Synthesis of a monolithic, micro-immobilised enzyme reactor via click-chemistry

An immobilised enzyme reactor (IMER) in the form of capillary monolith was developed for a micro-liquid chromatography system. The plain monolith was obtained by in situ thermal copolymerisation of glycidyl methacrylate and ethylene dimethacrylate in a fused silica capillary (200 × 0.53 mm ID) by using n-propanol/1,4-butanediol as porogen. The enzyme, α-chymotrypsin (CT), was covalently attached onto the monolith via triazole ring formation by click-chemistry. For this purpose, the monolithic support was treated with sodium azide and reacted with the alkyne carrying enzyme derivative. CT was covalently linked to the monolith by triazole-ring formation. The activity behaviour of monolithic IMER was investigated in a micro-liquid chromatography system by using benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE) as synthetic substrate. The effects of mobile-phase flow rate and substrate feed concentration on the final BTEE conversion were investigated under steady-state conditions. In the case of monolithic IMER, the final substrate conversion increased with increasing feed flow rate and increasing substrate feed concentration. Unusual behaviour was explained by the presence of convective diffusion in the macropores of monolith. The results indicated that the monolithic-capillary IMER proposed for micro-liquid chromatography had significant advantages with respect to particle-based conventional high-performance liquid chromatography-IMERs.     

Synthesis and characterization, novel across adjacent ring formed phthalocyanine

Novel mononuclear Zn(ii) 4, Co(ii) 5 and Cu(ii) 6 metallophthalocyanines have been synthesized from 4,4'(ethane-1,1-p-phenol-2,2-p-phenoxy)phthalonitrile 3, which can be obtained by the reaction of 4-nitrophthalonitrile 1 with 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(p-hydroxy-phenyl)-ethane 2. The target water-soluble derivatives of 7-9 were acquired from a boiling suspension of the compounds in aqueous 20% KOH solution. The synthesized complexes have been characterized by UV-vis, IR, (1)H NMR and MALDI-TOF-mass spectroscopies. In addition, the geometric and electronic structures of 2-6 were investigated by ab initio/DFT quantum mechanical calculations using the Gaussian 03 program with HF theory at the B3LYP/3-21G level. The redox properties of the complexes 4-6 were examined by cyclic voltammetry on platinum in DMSO/TBAP. These complexes displayed one-electron metallophthalocyanine-based and multi-electron hydroxyphenyl-based redox processes. The effect of temperature on the d.c. conductivity and impedance spectra of spin coated films of compounds were investigated at the temperatures between 300-452 K and in the frequency range of 40-105 Hz. Thermally activated conductivity dependence on temperature was observed for all compounds. A.c. results indicated that conduction mechanism can be explained by classical hopping barriers mechanism for all films.     

Monodisperse porous poly(vinyl acetate-co-divinylbenzene) particles by single-stage seeded polymerization: a packing material for reversed phase HPLC

A single-stage swelling and polymerization method was proposed for the synthesis of monodisperse porous poly(vinyl acetate-co-divinylbenzene) [poly(VAc-co-DVB)] particles with different VAc/DVB feed ratios. The particles obtained with the VAc/DVB feed ratio of 50:50 v/v had a narrow pore size distribution exhibiting a sharp peak at 30 nm. Based on this distribution the mean pore size and the specific volume were determined as 12 nm and 1.39 mL/g, respectively. The specific surface area of poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles was found to be 470 m2/g. These properties make poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles a promising support for potential HPLC applications. Poly(vinyl alcohol-co-divinylbenzene) [poly(VA-co-DVB)] particles were then obtained by the basic hydrolysis of poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles. The hydroxyl groups on poly(VA-co-DVB) particles have a suitably reactive functionality for surface grafting or derivatization protocols aiming at synthesizing various HPLC packings. The examination of poly(VA-co-DVB) particles by confocal laser scanning microscopy showed the homogeneous distribution of hydroxyl functionality in the particle interior. As a starting point, the chromatographic performance of plain material, poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles produced with VAc/DVB feed ratio of 50:50 (v/v) was tested by a commonly utilized chromatographic mode, reversed phase chromatography. Poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles were successfully used as packing material in the RP separation of alkylbenzenes with resolutions higher than 1.5. Theoretical plate numbers up to 17 500 plates/m were achieved. No significant change both in the chromatographic resolution and column efficiency was observed with increasing flow rate. The chromatography showed that poly(VAc-co-DVB) particles were a suitable starting material for the synthesis of chromatographic packings for different modes of HPLC.     

[5]Rotaxane and [5]Pseudorotaxane Based on Cucurbit[6]uril and Anchored to a Meso-tetraphenyl Porphyrin

Water soluble [5]rotaxane and [5]pseudorotaxane based on cucurbit[6]uril and anchored to a meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods (¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and UV), and by elemental analysis, and mass spectrometry. The preliminary results of the pH-driven switching properties of [5]rotaxane investigated through ¹H-NMR spectroscopy are reported. These results were compared with those obtained from a model porphyrin, which was prepared by the de-threading cucurbit[6]uril from [5]pseudorotaxane under basic conditions.Electronic supplementary material Electronic supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users.     

