectivity (no more than 70%) of such reactions in the case of styrene and its derivatives.     

Theoretical study on the hydrogen abstraction reactions from hydrazine derivatives by H atom

The hydrogen abstraction reactions from hydrazine and its methyl derivatives by the H atom have been investigated theoretically by using CBS-QB3//DSD-BLYP-D3(BJ)/Def2-TZVP quantum chemical calculations and transition state theory calculations coupled with various tunneling correction methods. Both the products and transition state energies of the hydrogen abstraction from the amino group were stabilized by the methyl group substitution. The substitution effect on the ^αN site was two times larger than that on the ^βN site. On the other hand, the substitution effect was negligible on the hydrogen abstraction from the methyl group. The overall rate coefficients of N₂H₄ + H reaction calculated by canonical variational transition state theory with the small-curvature tunneling correction agreed well with previously reported values, but those of CH₃NHNH₂/(CH₃)₂NNH₂ + H were slightly lower than a previous experimental value. The product-specific rate coefficients have been proposed for the kinetics modeling of these fuels’ combustion.     

Structure-activity relationships for flow cytometric data of smaller polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Using flow cytometry, select polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were evaluated for induction of apoptosis in human monocytic THP-1 cells. Based on structure, the PAHs were divided into linear and bay-region-containing compounds. Except for fluorene, the linear PAHs failed to induce apoptosis; all of the bay-region-containing PAHs induce apoptosis. The relationship that a bay-region is required to induce apoptosis is supported by results for benzo[a]pyrene (positive) and 2-methylanthracene (negative). The data for bay-region containing, four-ringed PAH compounds reveal that possessing a linear-region of more than two rings diminishes the ability of a PAH to induce apoptosis. Owing to the steric interactions of the hydrogen atoms of the methyl group and those on the ring carbons, 1-methylanthracene does not have a true bay-region. However, the methyl group substituted in the 1-position does confer a bay-like conformation, which may explain its activity in contrast to its parent derivative anthracene and its 2-postion homologue.     

Attenuation of substituent effects on reactivities of low-spin iron(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands

Substituent effects on reactivity are compared for base hydrolysis of tris-ligand-iron(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands derived from 2–acetylpyridine and substituted benzylamines and their aniline analogues. The methylene spacer in the former effectively isolates the iron from substituent effects in the phenyl ring, as indicated by the almost equal rate constants for base hydrolysis of the complexes derived from benzylamine and its 4–methyl, 4–fluoro, and 4– trifluoromethyl derivatives. Rate constants for base hydrolysis of the (substituted) benzylamine derivatives are also reported for some Me2CO-H2O and DMSO-H2O solvent mixtures. Reaction is faster in all these binary aqueous mixtures, mainly due to the higher chemical potentials of hydroxide ion.     

Density functional study of methyl chemisorption on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The reactions of methyl radicals with large (up to C(96)H(24)) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are studied by density functional calculations to shed light on the experimentally observed deposition of carbon on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), which occurs when hot HOPG (decorated by nanometre-sized defects) is exposed to methyl radicals. The equilibrium structures of the reaction products, together with transition structures for PAHs up to the size of phenanthroperylene, are determined using the density functionals B3LYP, TPSSh, BP86 and TPSS. The structures are analysed by computing the pi orbital axis vector (POAV) and the altitude of the reactive carbon above the molecular plane of the PAH. The strongest C-CH(3) bonds are found at the edges of the PAHs, where the s character of the C orbital involved in the bond is roughly 25 % (sp(3) hybrid orbital). Carbon atoms inside the PAH form bonds with the methyl radical through atomic orbitals with about 16 % s character in the POAV analysis. These bonds are much weaker than those at the edges of the PAH, while the reactive carbon has moved about 40 pm above the molecular plane. At the edges, the PAH carbon atoms do not leave the molecular plane to this extent. The computed barrier heights and geometrical parameters of the transition structures are in agreement with Hammond's postulate, and the relative energies of all of the equilibrium structures can be rationalized by Hückel molecular orbital (HMO) theory.     

