Cross-validation and evaluation of the performance of methods for the elemental analysis of forensic glass by μ-XRF, ICP-MS, and LA-ICP-MS

Elemental analysis of glass was conducted by 16 forensic science laboratories, providing a direct comparison between three analytical methods [micro-x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (μ-XRF), solution analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry]. Interlaboratory studies using glass standard reference materials and other glass samples were designed to (a) evaluate the analytical performance between different laboratories using the same method, (b) evaluate the analytical performance of the different methods, (c) evaluate the capabilities of the methods to correctly associate glass that originated from the same source and to correctly discriminate glass samples that do not share the same source, and (d) standardize the methods of analysis and interpretation of results. Reference materials NIST 612, NIST 1831, FGS 1, and FGS 2 were employed to cross-validate these sensitive techniques and to optimize and standardize the analytical protocols. The resulting figures of merit for the ICP-MS methods include repeatability better than 5 % RSD, reproducibility between laboratories better than 10 % RSD, bias better than 10 %, and limits of detection between 0.03 and 9 μg g^?1 for the majority of the elements monitored. The figures of merit for the μ-XRF methods include repeatability better than 11 % RSD, reproducibility between laboratories after normalization of the data better than 16 % RSD, and limits of detection between 5.8 and 7,400 μg g^?1. The results from this study also compare the analytical performance of different forensic science laboratories conducting elemental analysis of glass evidence fragments using the three analytical methods.

The effective dipole moments of isobutyric acid in the liquid state and dilute solutions in methanol

The dipole moments of isobutyric acid (I) were determined in the liquid state (μ₁) and dilute solutions in methanol (μ₁) at 20–50°C. The permittivity of I in the liquid state was found to increase as the temperature grew, and the permittivity of solutions of I was lower than that of pure methanol; it decreased as the concentration of I and the temperature of solutions increased. The effective dipole moments of I were calculated using the Onsager polarization theory for the pure liquid and the Buckingham statistical polarization theory for solutions with various acid concentrations in methanol. The small μ₁ (～0.8 D) and higher μ₂ (～3.0 D) values compared with the dipole moment of I in the gas phase μ₀ (1.9 D) were analyzed as determined by the character of acid-acid, acid-solvent, and solvent-solvent intermolecular interactions, a key role in which was played by H-bonds. An analysis of the dipole moments of I in methanolic solutions led us to conclude that the μ₁ and μ₂ values corresponded to the dipole moments of associates and solvates comprising like and unlike molecules linked by intermolecular H-bonds. Their stoichiometry changed as the temperature increased.     

Electrical properties and surface orientation of some salicylic acid derivatives at water/air interface

Surface activity, effective dipole moments and orientation of molecules at the interface were determined from surface tension () and surface potential (V), measured on aqueous solutions of salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid and salicylaldoxime.Applying the Demchak and Fort formula [1], the components of the effective dipole moments were calculated, which are connected to the reorientation of water molecules, hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups and local dielectric permittivities. From the effective dipole moments the orientation angles of the molecules at the water/air interface were estimated.     

Über die Bestimmung der Richtung von Übergangsmomenten in länglichen Molekülen aus Messungen des IR-Dichroismus, 2. Mitt.:

Starting from a hypothesis developed byKratky about the motion of rod-like particles when the surrounding medium is extended, two methods for orientation of molecules will be treated:

1. Embedding of the molecules in plastic foils and stretching the foils.
2. For macromolecules: Spreading of jellies of the molecules to the foils and stretching the foils.

Relations between extension ratio and degree of orientation could be derived allowing to determine exactly the direction of transition moments.     

Protected Amine Labels: A Versatile Molecular Scaffold for Multiplexed Nominal Mass and Sub-Da Isotopologue Quantitative Proteomic Reagents

