Determination of Phenolic Glucosides in Gentiana piasezkii by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of five phenolic glucosides, 6′-O-vanilloylarbutin (VA), 7-O-feruloylorientin (FE), lutonarin (LN), isoorient (IO) and luteolin (LL), in Gentiana piasezkii with UV detection at 270 nm. 7-O-β-D-glucosyl-coumarin was selected as the internal standard. The applied voltage was 15 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 °C. The effect of pH, the concentration of methanol and boric acid on migration were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 200 mM boric acid buffer at pH 9.50 containing 10% (v/v) methanol. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the peak area ratio of each compound and internal standard and its concentration. The correlation coefficients were 0.9975, 0.9997, 0.9998, 0.9998 and 0.9988 for VA, FE, LN, IO and LL, respectively. The relative standard deviations of migration time and the peak area ratio of each analyte and internal standard were <1.78% and 4.93%, respectively. The contents of the five compounds in Gentiana piasezkii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

Fluorescence and aggregation behavior of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers peripherally modified with aromatic chromophores: the effect of dendritic architectures

PAMAM dendrimers of the zeroth to fifth generation (G0-5) have been peripherally modified with phenyl, naphthyl, pyrenyl, and dansyl chromophores. Their fluorescence behaviors are strongly affected by the dendritic architectures at different generations. These dendrimers modified with hydrophobic chromphores can self-organize into vesicular aggregates at the low generations G0-3 in water. The size and aggregation number of these vesicles decrease with increasing generation from G0 to G3. Critical aggregation concentration determined by fluorescence spectroscopy reveals that these aggregates can be favorably formed in the order of G3 > G2 > G1. In contrast to the vesicles made from traditional amphiphilic compounds, these dendrimer-based vesicles are very adhesive due to the H-bonding interaction and entanglement of dendritic branches located in the outer layer. A large number of multivesicle assemblies, i.e., "twins" and "quins" consisting of two and five vesicles, were clearly identifiable with transmission electron (TEM) and atomic force microscopy. For the dendrimers with peripheral pyrenyl chromophores, triangle-like vesicles were observed in water. The hydrophobic interphase thickness of the vesicular bilayer is ca. 2.0-3.2 nm determined by fluorescence resonance energy transfer methods, which agrees well with the thickness directly observed with TEM.     

Synthesis of monodisperse polymers from proteins

Proteins are functional biopolymers; viewed as molecules, they are also monodisperse polyamides with chemically reactive side chains. This paper describes the use of proteins as starting materials for the synthesis of monodisperse polymers with nonbiological functionalities attached to the side chains. It demonstrates the complete derivatization of amine groups (lysine side chains and N-termini) on three different proteins by addition of activated carboxylate reagents in aqueous solutions containing sodium dedecyl sulfate (SDS), under denaturing conditions. Several different acylating reagents were used to generate derivatized proteins; the resulting compounds constitute a new class of monodisperse, semisynthetic polymers, having the potential for wide variation in the structure of the backbone and of the side chains. Modification of lysozyme on a gram scale demonstrated that the method can generate useful quantities of material.     

Synthesis of an optically active intermediate for A-ring of 19-nor- 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

An optically active intermediate 5 for A-ring of 19-nor-1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 2 has been synthesized in five steps, starting from readily available, inexpensive D( )-xylose 6 with good yield.     

Furostanol saponins with inhibitory action against COX-2 production from Tupistra chinensis rhizomes

Two furostanol saponins were obtained from the n-butanol fraction of methanol extract from Tupistra chinensis rhizomes,a folk medicine of Shennongjia Forest District of Hubei Province.Their structures were determined as (25S)-26-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)- furost-1β,3β,22α,26-tetrol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and (25R)- 26-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-furost-1β,3β22α,26-tetrol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glu- copyranoside (2),on basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidences.1 and 2 displayed marked inhibitory action towards COX-2 production in macrophages of the rat abdomen induced by LPS at 20μg/mL.     

Large heteropolymetalate complexes formed from lanthanide (Y, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd), nickel cations and cryptate [As4W40O140]: synthesis and structure characterization

A new family of heteropolytungstate complexes (NH₄)₂₁[Ln(H₂O)₅{Ni(H₂O)}₂As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]·xH₂O(Ln=Y, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd) were prepared by the reaction of Na₂₇[NaAs₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]·60H₂O with NiCl₂·6H₂O and Ln(NO₃)₃·xH₂O at pH≈4.5. The crystal structures of (NH₄)₂₁[Gd(H₂O)₅{Ni(H₂O)}₂As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]·51H₂O was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and element analysis. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/n with a=19.754(3), b=24.298(4), c=39.350(6) Å, β=100.612(3)°, V=18564(5) ų, Z=2, R1(wR₂)=0.0544(0.0691). The central site S1 and two opposite sites S2 of the big cyclic ligand [As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]²⁸⁻ are occupied by one Ln³⁺and two Ni²⁺, respectively, each site supply four O_d coordinating to metal ion, another one water molecule and other five water molecules coordinate, respectively, to Ni²⁺and Ln³⁺. Polyanion [Ln(H₂O)₅{Ni(H₂O)}₂As₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]²¹⁻ has C_2v symmetry. IR and UV–vis spectra of [NaAs₄W₄₀O₁₄₀]²⁷⁻ of the title compounds are discussed.     

