Design and synthesis of a diverse morpholine template library

Efficient and general procedures have been developed for the solution-phase preparation of substituted morpholine derivatives, and a library has been produced around generic structure 1. This library was designed with proprietary modeling software for use as a general screening library. The 30 R1 reagents were phenols, and the 275 R2 reagents were taken from five different reagent classes, giving a variety of product classes in the final library of 8250 potential products. All of the library members were generated from a common intermediate, mesylate (5), which was synthesized efficiently, in bulk, in three steps from N-benzylethanolamine (2). High-throughput chemistry using robotics was carried out to produce the 7907 library members, which were individually characterized by reversed-phase LC/MS analysis.     

Silver nanowires: inclusion in and extrusion from a mesoporous template

Silver nanowires both included in and extruded from a purely siliceous mesoporous support have been produced from silver ion containing precursors prepared through dry salt occlusion.     

Size-dependent chemistry: properties of nanocrystals

Properties of materials determined by their size are indeed fascinating and form the basis of the emerging area of nanoscience. In this article, we examine the size dependent electronic structure and properties of nanocrystals of semiconductors and metals to illustrate this aspect. We then discuss the chemical reactivity of metal nanocrystals which is strongly dependent on the size not only because of the large surface area but also a result of the significantly different electronic structure of the small nanocrystals. Nanoscale catalysis of gold exemplifies this feature. Size also plays a role in the assembly of nanocrystals into crystalline arrays. While we owe the beginnings of size-dependent chemistry to the early studies of colloids, recent findings have added a new dimension to the subject.     

Alteration of foliar flavonoid chemistry induced by enhanced UV-B radiation in field-grown Pinus ponderosa, Quercus rubra and Pseudotsuga menziesii

Chromatographic analyses of foliage from several tree species illustrate the species-specific effects of UV-B radiation on both quantity and composition of foliar flavonoids. Pinus ponderosa, Quercus rubra and Pseudotsuga menziesii were field-grown under modulated ambient (1x) and enhanced (2x) biologically effective UV-B radiation. Foliage was harvested seasonally over a 3-year period, extracted, purified and the flavonoid fraction applied to a mu Bondapak/C(18) column HPLC system sampling at 254 nm. Total flavonoid concentrations in Quercus rubra foliage were more than twice (leaf area basis) that of the other species; Pseudotsuga menziesii foliage had intermediate levels and P. ponderosa had the lowest concentrations of total flavonoids. No statistically significant UV-B radiation-induced effects were found in total foliar flavonoid concentrations for any species; however, concentrations of specific compounds within each species exhibited significant treatment effects. Higher (but statistically insignificant) levels of flavonoids were induced by UV-B irradiation in 1- and 2-year-old P. ponderosa foliage. Total flavonoid concentrations in 2-year-old needles increased by 50% (1x ambient UV-B radiation) or 70% (2x ambient UV-B radiation) from that of 1-year-old tissue. Foliar flavonoids of Q. rubra under enhanced UV-B radiation tended to shift from early-eluting compounds to less polar flavonoids eluting later. There were no clear patterns of UV-B radiation effects on 1-year-old P. menziesii foliage. However, 2-year-old tissue had slightly higher foliar flavonoids under the 2x UV-B radiation treatment compared to ambient levels. Results suggest that enhanced UV-B radiation will alter foliar flavonoid composition and concentrations in forest tree species, which could impact tissue protection, and ultimately, competition, herbivory or litter decomposition.     

A novel series of oligomers from 4-aminomethyl-tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylates with 2,4-cis and 2,4-trans stereochemistry

Two tetrahydrofuran-based γ-amino acids [2,4-cis and 2,4-trans] were subjected to iterative peptide-coupling procedures to afford dimeric, tetrameric and hexameric carbopeptoids in good yield. These homooligomers were prepared for secondary structural study—to ascertain the conformational preference inherent in the monomer units. The l-xylo oligomers were protected with triethylsilyl ethers to increase the range of solvents suitable for structural investigation. Initial secondary structure data indicate the presence of hydrogen-bonded conformations in the l-ribo series.     

Raman spectroscopic investigation of cocaine hydrochloride on human nail in a forensic context

This study describes the application of Raman spectroscopy to the detection of drugs of abuse and noncontrolled substances used in the adulteration of drugs of abuse on human nail. Contamination of the nail may result from handling or abusing these substances. Raman spectra of pure cocaine hydrochloride, a seized street sample of cocaine hydrochloride (77%), and paracetamol could be acquired from drug crystals on the surface of the nail. An added difficulty in the analytical procedure is afforded by the presence of a nail varnish coating the nail fragment. By using confocal Raman spectroscopy, spectra of the drugs under nail varnish could be acquired. Spectra of the drugs could be readily obtained nondestructively within three minutes with little or no sample preparation. Raman spectra could be acquired from drug particles with an average size of 5–20 μm. Acquisition of Raman point maps of crystals from both pure and street samples of cocaine hydrochloride under nail varnish is also reported. Figure Raman spectrum and point Raman map of cocaine HCI     

Optimization of DNA-tagged liposomes for use in microtiter plate analyses

Dye-encapsulating unilamellar DNA oligonucleotide-tagged liposomes were prepared and characterized for use as signal-enhancing reagents in a microtiter plate sandwich-hybridization analyses of single-stranded RNA or DNA sequences. The liposomes were synthesized using the reversed-phase evaporation method and tagged with DNA oligonucleotides by adding cholesteryl-modified DNA reporter probes to the initial lipid mixture. Liposomes were prepared using probe coverages of 0.0013–0.103 mol% of the total lipid input, several hydrophobic and poly(ethylene glycol)-based spacers between the cholesteryl anchor and the probe, and liposome diameters ranging from 200 nm to 335 nm. Their signal enhancement functionality was compared by using them in microtiter plate sandwich-hybridization assays for the detection of single-stranded DNA sequences. In these assays, an optimal reporter probe concentration of 0.103 mol%, a liposome diameter of 274 nm, and a phospholipid concentration of 0.3 mM were found. The length between the cholesteryl anchor and the probe was optimal when a spacer composed of TEG+(CH₂O)₃ was used. Under optimal conditions, a detection limit of 0.5 nM for a truncated synthetic DNA sequence was found with a coefficient of variation of 4.4%. A 500-fold lower limit of detection using fluorescence was found using lysed dye-encapsulating liposomes versus a single fluorescein-labeled probe. Finally, when this method was applied to the detection of atxA RNA extracted from E.coli SG12036-pIu121 and amplified using NASBA, a minimum extracted concentration of RNA of 1.1×10⁻⁷ μg/μL was found.