Determination of fat-soluble vitamins in yogurt by HPLC with electrochemical detection

A method employing HPLC with electrochemical detection for the rapid and simultaneous determination of vitamins A, D(3) and E is described. The method uses a C-18 reverse phase column and 2.5 mM HAcO-NaAcO in methanol-water (99:1, v/v) solution as the mobile phase. The compounds are quantified using amperometric detection with a glassy carbon electrode at a potential of + 1300 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) and the results are compared with those obtained using UV detection at a wavelength of 280 nm. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of vitamins A, D(3) and E in yogurt samples. After saponification, fat-soluble vitamins were extracted and the methanolic solution of the extracts was injected directly into the chromatographic system, avoiding the clean-up step which is necessary when no electrochemical detection is used. Good recovery percentages were obtained.     

Polarographic determination of glycine with a dropping copper amalgam electrode

The anodic oxidation of a dropping copper amalgam electrode in presence of dilute solutions of glycine in 0.50 M NaClO₄ has been studied. An anodic wave at ?0.28V (SCE) is observed, yielded by diffusion of glycinate anion in the solution towards the electrode surface. The wave-heights increase with the glycinate concentration (function of glycine concentration and pH value) until the anodic oxidation is controlled by the metal diffusion into mercury. The effect of pH is interpreted by attributing it to the depolarizer effects at glycinate anion even though the zwitterion is present in much larger concentrations. The applicability of anodic oxidation of a dropping copper amalgam electrode in the determination of glycine in the range of concentrations 10^?4–10^?2M with a rigorous control of pH (8.0<pH<10.5) is shown. The standard deviation of the proposed method is 4.1% and the minimum concentration determinable is in the 1×10^?4M range.     

Synthesis and characterization of three novel perfluoro-oligothiophenes ranging in length from the trimer to the pentamer

In this Article, we report on the synthesis and full characterization of three perfluorinated oligothiophenes, ranging in length from the trimer to the pentamer (PF-nT, with n = 3, 4, or 5). The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis of the compounds showed that they can be both oxidized and reduced (i.e., they display a dual or amphoteric electrochemical behavior), with the reduction peaks positively shifted relative to those of the corresponding unsubstituted oligothiophenes. The electrochemically determined energy gaps are in agreement with those measured from the UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra in solution. The conjugational properties have been investigated by means of FT-Raman spectroscopy, both as pure solids and as dilute solutes in CH(2)Cl(2), revealing that: (i) pi-conjugation does not still reach saturation with chain length for the longest oligomer, and (ii) conformational distortions from a nearly coplanar arrangement of the successive thiophene units upon solution are not too large. DFT and TDDFT quantum chemical calculations have been performed, at the B3LYP/6-31G level, to assess information about the optimized molecular structure, equilibrium atomic charges distribution, energies and topologies of the frontier molecular orbitals (MO) around the gap, vibrational normal modes associated with the most outstanding Raman scatterings, and vertical one-electron excitations that give rise to the main optical absorptions.     

Solid-phase synthesis of arginine-containing peptides and fluorogenic substrates using a side-chain anchoring approach

Attachment of an amino acid to a solid support by its side chain is sometimes necessary to take advantage of an alpha-carboxylic group available for diverse modifications, including the incorporation of a fluorophore for the preparation of fluorogenic substrates. In contrast to most other amino acids, anchoring the guanidinium group of an arginine to a resin requires the use of a supplementary linker. To avoid the usually multistep synthesis of such a linker as well as its difficult attachment to the guanidine group, we developed a simple method where the guanidine group is built on a Rink amide resin. Our strategy followed the steps of guanidine formation: (i) addition of an isothiocyanate derivative of ornithine to the amino group of a solid support, yielding Nomega-linked thiocitrulline; (ii) S-methylation of thiourea; (iii) guanidinylation using ammonium acetate. Cleavage of the resin generated the arginine-containing compound, the amine group of the resin becoming part of the guanidine. We have demonstrated the usefulness of this method by the synthesis of a series of fluorogenic substrates for trypsin-like serine proteases, which were obtained in high yield and purity. Then, our strategy also allowed generation from the same precursor differentially substituted arginine derivatives, including Nomega-methyl- and Nomega-ethylarginines. The ability to prepare such analogues together with the intermediates thiocitrulline and S-methylisothiocitrulline from a unique precursor while the alpha-amine and carboxylic groups remain available for modification also makes this method a powerful tool for combinatorial solid-phase synthesis of NO synthase inhibitors.     

