Haloacetylated enol ethers. 5 [5]. Heterocyclic ring closure reactions of β-alkoxyvinyl dichloromethyl ketones with hydroxylamine

The β-alkoxyvinyl dichloromethyl ketones 1a-d are cyclocondensed with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in pyridine to afford the 5-hydroxy-5-dichloromethyl-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles 2a-d in good yield. The cyclo-condensation of compound 1c gave, together with 2c , 3-cyano-2-hydroxy-2-dichloromethyltetrahydrofuran 5c. The dehydratation of compounds 2a,b , derived from acyclic enol ethers, with concentrated sulfuric acid at 30°, led the corresponding 5-dichloromethylisoxazoles 3a,b. The dehydratation of compounds 2c,d , derived from cyclic enol ethers, with concentrated sulfuric acid at 30°, led the bicyclic 4,5-dihydroisoxazoles 4c,d , and at 55°, a competitive rearrangement reaction gives the 3-cyano-2-hydroxy-2-dichloromethyl-2H-pyran 5d.     

New thermal diffusion coefficient measurements for hydrocarbon binary mixtures: viscosity and composition dependency

New thermal diffusion coefficients of binary mixtures are measured for n-decane-n-alkanes and 1-methylnaphthalene-n-alkanes with 25 and 75 wt % at 25 degrees C and 1 atm using the thermogravitational column technique. The alkanes range from n-pentane to n-eicosane. The new results confirm the recently observed nonmonotonic behavior of thermal diffusion coefficients with molecular weight for binary mixtures of n-decane- n-alkanes at the compositions studied. In this work, the mobility and disparity effects on thermal diffusion coefficients are quantified for binary mixtures. We also show for the binary mixtures studied that the thermal diffusion coefficients and mixture viscosity, both nonequilibrium properties, are closely related.     

Cantilever Functionalization Using Peroxidase Extract of Low Cost for Glyphosate Detection

A highly efficient process for reducing the fatty acid (FA) content of high-acid rice bran oil (RBO) was developed by immobilized partial glycerides-selective lipase SMG1-F278N-catalyzed esterification/transesterification using methanol as a novel acyl acceptor. Molecular docking simulation indicated that methanol was much closer to the catalytic serine (Ser-171) compared with ethanol and glycerol, which might be one of the reasons for its high efficiency in the deacidification of high-acid RBO. Additionally, the reaction parameters were optimized to minimize the FA content of high-acid RBO. Under the optimal conditions (substrate molar ratio of methanol to FAs of 1.8:1, enzyme loading of 40 U/g, and at 30 °C), FA content decreased from 25.14 to 0.03% after 6 h of reaction. Immobilized SMG1-F278N exhibited excellent methanol tolerance and retained almost 100% of its initial activity after being used for ten batches. After purification by molecular distillation, the final product contained 97.86% triacylglycerol, 2.10% diacylglycerol, and 0.04% FA. The acid value of the final product was 0.09 mg KOH/g, which reached the grade one standard of edible oil. Overall, methanol was a superior acyl acceptor for the deacidification of high-acid RBO and the high reusability of immobilized SMG1-F278N indicates an economically attractive process.     

Single validation of CE method for determining free polysaccharide content in a Brazilian meningococcal C conjugate vaccine

Neisseria meningitidis group C is an encapsulated bacterium that causes several diseases and is associated with high mortality rates, thereby constituting a serious public health problem. Bio‐Manguinhos/Fiocruz is developing a conjugate vaccine by covalent attachment of capsular polysaccharide to hydrazide‐activated tetanus toxoid through reductive amination. It is necessary to quantify free components as a quality control process to prevent exacerbated adverse reactions and/or attenuation of vaccine immunogenicity. Thus, this study aimed to develop and validate a quality control method appropriate for the separation and quantification of free polysaccharide present in this conjugate N. meningitidis group C vaccine using CE. CZE was used to remove unbound polysaccharide, and the electrophoretic conditions were varied to optimize resolution. We were able to develop and validate the proposed method, which was linear and showed a matrix effect. Repeatability and partial reproducibility of the method were also evaluated. The robustness results showed that control of temperature is required for reliable results. The validated method will be used to evaluate the conjugate batches submitted for Phase III clinical studies and for routine quality control of the conjugate vaccine.     

