Participation of Non-Conjugated Double Bonds in Diels-Alder Reactions. A kinetic study of the addition of tropone to norbornens

A kinetic study of Diels-Alder additions between norbornene derivatives acting as dienophiles and the dienes tropone, perchlorocyclopentadiene and 9,10-dimethylanthracene is presented. The results suggest that tropone thereby acts as an electron acceptor, classifying these reactions then as Diels-Alder additions with ‘inverse electron demand’. The role of non-reacting double bonds was investigated using 7-alkylidenorbornene derivatives as dienophiles. These show comparable reactivity in ‘normal’ but enhanced reactivity in ‘inverse electron demand’ Diels-Alder additions. This outcome is interpreted in terms of frontier orbital interactions between the reactants using photoelectron spectroscopical results as a basis for the qualitative perturbation treatment. It is suggested that the enhanced reactivity in the case of the 7-alkylidene derivatives does not necessitate the consideration of a direct (‘through-space’) participation of the non-reacting double bond.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Some CCo3 Clusters Containing PPh3 or dppm Ligands

Molecular structural determinations are reported for six Co₃C carbonyl cluster complexes containing tertiary phosphines, which have been isolated as by-products from a variety of reactions. Structural features are similar to those of related complexes already reported. Some discussion of apparent orientational preferences of the CH₂ group of dppm ligands, which appear to enter into H-bonding interactions with amido or carboxylate substituents, is given. Appropriate comparisons are made with unsubstituted analogues.     

Size-selective organization of enthalpic compatibilized nanocrystals in ternary block copolymer/particle mixtures

Dependent on the relative particle core size, two distinct types of particle topologies in block copolymer/nanocrystal blends have been identified, that is, the localization of particles along the intermaterial dividing surface or at the center of the respective polymer domain. In ternary systems consisting of block copolymer and two different-sized nanocrystal species, the distinct morphological types are conserved, resulting in autonomous size-selective separation and organization of the respective nanocrystals within alternating arrays and sheets.     

Application of nanoscale packed capillary liquid chromatography (75 μm id) and capillary zone electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to the analysis of macrolide antibiotics

Nanoscale separation techniques, nanoscale packed capillary columns (75 μm id), and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), on-line with electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI/MS), were applied to the separation of a series of ten macrolide antibiotics. Both techniques use sub-microliter-per-minute flow rates through the analytical column and therefore require an electrospray probe that incorporates coaxial sheath flow. Positive ion electrospray mass spectra of these compounds yielded mainly protonated molecules. Fragmentation to yield structurally significant fragment ions was achieved by collision-induced dissociation (CID) at increased skimmer voltages. Separations were achieved using both techniques, with CZE/ESI/MS showing improved peak shapes and detection limits combined with faster analysis times. Nanoscale packed capillary columns provided better chromatographic resolution and was less susceptible to peak broadening caused by overloading of the analytes.     

Gas‐phase functionalized carbon‐carbon coupling reactions catalyzed by Ni (II) complexes

Gas‐phase C―C coupling reactions mediated by Ni (II) complexes were studied using a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Ternary nickel cationic carboxylate complexes, [(phen)Ni (OOCR¹)]⁺ (where phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline), were formed by electrospray ionization. Upon collision‐induced dissociation (CID), they extrude CO₂ forming the organometallic cation [(phen)Ni(R¹)]⁺, which undergoes gas‐phase ion‐molecule reactions (IMR) with acetate esters CH₃COOR² to yield the acetate complex [(phen)Ni (OOCCH₃)]⁺ and a C―C coupling product R¹‐R². These Ni(II)/phenanthroline‐mediated coupling reactions can be performed with a variety of carbon substituents R¹ and R² (sp³, sp², or aromatic), some of them functionalized. Reaction rates do not seem to be strongly dependent on the nature of the substituents, as sp³‐sp³ or sp²‐sp² coupling reactions proceed rapidly. Experimental results are supported by density functional theory calculations, which provide insights into the energetics associated with the C―C bond coupling step.     

N-K near-edge x-ray-absorption fine structures of acetonitrile in gas phase

The dynamic processes of N(1s) core-hole excitation in gas-phase CH3CN molecule have been studied at both Hartree-Fock and hybrid density-functional theory levels. The vibrational structure is analyzed for fully optimized core-excited states. Frank-Condon factors are obtained using the linear coupling model for various potential surfaces. It is found that the vibrational profile of the N-K absorption can be largely described by a summation of two vibrational progressions: a structure-rich profile of nu(CN) stretching mode and a large envelope of congestioned vibrational levels related to the strong (-C-CN) terminal bending bond. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental spectra is obtained.     

Fast, generic gradient high performance liquid chromatography coupled to fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for the accurate mass analysis of mixtures

Fast gradient high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been combined with a commercially available Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer for the routine and high performance analysis of mixtures. With this combination we were able to separate and detect, under high mass accuracy conditions, a six-component drug mixture in less than 5 minutes. The fast gradients described are now possible due to the development of mechanically robust, ultra pure silica packing materials, which allow relatively high flow rates (ca. 1 mL/min for a 2 mm diameter column). For the six compounds present in the model mixture, relative mass errors of less than 1 ppm were obtained (based on an external calibration) providing sufficient mass accuracy to make unequivocal assignments of empirical formulae. Preliminary results of fast gradient HPLC/FTICR-MS/MS are also shown for the same six-component mixture. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of gas chromatography—mass spectrometry data by reverse library search and the detection of substances not in the library

Computer least-squares methods are used to conduct an automatic reverse search of a library of complete mass spectra for the analysis of the output data matrix from a g.c.—m.s. system. The search is limited to those mass spectra falling within a narrow retention index window about the retention index corresponding to each scan in the datamatrix. The least-squares estimated parameters obtained are proportional to the concentrations of the substances present at each scan and are displayed graphically as the profiles of resolved overlapping g.c. peaks. The precision of the parameters is estimated. The root mean square Values of the residuals of the least-squares fits are used successfully to indicate the presence of substances not in the library. Examples are given of the results produced with data from this laboratory. Possible elaborations and improvements of this computer program are discussed.     

Determination of capsaicinoids in salsa by liquid chromatography and enzyme immunoassay

Two simple and rapid methods were developed to monitor pungency of salsa in production. Capsaicin (C) and dihydrocapsaicin (DHC) were quantitated in 17 commercially available tomato-based salsas by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and liquid chromatography (LC) with fluorescent detection. Samples were extracted with methanol and the extracts were subjected to solid-phase extraction (SPE) using polystyrene-divinylbenzene columns. Analysis of SPE eluates showed good correlation (r2 = 0.953) between LC and EIA, with a slightly high bias for EIA. Salsa fortified with C and DHC from 0.118 to 103.2 microg/g resulted in recoveries of 90-112% (C) and 76-97% (DHC). Limits of detection by LC were 0.1 microg/g for each capsaicinoid and 0.1 microg/g by EIA for total capsaicinoids. The LC on-column response was linear from 0.2 to 100 ng for both C and DHC, whereas the working range for EIA was 0.1-2.0 ppm. Pungency varied between different salsa brands labeled mild, medium, and hot.