Characterization of volatile metabolites formed by molds on barley by mass and ion mobility spectrometry

The contamination of barley by molds on the field or in storage leads to the spoilage of grain and the production of mycotoxins, which causes major economic losses in malting facilities and breweries. Therefore, on‐site detection of hidden fungus contaminations in grain storages based on the detection of volatile marker compounds is of high interest. In this work, the volatile metabolites of 10 different fungus species are identified by gas chromatography (GC) combined with two complementary mass spectrometric methods, namely, electron impact (EI) and chemical ionization at atmospheric pressure (APCI)‐mass spectrometry (MS). The APCI source utilizes soft X‐radiation, which enables the selective protonation of the volatile metabolites largely without side reactions. Nearly 80 volatile or semivolatile compounds from different substance classes, namely, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, substituted aromatic compounds, alkenes, terpenes, oxidized terpenes, sesquiterpenes, and oxidized sesquiterpenes, could be identified. The profiles of volatile and semivolatile metabolites of the different fungus species are characteristic of them and allow their safe differentiation. The application of the same GC parameters and APCI source allows a simple method transfer from MS to ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), which permits on‐site analyses of grain stores. Characterization of IMS yields limits of detection very similar to those of APCI‐MS. Accordingly, more than 90% of the volatile metabolites found by APCI‐MS were also detected in IMS. In addition to different fungus genera, different species of one fungus genus could also be differentiated by GC‐IMS.     

A Silica Bilayer Supported on Ru(0001): Following the Crystalline‐to Vitreous Transformation in Real Time with Spectro‐microscopy

The crystalline‐to‐vitreous phase transformation of a SiO₂ bilayer supported on Ru(0001) was studied by time‐dependent LEED, local XPS, and DFT calculations. The silica bilayer system has parallels to 3D silica glass and can be used to understand the mechanism of the disorder transition. DFT simulations show that the formation of a Stone–Wales‐type of defect follows a complex mechanism, where the two layers show decoupled behavior in terms of chemical bond rearrangements. The calculated activation energy of the rate‐determining step for the formation of a Stone—Wales‐type of defect (4.3 eV) agrees with the experimental value. Charge transfer between SiO₂ bilayer and Ru(0001) support lowers the activation energy for breaking the Si?O bond compared to the unsupported film. Pre‐exponential factors obtained in UHV and in O₂ atmospheres differ significantly, suggesting that the interfacial ORu underneath the SiO₂ bilayer plays a role on how the disordering propagates within the film.     

Chemical constituents,Antibacterial and Acetylcholine esterase inhibitory activity of Cupressus macrocarpa leaves

Abstract

The chemical constituents of Cupressus macrocarpa were investigated. A new neolignan glycoside (1) in addition to nine known compounds were isolated. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity and antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of different fractions and isolates of C. macrocarpa were evaluated. The light petroleum fraction showed the highest activity in both assays with IC₅₀ value of 88.79 µg/ml and 152.58 µg/ml for the AChE inhibitory activity and MRSA antibacterial activities, respectively. Weak to moderate activity were detected for the isolated compounds.     

Investigation of neuroleptics and other aromatic compounds by laser-based ion mobility mass spectrometry

Laser-based ion mobility (IM) spectrometry was used for the detection of neuroleptics and PAH. A gas chromatograph was connected to the IM spectrometer in order to investigate compounds with low vapour pressure. The substances were ionized by resonant two-photon ionization at the wavelengths λ?=?213 and 266 nm and pulse energies between 50 and 300 μJ. Ion mobilities, linear ranges, limits of detection and response factors are reported. Limits of detection for the substances are in the range of 1–50 fmol. Additionally, the mechanism of laser ionization at atmospheric pressure was investigated. First, the primary product ions were determined by a laser-based time-of-flight mass spectrometer with effusive sample introduction. Then, a combination of a laser-based IM spectrometer and an ion trap mass spectrometer was developed and characterized to elucidate secondary ion–molecule reactions that can occur at atmospheric pressure. Some substances, namely naphthalene, anthracene, promazine and thioridazine, could be detected as primary ions (radical cations), while other substances, in particular acridine, phenothiazine and chlorprothixene, are detected as secondary ions (protonated molecules). The results are interpreted on the basis of quantum chemical calculations, and an ionization mechanism is proposed.     

Effect of solvent and structure on the kinetics and mechanism of the aquation of bromopentaamine cobalt(III) complex in binary aqueous mixtures

The kinetics of aquation of bromopentaamine cobalt(III) complex have been investigated spectrophotometrically in aqueous‐organic solvent media using acetonitrile, urea, and dimethyl sulfoxide as co‐solvents at 45 ≤ T (°C) ≤ 65. The logarithms of rate constant of the aquation reaction vary nonlinearly with the reciprocal of the dielectric constant for all cosolvent mixtures, indicating a specific solute–solvent interaction. Also, the rate constants are correlated with the total number of moles of water and the organic solvents. However, the solvent effects on the solvation components of the enthalpy of activation, ΔH^?, and the entropy of activation, ΔS^?, have been studied. Analysis of the solvent effect confirmed a common I_d mechanism for the aquation of the cobalt(III) complex. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36:494–499, 2004     

Bioassay-guided fractionation of a hepatoprotective and antioxidant extract of pea by-product

The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of the hydroalcoholic extract (PE) of pea (Pisum sativum L.) by-product were evaluated, using CCl4-induced oxidative stress and hepatic damage in rats. These activities were assessed via measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein and albumin, malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), protein thiols (PSH), nitrite/nitrate levels, glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities, as well as, histopathological evaluation. PE revealed significant hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities mostly found in n-butanol fraction. Chromatographic fractionation of this active fraction led to the isolation of five flavonoid glycosides namely, quercetin-3-O-sophorotrioside (1), quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (2), quercetin-3-O-(6″″-O-E sinapoyl)-sophorotrioside (3), quercetin-3-O-(6″″-O-E feruloyl)-sophorotrioside (4) and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5). The isolated compounds were quantified in PE, using a validated HPLC method and the nutritional composition of pea by-product was also investigated. Our results suggest that pea by-product contained biologically active constituents which can be utilised to obtain high value added products for nutraceutical use.     

Formylation of O-Silylated Enolates by Vilsmeier's Reagent

Reaction of trimethylsilylenol ethers and Vilsmeier's reagent leads to the corresponding regiocontrolled β-dicarbonyl compounds with high to good yields.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of New Tetrazoles Incorporating Isoindole‐1,3‐dione Moiety and Their Sugar Derivatives

New tetrazole derivatives linked to isoindole‐1,3‐dione were prepared starting from the corresponding nitrile derivatives. The substituted hydrazides, their corresponding sugar hydrazones, and the derived acyclic C‐nucleoside analogs were also synthesized. The antimicrobial results indicated that most of the tested compounds exhibited moderate to high activity, whereas few compounds were found to exhibit little or no activity against the tested microorganisms.