High-performance liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric identification of the phototransformation products of tebuconazole on titanium dioxide

Tebuconazole is a widely used fungicide. The formation of by-products on irradiated titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst was evaluated. Several species derived from tebuconazole degradation were identified and characterized by HPLC/MS(n). A pattern of reactions accounting for the observed intermediates is proposed. Different parallel pathways are operating (and through these pathways the transformation of the molecule proceeds), leading to a wide range of intermediate compounds. All these molecules are more hydrophylic than tebuconazole. The main steps involved are (1) the hydroxylation of the molecule with the formation of three species having [M + H](+) 324; the hydroxylation occurs on the C-1 carbon and on the aromatic ring in the two ortho-positions; (2) the cleavage of a C--C bond with the release of the tert-butyl moiety and the formation of a species having m/z 250; analogously to step 1, also on this species a further hydroxylation reaction occurs; (3) through the loss of the triazole moiety with the formation of a structure with m/z 257.     

Synthesis of bis(2-chloroethyl)amino-1,8-naphthyridines for evaluation as anticancer agents

Some 1,8-naphthyridine nitrogen mustards have been synthesized for studies of their antitumor potentialities. All the tested intermediate and target compounds are devoid of antitumor properties.     

Influence of organic modifier and temperature on the enantiomeric separation of γ-lactams by HPLC

Summary A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is reported for the resolution of the enantiomers of a series of fused -lactams (2,7-diaza-3-oxo[3.3.0]octan-6-ones) with probable anti-HIV and anticancer activity. Resolution was achieved on a Chiralcel^® OD column, cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) adsorbed on macroporous silica gel; mixtures ofn-hexane and isopropyl alcohol in different proportions were used as the mobile phase. The analysis was studied at different temperatures.     

l-Arginine Improves Solubility and ANTI SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Activity of Rutin but Not the Antiviral Activity in Cells

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak prompts an urgent need for efficient therapeutics, and repurposing of known drugs has been extensively used in an attempt to get to anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents in the shortest possible time. The glycoside rutin shows manifold pharmacological activities and, despite its use being limited by its poor solubility in water, it is the active principle of many pharmaceutical preparations. We herein report our in silico and experimental investigations of rutin as a SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor and of its water solubility improvement obtained by mixing it with l-arginine. Tests of the rutin/l-arginine mixture in a cellular model of SARS-CoV-2 infection highlighted that the mixture still suffers from unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties, but nonetheless, the results of this study suggest that rutin might be a good starting point for hit optimization.     

FLUORESCENCE QUANTUM YIELDS OF 124-kDa PHYTOCHROME FROM OAT UPON EXCITATION WITHIN DIFFERENT ABSORPTION BANDS

Abstract— A fluorescence quantum yield (emission at650–850 nm) of π= (2.3 ± 0.3)10⁻³ was measured for the red-absorbing form (Pr) of 124-kDa phytochrome from etiolated oat seedlings ( Avena sativa ) upon excitation in the Soret band at Λ^exc= 380 nm. The small difference between this value and the previously determined quantum yield with Λ^exc= 640 nm, π= (3.5 ± 0.4)10⁻³is attributed to a blue-absorbing emitter responsible for the "anomalous" or "blue" emission of the chromoprotein in the region from ca. 400 to 550 nm. The absorption of Pr at 380 nm is consequently somewhat lower than that measured directly from the spectrum. Processes from upper excited states of the Pr phytochromobilin-derived chromophore other than rapid relaxation to the emitting state are not important. A quantum yield of Φ ' 1.2 times 10⁻³ is estimated for the blue fluorescence. The proportion of the blue emitters relative to Pr appears to be relatively high.     

Stein domains and branched shadows of 4-manifolds

We provide sufficient conditions assuring that a suitably decorated 2-polyhedron can be thickened to a compact four-dimensional Stein domain. We also study a class of flat polyhedra in 4-manifolds and find conditions assuring that they admit Stein, compact neighborhoods. We base our calculations on Turaev’s shadows suitably “smoothed”; the conditions we find are purely algebraic and combinatorial. Applying our results, we provide examples of hyperbolic 3-manifolds admitting “many” positive and negative Stein fillable contact structures, and prove a four-dimensional analog of Oertel’s result on incompressibility of surfaces carried by branched polyhedra.      

Capillary zone electrophoresis of soil humic acid fractions obtained by coupling size-exclusion chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was used for characterisation of soil humic acid (HA) fractions obtained by coupling size-exclusion chromatography with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, on the basis of their molecular size and electrophoretic mobility. CZE was conducted using several low alkaline buffers as background electrolyte (BGE): 50 mM carbonate, pH 9.0; 50 mM phosphate, pH 8.5; 50 mM borate, pH 8.3; 50 mM Tris-borate+1 mM EDTA+7 M urea+0.1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), pH 8.3. Independently of BGE conditions, the effective electrophoretic mobility of HA fractions were in good agreement with their molecular size. The better resolution of HA were obtained in Tris-borate-EDTA buffer with urea and SDS. This results indicated that CZE, mostly with BGE-contained disaggregating agents, is useful for separating HAs in fractions with different molecular sizes.     

The xraylib library for X-ray–matter interactions. Recent developments

This work presents the recent developments of xraylib, an ANSI C library that provides convenient access to a large number of X-ray related databases, with a focus on quantitative X-ray fluorescence applications. The enhancements include improved X-ray fluorescence production cross sections that take into account cascade effects and M-lines, as well as revised line energies, atomic level widths, Compton broadening profiles etc. A full overview of the complete application programming interface is presented.     

Moving the frontiers in solution and solid-state bioNMR

A major research field in mechanistic systems biology is represented by the development of methods for investigating the structural and dynamic features of systems with multiple interacting components, in order to understand their function. A combination of NMR techniques can be used in such respect, among which the employment of paramagnetic metal ions, ¹³C direct detection, and solid-state NMR, possibly supported by other techniques like small angle X-ray scattering. Among the results, the information on the conformational heterogeneity experienced by multicomponent systems in solution can be mentioned. The structural and functional characterization of large biological systems, not affordable with standard solution NMR techniques, can be tackled through a synergistic use of solution and MAS solid-state NMR. ¹³C direct detection NMR spectroscopy is on the other hand advantageous for improving the quality and quantity of observed nuclear signals, for their intrinsically smaller linewidths and larger signal breadth. Details on these approaches are reviewed here.