Theoretical studies on the structure and spectroscopic properties of pseudohalides

Pseudohalogen-containing compounds have attracted significant interest among nonmetal chemists and theorists, not only owing to their potential use in various fields but also due to difficulties in their experimental preparation and characterization. Since its introduction in 1925, the pseudohalide principle has been used extensively and, therefore, a remarkable progress has been made in the experimental and theoretical research on the compounds of this kind. In this work, we review studies on structural investigations and theoretical characterizations of several pseudohalide-containing compounds in order to contribute to better understanding of the chemistry of many such species.     

Riesz–Jacobi Transforms as Principal Value Integrals

We establish an integral representation for the Riesz transforms naturally associated with classical Jacobi expansions. We prove that the Riesz–Jacobi transforms of odd orders express as principal value integrals against kernels having non-integrable singularities on the diagonal. On the other hand, we show that the Riesz–Jacobi transforms of even orders are not singular operators. In fact they are given as usual integrals against integrable kernels plus or minus, depending on the order, the identity operator. Our analysis indicates that similar results, existing in the literature and corresponding to several other settings related to classical discrete and continuous orthogonal expansions, should be reinvestigated so as to be refined and in some cases also corrected.     

The Cosmological Constant from the Extended Theory of Gravitation in Clifford Spaces

The exploration of the novel physical consequences of the Extended Theory of Gravity in C-spaces (Clifford spaces) is continued. One of the most salient physical feature of the extended gravitational theory in C-spaces is that one can generate an effective stress energy tensor mimicking the effects of “dark” matter/energy. In particular, it is found that the presence of the cosmological constant, along with a plausible mechanism to explain its extremely small value and/or its cancellation, can be understood entirely from a purely Clifford algebraic and geometric perspective. For this reason we believe that this theory may have important consequences in Cosmology and further research in Gravitation and Particle Physics.     

Note on a Clifford Algebra Based Grand Unification Program of Gravity and the Standard Model

Further evidence is provided why a Cl(5, C) gauge field theory in four dimensions furnishes the simplest Grand Unification model of Gravity and the Standard Model. In essence we have four copies of Cl(4, R), one copy per each axis-direction in our observed D = 4-dim spacetime.     

Development of a method for enhancing metabolomics coverage of human sweat by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in high resolution mode

Sweat has recently gained popularity as clinical sample in metabolomics analysis as it is a non-invasive biofluid the composition of which could be modified by certain pathologies, as is the case with cystic fibrosis that increases chloride levels in sweat. However, the whole composition of sweat is still unknown and there is a lack of analytical strategies for sweat analysis. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a method for metabolomic analysis of human sweat by gas chromatography–time of flight/mass spectrometry (GC–TOF/MS) in high resolution mode. Thus, different sample preparation strategies were compared to check their effect on the profile of sweat metabolites. Sixty-six compounds were tentatively identified by the obtained MS information. Amino acids, dicarboxylic acids and other interesting metabolites such as myo-inositol and urocanic acid were identified. Among the tested protocols, methyoxiamination plus silylation after deproteinization was the most suited option to obtain a representative snapshot of sweat metabolome. The intra-day repeatability of the method ranged from 0.60 to 16.99% and the inter-day repeatability from 2.75 to 31.25%. As most of the identified metabolites are involved in key biochemical pathways, this study opens new possibilities to the use of sweat as a source of metabolite biomarkers of specific disorders.     

Breakable Hybrid Organosilica Nanocapsules for Protein Delivery

The direct delivery of specific proteins to live cells promises a tremendous impact for biological and medical applications, from therapeutics to genetic engineering. However, the process mostly involves tedious techniques and often requires extensive alteration of the protein itself. Herein we report a straightforward approach to encapsulate native proteins by using breakable organosilica matrices that disintegrate upon exposure to a chemical stimulus. The biomolecule‐containing capsules were tested for the intracellular delivery of highly cytotoxic proteins into C6 glioma cells. We demonstrate that the shell is broken, the release of the active proteins occurs, and therefore our hybrid architecture is a promising strategy to deliver fragile biomacromolecules into living organisms.     

Determination of low‐molecular‐weight amines and ammonium in saline waters by ion chromatography after their extraction by steam distillation

A new method was developed for the determination of ammonium ion, monomethylamine and monoethylamine in saline waters by ion chromatography. Steam distillation was used to eliminate matrix interferences. Variables such as distillation time, concentration of sodium hydroxide solution and analyte mass were optimized by using a full two‐level factorial (2³) design. The influence of steam distillation on the analytical curves prepared in different matrices was also investigated. Limits of detection of 0.03, 0.05 and 0.05 mg/L were obtained for ammoniumion, monomethylamine and monoethylamine, respectively. Saline water samples from the Brazilian oil industry, containing sodium and potassium concentrations between 2.0–5.2% w/v and 96–928 mg/L, respectively, were analyzed. Satisfactory recoveries (90–105%) of the analytes were obtained for all spiked samples, and the precision was ≤ 7% (n = 3). The proposed method is adequate for analyzing saline waters containing sodium to ammoniumion, monomethylamine and monoethylamine concentration ratios up to 28 000:1 and potassium to ammonium, monomethylamine and monoethylamine concentration ratios up to 12 000:1.     

Comparative semiempirical and ab initio study of the structural and chemical properties of uric acid and its anions

Semiempirical, density functional theory (DFT), and ab initio calculations have been performed to assess the relative stabilities of 15 possible tautomer forms of neutral uric acid, and of the different urate mono‐ and dianion forms. These methods have also been used to compute ionization potentials (IPs) for uric acid and its derived anions. Overall, we have found that semiempirical calculations, in particular PM3, perform well as compared with B3LYP or MP2 computations toward these different structural and chemical properties of uric acid: the triketo form of uric acid is the most stable tautomer form of neutral uric acid. Three other tautomer forms are relatively close in energy, within the range 2–6 kcal/mol above the triketo form, with a mean energy deviation of only 1.3 kcal/mol between PM3 and DFT or ab initio results; the monoanion form of uric acid obtained by abstracting one proton in position 3 (denoted UAN) is the most stable form among all four possible urate monoanions both in gas phase and in solution; the dianion form of uric acid obtained by abstracting two protons, respectively, in positions 3 and 9 of uric acid (denoted UANN) is the most stable urate dianion form both in gas phase and in solution. However, these two most stable species do not have the lowest IPs in solution: among monoanions and dianions, respectively, the species with the lowest IPs are UAN and UANN. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007