Another designer steroid: discovery, synthesis, and detection of 'madol' in urine

Madol (17alpha-methyl-5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol) was identified in an oily product received by our laboratory in the context of our investigations of designer steroids. The product allegedly contained an anabolic steroid not screened for in routine sport doping control urine tests. Madol was synthesized by Grignard methylation of 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one and characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. We developed a method for rapid screening of urine samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of trimethylsilylated madol (monitoring m/z 143, 270, and 345). A baboon administration study showed that madol and a metabolite are excreted in urine. In vitro incubation with human liver microsomes yielded the same metabolite. Madol is only the third steroid never commercially marketed to be found in the context of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.     

The potential of UV femtosecond laser ablation for varnish removal in the restoration of painted works of art

Despite significant advances, laser ablation with nanosecond pulses presents limitations in dealing with the restoration of classes of painted works of art, such as paintings with a very thin layer of varnish. Femtosecond laser processing promises the means for overcoming such limitations. To this end, femtosecond ablation of two typical varnishes, dammar and mastic, is examined. For these varnishes, processing by Ti:Sapphire irradiation (800 nm) turns out to be ineffective. In contrast, irradiation with 248 nm ∼500 fs laser pulses results in a higher etching resolution (etching rates of ∼1 μm/pulse or less). For irradiation with few laser pulses at moderate laser fluences, etched morphology is far smoother than in the processing with nanosecond laser pulses. Furthermore, chemical modifications are considerably reduced (by nearly an order of magnitude), and exhibit a number of additional novel differences. Both etching rates and extent of chemical modifications are largely independent of varnish absorptivity. In all, femtosecond UV laser irradiation is indicated to hold a high potential, offering new perspectives for the restoration of painted works of art. Finally, a tentative model is advanced accounting in a consistent way for the observations.     

Losartan Interactions with 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-CD

Losartan potassium salt (LSR) is a well-known antihypertensive drug with proven beneficial effects on human health. Its formulation with the non-toxic 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2-HP-β-CD) could improve its pharmacological profile. Thus, its molecular interactions are studied using a combination of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Molecular Dynamics (MD). First, its complexation is shown through Differential Scanning Calorimetry as lyophilization provided distinct thermal properties in comparison to the mixture. The complexation is further proved by utilizing the chemical shift changes in the complexation and T1 values. Furthermore, the reversible favorable complexation was shown by MD calculations. Such physical chemical properties provide evidence that this formulation must be further explored through biological experiments.     

A small molecular size system giving unexpected surface effects: alpha-Cyclodextrin + sodium dodecyl sulfate in water

Maximum drop volumes (MDV) and the resultant surface tension values (sigma) of alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) + sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous mixtures have been determined over a broad concentration range of both solutes at 283.15, 293.15, 303.15, 313.15, and 323.15 K. Drops significantly larger than those of pure water (up to approximately 25% larger) were observed at low temperatures for solutions with [alpha-CD]/[SDS] concentration ratios, approximately > 2, producing unexpectedly high surface tension values. Our results indicate that at certain solute concentration ratios and temperatures, the drop volume method provides wrong values for equilibrium surface tensions. This is due to the high viscoelasticity of the surface film whose effect is important even though the injection rate of the drops was slow and the solutes molecular sizes are small.     

Surface characterization of poly(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl methacrylate) by inverse gas chromatography and contact angle measurements

A fluorinated methacrylic homopolymer, poly(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl methacrylate) (PPFPMA) was synthesized by a free radical polymerization reaction. The dispersive component of the surface energy () of PPFPMA was determined by contact angle measurements and inverse gas chromatography (IGC). An extensive surface characterization was conducted by means of IGC. Surface characterization demonstrated that PPFPMA has low value, even at 35 °C and is a Lewis amphoteric polymer with predominantly basic character, as confirmed by the Lewis acidity and basicity constants K_A and K_B, respectively. The values of obtained by IGC are slightly higher than those obtained by the contact angle method. This trend can be attributed to the fact that IGC evaluates, primarily, high energy sites of a surface.     

O2 chemistry of dicopper complexes with alkyltriamine ligands. Comparing synergistic effects on O2 binding

Two dicopper(I) complexes containing tertiary N-methylated hexaaza ligands which impose different steric constraints to the Cu ions have been synthesized, and their reactivity toward O2 has been compared with a mononuclear related system, highlighting the importance of cooperative effects between the metal centers in O2 activation.     

Initial value problem solution of nonlinear shallow water-wave equations

The initial value problem solution of the nonlinear shallow water-wave equations is developed under initial waveforms with and without velocity. We present a solution method based on a hodograph-type transformation to reduce the nonlinear shallow water-wave equations into a second-order linear partial differential equation and we solve its initial value problem. The proposed solution method overcomes earlier limitation of small waveheights when the initial velocity is nonzero, and the definition of the initial conditions in the physical and transform spaces is consistent. Our solution not only allows for evaluation of differences in predictions when specifying an exact initial velocity based on nonlinear theory and its linear approximation, which has been controversial in geophysical practice, but also helps clarify the differences in runup observed during the 2004 and 2005 Sumatran tsunamigenic earthquakes.