Mechanistic study of a Pd/C-catalyzed reduction of aryl sulfonates using the Mg-MeOH-NH(4)OAc system

A method for the deoxygenation of phenolic hydroxy groups via aryl triflates or mesylates has been established by using a combination of Pd/C-Mg-MeOH. The addition of NH(4)OAc to the system markedly accelerated the reaction rate and expanded the scope of the reaction. Mechanistic studies suggested that a single-electron transfer process from the Pd(0) center to the benzene ring is involved in the reduction of aryl sulfonates and that NH(4)OAc works as a solubilization reagent of the Mg salt and as an accelerator of the electron transfer, thus enhancing the reaction process. Our method was also applicable to the regioselective deuteration of benzene derivatives with CH(3)OD as the solvent and deuterium source: the original hydroxy group could be efficiently replaced with a deuterium atom.     

Properties of phosphorothioate DNA analogs. An ab initio study of prototype model linkages derived from dimethyl-phosphate anion

Ab initio HF and MP2 calculations on prototype model linkages of phosphorothioate DNA backbones illuminate the effects of phosphorothioation on electronic and structural properties of DNA backbone. The replacement of a bridging oxygen atom by sulfur in the phosphodiester linkage is energetically favored over that of replacement of a non-bridging oxygen atom. In phosphorothioate derivatives containing the P(OS)_nb moiety, the non-bridging oxygen atom always bears a higher negative charge than the non-bridging sulfur. Additional calculations on protonated (neutral) adducts suggest that phosphorothioation of the phosphodiester linkage lowers its proton affinity. Moreover, protonation of the non-bridging oxygen atom at phosphorous is favored over the protonation of the non-bridging sulfur atom for linkages containing the P(OS)_nb moiety. The ab initio calculated structural parameters are compared to the available crystallographic data of small phosphorothioate molecules and phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides. These results have implications upon the biological activity of phosphorothioate DNA analogs.     

Synthesis and characterization of ordered polyurethanes from nonsymmetric diisocyanate and ethylene glycol

An ordered polyurethane with a head‐to‐head (H‐H) or tail‐to‐tail (T‐T) content over 95% was prepared by polyaddition reaction of a nonsymmetric monomer, p‐isocyanatobenzyl isocyanate (1) with a symmetric monomer, ethylene glycol (2). The model reactions were studied in detail to demonstrate the feasibility of polymer formation. The polymerization was conducted in THF in the presence of triethylamine (TEA) at 0 °C by slow addition of a half amount of 2 to 1, followed by removing THF and then adding the rest of 2 in DMF at once at 30 °C in the presence of dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTL). The microstructure of the polymer obtained was investigated by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and it was found that the polymer had the expected structural regularity. The constitutional regularity of polymers influenced their thermal properties. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2106–2114, 2000     

Reactions of polymerization-resistant 1,2-dithiolanes with lithiated oxygen heterocycles

Lithiated furans have been found to cleave the S–S bond of polymerization-resistant 1,2-dithiolanes to give the ring opened products in good yields. In the case of lithiated benzofuran, the excess reagent reacted with the normal product to give a mixture. Lithiated dihydrofuran and dihydropyran gave the corresponding ring-opened products that rearranged to spiro-1,3-dithianes during acidic workup. The reaction was applied to the selective synthesis of substrates for intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 9:281–287, 1998     

Rotational spectrum of the Ar–dimethyl sulfide complex

The rotational spectra of three isotopomers of the Ar–dimethyl sulfide (DMS) complex – normal, ³⁴S, and ¹³C species – were measured in the frequency region from 3.7 up to 24.1 GHz by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. The normal species yielded 43 a-type and 79 c-type transitions. No Ar tunneling splitting was observed, while many transitions were split by the internal rotation of the two methyl tops of the DMS unit. In cases where the K-type splitting was close to that due to methyl internal-rotation, several forbidden transitions were observed that followed b-type selection rules. All of the observed transition frequencies were analyzed simultaneously using a phenomenological Hamiltonian also used in previously published work describing the Ar–dimethyl ether (DME) and Ne–DME complexes. The rotational and centrifugal distortion constants and the potential barrier height to methyl-top internal rotation, V₃, were determined. The rotational constants were consistent with an Ar–DMS center of mass (cm) distance of 3.796 (3) Å and a S–cm–Ar angle of 104.8 (2)°. The V₃ potential barrier obtained, 736.17 (32) cm⁻¹, was 97.8% of the DMS monomer barrier. By assuming a Lennard–Jones-type potential, the dissociation energy was estimated to be 2.4 kJ mol⁻¹, which was close to the value for Ar–DME, 2.5 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Effect of the moisture content in aerosol on the spray performance of Stmerin D HFA preparations

