Preparative isolation of guaipyridine sesquiterpene alkaloid from Artemisia rupestris L. flowers using high-speed counter-current chromatography

Although the medicinal plant Artemisia rupestris L. has been widely researched for several decades, its alkaloids have never been isolated before. To our surprise, the alkaloids in the plant were not detected in the stems but detected in the flowers. Herein, a novel and strange guaipyridine sesquiterpene alkaloid with a carboxyl group named rupestine was purified successfully from the total alkaloids extracted from the flowers by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The two-phase solvent system used was composed of ethyl acetate-methanol-water (8:1:7, v/v/v). Fifty six milligrams of rupestine was obtained at over 97% purity and 95% recovery from 200 mg of the total alkaloids in one-step separation. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods including high resolution ESI-MS, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation (HMBC), Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC), and Nuclear Overhauser Enhancement Spectroscopy (NOESY).     

Unique Interaction between Directly Linked Laminated π Planes in the Benzonorrole Dimer

Direct link: Two directly linked benzonorrole dimers were prepared and characterized, and both have short interplane distances less than 3.5??. While a strong π-π interaction was recognized in the oxidized form (left), only a negligible π-π interaction was observed in the reduced form (right) in spite of its shorter π-π distance.     

SnCl4 versus TiCl4-mediated coupling between N-6-benzoyladenine and perbenzoylated 2-deoxypyranose: Application to the synthesis of certain homochiral acyclo and carboacyclonucleosides

1,3,4-tri- -benzoyl 2-deoxyribopyranose and persilylated N-6-benzoyladenine react in two different and regioselective ways according to the nature of the coupling reagent SnCl₄ or TiCl₄. The former Lewis acid gives rise to the anomeric mixture of N-9 nucleosides and the latter affords mainly 3′-deoxy 3′-(N-6-benzoyl-9-adenyl) glycals. These two series of derivatives constitute useful synthons for the preparation of homochiral acyclo and carboacyclonucleosides.     

The mode of action of hormones

Higher organisms having anatomically and functionally differentiated organ systems must be able to coordinate biochemical processes within and between the various organs or cells, even under rapidly changing environmental conditions. Hormones play an important part in the regulation processes: they promote numerous metabolic reactions and differentiation processes, and show considerable differences in the speed with which they act. Some hormones act almost instantaneously by stimulating adenyl cyclase and thus initiating the production of adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), which passes on the hormone message (“second messenger”) to the intracellular metabolism by modifying enzyme activities. Delayed-action hormones, mainly morphogenetic hormones, act primarily on the cell nucleus where they induce the synthesis of certain enzymes by activation of genes.     

Unconventional methyl galactan synthesized via the thexyldimethylsilyl intermediate: preparation, characterization, and properties

Reaction of a beta-(1 --> 4) linked galactan with TDMS chloride followed by methylation and desilylation yields methyl galactans with unconventional functionalization patterns. The products were characterized via FTIR and NMR of the intact polymer and by CE after controlled depolymerization. A TDMS-derivatized methyl galactan contains differently methylated secondary hydroxyl groups. SEC and analytical ultracentrifugation showed a consistent decrease in the molecular weight after the consecutive reaction steps. Biological studies revealed that the methyl galactans are less active in complement fixation assays as compared with a 3-O-methyl galactan-enriched polysaccharide fraction isolated from Acanthus ebracteatus.     

