Substituted chromans and tetrahydrofuro[2,3-b]benzofurans (trapped tetrahedral intermediates) from 3-phenyl-2-benzofuranones

The previously discovered neighboring group reaction has been extended to the synthesis of chroman derivatives (i.e., 4, 5, 6) containing geminal methyls in the 2-position, a feature common to certain physiologically active natural chromans. In two instances, cyclic ortho ester by-products (8), not observed in previous work, were formed as a result of the intramolecular trapping of tetrahedral intermediates. Reasons for the incursion of this unexpected side reaction are discussed.     

Improved quantitation of 2,4-dichlorophenol in plant tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection

For the determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) residues in plant tissues, the use of high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection decreases the quantitation limits by a factor of five compared to those obtained with gas chromatography with Hall conductivity detection. It also avoids the clean-up and derivatization procedures required for electron-capture detection. After extraction of DCP from plant tissue by steam distillation and collection in toluene, an alumina clean-up column is used to remove electroactive interferences from the samples. The DCP is then extracted into aqueous alkaline solution, neutralized, and diluted with acetonitrile to ca. 50% (v/v). An alternative clean-up made use of an in-line, pre-column electrochemical procedure, in which case the alumina column was not used. The components were separated with a reverse-phase column and detected with a polychlorotrifluoroethylene/graphite composite electrode at an applied potential of +1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The quantitation limit for DCP in the plant tissues was 100 pg per injection (0.05 mg Kg^?1).     

Mechanistic study of stereoselective gas-phase reactions of phosphenium ions with cis- and trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexanes

The 1,3-dioxolane-2-phosphenium ion, 1,3-benzodioxole-2-phosphenium ion, and o-biphenylenephosphenium ion are reported to react in a stereoselective manner with cis- and trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexanes in the gas phase in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Elimination of NH3 from an addition product was observed only for the trans isomer. Several reaction mechanisms were experimentally and computationally examined (B3LYP/6-31G(d)//HF/6-31G(d) + ZPVE level of theory). The most plausible mechanism is initiated by addition of one of the amino groups to the electrophilic phosphorus atom followed by proton transfer between the amino groups. A change to a diaxial conformation for the trans isomer facilitates anchimeric assistance by the now nucleophilic phosphorus atom as the C-N bond breaks to release NH3. Intramolecular proton transfer competes with the conformational change and ultimately leads to ethylene glycol elimination. The transition states for the critical steps of these two reactions are calculated to be nearly equal in magnitude, which rationalizes the observation of both reactions for the trans-diamine. In contrast, the adduct of the cis isomer can eliminate NH3 via a concerted 1,2-hydride shift without a need for a conformational change. However, the barrier associated with this reaction was found to be substantially greater than for proton transfer between the N- and O-atoms. The latter reaction dominates and ultimately leads to ethylene glycol elimination.     

Plutonium Activity Ratios in Plankton: New Evidence of Hold-Up Time in Irish Sea Sediments

The determination of activity ratios for radioisotopes of different half-lives can be used to estimate transit times from a point source to locations further away. For conservative elements, this time is approximately equivalent to the net hydrological transport. However, for non-conservative elements such as plutonium, the additional influence of biogeochemical processes decreases the net transport time. In this study, ²⁴¹Pu and ^239,240Pu concentrations in Irish Sea plankton samples, collected in May 1994, were determined and the ²⁴¹Pu/^239,240Pu ratios calculated. Plutonium-239,240 was measured using a standard method by ion exchange chromatography and alpha counting, and ²⁴¹Pu was determined by liquid scintillation counting using the disk-supported technique. The latter showed some methodological problems, which are briefly discussed. The ²⁴¹Pu/^239,240Pu ratios gave an estimate of the "transit time" from Sellafield to the different sampling points. In fact, this time represents the age of plutonium in plankton, i.e., the time lag between release from Sellafield and detection at the different sampling stations. The mean plutonium age was 17±2 years (n = 10) and 18.6±0.8 years (n = 13) in phytoplankton and zooplankton, respectively. The spatial distribution was reasonably homogeneous over the Irish Sea. The assimilation-elimination processes of plutonium in plankton are rather rapid. Therefore, it may be assumed that, in this time scale, the plutonium concentrations were in equilibrium with surrounding waters. Thus, it is concluded that plutonium was rather old because resuspension-sedimentation processes had occurred that delayed its transport within the Irish Sea. Therefore, the age of plutonium in plankton represented the hold-up time of plutonium in the sediments from the Irish Sea.     

