Determination of daidzein and genistein in soybean foods by automated on-line in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography

An automated on-line method for the determination of the isoflavones, daidzein and genistein, was developed using in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography (in-tube SPME-HPLC). In-tube SPME is a new extraction technique for organic compounds in aqueous samples, in which analytes are extracted from the sample directly into an open tubular capillary by repeated draw/eject cycles of sample solution. Daidzein, genistein and their glucosides tested in this study were clearly separated within 8 min by HPLC using an XDB-C8 column with diode array detection. In order to optimize the extraction of these compounds, several in-tube SPME parameters were examined. The glucosides daidzin and genistin were analyzed as aglycones after hydrolysis because the glucosides were not concentrated by in-tube SPME. The optimum extraction conditions for daidzein and genistein were obtained with 20 draw/eject cycles of 40 microl of sample using a Supel-Q porous layer open tubular capillary column. The extracted compounds were easily desorbed from the capillary by mobile phase flow, and carryover was not observed. Using the in-tube SPME-HPLC method, the calibration curves of these compounds were linear in the range 5-200 ng/ml, with a correlation coefficient above 0.9999 (n = 18), and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.4-0.5 ng/ml. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of soybean foods without interference peaks. The recoveries of aglycones and glucosides spiked into food samples were above 97%.     

Effects of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) concentration on the permeability of PEG-grafted liposomes

Poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted liposomes (PEG-liposomes) were prepared from dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) with various amounts of distearoyl-N-monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-succinyl-phosphatidylethanolamines (DSPE-PEG) with PEG molecular weights of 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000. The effects of DSPE-PEG concentration on the permeability of PEG-liposomes were investigated using carboxyfluorescein (CF). In the gel state, the CF leakage from PEG-liposomes was decreased with increasing mole fractions of DSPE-PEG for all PEG molecular weights. In the liquid-crystalline state, the CF leakage from PEG-liposomes containing DSPE-PEG1000 gradually increased with increasing mole fractions of DSPE-PEG, while that of PEG-liposomes whose molecular weight in PEG units was above 2000 rapidly decreased by the addition of DSPE-PEG. Furthermore, no effect of PEG molecular weight on CF leakage was observed. The relationship between the fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) (or 1-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH)) and the mole fraction of DSPE-PEG for PEG-liposomes was also investigated. No significant changes in fluorescence polarization of DPH for liposomal bilayer membranes was observed in the gel and liquid-crystalline states due to the addition of DSPE-PEG, while that of TMA-DPH was decreased compared with that of liposomes without DSPE-PEG in both states.     

Effect of HF addition on the microwave-assisted acid-digestion for the determination of metals in coal by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

The microwave-assisted acid-digestion for the determination of metals in coal by ICP-AES was investigated, especially focusing on the necessity of adding HF. By testing five certified reference materials, BCR-180, BCR-040, NIST-1632b, NIST-1632c, and SARM-20, it was found that the two-stage digestion without HF (HNO₃ + H₂O₂ was used) was very effective for the pretreatment of ICP-AES measurement. Both major metals (Al, Ca, Fe, and Mg) and minor or trace metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in coal gave good recoveries for their certified or reference values. The possibility of ‘HF-memory effect’ was cancelled by the use of a set of vessels which had been never contacted with HF. Twenty-four Japanese standard coals (SS coals) were analyzed by the present method, and the concentrations of major metals measured by the present method provided very high accordance with those from the authentic JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) method.     

A New Approach to the Construction of BEDT-TTF Derivatives Condensed with Heterocycles via BF3-promoted Reactions of Organotin Thiolates

The synthesis of BEDT-TTF derivatives fused with heterocycles (3–7) has been accomplished via the BF₃-promoted reaction of organotin thiolates (8 and 9) with electrophiles (10 and 11). Electrical conductivities of radical cation salts derived from some of them were also investigated.     

Hydrogen activation on Mo-based sulfide catalysts,a periodic DFT study

Hydrogen adsorption on Mo[bond]S, Co[bond]Mo[bond]S, and Ni[bond]Mo[bond]S (10 1 macro 0) surfaces has been modeled by means of periodic DFT calculations taking into account the gaseous surrounding of these catalysts in working conditions. On the stable Mo[bond]S surface, only six-fold coordinated Mo cations are present, whereas substitution by Co or Ni leads to the creation of stable coordinatively unsaturated sites. On the stable MoS(2) surface, hydrogen dissociation is always endothermic and presents a high activation barrier. On Co[bond]Mo[bond]S surfaces, the ability to dissociate H(2) depends on the nature of the metal atom and the sulfur coordination environment. As an adsorption center, Co strongly favors molecular hydrogen activation as compared to the Mo atoms. Co also increases the ability of its sulfur atom ligands to bind hydrogen. Investigation of surface acidity using ammonia as a probe molecule confirms the crucial role of sulfur basicity on hydrogen activation on these surfaces. As a result, Co[bond]Mo[bond]S surfaces present Co[bond]S sites for which the dissociation of hydrogen is exothermic and weakly activated. On Ni[bond]Mo[bond]S surfaces, Ni[bond]S pairs are not stable and do not provide for an efficient way for hydrogen activation. These theoretical results are in good agreement with recent experimental studies of H(2)[bond]D(2) exchange reactions.     