We assemble a versatile molecular scaffold from simple building blocks to create binary and multiplexed stable isotope reagents for quantitative mass spectrometry. Termed Protected Amine Labels (PAL), these reagents offer multiple analytical figures of merit including, (1) robust targeting of peptide N-termini and lysyl side chains, (2) optimal mass spectrometry ionization efficiency through regeneration of primary amines on labeled peptides, (3) an amino acid-based mass tag that incorporates heavy isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to ensure matched physicochemical and MS/MS fragmentation behavior among labeled peptides, and (4) a molecularly efficient architecture, in which the majority of hetero-atom centers can be used to synthesize a variety of nominal mass and sub-Da isotopologue stable isotope reagents. We demonstrate the performance of these reagents in well-established strategies whereby up to four channels of peptide isotopomers, each separated by 4 Da, are quantified in MS-level scans with accuracies comparable to current commercial reagents. In addition, we utilize the PAL scaffold to create isotopologue reagents in which labeled peptide analogs differ in mass based on the binding energy in carbon and nitrogen nuclei, thereby allowing quantification based on MS or MS/MS spectra. We demonstrate accurate quantification for reagents that support 6-plex labeling and propose extension of this scheme to 9-channels based on a similar PAL scaffold. Finally, we provide exemplar data that extend the application of isotopologe-based quantification reagents to medium resolution, quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers.

Analytical fractionation of aquatic humic substances and their metal species by means of multistage ultrafiltration

The molecular-size fractionation of aquatic humic substances (HS) and their metal species by means of a novel sequential-stage ultrafiltration (UF) device equipped with five appropriate ultramembranes (1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 kD) is described. First of all, the concentration dynamics of macromolecules, particulary HS, during five-stage UF and its subsequent washing step has been modelled. Based on these results, the fractionation of aquatic HS (from ground and bog water) by means of multistage UF has been optimized for an analytical scale (10 ml sample, 1 mg/ml HS, 10 ml washing solution, pH 6.0). The molecular size-distribution of selected aquatic HS (BOC 1/2 from the DFG-Versuchsfeld Bocholt, VM 5 from Venner Moor, Germany) studied by five-stage UF exhibited strong systematic influences of the procedure used for their isolation. The molecular-size distribution of HS obtained by on-line UF and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed a satisfactory agreement in the range 1–50 kD. Moreover, when interrupting multistage UF for > 48 h a slow transformation in the HS samples has been found as gradually additional HS fractions of < 1 kD have been formed. Besides unloaded HS molecules, the molecular-size distribution of freshly formed metal species of HS (1.0 mg metal/g HS of Al(III), Cd(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), each) has been characterized by multistage UF as a function of pH-value, degree of loading and complexation time. Metal determinations as carried out by flame AAS, showed that considerable metal fractions in HS especially are present in molecules > 50 kD, which seemed to be rather acid-inert. With complexation times of < 2 days a transient shift of the molecular size distribution of both HS and their metal species (e.g., Al(III), Fe(III) to higher values (> 10 kD) has been found.     

Preconcentration of metal ions using microbacteria

This review (160 refs). covers the current state of the art of microbacteria-based sorbents for preconcentration of metal ions at trace levels. We highlight advantages and major challenges of the techniques and discuss future perspectives of both batch and column-based methods. Particular attention is paid to the preconcentration of metal ions using resin-immobilized microbacteria for solid phase extractions. We also discuss detection methods including UV–vis spectrophotometry, FAAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Analytical figures of merit are compared, and examples are given for the application to a variety of samples including food, beverages, alloys, water, soil, and geological samples.

Metabolism of synthetic cannabinoids PB-22 and its 5-fluoro analog, 5F-PB-22, by human hepatocyte incubation and high-resolution mass spectrometry

Background

PB-22 (1-pentyl-8-quinolinyl ester-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid) and 5F-PB-22 (1-(5-fluoropentyl)-8-quinolinyl ester-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid) are new synthetic cannabinoids with a quinoline substructure and the first marketed substances with an ester bond linkage. No human metabolism data are currently available, making it difficult to document PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 intake from urine analysis, and complicating assessment of the drugs’ pharmacodynamic and toxicological properties.

Methods

We incubated 10 μmol/l PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 with pooled cryopreserved human hepatocytes up to 3 h and analyzed samples on a TripleTOF 5600+ high-resolution mass spectrometer. Data were acquired via TOF scan, followed by information-dependent acquisition triggered product ion scans with mass defect filtering (MDF). The accurate mass full scan MS and MS/MS metabolite datasets were analyzed with multiple data processing techniques, including MDF, neutral loss and product ion filtering.

Results

The predominant metabolic pathway for PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 was ester hydrolysis yielding a wide variety of (5-fluoro)pentylindole-3-carboxylic acid metabolites. Twenty metabolites for PB-22 and 22 metabolites for 5F-PB-22 were identified, with the majority generated by oxidation with or without glucuronidation. For 5F-PB-22, oxidative defluorination occurred forming PB-22 metabolites. Both compounds underwent epoxide formation followed by internal hydrolysis and also produced a cysteine conjugate.

