First chemical study of anaspidean Syphonota geographica: structure of degraded sterols aplykurodinone-1 and -2

Two unprecedented degraded sterols, aplykurodinone-1 (1) and -2 (2), have been isolated from the skin of the marine anaspidean Syphonota geographica, collected along the coasts of Greece. The structures and the relative stereochemistry were established by spectroscopic analysis and confirmed by chemical correlation with related known compounds.     

Micro-Quantitative Method for Analysis of Sterol Levels in Honeybees and Their Pollen Loads

A Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector method for characterization and micro-quantification of sterols was developed. The applicability of this method was evaluated for determining sterolic compounds in pollen loads, larvae, and adults of the honeybee. After a multi-step procedure to extract and purify sterols, the compounds were identified on the basis of their retention data and quantified on the basis of peak areas from analyses. Quantifications were feasible with a limited amount of samples, allowing single specimen analyses and estimation of inter-individual variation. The reliability of this micro-quantitative method for sterol analysis was also investigated.     

Design and Synthesis of New Bile AcidSterol Conjugates Linked via 1,2,3‐Triazole Ring

A new steroid conjugates have been obtained from bile acids and sterol derivatives using ‘click chemistry’. Intermolecular 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of the propargyl ester of bile acids (lithocholic, deoxycholic, and cholic acid) and azide derivatives of sterols (ergosterol and cholesterol) gave a new bile acid? sterol conjugates linked with a 1,2,3‐triazole ring. The structures of all products were confirmed by spectroscopic (¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and FT‐IR) analyses, mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS), and in silico biological activity evaluation methods (PASS), as well as PM5 semiempirical methods.     

Polyhydroxylated Sterols from the South China Sea Gorgonian Verrucella umbraculum

Two new polyhydroxylated sterols, named verumbsteroids A and B ( 1 and 2 , resp.), along with seven known analog, 3 – 9 , were isolated from the gorgonian Verrucella umbraculum collected from the South China Sea. The structures and relative configurations of the new compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic investigations. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by using modified Mosher method with the acetonide derivative of 1 . Compounds 1 and 3 – 5 were found to show cytotoxicities against five human tumor cell lines (HL‐60, K562, HeLa, A‐549, and HCT‐116) with the IC₅₀ values ranging from 2.76 to 9.62 μM .     

Rapid determination of sterols in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester‐based monolithic columns

A method for the determination of sterols in vegetable oils by CEC with UV–Vis detection, using methacrylate ester‐based monolithic columns, has been developed. To prepare the columns, polymerization mixtures containing monomers of different hydrophobicities were tried. The influence of composition of polymerization mixture was optimized in terms of porogenic solvent, monomers/porogens and monomer/crosslinker ratios. The composition of the mobile phase was also studied. The optimum monolith was obtained with lauryl methacrylate monomer at 60:40% (wt:wt) lauryl methacrylate/ethylene dimethacrylate ratio and 60 wt% porogens with 20 wt% of 1,4‐butanediol (12 wt% 1,4‐butanediol in the polymerization mixture). Excellent resolution between sterols was achieved in less than 7 min with an 85:10:5 v/v/v ACN–2‐propanol–water buffer containing 5 mM Tris at pH 8.0. The limits of detection were lower than 0.04 mM, and inter‐day and column‐to‐column reproducibilities at 0.75 mM were better than 6.2%. The method was applied to the determination of sterols in vegetable oils with different botanical origins and to detect olive oil adulteration with sunflower and soybean oils.     

Gas chromatographic retention indices of biologically and environmentally important organic compounds on capillary columns with low-polar stationary phases

This work presents linear temperature programmed retention indices on the columns with stationary phases of 5% phenylpolydimethyl silicone of 389 organic compounds, including extractive substances of plant tissues and environmentally important compounds. Certain factors which influence the values and reproducibility of retention indices during gas chromatographic analysis of multicomponent mixtures are discussed.     

Forensic differentiation of biogenic organic compounds from petroleum hydrocarbons in biogenic and petrogenic compounds cross-contaminated soils and sediments

