Development of high-performance liquid chromatographic fingerprints for distinguishing Chinese Angelica from related umbelliferae herbs

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) fingerprint of Chinese Angelica (CA) was developed basing on the consistent chromatograms of 40 CA samples (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels). The unique properties of this HPLC fingerprints were validated by analyzing 13 related herbs including 4 Japanese Angelicae Root samples (JA, A. acutiloba Kitagawa and A. acutiloba Kitagawa var. sugiyame Hikino), 6 Szechwan Lovage Rhizome samples (SL, Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.) and 3 Cnidium Rhizome samples (CR, Cnidium officinale Makino). Both correlation coefficients of similarity in chromatograms and relative peak areas of characteristic compounds were calculated for quantitative expression of the HPLC fingerprints. The amount of senkyunolide A in CA was less than 30-fold of that in SL and CR samples, which was used as a chemical marker to distinguish them. JA was easily distinguished from CA, SL and CR based on either chromatographic patterns or the amount of coniferyl ferulate. No obvious difference between SL and CR chromatograms except the relative amount of some compounds, suggesting that SL and CR might have very close relationship in terms of chemotaxonomy. Ferulic acid and Z-ligustilide were unequivocally determined whilst senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, coniferyl ferulate, senkyunolide A, butylphthalide, E-ligustilide, E-butylidenephthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide and levistolide A were tentatively identified in chromatograms based on their atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) MS data and the comparison of their UV spectra with those published in literatures.     

A Novel Singlet Oxygen Reaction

Abstract— 1-Aryl-2-methyl-4,5-dihydropyrrol-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (a cyclic enamine) was observed to dehydrogenate to give 1-aryl-2-methyl-pyrrol-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester upon irradiation in the presence of oxygen and in the presence or absence of meso -tetraphenylporphine (TPP). N -Aryl cyclic amines were shown to be singlet oxygen sensitizers.     

ABNORMAL EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN SEA URCHIN FOLLOWING ILLUMINATION OF GAMETES WITH VISIBLE LIGHT FROM A PHOTOTHERAPY UNIT

Abstract— The unfertilized oocytes and spermatozoa of the American sea urchin ( Arbacia punctulata ) were exposed to phototherapy lights in order to determine the effect of this treatment regimen on post-irradiation fertilization and embryonic development. Light treatment revealed dose-dependent abnormalities in fertilization and subsequent embryonic development.     

The arrangement of first- and second-shell water molecules in trivalent aluminum complexes: results from density functional theory and structural crystallography

The structural and energetic features of a variety of gas-phase aluminum ion hydrates containing up to 18 water molecules have been studied computationally using density functional theory. Comparisons are made with experimental data from neutron diffraction studies of aluminum-containing crystal structures listed in the Cambridge Structural Database. Computational studies indicate that the hexahydrated structure Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) (with symmetry T(h)()), in which all six water molecules are located in the innermost coordination shell, is lower in energy than that of Al[H(2)O](5)(3+).[H(2)O], where only five water molecules are in the inner shell and one water molecule is in the second shell. The analogous complex with four water molecules in the inner shell and two in the outer shell undergoes spontaneous proton transfer during the optimization to give [Al[H(2)O](2)[OH](2)](+).[H(3)O(+)](2), which is lower in energy than Al[H(2)O](6)(3+); this finding of H(3)O(+) is consistent with the acidity of concentrated Al(3+) solutions. Since, however, Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) is detected in solutions of Al(3+), additional water molecules are presumed to stabilize the hexa-aquo Al(3+) cation. Three models of a trivalent aluminum ion complex surrounded by a total of 18 water molecules arranged in a first shell containing 6 water molecules and a second shell of 12 water molecules are discussed. We find that a model with S(6) symmetry for which the Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) unit remains essentially octahedral and participates in an integrated hydrogen bonded network with the 12 outer-shell water molecules is lowest in energy. Interactions between the 12 second-shell water molecules and the trivalent aluminum ion in Al[H(2)O](6)(3+) do not appear to be sufficiently strong to orient the dipole moments of these second-shell water molecules toward the Al(3+) ion.     

