An efficient route for the preparation of a 21-fluoro progestin-16 alpha,17 alpha-dioxolane,a high-affinity ligand for PET imaging of the progesterone receptor

Two different synthetic routes were explored for the synthesis of fluoro furanyl norprogesterone (FFNP) 1, a high-affinity ligand for the progesterone receptor (PgR) that is being developed as a PET imaging agent for PgR-positive breast cancer. Both approaches proceed through a key intermediate, triol 5. The first approach, starting from keto-ketal 2, employed a dioxenyl group as a synthon for installing a corticosteroid side chain in keto-alcohol 4. The second approach, starting from propargylic acetate 12b, involved the application of a two-step method, a Pd(II)-catalyzed oxidative rearrangement followed by a base-catalyzed acetate rearrangement of the intermediate unsaturated acetate 13b, to generate the requisite corticosteroid side chain in keto-acetate 14b. This intermediate was further elaborated to the final product 1 via efficient dihydroxylation with potassium permangnate, furan acetalization with scandium triflate, and mesylation and fluorination reactions. The palladium-catalyzed route is considerably more efficient than the dioxene approach for the synthesis of key intermediate triol 5, and the scandium triflate-catalyzed acetalization, in particular, led to a considerable improvement in the overall yield of the endo furan acetal alcohol 16a. This route provides a major improvement in the overall yield of the final progestin target, FFNP 1.     

4-Amino-1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-3-carboxylic acid (β-TOAC), the first spin-labelled, cyclic, chiral β-amino acid resolved in an enantiomerically pure state

Amination of 3-carboxymethyl-1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone with (R)-α-methylbenzylamine, NaBH₃CN reduction of the resulting enamine and removal of the chiral auxiliary from the separated diastereoisomers, led to enantiomerically pure (3S,4S) and (3R,4R) methyl 4-amino-1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-3-carboxylates.     

The Vlasov dynamics and its fluctuations in the 1/N limit of interacting classical particles

For classicalN-particle systems with pair interactionN ^–1 ø(q _i–q _i) the Vlasov dynamics is shown to be thew*-limit asN. Propagation of molecular chaos holds in this limit, and the fluctuations of intensive observables converge to a Gaussian stochastic process.     

Identification of marker proteins for Bacillus anthracis using MALDI-TOF MS and ion trap MS/MS after direct extraction or electrophoretic separation

Direct extraction of bacterial vegetative cells or spores followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) has become popular for bacterial identification, since it is simple to perform and mass spectra are readily interpreted. However, only high-abundance proteins that are of low mass and ionize readily are observed. In the case of B. anthracis spores, small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASPs) have been the most widely studied. Additional information can be obtained using tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) to confirm the identity of proteins by sequencing. This is most readily accomplished using ion trap (IT) MS-MS. However, enzymatic digestion of these proteins is needed to generate peptides that are within the mass range of the ion trap. The use of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), or other forms of electrophoresis, allows one to focus on specific proteins of interest (e.g. the high mass exosporium glycoproteins BcIA and BcIB) that provide additional species- and strain-specific discrimination.     

Design aspects for the development of mixed-metal supramolecular complexes capable of visible light induced photocleavage of DNA

Mixed-metal supramolecular complexes that couple ruthenium or osmium based light absorbers to a central rhodium(III) core have been designed which photocleave DNA upon irradiation with visible light. The complexes [[(bpy)(2)Ru(dpp)](2)RhCl(2)](PF(6))(5), [[(bpy)(2)Os(dpp)](2)RhCl(2)](PF(6))(5), and [[(tpy)RuCl(dpp)](2)RhCl(2)](PF(6))(3), where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, tpy = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine, and dpp = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine, all exhibit intense metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) based transitions in the visible but possess lower lying metal to metal charge transfer (MMCT) excited states. These supramolecular complexes with low lying MMCT states photocleave DNA when excited into their intense MLCT transitions. Structurally similar complexes without this low lying MMCT state do not exhibit DNA photocleavage, establishing the role of this MMCT state in the DNA photocleavage event. Design considerations necessary to produce functional DNA photocleavage agents are presented herein.     

Measurement of PCDDs, PCDFs, and non-ortho-PCBs by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-isotope dilution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-IDTOFMS)

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with isotope-dilution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-IDTOFMS) was used to measure polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyl (cPCB) concentrations in ash, sediment, vegetation, and fish samples. The GC × GC capability was achieved by using a quad jet, dual stage, thermal modulator. Zone compression of the GC peaks from modulation resulted in a significant increase of the signal intensity over classical GC-IDTOFMS. The GC × GC column set used an Rtx-Dioxin 2 phase as the first dimension (¹D) and an Rtx-500 as the second dimension (²D). The chromatographic separation of the 17 PCDD/Fs and the 4 cPCBs was attained in ¹D except for 2,3,7,8-TCDD and CB126 for which deconvoluted ion currents (DIC) were required to be reported separately. The Rtx-500 phase separated the bulk matrix interfering compounds from the target analytes in ²D. The instrumental limit of detection (iLODs) was 0.5 pg for 2,3,7,8-TCDD. The calibration curves showed good correlation coefficients for all the compounds investigated in the concentration range of 0.5–200 pg. GC × GC-IDTOFMS results compared favorably to those from conventional isotope-dilution one-dimensional gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-IDHRMS). The comprehensive mass analysis of the TOFMS further permitted the identification of other contaminants of concern in the samples.     

The polarized electronic spectra and electric field spectra of benzo-diazoles. II. 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole

The S₁ ← S₀ absorption spectra of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTD) have been measured at 4.2 K in four different host crystals: naphthalene, durene, p-dichlorobenzene (DCB) and p-dibromobenzene. Detailed vibrational analyses are given for BTD imbedded in napthalene and DCB. The polarization measurements show that the S₁ state has B₂ symmetry, like its selenium analogue (BSD). The transition is dominated by a single totally symmetric mode - 484 cm^?1. The Herzberg-Teller coupling contributes only a very small fraction of the total intensity. The Stark measurements of a DCB sample containing both BTD and BSD enabled us to compare the charge distribution of BTD and BSD in the state S₁. The Stark splittings of BTD are 17% greater than the splittings of BSD. Reorganization of the σ-core during the excitation is used to explain the difference. The drastic change in dipole moment upon excitation implies that the S₁←S₀ transitions of BTD and BSD are not localized in the six-membered ring as suggested by previous workers. Weak phosphorescence of BTD in napthalene and DCB and singlet-triplet absorption spectrum of neat BTD have been observed. The heavy atom effect of spin-orbit coupling is to explain the ST absorption intensity of BTD and BSD.     

PHOTOINHIBITION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN NATURAL WATERS*

Abstract— A quantitative analysis of the wavelength-dependent influence of solar irradiance on natural phytoplankton photosynthesis has been made. The effect on productivity due to several different UV radiation regimes has been measured. In the course of this analysis, it has been shown that the biological weighting function for photoinhibition of chloroplasts (Jones and Kok, 1966) allows the calculation of a biologically effective dose which is consistent with the measured photoinhibition in natural phytoplankton populations. The ecological implications of a change in available UV radiation, possibly due to anthropogenic altering of the ozone layer, are explored and it is found that the present static bottle ^l4C technique of measuring in situ phytoplankton productivity does not lend itself to assessing accurately the potential ecological consequences of possible increased MUV (middle ultraviolet radiation in the 280–340 nm region) on phytoplankton populations. A small change in MUV has a relatively minor effect on photoinhibition dose rates whereas it has a large potential effect on DNA dose rates.