Functional Polymers. XXV. Fluorescence Spectra of Derivatives of Methyl Salicylate and Copolymers of Methyl Vinylsalicylates

Ultraviolet absorption and fluorescence spectra of methyl salicylate, isomers of methyl salicylate derivatives, and polymers with units of isomers of methyl salicylate have been investigated. The λ_max of methyl salicylate and its derivatives is centered around 310 nm. When the phenolic hydroxyl group is acetylated, the maximum is at 285 nm. Fluorescent emission maxima depend on the excitation wavelength. Two groups of maxima centered at 350 and 460 nm indicate that two molecular species (already present in the ground state) of the methyl salicylate moiety, probably tautomers, play essential parts as photoexcited states in the photophysics of methyl salicylate derivatives.     

Borohydride Ionic Liquids and Borane/Ionic‐Liquid Solutions as Hypergolic Fuels with Superior Low Ignition‐Delay Times

In propellant systems, fuels of choice continue to be hydrazine and its derivatives, even though they comprise a class of acutely carcinogenic and toxic substances which exhibit rather high vapor pressures and require expensive handling procedures and costly safety precautions. Hypergolic ionic liquids tend to have low volatility and high thermal and chemical stability, and often exhibit wide liquid ranges, which could allow the use of these substances as bipropellant fuels under a variety of conditions. A new family of borohydride ionic liquids and borane–ionic‐liquid solutions is described which meets nearly all of the desired important criteria for well‐performing fuels. They exhibit ignition‐delay times that are superior to that of any known hypergolic ionic liquid and may thus be legitimate replacements for hydrazine and its derivatives.     

What is necessary for next‐generation atmospheric environmental standards? Recent research trends for PM2.5‐bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives

The air pollution associated with PM_2.5 kills 7 million people every year in the world, especially threatening the health of children in developing countries. However, the current air quality standards depend mainly on particle size. PM_2.5 contains many carcinogenic/mutagenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives such as nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and oxygenated PAHs. Among them, environmental standards and guidelines have been set for benzo[a]pyrene by few countries and international organizations. Recent research reports showed that these pollutants are linked to diseases other than lungs, and new methods have been developed for determining trace levels of not only PAHs but also their derivatives. It is time to think about the next‐generation environmental standards. This article aims to (a) describe recent studies on the health effects of PAHs and their derivatives other than cancer, (b) describe new analytical methods for PAH derivatives, and (c) discuss the targets for the next‐generation standards.     

Determination of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aerosol samples by high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Fine and ultrafine particles are probably responsible for numerous health effects, but it is still unclear whether and to what extent the particle itself or organic compounds adsorbed or condensed on the particle are responsible for the effects observed. One important class of particle-bound substances are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their oxygenated derivatives. To improve the tools used for chemical characterization of particulate matter analytical methods for the determination of PAH and oxygenated PAH in aerosol samples of different origin have been developed and optimized. PAH on high-volume filters and on soot aerosols were analyzed by using accelerated solvent extraction for extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for separation and quantification. Total PAH concentrations were in the range 0.3–9.3 ng m^–3. For analysis of selected oxygenated PAH on high-volume filters a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric method was developed and optimized. Preliminary investigations showed that oxygenated PAH at pg m^–3 concentrations can be determined.     

