Oxyma: An Efficient Additive for Peptide Synthesis to Replace the Benzotriazole‐Based HOBt and HOAt with a Lower Risk of Explosion[1]

Oxyma [ethyl 2‐cyano‐2‐(hydroxyimino)acetate] has been tested as an additive for use in the carbodiimide approach for formation of peptide bonds. Its performance in relation to those of HOBt and HOAt, which have recently been reported to exhibit explosive properties, is reported. Oxyma displayed a remarkable capacity to inhibit racemization, together with impressive coupling efficiency in both automated and manual synthesis, superior to those of HOBt and at least comparable to those of HOAt, and surpassing the latter coupling agent in the more demanding peptide models. Stability assays showed that there was no risk of capping the resin under standard coupling conditions. Finally, calorimetry assays (DSC and ARC) showed decomposition profiles for benzotriazole‐based additives that were consistent with their reported explosivities and suggested a lower risk of explosion in the case of Oxyma.     

Method development and validation for rat serum fingerprinting with CE–MS: application to ventilator-induced-lung-injury study

In the search for a noninvasive and reliable rapid screening method to detect biomarkers, a metabolomics fingerprinting approach was developed and applied to rat serum samples using capillary electrophoresis coupled to an electrospray ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometer (CE–TOF-MS). An ultrafiltration method was used for sample pretreatment. To evaluate performance the method was validated with carnitine, choline, ornithine, alanine, acetylcarnitine, betaine, and citrulline, covering the entire electropherogram of pool of rat serum. The linearity for all metabolites was >0.99, with good recovery and precision. Approximately 34 compounds were also confirmed in the pool of rat serum. The method was successfully applied to real serum samples from rats with ventilator-induced lung injury, an experimental rat model for acute lung injury (ALI), giving a total of 1163 molecular features. By use of univariate and multivariate statistics 18 significant compounds were found, of which five were confirmed. The involvement of arginase and nitric oxide synthase has been proved for other lung diseases, meaning the increase of asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) and ornithine and the decrease of arginine found were in accordance with published literature. Ultimately this fingerprinting approach offers the possibility of identifying biomarkers that could be regularly screened for as part of routine disease control. In this way it might be possible to prevent the development of ALI in patients in critical care units.

A mechanistic study of photodecomposition of acenaphthylene on a dry silica surface

The photochemistry of acenaphthylene (AC) has been studied on a dry silica surface at very low coverages (less than 10% of a monolayer) under aerated conditions. Adsorption of AC onto silica surface from cyclohexane follows a Freundlich adsorption isotherm, demonstrating a range of weak interactions between AC and the surface active sites. Photolysis of AC at the solid-air interface led to the formation of photo-oxidation products formed via the addition of singlet molecular oxygen to ground-state AC, and photodimers (cis and trans). The oxidation products include 1,2-acenaphthenedione (1), 2-hydroxy-1-acenaphthenone (2), 1,8-naphthalenedicarboxaldehyde (3) and 1,8-naphthalic anhydride (4). The yield of dimers increases as the surface coverage is raised. Both the excited singlet state and the excited triplet state of AC are involved in the observed dimerization on the surface.     

Rapid fluorescent screening for bifunctional amine-acid catalysts: efficient syntheses of quaternary carbon-containing aldols under organocatalysis

[reaction: see text] Direct catalytic aldol reactions of alpha,alpha-dialkylaldehyde donors and arylaldehyde acceptors have been performed using pyrrolidine-acetic acid bifunctional catalysts. This general and practical amine-acid combination was identified by screening catalysts using a new fluorescent detection system for carbon-carbon bond formation. Using 0.05 equiv of pyrrolidine and 0.25 equiv of acetic acid as catalyst, we obtained alpha,alpha-dialkylaldol product in 96% yield after 2 h at ambient temperature. Proline was a poor catalyst of this reaction.     

Aldolase antibody activation of prodrugs of potent aldehyde-containing cytotoxics for selective chemotherapy

Prodrugs of potent aldehyde analogues of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) were synthesized. These prodrugs were efficiently activated by antibody 93F3 and no drug formation was observed in the absence of 93F3 in either phosphate buffered saline or cell culture media. In the presence of antibody 93F3, these prodrugs were activated and decreased the proliferation of human cancer cells in in vitro proliferation assays.     

Chromatographic analysis of alpha-tocopherol and related compounds in various matrices.

Tocopherols and tocotrienols (Vitamin E) are part of a group of "minor components" of main interest, present in the unsaponifiable fraction of many samples. Their importance in biological, metabolical and nutritional studies makes determination of tocopherols and related compounds of major interest. Present work critically reviews the different ways to perform sample pre-treatment and analysis of these compounds, related to the matrices, other analytes to be measured, sensitivity, and simplicity. The review includes well referenced tables that provide in-depth summaries of methodology for the chromatographic analysis of alpha-tocopherol and related compounds in foods, pharmaceuticals, plants, animal tissues and other matrices.     

Amine-catalyzed Michael reactions of an aminoaldehyde derivative to nitroolefins

Catalytic enantioselective Michael addition reactions of α-amino functionalized aldehydes to nitroolefins have been developed. The Michael product was obtained in up to 98% ee, but the enantiomeric purity of the Michael product was decreased during isolation of the product.     

Development and validation of a capillary electrophoresis method for the measurement of short-chain organic acids in natural rubber latex

Short-chain organic acid contents in serum of natural latex are interesting to measure and capillary electrophoresis (CE) has proved to be a good tool for their study. In the present work a method has been developed to identify the short-chain organic acids present in sera of natural rubber latex (oxalic, formic, fumaric, aconitic, succinic, malic, glutaric, citric, acetic, glycollic, propionic and quinic acids), the separation was optimised and the quantification method validated. The separation was performed on a CE system with UV detection at 200 nm. The separation was carried out with an uncoated fused-silica capillary (57 cm x 50 microm I.D.) and was operated at -10 kV potential. The separation buffers were prepared with 0.5 M H3PO4, 0.5 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and pH adjusted by adding NaOH to 6.25 except for propionic acid which was better measured at pH 7.00. Validation parameters are adequate and limits of detection range from 0.005 mM to 1.6 mM. Short-chain organic acids were measured with this method in sera of three different types of latex.     

Organocatalytic mannich-type reactions of trifluoroethyl thioesters

Direct organocatalytic Mannich-type reactions of thioesters provide for the expedient and diastereoselective synthesis of protected beta-amino acids. A variety of thioesters were found to be reactive with different imines under mild conditions to provide beta-amino acids in good yields. This chemistry was extended to a diastereo- and enantioselective variant.     

Fluorescent detection of carbon-carbon bond formation

We have developed a new spectroscopic system for detecting carbon-carbon bond formation by fluorescence to enhance high-throughput catalyst screening and rapid characterization of catalysts on a small scale. Fluorogenic substrates composed of a fluorophore possessing an amino group are readily prepared as amides of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and generally exhibit low fluorescence, while Michael or Diels-Alder reactions of these fluorogenic substrates provide products of significantly increased fluorescence. The product's fluorescence is approximately 20- to 100-fold higher than that of the substrate. The assay system was validated by screening potential catalysts of the Michael reaction and in solvent optimization experiments. The covalent combination of fluorophores possessing an amino group with alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds should provide a diverse range of fluorogenic substrates that may be used to rapidly screen catalysts and to optimize reaction conditions.