Variable coordination geometries at the diiron(II) active site of ribonucleotide reductase R2

The R2 subunit of Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase contains a dinuclear iron center that generates a catalytically essential stable tyrosyl radical by one electron oxidation of a nearby tyrosine residue. After acquisition of Fe(II) ions by the apo protein, the resulting diiron(II) center reacts with O(2) to initiate formation of the radical. Knowledge of the structure of the reactant diiron(II) form of R2 is a prerequisite for a detailed understanding of the O(2) activation mechanism. Whereas kinetic and spectroscopic studies of the reaction have generally been conducted at pH 7.6 with reactant produced by the addition of Fe(II) ions to the apo protein, the available crystal structures of diferrous R2 have been obtained by chemical or photoreduction of the oxidized diiron(III) protein at pH 5-6. To address this discrepancy, we have generated the diiron(II) states of wildtype R2 (R2-wt), R2-D84E, and R2-D84E/W48F by infusion of Fe(II) ions into crystals of the apo proteins at neutral pH. The structures of diferrous R2-wt and R2-D48E determined from these crystals reveal diiron(II) centers with active site geometries that differ significantly from those observed in either chemically or photoreduced crystals. Structures of R2-wt and R2-D48E/W48F determined at both neutral and low pH are very similar, suggesting that the differences are not due solely to pH effects. The structures of these "ferrous soaked" forms are more consistent with circular dichroism (CD) and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopic data and provide alternate starting points for consideration of possible O(2) activation mechanisms.     

New Quaternary Chalcogenides BaLnMQ3 (Ln = Rare Earth or Sc; M = Cu, Ag; Q= S, Se): II. Structure and Property Variation vs Rare-Earth Element

Some new quaternary compounds of the type BaLnMQ₃ (Ln = rare earth or Sc; M = Cu, Ag; Q = S, Se) have been synthesized by the reaction of the constituent binary chalcogenides and elements at 1000°C. The crystal structures of two of these compounds have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques and are isostructural. Crystal data: BaErCuS₃—space group D¹⁷_2h —Cmcm, M= 464.32, Z = 4 , a = 3.987(1), b = 13.377(3), c = 10.101(2) Å (T = 115 K), V = 538.7(4) ų, R_w (F²) = 0.095 for 848 observations and 24 variables, R(F) = 0.037 for 840 observations having F²₀ > 2σ (F²₀); BaYAgSe—space group D¹⁷_2h —Cmcm, M = 571.0, Z = 4, a = 4.239(1), b = 14.030(2), c = 10.636(2) Å (T = 115 K), V = 632.6(2) ų, R_w (F²) = 0.057 for 645 observations and 24 variables, R(F) = 0.023 for 595 observations having F²₀ > 2σ(F²₀). These two compounds adopt the layered KZrCuS₃ structure type. The layers, which are separated by Ba²⁺ ions, consist of edge-sharing octahedral chains and corner-sharing tetrahedral chains. The other compounds synthesized crystallize either with this same structure or with that of β-BaLaCuSe₃, a slightly distorted variation, which is isostructural with Eu₂CuS₃. The diffuse reflective UV-visible spectra of several of these compounds have been measured. From magnetic susceptibility measurements, both BaNdCuS₃ and BaGdCuS₃ show Curie-Weiss behavior, whereas BaCeCuS₃ and BaCeCuSe₃ show in addition temperature-independent paramagnetism.     

