Comparison of ordered mesoporous materials sorption properties towards amino acids

The adsorption of amino acids such as l-phenylalanine and l-histidine was carried out on a series of mesoporous carbons obtained with the use ordered silicas KIT-6, SBA-16, SBA-15 as templates and furfuryl alcohol as carbon precursor. Small angle XRD analysis confirmed the ordered mesoporous structures of all materials obtained. They were also characterised by well-developed surface areas and high pore volumes. Adsorption behaviour of amino acids on ordered mesoporous carbons was investigated in potassium phosphate buffer solutions with adjustable l-phenylalanine and l-histidine concentration, ion strength, and pH. The highest sorption capacity towards the amino acids were observed at pH close to the isoelectric point of l-phenylalanine (pI = 5.48) and l-histidine (pI = 7.59). Electrostatic, hydrophobic and steric interactions had very strong effect on the adsorption of amino acids on mesoporous carbons. The amount of l-phenylalanine and l-histidine adsorbed decreased in the following sequence: C_KIT-6 > C_SBA-16 > C_SBA-15 that was strongly related to their structure, surface areas and average pore diameters.     

Study of the interaction between ethanol and natural amino acids containing ionic side groups in water at T = 298.15 K

The enthalpies of solution of l-α-aspartic acid, l-α-glutamic acid, l-α-arginine, l-α-lysine, and l-α-histidine have been measured in aqueous ethanol solutions at 298.15 K. From the obtained experimental results, the standard enthalpies of solution of amino acids in water–ethanol solutions have been determined. These data were used to calculate the heterogeneous enthalpic pair interaction coefficients based on McMillan–Mayer’s formalism. These values were interpreted in the terms of the ionic or no polar effect of the side chains of l-α-amino acids on their interactions with a molecule of ethanol in water.     

Thermal properties and interactions of l-proline in aqueous solutions of NaCl or KCl at different temperatures

The enthalpies of solution of l-proline in aqueous electrolyte solutions within the electrolyte molality range up to 4.9 mol kg^?1 of NaCl and up to 4.0 mol kg^?1 of KCl at 288, 298 and 313 K have been measured by the calorimetric method. Enthalpies of transfer of l-proline from water to aqueous electrolyte solutions up to saturation have been derived at 273–348 K. The enthalpic and heat capacity parameters of pair and triplet interaction of l-proline with electrolyte in water have been evaluated. Enthalpic parameters of pair interaction at 298 K have been compared to similar parameters for glycine and l-alanine. The temperature changes of reduced enthalpy, and also the change of entropy and reduced Gibbs energy of transfer of l-proline from water to aqueous electrolyte solution at temperature rise from 273 to 323 K have been determined. It has been shown that the entropy–enthalpy compensation takes place for transfer processes.     

Transformation of l-phenylalanine to (S)-indoline-2-carboxylic acid without group-protection

(S)-Indoline-2-carboxylic acid was synthesized by use of a nitro amination approach with l-phenylalanine as chiral pool. The first step of the synthesis was nitration of l-phenylalanine, with urea nitrate (UN)/H₂SO₄ as nitrating reagent, to give 2,4-dinitro-l-phenylalanine in 75.7 % yield in one-pot synthesis and 69.1 % yield by step-wise nitration. Intramolecular nitro amination of 2,4-dinitro-l-phenylalanine gave (S)-6-nitro-indoline-2-carboxylic acid in 65.7 % yield and more than 99.5 % enantiomeric excess (ee). The title compound, (S)-indoline-2-carboxylic acid, was obtained in 85.9 % yield and high ee by one-pot transformation of (S)-6-nitroindoline-2-carboxylic acid. The total synthesis consisted of three operations and gave the title compound in 42 % yield and more than 99.5 % ee.     

