The different steric environments of the 5-exo- and 5-endo- substituent for a pair of isomeric tricarbonyl(methoxycyclohexa-1,-diene)irons

A shift reagent has been employed to demonstrate the sterically-hindered environment of the methoxy group in tricarbonyl(5-endo-methoxycyclohexa-1,-diene)iron relative to that of the methoxy group in the 5-exo analogue.     

Synthesis of the Deuterium Labeled Isoflavone-<Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-glucoside 8,3′,5′-D<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Daidzin

The regio- and stereospecific glycosylation of 8,3′,5′-trideuterodaidzein 1 with α-acetobromoglucose to provide 8,3′,5′-trideuterodaidzein-7-O-β-glucopyranoside 2 is presented.     

Model studies for the synthesis of galbonolide B

The construction of the fourteen membered ring present in galbonolide B 1 is reported. The 10,11-diene system present in the southern portion of has been constructed using an ester enolate rearrangement/silicon mediated fragmentation cascade, whilst the macrocycle has been synthesised following a Johnson rearrangement/mercury assisted ring closure protocol.     

High-resolution four-dimensional 1H-13C NOE spectroscopy using methyl-TROSY, sparse data acquisition, and multidimensional decomposition

An approach for recording four-dimensional (4D) methyl (1)H-(13)C-(13)C-(1)H NOESY spectra with high resolution and sensitivity is presented and applied to Malate Synthase G (723 residues, 82 kDa). Sensitivity and resolution have been optimized using a highly deuterated, methyl-protonated sample in concert with methyl-TROSY, sparse data sampling in the three indirect dimensions, and 4D spectral reconstruction using multidimensional decomposition (MDD). A sparse data acquisition protocol is introduced that ensures that sufficiently long indirect acquisition times can be employed to exploit the decreased relaxation rates associated with methyl-TROSY, without increasing the duration of the 4D experiment beyond acceptable measurement times. In this manner, only a fraction ( approximately 30%) of the experimental data that would normally be needed to achieve a spectrum of high resolution is acquired. The reconstructed 4D spectrum is of similar resolution and sensitivity to three-dimensional (3D) (13)C-edited NOE spectra, is straightforward to analyze, and resolves ambiguities that emerge when 3D data sets only are considered.     

Functionalization of the 4(5)methyl group of imidazoles: A novel synthesis of substituted imidazoles

Acyl vinyl phosphonium salts react with amidines to form imidazolyl phosphonium salts. These imidazolyl salts can be readily converted to multifunctional imidazoles with quantitative recovery of triphenyl phosphine.     

Low temperature spectroscopic observation of oxygen-protonated troponeiron tricarbonyl complexes

Troponeiron tricarbonyl and 7-methyltroponeiron tricarbonyl undergo kinetically controlled oxygen protonation at low temperatures to give the corresponding hydroxytropyliumiron tricarbonyl cations, observable by ¹C and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. At higher temperatures, the oxygen-protonated species isomerize to yield the thermodynamically more stable carbon-protonated pentadienyliron tricarbonyl cations.     

Side chain assignments of Ile delta 1 methyl groups in high molecular weight proteins: an application to a 46 ns tumbling molecule

A sensitive 3D NMR pulse scheme, (H)C(CA)NH-COSY, is presented for the assignment of (13)C(delta)(1) Ile chemical shifts in large perdeuterated, methyl-protonated proteins. The nonlinearity of branched amino acids, such as Ile, significantly degrades the quality of TOCSY schemes which transfer magnetization from methyl carbons to the backbone (13)C(alpha) positions, and in applications to high molecular weight proteins (correlation times on the order of 40-50 ns), this compromises the sensitivity of spectra used for methyl assignment. The experiment presented utilizes COSY-based transfer steps and refocuses undesirable (13)C-(13)C scalar couplings that degrade the efficiency of TOCSY transfers. The (H)C(CA)NH-COSY scheme is tested on an (15)N,(13)C,(2)H-[Leu, Val, Ile (delta 1 only)]-methyl-protonated maltose binding protein (MBP)/beta-cyclodextrin complex at 5 degrees C (molecular tumbling time 46 +/- 2 ns), facilitating the assignment of (13)C(delta 1) chemical shifts for 18 of the 19 Ile residues for which backbone assignments were previously obtained. Both sensitivity and resolution of the resulting spectra are shown to be significantly better than those for a similar TOCSY-based approach.     

