An ultrasensitive method for the determination of thiouracil and phenylthiouracil using capillary zone electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection

This paper reports the development of a method based on capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection for the simultaneous determination of thiouracil (TU) and phenylthiouracil (PhTU) with high sensitivity (nanomolar range, i.e., attomoles detected). After derivatization with 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, the analytes were separated by capillary zone electrophoresis using 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 10.0) and quantified by fluorescence detection. The linearity range, precision, recovery, and detection limits were determined, and the method was shown to be applicable for the determination of TU and PhTU in spiked feed samples and urine.     

Conformational behaviour of 2,2′-bipyrrole

The rotational potential around the interannular bond in 2,2-bipyrrole has been calculated making use of standard minimal STO-3G and split valence 4-31G basis sets. Geometrical optimization concerning the most significant interannular internal parameters has been performed with both basis sets. The trans conformer is predicted to be more stable than the cis. The minimal basis set predicts the existence of a cisoid-gauche minimum which after limited optimization becomes very shallow and it seems to be an artifact of the rigid rotor approximation. At 4-31G level, both the trans and cis conformers represent maxima in the potential curve and two gauche minima appear at =46.0° and =147.6°, the latter being the absolute minimum. The absolute maximum of the potential curve corresponds to the cis conformer.     

Synthesis of beta-lactams by Ag+-induced ring expansion of 1-hydroxycyclopropylamines: a theoretical analysis

A theoretical analysis of the silver-induced ring expansion of N-chloro-N-methyl-1-hydroxycyclopropylamine to form N-methyl-2-azetidinone, and of the Cl(-) elimination from this substrate without Ag(+) assistance, was performed using the B3LYP method and the 6-31+G(d) basis set for C, N, O, H, and Cl atoms and the relativistic effective core pseudopotential LANL2DZ complemented with one set of f polarization functions (zeta(f) = 0.473) for the Ag atom. The partial Ag(+)-assisted extrusion of Cl(-) at the rate-determining transition state provokes an important change in the nodal properties of the frontier molecular orbitals of the H(3)CClNCOHAg(+) fragment, thus making very stabilizing HOMO-LUMO interactions between this fragment and the C(2)H(4) moiety possible. This interaction leads to the ring opening and release of most of the strain energy, giving rise to a low energy barrier for the process. Also, by assisting the Cl(-) extrusion, Ag(+) avoids the elimination of the hydroxyl hydrogen atom, which would provoke the fragmentation of the system instead of the formation of the beta-lactam.     

The detection of formaldehyde in textiles using interdigitated microelectrode array diffusion layer titration with electrogenerated hypobromite

An interdigitated microelectrode array (IDA) was applied to the determination of formaldehyde released from textiles produced in industry. The proposed method is based on formaldehyde reaction with hypobromite which is formed in weakly basic media by control current electrooxidation of bromide on the generator segment of the IDA array. The unreacted hypobromite diffuses through the gap between individually polarisable IDA segments and it is amperometrically detected on the collector segment of the IDA. The efficiency of this nonconvective transfer process in the absence of formaldehyde was substantially higher (78%) in comparison with that when using the rotating ring disc electrode. The influence of the added formaldehyde on the transfer process can be utilised to develop a simple and sensitive analytical procedure for formaldehyde detection with a detection limit of 4×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³.     

(CuBr)3P4Se4: A Low Symmetric Variant of the (CuI)3P4Se4 Structure Type

Bright orange (CuBr)₃P₄Se₄ is obtained from the reaction of CuBr, P, and Se in stoichiometric amounts (CuBr : P : Se = 3 : 4 : 4). The composition and the crystal structure of the compound were determined from single crystal X‐ray diffraction data. Lattice constants are a = 33.627(2) Å, b = 6.402(1) Å, c = 19.059(1) Å, β = 90.19(3) °, V = 4103.2(3) ų, and Z = 12. The compound crystallizes in a structure that is related to (CuI)₃P₄Se₄. Cages of β‐P₄Se₄ are stacked along the b‐axis and are separated by columns of copper(I) bromide. However, the coordination of the β‐P₄Se₄ cage molecules to the copper atoms in the CuBr columns in (CuBr)₃P₄Se₄ is quite different from (CuI)₃P₄Se₄. The monoclinic compound (space group: P2₁, no. 4) has an almost orthorhombic metric in combination with a threefold superstructure in [100]. Structural aspects of (CuBr)₃P₄Se₄ are discussed with respect to the heavier homologue (CuI)₃P₄Se₄.     