Syntheses, Structures, and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Two Crown-like Heteroselenometallic Compounds [Et4N]4[(μ5-WSe4)(CuX)5(μ-X)2] (X = Cl, Br)

Two isostructural crown-like heteroselenometallic cluster compounds, [Et₄N]₄[(μ₅-WSe₄)(CuX)₅(μ-X)₂] (X = Cl 1, Br 2), were prepared from the reactions of [Et₄N]₂[WSe₄] with CuX and [Et₄N]X· xH₂O in the presence of 2-picoline and characterized by single-crystal diffraction analysis. The [(μ₅-WSe₄)(Cu-X)₅(μ-X)₂]⁴⁻ anions in the cluster compounds consists of five CuX fragments coordinated to the five edges of the tetrahedral [WSe₄]²⁻ moiety along with two bridging halides connected to each of the two pairs of the symmetric copper atoms, exhibiting a novel crown-like core structure. The nonlinear optical absorption and refraction of cluster compound 2 were determined to be α₂ = 6.15 × 10⁻¹⁰ m/W and n ₂ = 4.18 × 10⁻¹¹ esu, respectively.     

Stereochemical investigations of a novel class of chiral phosphapalladacycle complexes derived from 1-[(2,5-dimethyl)phenyl]ethyldiphenylphosphine

The phosphapalladacycle derived from 1-(2',5'-dimethylphenyl)ethyldiphenylphosphine has been prepared in the optically active and racemic forms. The phosphine was synthesized as a racemate by the treatment of 1-chloro-1-(2',5'-dimethylphenyl)ethane with sodium diphenylphosphide in THF. The racemic phosphapalladacycle was subsequently obtained as the chloro-bridged dimer by the treatment of the phosphine with palladium(II) acetate followed by anion metathesis with lithium chloride. Alternatively, the phosphine could be optically resolved via metal complexation using (R,R)-bis(mu-chloro)bis{1-[1-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl]naphthyl-C(2),N}dipalladium(II) as the resolving agent. An efficient separation of the resulting diastereomeric complexes was achieved by silica gel chromatography. The obtained optically resolved diastereomers were next subject to chemoselective removal of the (R)-N,N-(dimethylamino)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylaminate auxiliary by treatment with concentrated hydrochloric acid. This process yielded the binuclear dimer complexes containing the resolved eta(1)-P ligand. Cyclopalladation of the coordinated phosphine could next be performed by treatment of its eta(1)-P binuclear dimer with silver(I) hexafluorophosphate(V) in a dichloromethane/water mixture followed by treatment with lithium chloride, giving rise to a pair of optically pure enantiomeric dimers with [alpha](D) -322 and +319 degrees in CH(2)Cl(2). Despite the possibilities of the phosphine to attain a five- membered structure by ortho-palladation or a six-membered ring formation by aliphatic C-H bond activation, only the former was observed. X-ray crystallographic data of the meso dimer and an acetylacetonate derivative indicated that the phosphapalladacycle alpha-C methyl substituent was axially located. The 2-D (1)H-(1)H ROESY spectrum of the acetylacetonate derivative further revealed that the phosphapalladacycle was conformationally rigid in CDCl(3).     

Linked porphyrin systems

Porphyrin monomers, 5-(monopyridyl)-10,15,20-(triphenyl)porphyrin ( 1 ), 5,10-(dipyridyl)-15,20-(diphenyl)-porphyrin ( 2 ), and 5,15-(dipyridyl)-10,20-{diphenyl)porphyrin ( 3 ), were linked by hydrocarbon chains to form a series of dimers, trimers and polymers. The 5-(monopyridyl)-10,15,20-(triphenyl)porphyrin monomers were linked by 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 carbon chains through the alkylation of the pyridine nitrogens using the appropriate diiodoalkane to form positively charged linked dimers 4–8 . A trimer 12 was synthesized from two 5-(monopyridyl)-10,15,20-(triphenyl)porphyrin and one 5,10-(dipyridyl)-15,20-(diphenyl)porphyrin linked by a six carbon chain. Hydrocarbon linked (5,10-(dipyridyl)-15,20-(diphenyl)porphyrin)_n ( 13 ) and (5,15-(dipyridyl)-10,20-(diphenyl)porphyrin)_n ( 14 ) were also prepared.