Encapsulation of Mithramycin in Liposomes in Response to a Transmembrane Gradient of Calcium Ions

The recent discovery that mithramycin(MTR) in aqueous solution forms a high affinity[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex led us to the idea thatCa2+-loaded liposomes might be able to accumulateMTR in their aqueous internal compartment. Wetherefore investigated the uptake of MTR into largeunilamellar vesicles (LUV) containing NaCl orCaCl2. Our data show that MTR was efficientlyaccumulated within LUV made fromdipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, onlywhen the liposomes contained Ca2+ and wereresuspended in a Ca2+-free medium. A drugencapsulation efficiency as high as 60% was achieved,at a drug to lipid molar ratio of 1/18. The circulardichroism and fluorescence excitation spectra ofliposome-encapsulated MTR (LMTR) displayed strongsimilarities with those of the [Ca(MTR)4]2-complex. LMTR was found to be stable, when submittedto conditions that destabilized the[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex. Upon dilution andincubation for 24 h at 37 °C, MTR-containingliposomes did not release a significant amount of MTR.These properties were attributed to the formation ofa high affinity complex between MTR and Ca2+inthe aqueous compartment of liposomes.     

N-oxides of 2- and 4-azafluorenones and nitro derivatives of 2- and 4-azafluorenes

It was demonstrated by PMR spectroscopy that mixtures of N-oxides of 6- and 7-nitro derivatives are formed in the nitration of the N-oxides of 3-methyl-2- and 4-azafluorenes. The products were deoxygenated to give nitro derivatives of 2- and 4-azafluorenes. The N-oxides of nitro-substituted azafluorenes were converted to salts of the aci forms by the action of alkali.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 10, pp. 1396–1399, October, 1982.The authors thank K. F. Turchin for his assistance in recording the spectrum of nitration product VI at 200 MHz.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of triamterene, methotrexate, and creatinine in human urine

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method using a fused-silica capillary (60.2 cm x 75 microm ID) was investigated for the determination of triamterene (TRI), methotrexate (MTX), and creatinine (CREA) in human urine. The separation was performed using a hydrodynamic injection time of 7 s (0.5 psi), a voltage of 25 kV, a capillary temperature of 30 degrees C, and 40 mM phosphoric acid adjusted to pH 2.25 by addition of triethanolamine as separation electrolyte. Under these conditions, analysis takes about 15 min. A linear response over the 0.5-15.0 mg L(-1) concentration range was found for TRI and MTX, and 0.5-80.0 mg L(-1) for CREA. Dilution of the sample (water:urine, 1:1 for TRI and MTX, and 1:25 for CREA determination) was the only step necessary prior to analysis by electrophoresis. The developed method is easy, rapid, and sensitive and has been applied to determine triamterene,methotrexate, and creatinine in urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Glucose utilization by lysine-producing fluoroacetate-sensitive mutants ofCorynebacterium glutamicum

A fluoroacetate-sensitive mutant was isolated fromCorynebacterium glutamicum, ATCC 21513, following mutagenesis with NTG. Batch fermentations show that in terms of growth kinetics, glucose utilization, and lysine formation, there are significant differences between the mutant and the parent. The mutant’s specific growth rate (0.22/h) is lower than that for the parent (0.34/h). Also, the yield expressed as lysine/glucose consumed does not alter as a function of the glucose concentration for the mutant, and is about 0.22, whereas for the parent, this coefficient decreases with increasing glucose concentration. The maximum specific rate of lysine production for the mutant is 1.3 g/L/h that is about two-fold higher than that for the parent.     

Estimates of the supremum of a class of stationary random processes

Under the conditions guaranteeing the uniform convergence of the spectral representations, we obtain estimates for the distribution of its supremum. We obtain estimates for the supremum of a real stationary process for which the corresponding spectral processes belong to the space Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 43, No.12, pp. 1628–1637, December, 1991.     

