Establishing a Metabolite Extraction Method to Study the Metabolome of Blastocystis Using NMR

Blastocystis is an opportunistic parasite commonly found in the intestines of humans and other animals. Despite its high prevalence, knowledge regarding Blastocystis biology within and outside the host is limited. Analysis of the metabolites produced by this anaerobe could provide insights that can help map its metabolism and determine its role in both health and disease. Due to its controversial pathogenicity, these metabolites could define its deterministic role in microbiome’s “health” and/or subsequently resolve Blastocystis’ potential impact in gastrointestinal health. A common method for elucidating the presence of these metabolites is through ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). However, there are currently no described benchmarked methods available to extract metabolites from Blastocystis for ¹H NMR analysis. Herein, several extraction solvents, lysis methods and incubation temperatures were compared for their usefulness as an extraction protocol for this protozoan. Following extraction, the samples were freeze-dried, re-solubilized and analysed with ¹H NMR. The results demonstrate that carrying out the procedure at room temperature using methanol as an extraction solvent and bead bashing as a lysis technique provides a consistent, reproducible and efficient method to extract metabolites from Blastocystis for NMR.     

Structure Solution of Nano-Crystalline Small Molecules Using MicroED and Solid-State NMR Dipolar-Based Experiments

Three-dimensional electron diffraction crystallography (microED) can solve structures of sub-micrometer crystals, which are too small for single crystal X-ray crystallography. However, R factors for the microED-based structures are generally high because of dynamic scattering. That means R factor may not be reliable provided that kinetic analysis is used. Consequently, there remains ambiguity to locate hydrogens and to assign nuclei with close atomic numbers, like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Herein, we employed microED and ssNMR dipolar-based experiments together with spin dynamics numerical simulations. The NMR dipolar-based experiments were ¹H-¹⁴N phase-modulated rotational-echo saturation-pulse double-resonance (PM-S-RESPDOR) and ¹H-¹H selective recoupling of proton (SERP) experiments. The former examined the dephasing effect of a specific ¹H resonance under multiple ¹H-¹⁴N dipolar couplings. The latter examined the selective polarization transfer between a ¹H-¹H pair. The structure was solved by microED and then validated by evaluating the agreement between experimental and calculated dipolar-based NMR results. As the measurements were performed on ¹H and ¹⁴N, the method can be employed for natural abundance samples. Furthermore, the whole validation procedure was conducted at 293 K unlike widely used chemical shift calculation at 0 K using the GIPAW method. This combined method was demonstrated on monoclinic l-histidine.     

Identification and Quantification of Hydrocarbon Functional Groups in Gasoline Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy for Property Prediction

Gasoline is one of the most important distillate fuels obtained from crude refining; it is mainly used as an automotive fuel to propel spark-ignited (SI) engines. It is a complex hydrocarbon fuel that is known to possess several hundred individual molecules of varying sizes and chemical classes. These large numbers of individual molecules can be assembled into a finite set of molecular moieties or functional groups that can independently represent the chemical composition. Identification and quantification of groups enables the prediction of many fuel properties that otherwise may be difficult and expensive to measure experimentally. In the present work, high resolution ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, an advanced structure elucidation technique, was employed for the molecular characterization of a gasoline sample in order to analyze the functional groups. The chemical composition of the gasoline sample was then expressed using six hydrocarbon functional groups, as follows: paraffinic groups (CH, CH₂ and CH₃), naphthenic CH-CH₂ groups and aromatic C-CH groups. The obtained functional groups were then used to predict a number of fuel properties, including research octane number (RON), motor octane number (MON), derived cetane number (DCN), threshold sooting index (TSI) and yield sooting index (YSI).     

Metabolite Fingerprinting Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Classification of Three Curcuma Species from Different Origins

Curcuma longa, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, and Curcuma manga have been widely used for herbal or traditional medicine purposes. It was reported that turmeric plants provided several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotector, cardioprotector, and anticancer activities. Authentication of the Curcuma species is important to ensure its authenticity and to avoid adulteration practices. Plants from different origins will have different metabolite compositions because metabolites are affected by soil nutrition, climate, temperature, and humidity. ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used for authentication of C. longa, C. xanthorrhiza, and C. manga from seven different origins in Indonesia. From the ¹H-NMR analysis it was obtained that 14 metabolites were responsible for generating classification model such as curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, alanine, methionine, threonine, lysine, alpha-glucose, beta-glucose, sucrose, alpha-fructose, beta-fructose, fumaric acid, tyrosine, and formate. Both PCA and OPLS-DA model demonstrated goodness of fit (R² value more than 0.8) and good predictivity (Q² value more than 0.45). All OPLS-DA models were validated by assessing the permutation test results with high value of original R² and Q². It can be concluded that metabolite fingerprinting using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics provide a powerful tool for authentication of herbal and medicinal plants.     

