Flow injection system with gas diffusion for the sequential determination of total nitrogen and phosphorus in vegetables

 A flow injection system was developed for the sequential determination of total nitrogen and phosphorus in digests of vegetables using potentiometric and spectrophotometric detection systems, respectively. A tubular ammonium selective electrode with a sensor system composed of nonactin/monactin in tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate was used. The selectivity limitations of this electrode were overcome by the inclusion of a gas-diffusion unit in the system that separated ammonium from the rest of the sample matrix and allowed the determination of total nitrogen and phosphorus by the partition of the sample plug between two streams. The results obtained with the developed FIA system were in good agreement with those of the reference methods. Sampling rates from 40 to 60 samples per hour and relative standard deviations below 3.5% were achieved. Received: 17 October 1996/Revised: 21 November 1996/Accepted: 27 November 1996     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of triamterene, methotrexate, and creatinine in human urine

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method using a fused-silica capillary (60.2 cm x 75 microm ID) was investigated for the determination of triamterene (TRI), methotrexate (MTX), and creatinine (CREA) in human urine. The separation was performed using a hydrodynamic injection time of 7 s (0.5 psi), a voltage of 25 kV, a capillary temperature of 30 degrees C, and 40 mM phosphoric acid adjusted to pH 2.25 by addition of triethanolamine as separation electrolyte. Under these conditions, analysis takes about 15 min. A linear response over the 0.5-15.0 mg L(-1) concentration range was found for TRI and MTX, and 0.5-80.0 mg L(-1) for CREA. Dilution of the sample (water:urine, 1:1 for TRI and MTX, and 1:25 for CREA determination) was the only step necessary prior to analysis by electrophoresis. The developed method is easy, rapid, and sensitive and has been applied to determine triamterene,methotrexate, and creatinine in urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Synthesis of novel fullerene amino acids and their multifullerene peptides

[60]-Fullerene functionalized amino acids with 4-6 methylene spacers from α-carbon to the nitrogen atom of fulleropyrolidine and corresponding multifullerene peptides have been synthesized.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of tartrazine, patent blue V, and indigo carmine in commercial products by partial least squares and principal component regression methods

Two multivariate calibration methods, partial least squares (PLS-1) and principal component regression (PCR) were proposed and successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of three dyes, tartrazine (T) (E-102), patent blue V (P) (E-131), and indigo carmine (I) (E-132) in mixtures by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrophotometry. Calibration models were evaluated by internal validation (prediction of dyes concentration in its own designed training set of calibration), by cross-validation (obtaining statistical parameters that show the efficiency for a calibration fit model), and by external validation over 19 synthetic mixtures of the three dyes in different ratios containing 2.4-17.6 mg l(-1) of T, 1.6-5.6 mg l(-1) of P, and 3.2-17.5 mg/l(-1) of I, with recoveries between 93.5 and 103.1% and over three commercial products, in which the proposed calibration models were satisfactorily applied without separation step. Repeatability and reproducibility studies (with the Students's and F tests) were achieved over two series of nine standards for each dye, showing no significant differences at 95% confidence level.     

Anthill Earth as a Gold Occurrence Indicator,and Gold Determination by Solid Sampling Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

With the aim of avoiding cumbersome sample treatment, we present a device for the introduction of solid soil samples into AAS-flames for gold determination, as well as the proposition of earth from anthills as a gold occurrence indicator. A previous ground sample of anthill earth (0.50 mg) was weighed directly into a small recipient of polyethylene which was then connected to a sampling boronsilicate glass chamber. The sample was carried by an airflow (5 L min⁻¹) to a quartz cell positioned between the burner top and the optical beam. The generated atomic vapor produced a transient signal which was totally integrated in three seconds. The performance was compared with conventional flame atomic absorption spectrometry after proper sample digestion. No significant differences were observed between both procedures (mean deviation ±1.90%), and a LOQ of 0.03 μg Au was achieved using the proposed method. The anthill earth was found to be very suitable for indication of gold occurrence in soils and related materials.     