A new approach for quantitative analysis of l-phenylalanine using a novel semi-sandwich immunometric assay

Here, we describe a novel method for l-phenylalanine analysis using a sandwich-type immunometric assay approach for use as a new method for amino acid analysis. To overcome difficulties of the preparation of high-affinity and selectivity monoclonal antibodies against l-phenylalanine and the inability to use sandwich-type immunometric assays due to their small molecular weight, three procedures were examined. First, amino groups of l-phenylalanine were modified by “N-Fmoc-l-cysteine” (FC) residues and the derivative (FC-Phe) was used as a hapten. Immunization of mice with bovine serum albumin/FC-Phe conjugate successfully yielded specific monoclonal anti-FC-Phe antibodies. Second, a new derivatization reagent, “biotin linker conjugate of FC-Phe N-succinimidyl ester” (FC(Biotin)-NHS), was synthesized to convert l-phenylalanine to FC-(Biotin)-Phe as a hapten structure. The biotin moiety linked to the thiol group of cysteine formed a second binding site for streptavidin/horseradish peroxidase (HRP) conjugates for optical detection. Third, a new semi-sandwich-type immunometric assay was established using pre-derivatized l-phenylalanine, the monoclonal anti-FC-Phe antibody, and streptavidin/HRP conjugate (without second antibody). Using the new “semi-sandwich” immunometric assay system, a detection limit of 35 nM (60 amol per analysis) and a detection range of 0.1–20 μM were attained using a standard l-phenylalanine solution. Rat plasma samples were analyzed to test reliability. Intra-day assay precision was within 6 % of the coefficient of variation; inter-day variation was 0.1 %. The recovery rates were from 92.4 to 123.7 %. This is the first report of the quantitative determination of l-phenylalanine using a reliable semi-sandwich immunometric assay approach and will be applicable to the quantitative determination of other amino acids.     

Exploiting thermodynamic data to optimize the enantioseparation of underivatized amino acids in ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis

Stereoselective amino acid analysis has increasingly moved into the scope of interest of the scientific community. In this work, we report a study on the chiral separation of underivatized d,l-His by ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis (LECE), utilizing accurate ex ante calculations. This has been obtained by the addition to the background electrolytes (BGE) of NaClO₄ which renders the separations “all in solution processes”, allowing to accurately calculate in advance the concentrations of the species present in solution and to optimize the system performances. To this aim, the formation of ternary complexes of Cu²⁺ ion and l-lysine (l-Lys) or l-ornithine (l-Orn) with l- and d-histidine (His), and histamine (Hm) have been studied by potentiometry and calorimetry at 25 °C and with 0.1 mol dm^?3 (KNO₃) in aqueous solution. The ternary species [Cu(L)(l-His)H]⁺ and [Cu(L)(d-His)H]⁺ (where L?=?l-Lys or l-Orn) show a slight but still detectable stereoselectivity, and the determination of ΔH° and ΔS° values allowed the understanding of the factors which determine this phenomenon. The stereoselectivity showed by the protonated ternary species has been exploited to chirally separate d,l-His in LECE, by using the binary complexes of copper(II) with l-Lys or l-Orn as background electrolytes added with the appropriate amounts of NaClO₄.

Volumetric Properties of l-Alanine and l-Serine in Aqueous N,N-Dimethylformamide Solutions at 298.15 K

The densities of l-alanine and l-serine in aqueous solutions of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) have been measured at 298.15 K with an Anton Paar Model 55 densimeter. Apparent molar volumes $ (V_{\phi } ) $ ( V ? ) , standard partial molar volumes $ (V_{\phi }^{0} ) $ ( V ? 0 ) , standard partial molar volumes of transfer $ (\Updelta_{\text{tr}} V_{\phi }^{0} ) $ ( Δ tr V ? 0 ) and hydration numbers have been determined for the amino acids. The $ \Updelta_{\text{tr}} V_{\phi }^{0} $ Δ tr V ? 0 values of l-serine are positive which suggest that hydrophilic–hydrophilic interactions between l-serine and DMF are predominant. The –CH₃ group of l-alanine has much more influence on the volumetric properties and the $ \Updelta_{\text{tr}} V_{\phi }^{0} $ Δ tr V ? 0 have smaller negative values. The results have been interpreted in terms of the cosphere overlap model.     

Partial Molar Volumes of l-Serine and l-Threonine in Aqueous Ammonium Sulfate Solutions at (278.15, 288.15, 298.15, and 308.15) K

In this study, the partial molar volumes of l-serine and l-threonine in aqueous solutions of ammonium sulfate at (0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.7, and 1.0) mol·kg^?1 are reported between 278.15 and 308.15 K. Transfer volumes and hydration numbers were obtained, which are larger in l-serine than in l-threonine. Dehydration of the amino acids is observed, rising with the temperature and salt molality. The data suggest that interactions between ions and charged/hydrophilic groups are predominant, and by applying the McMillan and Mayer formalism, it was concluded that they are mainly pair wise. The combination of the data presented in this study with solubility and molecular dynamics data suggests a stronger interaction of the ammonium cation with the zwitterionic centers of the amino acids when compared to the interactions of those centers with the sulfate anion.     

