A general strategy for the practical synthesis of nojirimycin C-glycosides and analogues. Extension to the first reported example of an iminosugar 1-phosphonate

An efficient and versatile strategy for the synthesis of nojirimycin C-glycosides and related compounds with full stereocontrol is reported. The key steps of the process are the addition of organometallic reagents onto an L-sorbose-derived imine (13) followed by an internal reductive amination. The addition step, which controls the alpha- vs beta-configuration at the pseudoanomeric center in the final product, is highly diastereoselective (re-face addition), and the stereoselectivity can be effectively inverted by adding an external monodentate Lewis acid (si-face addition). The complete synthesis could be achieved in 10 steps only from commercially available 2,3;4,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-L-sorbofuranose and provided alpha- or beta-1-C-substituted 1-deoxynojirimycin derivatives in 27-52% overall yield. The strategy was successfully extended to the first example of an iminosugar 1-phosphonate. The methodology provides access to a wide range of biologically relevant glycoconjugate mimetics in which the glycosidic function is replaced by an imino-C-glycosidic linkage.     

Detection of erythrocyte membrane structural abnormalities in lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency using a spin label approach.

The membrane fluidity of erythrocytes from patients with Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency was studied by means of electron spin resonance. The temperature dependence of the separation of the outer extrema of the spectra of 2-(3-carboxy-propyl)-4,4-dimethyl, 2-tridecyl-3-oxazolidinyloxyl spin probe was monitored for normal, presumed carrier and clinically affected subjects. The temperature profile of controls was significantly different from that of the presumed carriers and the clinically affected individuals. The results show that the compositional abnormalities previously noted in erythrocyte membranes from patients with LCAT deficiency are associated with alterations in the physiocochemical state of the membrane. An investigation of the spectral lineshapes below 10 degrees C allowed a distinction to be made at the membrane level between clinically affected subjects and clinically normal heterozygous carriers. Alterations in the temperature dependence of elec-ron spin resonance parameters may provide a sensitive index of red cell membrane alterations in pathological states of generalized membrane involvement.     

Working group report: Heavy-ion physics and quark-gluon plasma

This is the report of Heavy Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma at WHEPP-09 which was part of Working Group-4. Discussion and work on some aspects of quark-gluon plasma believed to have created in heavy-ion collisions and in early Universe are reported.     

Diastereoselective Hydrogen‐Transfer Reactions: An Experimental and DFT Study

Radical reductions of halogenated precursors bearing a heterocycle exo (α) to the carbon‐centered radical proceed with enhanced anti‐selectivity, a phenomenon that we termed “exocyclic effect”. New experimental data and DFT calculations at the BHandHLYP/TZVP level demonstrate that the origin of the exocyclic effect is linked to the strain energy required for a radical intermediate to reach its reactive conformation at the transition state (ΔE^≠_strain). Furthermore, radical reductions of constrained THP systems indicate that high 2,3‐anti inductions are reached only when the radical chain occupies an equatorial orientation. Hydride deliveries to different acyclic substrates and calculations also suggest that the higher anti‐selectivities obtained with borinate intermediates are not related to the formation of a complex mimicking an exocycle. From a broader standpoint, this study reveals important conformational factors for reactions taking place at a center vicinal to a heterocycle or an α‐alkoxy group.     

Simultaneous quantitation of nicorandil and its denitrated metabolite in plasma by LC-MS/MS: application for a pharmacokinetic study

A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of nicorandil and its denitrated metabolite, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-nicotinamide, in rat plasma. After a liquid-liquid extraction step, chromatographic separation was performed on a ShinPack C(18) column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of methanol and 2 mM aqueous ammonium acetate containing 0.03% (v/v) formic acid (33:67 v/v). Procainamide was used as an internal standard (IS). Selected reaction monitoring was performed using the transitions m/z 212 → m/z 135, m/z 166 → m/z 106 and m/z 236 → m/z 163 to quantify nicorandil, its denitrated metabolite and IS, respectively. Calibration curves were constructed over the range of 5-15,000 ng.ml(-1) for both nicorandil and its metabolite. The mean relative standard deviation (RSD%) values for the intra-run precision were 5.4% and 7.3% and for the inter-run precision were 8.5% and 7.3% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. The mean accuracy values were 100% and 95% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. No matrix effect was detected in the samples. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after per os administration of nicorandil in rats.     

Low-frequency sound transmission through a gas-solid interface

Sound transmission through gas-solid interfaces is usually very weak because of the large contrast in wave impedances at the interface. Here, it is shown that diffraction effects can lead to a dramatic increase in the transparency of gas-solid interfaces at low frequencies, resulting in the bulk of energy emitted by compact sources within a solid being radiated into a gas. The anomalous transparency is made possible by power fluxes in evanescent body waves and by excitation of interface waves. Sound transmission into gas is found to be highly sensitive to absorption of elastic waves within a solid.     

The role of liquid chromatography and flow injection analyses coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry for studying human in vivo glucose metabolism

Under most physiological conditions, glucose, or carbohydrate (CHO), homeostasis is tightly regulated. In order to mechanistically appraise the origin of circulating glucose (e.g. via either gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis or oral glucose intake), and its regulation and oxidation, the use of stable isotope tracers is now a well-accepted analytical technique. Methodologically, liquid chromatography coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/IRMS) can replace gas chromatography coupled to combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) for carrying out compound-specific (13)C isotopic analysis. The LC/IRMS approach is well suited for studying glucose metabolism, since the plasma glucose concentration is relatively high and the glucose can readily undergo chromatography in an aqueous mobile phase. Herewith, we report two main methodological approaches in a single instrument: (1) the ability to measure the isotopic enrichment of plasma glucose to assess the efficacy of CHO-based treatment (cocoa-enriched) during cycling exercise with healthy subjects, and (2) the capacity to carry out bulk isotopic analysis of labeled solutions, which is generally performed with an elemental analyzer coupled to IRMS. For plasma samples measured by LC/IRMS the data show a isotopic precision SD(δ(13)C) and SD(APE) of 0.7 ‰ and 0.001, respectively, with δ(13)C and APE values of -25.48 ‰ and 0.06, respectively, being generated before and after tracer administration. For bulk isotopic measurements, the data show that the presence of organic compounds in the blank slightly affects the δ(13)C values. Despite some analytical limitations, we clearly demonstrate the usefulness of the LC/IRMS especially when (13)C-glucose is required during whole-body human nutritional studies.