Synthesis of Linear Oligomers of (R)-3-Hydroxybutyrate and Solid-State Structural Investigations by electron microscopy and X-ray scattering

Repetitive treatment of the biopolymer P(3-HB) (molecular weight > 10⁵ Dalton, storage or s-P(3-HB)), with lithium hexamethyl disilazanid (LHMDS) at ?70° in THF leads to a mixture of oligomers with increasingly sharp distribution around a 15-, 30-, and 45mer. Discrete fragments are also isolated when P(3-HB) is heated under reflux (89°) in neat Et₃N. Linear oligo(3-HB) derivatives ( 3-7 ) containing up to 96 3-HB units are synthesized using an exponential segment-coupling strategy. These oligomers are used to calibrate size-exclusion chromatography columns for the analysis of oligo(3-HB) samples from the different sources. The linear oligo-(3-HB) derivatives also served as a model with respect to the physical properties of high molecular weight P(3-HB) and were investigated as such by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS). The thicknesses of the lamellar crystallites (long periods) formed by the 8mer, 16mer, and 32mer, are ca. 26, 52, and 53 Å, respectively, indicating that the 32mer molecules are folded once, very tightly, into a ‘hair-pin’-type conformation. High-molecular-weight P(3-HB), which was crystallized in a similar way, also has a lamellar crystallite thickness of ca. 50–65 Å. Thus, the treatment of P(3-HB) with LHMDS at low temperature causes etching of the amorphous regions, an effect well known in polymer science for studying the regularity of chain folding. The ca. 50-Å packing within the tight folds of P(3-HB) is discussed in view of its possible function in ion transport through cell membranes.     

13C NMR investigation of tautomeric and acid-base equilibria of pyrazolone T and three analogs

Pyrazolone T and three derivatives have been characterized by ¹³C and, in part, ¹⁵N nmr at several pH values. The ¹³C chemical shifts have been assigned at, or near, the equivalence points and pK_a values of these four compounds. Closely situatued quaternary carbon signals were assigned by means of a heteronuclear chemical shift correlation (FLOCK) experiment which is sensitive to, and was optimized for, 3-bond C-H couplings. The ¹³C chemical shift data indicate the existence of both tautomeric and acid-base equilibria and demonstrate that the four congeners exist in surprisingly different forms at certain common pH values.     

On functions that are trivial cocycles for a set of irrationals. II

Two results are obtained about the topological size of the set of irrationals for which a given function is a trivial cocycle. An example of a continuous function which is a coboundary with non- cobounding function is constructed.

     

Opening of tartrate acetals using dialkylboron bromide: evidence for stereoselectivity downstream from ring fission

Johnson-type acetals derived from dimethyl tartrate give, after opening with Me(2)BBr and cuprate displacement, secondary alcohols with high diastereoselectivity (>30:1). The mechanism proposed for the induction of diastereoselectivity is downstream from the ring fission. It implies a direct participation of the Lewis acid as a source of nucleophile and the stereospecific transformation of the resulting bromo acetal through an invertive and temperature-dependent process. The acetals are prepared by reaction of the desired aldehyde with dimethyl tartrate. Removal of the auxiliary is accomplished through SmI(2) reduction or by an addition-elimination protocol using methoxide.     

Assay of TNP-470 and its two major metabolites in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

In this study, a sensitive, specific assay for the determination of TNP-470 and its two major metabolites M-IV (also know as AGM-1883) and M-II in human plasma is reported. The assay involves liquid-liquid extraction of acidified plasma followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. A liquid-liquid extraction using an organic solvent mixture (methyl-tert-butyl-ether-hexane, 1:1, v/v) is used in place of solid-phase extraction because it provides consistent recoveries for all analytes, including the internal standard. Retention times for the analytes and internal standard are less than 7 min. Within- and between-day precision is < or = 6.5% and < or = 13.3% relative standard deviation, respectively, for the three analytes. The lower limits of quantitation are 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 ng/mL for TNP-470, M-IV, and M-II, respectively.     

On the mechanism of the gif system for the oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons

The high selectivity of the Gif system for hydrocarbon oxidation is shown to depend upon the capture of $\text{tert.}$ radicals by pyridine; the mechanism for the secondary oxidation products has only a minor radical component as judged by competitive trapping.     

2D correlation analysis of the continuum in single molecule surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The role and the nature of the continuum in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) are unclear. Here, two-dimensional (2D) covariance and correlation analysis is applied to single molecule SERS spectra on silver colloids with and without rhodamine 6G (native colloid). The resulting 2D covariance and correlation maps show that the sharp molecular Raman peaks from rhodamine 6G and the molecule responsible for the SERS peaks from the native colloid are correlated to different continua even though both continua are present in each data set. This suggests that two distinct active sites on the silver colloids produce the two different continua, and that each site has some molecular specificity.     

Specific detection of Clostridium botulinum types A,B, E,and F using the polymerase chain reaction

Clostridium botulinum organisms generally produce 1 of 4 neurotoxin types (A, B, E, and F) associated with human illness. Neurotoxin type determination is important in identification of the bacterium. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed to identify 24 h botulinal cultures as potential types A, B, E, and F neurotoxin producers as well as other clostridial species which also produce neurotoxins. Components of the PCR and amplification conditions were adjusted for optimal amplification of toxin gene target regions to enable simultaneous testing for types A, B, E, and F in separate tubes using a single thermal cycler. Each primer set was specific for its corresponding toxin type. A DNA extraction procedure was also included to remove inhibitory substances that may affect amplification. This procedure is rapid, sensitive, and specific for identification of toxigenic C. botulinum.