Radical promoted Wagner-Meerwein-type rearrangement of epoxides in camphoric systems using a Ti(III) radical source

[Chemical reaction: see text] A radical based Wagner-Meerwein-type rearrangement has been observed in camphoric systems. The radical was generated from the epoxide using Cp2TiCl as the radical source. The radical initiator Cp2TiCl was prepared in situ from commercially available Cp2TiCl2 and Zn dust in THF under argon.     

Square-wave voltammetric determination of cefoperazone in a bacterial culture,pharmaceutical drug,milk, and urine

Use of square-wave voltammetry (SWV) for determination of cefoperazone (CFPZ) in some buffers, bacterial culture, urine, and milk is described. CFPZ provides a specific voltammetric signal which is affected by pH and solution components. Determination of CFPZ in Britton–Robinson buffer, pH 4.4, is sensitive with a low detection limit (about 0.5 nmol L^–1). In a more complex medium (bacterial 2YT medium, pH 7.2) the detection limit was approximately 1.5 mol L^–1. We provide evidence that SWV is a suitable and quick method for CFPZ determination in a culture of living bacteria without separation of biomass. We have found big differences between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in cultivation in the presence of CFPZ, depending on time. When CFPZ is cleaved by penicillinase, a new SWV peak b appears at more positive potentials. This peak rises both with increasing concentration of enzyme and with cleavage time while the original CFPZ peak is simultaneously decreasing. We determined the concentration of CFPZ in the drug Pathozone by the standard addition method and achieved good agreement with the declared value of CFPZ in the drug. With a simple pretreatment procedure it is possible to determine CFPZ in milk; for urine no pretreatment was required. Using SWV we could detect CFPZ concentrations as low as 500 nmol L^–1 in bovine milk and human urine.     

Does ionized diacetylene have a positive proton affinity?

Singly and doubly charged C₄H₃^+/2+ ions generated upon electron ionization (EI) of the neutral precursors 1,3-butadiene, benzene, and exo-methylene cyclopropane, respectively, are examined by sector-field mass-spectrometry. Charge stripping of the mass-selected monocations affords the corresponding dications and charge exchange of the C₄H₃²⁺ dications allows for the reverse redox process. Refined analysis and additional MS/MS studies suggest that the monocations are mixtures of isomeric ions formed upon ionization, whereas only a single type of dication seems to be formed. As an average of energy-resolved measurements, a vertical ionization energy of IE_v(C₄H₃⁺)=16.5±0.4 eV is derived. In addition to the experimental work, density functional theory is used for a computational exploration of the mono- and dicationic species. The best theoretical estimates are IE_a(C₄H₃⁺)=16.33 eV and IE_v(C₄H₃⁺)=16.49 eV for the most stable isomer H₂C=C---CCH⁺. Combination of the experimental and theoretical findings leads to the conclusion that the diacetylene cation C₄H₂⁺ has indeed a positive proton affinity of PA(C₄H₂⁺)=1.50±0.42 eV.     

Characterization of silsesquioxanes by size-exclusion chromatography and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography in combination with spectroscopic methods like matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful method to characterize silsesquioxanes and silsesquioxane mixtures. As new examples, the formation of silsesquioxyl-substituted silsesquioxanes [(n-octyl)(7)(SiO(1.5))(8)](2)O and [(n-octyl)(7)(SiO(1.5))(8)O](2)[(n-octyl)(6)(SiO(1.5))(8)] as well as the cage rearrangement of octa-[(n-heptyl)silsesquioxane] to larger structures [(n-heptyl)SiO(1.5))](n) up to n=28 are shown.     

Determination of aristolochic acid by capillary zone electrophoresis

A simple and rapid capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the determination of aristolochic acid (AA) in dietary supplements and selected herbs is described. A clear separation of AA from other sample constituents was achieved within 5 minutes without any sample clean up. A mixture of 20 mM-morpholinethanesulphonic acid+10 mM-BisTrisPropane+0.2% hydroxyethylcelullose in 10% methanol serves as a background electrolyte. The linearity, accuracy, intra-assay and detection limit of the developed method are 200–6000 ng/mL, 95–103%, 3.5%, and 50 ng/ml, respectively. Ease of use, sufficient sensitivity and low running cost are the most important attributes of the CZE method. The proposed CZE method was compared with HPLC.     