The effect of cucurbit[n]uril on the solubility,morphology, and the photophysical properties of nonionic conjugated polymers in an aqueous medium

The effects of cucurbit[n]uril on the dissolution and the photophysical properties of nonionic conjugated polymers in water are described. For this purpose, a fluorine‐based polymer, namely, poly[9,9‐bis{6(N,N‐dimethylamino)hexyl}fluorene‐co‐2,5‐thienylene (PFT) was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques including 1D and 2D NMR, UV–vis, fluorescent spectroscopy, and matrix‐assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS). For the first time, it was demonstrated that a nonionic conjugated polymer can be made soluble in water through an inclusion complex formation with CB8. The structure of the complex was elucidated by NMR experiments including ¹H and selective 1D‐NOESY. This complex emits green and is highly fluorescent with fluorescent quantum yield of 35%. In contrast, CB6 or water‐soluble CB7 although they are chemically identical to CB8 do not have any effect on the dissolution and photophysical properties of PFT. By preparing a protonated version of PFT, the optical properties of PFT in methanol, protonated PFT and PFT@CB8 in water have been studied and compared. It was also observed that the morphology of the polymer PFT was affected by the presence of CB8. Thus CB8‐assisted self‐assembly of polymer chains leads to vesicles formation; these structures were characterized by DLS, AFM, SEM, and TEM fluorescent optical microscopy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Determination of Carbamazepine and its Main Metabolite Carbamazepine-10,11-Epoxide in Rat Brain Microdialysate and Blood Using ESI–LC–MS (Ion Trap)

A new analytical method has been developed and validated for determination of the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ) and its main metabolite carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZ-E) using ESI–LC–MS (ion trap). The compounds were separated on a C18 (150 × 2.1 mm I.D., 3 μm particles) column and were isocratically eluted in the mobile phase consisting of water–acetonitrile–acetic acid (74.5:25:0.5, v/v) using the flow rate of 0.4 mL min⁻¹. The other anti-epileptic drug oxcarbamazepine (OXC) was used as an internal standard. The retention times for CBZ-E, OXC and CBZ were 5.6, 6.8, 12.8 min. Signals of the compounds were monitored under multi-reaction monitoring mode (MRM) of ESI–LC–MS (ion trap) for the quantification. Selected ions of CBZ-E, OXC and CBZ in MRM were m/z 253→210, m/z 253→180 and m/z 237→194. The method was validated over the concentration range of 5.0–500.0 ng mL⁻¹ and was applied to rat brain microdialysate and blood samples for the determination of CBZ and main metabolite. The brain microdialysate and the blood sample were collected simultaneously after intra-peritoneal injection of CBZ (12 mg kg⁻¹) during a period of 10 h. No interference from endogenous substances and matrix effect were found on the separation of microdialysates and blood samples. The consequent signals of the compounds were resolved and integrated clearly. The LC–MS method was presented as an alternative to investigate pharmacokinetic parameters of CBZ and CBZ-E in blood and brain studies.

     

Determination of bupropion using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in pharmaceutical preparations, human plasma and human urine

A novel pre-column derivatization reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection is described for the determination of bupropion in pharmaceutical preparation, human plasma and human urine using mexiletine as internal standard. The proposed method is based on the reaction of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) with bupropion to produce a fluorescent derivative. The derivative formed is monitored on a C18 (150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm) column using a mobile phase consisting of methanol-water 75:25 (v/v), at a flow-rate of 1.2 mL/min and detected fluorimetrically at λ(ex) = 458 and λ(em) = 533 nm. The assay was linear over the concentration ranges of 5-500 and 10-500 ng/mL for plasma and urine, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated to be 0.24 and 0.72 ng/mL for plasma and urine, respectively (inter-day results). The recoveries obtained for plasma and urine were 97.12% ± 0.45 and 96.00% ± 0.45, respectively. The method presents good performance in terms of precision, accuracy, specificity, linearity, detection and quantification limits and robustness. The proposed method is applied to determine bupropion in commercially available tablets. The results were compared with an ultraviolet spectrophotometry method using t- and F-tests.     

Tautomeric properties, conformations and structure of N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-amino-3-penten-2-on

N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-amino-3-penten-2-on (C₁₁H₁₃NO₂) has been studied by X-ray analysis. It crystallizes the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ with a=8.834(1), b=10.508(2), c=11.212(2) Å, V=1040.8(3) Å³, Z=4, D_c=1.22 g cm⁻³ and μ(MoK)=0.084 mm⁻¹. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined to R=0.038 for 1373 reflections (I>2σ(I)). The title compound is photochromic and the molecule is not planar. Intramolecular hydrogen bonds occur between the pairs of atoms N(1) and O(1) [2.631(2) Å], and N(1) and O(2) [2.641(2) Å], the H atom essentially being bonded to the N atom. There is also a strong intermolecular O–HO hydrogen bonding [2.647(2) Å] between neighbouring molecules. Tautomeric properties and conformations of the title compound were investigated by semi-empirical quantum mechanical AM1 calculations and the results are compared with the X-ray results.     

[N,N′‐Bis(5‐bromo­salicyl­idene)‐o‐phenylene­diaminato]copper(II)

In the title compound, {4,4′‐di­bromo‐2,2′‐[o‐phenyl­ene­bis­(nitrilo­methyl­idene)]­di­phen­ol­ato‐O,N,N′,O′}copper(II), [Cu(C₂₀H₁₂Br₂N₂O₂], the Cu^II ion shows a slightly distorted square‐planar geometry with the N₂O₂ atoms of the Schiff base imine–phenol tetradentate ligand.