Liquid chromatographic assay for constituent disaccharides of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate isomers

An improved high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for unsaturated disaccharides prepared from hyaluronic acid and various chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate isomers was developed, which involves an ion-exchange resin prepared from a sulphonated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer. The retention times of the individual unsaturated disaccharides were unique and reproducible, the disaccharides appearing in the following order: unsaturated non-sulphated disaccharide derived from hyaluronic acid, then unsaturated 6-sulphated, non-sulphated and 4-sulphated disaccharides from chondroitin sulphate isomers. Unsaturated disulphated disaccharide G had a much shorter retention time than the unsaturated non-sulphated disaccharide derived from hyaluronic acid. The contents of these individual unsaturated disaccharides could be determined with similar sensitivities on the basis of their ultraviolet absorbance. Selective and unique retention times and good resolutions were found for various unsaturated disulphated and trisulphated disaccharides. The proposed method can be used to determine various chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate isomers in addition to hyaluronic acid in amounts as small as 100 ng to 8 micrograms. The practicality of this method was verified by its application to the separation and determination of the different types of chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate isomers derived from human arteries in the presence of appreciable amounts of hyaluronic acid.     

Biological radiation effects of carbon-14- and tritium-labeled 5-fluorouracil

This paper describes the biological radiation effects of carbon-14 and tritium labeled 5-fluorouracils (5-FU) which were given intraperitoneally at reasonable dose (14C: 1.85 MBq/kg (0.05 microCi/kg), 3H: 3.7 MBq/kg (0.1 microCi/kg)) and its forty times dose once a day for 3 days in mice. The results indicated that the change of body weight, urine and feces volume and its radioactivity, and organ weight and its residual radioactivity except pancreas were not observed any significant difference between three groups of both 14C and 3H, but white blood cell number markedly decreased proportionally with radioisotope dose of both 14C and 3H and also red blood cell number decreased by [6-3H]-5-FU 148 MBq/kg i.p. The results suggest that high level radioisotope dose of both 14C and 3H 5-FUs have no biological radiation effects on the studies of drug metabolism in vivo, however that in the case of hematogenic organ, the biological radiation effect is not disregarded.     

Characterization of Functional Groups in Estuarine Dissolved Organic Matter by DNP-enhanced 15N and 13C Solid-State NMR

Estuaries are key ecosystems with unique biodiversity and are of high economic importance. Along the estuaries, variations in environmental parameters, such as salinity and light penetration, can modify the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Nevertheless, there is still limited information about the atomic-level transformations of DOM in this ecosystem. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy provides unique insights into the nature of functional groups in DOM. A major limitation of this technique is its lack of sensivity, which results in experimental time of tens of hours for the acquisition of ¹³C NMR spectra and generally precludes the observation of ¹⁵N nuclei for DOM. We show here how the sensitivity of solid-state NMR experiments on DOM of Seine estuary can be enhanced using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) under magic-angle spinning. This technique allows the acquisition of ¹³C NMR spectra of these samples in few minutes, instead of hours for conventional solid-state NMR. Both conventional and DNP-enhanced ¹³C NMR spectra indicate that the ¹³C local environments in DOM are not strongly modified along the Seine estuary. Furthermore, the sensitivity gain provided by the DNP allows the detection of ¹⁵N NMR signal of DOM, in spite of the low nitrogen content. These spectra reveal that the majority of nitrogen is in the amide form in these DOM samples and show an increased disorder around these amide groups near the mouth of the Seine.     

Theoretical calculation of the steric effects of ortho substituents by the AM1 method

The AM1 calculation was done for ortho-substituted toluenes (o-X-C₆H₄-CH₃) and ortho-substituted tert-butylbenzenes (o-X-C₆H₄-t-Bu). The difference in the calculated heat of formation between o-X-C₆H₄-CH₃ and o-X-C₆H₄-t-Bu was used as a theoretical steric index for ortho-X. The correlation of this theoretical steric index with the empirical steric parameter sets such as our recently defined E_s(AMD) and the Taft–Kutter–Hansch (TKH) E_s was examined. In spite of the simplicity of the model system, the theoretical index was linear with the E_s(AMD) constant with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.972 for 17 substituents of various structures. Including the phenyl group, the correlation with the TKH E_s constant was r = 0.948. The theoretically calculated index was shown to serve as a measure of the ortho steric effect.     

Effect of included guest molecules on the normal state conductivity and superconductivity of beta''-(ET)(4)[(H(3)O)Ga(C(2)O(4))(3)].G (G = pyridine,nitrobenzene)

Normal state conductivity and superconductivity together with bulk magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements have been measured for two molecular charge-transfer salts: beta' '-(ET)4[(H3O)Ga(C2O4)3]G (ET = bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene, G = pyridine for compound I and nitrobenzene for compound II). With the exception of the included guest molecules (G) the crystal structures are almost identical. Both show minima in their electrical transport at 130 K for I and at 160 K for II, but at lower temperatures their behaviors differ markedly. The resistance of I reaches a maximum at 50 K with a further small peak at 2 K and possible superconductivity only below 2 K, whereas that of II increases continuously down to 7.5 K, where an abrupt transition to a superconducting state occurs.     

Aerobic reduction of olefins by in situ generation of diimide with synthetic flavin catalysts

A versatile reducing agent, diimide, can be generated efficiently by the aerobic oxidation of hydrazine with neutral and cationic synthetic flavin catalysts 1 and 2. This technique provides a convenient and safe method for the aerobic reduction of olefins, which proceeds with 1 equiv of hydrazine under an atmosphere of O(2) or air. The synthetic advantage over the conventional gas-based method has been illustrated through high hydrazine efficiency, easy and safe handling, and characteristic chemoselectivity. Vitamin B(2) derivative 6 acts as a highly practical, robust catalyst for this purpose because of its high availability and recyclability. Association complexes of 1b with dendritic 2,5-bis(acylamino)pyridine 15 exhibit unprecedented catalytic activities, with the reduction of aromatic and hydroxy olefins proceeding significantly faster when a higher-generation dendrimer is used as a host pair for the association catalysts. Contrasting retardation is observed upon similar treatment of non-aromatic or non-hydroxy olefins with the dendrimer catalysts. Control experiments and kinetic studies revealed that these catalytic reactions include two independent, anaerobic and aerobic, processes for the generation of diimide from hydrazine. Positive and negative dendrimer effects on the catalytic reactions have been ascribed to the specific inclusion of hydrazine and olefinic substrates into the enzyme-like reaction cavities of the association complex catalysts.     

A novel migrative addition reaction of hydrazines to the diketone derivative of C60

A novel addition reaction of an aromatic hydrazine to the diketone derivative of C60 occurs highly regioselectively with an unusual migration of two hydrogen atoms from the hydrazine to the fullerene and affords a fluorescent product having a methylene carbon along the orifice.     

Vibrational spectra and molecular conformations of 1,5-dichloro- and 1,5-dibromopentanes and 1,6-dichloro-and 1,6-dibromohexanes

The Raman and IR spectra of 1,5-dichloro- and 1,5-dibromopentanes and 1,6-dichloro-and 1,6-dibromohexanes have been measured. The normal coordinates have been calculated for these molecules using a consistent set of force constants and the molecular conformations studied by analysing the spectra with reference to the results of the calculations. In the crystalline solid state, 1,5-dichloropentane assumes the trans-trans-trans-gauche form and 1,5-dibromopentane, 1,6-dichloro- and 1,6-dibromohexanes assume the all-trans form. The normal coordinate treatment with the well-established force field was of great help in determining the whole molecular form of the relatively large chain molecules.