EDTA and mixed-ligand complexes of tetravalent and trivalent plutonium

EDTA forms stable complexes with plutonium that are integral to nuclear material processing, radionuclide decontamination, and the potentially enhanced transport of environmental contamination. To characterize the aqueous Pu(4+/3+)EDTA species formed under the wide range of conditions of these processes, potentiometry, spectrophotometry, and cyclic voltammetry were used to measure solution equilibria. The results reveal new EDTA and mixed-ligand complexes and provide more accurate stability constants for previously identified species. In acidic solution (pH < 4) and at 1:1 ligand to metal ratio, PuY (where Y4- is the tetra-anion of EDTA) is the predominant species, with an overall formation constant of log beta110 = 26.44. At higher pH, the hydrolysis species, PuY(OH)- and PuY(OH)(2)2-, form with the corresponding overall stability constants log beta(11 - 1) = 21.95 and log beta(11 - 2) = 15.29. The redox potential of the complex PuY at pH = 2.3 was determined to be E(1/2) = 342 mV. The correlation between redox potential, pH, and the protonation state of PuY- was derived to estimate the redox potential of the Pu(4+/3+)Y complex as a function of pH. Under conditions of neutral pH and excess EDTA relative to Pu4+, PuY(2)4- forms with an overall formation constant of log beta120 = 35.39. In the presence of ancillary ligands, mixed-ligand complexes form, as exemplified by the citrate and carbonate complexes PuY(citrate)3- (log beta1101 = 33.45) and PuY(carbonate)2- (log beta1101 = 35.51). Cyclic voltammetry shows irreversible electrochemical behavior for these coordinatively saturated Pu4+ complexes: The reduction wave is shifted approximately -400 mV from the reduction wave of the complex PuY, while the oxidation wave is invariant.     

Fomajorin S and D from fomes annosus (FR) cooke

Fomajorin S and D, two new isocoumarins have been isolated from the sporophores and ageing cultures of Fomes annosus, and have been assigned structures $\text{2}$ and $\text{:3}$ respectively on the basis of spectroscopic evidence of the natural products and their derivatives.     

Polymer-supported thiobenzophenone: a self-indicating traceless ‘catch and release’ linker for the synthesis of isothiocyanates

The use of a thiobenzophenone as a self-indicating linker in the polymer-supported synthesis of isothiocyanates via a traceless ‘catch and release’ strategy is reported. Isothiocyanates were furnished via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides with the polymer-supported thiobenzophenone linker, followed by Lewis acid-assisted fragmentation of the resulting polymer-supported oxathiazole.     

MM3 Modeling of Ribose and 2-Deoxyribose Ring Puckering

ABSTRACT

Conformational energy maps for furanosyl and pyranosyl rings of α- and β-ribose and 2-deoxyribose were generated with the molecular mechanics program MM3. For the furanosyl tautomers, low-energy Northern and Southern minima were found. For the pyranosyl rings, lowest-energy minima corresponded to chair forms. Hydrogen-hydrogen coupling constants for the minimal-energy conformers were calculated based on Karplus equations. Computational and experimental results indicate that several tautomeric forms of ribose and 2-deoxyribose exist in multiple conformations in solution. Ring conformations of related crystal structures have energies within ～2 kcal/mol of the calculated global minima.     

Development,validation, and implementation of an UHPLC–MS/MS method for the quantitation of furosemide in infant urine samples

Furosemide is a diuretic drug used to increase urine flow in order to reduce the amount of salt and water in the body. It is commonly utilized to treat preterm infants with chronic lung disease of prematurity. There is a need for a simple and reliable quantitation of furosemide in human urine. We have developed and validated an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for furosemide quantitation in human urine with an assay range of 0.100–50.0 μg/ml. Sample preparation involved solid-phase extraction with 10 μl of urine. Intra-day accuracies and precisions for the quality control samples were 94.5–106 and 1.86–10.2%, respectively, while inter-day accuracies and precision were 99.2–102 and 3.38–7.41%, respectively. Recovery for furosemide had an average of 23.8%, with an average matrix effect of 101%. Furosemide was stable in human urine under the assay conditions. Stability for furosemide was shown at 1 week (room temperature, 4, −20 and −78°C), 6 months (−78°C), and through three freeze–thaw cycles. This robust assay demonstrates accurate and precise quantitation of furosemide in a small volume (10 μl) of human urine. It is currently being implemented in an ongoing pediatric clinical study.     

Gas-phase conformation-specific photofragmentation of proline-containing peptide ions

Singly-protonated proline-containing peptides with N-terminal arginine are photodissociated with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light in an ESI linear ion trap/orthogonal-TOF (LIT/o-TOF). When proline is the n^th residue from the N-terminus, unusual b _n + 2 and a _n + 2 ions are observed. Their formation is explained by homolytic cleavage of the C_α− C bond in conjunction with a rearrangement of electrons and an amide hydrogen. The latter is facilitated by a proline-stabilized gas-phase peptide conformation.     

Effect of charge state and stoichiometry on the structure and reactivity of nickel oxide clusters with CO

The collision induced fragmentation and reactivity of cationic and anionic nickel oxide clusters with carbon monoxide were studied experimentally using guided-ion-beam mass spectrometry. Anionic clusters with a stoichiometry containing one more oxygen atom than nickel atom (NiO₂⁻, Ni₂O₃⁻, Ni₃O₄⁻ and Ni₄O₅⁻) were found to exhibit dominant products resulting from the transfer of a single oxygen atom to CO, suggesting the formation of CO₂. Of these four species, Ni₂O₃⁻ and Ni₄O₅⁻ were observed to be the most reactive having oxygen transfer products accounting for approximately 5% and 10% of the total ion intensity at a maximum pressure of 15 mTorr of CO. Our findings, therefore, indicate that anionic nickel oxide clusters containing an even number of nickel atoms and an odd number of oxygen atoms are more reactive than those with an odd number of nickel atoms and an even number of oxygen atoms. The majority of cationic nickel oxides, in contrast to anionic species, reacted preferentially through the adsorption of CO onto the cluster accompanied by the loss of either molecular O₂ or nickel oxide units. The adsorption of CO onto positively charged nickel oxides, therefore, is exothermic enough to break apart the gas-phase clusters. Collision induced dissociation experiments, employing inert xenon gas, were also conducted to gain insight into the structural properties of nickel oxide clusters. The fragmentation products were found to vary considerably with size and stoichiometry as well as ionic charge state. In general, cationic clusters favored the collisional loss of molecular O₂ while anionic clusters fragmented through the loss of both atomic oxygen and nickel oxide units. Our results provide insight into the effect of ionic charge state on the structure of nickel oxide clusters. Furthermore, we establish how the size and stoichiometry of nickel oxide clusters influences their ability to oxidize CO, an important reaction for environmental pollution abatement.