Electrospray tandem mass spectrometric analysis of zeaxanthin and its oxidation products

Carotenoids have been implicated in protection of the eye from light-mediated photo-toxicity caused by free radicals. Under conditions of normal oxidative stress the carotenoids serve as protective antioxidants; however, when the oxidative stress exceeds the antioxidant capacity, carotenoids can be oxidized into numerous cleavage products. The determination and identification of oxidized carotenoids in biological samples remains a major challenge due to the small sample size and low stability of these compounds. We investigated the reaction of various zeaxanthin cleavage products with O-ethyl hydroxylamine to evaluate their levels in a biological sample. For this, a sensitive and specific electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was developed, avoiding the classical lower sensitive and specific HPLC-UV and fluorescence absorption methods. Protonated molecules [M + H](+) of carotenoids upon collision-induced dissociation produced a number of structurally characteristic product ions. A series of complicated clusters of product ions differing in 14 (CH(2))and 26 (C(2)H(2))Da was characteristic of the polyene chain of intact carotenoids. All carotenoid ethyl oximes of zeaxanthin cleavage products were characterized by the losses of 60 and 61 Da in their MS/MS spectra. Through the application of the LC/MS/MS method, we identified two oxime derivatives of 3-hydroxy-beta-ionone and 3-hydroxy-14'-apocarotenal with protonated molecules at m/z 252 and m/z 370 respectively, in a human eye sample.     

Determination of the pesticides Chlorpropham,Propham, Propoxur,and Terbucarb by low temperature phosphorimetry

Summary Simple, direct, and sensitive low temperature phosphorimetric methods for the determination of Chlorpropham, Propham, Propoxur, and Terbucarb in EPA solvent are described. The minimum detectable amounts are 0.01 p. p. m. for Chlorpropham and Propham and 0.02 and 0.3 p. p. m. for Propoxur and Terbucarb respectively. The ranges of linearity of the analytical calibration graphs are 0.05-7.5, 0.05–10, 0.5–50, and 1–50 p. p. m. for Chlorpropham, Propham, Propoxur, and Terbucarb respectively. The procedure for Chlorpropham has been applied to the analysis of a solid commercial formulation.

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Bestimmung der Pesticide Chlorpropham, Propham, Propoxur und Terbucarb bei Tief-Temperatur-Phosphorimetrie

Zusammenfassung Einfache, direkte und empfindliche Methoden für die Bestimmung der genannten Pesticide in dem Lösungsmittel Diethylether-i-Pentan-abs. Ethanol wurden beschrieben. Die geringsten nachweisbaren Mengen sind 0,01 ppm für Chlorpropham und Propham sowie 0,02 und 0,3 ppm für Propoxur und Terbucarb. Die Eichkurven verlaufen zwischen 0,05 und 7,5, 0,05 und 10, 0,5 und 50 sowie zwischen 1 und 50 ppm für Chlorpropham, Propham, Propoxur bzw. Terbucarb linear. Das Verfahren für Chlorpropham wurde zur Analyse eines festen Handelsproduktes angewendet.

     

Elevated plasma levels of haptoglobin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy:electrophoretic variants in patients with a severe form of the disease

Analysis of plasma proteins of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and normal age-matched boys using two dimensional gel electrophoresis and densitometry indicated a three-fold increase in the average haptoglobin level in DMD plasma. Two electrophoretic variants of haptoglobin in which the alpha 2 chain had more basic or more acidic spots were found in DMD patients with a rapidly progressing form of the disease. The basic variant was present in relatively low amount. Possible reasons for the elevated haptoglobin levels are discussed.     

Synthesis and Reaction Chemistry of the Disodium Alkoxide of 2,6-Bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,6-dihydroxy-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluorooxane

The disodium alkoxide of 2,6-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,6-dihydroxy-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluorooxane, C(7)F(12)O(3)Na(2), 1, was prepared by reaction of the corresponding diol with MeONa in MeOH. This cyclic alkoxide readily mimics the reaction chemistry of the lithium and sodium alkoxides of perfluoropinacol. The reaction of the alkoxide 1 with covalent dichlorides and metallocene dichlorides yields a series of novel bicyclic ring systems. The crystal structure of the trioxasilane, 3, formed from (CH(3))(2)SiCl(2) was determined to provide structural information about these ring systems. Crystal data: C(9)H(6)O(3)F(12)Si, fw = 418.21 u, orthorhombic space group, Pnma (No. 62), a = 15.822(3) ?, b = 12.163(3) ?, c = 7.373(2) ?, V = 1418.9(4) ?(3), and D(calc) = 1.96 g cm(-)(3) for Z = 4 (molecule possesses mirror symmetry). Least-squares refinement on 1075 observed reflections (I > 3sigma(I)) converged with R = 0.0357 and R(w) = 0.0478.     