Determination of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in rat plasma by HPLC with pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection

Both fluoxetine (FLX) and its N-demethylated metabolite, norfluoxetine (NFLX), have been reported to be potent serotonin-reuptake inhibitors. A sensitive and reliable method that allows simultaneous quantification of their plasma levels would be valuable and was developed in this work. The procedure included extraction of FLX and NFLX from plasma, fluorescence derivatization with 4-(N-chloroformylmethyl-N-methyl) amino-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-COCl), separation of the derivatives on an octadecylsilica column with acetonitrile-water (55:45,v/v) as mobile phase and fluorescence detection with emission at 537 nm and excitation at 478 nm. The calibration curves were linear for FLX and NFLX concentration over the range of 10-1000 nM (r = 0.9992 and r = 0.9997) and the limits of quantitation were 10 nM in 100 micro L of plasma. Precision of intra- and inter-day RSD of less than 12% and accuracy of intra- and inter-day RE within -6.0-13% were achieved. The method described was applied to analysis of the plasma samples from rats treated with FLX hydrochloride and to the pharmacokinetic study.     

Effect of octabromination of a tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine derivative bound to silica gels on HPLC retention behaviors of polyaromatic hydrocarbons

The effect of bromination of Cu-porphyrin-derivative-immobilized silica gels (Cu-TCPP_D) was examined by comparing the retention behaviors of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on Cu-TCPP_D and Cu-octabromotetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine-derivative-immobilized silica gels (Cu-OBTCPP_D) columns. It was revealed that bromination affects strongly the π–π electron interactions caused from hydration energy in a polar eluent (80% methanol) possibly as a result of a destruction of planar structure of porphine-ring by bromination. It was also revealed that bromination enhances π–d interactions as well as the π–π electron interactions in a broad sense (e.g., dispersion forces) in a non-polar eluent (n-hexane). However, the bromination did not exert much influence on electrostatic interactions caused from polarization of mono-halogenated benzenes.     

Chiral separation of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol and its analogue on molecular imprinting monolithic columns by HPLC

Two molecular imprinting polymer (MIP) monolithic columns with (S)-(-)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol and (R)-(+)-5,5',6,6',7,7',8,8'-octahydro-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol as the templating molecules, respectively, have been prepared by in situ polymerization using 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene dimethacrylate as functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively. The columns with good flow-through properties were obtained by changing the molar ratio of the functional monomer and the template molecule. The effects of mobile-phase composition on separation of enantiomers were systematically investigated. The results indicate that hydrophobic interaction in aqueous solution and hydrogen-bonding interaction in ACN between the enantiomers and polymers could play important roles in the retention and resolution. The effects of chromatographic conditions, such as flow rate, column temperature, sample loading, on the enantioseparation were also studied. Further, these two MIP columns show a cross-reactivity.     

Studies on Hydroiodination and Deconjugation of 5—Aryloxy—（thiophenyl）—3—pentyn—2—one

One-pot hydroiodination and deconjugation of 5-aryloxy(or thiophenyl)-3-pentyn-2-one with a reagent system of sodium iodide/trimethylsilyl chloride/water in acetonitrile at 25℃ have been described.The plasuible mechanism was discussed.The reaction provided a simple and useful method for the preparation of (Z)-β-substituted β，γ-enones and (Z)-β-substituted α，β-unsaturated ketones.     

Performance assessment of density-functional methods for study of charge-transfer complexes

Various density functionals are applied to a number of weakly bound intermolecular pi-pi charge-transfer (CT) complexes. Most functionals, including the recently developed mPWPW91 and mPW1PW91, grossly underestimate experimental excitation energies; good agreement is obtained only with the half-and-half hybrid BH&HLYP functional. PW91PW91 provides the best agreement with intermolecular distances measured in crystal, while the BH&HLYP values are about 0.1 A too long. Various hybrid functionals with nonlocal exchange correction provide binding energies that compare favorably with the experimental heats of formation measured in solution.     