Thermodynamics of interaction of L-α-phenylalanine with urea and dimethylformamide in aqueous solution

The thermal effects of solution of L-phenylalanine in aqueous solutions of urea and dimethylformamide (DMF) at 25°C were determined. The solubility of L-phenylalanine in water and aqueous DMF solutions was measured. The standard enthalpies, free energies, and entropies of solution of the amino acid in aqueous solutions of amides were calculated. The parameters of pair and ternary amino acid-amide interactions were determined within the framework of the McMillan-Mayer theory. The amino acid-amide pair interaction is accompanied by a decrease in the Gibbs free energy, controlled by the entropy term with DMF and by the enthalpy term with urea. The interaction of L-phenylalanine with two amide molecules is repulsive, which in the case of DMF leads to an increase in the standard free energies of solution of the amino acid at the amide mole fraction X ₂ > 0.05.     

Conformational changes of l-phenylalanine induced by near infrared radiation. ATR-FTIR studies

In our previous work the influence of water evaporation on Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra of l-phenylalanine (l-phe) in a function of pH (Olsztynska et al. Appl. Spectrosc. 60(9):1040, (14)) was studied. The presence of symmetric dimers of hydrogen-bonded amino acid was observed when simultaneously CO₂ ^? ionised and COOH unionised forms of the amino acid appear in the solution (near pK ₁). It is suggested that Near Infrared (NIR) radiation may induce partial protonation of CO₂ ^? groups at a neutral pH and formation the same type of dimers. The aim of this work was to study this hypothesis. Therefore, ATR-FTIR spectra of l-phe aqueous solution before and after NIR radiation (15?min., 700?C2,000?nm) were obtained as a continuation of our earlier studies. Spectral characteristic bands of l-phe were described. The vibrational spectroscopic study of l-phe showed that it undergoes photochemical reactions under NIR exposure. It has been found that the irradiation process indeed induces a protonation of polar groups of l-phe at neutral pH what leads to forming of neutral forms and as a consequence hydrogen bonded dimers ?CC=O···HOOC?C. Moreover, hydrophobic interactions strongly increase, what favours aggregation of l-phe molecules. The phenomenon is probably due to modifications of water structure around l-phe molecules. Intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds weaken which could favour aggregation and protonation of polar groups what induces also formation of symmetrical hydrogen bonds between protonated and deprotonated carboxylic groups.     

A new chiral electrochemical sensor for the enantioselective recognition of penicillamine enantiomers

A new chiral electrochemical sensor has been successfully prepared through chemical linking l-methotrexate (l-Mtx) onto the gold electrode surface. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the enantioselective interaction between l-Mtx and Pen enantiomers. The results showed that the l-Mtx-modified gold electrode can selectively recognize penicillamine (Pen) enantiomers using Zn(II) as central ion, and larger response signal was observed from d-Pen owing to the selective formation of Zn complexes. The interaction time between the modified electrode and Pen enantiomers containing Zn(II) was considered. And the electrochemical response of the modified electrode to a series of different concentration of Pen in the presence of Zn(II) was also monitored. In addition, the enantiomeric composition of d- and l-Pen enantiomer mixtures was monitored by measuring the current responses of the sample.     

Application of Hydrazino Dinitrophenyl-Amino Acids as Chiral Derivatizing Reagents for Liquid Chromatographic Enantioresolution of Carbonyl Compounds

A new series of chiral derivatizing reagents (CDRs) consisting of five hydrazino dinitrophenyl (HDNP)-amino acids (CDR 1?C5) was prepared by a two-step synthesis procedure starting from 1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DFDNB). In the first step, five fluoro-dinitrophenyl (FDNP)-reagents, namely FDNP-l-Leu, FDNP-l-Val, FDNP-l-Phe, FDNP-l-Ala and FDNP-d-Phg were synthesized by substituting one of the fluorine atoms in DFDNB moiety with amino acids l-Leu, l-Val, l-Phe, l-Ala and d-Phg, respectively. In the following step, the remaining fluorine atom of the FDNP reagents was substituted with hydrazine hydrate to obtain five HDNP reagents (i.e. CDR 1?C5; HDNP-l-Leu, HDNP-l-Val, HDNP-l-Phe, HDNP-l-Ala and HDNP-d-Phg). These five CDRs were used for synthesis of diastereomers of six racemic carbonyl compounds which were resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography using C18 column and gradient eluting mixture of acetonitrile or methanol with triethylammonium phosphate buffer with UV detection at 348 nm. Microwave irradiation was used for synthesis of both the CDRs and the diastereomers. The newly synthesized CDRs were observed to be superior in comparison to their counterparts having amino acid amides as chiral auxiliaries in terms of cost effectiveness and providing better resolution of diastereomers. The method was validated for limit of detection, linearity, accuracy and precision.     

