Full Dissolution of the Whole Lithium Sulfide Family (Li2S8 to Li2S) in a Safe Eutectic Solvent for Rechargeable Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

The lithium–sulfur battery is an attractive option for next‐generation energy storage owing to its much higher theoretical energy density than state‐of‐the‐art lithium‐ion batteries. However, the massive volume changes of the sulfur cathode and the uncontrollable deposition of Li₂S₂/Li₂S significantly deteriorate cycling life and increase voltage polarization. To address these challenges, we develop an ?‐caprolactam/acetamide based eutectic‐solvent electrolyte, which can dissolve all lithium polysulfides and lithium sulfide (Li₂S₈–Li₂S). With this new electrolyte, high specific capacity (1360 mAh g^?1) and reasonable cycling stability are achieved. Moreover, in contrast to conventional ether electrolyte with a low flash point (ca. 2 °C), such low‐cost eutectic‐solvent‐based electrolyte is difficult to ignite, and thus can dramatically enhance battery safety. This research provides a new approach to improving lithium–sulfur batteries in aspects of both safety and performance.     

Globular Polymer Grafts Require a Critical Size for Efficient Molecular Sieving of Enzyme Substrates

A series of 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid dendrons of generation 2 through 8 having a strained cyclooctyne at the core and hydroxy groups at the periphery were prepared by a divergent method and used to functionalize azide‐decorated α‐chymotrypsin. The ability of the appended dendrons to selectively block enzyme activity (through a molecular sieving effect) was investigated using a small molecule substrate (benzoyl‐l ‐tyrosine p‐nitroanilide), as well as two proteins of different size (casein and bovine serum albumin). Additionally, the ability of dendrons to block complexation with a chymotrypsin antagonist, α‐antichymotrypsin, was investigated, and it was found that the dendron coating effectively prevented inhibition by this antagonist. We found that a critical generation is required to achieve efficient sieving with bis‐MPA dendrons, which illustrates the importance of macromolecular architecture and size in the shielding of proteins.     

Effect of the his residue on the cyclization of b ions

The MSⁿ spectra of the [M + H]⁺ and b ₅ peaks derived from the peptides HAAAAA, AHAAAA, AAHAAA, AAAHAA, and AAAAHA have been measured, as have the spectra of the b ₄ ions derived from the first four peptides. The MS² spectra of the [M + H]⁺ ions show a substantial series of b_n ions with enhanced cleavage at the amide bond C-terminal to His and substantial cleavage at the amide bond N-terminal to His (when there are at least two residues N-terminal to the His residue). There is compelling experimental and theoretical evidence for formation of nondirect sequence ions via cyclization/reopening chemistry in the CID spectra of the b tons when the His residue is near the C-terminus. The experimental evidence is less clear for ions when the His residue is near the N-terminus, although this may be due to the use of multiple alanine residues in the peptide making identifying scrambled peaks more difficult. The product ion mass spectra of the b ₄ and b ₅ ions from these isomeric peptides with cyclically permuted amino acid sequences are similar, but also show clear differences. This indicates less active cyclization/reopening followed by fragmentation of common structures for b _n ions containing His than for sequences of solely aliphatic residues. Despite more energetically favorable cyclization barriers for the b ₅ structures, the b ₄ ions experimental data show more clear evidence of cyclization and sequence scrambling before fragmentation. For both b ₄ and b ₅ the energetically most favored structure is a macrocyclic isomer protonated at the His side chain.     

High-throughput purification of combinatorial libraries I: a high-throughput purification system using an accelerated retention window approach

We have developed a high-throughput purification system to purify combinatorial libraries at a 50-100-mg scale with a throughput of 250 samples/instrument/day. We applied an accelerated retention window method to shorten the purification time and targeted one fraction per injection to simplify data tracking, lower QC workload, and simplify the postpurification processing. First, we determined the accurate retention time and peak height for all compounds using an eight-channel parallel LC/UV/MS system, and calculated the specific preparative HPLC conditions for individual compounds. The preparative HPLC conditions include the compound-specific gradient segment for individual compounds with a fixed gradient slope and the compound-specific UV or ELSD threshold for triggering a fraction collection device. A unique solvent composition or solvent strength was programmed for each compound in the preparative HPLC in order to elute all compounds at the same target time. Considering the possible deviation of the predicted retention time, a 1-min window around the target time was set to collect peaks above a threshold based on UV or ELSD detection. Dual column preparative instruments were used to maximize throughput. We have purified more than 500 000 druglike compounds using this system in the past 3 years. We report various components of this high-throughput purification system and some of our purification results.     

Orthogonal separations of nicotine and nicotine-related alkaloids by various capillary electrophoretic modes

The migration behaviour of nicotine and related tobacco alkaloids was investigated using three different capillary electrophoretic (CE) modes. Novel separations were achieved both using microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) and nonaqueous CE (NACE). Improved resolution compared to previous studies was obtained using free-solution CE (FSCE). Each technique resulted in different, orthogonal separation selectivity. The suitability of each method for application to the analysis of nicotine lozenges is discussed. The FSCE method was applied to the analysis of nicotine lozenges due to its compatibility with an established lozenge extraction solvent. The method used gave good injection precision and linearity. Good agreement of CE and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results was obtained. The CE method is therefore considered suitable for the quantitative determination of nicotine in nicotine lozenges.     

Improved separation of palladium species in biological matrices by using a combination of gel permeation chromatography and isotachophoresis

The binding of palladium to high-molecular-mass compounds in palladium-treated lettuce is investigated as an example for a biological matrix. The total palladium concentration in lettuce leaves is 10.3 ng/g wet weight. After homogenization, high-molecular-mass compounds (> 10 kDa) are isolated by ultrafiltration. For separation of these palladium species a combination of preparative gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and preparative isotachophoresis (ITP) is used. Palladium is determined in separated fractions by using a highly sensitive total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method after preconcentration. After GPC separation, four main fractions of palladium species are collected, each containing palladium in ng quantities (3-10 ng). Two of these fractions are further separated by ITP, yielding at least three main peaks per GPC fraction, each containing palladium in the range of 0.3-3 ng. These palladium containing peaks are characterized by high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and capillary isotachophoresis (cITP) in parallel. HPSEC enables the estimation of the molecular mass of six main palladium peaks, covering a molecular mass range of 69-200 kDa. It is also shown that the estimation of molecular mass after separation is more reliable than the respective estimation directly in the first GPC run. However, cITP reveals that each of the separated peaks is still a mixture of at least five different compounds.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of the spontaneous formation of a small DPPC vesicle in water in atomistic detail

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study the spontaneous aggregation of a concentrated solution of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) molecules in water into a small vesicle. The molecules were represented in atomistic detail. Starting from a DPPC solution in water, an oblong vesicle with a long axis of 15 nm and short axes of 10 nm was formed spontaneously. After 90 ns of simulation, the vesicle contained a number of water pores. Water pores were shown to facilitate exchange of lipids between inner and outer leaflets. Lipid tails were shown to be less ordered in the inner leaflet of the vesicle, as compared to those in the outer leaflet of the vesicle and an equilibrated lamellar bilayer.     

A two-directional synthesis of (+/-)-perhydrohistrionicotoxin

An entirely two-directional synthesis of (+/-)-perhydrohistrionicotoxin is presented, utilizing a tandem oxime formation/Michael addition/[3 + 2] cycloaddition as the key step. This approach also constitutes formal syntheses of (+/-)-histrionicotoxin and (+/-)-histrionicotoxin 235A.