Analysis of Ginkgo biloba for the presence of ginkgotoxin and ginkgotoxin 5'-glucoside

Hot water extracts of Ginkgo biloba seeds were analyzed for the presence of ginkgotoxin (4'-O-methylpyridoxine) by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) using methanol-0.05M KH2PO4 (1 + 9, v/v) adjusted to pH 3 as mobile phase. Detection was by fluorescence (excitation 280 nm, emission 370 nm). A straight line calibration curve was obtained for the 10-100 ng injected. After addition of beta-glucosidase (37 degrees C/h), an earlier eluting peak disappeared and the ginkgotoxin peak increased. The identity of the ginkgotoxin was confirmed by LC/MS and LC/MS/MS. LC/MS/MS also confirmed the 5'-glucoside by comparison with the 3-glucoside. This is the first identification of a glucoside of ginkgotoxin in Ginkgo biloba. An unknown compound of MW 267 also observed in the Ginkgo biloba seed extract was shown not to be 3,5'-diacetylginkgotoxin by its different LC retention time. Extraction of ground Ginkgo biloba seeds with boiling water in a Soxhlet for 2 x 2 h yielded a total of 179 microg/g of free ginkgotoxin. The concentration in powder from Ginkgo biloba capsules was several times lower than this (17-64 microg/g) in 3 samples but higher in another (457 microg/g). Canned ginkgo seeds (white nuts) contained no detectable free ginkgotoxin but the glucoside was present. Different extraction times were studied: 0.5 h gave only 52 microg/g free ginkgotoxin in the ginkgo seeds. However, boiling an extract for 4 h showed about 15% loss of ginkgotoxin and its glucoside.     

Snapshots of dioxygen activation by copper: the structure of a 1:1 Cu/O(2) adduct and its use in syntheses of asymmetric Bis(mu-oxo) complexes

The X-ray structure of a 1:1 Cu/O(2) adduct revealed side-on (eta(2)) O(2) coordination. Density functional calculations corroborated the structure, indicated a significant contribution of a Cu(III)-(O(2)(2-)) resonance form, and provided insights into the key bonding interactions. Reaction of a 1:1 adduct supported by a slightly different beta-diketiminate ligand with Cu(I) reagents resulted in the formation of novel asymmetric bis(mu-oxo) complexes that were identified by EPR, UV-vis, and Raman spectroscopy, as well as by an X-ray structure in one instance.     

Off-resonance R(1rho) NMR studies of exchange dynamics in proteins with low spin-lock fields: an application to a Fyn SH3 domain

An (15)N NMR R(1rho) relaxation experiment is presented for the measurement of millisecond time scale exchange processes in proteins. On- and off-resonance R(1rho) relaxation profiles are recorded one residue at a time using a series of one-dimensional experiments in concert with selective Hartmann-Hahn polarization transfers. The experiment can be performed using low spin-lock field strengths (values as low as 25 Hz have been tested), with excellent alignment of magnetization along the effective field achieved. Additionally, suppression of the effects of cross-correlated relaxation between dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy interactions and (1)H-(15)N scalar coupled evolution is straightforward to implement, independent of the strength of the (15)N spin-locking field. The methodology is applied to study the folding of a G48M mutant of the Fyn SH3 domain that has been characterized previously by CPMG dispersion experiments. It is demonstrated through experiment that off-resonance R(1rho) data measured at a single magnetic field and one or more spin-lock field strengths, with amplitudes on the order of the rate of exchange, allow a complete characterization of a two-site exchange process. This is possible even in the case of slow exchange on the NMR time scale, where complementary approaches involving CPMG-based experiments fail. Advantages of this methodology in relation to other approaches are described.