Absolute Configuration of Multifidene and Viridiene,the Sperm Releasing and Attracting Pheromones of Brown Algae

The absolute configurations of the two algal pheromones multifidene 1 and viridiene 2 were determined as (+)-(3S, 4S)-3-[(Z)-1-butenyl]-4-vinylcyclopentene and (+)-(3R, 4S)-3-[(1Z)-1, 3-butadienyl]-4-vinylcyclopentene, respectively. The strategy involves enzyme-initiated asymmetric synthesis of the ring-saturated pheromone analogues (+)- 8a and (?)- 8b and their subsequent catalytic hydrogenation to the chiral cycloalkanes 9a and 9b , only the letter of which is also obtained from the two natural messengers (+)- 1 or (+)- 2 . Biological activity assays proved these enantiomers of 1 or 2 to be the characteristic pheromones for male gametes of the seaweeds Syringoderma, Cutleria multifida and Chorda tomentosa.     

Identification of proteinaceous binding media of easel paintings by gas chromatography of the amino acid derivatives after catalytic hydrolysis by a protonated cation exchanger

Summary A procedure for the hydrolysis of proteins, based on catalysis by the protonated form of a strong cation exchanger, was established for proteinaceous binding media (e.g. casein, egg, animal collagene) used for objects of art. The experimental parameters for the hydrolysis (temperature, time) were optimized, as well as the conditions for sorption and desorption of the amino acids on the cation exchanger. The results for the identification of proteins by the gas chromatographic pattern of the amino acid derivatives, after hydrolysis by the ion exchanger and by hydrochloric acid were compared. The former method proved to be more efficient due to the mild conditions, avoiding the formation of humins in the presence of carbohydrates, and reducing the dissolution of pigments. The method was applied to identify the proteinaceous vehicles of samples from priming and paint layers of easel and wall paintings from the 16th and 18th century.     

A new multi-residue method for analysis of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection

A new multi-residue method for determination of pesticide residues in a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, using the National Food Administration (NFA) ethyl acetate extraction and determination by means of LC-MS/MS, is presented. The method includes pesticides normally detected by LC-UV or LC-fluorescence such as benzimidazoles, carbamates, N-methylcarbamates and organophosphorus compounds with an oxidisable sulphide group as well. After extraction with ethyl acetate, the extract is concentrated and an aliquot of the extract is evaporated to dryness and redissolved in methanol before injection on LC-MS/MS. The method has been validated for 57 different pesticides and metabolites. Representative species from different commodity groups were chosen as matrices in order to study the influence from different matrices on recoveries. The fortification levels studied were 0.01-0.5 mg kg(-1). Matrix effects were tested for all matrices by means of standard addition to blank extracts. The matrix effect, expressed as signal in solvent compared to signal in matrix, was in general found to be small. The obtained recoveries are, with a few exceptions, in the range 70-100%. The proposed method is quick and straightforward and no additional clean-up steps are needed. The method can be used for the analysis of all 57 pesticides in one single determination step at 0.01 mg kg(-1).     

Study of the oxidative half‐reaction catalyzed by a non‐heme ferrous catalytic center by means of structural and computational methodologies

Deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS) is a mononuclear ferrous enzyme that catalyzes the expansion of the five‐membered thiazolidine ring of the penicillin nucleus into the six‐membered dihydrothiazine ring of the cephalosporins. In the first half‐reaction with dioxygen and 2‐oxoglutarate, a reactive iron–oxygen species is produced that can subsequently react with the penicillin substrate to yield the cephalosporin. We describe quantum mechanical calculations of the first part of the reaction based on the high‐resolution structures of the active site of DAOCS and its complexes with ligands. These studies are aimed at understanding how the reactive species can be produced and contained in the active site of the enzyme. The results demonstrate the priming of the active site by the co‐substrate for oxygen binding and hint to the presence of a stable iron–peroxo intermediate in equilibrium with a more reactive ferryl species and the formation of CO₂ as a leaving group by decarboxylation of 2‐oxoglutarate. A conclusion from these studies is that substitution of CO₂ by the penicillin substrate triggers the oxidation reaction in a booby‐trap‐like mechanism. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Orientierungsverhalten von segmentierten Polyurethanen in Abhängigkeit von der Folienpräparation und dem Zeitpunkt der Orientierungsbestimmung

