Studies on the formation of aliphatic aldehydes in the plasma and liver of vitamin E-deficient rats

The effects of vitamin E (E) deficiency on the formation of aliphatic aldehydes in rat plasma and liver were studied. Three-week-old Wistar male rats were fed either an E supplemented diet (2-ambo-alpha-tocopheryl acetate 20 mg/kg diet, designated as E supplemented diet group) or an E deficient diet (E deficient diet group). After 8 weeks, n-hexanal and (E)-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HN) in the plasma of the E deficient diet group were found to be 2.0 and 2.5-fold greater than those of the E supplemented diet group, respectively. The contents of aldehydes such as n-pentanal, n-hexanal, 4-HN in the liver were also significantly higher in the E deficient diet group than in the E supplemented diet group. These results indicate that some aldehydes, arising possibly from lipid peroxides, are produced and detected in the plasma and liver of rats under the condition like E deficiency. In this study we further found that the activity of the liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, EC 1.2.1.3) was significantly changed; 5 and 8 weeks after the start it was lower in the E deficient diet group when compared to that in the E supplemented diet group. The decrease of enzyme activity was related to the increase of aldehydes such as n-hexanal in the liver. the aldehyde increase in the plasma of the E deficient diet group was thought to raise the injury of cells, namely, a strong hemolysis on erythrocytes prepared from the blood of rats fed the E deficient diet.     

Determination of 20 alpha-hydroxy-9 beta,10 alpha-pregna-4,6-dien-3-one in plasma by selected ion monitoring

A selected ion monitoring (SIM) method has been devised for the determination of metabolites of dydrogesterone, 20 alpha-hydroxy-9 beta,10 alpha-pregna-4,6-dien-3-one (DHD) and DHD glucuronide, in plasma. Using testosterone as an internal standard (IS), DHD and IS were extracted with n-hexane and were purified by means of magnesium oxide column chromatography. The purified DHD and IS were converted to their diheptafluorobutyryl derivatives (DHD diHFB and testosterone diHFB) with heptafluorobutyric anhydride in acetone for analysis by SIM. SIM was carried out with a 2% OV-17 column (1 m) at 230 degrees C by monitoring the molecular ions of the derivatives (m/z 706 for DHD diHFB, m/z 680 for testosterone diHFB). DHD was determined from a calibration curve using a peak area method. The determination limit of the devised method was about 5 ng DHD per ml of plasma and the reproducibility was within +/- 6% of the coefficient of variation for 30 ng of DHD per ml of plasma or above.     

Two-dimensional mapping by high-performance liquid chromatography of pyridylamino oligosaccharides from various glycosphingolipids.

A method to map sugars two-dimensionally for the analysis of the structures of oligosaccharides from glycosphingolipids is described. Nine neutral and ten acidic oligosaccharides were obtained from glycosphingolipids by endoglycoceramidase digestion and labelled with 2-aminopyridine. The pyridylamino oligosaccharides were clearly separated by high-performance liquid chromatography on commercially available C18-silica and amide-silica column. All compounds tested were mapped without any overlapping. The separation of the pyridylamino oligosaccharides on the C18-silica column depended on the numbers and positions of sialic acid and N-acetylhexosamine residues; on the amide-silica column, the separation depended on the total number of sugar residues.     

Evolution of water vapor from indium-tin-oxide transparent conducting films fabricated by dip coating process

Tin-doped indium oxide In₂O₃ (indium-tin-oxide) transparent conducting films were fabricated on silicon substrates by a dip coating process. The thermal analysis of the ITO films was executed by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) or thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) in high vacuum. Gas evolution from the ITO film mainly consisted of water vapor. The total amount of evolved water vapor increased on increasing the film thickness from approx. 25 to 250 nm and decreased by increasing the preparation temperature from 365 to 600°C and by annealing at the same temperature for extra 10 h. The evolution occurred via two steps; the peak temperatures for 250 nm thick films were approx. 100-120 and 205-215°C. The 25 nm thick films evolved water vapor at much higher temperatures; a shoulder at approx. 150-165°C and a peak at approx. 242°C were observed. The evolution temperatures increased by increasing the preparation and the annealing temperatures except in case of the second peak of the 25 nm thick films. The evolution of water vapor at high temperature was tentatively attributed to thermal decomposition of indium hydroxide, In(OH)₃, formed on the surface of the nm-sized ITO particles. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Z/E-photoisomerizations of olefins with 4npi- or (4n + 2)pi-electron substituents: zigzag variations in olefin properties along the T(1) state energy surfaces

[Figure: see text]. A quantum chemical study has been performed to assess changes in aromaticity along the T1 state Z/E-isomerization pathways of annulenyl-substituted olefins. It is argued that the point on the T1 energy surface with highest substituent aromaticity corresponds to the minimum. According to Baird (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1972, 94, 4941), aromaticity and antiaromaticity are interchanged when going from S0 to T1. Thus, olefins with S0 aromatic substituents (set A olefins) will be partially antiaromatic in T1 and vice versa for olefins with S0 antiaromatic substituents (set B olefins). Twist of the C=C bond to a structure with a perpendicular orientation of the 2p(C) orbitals (3p*) in T1 should lead to regaining substituent aromaticity in set A and loss of aromaticity in set B olefins. This hypothesis is verified through quantum chemical calculations of T1 energies, geometries (bond lengths and harmonic oscillator measure of aromaticity), spin densities, and nucleus independent chemical shifts whose differences along the T1 PES display zigzag dependencies on the number of -electrons in the annulenyl substituent of the olefin. Aromaticity changes are reflected in the profiles of the T1 potential energy surfaces (T1 PESs) for Z/E-isomerizations because olefins in set A have minima at 3p* whereas those in set B have maxima at such structures. The proper combination (fusion) of the substituents of set A and B olefins could allow for design of novel optical switch compounds that isomerize adiabatically with high isomerization quantum yields.     

Crystal structures and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of oxo-centered trinuclear chloroacetate complexes

The crystal structures of oxo-centered trineclear cobalt-iron chloroacetate complex [Co^IIFe ₂ ^III O(CH₂ClCO₂)₆(H₂O)₃]·3H₂O (1) was compared with that of previously reported trinuclear iron complex [Fe^IIFe ₂ ^III O(CH₂ClCO₂)₆(H₂O)₃]·3H₂O (2) which has an isomorphous structure to 1. Compound 1 crystallizes in space group P2₁/n with Z=4 in a unit cell of a=14.826 (4) Å, b=4.536 (8) Å, c=14.000 (4) Å, =100.32 (2)⁰ and V=2968 (11) ų. The structure was refined to R=0.75 and R_w=0.82. The coordination geometries of the three iron atoms are observed equivalent in 1 indicating a static disorder of the position among cobalt and iron atoms. Two distinct Fe^III doublets observed in Mössbauer spectra of 1 become an indistinguishable broad doublet by dehydration of crystal water. On the other hand, no significant line-broadening is observed after the dehydration in complex 2. The results indicate that the dehydration in 2 induces a local environmental change reordering of an electronic configuration around iron atoms, whereas the remaining disordering is reflected in Mössbauer spectrum after the dehydration in 1.     

Simultaneous application of two or more supported liquid-phase organometallic catalysts: heterogeneous multifunctional reaction systems

Using the form of supported liquid-phase catalysts, two or more homogeneous catalysts can simultaneously be used with retaining their own activities and taking the advantage of catalyst-product separation and catalyst recycling.