Arsenic speciation in marine organisms: from the analytical methodology to the constitution of reference materials

An analytical procedure for total arsenic and arsenic species quantification in marine organisms has been developed. Fresh materials are freeze-dried and reduced to powders before analysis. Arsenic is determined either by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) directly or by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) after microwave digestion. Arsenic speciation is performed on the extracted sample using liquid chromatography coupled to ICP/OES for arsenobetaine and arsenocholine determination and to the hydride generation-quartz furnace atomic absorption spectrometric technique for arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acids quantification. Special precautions are taken to avoid losses or contaminations as well as to prevent analytical errors during the quantification stage. Other methods are applied and the corresponding results compared for each step of the procedure. The method is finally validated by means of intercomparison studies within the Measurements and Testing Programme of the European Community (formely BCR).     

Chemical diffusion of oxygen in tin dioxide: Effects of dopants and oxygen partial pressure

Tin dioxide SnO_2−δ is a pronounced n-type electron conductor due to its oxygen deficiency. This study investigates the rate of chemical diffusion of oxygen in SnO_2−δ single crystals, which is a crucial step in the overall stoichiometry change of the material. The chemical diffusion coefficient D^δ was determined from conductivity- and EPR-relaxation methods. The temperature dependence was found to be . The dependence on crystal orientation, dopant content and oxygen partial pressure was below experimental error. The latter observation leads to the conclusion that the chemical diffusion coefficient is close to the diffusion coefficient of oxygen vacancies. Along with the relaxation process resulting from the chemical diffusion of oxygen, additional processes were observed. One of these was attributed to complications in the defect chemistry of the material. The relevance of the results for the kinetics of drift processes of Taguchi sensors is discussed.     

Synthesis of novel 3'-C-methylene thymidine and 5-methyluridine/cytidine H-phosphonates and phosphonamidites for new backbone modification of oligonucleotides

Novel 5'-O-DMT- and MMT-protected 3'-C-methylene-modified thymidine, 5-methyluridine, and 5-methylcytidine H-phosphonates 1-7 with O-methyl, fluoro, hydrogen, and O-(2-methoxyethyl) substituents at the 2'-position have been synthesized by a new effective strategy from the corresponding key intermediates 3'-C-iodomethyl nucleosides and intermediate BTSP, prepared in situ through the Arbuzov reaction. The modified reaction conditions for the Arbuzov reaction prevented the loss of DMT- and MMT-protecting groups, and directly provided the desired 5'-O-DMT- and/or MMT-protected 3'-C-methylene-modified H-phosphonates 1-6 although some of them were also prepared through the manipulation of protecting groups after the P-C bond formation. The modified Arbuzov reaction of 3'-C-iodomethyl-5-methylcytidine 53, prepared from its 5-methyluridine derivative 42, with BTSP provided the 5-methylcytidine H-phosphonate 54, which was further transferred to the corresponding 4-N-(N-methylpyrrolidin-2-ylidene)-protected H-phosphonate monomer 7. 5'-O-MMT-protected 3'-C-methylene-modified H-phosphonates 5, 3, and 7 were converted to the corresponding cyanoethyl H-phosphonates 50, 51, and 56 using DCC as a coupling reagent. One-pot three-step reactions of 50, 51, and 56 provided the desired 3'-C-methylene-modified phosphonamidite monomers 8-10. Some of these new 3'-methylene-modified monomers 1-10 have been successfully utilized for the synthesis of 3'-methylene-modified oligonucleotides, which have shown superior antisense properties including nuclease resistance and binding affinity to the target RNA.     

Markierungsexperimente zur fragmentierung von 1,2,3-thiadiazolen

The generation of thiirenes in the thermal and photochemical nitrogen elimination of 1,2,3-thiadiazoles is discussed in relation to oxirene formation. Isotope labelling experiments were performed with 4-phenyl-[4-¹³C]-1,2,3-thiadiazole ( 7 ) as the substrate.     

Emission spectra of the radical cations of hexa-, penta-, tetra-, and tri-fluorobenzenes

Emission spectra of the radical cations of the title fluorobenzenes were excited in the gaseous phase by electron impact. The spectra, vibrational fine structure discernible and the threshold energy of the emission are discussed in relation to the photoelectron spectra of the fluorobenzenes.     

Synthesis of jasplakinolide analogues containing a novel omega-amino acid

The synthesis of the omega-amino acid 4 is described utilizing a two-dimensional synthesis strategy combined with an enzymatic differentiation of homotopic ester groups. The amino acid 4 features two non-bonded interactions that result in conformational constraints on a cyclic construct. This amino acid was incorporated into the four macrolactams 17, 22, 31, and 37. The ring in 17 and 22 is 18-membered, whereas 31 and 37 have a 19-membered ring. The pairs with the same ring size differ in a N-methyl group. For the larger macrolactams (31 and 37) conformational analysis showed that the macrocyclic rings are somewhat more rigid than in the natural lead, the depsipeptide jasplakinolide. Nevertheless, their conformations are comparable to the natural product. There are no intramolecular hydrogen bonds, neither is the cis-rotamer populated in the N-methyl compound 37. Due to the increased flexibility of the smaller macrolactams 17 and 22 and signal overlap, a distinct solution structure could not be obtained for these compounds. The amino acid 4 should be useful for restricting the conformation of other small peptides.     

Development of pork fat reference material for OCPs BCR-CRM 430

Summary A pork fat sample was prepared and tested as candidate reference material for 10 organochlorine pesticides and metabolites (OCPs): hexachlorobenzene, -, - and -HCH, -heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, endrin, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-TDE and p,p'-DDE. Preparation and testing for homogeneity and stability of the OCPs in the pork fat are discussed. The coefficient of variation of pesticide determinations carried out to test the between-ampoule homogeneity ranged from 2.4–5.8% and was found to be very similar to that for the analytical method (2.5–4.9%). This means that the homogeneity is very good. Stability data over 12 months do not show any trends that suggest lack of stability.