Structure and redox properties of CexPr1−xO2−δ mixed oxides and their catalytic activities for CO, CH3OH and CH4 combustion

A series of Ce_xPr_1−xO_2−δ mixed oxides were synthesized by a sol–gel method and characterized by Raman, XRD and TPR techniques. The oxidation activity for CO, CH₃OH and CH₄ on these mixed oxides was investigated. When the value x was changed from 1.0 to 0.8, only a cubic phase CeO₂ was observed. The samples were greatly crystallized in the range of the value x from 0.99 to 0.80, which is due to the formation of solid solutions caused by the complete insertion of Pr into the CeO₂ crystal lattices. Raman bands at 465 and 1150 cm⁻¹ in Ce_xPr_1−xO_2−δ samples are attributed to the Raman active F_2g mode of CeO₂. The broad band at around 570 cm⁻¹ in the region of 0.3 ≤ x ≤ 0.99 can be linked to oxygen vacancies. The new band at 195 cm⁻¹ may be ascribed to the asymmetric vibration caused by the formation of oxygen vacancies. The TPR profile of Pr₆O₁₁ shows two reduction peaks and the reduction process is followed: . The reduction temperature of Ce_xPr_1−xO_2−δ mixed oxides is lower than those of Pr₆O₁₁ or CeO₂. TPR results indicate that Ce_xPr_1−xO_2−δ mixed oxides have higher redox properties because of the formation of Ce_xPr_1−xO_2−δ solid solutions. The presence of the oxygen vacancies favors CO and CH₃OH oxidation, while the activity of CH₄ oxidation is mostly related to reduction temperatures and redox properties.     

Effect of Substitution of Cobalt for Iron in Sr4Fe6O13-δon the Catalytic Activity for Methane Combustion

A series of mixed oxides Sr₄Fe_6?xCo_xO_13?δ (x=0, 1, 2, 3, or 4) were prepared by sol‐gel method and used for catalytic combustion of methane. The structural properties of oxides were characterized by XRD, TGA, and XPS. The layered intergrowth perovskite‐like oxide Sr₄Fe₅CoO_13?δ exhibits the highest catalytic activity for methane combustion under the experimental conditions. The enhanced catalytic activity of Sr₄Fe₅CoO_13?δ for methane combustion could be attributed to the increased amount of oxygen vacancy caused by the partial substitution of cobalt for iron in the Sr₄Fe₆O₁₃, which was confirmed by TGA and XPS.     

Density functional study of S(N) 2 substitution reactions for CH(3) Cl + CX(1) X(2•-) (X(1) X(2) = HH, HF, HCl, HBr, HI, FF, ClCl, BrBr, and II)

A systematic investigation on the S_N2 displacement reactions of nine carbene radical anions toward the substrate CH₃Cl has been theoretically carried out using the popular density functional theory functional BHandHLYP level with different basis sets 6‐31+G (d, p)/relativistic effective core potential (RECP), 6‐311++G (d, p)/RECP, and aug‐cc‐pVTZ/RECP. The studied models are CX¹X^2?? + CH₃Cl → X²X¹CH₃C^? + Cl^?, with CX¹X^2?? = CH₂^??, CHF^??, CHCl^??, CHBr^??, CHI^??, CF₂^??, CCl₂^??, CBr₂^??, and CI₂^??. The main results are proposed as follows: (a) Based on natural bond orbital (NBO), proton affinity (PA), and ionization energy (IE) analysis, reactant CH₂^?? should be a strongest base among the anion‐containing species (CX¹X^2??) and so more favorable nucleophile. (b) Regardless of frontside attacking pathway or backside one, the S_N2 reaction starts at an identical precomplex whose formation with no barrier. (c) The back‐S_N2 pathway is much more preferred than the front‐S_N2 one in terms of the energy gaps [ΔE(front)?ΔE(back)], steric demand, NBO population analysis. Thus, the back‐S_N2 reaction was discussed in detail. On the one hand, based on the energy barriers (ΔE and ΔE) analysis, we have strongly affirmed that the stabilization of back attacking transition states (b‐TSs) presents increase in the order: b‐TS‐CI₂ < b‐TS‐CBr₂ < b‐TS‐CCl₂ < b‐TS‐CHI < b‐TS‐CHBr < b‐TS‐CHCl < b‐TS‐CF₂ < b‐TS‐CHF < b‐TS‐CH₂. On the other hand, depended on discussions of the correlations of ΔE with influence factors (PA, IE, bond order, and ΔE), we have explored how and to what extent they affect the reactions. Moreover, we have predicted that the less size of substitution (α‐atom) required for the gas‐phase reaction with α‐nucleophile is related to the α‐effect and estimated that the reaction with the stronger PA nucleophile, holding the lighter substituted atom, corresponds to the greater exothermicity given out from reactants to products. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2012     