A polymer-based microfluidic device for immunosensing biochips

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and test of a PDMS/PMMA-laminated microfluidic device for an immunosensing biochip. A poly(dimethyl siloxane)(PDMS) top substrate molded by polymer casting and a poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) bottom substrate fabricated by hot embossing are bonded with pressure and hermetically sealed. Two inlet ports and an air vent are opened through the PDMS top substrate, while gold electrodes for electrochemical biosensing are patterned onto the PMMA bottom substrate. The analyte sample is loaded from the sample inlet port to the detection chamber by capillary force, without any external intervening forces. For this and to control the time duration of sample fluid in each compartment of the device, including the inlet port, diffusion barrier, reaction chamber, flow-delay neck, and detection chamber, the fluid conduit has been designed with various geometries of channel width, depth, and shape. Especially, the fluid path has been designed so that the sample flow naturally stops after filling the detection chamber to allow sufficient time for biochemical reaction and subsequent washing steps. As model immunosensing tests for the microfluidic device, functionalizations of ferritin and biotin to the sensing surfaces on gold electrodes and their biospecific interactions with antiferritin antiserum and streptavidin have been investigated. An electrochemical detection method for immunosensing by biocatalyzed precipitation has been developed and applied for signal registration. With the biochip, the whole immunosensing processes could be completed within 30 min.     

Rearrangement of epoxynitriles: a convenient homologation of acyclic and cyclic ketones to carboxylic acids

A convenient two-step homologation of both aliphatic and aromatic ketones to the corresponding carboxylic acid has been developed. First ketones were converted to epoxynitriles with the Darzens reaction. Second, a Lewis acid mediated rearrangement of these epoxynitriles with lithium bromide was achieved to give homologated secondary alkanoic acids (as well as aryl-alkanoic) in good yields. The mechanism and the scope of the rearrangement reaction were investigated. This strategy constitutes a two-step homologation of ketones to secondary carboxylic acids.     

Comparative studies of the photoinduced reactions in the Mg+-SCNC2H5 and Mg+-NCSC2H5 complexes

The photoinduced reactions of the complexes Mg+-SCNC2H5 and Mg+-NCSC2H5 are studied comparatively in the spectral range of 230-440 nm. One-photon excitation of the complexes through the Mg+ chromophore (3 2P <-- 3 2S) gives rise to the evaporative fragment as well as the molecular activation and charge transfer products. The action spectra of the complexes consist of three broad peaks for Mg+-SCNC2H5 and two for Mg+-NCSC2H5, which accord with the structures obtained from quantum mechanics calculations. These calculations reveal two association isomers for Mg+-SCNC2H5: one is with Mg+ being linked to the S atom and the other to the N atom. The former is more stable than the latter by only 0.23 eV. Both of the isomers have been shown to exist in the complex source employed in our experiments. On the other hand, only one stable structure is found for the complex Mg+-NCSC2H5 characterized by the Mg+-N linkage. In general, the photofragments are dominated by Mg+ at lambda > 400 nm, which decreases with decreasing wavelength accompanied by the increase in other photoproducts. In addition, the branching ratios of Mg+ to other photoproducts are nearly constant in the short wavelength region but decrease with decreasing wavelength. The observed photoreactions have been reasonably explained.     

High accuracy mass measurement of peptides with internal calibration using a dual electrospray ionization sprayer system for protein identification

A dual-ESI-sprayer system was constructed and applied to achieve high accuracy of peptide mass measurement for protein identification by means of peptide mapping. Sample was introduced in one sprayer, and reference in the other, thus making internal calibration possible greatly enhancing the mass accuracy. Several samples were utilized to evaluate the reliability of this dual-ESI-sprayer system. The range of mass errors was 0.16-5.37 ppm. The peptide masses of tryptic digests of myoglobin (horse) were measured by the HPLC/dual-ESI-MS system, with mass deviations ranging from 0.01-7.67 ppm, and about 75% mass deviations below 5 ppm with 40% below 1[?]ppm. These peptide masses were utilized to perform database searching for protein identification, and compared to results obtained by external calibration. This comparison showed that the internal calibration provides a more reliable method of protein identification, with a much smaller number of required peptides for matching, and with less CPU time consumed for database searching.