Estimation of second order rate constants using chemometric methods with kinetic constraints

Several methods are described for determining rate constants for second order reactions of the form U + V --> W using chemometrics and hard modelling to analyse UV absorption spectroscopic data, where all species absorb with comparable concentrations and extinctions. An interesting feature of this type of reaction is that the number of steps in the reaction is less than the number of absorbing species, resulting in a rank-deficient response matrix. This can cause problems when using some of the methods described in the literature. The approaches discussed in the paper depend, in part, on what knowledge is available about the system, including the spectra of the reactants and product, the initial concentrations and the exact kinetics. Sometimes some of this information may not be available or may be hard to estimate. Five groups of methods are discussed, namely use of multiple linear regression to obtain concentration profiles and fit kinetics information, rank augmentation using multiple batch runs, difference spectra based approaches, mixed spectral approaches which treat the reaction as two independent pseudospecies, and principal components regression. Two datasets are simulated, one where the spectra are quite different and the other where the spectrum of one reactant and the product share a high degree of overlap. Three sources of error are considered, namely sampling error, instrumental noise and errors in initial concentrations. The relative merits of each method are discussed.     

Evaluation of automated nano-electrospray mass spectrometry in the determination of non-covalent protein-ligand complexes

The use of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for studying non-covalent interactions between macromolecules and ligands is well established. ESI-MS can be a useful tool for the determination of dissociation constants between molecules in the gas phase. We validate this method by studying the binding of the catalytic domain of cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I) from Trichoderma reesei to the disaccharide inhibitor cellobiose. The method was further applied to study two newly synthesized cellobiose derivatives (m-iodobenzyl 2-deoxy-2-azido-beta-cellobioside and p-benzyloxybenzyl beta-cellobioside). In a titration experiment, peak areas of different charge states of the free enzyme and the complex were summed in order to determine the dissociation constant. For cellobiose and m-iodobenzyl 2-deoxy-2-azido-beta-cellobioside, the calculated values are in good agreement with those reported from either displacement titration or equilibrium binding experiments in solution. Due to non-specific binding, the dissociation constant of p-benzyloxybenzyl beta-cellobioside does not correspond with the solution-based value. Our results indicate the need for careful interpretation of data sets when using nanoESI to study non-covalent interactions.     

Exploring the optimal site for modifications of pyranmycins with the extended arm approach

[reaction: see text] Continuing from the syntheses and the antibacterial studies of a library of pyranmycins, we further probed the proximity around ring III of pyranmycin by introducing an "extended arm" that has hydroxyethyl or aminoethyl groups at the O-2' ', O-3' ', or O-4' ' positions. The results from the antibacterial studies reveal the optimal structural motif is the attachment of an extended arm with a terminal hydroxyl group at the O-3' ' position.     

Ca(2.5)Sr(0.5)GaMn2O8: diamagnetic Ga in control of the structural and electronic properties of a bilayered manganate

The temperature dependence of the crystal structure and electronic properties of brownmillerite-like Ca(2.5)Sr(0.5)GaMn(2)O(8) has been studied by neutron powder diffraction and muSR spectroscopy. The results show that short-range 2D magnetic order begins to develop within the perovskite-like bilayers of MnO(6) octahedra approximately 50 K above the 3D Néel temperature of approximately 150 K. The bilayers show a structural response to the onset of magnetism throughout this temperature range whereas the GaO(4) layers that separate the bilayers only respond below the 3D ordering temperature. XANES spectroscopy shows that the sample contains Mn(3+) and Mn(4+) cations in a 1:1 ratio, and the behavior in the region of the Néel transition is interpreted as a local charge ordering. Electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy have been used to show that the local microstructure is more complex than the average structure revealed by neutron diffraction, and that microdomains exist in which the GaO(4) tetrahedra show different orientations. It is argued that the bonding requirements of diamagnetic gallium control the electronic behavior within the perovskite-like bilayers.