Study of homogenous hydrogenation of acetylene compounds withpara-hydrogen and Pd(0) and Pt(0) complexes byin situ NMR spectroscopy

η² -C₆₀Pd(PPh₃)₂, η² -C₆₀Pt(PPh₃)₂ and C₂H₄Pt(PPh₃)₂ have been used as catalysts for homogeneous hydrogenation of acetylene compounds enriched in para-hydrogen (p-H₂). The study of the processes has been carried out byin situ NMR spectroscopy. It has been concluded that the nature of the substrate affects the intensity and patterns of polarization signals.     

1H NMR Metabolomics of Chinese Human Milk at Different Stages of Lactation among Secretors and Non-Secretors

Human milk is an intricate, bioactive food promoting infant health. We studied the composition of human milk samples collected over an 8-month lactation using ¹H NMR metabolomics. A total of 72 human breast milk samples were collected from ten Chinese mothers at eight different time points. The concentrations of ten human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), fucose and lactose were quantified. Six of the mothers were classified as Lewis-positive secretors (Se⁺Le⁺) and four as Lewis-positive non-secretors (Se⁻Le⁺) based on the levels of 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP) II, lactodifucotetraose (LDFT) and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT). Acetate, citrate, short/medium-chain fatty acids, glutamine and urea showed a time-dependent trend in relation to the stage of lactation. The concentrations of 2′-FL, 3-FL (3-fucosyllactose), 3′-SL (3′-sialyllactose), LDFT, LNFP I, LNFP II, LNFP III, LNnT, LNT (lacto-N-tetraose), and fucose were statistically different between secretors and non-secretors. A temporal difference of approximately 1–2 months between the development of non-secretor and secretor HMO profiles was shown. The results highlighted the importance of long-term breastfeeding, especially among non-secretors.     

Structure and magnetism of an exchange coupled system: An NMR approach

A binuclear copper(II) complex [Cu₂L(OH)](C1O₄)₂·2H₂O has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography and¹H-NMR studies. The crystal structure shows that the bridging angles between Cu(l)-O(l)-Cu(2) and Cu(l)-O(2)-Cu(2) are 98.9(2)° and 102.2(2)° respectively. The Cu(l)-Cu(2) distance is 3.0097(12)?. This indicates that the interaction between the two copper atoms is antiferromagnetic in nature. The geometry around Cu(l) is distorted square-pyramid with one water molecule occupying the axial fifth position, whereas, the geometry around Cu(2) is distorted square-planar with weak interactions of one of the perchlorate anion. There are eight molecules present in the unit cell. There is an interdimer interaction between the dimers. The temperature-dependent¹H-NMR chemical shift studies have been performed on six different protons of this complex which reveals that the exchange coupling constant (− 2J) is same for all protons (208 ± 1 cm⁻¹). However, the hyperfine coupling constant (A′) was found to be different in magnitude as well as in sign. We also report solvent dependent NMR properties.     

Optimization of CE-ESI-MS Parameters for the Analysis of Ecstasy and Derivatives in Urine

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was interfaced with a quadrupole mass spectrometer, using pneumatically-assisted electrospray ionization (ESI) in order to analyze Ecstasy and derivatives in urine. The influence of the sheath liquid composition, including the type and the percentage of the organic solvent, as well as the nature of the conductive acid modifier, were examined in order to find optimal coupling conditions. A fractional factorial design was also used to optimize the electrospray experimental parameters, such as the nebulizing gas pressure, the electrospray voltage, the drying gas flow rate, the drying gas temperature, the skimmer voltage, and the sheath liquid flow rate. The separation conditions were optimized in terms of temperature, electrolyte concentration, percentage of organic modifier, as well as capillary type. Finally, the optimal CE-ESI-MS conditions were applied to the analysis of Ecstasy and other related amphetamines in urine samples, following a liquid-liquid extraction procedure.     

