Kinetics of oxidation ofcis-, andtrans-chlorobis(ethylenediamine)isothiocyanatocobalt(III)ion with peroxodisulphate in aqueous alcoholic mixtures

Summary The effect of organic cosolvent on the rate constants and activation parameters of oxidation of coordinativelybound thiocyanate with peroxodisulphate was investigated in mixtures of water with methanol,i-propanol andt-butanol. The thermodynamic transfer functions, corresponding to the transfer of reactants and activated complex from water to the solvent mixtures were evaluated from kinetic measurements and from the solubilities of corresponding salts. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of the solvation of both the initial state and the activated complex.     

A Rhodium Nanoparticle–Lewis Acidic Ionic Liquid Catalyst for the Chemoselective Reduction of Heteroarenes

We describe a catalytic system composed of rhodium nanoparticles immobilized in a Lewis acidic ionic liquid. The combined system catalyzes the hydrogenation of quinolines, pyridines, benzofurans, and furan to access the corresponding heterocycles, important molecules present in fine chemicals, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The catalyst is highly selective, acting only on the heteroaromatic ring, and not interfering with other reducible functional groups.     

Regioselective Synthesis of 2-Trimethylsilyl-4H-pyran-4-ones from 1-Ethoxy(hydroxy)-5-(trimethylsilyl)pentenynones

Exclusive formation of 5-aryl-2-trimethylsilyl-4H-pyran-4-ones is accomplished by a regioselective cyclization of 2-aryl-1-ethoxy(hydroxy)-5-(trimethylsilyl)pent-1-en-4-yn-3-ones. This cyclization occurs in a 6-endo-dig mode through addition to the β-atom of the TMS substituted triple bond. The reaction was found to be general for a range of ethoxyenynones upon heating in glacial acetic acid and for analogous hydroxyenynones in diphenyl ether. Plausible mechanistic explanation and possible post-modifications of resulting pyranones are offered.     

Proteotypic peptides of hairs for the identification of common European domestic and wild animal species revealed by in-sample protein digestion and mass spectrometry analysis

The aim of this work is to offer an alternative or complementary analytical tool to the time-consuming and expensive methods commonly used for the recognition of animal species according to their hair. The paper introduces a simple and fast way for species differentiation of animal hairs called in-sample digestion. A total of 10 European animal species, including cat, cow, common degu, dog, fallow deer, goat, horse, sika deer, rabbit, roe deer, and 17 different breeds of dogs were examined using specific tryptic cleavage directly in hair followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight. Principal component analysis was used for the subsequent mass spectrometric data evaluation. This novel approach demonstrates the ability to distinguish among individual animal species, which is supported by finding characteristic m/z values obtained by the mass spectrometry for each animal species. The approach was successfully tested on two “blind” samples. On the other hand, the attempt to distinguish among hairs of different dog breeds has not been successful due to the very similar protein composition and their amino acid sequences.     

Concise enantioselective total syntheses of (+)-homochelidonine, (+)-chelamidine, (+)-chelidonine, (+)-chelamine and (+)-norchelidonine by a Pd II-catalyzed ring-opening strategy

New enantioselective syntheses of the B/C hexahydrobenzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids (+)-homochelidonine, (+)-chelamidine, (+)-chelidonine, (+)-chelamine, and (+)-norchelidonine are described. Our rapid and convergent route to this class of natural products involved the development and application of a Pd II-catalyzed asymmetric ring-opening reaction of a meso-azabicyclic alkene with an aryl boronic acid as the key step. By screening a variety of functionalized ortho-substituted aryl boronic acids, chiral ligands and reaction conditions we were able to prepare the requisite cis-1-amino-2-aryldihydronaphthalenes in high yield and in up to 90 % ee. Early attempts to complete the synthesis of (+)-homochelidonine using an N-Boc azabicyclic alkene are described in full. The successful route required a protecting group alteration followed by B ring formation and then stereoselective installation of the C-11 syn-hydroxy group by regioselective epoxide ring-opening using a hydride source. Ring-opening of the same epoxide intermediate with water ultimately led to the synthesis of (+)-chelamidine. The same strategy was then used to synthesize the other structurally similar B/C hexahydrobenzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids, (+)-chelidonine, (+)-chelamidine, and (+)-norchelidonine.     

Protein-based fluorescent bioassay for low-dose gamma radiation exposures

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - The study suggests an application of a coelenteramide-containing fluorescent protein (CLM-CFP) as a simplest bioassay for gamma radiation exposures....     

Systematic data generation and test design for solution algorithms on the example of SALBPGen for assembly line balancing

Recently, the importance of correctly designed computational experiments for testing algorithms has been a subject of extended discussions. Whenever real-world data is lacking, generated data sets provide a substantive methodological tool for experiments. Focused research questions need to base on specialized, randomized and sufficiently large data sets, which are sampled from the population of interest. We integrate the generation of data sets into the process of scientific testing.     

Identification and determination of relatedness of lactobacilli using different DNA amplification methods

Several DNA amplification-based methods were used for identification and evaluation of the relation between lactobacilli isolated from breastfed full-term infant faeces (31 strains), dairy products (5 strains) and silage (1 strain). Twenty-seven strains isolated from infant faeces were identified as Lactobacillus rhamnosus (9), Lactobacillus gasseri (6), Lactobacillus paracasei (4), Lactobacillus fermentum (4), Lactobacillus salivarius (2), Lactobacillus plantarum (1), and Lactobacillus helveticus (1) using 10 species-specific polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), multiplex PCR for the Lactobacillus casei group, and sequencing of 16S rDNA. Four strains were not identified. Six strains isolated from dairy products and silage were identified as Lactobacillus rhamnosus. A repetitive extragenic palindromic polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) with primer (GTG)₅ and a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) with primer M13 were used for confirmation of species identification. Fingerprints were used for evaluation of the relatedness of lactobacilli. Differences between strains from infant faeces, dairy products, and silage were not detected.     

Secondary Alkyl Halides in Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reactions

Secondary, but second to none : The use of secondary alkyl halides in transition‐metal‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions (see scheme) has advanced significantly over the last five years. Selected examples of these transformations are examined, including mechanistic and stereochemical aspects.