Protonation of 5‐methylhydantoin and its thio derivatives in the gas phase: A theoretical study

The gas phase proton affinities of 5‐methylhydantoin and its thio derivatives were theoretically studied through the use of high‐level density functional theory calculations. The structure of all possible tautomers and their conformers were optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311+(d,p) level of theory. Final energies were obtained at the B3LYP/6‐311+(2df,2p) level. The imidazolidone derivatives 5‐methyl‐2,4‐dioxo imidazolidine, 5‐methyl‐2‐oxo‐4‐thio imidazolidine, 5‐methyl‐2‐thio‐4‐oxo imidazolidine, and 5‐methyl‐2,4‐dithio imidazolidine possess moderately strong proton affinities. Protonation at sulfur would be larger than protonation at oxygen. The most stable protonated forms of 2O4O and 2S4O have the proton attached to the heteroatom in position 2, whereas protonation of 2O4S and 2S4S preferentially takes place at position 4. The barriers for proton migration between the different tautomers are rather large. The energy decomposition analysis analysis of the O? H⁺ and S? H⁺ interactions suggests that the bonding interactions come mainly from the covalent bond formation. The contribution of the Coulomb attraction is rather small. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

适用于汽油参比燃料TRF的多环芳香烃生成机理

构造了一个包括287种组分和1569个反应的汽油参比燃料TRF(toluene reference fuel)燃烧过程中多环芳香烃(PAHs)生成机理的详细化学反应动力学模型,引入四种PAH生长路径将多环芳香烃的生成机理发展到芘A4(C20H12)水平,并通过对PAH产率的分析,指出乙炔(C2H2)、丙炔(C3H3)、乙烯基乙炔(C4H4)以及含有奇数碳原子的环戊二烯自由基(C5H5)和茚基(C9H7)等物质对PAHs生成和生长起到重要作用.该机理可以较准确计算基础燃料(PRF)和TRF火焰的着火延迟期、燃烧火焰中小分子(PAH前驱体C2H2、C3H4等)和PAHs的物质浓度.通过与实验数据的比较表明,该机理在不同温度、压力、化学计量比下具有较好的性能.由此分析,该机理对碳烟前驱物PAHs的预测性能是可靠的.     

The Identification of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Derivatives in Mutagenic Fractions of Diesel Particulate Extracts

Abstract

The soluble organic fraction (SOF) of particulate matter from diesel exhaust (from point sources, ambient air, etc.) contains hundreds of organic constituents. Normal-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been used to separate the SOF into sub-fractions suitable for subsequent chemical analysis and bioassays. These fractions consist of non-polar(PAH), moderately polar (transition) and highly polar constituents. The non-polar fractions have been well characterized and consist of PAH and aliphatic hydrocarbons. The specific compounds present in the transition and polar fractions are for the most part unknown. This analytical information has been difficult to obtain since these compounds are highly labile, polar, of low volatility and in very low concentrations when compared to the bulk of material found in the SOF. Mutagenicity tests using the Ames Salmonella typhimurium assay indicate that the transition fraction accounts for most of the mutagenicity when compared to the non-polar (PAH) and polar fractions.

A variety of chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques are described that have been used to determine the composition of the HPLC fractions. More than one hundred species have been identified in the transition fraction of diesel particulate matter using high resolution gas chromatography (HRGC)/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), HPLC and direct-probe high resolution mass spectrometry. It has been found that the transition fraction contains mostly PAH derivatives consisting of hydroxy, ketone, quinone, carboxaldehyde, acid anhydride and dihydroxy derivatives of PAH. Three nitro-PAH species have been tentatively identified and 1-nitropyrene positively identified in the transition fraction. The 1-nitropyrene was found to account for approximately 45% and 30% of the direct-acting mutagenicity observed for the transition fraction and total extract, respectively. The HPLC separation procedure was shown to give better than 95% recovery of the mass and mutagenic activity. The problem of PAH oxidation during the analytical procedures and possible effect on bioassay results are discussed.     

A step towards the application of molecular plasmonic-like excitations of PAH derivatives in organic electrochromics

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), are regarded as molecular fragments of graphene and are facilely available through chemical synthesis. Recently, it is found collective charge density oscillations with strong induced electromagnetic field display in PAH derivatives. This phenomenon, analogue to plasmonic excitation in metal, called molecular plasmonics, arise the significant interest of physicists. Instead of discussing its rich physics, this work aims at the application of molecular plas...