Partial-filling affinity capillary electrophoresis

Partial-filling affinity capillary electrophoresis (PFACE) is used to examine the binding interactions between two model biological systems: D-Ala-D-Ala terminus peptides to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin (Van) from Streptomyces orientalis, and arylsulfonamides to carbonic anhydrase B (CAB, EC 4.2.1.1, bovine erythrocytes). Using these two systems, modifications in the PFACE technique are demonstrated including flow-through PFACE (FTPFACE), competitive flow-through PFACE (CFTPFACE), on-column ligand synthesis PFACE (OCLSPFACE), and multiple-step ligand injection PFACE (MSLIPFACE). In PFACE small plugs of sample are injected into the capillary column and an equilibrium is established between receptor and ligand during electrophoresis. Binding constants are then obtained by Scatchard analysis using changes in the migration time of the receptor/ligand on changing the concentration of the ligand/receptor. Data demonstrating the quantitative potential of these methods are presented. This review focuses on the unique capabilities of the different PFACE techniques as applied to two model biological systems.     

Rearrangement of the {Mo6S8}cluster fragment to {Mo4S4} and a New {Mo6S6} Cluster Nucleus: Crystal Structure of K6[Mo4S4(CN)12]·10H2O and (18-Crown-6K)8[Mo6S6(CN)16]·17.5H2O

Two new compounds containing molybdenum thiocyanide cluster anions, K₆[Mo₄S₄(CN)₁₂]·10H₂O (1) and (18-crown-6K)₈[Mo₆S₆(CN)₁₆]·17.5H₂O (2), were synthesized and investigated by X-ray structure analysis. Crystal data: a=11.8430(17), b=11.8430(17), c=35.170(7) , V=4932.8(14) ³, space group I4₁/a, Z=4, d_calc=1.563 g/cm³ for 1; a=28.7513(5), b=18.4190(3), c=20.7586(4) , =118.5982(7)°, V=9651.9(3) ³, space group C2/m, Z=4, d_calc =1.563 g/cm³ for 2. The [Mo₄S₄(CN)₁₂]^6- cluster anion in 1 has an ordinary structure typical of cubane transition metal complexes. In the structure of the [Mo₆S₆(CN)₁₆]^8- anion of 2, two crystallographically independent molybdenum atoms form a Mo₆ metallocluster, represented as two edge-sharing tetrahedra.     

Structure of 1-(1-adamantyl)pyrazoles : Crystal geometry and carbon-13 nmr spectroscopy

Crystal structures of 1-(1-adamantyl)pyrazole, 1a, and 1-(1-adamantyl-3-ol)-4-nitropyrazole, 2a, have been solved by X-ray analysis. The space groups and cell parameters are P2₁, a, 7.4021(3), b, 10.7529(5),c, 6.9651(2)Å, β, 90.206(3)° for 1a with Z = 2 and P2/n, a, 31.1172(14), b, 6.8506(1), c, 12.0313(3)Å, β 94.873(3)° for 2a with Z = 8. Refinements were carried out down to R values of 0.043 (R_w, = 0.046) and 0.079 (R_w = 0.061) for the 951 (2σ(I)) and 2461 (3σ(I)) observed reflections respectively. The conformation about the bond between the heterocycle and the carbocycle is discussed on theoretical grounds INDO calculations): the adamantane behaves as a free rotor. The stcricinteractions of the adamantyl residue with the methyl substituents in 2- and 5-position of pyrazole are apparent in the C-13 chemical shifts.     

Spectrophotometric determination of mercury with thiocyanate and Rhodamine B

Summary Mercury(II) in the presence of a large excess of thiocyanate forms a violet colour with Rhodamine B. The complex formed can be stabilized by addition of poly(vinyl alcohol), and forms the basis for a spectrophotometric method for determination of trace amounts of mercury. The calibration graph for measurement at 610 nm is linear in the range 1–15g of mercury per 25 ml, with a molar absorptivity of 1.1×10⁵l· mole^–1·cm·. The effect of foreign ions has been studied and the method can be applied to the determination of mercury in air with reliable analytical results.

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Spektrophotometrische Bestimmung von Quecksilber mit Rhodanid und Rhodamin B

Zusammenfassung In Gegenwart eines großen Überschusses von Rhodanid bildet Hg(II) mit Rhodamin B eine violette Färbung. Durch Zusatz von Polyvinylalkohol kann dieser Komplex stabilisiert werden und bietet somit die Grundlage für die spektrophotometrische Bestimmung von Hg-Spuren. Die Eichkurve für die Messung bei 610 nm verläuft für 1–15g Hg/25 ml linear. Die molare Absorptivität beträgt 1,1×10⁵ l·mol^–1·cm^–1. Die Fremdionenwirkung wurde untersucht. Das Verfahren kann zur Hg-Bestimmung in Luft verwendet werden.

     

Hydrogen bonding in macrocyclic receptor systems

Abstract

The interactions of macrocyclic polyethers with alkali and alkaline earth cations have been well studied and much about their chemistry is now well understood. Less well examined or comprehended are hydrogen bond interactions. A combination of ion selective electrode binding constant determination techniques and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry are brought to bear on this problem. It is found that all-oxygen crown ethers and their derivatives exhibit quite different complexation behaviour with ammonium salts than do their various azacrown counterparts.