Enantioselective extraction of fenvaleric acid enantiomers by two-phase (W/O) recognition chiral extraction

To establish an extraction method for fenvaleric acid (FA) enantiomers using l-iso-butyl-l-tartaric esters and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) as chiral selector, the distribution of FA enantiomers was examined in methanol aqueous solution containing HP-β-CD and 1,2-dichloroethane organic solution containing l-iso-butyl-l-tartaric esters. The influences of the concentration of l-iso-butyl-l-tartaric esters and HP-β-CD, organic diluent, pH, extraction temperature and the concentration of methanol aqueous solution on the partition coefficient (k) and separation factor (α) of FA were investigated. The experiment results showed that the complex formed by l-iso-butyl-l-tartaric esters with S-enantiomer is stabler than that with R-enantiomer. With the increase of the concentration of l-iso-butyl-l-tartaric ester, k and α increased; With the increase of the concentration of HP-β-CD, k increased firstly, and then decreased, but α increased all the while, k was the highest when the concentration of HP-β-CD was 4 mmol L^?1. 1,2-dichloroethane organic diluent was better than the others. With the increase of pH, k and α decreased; with further increasing concentration of methanol aqueous solution, k and α decreased, k and α were the highest when the concentration of methanol aqueous solution was 10%. The extraction temperature had a great influence on k and α, too.     

The yjjN of E. coli codes for an l-galactonate dehydrogenase and can be used for quantification of l-galactonate and l-gulonate

Escherichia coli is able to utilize l-galactonate as a sole carbon source. A metabolic pathway for l-galactonate catabolism is described in E. coli, and it is known to be interconnected with d-galacturonate metabolism. The corresponding gene encoding the first enzyme in the l-galactonate pathway, l-galactonate-5-dehydrogenase, was suggested to be yjjN. However, l-galactonate dehydrogenase activity was never demonstrated with the yjjN gene product. Here, we show that YjjN is indeed an l-galactonate dehydrogenase having activity also for l-gulonate. The K _m and k _cat for l-galactonate were 19.5?±?0.6 mM and 0.51?±?0.03 s^?1, respectively. In addition, YjjN was applied for a quantitative detection of the both of these substances in a coupled assay. The detection limits for l-galactonate and l-gulonate were 1.65 and 10 μM, respectively.     

Interactions of some protonated α-amino acid methyl esters with hexaethyl p-tert-butylcalix[6]arene hexaacetate in nitrobenzene saturated with water

The exchange extraction constants corresponding to the general equilibrium C⁺(aq) + 1·Cs⁺(nb) ? 1·C⁺ (nb) + Cs⁺(aq) occurring in the two-phase water–nitrobenzene system (C⁺ = protonated α-amino acid methyl ester, 1 = hexaethyl p-tert-butylcalix[6]arene hexaacetate; aq = aqueous phase, nb = nitrobenzene phase) were evaluated on the basis of extraction experiments and γ-activity measurements. Further, the stability constants of the 1·C⁺ cationic complex species in nitrobenzene saturated with water were calculated; they were found to increase in the following cation order: protonated l-tryptophan methyl ester < protonated l-phenylalanine methyl ester < protonated l-leucine methyl ester < protonated l-methionine methyl ester < protonated l-valine methyl ester.     

Neue enzymatische Analysenmethoden zur Bestimmung von Maltose,Stärke und Lactat in der Lebensmittelchemie

1. Determination of Maltose. Maltose is hydrolyzed by the enzyme α-glucosidase into glucose, which is determined by the enzymes hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase. α-Glucosidase is specific for oligosaccharides with α-1,4 and α-1,2 bonds.
2. Determination of Starch and Glycogen. Starch and glycogen are splitted to glucose by the enzyme amylo-glucosidase. Starch has to be dissolved before enzymatic cleavage. A comparison of different methods for preparing starch solutions is given.
3. Determination of d- and l-Lactate. It is possible to determine d-lactate and l-lactate with the specific enzymes d-lactate-dehydrogenase and l-lactate-dehydrogenase. By different samples it is shown that no equal quantities of d- and l-lactate were found in the analyzed foods.