Zusammenfassung Bei der Drehung von entmischten Block-Copolymeren treten kontinuums- und molekularmechanische Dremomente an den Domänen der härteren Phase auf. Dies führt im Fall der segmentierten Polyurethane zu einer anfänglichen Negativorientierung der Hartsegmente, die als Hinweis auf eine stark anisotrope Domänenform zu verstehen ist, wobei die Hartsegmente in Richtung der kurzen Domänenachse liegen. Hiervon ausgehend werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit Zusammenhänge zwischen der Probenpräparation (ca. 6m dicke Folien) und der Negativorientierung erarbeitet, um so ein Kriterium für die von Fall zu Fall unterschiedliche Domänenmorphologie zu gewinnen. Gleichzeitig ergeben sich Hinweise auf unterschiedliche Relaxationsmechanismen, die sich überlagern und so teilweise eine Erhöhung, teilweise eine Erniedrigung der Orientierung bedingen.Herrn Prof. Dr. F. H. Müller gewidmet.     

7-Deazaguanosine: Synthesis of an oligorbonucleotide building block and disaggregation of the U-G-G-G-G-U G4 structure by the modified base

Building blocks derived from 7-deazaguanosine (c⁷G, 1 ) were prepared for solid-phase oligoribonucleotide synthesis. Compound 1 was converted into the isobutyurl derivative 2b and the (dimethylamino)methylidene compound 3 (Scheme 1). After tritylation (→ 4a , b ), silylation was studied with regard to regioselectivity. It was found that the triisopropylsilyl group in combination with the (dimethylamino)methylidene residue gave the highest 2′ -selectivity (→ 5e ). The 2′ -O -silyl derivative 5e was reacted with PCl₃ affording the 3′ -phosphonate 7 which was used in solid-phase oligoribonucleotide synthesis. Oligonucleotides derived from U-G-G-G-G-U with an increasing number of c⁷G residues instead of G were synthesized. Aggregation was studied by polyacrylamidegel electrophoresis and CD Spectroscopy. Disaggregation of the G₄-structure of U-G-G-G-G-U was observed when c⁷G replaced G, demonstrating that guanine N(7) participates in the aggregation process.     

Multi-parameter investigation of tandem mass spectrometry in a linear ion trap using response surface modelling

The feasibility of experimental design in combination with subsequent response surface modelling was illustrated for the prediction and interpretation of tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) fragmentation data using a linear quadrupole ion trap under various experimental conditions. The instrumental parameters included were (i) the pressure of the collision gas, (ii) the collision energy, (iii) the fill time of the linear ion trap and (iv) the scan rate. The spectral intensity and width of five fragment ions of the doubly charged neuro-active peptide bombesin were used for evaluation, and all experiments were performed so as to resemble the results obtained from a liquid chromatographic peak. The reported results show how fairly simple mathematical tools can be utilized successfully to describe fundamental mechanisms associated with multiple collisional activation and collision-induced dissociation processes without an extensively controlled experimental environment. Most beneficial, using the suggested approach, is the ability to study interaction (synergistic) effects between various parameters. As was realized from the results, many interaction effects are indeed significant. For example, the effect on the signal intensity of different collision gas pressure settings is strongly dependent on the settings of the other parameters. The described approach can easily be adopted for optimization purposes of any MS/MS experiment.     

Generation of larger numbers of separated microbial populations by cultivation in segmented-flow microdevices

The high speed production of fluid segments for the highly parallelized cultivation of monoclonal cell populations was carried out by the use of microchip segmentor modules. Aqueous fluid segments, embedded in a non-miscible carrier liquid, were produced with frequencies up to 30 s(-1) and showed a high homogeneity in size. This corresponds with the production of about 2.5 million samples per day. The segment volumes can be adapted between about 4 nl and 100 nl. The typical segment size for cultivation experiments is in the range between 40 nl and 80 nl. Nutrient medium can be applied instead of pure water. It is possible to aliquot a cell suspension in such a way that most of the aqueous fluid segments contain only one cell. In model experiments with four microbial species chip-produced aliquots of 60 nl, each containing one or a few cells, were incubated in Teflon capillary tubes. Rapid growth of the microcultures was observed. Cell densities were found to be as high as in conventional shake flask cultures.