NMR Assignments of Six Asymmetrical N-Nitrosamine Isomers Determined in an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient by DFT Calculations

N-nitrosamines, which are well-known pro-mutagens, are found in drugs, pickled food and tobacco. Therefore, controlling their concentrations is very important. When an HPLC, GC or NMR analysis is conducted to investigate certain asymmetrical N-nitrosamines, two sets of signals attributed to the asymmetric N-nitrosamine isomers are usually observed. However, few reports on the NMR assignment of asymmetrical N-nitrosamine isomers have been published. In this study, we investigated the NMR assignments of the Z/E isomers of six asymmetrical N-nitrosamines by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The configuration of the major isomer of asymmetrical N-nitrosamine 3 was the Z-configuration. The configuration of the major isomers of asymmetrical N-nitrosamines 4–7 was the E-configuration. Then, we determined the Z/E ratios of these asymmetrical N-nitrosamines by means of variable temperature (VT) and room temperature (RT) ¹H-NMR experiments. The ratios of the Z/E isomer 3 quickly increased beyond 100% in the VT ¹H NMR experiments. The ratios of Z/E isomers 4–7 were increased in the range of 10–60% in the VT ¹H NMR experiments. The results of this study indicate that identifying the isomers of asymmetrical N-nitrosamine is necessary to control the quality of N-nitrosamines for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).     

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomics with Double Pulsed-Field-Gradient Echo and Automatized Solvent Suppression Spectroscopy for Multivariate Data Matrix Applied in Novel Wine and Juice Discriminant Analysis

The quality of foods has led researchers to use various analytical methods to determine the amounts of principal food constituents; some of them are the NMR techniques with a multivariate statistical analysis (NMR-MSA). The present work introduces a set of NMR-MSA novelties. First, the use of a double pulsed-field-gradient echo (DPFGE) experiment with a refocusing band-selective uniform response pure-phase selective pulse for the selective excitation of a 5–10-ppm range of wine samples reveals novel broad ¹H resonances. Second, an NMR-MSA foodomics approach to discriminate between wine samples produced from the same Cabernet Sauvignon variety fermented with different yeast strains proposed for large-scale alcohol reductions. Third a comparative study between a nonsupervised Principal Component Analysis (PCA), supervised standard partial (PLS-DA), and sparse (sPLS-DA) least squares discriminant analysis, as well as orthogonal projections to a latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), for obtaining holistic fingerprints. The MSA discriminated between different Cabernet Sauvignon fermentation schemes and juice varieties (apple, apricot, and orange) or juice authentications (puree, nectar, concentrated, and commercial juice fruit drinks). The new pulse sequence DPFGE demonstrated an enhanced sensitivity in the aromatic zone of wine samples, allowing a better application of different unsupervised and supervised multivariate statistical analysis approaches.     

Metabolite Characterization and Correlations with Antioxidant and Wound Healing Properties of Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Leaflets via 1H-NMR-Based Metabolomics Approach

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) leaflets (OPLs) are one of the major agricultural by-products generated from the massive cultivation of Malaysian palm oil. This biomass is also reported to be of potential value based on its health-improving effects. By employing proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis (MVDA), the metabolite profile of OPLs was characterized and correlated with their antioxidant and wound healing properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) classified four varieties of extracts, prepared using solvents ranging from polar to medium polarity, into three distinct clusters. Cumulatively, six flavonoids, eight organic acids, four carbohydrates, and an amine were identified from the solvent extracts. The more polar extracts, such as, the ethyl acetate-methanol, absolute methanol, and methanol-water, were richer in phytochemicals. Based on partial least square (PLS) analysis, the constituents in these extracts, such as (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin, were strongly correlated with the measured antioxidant activities, comprising ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and nitric oxide (NO) free radical scavenging activities, as well as with cell proliferation and migration activities. This study has provided crucial evidence on the importance of these natural antioxidant compounds on the wound healing properties of OPL.     

1H, 13C,and 14N NMR study of 3-methylfurazans with nitrogen-containing substituents at position 4

3-Methylfurazans with nitrogen-containing substituents at position 4 were studied by ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁴N NMR spectroscopy. A correlation between the chemical shifts in ¹³C NMR spectra of these furazans and monosubstituted benzenes with the same substituents was found. The increments for a number of furazan-containing substituents were determined for the first time.     

