Total Synthesis and Configurational Assignment of Chondramide A

The first total synthesis of the cyclodepsipeptide chondramide A ( 2 b ) is described. This depsipeptide is composed of four subunits, namely L ‐alanine, N‐Me‐D ‐tryptophan, 3‐amino‐2‐methoxy‐propionic acid (β‐tyrosine derivative), and a 7‐hydroxy‐alkenoic acid. While the configuration of the stereogenic centers in the 7‐hydroxy‐alkenoic acid were known, the configuration of the tyrosine derivative required clarification and turned out to be (2S,3R) or (2L ,3L ), respectively. The synthesis of the 3‐amino‐2‐methoxy‐3‐arylpropanoic ester 20 b relied on an asymmetric dihydroxylation yielding diol ent‐ 15 a followed by a regioselective Mitsunobu substitution leading to 3‐azido‐2‐hydroxypropanoate 18 b . We could also show that the ester bond in the seco compound 26 b can be fashioned by a Mitsunobu esterification by using hydroxy ester (7S)‐ 7 and the tripeptide acid 25 b . This synthesis should allow for the preparation of various analogues.     

Non-nucleoside building blocks for copper-assisted and copper-free click chemistry for the efficient synthesis of RNA conjugates

Novel non-nucleoside alkyne monomers compatible with oligonucleotide synthesis were designed, synthesized, and efficiently incorporated into RNA and RNA analogues during solid-phase synthesis. These modifications allowed site-specific conjugation of ligands to the RNA oligonucleotides through copper-assisted (CuAAC) and copper-free strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reactions. The SPAAC click reactions of cyclooctyne-oligonucleotides with various classes of azido-functionalized ligands in solution phase and on solid phase were efficient and quantitative and occurred under mild reaction conditions. The SPAAC reaction provides a method for the synthesis of oligonucleotide-ligand conjugates uncontaminated with copper ions.     

A fast determination of yohimbine in pharmaceuticals by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A method for the fast determination of yohimbine, a potent adrenoreceptor antagonist used for the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, is proposed in this article. MEKC under basic and acidic conditions (sodium borate, pH 9.5 and sodium phosphate, pH 2.5) with SDS was developed. The effect of the experimental parameters, e.g. pH, SDS concentration and injection time, on yohimbine migration was also studied. Both methods were validated in terms of linearity, limits of detection and quantification, accuracy, and precision using caffeine as an internal standard. The application for the determination of yohimbine in hand-made medicaments is also investigated in this study.      

Positioning of HPPE production on post-Soviet space by technology development and output

The comparative analysis of the molecular mass distribution, temperatures and heat effect of phase transitions, degree of crystallinity of defect materials and matrix polyethylene film were carried out. Possible reasons of deterioration of the quality of polyethylene on stages of its synthesis, transportation, storage, and processing were determined.     

Tight-binding molecular dynamics study of the role of defects on carbon nanotube moduli and failure

We performed tight-binding molecular dynamics on single-walled carbon nanotubes with and without a variety of defects to study their effect on the nanotube modulus and failure through bond rupture. For a pristine (5,5) nanotube, Young's modulus was calculated to be approximately 1.1 TPa, and brittle rupture occurred at a strain of 17% under quasistatic loading. The predicted modulus is consistent with values from experimentally derived thermal vibration and pull test measurements. The defects studied consist of moving or removing one or two carbon atoms, and correspond to a 1.4% defect density. The occurrence of a Stone-Wales defect does not significantly affect Young's modulus, but failure occurs at 15% strain. The occurrence of a pair of separated vacancy defects lowers Young's modulus by approximately 160 GPa and the critical or rupture strain to 13%. These defects apparently act independently, since one of these defects alone was independently determined to lower Young's modulus by approximately 90 GPa, also with a critical strain of 13%. When the pair of vacancy defects adjacent, however, Young's modulus is lowered by only approximately 100 GPa, but with a lower critical strain of 11%. In all cases, there is noticeable strain softening, for instance, leading to an approximately 250 GPa drop in the apparent secant modulus at 10% strain. When a chiral (10,5) nanotube with a vacancy defect was subjected to tensile strain, failure occurred through a continuous spiral-tearing mechanism that maintained a high level of stress (2.5 GPa) even as the nanotube unraveled. Since the statistical likelihood of defects occurring near each other increases with nanotube length, these studies may have important implications for interpreting the experimental distribution of moduli and critical strains.     

Formation of protonic defects in perovskite-type oxides with redox-active acceptors: case study on Fe-doped SrTiO(3)

The thermodynamics of water incorporation into Fe-doped SrTiO(3) was investigated by thermogravimetric measurements. Changes in valence states of redox-active dopant ions (Fe(3+)/Fe(4+)) with water vapor pressure were taken into account in the defect chemical analysis. The proton solubility was significantly enhanced by the presence of the redox centers. The hydration enthalpies and entropies were -60 kJ mol(-1) and -122 J mol(-1) K(-1). The defect chemical model was applied to describe the water vapor dependence of the electrical conductivity in mixed ionic and electronic conducting Fe-doped SrTiO(3) single crystals.     

Time-resolved investigations of singlet oxygen luminescence in water, in phosphatidylcholine, and in aqueous suspensions of phosphatidylcholine or HT29 cells

Singlet oxygen was generated by energy transfer from the photoexcited sensitizer, Photofrin or 9-acetoxy-2,7,12,17-tetrakis-(beta-methoxyethyl)-porphycene (ATMPn), to molecular oxygen. Singlet oxygen was detected time-resolved by its luminescence at 1270 nm in an environment of increasing complexity, water (H2O), pure phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine in water (lipid suspensions), and aqueous suspensions of living cells. In the case of the lipid suspensions, the sensitizers accumulated in the lipids, whereas the localizations in the cells are the membranes containing phosphatidylcholine. By use of Photofrin, the measured luminescence decay times of singlet oxygen were 3.5 +/- 0.5 micros in water, 14 +/- 2 micros in lipid, 9 +/- 2 micros in aqueous suspensions of lipid droplets, and 10 +/- 3 micros in aqueous suspensions of human colonic cancer cells (HT29). The decay time in cell suspensions was much longer than in water and was comparable to the value in suspensions of phosphatidylcholine. That luminescence signal might be attributed to singlet oxygen decaying in the lipid areas of cellular membranes. The measured luminescence decay times of singlet oxygen excited by ATMPn in pure lipid and lipid suspensions were the same within the experimental error as for Photofrin. In contrast to experiments with Photofrin, the decay time in aqueous suspension of HT29 cells was 6 +/- 2 micros when using ATMPn.     

Chemical diffusion of oxygen in tin dioxide: Effects of dopants and oxygen partial pressure

Tin dioxide SnO_2−δ is a pronounced n-type electron conductor due to its oxygen deficiency. This study investigates the rate of chemical diffusion of oxygen in SnO_2−δ single crystals, which is a crucial step in the overall stoichiometry change of the material. The chemical diffusion coefficient D^δ was determined from conductivity- and EPR-relaxation methods. The temperature dependence was found to be . The dependence on crystal orientation, dopant content and oxygen partial pressure was below experimental error. The latter observation leads to the conclusion that the chemical diffusion coefficient is close to the diffusion coefficient of oxygen vacancies. Along with the relaxation process resulting from the chemical diffusion of oxygen, additional processes were observed. One of these was attributed to complications in the defect chemistry of the material. The relevance of the results for the kinetics of drift processes of Taguchi sensors is discussed.