An experimental and theoretical study of the Cp2VO2CO: use of 13CO3(2-) for structure investigation of d1-metallocene complexes

EPR study has shown that the anticancer agent vanadocene dichloride (Cp2VCl2) interacts with carbonate contained in physiological solutions. Chelate complex Cp2VO2CO (|A(iso)(51V)| = 175.1 MHz, g(iso) = 1.9861) is the only paramagnetic species formed in the range about the physiological pH (5.5-11.0). The super-hyperfine coupling (|a(iso)(13C)| = 24.1 MHz) was evidenced at measurements using 13C labelled carbonate. The structure of carbonate complex was validated by comparison of observed and theoretical calculated HFC tensors (at the density functional level of theory).     

Interactions of benzoic acid and phosphates with iron oxide colloids using chemical force titration

Colloidal iron oxides are an important component in soil systems and in water treatment processes. Humic-based organic compounds, containing both phenol and benzoate functional groups, are often present in these systems and compete strongly with phosphate species for binding sites on the iron oxide surfaces. Here, we examine the interaction of benzoate and phenolic groups with various iron oxide colloids using atomic force microscopy (AFM) chemical force titration measurements. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-(12-mercaptododecyloxy)benzoic acid and 4-(12-mercaptododecyloxy)phenol were used to prepare chemically modified Au-coated AFM tips, and these were used to probe the surface chemistry of a series of iron oxide colloids. The SAMs formed were also characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy, reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface pK(a) of 4-(12- mercaptododecyloxy)benzoic acid has been determined to be 4.0 +/- 0.5, and the interaction between the tip and the sample coated with a SAM of this species is dominated by hydrogen bonding. The chemical force titraton profile for an AFM probe coated with 4-(12- mercaptododecyloxy)benzoic acid and a bare iron oxide colloid demonstrates that the benzoic acid function group interacts with all three types of iron oxide sites present on the colloid surface over a wide pH range. Similar experiments were carried out on colloids precipitated in the presence of phosphoric, gallic, and tannic acids. The results are discussed in the context of the competitive binding interactions of solution species present in soils or in water treatment processes.     

Evaluation of high-performance liquid chromatography column retentivity using macromolecular probes. II. Silanophilic interactivity traced by highly polar polymers

A new method of HPLC column retentivity testing utilizes polymeric probes instead of conventional sets of low molar mass substances. The procedure allows at least semiquantitative, separate and independent evaluation of adsorption and partition properties of column packings. In this present work, the method is applied for comparison of the polar interactivities of selected silica gel C18 HPLC columns. It is shown that free silanols which remained on the surface of the end-capped silica C18 column packings are accessible for interaction with highly polar macromolecules. High molar mass polymeric test probes are adsorbed on the surface silanols and their retention volumes increase. As result, deviations from regular size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) behavior are observed. The extent of retention volume changes depends on both the nature of polymer probes and on column packing type. Adsorption of macromolecules can be suppressed by addition of a highly polar substance to the mobile phase. The amount of polar additive which is needed to attain regular SEC elution of the polymer probe depends on the column packing type and can be used as a characteristic of silanophilic column interactivity. Courses of dependences of retention volumes on sizes of macromolecules indicate the presence of "U-turn" adsorption which allows two and more silanols situated among C18 groups to be occupied simultaneously with the same macromolecule.     

New beginnings for matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors: identification of high-affinity zinc-binding groups

In an effort to identify promising non-hydroxamate inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), several new zinc-binding groups (ZBGs) based on pyrone, pyrothione, hydroxypyridinone, and hydroxypyridinethione chelators have been examined. Structural studies with tris(pyrazolyl)borate model complexes show that these ligands bind to the MMP active site zinc(II) ion in a bidentate fashion, similar to that found with hydroxamate-based inhibitors. Fluorescence- and colorimetric-based enzyme assays have been used to determine the IC50 values for these ZBGs against MMP-3; mixed O,S-donor ligands were found to be remarkably potent, with IC50 values as much as 700-fold lower than that found for acetohydroxamic acid. Inhibitory activity was found to parallel metal binding affinity as determined in titrations with model complexes. These results demonstrate that MPIs based on new ZBGs are feasible and may indeed improve the overall performance of inhibitors designed against these important medicinal targets.