Synthesis, characterization and crystal structures of the tetrachlorocuprate and tetrabromocadmate salts of the antimalarial mefloquine

Two new compounds, bis (DL-erythro-α-2-piperydylium-2,8-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4-quinolinemethanol) tetrachlorocuprate(II) tetrahydrate [LH⁺]₂[CuCl₄]^2??4H₂O 1 [L = mefloquine] and bis(DL-erythro-α-2-piperydylium-2,8-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4-quinolinemethanol) tetrabromocadmate (II) bis(methanol) [LH⁺]₂[CdBr₄]^2?·2CH₃OH 2, have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H-NMR and IR spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 1 showed the structure to be ionic with formula unit comprising two protonated monocationic mefloquine molecules of opposite chirality, a tetrachlorocuprate (II) anion and a complement of four water molecules, disordered over several sites. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group Pnma, a = 9.6975(1) Å, b = 29.5385(3) Å, c = 15.9423(1) Å, V = 4566.67(7) ų, Z = 4. The formula unit of compound 2 comprises two protonated monocationic mefloquine molecules, a tetrabromocadmate(II) anion and two molecules of methanol. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group Fdd2, a = 17.2185(5) Å, b = 55.456(2) Å, c = 9.5140(3) Å, V = 9084.6(5) ų, Z = 8. The mefloquine molecule is protonated at the piperidinyl N atom and extensive hydrogen bonding occurs in both crystal structures. The conformation of the mefloquine cation in 1 and 2 is very similar to that recently observed in other salts of the drug, confirming its relevance in the context of antimalarial action.     

Phenyl isothiocyanate in heterocyclic synthesis: Novel synthesis of thiazoles,thieno[2,3-b]pyridine,thiophene and thieno[3,2-c]pyridazine derivatives

Summary The enamino nitriles1 and2 react with phenyl isothiocyanate followed by cyclization with -haloketones3 and10 to afford in each case the thiazole5, thiophene11 and the thieno[2,3-b]pyridine derivatives19 and21. Chemical and spectroscopic evidences for the structures of the new compounds are described.

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Phenylisothiocyanate in der Heterocyclensynthese: Neue Synthesen für Thiazol-, Thieno [2,3-b]pyridin-, Thiophen- und Thieno[3,2-c]pyridazin-Derivate

Zusammenfassung Die Enamin-nitrile1 und2 ergaben nach Reaktion mit Phenylisothiocyanaten und nachfolgender Cyclisierung mit -Halogenketonen3 und10 die entsprechenden Thiazole5, die Thiophene11 und die Thieno[2,3-b]pyridine19 und21. Chemische und spektroskopische Untersuchungen wurden als Strukturbeweise für die neuen Verbindungen herangezogen.

     

Invertomers at nitrogen in aziridine carboxylates by mltltinuclear (1H,13C,17O,and15N) NMR study

A confrgurational and conformational study of NH, N-acetyl- and N-sulfonylaziridine carboxylates is performed by¹H ,¹³C,¹⁷O, and¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy. The presence of acetyl and su fonyl groups on the ring nitrogen atom seems to reduce greatly the configurational stability at nitrogen.Published in Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1226–1234, September, 1995.     

Synthesis and characterisation of Pd(II) complexes with a derivative of aminoazobenzene: Dynamic H-NMR study of cyclopalladation reactions in DMF

Three new Pd(II) complexes, i.e. [PdCl₂L]₂ (A), PdCl₂L₂ (B) and [Pd(μ-Cl)(L-H)]₂ (C), each with two diethyl [α-(4-benzenazoanilino)-2-hydroxybenzyl]phosphonates (L) bound to either one or two palladium atoms, are synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, by IR, UV-vis and solid-state ¹³C-NMR spectra. Complexes B and C are additionally characterized by ¹H-, ¹³C- and ³¹P-NMR and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) studies using dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent. In DMF solution adducts A and B undergo spontaneous rearrangement into the cyclopalladated complex C. Dynamic ¹H-NMR study of this rearrangement as well as of the reactions of L with PdCl₂ and Na₂PdCl₄ revealed a complex equilibrium in DMF solutions and enabled the formation mechanism of all involved species to be resolved. The complex A is immediately solvolyzed producing two molecules of intermediate M [PdCl₂(L)(DMF)]. Complex M was also the first intermediate in the reaction of L with PdCl₂. Once present in concentration above 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³M dimerizes very fast into chloro-bridged dimer [PdCl(μ-Cl)(L)]₂ (D) which undergoes cyclopalladation and converts into the complex C. The formation of C from the intermediate D is clearly demonstrated by the concentration dependence of the cyclopalladation reaction which has order greater than one. Chloride ions, released by cyclopalladation, react with D by splitting chloro-bridge and binding to metal atoms to produce byproduct [PdCl₃(L)]⁻ (T). The same species T are formed in the reaction of L with Na₂PdCl₄ whereby a chloride ion is replaced by the ligand L. The complex B undergoes similar, but slower, solvolytic reaction producing M and L while further reaction steps are identical as in the solvolysis of A.     