Synthesis and NMR studies of (13)C-labeled vitamin D metabolites

Isotope-labeled drug molecules may be useful for probing by NMR spectroscopy the conformation of ligand associated with biological hosts such as membranes and proteins. Triple-labeled [7,9,19-(13)C(3)]-vitamin D(3) (56), its 25-hydroxylated and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxylated metabolites (58 and 68, respectively), and other labeled materials have been synthesized via coupling of [9-(13)C]-Grundmann's ketone 39 or its protected 25-hydroxy derivative 43 with labeled A ring enyne fragments 25 or 26. The labeled CD-ring fragment 39 was prepared by a sequence involving Grignard addition of [(13)C]-methylmagnesium iodide to Grundmann's enone 28, oxidative cleavage, functional group modifications leading to seco-iodide 38, and finally a kinetic enolate S(N)2 cycloalkylation. The C-7,19 double labeling of the A-ring enyne was achieved by the Corey-Fuchs/Wittig processes on keto aldehyde 11. By employing these labeled fragments in the Wilson-Mazur route, the C-7,9,19 triple-(13)C-labeled metabolites 56, 58, and 68 as well as other (13)C-labeled metabolites have been prepared. In an initial NMR investigation of one of the labeled metabolites prepared in this study, namely [7,9,19-(13)C(3)]-25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (58), the three (13)C-labeled carbons of the otherwise water insoluble steroid could be clearly detected by (13)C NMR analysis at 0.1 mM in a mixture of CD(3)OD/D(2)O (60/40) or in aqueous dimethylcyclodextrin solution and at 2 mM in 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous micellar solution. In the SDS micellar solution, a double half-filter NOESY experiment revealed that the distance between the H(19Z) and H(7) protons is significantly shorter than that of the corresponding distance calculated from the solid state (X-ray) structure of the free ligand. The NMR data in micelles reveals that 58 exists essentially completely in the alpha-conformer with the 3 beta-hydroxyl equatorially oriented, just as in the solid state. The shortened distance (H(19Z))-H(7)) in micellar solutions as compared to that in the solid state is most easily rationalized on the basis that the 5(10)-torsion angle in 58 is decreased in micellar solutions as compared to that in the solid state.     

Electric-field-induced patterns in thin polymer films: weakly nonlinear and fully nonlinear evolution

A thin polymer melt on a substrate can be unstable to an electric field normal to the interface, a phenomenon that can be harnessed as a patterning technique with a range of potential applications. Motivated by the variety of patterns observed in experiments for polymers under both unpatterned and patterned masks, we describe here, from theoretical and numerical analyses, how nonlinear effects govern the growth of the instability and determine the final patterns. In particular, we discuss the nonlinear growth in terms of interactions among different Fourier modes and show that the second- and third-order nonlinearities favor the growth of hexagonal patterns under a featureless mask, in agreement with experimental observations. Also, numerical simulations based on the fully nonlinear model validate the prediction of the weakly nonlinear analysis: hexagonal patterns do emerge under an unpatterned mask. Furthermore, in one-dimensional simulations, we demonstrate the energetic evolution of this patterning process and reveal several "kinetically stable structures" along the path to the thermodynamically stable state. Two-dimensional simulations allow us to study the effects of both mask patterns and the initial film thickness. Generally, patterns on the mask guide the growth such that the pattern conforms to the geometric shapes. Interestingly, a small cylindrical protrusion at the center of the mask can produce exactly the same pattern as a large, flat, circular protrusion. The initial film thickness or the thickness ratio of the polymer layer to the air gap plays an important role in determining the final pattern formed. Finally, we demonstrate, by two simple examples, that the simulations can provide insights on "smart" mask designs for producing large areas of well-ordered patterns.     

The Effects of Methylene Blue and Oxygen Concentration on the Photoinactivation of Qβ Bacteriophage

Abstract— Concentration effects of methylene blue (MB) and oxygen on the photoinactivation rate of Qβ bacteriophage were examined. The effect of initial virus concentration was verified on the similar f2 phage. The inactivation rate, k , is an increasing function of MB and O₂ concentration and shows saturation with respect to MB concentration. Thus the results suggest that MB must adsorb to Qβ sites and oxygen must be present for photoinactivation to occur. The inactivation rate is independent of the initial number of phage particles present before inactivation, indicating that inactivation does not depend upon interaction among viral particles or on surface effects. The results indicate that at least two different viral phenotypes exist within the wild-type Qβ and f2 populations: one susceptible and the other resistant.     

Eu(III)-cyclen-phen conjugate as a luminescent copper sensor: the formation of mixed polymetallic macrocyclic complexes in water

The cationic cyclen based Eu(III)-phen conjugated 1.Eu was synthesised as a chemosensor for Cu(II), where the recognition in water at pH 7.4 gave rise to quenching of the Eu(III) luminescence and the formation of tetranuclear polymetallic Cu(II)-Eu(III) macrocyclic complexes in solution where Cu(II) was bound by three 1.Eu conjugates.     

Determination of low-level residual ethylene oxide by using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography

Current methods of analysis for ethylene oxide (EO) in medical devices include headspace and simulated-use extractions followed by gas chromatography with either a packed or a capillary column. The quantitation limits are about 0.5-1.0 microg/g for a packed column and about 0.1-0.2 microg/g for a capillary column. The current allowable levels of EO on medical devices sterilized with EO gas as outlined in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10993-7 may be significantly reduced from current levels by applying the ISO Draft International Standard 10993-17 method for establishing allowable limits. This may require EO test methods with detection and quantitation limits that are much lower than those of the currently available methods. This paper describes a new method that was developed for the determination of low-level EO by solid-phase microextraction using the direct-immersion method. Factors such as temperature and stirring were found to affect absorption efficiency and absorption time. A low extraction temperature (about 6 degrees C) was found to be more efficient than room-temperature extraction. Stirring was found to reduce absorption time by about 50%. Under these conditions, detection and quantitation limits of 0.002 and 0.009 microg/g, respectively, were obtained by using a capillary column. As a result, this method makes compliance with lower EO limits feasible.