Sensitive determination of anandamide in rat brain utilizing a coupled-column HPLC with fluorimetric detection

A fluorimetric determination method for N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) was developed using a precolumn fluorescence derivatization followed by coupled-column high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Anandamide extracted from the rat brain tissue was derivatized with 4-N-chloroformylmethyl-N-methylamino-7-N, N-dimethylaminosulfonyl-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-COCl), purified by a solid-phase extraction (Emporetrade mark), and assayed by the coupled-column HPLC. The HPLC consisted of phenyl (100 x 4.6 mm i.d. ) and octadecylsilica columns (250 x 4.6 mm i.d.), both connected by a six-port valve. The concentration of anandamide in rat brain was 3. 37 +/- 0.73 pmol/g with 6.47 and 3.57% of intra- and inter-day precisions, respectively. Using this method, we investigated the alteration of anandamide concentration in rat brain 30 min after administration of anandamide (2 mg/kg, i.p.) to rats pretreated with or without phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF; 30 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of amidohydrolase. In rats pretreated with PMSF, the brain concentration of anandamide was approx. 16-fold higher than that of rats without PMSF (p < 0.01).     

Determination of terbutaline with ferrocene-gold colloid-1,4-benzenedimethanethiol layer-by-layer self-assembled gold electrode

Aminylferrocene is successfully immobilized on nanosized gold colloid particles associated with a 1,4-benzenedimethanethiol monolayer on a gold electrode surface and characterized by cyclic voltammograms and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution, the formal potential (E ⁰’) of Fc is 0.432 V (SCE), and the apparent surface electron-transfer rate constant is 0.89 s⁻. The immobilized Fc gives an excellent electrocatalytic response to the terbutaline oxidation. The catalytic-current response of differential pulse voltammograms increases linearly with the terbutaline concentration from 1.75 × 10⁻⁷ to 5.62 × 10⁻⁴ mol/l. The detection limit is 2.30 × 10⁻⁸ mol/l. The determination of terbutaline in a tablet dosage is satisfactory. The method is simple, quick, and sensitive. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 969–974. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Xyloketal H from the mangrove endophytic fungus Xylaria sp. 2508

(3R*,3aR*,9aR*)-3,9a-Dimethyl-2,3,3a,9a-tetrahydro-4H-furo[2,3-b]chromene-5,7-diol (xyloketal H), a representative of a new family of xyloketals, was isolated from the marine-derived mangrove fungus Xylaria sp. 2508. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1051–1052, June, 2006.     

Absolute rate constants for the quenching of reactive excited states by melanin and related 5,6-dihydroxyindole metabolites: implications for their antioxidant activity

The triplet-excited state of benzophenone and the singlet-excited state of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene (Fluorazophore-P) have been employed as kinetic probes to obtain information on the antioxidant activity of the skin and eye pigment melanin and its biogenetic precursors 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA). The excited states were generated by the laser-flash photolysis technique and their reaction kinetics was examined by time-resolved transient absorption or fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. The reaction between triplet benzophenone and DHI produced with unit efficiency the corresponding 6O-centered semiquinone radical, which was characterized by its characteristic transient absorption. The quenching rate constants for DHI (3.1-8.4 x 10(9) M-1 s-1) and DHICA (3.3-5.5 x 10(9) M-1 s-1) were near the diffusion-controlled limit, indicating excellent antioxidant properties. Kinetic solvent effects were observed. The reactivity of synthetic melanin, assessed through the quenching rate constant of Fluorazophore-P and normalized to the number of monomer units, was more than one order of magnitude lower (2.7 x 10(8) M-1 s-1) than that of its precursors. The trend of the quenching rate constants, i.e. DHI > DHICA approximately alpha-tocopherol > melanin, along with the preferential solubility of DHICA in aqueous environments, serves to account for several experimental results from biochemical studies on the inhibition of lipid peroxidation by these natural antioxidants.     

Synthesis of Some Allyl-β-Cyclodextrin Derivatives and their Properties as Capillary GC Stationary Phases

Summary Three -Cyclodextrin derivatives (-CDs) were synthesized by substituting the 2,6-OH groups of -CD with allyl groups and the 3-OH groups with three different acyl groups (valeryl, heptanonyl, octanoyl). The chromatographic properties of these -CDs as stationary phases for capillary gas chromatography (CGC) were studied. The test results showed that the three -CDs possessed good coating properties and that the capillary columns coated with them exhibited high column efficiency. These -CDs can separate not only the disubstituted benzene isomers but also some racemic compounds.     

Novel silver(I)-organic coordination polymers: conversion of extended structures in the solid state as driven by argentophilic interactions

Structurally distinct coordination polymers [Ag(bpp)]ClO4 1 and [Ag(bpp)]PF6 2 [bpp = 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane] have been assembled; the conversion of 1 into 2 on treatment with NaPF6 is driven by argentophilic interactions and is the first such transformation reported for silver(I)-organic coordination polymers.