Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of 3-methoxy-1,2-propanediol and cyclic diglycerols, by-products of technical glycerol, in wine: interlaboratory study

The aim of the present study was to provide the official wine control authorities with an internationally validated method for the determination of 3-methoxy-1,2-propanediol (3-MPD) and cyclic diglycerols (CycDs)-both of which are recognized as impurities of technical glycerol-in different types of wine. Because glycerol gives a sweet flavor to wine and contributes to its full-body taste, an economic incentive is to add glycerol to a wine to mask its poor quality. Furthermore, it is known that glycerol, depending on whether it is produced from triglycerides or petrochemicals, may contain considerable amounts of 3-MPD in the first case or CycDs in the second. However, because these compounds are not natural wine components, it is possible to detect glycerol added to wine illegally by determining the above-mentioned by-products. To this end, one of the published methods was adopted, modified, and tested in a collaborative study. The method is based on gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis of diethyl ether extracts after salting out with potassium carbonate. The interlaboratory study for the determination of 3-MPD and CycDs in wine was performed in 11 laboratories in 4 countries. Wine samples were prepared and sent to participants as 5 blind duplicate test materials and 1 single test material. The concentrations covered ranges of 0.1-0.8 mg/L for 3-MPD and 0.5-1.5 mg/L for CycDs. The precision of the method was within the range predicted by the Horwitz equation. HORRAT values obtained for 3-MPD ranged from 0.8 to 1.7, and those obtained for CycDs ranged from 0.9 to 1.3. Average recoveries were 104 and 109%, respectively.     

The first example of a liquid crystalline side-chain polymer with bent-core mesogenic units: ferroelectric switching and spontaneous achiral symmetry breaking in an achiral polymer

A dimethylsiloxane diluted polysiloxane side chain co-polymer with non-chiral banana-shaped mesogenic units shows an optically isotropic ferroelectric switching polar smectic C phase (SmCPF) consisting of a conglomerate of homogeneously chiral domains with opposite handedness.     

Genes encoding enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of L-lyxose and attachment of eurekanate during avilamycin biosynthesis

The oligosaccharide antibiotic avilamycin A is composed of a polyketide-derived dichloroisoeverninic acid moiety attached to a heptasaccharide chain consisting of six hexoses and one unusual pentose moiety. We describe the generation of mutant strains of the avilamycin producer defective in different sugar biosynthetic genes. Inactivation of two genes (aviD and aviE2) resulted in the breakdown of the avilamycin biosynthesis. In contrast, avilamycin production was not influenced in an aviP mutant. Inactivation of aviGT4 resulted in a mutant that accumulated a novel avilamycin derivative lacking the terminal eurekanate residue. Finally, AviE2 was expressed in Escherichia coli and the gene product was characterized biochemically. AviE2 was shown to convert UDP-D-glucuronic acid to UDP-D-xylose, indicating that the pentose residue of avilamycin A is derived from D-glucose and not from D-ribose. Here we report a UDP-D-glucuronic acid decarboxylase in actinomycetes.     

Cyclization of Nitrospirobenzopyrans to Bridged Benzoxazepino[3,2-a]indoles

Condensation of 1-substituted 1,2,3,9a-tetrahydro-9H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2-ones with 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde afforded 1′-[(N-monosubstituted carbamoyl)methyl]indoline nitrospirobenzopyrans. Treatment of the latter with strong base led to the formation of a mixture of cis/trans-5a,13-methano-1,3-benzoxazepino[3,2-a]indoles. Results of semiempirical calculations gave evidence that such a transformation of nitrospirobenzopyrans to bicyclic indole derivatives could proceed via a single transition state, where the negatively charged carbon atom attacks the vinylic double bond of the spiropyran system.     

Synthesis of Tricyclic (λ5)-Phosphoranes; unusual N-demethylation/N-alkylation reactions during the oxidative addition of hexafluoroacetone and tetrachloro-ortho-benzoquinone to benzodiaza-λ3-phosphorinones. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of various products

The reaction of methylisatoic acid anhydride 1 with benzylamines led to the N-benzyl-N′-methylanthranilamide derivatives 2 – 4 . Their reaction with phosphorus trichloride furnished the 2-chloro-1-halobenzyl/benzyl-3-methyl-4(1 H)-1,3,2-benzodiazaphosphorin-4-ones 5 – 7 which, upon reaction with bis-(2-chloroethyl)ammonium chloride/triethylamine, were converted into the P-bis-(2-chloroethyl)amino-1-halobenzyl/benzyl-3-methyl-4(1 H)-1,3,2-benzodiazaphosphorin-4-ones 8 – 10 and 12 . With 2-chloroethylammonium chloride/triethyl-amine the P? NHCH₂CH₂Cl-substituted compound 11 was obtained from the P^IIICl-species 6 . The reaction of 8 – 10 and 12 with hexafluoroacetone (HFA) took an unusual course: apart from the oxidative addition of HFA and formation of the perfluoropinacolyl ring system, one of the two CH₂CH₂Cl groups was found to alkylate the CH₃N atom with formation of a five-membered (diazaphospholane) ring in the tricyclic phosphoranes 13 – 16 . The reaction of 11 with HFA also produced a spirophosphorane 17 which involved a λ⁵-oxazaphosphetidine ring system. In the reaction of 8, 10 and 12 with tetrachloro-o-benzoquinone, an oxidative addition reaction with concomitant N-alkylation and formation of the tricyclic phosphoranes 18 – 20 was found to take place. Single crystal X-ray structure determinations are described for the phosphoranes 13, 14 and 16 , and for the precursor compound 9 . The following features are common to the isostructural compounds 13 and 16 and the diethyl ether hemisolvate of 14 : the (λ⁵)-spiro phosphorus atom lies out of the plane of the other atoms of the rings to which it is common, and the dioxaphospholane rings display a twist conformation. In the λ³P-compound 9 the phosphorus atom also lies out of the plane of the other ring atoms.     

