Studies in sesquiterpenes—LVI: Isolongifolene (part 7): mechanism of rearrangement of longifolene to isolongifolene—II

The question of possible neutral intermediates which may lie on the reaction pathway in going from longifolene to isolongifolene has been investigated using BF₃·Et₂O-AcOD and D₃PO₄-dioxane, as reagents. It has been found that longicyclene is not an obligatory intermediate. The mode of cleavage of cyclopropane ring in longicyclene has been investigated.     

Preparation and analytical properties of a chelating resin containing bicine groups

A polystyrene divinyl benzene based resin containing bicine groups has been prepared and its analytical properties investigated. The pH dependence of sorption of metal on the resin has been determined for Cu(II), Fe(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Hg(II) and Pb(II). The important characteristics of the resin are fast equilibrium, high selectivity and small volume change between its hydrogen and metal forms. These enable it to be applied to the rapid concentration of trace amounts of these metal ions. It shows promise for the separation of lead from other metal ions.     

Monoterpenoids—V: (+)-Carvone from (+)-car-3-ene

A stereoselective conversion of the readily available (+)-car-3-ene into (+)-carvone by two different routes is described. This is the first report on synthesis of carvone from car-3-ene.     

Functionalized Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold as Binding Matrices for the Screening of Antibody-Antigen Interactions

Two different types of -substituted alkanethiol/disulfide compounds have been used to prepare monolayer architectures on gold serving as platforms for the immobilization of receptor probe molecules – antibodies. These are: (i) carboxylic acid alkanethiols post-reacted with amino biotin to generate streptavidin surfaces, and (ii) N-hydroxysuccinimide-terminated disulfide surfaces. The properties of the monolayers, with and without attached receptor probe molecules, were analysed using infrared spectroscopy, ellipsometry, fluorescence scanning and atomic force microscopy. Several experimental parameters, such as condensation reagents, additives, probe and target concentrations and immobilization time, were systematically varied to determine the dynamic range and to optimize the sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio of the biochip platforms. Fluorescence screening using Cy5-labelled antigens finally demonstrated that both surfaces could be successfully employed to immobilize the antibodies. The pros and cons of the two approaches are also discussed.Received November 15, 2002; accepted March 25, 2003 Published online July 28, 2003     

A single amino acid Gly-tag enables metal-free protein purification

Analytically pure proteins are indispensable for diverse applications, including therapeutics. Here, we report a methodology where a single amino acid, glycine, enables metal-free protein purification. This robust platform is enabled by a Gly-tag resin for site-specific capture, enrichment, and release through chemically triggered C–C bond dissociation by resonance-assisted electron density polarization.

Gly-tag resin precisely captures and releases a protein with one glycine at the N-terminus. The user-friendly protocol delivers analytically pure protein free of metal contaminants.     

Investigation of electronic structure and associated nuclear quadrupole interaction of adsorbed fluorine atoms on silicon surface

The electronic energy levels and wave functions of fluorine and chlorine atoms adsorbed at the <111> surface of silicon are obtained by the Hartree-Fock procedure applied to clusters simulating the surface structure. Minimising the total energy with respect to the positions of the halogen atoms, the Si-Cl distance in the adsorbed system was found to be in good agreement with that from a recent SEXAFS measurement, there being no corresponding data presently available for fluorine on silicon surface. The calculated¹⁹ f ^* nuclear quadrupole coupling constants using the electronic wave functions for SiH₃F and the larger cluster Si₄H₉F, simulating the surface, differed substantially in contrast to the situation for the Si-F distance, indicating that the quadrupole coupling is a more sensitive indicator of the adequacy of the cluster chosen to represent the surface system. Experimental results for the coupling constants are awaited for comparison with theory.     

(+)-Trans-chrysanthemic acid from (+)-Δ3-carene

A new and more efficient route for the conversion of the readily available (+)-Δ³-carene into (+)-trans-chrysanthemic acid is described.     

Neomycin binding to Watson-Hoogsteen (W-H) DNA triplex groove: a model

Neomycin is the most effective aminoglycoside (groove binder) in stabilizing a DNA triple helix. It stabilizes TAT, as well as mixed base DNA triplexes, better than known DNA minor groove binders (which usually destabilize the triplex) and polyamines. Neomycin selectively stabilizes the triplex (in the presence of salt), without any effect on the DNA duplex. (1) Triplex stabilization by neomycin is salt dependent (increased KCl and MgCl(2) concentrations decrease neomycin's effectiveness, at a fixed drug concentration). (2) Triplex stabilization by neomycin is pH dependent (increased pH decreases neomycin's effectiveness, at a fixed drug concentration). (3) CD binding studies indicate approximately 5-7 base triplets/drug apparent binding site, depending upon the structure/sequence of the triplex. (4) Neomycin shows nonintercalative groove binding to the DNA triplex, as evident from viscometric studies. (5) Neomycin shows a preference for stabilization of TAT triplets but can also accommodate CGC(+) triplets. (6) Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies reveal an association constant of approximately 2 x 10(5) M(-)(1) between neomycin and an intramolecular triplex and a higher K(a) for polydA.2polydT. (7) Binding/modeling studies show a marked preference for neomycin binding to the larger W-H groove. Ring I/II amino groups and ring IV amines are proposed to be involved in the recognition process. (8) The novel selectivity of neomycin is suggested to be a function of its charge and shape complementarity to the triplex W-H groove, making neomycin the first molecule that selectively recognizes a triplex groove over a duplex groove.