Isolation of a new member of the ecdysteroid glycoside family: 2-deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone 22-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside

A new ecdysteroid glycoside, 2-deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone 22-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, is isolated from the herb Silene italica ssp. nemoralis (Waldst. and Kit.) Nyman. The compound is purified with multistep chromatography, such as classical column chromatography on alumina and droplet countercurrent distribution. Also, it is expanded using twice low-pressure reversed-phase liquid column chromatography. Chromatography in four steps results in the purified 2-deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone 22-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside. Two other ecdysteroids have also been separated, including the formerly identified integristerone A and 24(28)-dehydromakisterone A.     

Adsorption of -histidine on copper surface as evidenced by surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy

The adsorption of -histidine on a copper electrode from H₂O- and D₂O-based solutions is studied by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. Different adsorption states of histidine are observed depending upon pH, potential, and the presence of the SO²⁻₄ and Cl⁻ ions. In acidic solutions of pH 1.2 the imidazole ring of the adsorbed histidine remains protonated and is not involved in the chemical coordination with the surface. The SO²⁻₄ and Cl⁻ ions compete with histidine for the adsorption sites. In solutions of pH 3.1 three different adsorption states of histidine are observed depending on the potential. Histidine adsorbs with the protonated imidazole ring oriented mainly perpendicularly to the surface at potentials more positive than −0.2 V. Transformation of that adsorption state occurs at more negative potentials. As this takes place, histidine adsorbs through the α-NH₂ group and the neutral imidazole ring. The Cl⁻ ions cause the protonation and detachment of the α-NH₂ group from the surface and the formation of the ion pair NH⁺₃ … Cl⁻ can be observed. In the neutral solution of pH 7.0 histidine adsorbs through the deprotonated nitrogen atom of the imidazole ring and the α-COO⁻ group at E ≥ −0.2 V. However, this adsorption state is transformed into the adsorption state in which the α-NH₂ group and/or neutral imidazole ring participate in the anchoring of histidine to the surface, once the potential becomes more negative. In alkaline solutions of pH 11.9 histidine is adsorbed on the copper surface through the neutral imidazole ring.     

Tautomerism of the Thioamide Group in 4-Methyl-7-nitro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,5-benzodiazepine-2-thione

When 4-methyl-7-nitro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-one were reacted with phosphorus pentasulfide, the corresponding benzodiazepine-2-thione and its thiol tautomer were formed, which via the 2-methylmercapto derivative were converted to 4-(2-acetylhydrazino)-2-methyl-8-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1H-1,5-benzodiazepine.     

Functionalization of 2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-1,5-benzodiazepin-2(1 H)-ones by Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution

Highly substituted, novel, 8- and 9-nitro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,5-benzodiazepin-2(1H)-ones were obtained by direct nitration of the 7-bromo-5-trifluoroacetyl (or formyl)-substituted tetrahydrobenzodiazepinones. Alkaline and acidic hydrolysis of the novel mononitro derivatives was examined. Semiempirical AM1 calculations of aromatic substituents orientation in the nitration products are presented.     

Researches on thiazolobenzodiazepines: Behavior of tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzodiazepinethiones with aromatic α‐haloketones

A number of 1‐substituted 4H,5H,6H‐[1,3]thiazolo[3,2‐a][1,5]benzodiazepinium‐11‐bromides and S‐(2‐oxo‐2‐phenyl‐X‐(p)‐ethyl)‐3‐(2‐methyl‐1H‐benzimidazol‐1‐yl) propane (or butane) thioate hydrobromides were obtained by direct reaction of the 5‐acetyl(or formyl, or anilinocarbonyl)‐substituted tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzodiazepine‐2‐thiones with aromatic α‐bromoketones. 2‐[(1‐Acetyl‐2(or 3)‐methyl‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐1,5‐benzodiazepin‐4‐yl) sulfanyl]‐1‐phenylethanones as intermediates of the formation of thiazolo [3,2‐a][1,5]benzodiazepine and N‐substituted 2‐methyl‐1H‐benzimidazole derivatives have been synthesized. Semiempirical AM1 calculations of a mechanism and energetic parameters for the heptatomic nucleus rearrangement to benzimidazole ring are presented. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 19:72–81, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20414     

2-Methyl-1,4-naphthoquinones containing 3-[N-(ω-mercaptoalkyl)alkanamide] chains: synthesis, self-assembling, and electrochemical properties

2-Methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives containing 3-[N-(ω-mercaptoalkyl)alkanamide] chains were synthesized from ω-bromoalkylamine salts of 2-methyl-3-carboxyalkyl-1,4-naphthoquinones in the presence of N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide at ambient temperature, and then transformed into the corresponding mercapto derivatives. Their self-assembling and electrochemical properties on gold were studied. The influence of an intrachain amide group on the structure and electron transfer properties of self-assembled monolayers were evaluated by comparison with analogous ester and alkyl chain-containing 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinones.     

Probing of lipase activity at air/water interface by sum-frequency generation spectroscopy

The infrared-visible sum-frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was used to probe enzymatic activity of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) at air/water interface. A monolayer of amphiphilic O-palmitoyl-2,3-dicyanohydroquinone (PDCHQ), containing target ester group and two CN groups serving as vibrational markers, was utilized as an enzyme substrate. SFG data revealed the detailed molecular scale structure and properties of the PDCHQ layer at the interface. In particular, we demonstrate that hydrophilic headgroup of PDCHQ is mainly in the form of an oxyanion, and the enzyme-induced cleavage of the ester bond could be spectroscopically monitored by the disappearance of the intense C tripple bond N resonance at 2224 cm(-1). The enzymatic nature of the ester bond cleavage was confirmed by the control experiments with deactivated S146A mutant variant of TLL. By comparing action of wild type (WT) TLL and its inactive S146A mutant, it was shown that two effects take place at the interface: disordering of the lipid monolayer due to the adsorption of enzyme and enzymatic cleavage of the ester bond. The concentration of enzyme as low as 10 nM could be easily sensed by the SFG spectroscopy. We present spectroscopic evidence that upon hydrolysis one of the products, 2,3-dicyanohydroquinone, leaves the surface, while the other, palmitic acid, remains at air/water interface in predominantly undissociated form with the mono-hydrogen-bonded carbonyl group. Strong amide I (1662 cm(-1)) and amide A (3320 cm(-1)) SFG signals from TLL suggest that enzyme molecules position themselves at air/water interface in an orderly fashion. Presented work demonstrates the potential of SFG spectroscopy for in situ real-time monitoring of enzymatic processes at air/water interface.     

Orientations Making <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Cycles Cyclic

We show that the minimum number of orientations of the edges of the n-vertex complete graph having the property that every triangle is made cyclic in at least one of them is \(\lceil \log _2(n-1)\rceil \). More generally, we also determine the minimum number of orientations of \(K_n\) such that at least one of them orients some specific k-cycles cyclically on every k-element subset of the vertex set. Though only formally related, the questions answered by these results were motivated by an analogous problem of Vera T. Sós concerning triangles and 3-edge-colorings. Some variants of the problem are also considered.