Extraction of capsaicins in aerosol defense sprays from fabrics

The use of aerosol defense sprays has increased as a means of self-defense and as a weapon in the commission of a crime. The residue of these sprays is often left behind as physical evidence on a victim's clothing or personal belongings. As the popularity of self-defense weaponry increases, so does the likelihood that it will be encountered in forensic casework. The extraction, recovery from fabrics, and identification of residue from defense sprays is described. The commonly used extraction method of liquid-liquid extraction is compared to solid phase microextraction (SPME) to recover capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin from cotton swabs. The use of SPME resulted in lower limits of detection and greater recovery efficiency when compared to solvent extraction. SPME also provided more consistent recovery and less variability when compared to solvent extraction. The effect of use of various types of evidence packages on the preservation of this type of evidence is also reported. The collection and analysis of hand swabs after normal discharge of pepper spray canisters was studied indicating the low persistence of these compounds on the hands of the person conducting the spraying. Finally, the results of a real case whereby solvent-solvent extraction did not provide the necessary sensitivity for extracting the capsaicin compounds on the garments of a victim of an alleged spraying and the SPME extraction provided the recovery and identification of the compounds is also presented.     

Second-harmonic generation in an optically poled azo-dye/polymer film

The power dependence of the optical poling process of a new azo chromophore in the polymethylmethacrylate matrix at room temperature has been investigated. The existing theory is found to be inconsistent with the experiment. A simple model based on the rate equation is proposed to describe the writing process of the chromophore/polymer system. The measured growth rate and the plateau second-harmonic generation intensity as induced by all optical poling are found to be in good agreement with the prediction of the simple model.     

NiCl(2)(dppe)-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl mesylates, arenesulfonates, and halides with arylboronic acids

An investigation of the NiCl(2)(dppe)-, NiCl(2)(dppb)-, NiCl(2)(dppf)-, NiCl(2)(PCy(3))(2)-, and NiCl(2)(PPh(3))(2)-catalyzed cross-coupling of the previously unreported aryl mesylates, and of aryl arenesulfonates, chlorides, bromides, and iodides containing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents with aryl boronic acids, in the absence of a reducing agent, is reported. NiCl(2)(dppe) was the only catalyst that exhibited high and solvent-independent activity in the two solvents investigated, toluene and dioxane. NiCl(2)(dppe) with an excess of dppe, NiCl(2)(dppe)/dppe, was reactive in the cross-coupling of electron-poor aryl mesylates, tosylates, chlorides, bromides, and iodides. This catalyst was also efficient in the cross-coupling of aryl bromides and iodides containing electron-donating substituents. Most surprisingly, the replacement of the excess dppe from NiCl(2)(dppe)/dppe with excess PPh(3) generated NiCl(2)(dppe)/PPh(3), which was found to be reactive for the cross-coupling of both electron-rich and electron-poor aryl mesylates and chlorides. Therefore, the solvent-independent reactivity of NiCl(2)(dppe) provides an inexpensive and general nickel catalyst for the cross-coupling of aryl mesylates, tosylates, chlorides, bromides, and iodides with aryl boronic acids.     

Rb7[SiO4][VO4]: ein Ortho‐Silicat‐Vanadat(V)

Rb₇[SiO₄][VO₄]: an Ortho‐Silicate‐Vanadate(V) Rb₇[SiO₄][VO₄] has been obtained from a redox reaction between CdO and vanadium metal in the presence of Rb₂O and SiO₂ at 600 °C in an Ag container as yellow‐greenish transparent single crystals. The crystal structure determination (IPDS data: P2₁/c, a = 637.6(1) pm, b = 1039.7(1) pm, c = 2076.8(4) pm, β = 93.21(2)°, Z = 4, wR2 = 0.1319) reveals the presence of isolated complex anions, [SiO₄]^4— and [VO₄]^3—.     

The crystal structure of di-ortho-tolylmercury

The structure of di-ortho-tolylmercury has been determined by single crystal X-ray methods from counter data. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell dimensions a 10.970(2), b 10.448(3), c 11.409(3) Å; β 115.48(2)°, V 1180.5(5) ų, ?_calc 2.158 g/cm³ and Z = 4. The structure was solved with conventional heavy atom techniques. The crystal consists of individual molecular units with the mercury atom located on the crystallographic 2-fold axis of symmetry. The CHgC fragment is nearly linear with an angle of 178.0(4)°. The methyl groups lie on the same side of the molecule and the rings are twisted with respect to one another by 58.9°. The HgC bond distance is 2.09(1) Å.     

