Towards aflatoxins: a formal synthesis of aflatoxin B2

The development of a formal synthesis of aflatoxin B2 is described, which utilizes a Dötz benzannulation reaction as a key step.     

Bimolecular QRRK analysis of methyl radical reactions

Reactions which proceed through energized adducts, including radical recombinations, insertions, and addition to unsaturates, frequently exhibit unusual kinetic behavior. The branching ratios among various product channels are often complex functions of both temperature and pressure. Four such reactions involving methyl radicals are analyzed by combining chemical activation distribution functions with QRRK methods to predict rate constants for each channel. These include three oxidation paths, CH₃ + O, CH₃ + O₂, CH₃ + OH, and the addition reaction CH₃ + C₂H₂. These predictions are compared to experiments wherever possible; generally, the agreement is quite satisfactory. Analysis of the energetics of the various reaction channels, using parameters which are readily available, provides a convenient framework for prediction. Suggested rate constants for the various channels for the four reactions are given at three pressures, 20, 760, and 7600 Torr, for the temperature range 300–2500 K. The approach used here can easily be applied to other reactions.     

Star Decompositions of Cubes

 Let S _k denote the complete bipartite graph K _{1, k} and let Q _n denote the n-cube. We prove that the obvious necessary conditions for the existence of an S _k -decomposition of Q _n are sufficient. Received: July 21, 1999 Final version received: May 16, 2000     

Gold-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions with aryltrimethylsilanes

During continuing studies with a novel oxidative gold oxyarylation reaction, arylsilanes were found to be competent coupling partners, providing further evidence for an intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism. While providing yields complementary to those of the previously described boronic acid methods, the use of trimethylsilanes reduces the observation of homocoupling byproducts and allows for facile intramolecular coupling reactions.     

Transfer of hyperpolarization from long T1 storage nuclei to short T1 neighbors using FLOPSY-8

Nuclei with long T1s are optimal targets for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Therefore, most of the agents used in metabolic imaging and spectroscopy studies are based on carboxylic acid moieties that lack protons, a strong source of dipolar relaxation. Metabolic flux information encoded into spectra of small molecule metabolites in the form of the 13C isotopomer data cannot be accessed using standard 13C hyperpolarization methods because protonated carbons relax too quickly through T1 dipolar relaxation. It is shown here that the longitudinal mixing sequence FLOPSY-8 can be used to transfer polarization from a long T1 storage nucleus to adjacent protonated carbons so that they may be detected with high sensitivity. We demonstrate that FLOPSY-8 allows a direct readout of isotopomer populations in butyrate and glutamate in vitro.     

Advances towards using finger/toenail dosimetry to triage a large population after potential exposure to ionizing radiation

Rapid and accurate retrospective dosimetry is of critical importance and strategic value for the emergency medical response to a large-scale radiological/nuclear event. One technique that has the potential for rapid and accurate dosimetry measurements is electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of relatively stable radiation-induced signals (RIS) in fingernails and toenails. Two approaches are being developed for EPR nail dosimetry. In the approach using ex vivo measurements on nail clippings, accurate estimation of the dose-dependent amplitude of the RIS is complicated by the presence of mechanically-induced signals (MIS) that are generated during the nail clipping. Recent developments in ex vivo nail dosimetry, including a thorough characterization of the MIS and an appreciation of the role of hydration and the development of effective analytic techniques, have led to improvements in the accuracy and precision of this approach. An in vivo nail dosimetry approach is also very promising, as it eliminates the problems of MIS from the clipping and it has the potential to be an effective and efficient approach for field deployment. Two types of EPR resonators are being developed for in vivo measurements of fingernails and toenails.