Manganese doping of In1−xGaxAsyP1-y films in liquid-phase epitaxy

The manganese doping of In_1–xGa_xAs_yP_1-y(0 y 1) films grown by liquid-phase epitaxy has been investigated. A study has been made of the influence of the solid-solution composition and of the method of introducing the manganese into the solution melt on the electrical properties of the films, and also on the surface morphology, the optical absorption edge, and the mismatch of the film and substrate lattice constants. It is shown that the hole density in the films decreases with decreasing y. The reasons for this are the decrease in the distribution coefficient of the acceptor manganese (from 0.3 to 0.001), the increase in the degree of compensation of the acceptors with donors (from 0.2 to 0.9), and the increase in the acceptor ionization energy. The composition of the InGaAsP:Mn film and the morphology of its surface depend on the method of preparation of the melt, this being explained by the strong interaction of the manganese atoms with the other components of the liquid phase.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 26–34, January, 1992.We thank T. G. Druzhinin, Ya. I. Otman, and V. B. Yabzhanov for helping with the experiments.     

Structure of the products of the reaction of 9,10-dimethylacridinium salts with aromatic o-hydroxy aldehydes

The reaction of 9,10-dimethylacridinium methosulfate with aromatic o-hydroxy aldehydes in alcohol in the presence of piperidine gives 10-methyl-4-(10-methyl-9-acridanylidenemethyl)-spiro[acridan-9,2-chromans]. The structure of the compounds obtained was established by means of the PMR, UV, and IR spectra.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 539–544, April, 1973.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of tartrazine, patent blue V, and indigo carmine in commercial products by partial least squares and principal component regression methods

Two multivariate calibration methods, partial least squares (PLS-1) and principal component regression (PCR) were proposed and successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of three dyes, tartrazine (T) (E-102), patent blue V (P) (E-131), and indigo carmine (I) (E-132) in mixtures by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrophotometry. Calibration models were evaluated by internal validation (prediction of dyes concentration in its own designed training set of calibration), by cross-validation (obtaining statistical parameters that show the efficiency for a calibration fit model), and by external validation over 19 synthetic mixtures of the three dyes in different ratios containing 2.4-17.6 mg l(-1) of T, 1.6-5.6 mg l(-1) of P, and 3.2-17.5 mg/l(-1) of I, with recoveries between 93.5 and 103.1% and over three commercial products, in which the proposed calibration models were satisfactorily applied without separation step. Repeatability and reproducibility studies (with the Students's and F tests) were achieved over two series of nine standards for each dye, showing no significant differences at 95% confidence level.     

Anthill Earth as a Gold Occurrence Indicator,and Gold Determination by Solid Sampling Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

With the aim of avoiding cumbersome sample treatment, we present a device for the introduction of solid soil samples into AAS-flames for gold determination, as well as the proposition of earth from anthills as a gold occurrence indicator. A previous ground sample of anthill earth (0.50 mg) was weighed directly into a small recipient of polyethylene which was then connected to a sampling boronsilicate glass chamber. The sample was carried by an airflow (5 L min⁻¹) to a quartz cell positioned between the burner top and the optical beam. The generated atomic vapor produced a transient signal which was totally integrated in three seconds. The performance was compared with conventional flame atomic absorption spectrometry after proper sample digestion. No significant differences were observed between both procedures (mean deviation ±1.90%), and a LOQ of 0.03 μg Au was achieved using the proposed method. The anthill earth was found to be very suitable for indication of gold occurrence in soils and related materials.     

Pyrimidotetrathiafulvalenes. 3.* synthesis and properties of cation-radical salts,cation-radical betaines,and complexes of dimethyl[2,4-dioxo(1H,3H)pyrimido]tetrathiafulvalene and its N-alkyl substituted derivatives with iodine

The reaction of dimethyl[2,4-dioxo(1H,3H) pynmido]tetrathiafulvalene and its N-alkyl derivatives with iodine leads to the formation of complexes with various numbers of iodine atoms. Depending on the conditions, the betaine of the cation-radical of dimethyl[2, 4-dioxo(1 H, 3H)pyrimidojtetrathiafulvalene or a complex of the latter with dimethy1[2,4-dioxo(1H,3H)pyrimidoltetrathiafulvalene is formed by the oxidation of the pyrimidotetrathiafulvalene. The cation-radical perchlorates are formed on carrying out the oxidation of dimethyl[2,4-dioxo(1H,3H)pyrimidojtetrathiafulvalene and its N-methyl derivatives in the presence of perchloric acid. The preparation of the cation-radical salts is usually linked with the reaction of the cation-radical betaine with acids.For part 2 see [1].