Quantum mechanical studies on model α‐pleated sheets

Pauling and Corey proposed a pleated‐sheet configuration, now called α‐sheet, as one of the protein secondary structures in addition to α‐helix and β‐sheet. Recently, it has been suggested that α‐sheet is a common feature of amyloidogenic intermediates. We have investigated the stability of antiparallel β‐sheet and two conformations of α‐sheet in solution phase using the density functional theoretical method. The peptides are modeled as two‐strand acetyl‐(Ala)₂‐N‐methylamine. Using stages of geometry optimization and single point energy calculation at B3LYP/cc‐pVTZ//B3LYP/6‐31G* level and including zero‐point energies, thermal, and entropic contribution, we have found that β‐sheet is the most stable conformation, while the α‐sheet proposed by Pauling and Corey has 13.6 kcal/mol higher free energy than the β‐sheet. The α‐sheet that resembles the structure observed in molecular dynamics simulations of amyloidogenic proteins at low pH becomes distorted after stages of geometry optimization in solution. Whether the α‐sheets with longer chains would be increasingly favorable in water relative to the increase in internal energy of the chain needs further investigation. Different from the quantum mechanics results, AMBER parm94 force field gives small difference in solution phase energy between α‐sheet and β‐sheet. The predicted amide I IR spectra of α‐sheet shows the main band at higher frequency than β‐sheet. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Immunocytochemical Analysis of P2X2 in Rat Circumvallate Taste Buds

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Our laboratory has shown that classical synapses and synaptic proteins are associated with Type III cells. Yet it is generally accepted that Type II cells transduce bitter, sweet and umami stimuli. No classical synapses, however, have been found associated with Type II cells. Recent studies indicate that ionotropic purinergic receptors P2X2/P2X3 are present in rodent taste buds. Taste nerve processes express the ionotropic purinergic receptors (P2X2/P2X3). P2X2/P2X3Dbl/ mice are not responsive to sweet, umami and bitter stimuli, and it has been proposed that ATP acts as a neurotransmitter in taste buds. The goal of the present study is to learn more about the nature of purinergic contacts in rat circumvallate taste buds by examining immunoreactivity to antisera directed against the purinergic receptor P2X2. RESULTS: P2X2-like immunoreactivity is present in intragemmal nerve processes in rat circumvallate taste buds. Intense immunoreactivity can also be seen in the subgemmal nerve plexuses located below the basal lamina. The P2X2 immunoreactive nerve processes also display syntaxin-1-LIR. The immunoreactive nerves are in close contact with the IP3R3-LIR Type II cells and syntaxin-1-LIR and/or 5-HT-LIR Type III cells. Taste cell synapses are observed only from Type III taste cells onto P2X2-LIR nerve processes. Unusually large, "atypical" mitochondria in the Type II taste cells are found only at the close appositions with P2X2-LIR nerve processes. P2X2 immunogold particles are concentrated at the membranes of nerve processes at the close appositions with taste cells. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our fluorescence and immunoelectron microscopical studies we believe that both perigemmal and most all intragemmal nerve processes display P2X2-LIR. Moreover, colloidal gold immunoelectron microscopy indicates that P2X2-LIR in nerve processes is concentrated at sites of close apposition with Type II cells. This supports the hypothesis that ATP may be a key neurotransmitter in taste transduction and that Type II cells release ATP, activating P2X2 receptors in nerve processes.     

Spin transitions in a dithiazolyl radical: preparation, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of 3-cyanobenzo-1,3,2-dithiazolyl, C7H3S2N2

The incorporation of the electronegative cyano group into the structure of the title dithiazolyl radical 1 induces a lamellar packing motif that favors spin-transition behavior. Variable-temperature magnetic studies on 1 reveal a reversible phase transition at 250 K between a diamagnetic low-temperature phase and a paramagnetic high-temperature phase. X-ray crystal structures at 180(2) and 300(2) K reveal that both phases crystallize in the space group P2(1)/c, with the phase transition associated with a doubling of the crystallographic a axis. The concomitant change in magnetic properties is associated with a change from a paramagnetic regular pi stack of radicals and a diamagnetic distorted pi stack in which an energy gap opens up at the Fermi level corresponding to a Peierls-like transition.