Cadmium(II) complexes with phosphine tellurides: synthesis and multinuclear (31P, 125Te,and 113Cd) NMR characterization in solution

New cadmium(II) complexes with phosphine telluride ligands of the type CdX₂(R₃PTe)_n [X?=?ClO₄^?, n?=?4: R?=?n-Bu (1), Me₂?N (2), C₅H₁₀?N (3), C₄H₈?N (4) or OC₄H₈?N (5); X?=?Cl^–, n?=?2: R?=?n-Bu (6), Me₂?N (7), C₅H₁₀?N (8), C₄H₈?N (9) or OC₄H₈?N (10)] have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR and multinuclear (³¹P, ¹²⁵Te, and ¹¹³Cd) NMR spectroscopy. In particular, the solution structures of these complexes were confirmed by ¹¹³Cd NMR at low temperature, which displays a quintuplet for each of the perchlorate complexes and a triplet for each of the chloride complexes due to coupling with four and two equivalent phosphorus atoms, respectively, indicating a four-coordinate tetrahedral geometry for the metal center. These multiplet features were further accompanied by one bond Te–Cd couplings, clearly showing that the ligand is coordinated to the metal through tellurium. The results are discussed and compared with those obtained for closely related phosphine chalcogenide analogs.     

A new method for determining positions of phenolic hydroxyl groups through silylation and application of H(Si)C triple-resonance NMR experiments

Two-dimensional triple-resonance H(Si)C NMR experiments have been applied at natural abundance to assign ¹³C NMR signals in silylated phenols. The method showing its great potential in determining positions of hydroxyl groups is widely applicable to signal assignment and structure elucidation of synthetic and natural phenolic compounds.     

Aqueous solutions of sodium methylsulfate by Raman scattering,NMR, ultrasound,and density measurements

Dynamic properties of sodium methylsulfate were investigated by means of NMR and Raman spectroscopies. The concentration dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation times of²³Na in aqueous solutions of sodium methylsulfate show no detectable specific interactions between sodium and methylsulfate ions. Raman band profiles of the S-O stretching mode of methylsulfate ion in aqueous solution show asymmetry above about 3.0 mol-dm^–3. Furthermore, the proton spin-lattice relaxation rates of the methylsulfate ion in D₂O increase linearly up to about 3.0 mol-dm^–3, but above this concentration they deviate from linearity.These experimental results indicate that dynamic properties of methylsulfate ion are affected by ion-water interactions. Raman band asymmetry is attributed to the non-uniformity of the distribution of water molecules around the methylsulfate ion. This interpretation is supported by the theory developed by Knapp and Fischer. The distortion of the distribution of water molecules around ions is also discussed on the basis of the overlap of the hydration layer around methylsulfate ion which is estimated by the measurement of sound velocity and density.     

Metal complexes of the third generation quinolone antibacterial drug sparfloxacin: preparation,structure, and microbial evaluation

The interactions of yttrium chloride, zirconium chloride, and uranium nitrate with sparfloxacin (SPAR) in ethanol, methanol, and acetone were studied. The isolated solid complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, ¹H-NMR and electronic spectra, and thermogravimetric analysis. The results support the formation of [Y(SPAR)₂Cl₂]Cl ? 12H₂O, [ZrO(SPAR)₂Cl]Cl ? 15H₂O, and [UO₂(SPAR)₃](NO₃)₂ ? 5H₂O. Infrared spectra of the isolated solid complexes indicate that SPAR is bidentate through the ring carbonyl oxygen and one oxygen of carboxylate. The calculated bond length and force constant, F(U=O), in the uranyl complex are 1.747 Å and 655.29 Nm^?1, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of the ligand and metal complexes have been tested against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and fungi Penicillium rotatum (P. rotatum) and Trichoderma sp., showing that the complexes exhibit higher antibacterial activity than SPAR.