Conclusion

Human hepatic metabolic profiles were generated for PB-22 and 5F-PB-22. Pentylindole-3-carboxylic acid, hydroxypentyl-PB-22 and PB-22 pentanoic acid for PB-22, and 5′-fluoropentylindole-3-carboxylic acid, PB-22 pentanoic acid and the hydroxy-5F-PB-22 metabolite with oxidation at the quinoline system for 5F-PB-22 are likely the best targets to incorporate into analytical methods for urine to document PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 intake.

Divalent Pb(0) compounds

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been carried out on four novel dicoordinated lead compounds PbL₂ where L is an N-heterocyclic ylidene or a five-membered cyclic ylidene (1Pb, 2Pb, 4Pb, 5Pb) and for a plumbylene-coordinated carbone CL₂ (3Pb). The theoretically predicted equilibrium geometries and the first and second proton affinities of 1Pb?C5Pb are reported. Geometry optimizations have also been carried out for the complexes with one and two BH₃ ligands 1Pb(BH ₃ )?C5Pb(BH ₃ ) and 1Pb(BH ₃ ) ₂ ?C5Pb(BH ₃ ) ₂ , and for the transition metal complexes 1PbW(CO) ₅ ?C5PbW(CO) ₅ and 1PbNi(CO) ₃ ?C5PbNi(CO) ₃ . The results suggest that the molecules 1Pb, 2Pb and 4Pb possess properties which identify them as divalent Pb(0) compounds (plumbylones). This comes to the fore by the theoretically predicted second PAs which are very large for a lead compound and (for 1Pb and 4Pb) by the BDE of the second BH₃ ligand. Compound 3Pb should be considered as a plumbylene-coordinated divalent C(0) compound (carbone) which has a very high second PA of 195.1?kcal/mol. The geometry optimization of 5Pb gives an equilibrium structure which identifies the molecules as divalent Pb(II) compound, i.e., as a plumbylene.     

Synthesis of (zinc(II) phthalocyanine)-containing cellulose derivative using phthalocyanine-ring formation reaction

2,3-Di-O-myristyl-6-O-(zinc(II) phthalocyaninyl) cellulose (5) was synthesized from cellulose (1) by five reaction steps via 6-O-(3′,4′-dicyanophenyl)-2,3-di-O-myristyl cellulose (4). The key reaction was phthalocyanine-ring formation on a cellulose backbone, that is, the reaction of compound 4 with o-phthalodinitrile in the presence of hexamethyldisilazane and zinc acetate in DMF afforded to compound 5 in 35.4 % yield. Consequently, the degree of substitution with phthalocyanine moieties of compound 5 was 0.38. The LB monolayer film of compound 5 on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode was found to show photocurrent generation performance at 680 nm.     

Leidenfrost Phenomenon-assisted Thermal Desorption (LPTD) and Its Application to Open Ion Sources at Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometry

This work describes the development and application of a new thermal desorption technique that makes use of the Leidenfrost phenomenon in open ion sources at atmospheric pressure for direct mass spectrometric detection of ultratrace levels of illicit, therapeutic, and stimulant drugs, toxicants, and peptides (molecular weight above 1 kDa) in their unaltered state from complex real world samples without or with minor sample pretreatment. A low temperature dielectric barrier discharge ion source was used throughout the experiments and the analytical figures of merit of this technique were investigated. Further, this desorption technique coupled with other ionization sources such as electrospray ionization (ESI) and dc corona discharge atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in open atmosphere was also investigated. The use of the high-resolution ‘Exactive Orbitrap’ mass spectrometer provided unambiguous identification of trace levels of the targeted compounds from complex mixtures and background noise; the limits of detection for various small organic molecules and peptides treated with this technique were at the level of parts per trillion and 10^–9?M, respectively. The high sensitivity of the present technique is attributed to the spontaneous enrichment of analyte molecules during the slow evaporation of the solvent, as well as to the sequential desorption of molecules from complex mixtures based on their volatilities. This newly developed desorption technique is simple and fast, while molecular ions are observed as the major ions.      

