Determination of ageing time of spirits in oak barrels using a headspace–mass spectrometry (HS-MS) electronic nose system and multivariate calibration

The aromatic composition of sugar cane spirits and, in general, of alcoholic beverages, is mainly influenced by the ageing process in wood barrels. There are several factors that affect the quality of the final aged product, but the time of the storage in the barrel is perhaps the most important one. Ageing time must therefore be controlled in order to detect counterfeits; however, this parameter is very difficult to control and, at present, there is no analytical method available to determine it. We propose a quantitative method for determining the ageing time of sugar cane spirits in oak barrels by using an electronic nose based on coupling directly a headspace sampler to a mass spectrometer (HS-MS), and multivariate calibration. The method developed is simple and provides, in 5 min, the ageing time of spirits with an accuracy of about 1 month.     

Comparison of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry interfaces for the analysis of polar metabolites of benz[a]pyrene

 The performance of two liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) interfacing techniques, thermospray (TSP) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), for the analysis of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) metabolites (hydroxy, epoxy and quinone derivatives) was compared. Interface and detection parameters such as source temperature, eluent composition or flow rate were optimized using negative ion mode. In TSP, the main ions are mostly [M]^-, [M−H₂O]^- or [M+CH₃COO]^-, whereas APCI gives mainly the [M]^- and [M−H]^- ions. Quantification was carried out by flow injection. Calibration graphs were linear in the range of 10 ng to 1000 ng in TSP and 0.1 ng to 10 ng in APCI. Detection limits were in the range of 1 ng to 20 ng in TSP and 0.002 ng to 0.2 ng in APCI. The presence of BaP-1,6-dione, BaP-3,6-dione, and BaP-6,12-dione was confirmed in environmental samples of air particulate matter. Received: 6 January 1997/Accepted: 18 April 1997     

A molecular dynamics study of the pentacyclo-undecane cage amino acid tripeptide

In this paper, we report on the conformational profile of the pentacyclo-undecane (PCU) cage tripeptide carried out by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using water as an explicit solvent. The MD solution phase studies carried on the model peptide analogues (A)=Ac–Ala–Ala–Ala–NHMe; (B)=Ac–Cage–Cage–Cage–NHMe; (C)=Ac–Ala–Cage–Ala–NHMe and (D)=Ac–Ala–Pro–Ala–NHMe, are used as a complimentary technique to the corresponding gas phase simulated annealing (SA) study previously carried out in our laboratory. No significant structural changes were observed over the MD trajectories. However, the results reported here provide further evidence that the (PCU) cage amino acid exhibits C_7eq, C_7aq, _R and _L conformations, and the theoretical results suggest that the PCU cage amino acid is a strong β-turn inducer. These results support the prediction that when the PCU cage residues are in the (i) and (i+2) positions, the β-turn can be extended in either direction to form anti-parallel β-pleated sheets, thereby forming the basis of the mechanism for the folding back of the chain in a cross-β-turn structure.     

Reduced Hamiltonians. II: The size-consistency of reduced Hamiltonians defined in model spaces

The link between the Absar-Coleman and the Valdemoro reduced Hamiltonian has been established. Further, a study of the size-consistency of approximations based on these Hamiltonians has been carried out. It is found that the energies obtained with reduced Hamiltonians that are defined in the full configuration interaction model spaces are not size consistent.     

Protein secondary structure and stability determined by combining exoproteolysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In the post-genomic era, several projects focused on the massive experimental resolution of the three-dimensional structures of all the proteins of different organisms have been initiated. Simultaneously, significant progress has been made in the ab initio prediction of protein three-dimensional structure. One of the keys to the success of such a prediction is the use of local information (i.e. secondary structure). Here we describe a new limited proteolysis methodology, based on the use of unspecific exoproteases coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), to map quickly secondary structure elements of a protein from both ends, the N- and C-termini. We show that the proteolytic patterns (mass spectra series) obtained can be interpreted in the light of the conformation and local stability of the analyzed proteins, a direct correlation being observed between the predicted and the experimentally derived protein secondary structure. Further, this methodology can be easily applied to check rapidly the folding state of a protein and characterize mutational effects on protein conformation and stability. Moreover, given global stability information, this methodology allows one to locate the protein regions of increased or decreased conformational stability. All of this can be done with a small fraction of the amount of protein required by most of the other methods for conformational analysis. Thus limited exoproteolysis, together with MALDI-TOF MS, can be a useful tool to achieve quickly the elucidation of protein structure and stability.     

