A sample preparation method for recovering suppressed analyte ions in MALDI TOF MS

In matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS), analyte signals can be substantially suppressed by other compounds in the sample. In this technical note, we describe a modified thin‐layer sample preparation method that significantly reduces the analyte suppression effect (ASE). In our method, analytes are deposited on top of the surface of matrix preloaded on the MALDI plate. To prevent embedding of analyte into the matrix crystals, the sample solution were prepared without matrix and efforts were taken not to re‐dissolve the preloaded matrix. The results with model mixtures of peptides, synthetic polymers and lipids show that detection of analyte ions, which were completely suppressed using the conventional dried‐droplet method, could be effectively recovered by using our method. Our findings suggest that the incorporation of analytes in the matrix crystals has an important contributory effect on ASE. By reducing ASE, our method should be useful for the direct MALDI MS analysis of multicomponent mixtures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,molecular characterisation,and in vivo study of platinum(IV) coordination compounds against B16 mouse melanoma tumours

A novel platinum(IV) coordination compound with 6-mercaptopurine (6-Hmp) has been synthesised and characterised by IR and NMR spectroscopy. Spectroscopic parameters indicate the presence of two chelate (S-6, N-7) monodeprotonated ligands and two chloride ions in the coordination sphere of [PtCl₂(6-mp)₂] · H₂O (I). Two Pt(IV) coordination compounds, [PtCl₂(6-mp)₂] · H₂O (I) and [PtCl₄(dbtp)₂] (II), were used in the in vivo test against B16 mouse melanoma tumours. Cytotoxic activity of compound II against the tumour cells was found to be high (LC₁₀ = 2.6 μM, LC₅₀ = 17.0 μM, LC₉₀ = 58.0 μM) compared to that of cisplatin.     

Sharp Spectral Asymptotics and Weyl Formula for Elliptic Operators with Non-smooth Coefficients

The aim of this paper is to give the Weyl formula for eigenvalues of self-adjoint elliptic operators, assuming that first-order derivatives of the coefficients are Lipschitz continuous. The approach is based on the asymptotic formula of Hörmander"s type for the spectral function of pseudodifferential operators having Lipschitz continuous Hamiltonian flow and obtained via a regularization procedure of nonsmooth coefficients.     

Interpolation between and

We show that if is a rearrangement invariant space on that is an interpolation space between and and for which we have only a one-sided estimate of the Boyd index 1/p, 1 < p < \infty$">, then is an interpolation space between and . This gives a positive answer for a question posed by Semenov. We also present the one-sided interpolation theorem about operators of strong type and weak type .

     

Rapid two-step synthesis of mitrin from heparosan: a replacement for heparin

We have engineered a two-step enzymatic synthesis of Mitrin which is a more potent and homogeneous anticoagulant than the current animal-derived heparin. This engineered heparin may have advantages of being free from animal-derived pathogens and may also have reduced side effects such as heparin induced thrombocytopenia. This approach can also be extended to tailor heparin-based drugs with improved therapeutic characteristics to treat other disorders or infections in which heparin-like molecules play a major role.     

Facile and practical synthesis of a cannabinoid-1 antagonist via regio- and stereoselective ring-opening of an aziridinium ion

A scalable synthetic strategy of a chiral, trisubstituted imidazolidinone (1), a novel cannabinoid-1 antagonist, starting from a commercially available mandelic acid (5) is described. The key step involves a regio- and stereoselective ring-opening of an aziridinium ion by an aniline nucleophile (3). A mechanistic study revealed the insight into rate amplification at a lower temperature for vicinal diamine 12 formation via a aziridinium ion 14. Although most intermediates are not isolable by crystallization due to their intrinsic physical properties (oil or foamy solid), the reported synthesis furnished pure 1 without any chromatography purification throughout the entire synthesis. Employing green chemistry principles, this novel synthesis appears to be highly efficient for the manufacturing of multi-kilogram quantities of an optically-pure active pharmaceutical ingredient.     

On a problem of Eidelheit from The Scottish Book concerning absolutely continuous functions

A negative solution of Problem 188 posed by Max Eidelheit in the Scottish Book concerning superpositions of separately absolutely continuous functions is presented. We discuss here this and some related problems which have also negative solutions. Finally, we give an explanation of such negative answers from the “embeddings of Banach spaces” point of view.