Extraction of sodium and potassium perchlorates with benzo-18-crown-6 into various organic solvents. Quantitative elucidation of anion effects on the extraction-ability and -selectivity for Na(+) and K(+)

To investigate quantitatively the anion effect on the extraction-ability and -selectivity of benzo-18-crown-6 (B18C6) for alkali metal ions, the constants for overall extraction into various diluents having low dielectric constants (K(ex)) and aqueous ion-pair formation (K(MLA)) of B18C6-sodium and potassium perchlorate 1:1:1 complexes (MLA) were determined at 25 degrees C. The K(ex) value was analyzed by the four fundamental equilibrium constants. The K(MLA) values were determined by applying our established method to this perchlorate extraction system. The K(M(B18C6)A) value of the perchlorate is much larger for K(+) than for Na(+), and is much smaller than that of the picrate. The K(M(B18C6)A) value makes a minor contribution to the magnitude of K(ex) for the perchlorate system, but a major contribution to that for the picrate one. The distribution behavior of the B18C6 1:1:1 complexes with the alkali metal perchlorates follows the regular solution theory. For the diluent with a high dipole moment, however, the 1:1:1 complexes somewhat undergo the dipole-dipole interaction. B18C6 always shows very high extraction selectivity for KClO(4) over NaClO(4), which is determined mostly by the much greater log/(log K(MLA)) value for K(+) than for Na(+). The extraction-ability and -selectivity of B18C6 for Na(+) and K(+) ions with a perchlorate ion were compared with those with a picrate ion in terms of the fundamental equilibrium constants. The K(+) extraction-selectivity of B18C6 over Na(+) for the perchlorate system is superior to that for the picrate one, which is caused largely by the greater log/(log K(K(B18C6)A))-log/(log K(Na(B18C6)A)) value for the perchlorate than for the picrate. The perchlorate system is recommended for extraction separation of K(+) from Na(+).     

Secondary structural changes of chymotrypsinogen A,alpha-chymotrypsin,and the isolated polypeptides Cys1-Leu13, Ile16-Tyr146, and Ala149-Asn245 in sodium dodecyl sulfate,urea and guanidine hydrochloride

Secondary structural changes of chymotrypsinogen A,-chymotrypsin, and their isolated polypeptides Cys¹-Leu¹³, Ile¹⁶-Tyr¹⁴⁶, and Ala¹⁴⁹-Asn²⁴⁵were examined in aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), urea, and guanidine hydrochloride (residue numbers from chymotrypsinogen). After the fragmentation by the cleavage of disulfide bridges in-chymotrypsin, the helical structure was formed in the isolated polypeptide 16–146 where the helical segments do not exist in the protein state. The polypeptide 149–245, where the helical segments of the parent protein are originally located, contained no helices. The polypeptide 1–13 was almost disordered. The three polypeptides, chymotrypsinogen,-chymotrypsin and the polypeptide 16–146, clearly showed differences in the stabilities of helical structures in solutions of urea and guanidine hydrochloride. The addition of SDS accelerated the formation of helical structures in each polypeptide except for 1–13.     

Extraction Equilibria between Benzene and Water of Uni- and Bivalent Metal Picrates with Lariat 16-Crown-5: Effect of the Side Arms on the Extraction Ability and Selectivity

The overall extraction constants (K_ex) of uni- andbivalent metal picrates with 15-(2,5-dioxahexyl)-15-methyl-16-crown-5(L16C5) were determined between benzene and water at 25°C. TheK_ex values were analyzed into the constituent equilibriumconstants, i.e., the extraction constant of picric acid, the distributionconstant of the crown ether, the stability constant of the metalion–crown ether complex in water, and the ion-pair extraction constantof the complex cation with the picrate anion. The K_ex valuedecreases in the orders Ag⁺ > Na⁺ >Tl⁺ > K⁺ > Li⁺ andPb²⁺ > Ba²⁺ > Sr²⁺ for theuni- and bivalent metals, respectively, which are the same as those observedfor 16C5. The extraction selectivity was found to be governed by theselectivity of the ion-pair extraction of the L16C5–metal picratecomplex rather than by that of the complex formation in water. Theextraction ability of L16C5 is smaller for all the metals than that of 16C5,which is mostly attributed to the higher lipophilicity of L16C5. Differencesin the extraction selectivity between L16C5 and 16C5 were observed for thebivalent metals but little for the univalent metals. The side-arm effect onthe extraction selectivity was interpreted on the basis of the negativecorrelation between the effect on the complex stability constant in waterand that on the ion-pair extraction constant.     

Approaches to dioxin analysis by HRGC-HRMS and hybrid HRGC-MS-MS

A hybrid mass spectrometer with an EBQQ configuration was used to investigate two approaches to trace dioxin analysis: high resolution gas chromatography – high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS) and high resolution gas chromatography – mass spectrometry – mass spectrometry (HRGC-MS-MS). It is shown that selected ion monitoring (SIM) HRGC-HRMS exhibits better selectivity for dioxins separated on a cyanopropyl column than is otherwise obtained under medium resolution mass spectrometry (3,000 resolution), while optimization of conditions for HRGC-MS-MS allowed the observation of 350 femtograms of the highly toxic 2,3,7,8-TCDF at a S/N ratio of 5:1. Both methods were applied to environmental samples with good results.     

Biooxidation of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin into 3,4-dihydroxyflavan derivatives by the endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp. isolated from a tea plant

The microbial transformation of (+)-catechin (1) and (-)-epicatechin (2) by endophytic fungi isolated from a tea plant was investigated. It was found that the endophytic filamentous fungus Diaporthe sp. transformed them (1, 2) into the 3,4-cis-dihydroxyflavan derivatives, (+)-(2R,3S,4S)-3,4,5,7,3',4'-hexahydroxyflavan (3) and (-)-(2R,3R,4R)-3,4,5,7,3',4'-hexahydroxyflavan (7), respectively, whereas (-)-catechin (ent-1) and (+)-epicatechin (ent-2) with a 2S-phenyl group resisted the biooxidation.     

Photochemical valence tautomerization of berberinephenolbetaines to 8,14-cycloberbines,versatile aziridine derivatives for spirobenzylisoquinolines

Irradiation of the berberinephenolbetaines ($\text{8}$$\text{a}$, $\text{8}$$\text{b}$, and $\text{8}$$\text{c}$) effected valence tautomerization to give the 8,14-cycloberbines ($\text{9}$$\text{a}$, $\text{9}$$\text{b}$, and $\text{9}$$\text{c}$), the aziridine derivatives, in high yield. The 8,14-cycloberbines were efficiently converted to the spirobenzylisoquinolines by regioselective C bond cleavage.     

REDUCTION OF BIS(BROMO(MESITYL)-{2,4,6-TRIS[BIS(TRIMETHYLSILYL)METHYL]- PHENYL}SILYL)BUTADIYNE WITH POTASSIUM GRAPHITE: UNEXPECTED FORMATION OF 2-ALLENYL-1-BENZOSILOLE

The reductive debromination of an very crowded bis(bromodiaryl- silyl)butadiyne 2 was performed with potassium graphite to give the corresponding 2-allenyl-1-benzosilole 3 was isolated as a main product.