“Total petroleum hydrocarbons” (TPHs) or “petroleum hydrocarbons” (PHCs) are one of the most widespread soil pollutants in Canada, North America, and worldwide. Clean-up of PHC-contaminated soils and sediments costs the Canadian economy hundreds of million of dollars annually. Much of this activity is driven by the need to meet regulated levels of PHC in soil. These PHC values are legally required to be assessed using standard methods. The method most commonly used in Canada, specified by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), measures the total hydrocarbon concentrations in a soil by carbon range (Fraction 1: C₆–C₁₀; Fraction 2: C₁₀–C₁₆, Fraction 3: C₁₆–C₃₄: and Fraction 4: C₃₄+). Using the CCME method, all of the materials extractible by a mixture of 1:1 hexane:acetone are considered to be petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants. Many hydrocarbon compounds and other extractible materials in soil, however, may originate from non-petroleum sources. Biogenic organic compounds (BOCs) is a general term used to describe a mixture of organic compounds, including alkanes, sterols and sterones, fatty acids and fatty alcohols, and waxes and wax esters, biosynthesized by living organisms. BOCs are also produced during the early stages of diagenesis in recent aquatic sediments. BOC sources could include vascular plants, algae, bacteria and animals. Plants and algae produce BOCs as protective wax coating that are released back into the sediment at the end of their life cycle. BOCs are natural components of thriving plant communities. Many solvent-extraction methods for assessing soil hydrocarbons, however, such as the CCME method, do not differentiate PHCs from BOCs. The naturally occurring organics present in soils and wet sediments can be easily misidentified and quantified as regulated PHCs during analysis using such methods. In some cases, biogenic interferences can exceed regulatory levels, resulting in remediation of petroleum impacts that are not actually present. Consequently, reliance on these methods can trigger unnecessary and costly remediation, while also wasting valuable landfill space. Therefore, it is critically important to develop new protocols to characterize and differentiate PHCs and BOCs in contaminated sediments. In this study, a new reliable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method, in combination with a derivatization technique, for characterization of various biogenic compounds (including biogenic alkanes, sterols, fatty acids and fatty alcohols) and PHCs in the same sample has been developed. A multi-criteria approach has been developed to positively identify the presence of biogenic compounds in soil and sediment samples. More than thirty sediment samples were collected from city stormwater management (SWM) ponds and wetlands across Canada. In these wet sediment samples, abundant biogenic n-alkanes, thirteen biogenic sterols, nineteen fatty carboxylic acids, and fourteen fatty alcohols in a wide carbon range have been positively identified. Both PHCs and BOCs in these samples were quantitatively determined. The quantitation data will be used for assessment of the contamination sites and toxicity risks associated with the CCME Fraction 3 hydrocarbons.     

New Sterol Derivatives from the Marine Sponge Xestospongia sp.

Chemical examination of a marine sponge Xestospongia sp. resulted in the isolation of 20 sterol derivatives ( 1 – 20 ), including eight new sterols namely aragusterols J – L ( 1 – 3 ), (5α,7α,12β,22E)‐7,12,18‐trihydroxystigmast‐22‐en‐3‐one ( 4 ), (5α,7α,12β,24R)‐ and (5α,7α,12β,24S)‐7,12,20‐trihydroxystigmastan‐3‐one ( 5 / 6 ), and (5α,7α,12β,22E,24R)‐ and (5α,7α,12β,22E,24S)‐7,12,20‐trihydroxyergost‐22‐en‐3‐one ( 7 / 8 ). The structures of new compounds were determined through extensive spectroscopic analyses and chemical conversion. The sterol diversity was mainly characterized by the presence of a cyclopropane unit at side chain, while compound 4 with 18‐hydroxymethyl group was found in stigmasterol family for the first time. Cytotoxic test revealed the inhibitory effects of compounds 1 , 4 , and 17 against human leukemia cell line K562 with IC₅₀ values of 18.3, 24.1, and 34.3 μm , respectively.     

On the formation of carbonate adducts of fatty alcohols, sterols, and sugars in biological conditions

The formation and properties of carbonate adducts of some organic hydroxy compounds in aqueous medium were investigated. Fatty alcohols and sugars were chosen as representative classes of biological interest, and the medium was carbonated aqueous solution with pH ranging from 3.0 to 8.3. Capillary electrophoresis with two capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detectors (C⁴Ds) was used for quantitation and to obtain the mobility of the monoalkyl carbonates (MACs), which were used to determine the equilibrium and kinetic constants of the reaction as well as the diffusion coefficients. For increasing chain length of the alcohols, the equilibrium constant tends to the unit, which suggests that fatty alcohols can form the corresponding MACs. The formation of MACs for cyclohexanol and cyclopentanol also suggest the existence of similar species for sterols. Carbonate adducts of fructose, glucose, and sucrose were also detected, which suggests that these counterparts of the well‐known phosphates can also occur in the cytosol. Our calculations suggest that one in 1000 to one in 10 000 molecules of these hydroxy compounds would be available as the corresponding MAC in such a medium. Experiments carried out at pH values less than 3.0 showed that there is a catalytic effect of hydronium on the interconversion of bicarbonate and a MAC. Taking into account the great number of hydroxy compounds similar to the ones investigated and that bicarbonate is ubiquitous in living cells, one can anticipate the existence of a whole new class of carbonate adducts of these metabolites.     

On-line HPLC-HRGC coupling and simultaneous transfer of two different LC fractions: Determination of aliphatic alcohols and sterols in olive oil

A modified loop-type interface is decribed which uses two 6-way valves and concurrent eluent evaporation to perform an on-line transfer and simultaneous gas chromatographic analysis of two different fractions pre-separated by liquid chromatography. The interface is used to simultaneously analyze aliphatic alcohols and sterols present in olive oil. LC pre-separation is carried out using a normal phase column (20 cm × 0.21 cm i.d.) and hexane-isopropanol (99:1) as a mobile phase at a flow of 0.2 ml/min; for the GC analysis a 5 % phenyl, 95 % dimethyl siloxane (25 m × 0.32 mm i.d., 0.4 μm film thickness) column is used.