Simultaneous determination of deoxycytidine diphosphate and deoxycytidine triphosphate by capillary electrophoresis with transient isotachophoretic stacking: a sensitive monitoring method for ribonucleotide reductase activity

A simple and rapid capillary electrophoretic method was developed for simultaneous determination of sub‐micromolar 2′‐deoxycytidine 5′‐diphosphate (dCDP) and 2′‐deoxycytidine 5′‐triphosphate (dCTP) levels in enzyme assays without using radioactively labeled substrates. The separation was performed at 25°C using MES in the BGE as the terminating ion, the chloride ions in the sample buffer as the leading ion, and PEG 4000 in the BGE as the EOF suppressor for sample stacking by transient isotachophoresis (tITP). Several parameters affecting the separation were investigated, including the pH of the BGE, the concentration of sodium chloride in the sample buffer, and the concentrations of MES and PEG 4000 in the running buffer. Good separation with high separation efficiency was achieved within 6 min under optimal conditions. In comparison with the simple CZE method, the present tITP‐CZE method enabled a 150‐fold increase in the injection time without any decrease in resolution and the sensitivity was enhanced up to two orders of magnitude with the new method. The linear range of the method was 0.1–10 μM for dCDP and dCTP. The limits of detection of dCDP and dCTP were 85 and 73 nM, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the activity assay of ribonucleotide reductase from Hep G2 and Sf9 cells.     

Competition between π–π stacking and hydrogen bonding in (1:2) picrates of 1,5-diamino-3-oxapentane, 1,8-diamino-3,6-dioxaoctane and 1,5-diamino-3-azapentane—solid state studies

Crystallographic studies of (2:1) salts of picric acid with 1,5-diamino-3-oxapentane (1OPICR), 1,8-diamino-3,6-dioxaoctane (2OPICR) and 1,5-diamino-3-azapentane (1NPICR) showed significant conformational change of the picrate ion due to numerous electrostatic, H-bonding and π–π stacking interactions present in the crystal lattice. In particular, intermolecular N–HO H-bonds were found to cause significant twisting of the o-NO₂ groups from the plane of the benzene ring, whereas overlapping of the picrate ions due to electrostatic interactions and π–π stacking caused flattening of the molecule. Analysis of the geometry of 74 picrate ions found in the Cambridge Crystallographic Database, in their various crystallochemical environments, showed that competition between essentially weak but numerous intermolecular interactions of different types led to systematic changes in geometric parameters within the picrate ion. In particular, relations found between the C1–C2–N–O (C1–C6–N–O) torsion angle and the endocyclic C1–C2–C3 (C1–C6–C5) valence angle can be explained on the basis of competition between resonance effects of the o-NO₂ group and π–π stacking.     

Violet-to-blue tunable emission of aryl-substituted dispirofluorene-indenofluorene isomers by conformationally-controllable intramolecular excimer formation