Texture changes inside smectic-C droplets in azobenzene Langmuir monolayers

Preparation of Langmuir monolayers of a mixture of trans- and cis-isomers of an azobenzene derivative, 4-[4-[(4-octylphenyl)azo]phenoxy]butanoic acid, results in the segregation of birefringent trans-isomer domains embedded in an isotropic medium of cis-isomers. Brewster angle microscopy observations allow us to identify different textures inside the domains depending on surface pressure, temperature, and domain size. The evolution of the monolayer in the dark, from initial droplets formed after spreading to a stable stripe texture, is described. The dynamics of domain coalescence and some morphological transitions induced by temperature and surface pressure changes are also discussed. A simple theoretical model is included to supplement some of these experimental observations.     

Short-chain reactive probes as tools to unravel the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing regulon

In recent years, the world has seen a troubling increase in antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens. In order to provide alternative strategies to combat bacterial infections, it is crucial deepen our understanding into the mechanisms that pathogens use to thrive in complex environments. Most bacteria use sophisticated chemical communication systems to sense their population density and coordinate gene expression in a collective manner, a process that is termed “quorum sensing” (QS). The human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses several small molecules to regulate QS, and one of them is N-butyryl-l-homoserine lactone (C₄-HSL). Using an activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) strategy, we designed biomimetic probes with a photoreactive group and a ‘click’ tag as an analytical handle. Using these probes, we have identified previously uncharacterized proteins that are part of the P. aeruginosa QS network, and we uncovered an additional role for this natural autoinducer in the virulence regulon of P. aeruginosa, through its interaction with PhzB1/2 that results in inhibition of pyocyanin production.

Short-chain reactive probes can be used as tools to shed new light on virulence mechanisms in bacterial pathogens.     

Total Synthesis of (+/-)-Deethylibophyllidine: Studies of a Fischer Indolization Route and a Successful Approach via a Pummerer Rearrangement/Thionium Ion-Mediated Indole Cyclization

The total synthesis of (+/-)-deethylibophyllidine is described, proceeding in eight steps from 4-(methoxyphenyl)ethylamine in 5% overall yield (Scheme 6). In terms of sequential annulation, the strategy involves the following operations: E --> DE --> ABDE --> ABCDE (Scheme 1). The key steps in the synthesis are the stereoselective formation of octahydroindol-6-ones by acid treatment of dihydroanisole derivatives, the regioselective Fischer indolization to obtain octahydropyrrolo[3,2-c]carbazoles, and the tandem process consisting of Pummerer rearrangement upon a beta-amino sulfoxide and thionium ion cyclization upon a beta-indole position of a 2,3-disubstituted indole to generate the quaternary spiro center. Attempts to effect the construction of the pentacyclic framework by means of Fischer indolization of the octahydropyrrolo[3,2,1-hi]indol-6-one resulted in failure (Scheme 2).     

How to avoid the cheaters succeeding in the key sharing scheme

In this paper the Rational Interpolation is presented as a solution to the problem caused by a cheater using the Threshold Scheme. We will implement this scheme by using the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm.The first version we present does not try to detect the cheaters, as in [3], [9] or [10]. This version tries to prevent their knowledge of the correct keyD while the other participants are aware only of the false keyD computed in the threshold scheme.The second version we present is to detect the existence of cheaters.This work was partially supported by Spanish CICYT Grant TIC91-0472.