Determination of tenuazonic acid in human urine by means of a stable isotope dilution assay

The content of tenuazonic acid in human urine was determined by a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) that was recently developed for the analysis of food commodities and extensively re-validated for urine matrix in this study. Linearity of the response curve was proven between molar ratios n(labeled standard)/n(analyte) of 0.02–100. The limits of detection and determination were 0.2 and 0.6 μg/L, respectively. The mean recovery of the stable isotope dilution assay was 102?±?3 % in the range between 1.0 and 100 μg/L. Interassay precision was 6.7 % (relative standard deviation of three triplicate analyses of a human urine sample during 3 weeks). The method was applied to two studies dealing with urinary excretion of tenuazonic acid: In the first study, tenuazonic acid was quantified in the 24-h urine of six volunteers from Germany (three female, three male) in a concentration range of 1.3–17.3 μg/L or 2.3–10.3 ng/mg^?1 creatinine, respectively. In the second study, two volunteers (one female, one male) ingested 30 μg tenuazonic acid by consumption of naturally contaminated whole meal sorghum infant cereals and tomato juice, respectively. The urinary excretion of the ingested tenuazonic acid was 54–81 % after 6 h, depending on matrix and volunteer. After 24 h, 87–93 % of the ingested amount of tenuazonic acid was excreted, but the fate of the remaining about 10 % is open. Thus, it is not possible to exclude potential health hazards for the consumer, completely.

pH‐Dependent Coordination of AgI Ions by Histidine: Experiment,Theory, and a Model for SilE

Artificial implants and biomaterials lack the natural defense system of our body and, thus, have to be protected from bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. In addition to the increasing number of implanted objects, the resistance of bacteria is also an important problem. Silver ions are well‐known for their antimicrobial properties, yet not a lot is known about their mode of action. Silver is expected to interact on many levels, thus the development of silver resistance is very difficult. Nevertheless, some bacteria are able to resist silver, even at higher concentrations. One such defense mechanism of bacteria against heavy‐metal intoxication includes an efflux system. SilE, a periplasmic silver‐binding protein that is involved in this defense mechanism, has been shown to possess numerous histidine functions, which strongly bind to silver atoms, as demonstrated by ourselves previously. Herein, we address the question of how histidine binds to silver ions as a function of pH value. This property is important because the local proton concentration in cells varies. Thus, we solved the crystal structures of histidine–silver complexes at different pH values and also investigated the influence of the amino‐acid configuration. These results were completed by DFT calculations on the binding strength and packing effects and led to the development of a model for the mode of action of SilE.     

Base‐Stabilized Boryl and Cationic Haloborylene Complexes of Iron

The synthesis of base‐stabilized boryl and borylene complexes is reported. An N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐stabilized iron–dihydroboryl complex was prepared by two different routes including methane liberation and salt elimination. A range of base‐stabilized iron–dichloroboryl complexes was prepared by addition of Lewis bases to boryl complexes. Base‐stabilized, cationic monochloroborylene complexes were synthesized from these boryl complexes by halide abstraction by using weakly coordinating anions.     

Aldehyde‐Assisted Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed C?H Oxygenations

Versatile ruthenium(II) complexes allow for site‐selective C H oxygenations with weakly‐coordinating aldehydes. The challenging C H functionalizations proceed with high chemoselectivity by rate‐determining C H metalation. The new method features an ample substrate scope, which sets the stage for the step‐economical preparation of various bioactive heterocycles.