     

Volumetric and Viscometric Analyses for l-Glutamic Acid in NaCl Aqueous Solutions at Different Temperatures

The physico-chemical property data for l-glutamic acid in aqueous NaCl solutions were obtained at 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mol·kg^?1 NaCl and amino acid molalities from 0 to 0.0669 mol·kg^?1 between 293.15 and 323.15 K. The influence of NaCl addition on the volumetric and viscometric properties of the amino acid has been studied. From the experimental densities, the apparent molar volumes and transfer volumes of l-glutamic acid in aqueous electrolyte solutions have been calculated. The viscosity data in the studied domain of amino acid molalities have led to the evaluation of the Falkenhagen and Jones–Dole viscosity coefficients of l-glutamic acid in NaCl aqueous solutions. The results have been discussed in terms of interactions occurring in the systems.     

Investigations of the Properties of l-Histidine in Aqueous NaCl Solutions at Different Temperatures

Density and viscosity experimental data for l-histidine in NaCl aqueous solutions were obtained at different salt and different amino acid concentrations in the range of temperatures between 293.15 and 323.15 K. The results have been correlated and analyzed in order to evaluate the influence of electrolyte concentration and temperature on the volumetric and viscometric properties of the solutions. The apparent molar volumes and the transfer volumes of l-histidine in aqueous NaCl solutions at different salt and amino acid molalities over entire temperature range were calculated from experimental density data. The viscosity experimental data have been analyzed with Jones–Dole equation and the Falkenhagen (A) and the Jones–Dole coefficient (B) have been calculated in order to evaluate the interactions occurring in the systems. The B viscosity coefficients were found to be positive for all conditions, showing a kosmotropic effect of solutes, indicating an alignment of zwitterions with ions/water dipoles. A comparison of standard partial molar volumes for some amino acids in water and NaCl aqueous solutions shows that they increase with molecular mass and complexity of the lateral side chain of the amino acid.     

pH-dependent complex formation of amino acids with β-cyclodextrin and quaternary ammonium β-cyclodextrin

Stability constants for the complexes of anionic, neutral (zwitterionic) and protonated forms of l- and d-enantiomers of eight amino acids with β-cyclodextrin and the positively charged quaternary ammonium β-cyclodextrin (QA-β-CD, DS?=?3.6?±?0.3) have been determined by spectrophotometric and pH-potentiometric methods. The highest stability constants have been obtained for the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. Except the dianion of tyrosine and QA-β-CD, values for the anions in the range of 80–120 have been found, the stability constants for the zwitterionic forms are much smaller and complex formation is negligible with the protonated species. In the case of the other amino acids the differences are less pronounced. The results are interpreted in terms of hydrogen bonding, steric effects and electrostatic interactions between the amino acid moiety and the rims of the cyclodextrins, in addition to the inclusion of the side chain, and are supported by ¹H and ¹³C NMR investigations on the systems containing l-phenylalanine and l-tyrosine. The differences between the complex formation constants of the l- and d-enantiomers do not exceed the limits of experimental error in most cases.     

The pivotal role of copper(II) in the enantiorecognition of tryptophan and histidine by gold nanoparticles

Stereoselective amino acid analysis has increasingly moved into the scope of interest of the scientific community. In this work, we report a study on the chiral recognition of d,l-Trp and d,l-His using l-Cys-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and copper(II) ion. In the l-Cys-capped AuNPs, the thiol group of the amino acid interacts with AuNPs through the formation of Au–S bond, whereas the α-amino and α-carboxyl groups of the surface-confined cysteine can coordinate the copper(II) ion, which in turn, binds the l- or d-amino acid present in solution forming diastereoisomeric complexes. The resulting systems have been characterized by UV–Vis spectra and dynamic light scattering measurements, obtaining different results for l- and d-Trp, as well as for l- and d-His. The knowledge of the solution equilibria of the investigated systems allowed us to accurately calculate in advance the concentrations of the species present in solution and to optimize the system performances, highlighting the pivotal role of copper(II) ion in the enantiodiscrimination processes.