Tri- and tetraphenylantimony propiolates: Syntheses and structures

The reaction of triphenylantimony with propiolic acid in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (molar ratios 1 : 2 : 1 and 1 : 1 : 1) in diethyl ether affords triphenylantimony dipropiolate Ph₃Sb[OC(O)C≡CH]₂ (I) and μ₂-oxobis[(propiolato)triphenylantimony] [Ph₃SbOC(O)C≡CH]₂O (II). Tetraphenylantimony propiolate Ph₄SbOC(O)C≡CH (III) is synthesized from pentaphenylantimony and propiolic or acetylenedicarboxylic acid in toluene. According to the X-ray diffraction data, the crystals of compounds I and III include two types of crystallographically independent molecules (a and b). The antimony atoms in molecules Ia, Ib, II, IIIa, and IIIb have the trigonal-bipyramidal coordination mode with different degrees of distortion. The OSbO and OSbC axial angles are 176.8(2)° (Ia, Ib), 170.17(15)°, 178.78(14)° (II), and 173.2(5)°, 174.4(5)° (IIIa, IIIb). The CSbC equatorial angles lie in the ranges 108.2(3)°–143.1(3)° (I), 109.0(2)°–131.0(2)° (II), and 113.1(4)°–125.4(4)° (III). The SbOSb angle in II is 141.55(19)°. The Sb-C bond lengths are 2.103(8)–2.141(5) (I), 2.105(5)–2.119(5) (II), and 2.076(12)–2.166(13) Å (III). The Sb-O distances increase in a series of I, II, and III: 2.139(6)–2.156(7) (Ia, Ib); 2.206(4), 2.218(3) (II); and 2.338(10), 2.340(10) Å (III).     

The 5dnd and 5dng J=4, 3 and 2 and 5dns J=2 series in barium: linewidths and linestrengths

The 5dnd and 5dng J=2, 3 and 4 as well as the 5dns J=2 autoionising series of barium have been studied with two-step pulsed laser excitations in an atomic beam. Dipole moments and the interactions with the 6s∈l continua were fitted starting from existing Multi-channel Quantum Defect Theory (MQDT) analyses. The interactions of the 5dnd J=4 and 2, and 5dns J=2 series with 6sεg J=4 and 6sεd J=2 continua could be analysed succesfully.     

Inorganic base-catalyzed formation of antivirally active N-substituted benzamides from α-amido sulfones and N-nucleophile

Background

Heteronucleophiles as well as carbanionic reagents can be used to react with α-amido sulfones, thus giving the opportunity to prepare a large array of amino derivatives. Since, novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol derivatives can serve as potent nucleophiles, we employed 5-subsititued phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiols as the nucleophilic source of nitrogen in the reaction with α-amido sulfones.

Results

A series of N-substituted benzamides bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazol unit were prepared for the first time by the reaction of in situ generated protected imine from α-amido sulfones with 5-subsititued phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiols as the source of nitrogen nucleophile. Some of the synthesized products displayed favourable antiviral activity against cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in preliminary antiviral activity tests. The title compounds 5c, 5o and 5r revealed curative activity of 42.2%, 48.7% and 40.5%, respectively against CMV (inhibitory rate) compared to the commercial standard Ningnanmycin (53.4%) at 500 μg/mL.

Conclusion

A practical synthetic route to N-benzoyl-α-amido sulfones by the reaction of 5-subsititued phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiols as the source of nitrogen nucleophiles with in situ generated protected imine from N-benzoyl-α-amido sulfones is presented. The reaction catalyzed by an inorganic base has considerable significance to exploit the potential of α-amido sulfones in organic synthesis.     

Frequency moments,L_{q} norms and Rényi entropies of general hypergeometric polynomials

The basic variables of the information theory of quantum systems (e.g., frequency or entropic moments, Rényi and Tsallis entropies) can be expressed in terms of $L_{q}$ norms of general hypergeometrical polynomials. These polynomials are known to control the radial and angular parts of the wavefunctions of the quantum-mechanically allowed states of numerous physical and chemical systems. The computation of the $L_{q}$ norms of these polynomials is presently an interesting issue per se in the theory of special functions; moreover, these quantities are closely related to the frequency moments and other information-theoretic properties of the associated Rakhmanov probability density. In this paper we calculate the unweighted and weighted $L_{q}$ -norms $(q=2k, k\in {\mathbb {N}})$ of general hypergeometric real orthogonal polynomials (Hermite, Laguerre and Jacobi) and some entropy-like integrals of Bessel polynomials, in terms of $q$ and the parameters of the corresponding weight function by using their explicit expression and second order differential equation. In addition, the asymptotics $(q\rightarrow \infty )$ of the unweighted $L_{q}$ norms of the Jacobi polynomials is determined by the Laplace method.