Stmerin D, a pressurized metered dose inhaler (MDI) for treatment of asthma, contains CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) as a propellant. For the CFC replacement study, two formulations were prepared using hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA-134a and HFA-227) and the effect of storage on the spray performance was investigated under accelerated stress conditions. Drug stability, moisture content and spray performances such as the emitted dose uniformity and aerodynamic particle size distribution were evaluated. Drug content did not change after 3 months storage at 40 degrees C/75% RH. However, the emitted dose uniformity varied and the respirable fraction (RF) was reduced remarkably. While stored at 40 degrees C/ambient for 3 months, no change was observed in either drug content or spray performances. This study clarified that the moisture content in the canister played an important role on the spray performance, and it changed not only the emitted dose uniformity but also the particle size distribution. Consequently, in order to improve the stability of the spray performance of aerosol prepared with HFAs, moisture permeation into the canister must be controlled.     

Radical phosphination of organic halides and alkyl imidazole-1-carbothioates

Taking advantage of a radical-based methodology, mild and chemoselective phosphination reactions of organic halide and alkyl imidazole-1-carbothioates have been developed. The mild reaction conditions allow labile functional groups to survive during the reaction.     

Simultaneous quantitative determination of cyclosporine A and its three main metabolites (AM1, AM4N and AM9) in human blood by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry using a rapid sample processing method

We have developed a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of cyclosporine A (CsA) and its three main metabolites (AM1, AM4N and AM9) in human blood. Following protein precipitation, supernatant was directly injected into the LC/MS system. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a Symmetry C8 (4.6 x 75 mm, 3.5 microm) column with a linear gradient elution prior to detection by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) MS using selected ion monitoring (SIM) in positive mode. This method can be applied to single mass equipment. The analytical range for each analyte was set at 1-2500 ng/mL using 100 microL of blood sample. The analytical method was fully validated according to FDA guidance. Intra-day mean accuracy and precision were 95.2-113.5% and 0.9-8.9%, respectively. Inter-day mean accuracy and precision were 95.8-107.0% and 1.5-10.7%, respectively. In blood all analytes were stable during three freeze/thaw cycles, for 24 h at room temperature and for 12 months at or below -15 degrees C. Stability was also confirmed in processed samples for 24 h at 10 degrees C and for 6 months at 4 degrees C in methanol. In addition, we confirmed the method could avoid matrix effects from transplant subjects' samples. This LC/MS technique provided an excellent method for simultaneous quantitative determination of CsA and its three metabolites for evaluation of their pharmacokinetic profiles.     

Simultaneous genotyping of indels and SNPs by mass spectroscopy

Nucleotide insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels) in ApoE gene were precisely genotyped using artificial ribonucleases and MALDI-TOF MS. The RNA fragments for MS analysis were prepared by treating RNA specimens with our artificial ribonucleases, which consist of LuCl(3) (molecular scissors) and oligonucleotides bearing two acridine groups (RNA-activator for site-selective scission). RNA scission by Lu(III) ion always occurred at the phosphodiester linkages in front of the two acridines, even when the RNA specimens involved consecutive cytidine sequences of different lengths. Thus, even complicated mixtures of these indel specimens were completely genotyped by using only one acridine-bearing oligonucleotide and by subjecting the reaction mixture to single MS measurement. Moreover, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the consecutive sequences could be genotyped simultaneously with the indels.     

Novel plasma biomarker surrogating cerebral amyloid deposition

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common and devastating dementia. Simple and practical biomarkers for AD are urgently required for accurate diagnosis and to facilitate the development of disease-modifying interventions. The subjects for the study were selected on the basis of PiB amyloid imaging by PET. Forty PiB-positive (PiB+) individuals, including cognitively healthy controls (HC), and mild cognitive impairment and AD individuals, and 22 PiB-negative (PiB−) HC participated. Employing our novel highly sensitive immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry, we measured plasma amyloid β-proteins (Aβs; Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42) and Aβ-approximate peptides (AβAPs), which were cleaved from amyloid precursor protein (APP). Among the AβAPs, APP669-711 appeared to be a good reference for deciphering pathological change of Aβ1-42. We evaluated the performance of the ratio of APP669-711 to Aβ1-42 (APP669-711/Aβ1-42) as a biomarker. APP669-711/Aβ1-42 significantly increased in the PiB+ groups. The sensitivity and specificity to discriminate PiB+ individuals from PiB− individuals were 0.925 and 0.955, respectively. Our plasma biomarker precisely surrogates cerebral amyloid deposition.