Different reaction modes for the oxidative dimerization of epoxyquinols and epoxyquinones. Importance of intermolecular hydrogen-bonding

An oxidative dimerization reaction, involving the three successive steps of oxidation, 6 pi-electrocyclization, and Diels-Alder reaction, has been experimentally and theoretically investigated for the three 2-alkenyl-3-hydroxymethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one derivatives epoxyquinol 3, epoxyquinone 6, and cyclohexenone 10. Of the sixteen possible modes of the oxidation/6 pi-electrocylization/Diels-Alder reaction cascade for the epoxyquinone 6, and eight for the cyclohexenone 10, only the endo-anti(epoxide)-anti(Me)-hetero and endo-anti(Me)-hetero modes are, respectively, observed, while both endo-anti(epoxide)-anti(Me)-hetero and exo-anti(epoxide)-anti(Me)-homo reaction modes occur with the epoxyquinol 3. Intermolecular hydrogen-bonding is found to be the key cause of formation of both epoxyquinols A and B with 3, although epoxyquinone 6 and cyclohexenone 10 both gave selectively only the epoxyquinol A-type product. In the dimerization of epoxyquinol 3, two monomer 2H-pyrans 5 interact with each other to afford intermediate complex 28 or 29 stabilized by hydrogen-bonding, from which Diels-Alder reaction proceeds. Theoretical calculations have also revealed the differences in the reaction profiles of epoxyquinone 6 and cyclohexenone 10. Namely, the rate-determining step of the former is the Diels-Alder reaction, while that of the latter is the 6 pi-electrocyclization.     

Novel syntheses of 2,3-dihydro-5H-1,4-benzoxathiepins and 1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-4,1-benzothiazepines

2,3-Dihydro-5H-1,4-benzoxathiepins were prepared by intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reactions of ethyl α-[2-(aryloxy)ethylthio]-α-chloroacetates or by acid-catalyzed cyclizations of ethyl α-[2-(aryloxy)ethylsulfinyl]-acetate. 1,2,3,5-Tetrahydro-4,1-benzothiazepines were similarly prepared.     

Total synthesis of cis-solamin and its inhibitory action with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I

A convergent total synthesis of cis-solamin (1a) and its diastereomer (1b) was accomplished. A key reaction of this approach was the use of VO(acac)₂-catalyzed diastereoselective epoxidation of (Z)-bis-homoallylic alcohol 3 followed by spontaneous cyclization for the cis-THF ring formation. By comparison of the optical rotation of the two possible diastereomers, it is suggested that the absolute configuration of natural cis-solamin is 1a. Inhibitory action of synthetic 1a and 1b with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I are reported.     

Optimization of in-gel protein digestion system in combination with thin-gel separation and negative staining in 96-well plate format

Improvement of in-gel digestion efficiency is highly desirable for one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoretic separation and mass spectrometric (MS) analysis in proteomics, because the resultant increases in sequence coverage and MS signal intensity lead to higher confidence in protein identification. Here an optimized in-gel digestion system, in combination with thin-gel separation and negative staining in a high-throughput format using 96-well plates, is described. The combination of negative staining and protein separation on a 0.9 mm thick gel showed a clear improvement in in-gel digestion efficiency in comparison with the more typical protocols such as the combination of silver staining and a 1.0 mm gel. In addition, the use of 96-well plates to increase throughput did not decrease the efficiency of this strategy when the stirring of the gel pieces in processes such as destaining, washing, gel-shrinking and peptide extraction was performed by sonication instead of shaking the plates. This procedure was optimized and applied to identify proteins of the postsynaptic density fraction; 105 proteins were identified after SDS-PAGE separation.     

Deuterium substitution effect on proton relaxation times as a direct means for elucidating molecular interaction in solution. An application to 2′,3′-isopropylideneadenosine

Proton T₁ measurement with the Fourier transform method combined with quenching of dipolar coupling through selective deuterium substitution is shown to be a useful method for elucidating intra- and intermolecular interactions in solution, with 2′,3′-isopropylideneadenosine as an example. Average distances between H-8 and ribose protons are determine in combination with carbon-13 T₁ measurement. The method is compared with the nuclear Overhauser effect.