Tentoxin as a scaffold for drug discovery. Total solid-phase synthesis of tentoxin and a library of analogues

[reaction: see text] A solid-phase method for the synthesis of tentoxin has been developed. Two key steps-dehydration and N-alkylation-are carried out while the peptide is anchored to the resin. The method, which has been validated by the preparation of a library of tentoxin analogues, should be applicable to the generation of further libraries that have the tentoxin scaffold structure, as well as other structures containing N-alkylated didehydroamino acids.     

Chemie von α-Aminonitrilen. 13. Mitteilung. Über die Bildung von 2-Oxoethyl-phosphaten (“Glycoladehyd-phosphaten”) aus rac-Oxirancarbonitril und anorganischem Phosphat und über (formale) Konstitutionelle Zusammenhänge zwischen 2-Oxoethyl-phosphaten und Oligo (hexo- und pentopyranosyl)nucleotid-Rückgraten

Chemistry of α-Aminonitriles. Formation of 2-Oxoethyl Phosphates (“Glycolaldehyde Phosphates”) from rac-Oxiranecarbonitrile and on (Formal) Constitutional Relationships between 2-Oxoethyl Phosphates and Oligo(hexo- and pentopyranosyl)nucleotide Backbones Oxiranecarbonitrile in basic acqueous solution at room temperature reacts regioselectively with inorganic phosphate to give the cyanohydrin of 2-oxoethyl phosphate (“glycolaldehyde phosphate”), a source of (the hydrate of) the free aldehyde, preferably in the presence of formaldehyde. In aqueous phosphate solution buffered to nearly neutral pH, oxiranecarbonitrile produces the phosphodiester of glycoladehyde as its bis-cyanohydrin in good yield. In contrast to mono- and dialkylation, trialkylation of phosphate with oxiranecarbonitrile is difficult, and the triester derivative is highly sensitive to hydrolysis. Glycolaldehyde phosphate per se is of prebiotic interest, since it had been shown [5] to aldomerize in basic aqueous solution regioselectively to rac-hexose 2, 4, 6-triphosphates and – in the presence of formaldehyde - mainly to rac-pentose 2, 4-diphosphates with, under appropriate conditions, rac-pentose 2, 4-diphosphates as the major reaction product. However, the question as to whether oxiranecarbonitrile itself has the potential of having been a prebiological natural constituent remains unanswered. Backbone structures of hexopyranosyl-oligonucleotides with phosphodiester linkages specifically between the positions 6′ → 4′, 6′ → 2′, or 4′ → 2′ of the sugar residues can formally be derived via the (hypothetical) aldomerization pathway, a combinatorial intermolecular aldomerization of glycoladehyde phosphate and bis(glycolaldehyde)-phosphodiester in a 1: 1 ratio. The constitutional relationships revealed by this synthetic analysis has played a decisive role as a selection criterion in the pursuit of our experimental studies toward a chemical etiology of the natural nucleic acids' structure. The Discussion in this paper delineates how the analysis contributed to the conception of the structure of p-RNA. The English Footnotes to Schemes 1–11 provide an extension of this summary.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of PM00104, a novel antineoplastic agent, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to quantify a novel antineoplastic agent, PM00104, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma. The method was validated to demonstrate the specificity, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision of measurements. The calibration range for PM00104 was established using PM00104 standards from 0.01-5.0 ng/mL in blank plasma. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM), based on the m/z 692.2 --> 218.2 transition, was specific for PM00104, and that based on the m/z 697.2 --> 218.2 transition was specific for PM00104 ((13)C(2),(2)H(3)) (the internal standard, IS); no endogenous materials interfered with the analysis of PM00104 and IS from blank plasma. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.01-5.0 ng/mL. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves ranged from 0.9981-0.9999. The mean intra-day and inter-day accuracies for all calibration standards (n = 8) ranged from 97-105% (< or =5% bias) in human plasma, and the mean inter-day precision for all calibration standards was less than 8.5%. The mean intra- and inter-day assay accuracy for all quality control (QC) replicates in human plasma (n = 9), determined at each QC level throughout the validated runs, ranged from 96-112% (< or =12% bias) and from 102-105% (< or =5% bias), respectively. The mean intra- and inter-day assay precision was less than 15.0 and 11.8% for all QC levels, respectively. For the QC samples prepared in animal species plasma, the %CV values of the assays ranged from 1.8-8.8% in mouse plasma, from 3.7-13.8% in rat plasma, and from 3.0-7.2% in dog plasma. The assay accuracies ranged from 92-102% (< or =8% bias) for all QC levels prepared in mouse plasma; ranged from 93-106% (< or =7% bias) in rat plasma; and ranged from 95-114% (< or =14% bias) in dog plasma. The assay has been used to support preclinical pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies and is currently used to measure PM00104 plasma concentrations to support clinical trials.     