Multiplexed hybridizations of positively charge-tagged peptide nucleic acids detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a novel class of DNA analogues in which the entire sugar-phosphate backbone is replaced by a pseudopeptide counterpart. Owing to its neutral character and the consequent lack of electrostatic repulsion, PNA exhibits very stable heteroduplex formation with complementary nucleic acid that is essentially ionic strength independent and enables hybridization under minimum salt conditions. This feature as well as its superior ion stability and easy ionization compared to DNA renders PNA very attractive for hybridization-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) applications. We have developed an approach to DNA characterization that takes advantage of multiplexed PNA hybridizations analyzed by MALDI-TOFMS. Our motivation was the further development of oligonucleotide fingerprinting, an efficient technique for cDNA and genomic DNA library characterization. Through positive 'charge-tagging' of PNA the efficiency of detection in MALDI-TOFMS was considerably enhanced permitting an unparalleled degree of multiplexing. Results from the simultaneous hybridization of 21 charge-tagged PNA hexamer oligonucleotides showed that genomic DNA and cDNA clones are successfully characterized on the basis of their hybridization profiles. The degree of multiplexing achieved may render a significant increase in throughput and hence efficiency of oligonucleotide fingerprinting possible.     

Reactions of lignin in chlorine dioxide bleaching of kraft pulps

The reactions between chlorine dioxide and the residual lignin in oxygen-bleached softwood kraft pulps have been studied. In a first series, isolated lignin samples have been subjected to chlorine dioxide oxidation at different pH values and subsequently analysed by oxidative degradation and elemental analysis. Different analytical techniques have also been employed to follow the gradual chemical changes in lignins isolated from kraft pulps after each of the bleaching stages in the OD(EOP)DD sequence. The results demonstrate that, in order to minimize chlorination of the lignin, the first chlorine dioxide stage should be carried out at a pH around or above three. At this pH level, a high degree of lignin oxidation is also achieved. A certain (mono)-chlorination of the lignin in the first D stage cannot be avoided, but this chlorine is to a large extent removed in the later bleaching stages. The efficient and non-selective oxidation of the various phenolic lignin end groups by chlorine dioxide is clearly illustrated by the analytical data. Moreover,¹³C NMR reveals that reduced lignin structures formed during the kraft cook survive the oxidative bleaching stages to a large extent.     

Photocontrol of DNA binding specificity of a miniature engrailed homeodomain

Control of DNA binding of HDH-3, a 18-residue polypeptide based on the recognition helix of the Q50K engrailed homeodomain, has been achieved. HDH-3 was linked to an azobenzene cross-linker through two cysteine residues in an i, i + 11 spacing. For the thermodynamically stable trans configuration of the cross-linker, the dark-adapted peptide (dad-HDH-3) adopted a mainly alpha-helical structure as judged by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. After irradiation with light of 360 nm, the helical content of the peptide (irrad-HDH-3) was reduced significantly and the CD spectrum of the irradiated peptide resembled that of the largely unstructured, unalkylated peptide. Despite lacking helices-1 and -2 and the N-terminal arm of Q50K engrailed, dad-HDH-3 bound to its natural DNA target sequence TAATCC (QRE) with high affinity (K(D) = 7.5 +/- 1.3 nM). The binding affinity for the mutant DNA sequence, TAATTA (ERE), was reduced significantly (K(D) = 140 +/- 11 nM). Unlike irrad-HDH-3, which like the unalkylated parent peptide displayed only marginal DNA binding specificity, dad-HDH-3 specified base pairs 5 and 6 of QRE with an accuracy rivaling that of the intact wild-type Q50K engrailed homeodomain, making dad-HDH-3 the most specific designed DNA binding miniature homeodomain reported to date. Moreover, DNA binding affinity and specificity of HDH-3 could be controlled externally by irradiation with light.     

Controlling the DNA binding specificity of bHLH proteins through intramolecular interactions

Reversible control of the conformation of proteins was employed to probe the relationship between flexibility and specificity of the basic helix-loop-helix protein MyoD. A fusion protein (apaMyoD) was designed where the basic DNA binding helix of MyoD was stablized by an amino-terminal extension with a sequence derived from the bee venom peptide apamin. The disulfide-stabilized helix from apamin served as a nucleus for a helix that extended for a further ten residues, thereby holding apaMyoD's DNA recognition helix in a predominantly alpha-helical conformation. The thermal stability of the DNA complexes of apaMyoD was increased by 13 degrees C relative to MyoD-bHLH. Measurements of the fluorescence anisotropy change on DNA binding indicated that apaMyoD bound to E-box-containing DNA sequences with enhanced affinity relative to MyoD-bHLH. Consequently, the DNA binding specificity of apaMyoD was increased 10-fold.