Accurate electrical and spectroscopic properties ofX 1Σ+ BeO from coupled-cluster methods

Summary This paper reports a series of coupled-cluster (CC) calculations through CCSDT on the theoretically challenging ground state of the BeO molecule. Along with CC methods, quadratic configuration interaction (QCI) approximations to CC theory have been used (QCISD and QCISD(T)), which show several dramatic failings. Equilibrium electrical properties (, _xx , and _zz ) and basic spectroscopic properties (r _e, _e,D _e, and infrared intensity (I)) have been computed. Basis set and electron correlation effects are analyzed in order to arrive at accurate values of the dipole moment and polarizability, which are not known experimentally. For the dipole moment, we obtain a value of 6.25 D, with an uncertainty of about 0.1 D. For _xx and _zz , we suggest respective values of 32 and 36 atomic units (a.u.) and error bars of about 1 and 2 a.u. With extended basis sets, the spectroscopic propertiesr _e, _e, andD _e are reproduced to high accuracy, which is the first time this has been achieved for this species byab initio methods. At the highest calculation levels,I is predicted to be very small. AlthoughI has not been measured, some support for this prediction comes from a recent infrared study of BeO-rare gas complexes. The QCI methods are shown to be much more sensitive to basis set, and even with large basis sets yield values of _zz andI which differ from CC results by an order of magnitude and three orders of magnitude, respectively. These differences doubtless arise from the importance of single excitations (T ₁) for this molecule, as several terms involvingT ₁ are neglected in the QCISD approximation compared with CCSD. We also report CC calculations with Brueckner orbitals, which yield results similar to those obtained with restricted Hartree-Fock orbitals.     

Infrared spectra of Cs3CoCl5

The infrared spectra, transmittance, and polarized reflectance of Cs₃CoCl₅ are reported. The group theoretical analysis was executed and a vibrational assignment proposed on the basis of D_4h symmetry. Factor group and site effects are discussed.     

Rapid separation of microgram amounts of metal ions on stannic antimonate ion-exchange paper

Summary Microgram amounts of metal ions have been separated using stannic antimonate paper. Most of the separations can be accomplished within 15 minutes.

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Zusammenfassung Unter Verwendung von Zinn(IV)antimonat-Papier lassen sich Mikromengen zahlreicher Metallionen trennen. Die meisten Trennungen lassen sich innerhalb 15 min durchführen.

     

Thermoplastic polyurethanes containing 12-hydroxymethylabietanol

Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers incorporating the resin acid-derived 12-hydroxymethylabietanol (12-HMA) were prepared, and some physical properties are reported. A polyester macroglycol was prepared from 12-HMA, adipic acid, and ethylene glycol. This macroglycol then was combined with either poly(tetramethylene adipate) glycol (PTAd) or poly(ethylene adipate) glycol (PEAd) and 1,4-butanediol to give a glycol blend of 300 average hydroxyl equivalent weight (OHE). The glycol mixture then was combined with diphenylmethane 4,4′-diisocyanate (MDI) (NCO/OH = 1.0) to give urethane polymers soluble in tetrahydrofuran. Polymers were prepared with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25%, by weight, 12-HMA with PTAd as the other macroglycol and with 0, 10, 15, and 20% 12-HMA with PEAd as the other macroglycol. At 15% 12-HMA, polymers were made from glycol mixtures having 275 and 350 average OHE to demonstrate the effect of changing the hard-segment concentration. The presence of 12-HMA is shown to have its maximum effect on tensile properties at 15–20% in the PTAd series and at 10% in the PEAd series. In general, this effect is an increase in tensile strength and modulus and a decrease in elongation when compared with a similar polymer without the 12-HMA.