Accurately solving the electronic Schrodinger equation of small atoms and molecules using explicitly correlated (r12-)MR-CI. VIII. Valence excited states of methylene (CH2)

We compute the adiabatic transition energies of methylene (CH(2)) from the ground state to the lowest electronically excited valence states using the r(12)-MR-ACPF-2 method with a large basis set and an extended reference space. We recall that this method aims at reaching the basis-set and full configuration interaction (CI) limits simultaneously. Our best excitation energies, T(e) (T(0)), are 9.22 (8.87) (a (1)A(1), corrected for relativistic and adiabatic effects), 31.98 (31.86) (b (1)B(1)), and 57.62 (57.18) kcal mol(-1) (c (1)A(1)) (both uncorrected). We are able to reach the respective basis-set limits that closely that the remaining errors of our (uncorrected) calculations are clearly due to the MR-ACPF-2 method. While we are unable to assess the error of the latter method in a systematic way, we still believe that it is rather unlikely that the errors of our excitation energies exceed +/-0.10 kcal mol(-1). We finally observe that our (corrected) a state values deviate by only -0.10 (-0.10) kcal mol(-1) from the results of Csaszar et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10631 (2003)]--who did careful extrapolations to the valence full-CI and basis-set limits and added a correction for the core correlation--and that the deviation from experiment is only -0.13 (-0.13) kcal mol(-1). From these excellent agreements we conclude that our excitation energies to the b and c states are similarly accurate.     

Anti-Inflammatory,Antidiabetic Properties and In Silico Modeling of Cucurbitane-Type Triterpene Glycosides from Fruits of an Indian Cultivar of Momordica charantia L.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and one of the fastest-growing health challenges of the last decades. Studies have shown that chronic low-grade inflammation and activation of the innate immune system are intimately involved in type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. Momordica charantia L. fruits are used in traditional medicine to manage diabetes. Herein, we report the purification of a new 23-O-β-d-allopyranosyl-5β,19-epoxycucurbitane-6,24-diene triterpene (charantoside XV, 6) along with 25ξ-isopropenylchole-5(6)-ene-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), karaviloside VI (2), karaviloside VIII (3), momordicoside L (4), momordicoside A (5) and kuguaglycoside C (7) from an Indian cultivar of Momordica charantia. At 50 µM compounds, 2–6 differentially affected the expression of pro-inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-α, and iNOS, and mitochondrial marker COX-2. Compounds tested for the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes at 0.87 mM and 1.33 mM, respectively. Compounds showed similar α-amylase inhibitory activity than acarbose (0.13 mM) of control (68.0–76.6%). Karaviloside VIII (56.5%) was the most active compound in the α-glucosidase assay, followed by karaviloside VI (40.3%), while momordicoside L (23.7%), A (33.5%), and charantoside XV (23.9%) were the least active compounds. To better understand the mode of binding of cucurbitane-triterpenes to these enzymes, in silico docking of the isolated compounds was evaluated with α-amylase and α-glucosidase.