Two series of DiSpiroFluorene-IndenoFluorene (DSF-IF) positional isomers, namely dispiro[2,7-diarylfluorene-9',6,9',12-indeno[1,2-b]fluorenes], (1,2-b)-DSF-IFs 1 and dispiro[2,7-diarylfluorene-9',6,9',12-indeno[2,1-a]fluorenes], (2,1-a)-DSF-IFs 2 have been synthesized. These violet-to-blue fluorescent emitters possess a 3π-2spiro architecture, which combines via two spiro links two different indenofluorene cores, that is, (1,2-b)-IF or (2,1-a)-IF and 2,7-substituted-diaryl-fluorene units. Due to their different geometric profiles, the two families of positional isomers present drastically different properties. The marked difference observed between the properties of (1,2-b)-DSF-IF (1) and (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) is discussed in terms of intramolecular π-π interactions occurring in (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) leading to conformationally-controllable intramolecular excimer formation. Indeed, the original geometry of the (2,1-a)-DSF-IF (2) family, with face-to-face "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties, leads to remarkable excimer emission through intramolecular π-π interactions in the excited state. Furthermore, the emission wavelengths can be gradually modulated by the control of the steric hindrance between the adjacent substituted phenyl rings. Thus, through a comparative and detailed study of the (1)H NMR, electrochemical and photophysical properties of DSF-IFs 1 and 2, we have evidenced the intramolecular π-π interactions occurring between the two "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties in the ground state and in the excited state. These properties have been finally correlated to the spectacular conformational change modeled by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Indeed, the two "aryl-fluorene-aryl" moieties switch from a staggered conformation in the ground state to an eclipsed conformation in the first excited state.     

Determination of 3',4',5',5,7-pentamethoxyflavone in the plasma and intestinal mucosa of mice by HPLC with UV detection

In a preliminary experiment 3',4',5',5,7-pentamethoxyflavone (PMF) inhibited adenoma development in Apc(Min) mice, a model of the human heritable condition familial adenomatous polyposis. An HPLC method for tricin was modified and validated to permit measurement of PMF in mouse plasma and intestinal mucosa. HPLC analysis was carried out on a Hypersil-BDS C(18) column with detection at 324 nm and tricin as internal standard. The assay was linear in the range of 100-2000 ng/mL plasma and 1.0-40 microg/mL mucosa. PMF in plasma was efficiently extracted using solid-phase columns. In the case of mucosa organic solvent protein precipitation displayed satisfactory accuracy and precision. The assay recovery at low, medium and high concentrations was between 85 and 103% for both biomatrices, with a relative standard deviation of <15%. The lower limits of quantitation for plasma and mucosa were 100 ng/mL and 1.0 microg/mL, respectively. This method allowed measurement of PMF steady-state median concentrations in plasma (1.08 nmol/mL, n = 11; 10th and 90th percentiles: 0.633 and 2.385 nmol/mL) and mucosa (108.5 nmol/g, n = 9; 10th and 90th percentiles: 38.9 and 164.4 nmol/g) in mice which had received PMF (0.2%, w/w) with their diet.     

5-雄烯-3β, 7α, 17β-三醇和5-雄烯-3β, 7β, 17β-三醇的合成

以5-雄烯二醇为原料,用微生物转化的方法合成了两个重要的神经甾体5-雄烯-3β, 7α, 17β-三醇和5-雄烯-3β, 7β, 17β-三醇。所用菌种总枝毛霉为我们自己筛选,并首次应用于5-雄烯-3β, 7α, 17β-三醇和5-雄烯-3β, 7β, 17β-三醇的合成中。     

Upon the intriguing stereoselective formation of organobismuth(V) complexes

The preparation of triphenylbismuth(V) 3a-k and antimony(V) 4e-k bis-carboxy ester complexes is described. A range of studies in solution suggest that the diastereoselective formation of (RR,SS)-3a-j is governed by the thermodynamic stability of rapidly interconverting epimeric species. Diastereoselectivity is absent in the case of the corresponding Sb complexes, leading to the conclusion that a combination of both ligand-ligand (steric) and metal-ligand (hyperconjugative) interactions govern stereoselectivity. The formation of homochiral complexes (RR,SS)-3a-j is rationalised using a simple model, invoking for the first time a palindromic BiPh3 propeller moiety, which correlates the chirality of the trans axial carboxy-ester ligands. The X-ray crystal structures of both hetero- and homochiral diastereoisomeric antimony complexes (4h and 4i, respectively) are presented in support of this model.