Cu(OAc)2-catalyzed N-arylations of sulfoximines with aryl boronic acids

[reaction: see text] A simple and mild copper salt-catalyzed N-arylation of sulfoximines in high yields is reported. Cu(OAc)(2) activates aryl boronic acids for the reaction with NH-sulfoximines without additional base or heating. Furthermore, this new method allows the preparation of N-arylated sulfoximines, which have previously been more difficult to access.     

On the uniqueness of symmetric bases in finite dimensional Banach spaces

Suppose{e _i} _i=1 ⁿ and{f _i} _i=1 ⁿ are symmetric bases of the Banach spacesE andF. Letd(E,F)≦C andd(E,l _n ² )≧n' for somer>0. Then there is a constantC _r=C_r(C)>0 such that for alla _i∈Ri=1,...,n $$C_r^{ - 1} \left\| {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {a_i e_i } } \right\| \leqq \left\| {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {a_i f_i } } \right\| \leqq C_r \left\| {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {a_i e_i } } \right\|$$ We also give a partial uniqueness of unconditional bases under more restrictive conditions.     

Dynamic alterations of fibronectin layers on copolymer substrates with graded physicochemical characteristics

Desorption and exchange of preadsorbed fibronectin layers in pure buffer solution and solutions of human serum albumin or fibronectin, respectively, were studied in dependence on the physicochemical characteristics of maleic acid copolymer films used as substrates. Although the preadsorbed amount of fibronectin differed only slightly, the protein was found to exhibit a significantly enhanced anchorage at the more hydrophobic polymer surface as compared to the more hydrophilic and more negatively charged polymer surface. The preadsorbed fibronectin layer was most efficiently exchanged by fibronectin (i.e., in the homodisplacement process) while pure buffer solution and human serum albumin solutions induced desorption or exchange of fibronectin to lower and similar degrees. An increase of the total adsorbed amount of protein due to additional adsorption of fibronectin or human serum albumin accompanied the partial exchange of the preadsorbed fibronectin in the displacement experiments. Evaluation of the kinetics of desorption and exchange of fibronectin at any of the substrates revealed two kinds of surface-attached protein populations--a fast desorbing species and a species with a slow desorption and exchange rate. By a multivariate regression analysis the surface characteristics of the polymer substrate were confirmed to determine the degree of protein desorption and exchange while the dynamics of the layer alteration was found to solely depend on the diffusion behavior of the proteins.     

Carbazole compounds as host materials for triplet emitters in organic light-emitting diodes: polymer hosts for high-efficiency light-emitting diodes

A carbazole homopolymer and carbazole copolymers based on 9,9'-dialkyl-[3,3']-bicarbazolyl, 2,5-diphenyl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole and 9,9-bis(4-[3,7-dimethyloctyloxy]phenyl)fluorene were synthesized and their electrical and photophysical properties were characterized with respect to their application as host in phosphorescent polymer light-emitting diodes. It is shown that the triplet energy of a polymer depends on the specific connections between its building blocks. Without changing the composition of the polymer, its triplet energy can be increased from 2.3 to 2.6 eV by changing the way in which the different building blocks are coupled together. For poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), a carbazole polymer often used as host for high-energy triplet emitters in polymer light-emitting diodes, a large hole-injection barrier of about 1 eV exists due to the low-lying HOMO level of PVK. For all carbazole polymers presented here, the HOMO levels are much closer to the Fermi level of a commonly used anode such as ITO and/or a commonly used hole-injection layer such as PEDOT:PSS. This makes high current densities and consequently high luminance levels possible at moderate applied voltages in polymer light-emitting diodes. A double-layer polymer light-emitting diode is constructed comprising a PEDOT:PSS layer as hole-injection layer and a carbazole-oxadiazole copolymer doped with a green triplet emitter as emissive layer that shows an efficacy of 23 cd/A independent of current density and light output.     

Catalyzed Asymmetric Arylation Reactions

Addition and substitution reactions with carbon nucleophiles are fundamental processes in organic synthesis, and the development of general catalytic asymmetric variants thereof is still a major challenge today. In contrast to enantioselective alkyl transfer reactions, the corresponding arylations have not yet reached a high level of maturity. The existing protocols are either of no general applicability or are limited in terms of selectivity. This article summarizes established routes for catalytic asymmetric aryl transfer together with the latest developments in this area. The scope and limitations of this reaction are discussed.