Rapid determination of underivatized pyroglutamic acid, glutamic acid, glutamine and other relevant amino acids in fermentation media by LC-MS-MS

Determination of amino acids in a complex matrix without derivatization is advantageous, however, difficulties are found in both the detection and the separation of those compounds. In this study, a rapid and reliable LC-MS-MS method for the quantitation of underivatized amino acids in exocellular media was established. Injections were made directly after centrifugation of the samples, without further preparation. The separation of seven underivatized amino acids was achieved on a reversed-phase C18 column with pentadecafluorooctanoic acid as a volatile ion-pair reagent, and the specific detection of most amino acids was achieved by MS-MS of the specific transitions [M + H]+-->[M + H - 46]+. The calibration curves of all analytes were linear over the range of 1.0-1000 microg ml(-1) and the detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 5 ng ml(-1), with an injection volume of 20 microl. The inter-day and intra-day precisions ranged from 2.6 to 5.7% and 4.8 to 8.2%, respectively; the mean recoveries of the seven analytes were 81-104%, 91-107% and 93-101% respectively at the spiked level of 10, 40 and 200 microg ml(-1). A large number of fermentation samples were analysed using this method. The technique is simple, rapid, selective and sensitive, and shows potential for the high-throughput quantitation of amino acids from other biological matrices.     

Swallowtail porphyrins: synthesis, characterization and incorporation into porphyrin dyads

The incorporation of symmetrically branched tridecyl ("swallowtail") substituents at the meso positions of porphyrins results in highly soluble building blocks. Synthetic routes have been investigated to obtain porphyrin building blocks bearing 1-4 swallowtail groups. Porphyrin dyads have been synthesized in which the zinc or free base (Fb) porphyrins are joined by a 4,4'-diphenylethyne linker and bear swallowtail (or n-pentyl) groups at the nonlinking meso positions. The swallowtail-substituted Zn(2)- and ZnFb-dyads are readily soluble in common organic solvents. Static absorption and fluorescence spectra and electrochemical data show that the presence of the swallowtail groups slightly raises the energy level of the filled a(2u)(pi) HOMO. EPR studies of the pi-cation radicals of the swallowtail porphyrins indicate that the torsional angle between the proton on the alkyl carbon and p-orbital on the meso carbon of the porphyrin is different from that of a porphyrin bearing linear pentyl groups. Regardless, the swallowtail substituents do not significantly affect the photophysical properties of the porphyrins or the electronic interactions between the porphyrins in the dyads. In particular, time-resolved spectroscopic studies indicate that facile excited-state energy transfer occurs in the ZnFb dyad, and EPR studies of the monocation radical of the Zn(2)-dyad show that interporphyrin ground-state hole transfer is rapid.     

Synthesis, Structure and Characterization of [Cu(2,2'-bpy)2][{Cu(2,2'-bpy)2}2W12O40(H2)]·4H2O

An organic-inorganic compound [Cu(2,2'-bpy)2][{Cu(2,2'-bpy)2}2W12O4o(H2)]·4H2O (Mr = 4048.00) was prepared from the hydrothermal reaction of Na2WO4·2H2O, CuCl2·2H2O,2,2'-bipyridine (2,2'-bpy) and H2O at 160 ℃ for 4 days. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/n with a = 18.9196(8), b = 20.4212(8), c = 21.8129(9)(A), β=96.992(3)°, V= 8365.0(6) (A)3, Dc= 3.214 g/cm3, Z = 4,μ(MoKα) = 17.269 mm-1 and F(000) = 7324.Of the 119837 total reflections, 17315 were unique (Rint = 0.0489). The final R = 0.0385 and wR =0.0770 for 11142 observed reflections with I ＞ 2σ(I). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the structure is composed of [{Cu(2,2'-bpy)2}2W12O40(H2)]2- anions, discrete [Cu(2,2'-bpy)2]2 cations and lattice water molecules, and the anion is made up of a {W12O40(H2)}6- α-Keggin core decorated with two {Cu(2,2'-bpy)2}2 groups through bridging oxygen atoms.     

An all-organic aqueous potassium dual-ion battery

Benefiting from the environmental friendliness of organic electrodes and the high security of aqueous electrolyte,an all-organic aqueous potassium dual-ion full...     

Coral reef-like polyanaline nanotubes prepared by a reactive template of manganese oxide for supercapacitor electrode

Coral reef-like PANI nanotubes composed of nanopaticles were successfully synthesized by a reactive template of manganese oxide.The structure was characterized by using SEM,TEM,and FT-IR,and the supercapacitive behaviors of these nanotubes were investigated with cyclic voltammetry（CV）,and charge-discharge tests,respectively.A maximum specific capacitance of 533 F/g could be achieved in 1mol/L aqueous H₂SO₄ with the potential range of -0.2 to 0.8 V（vs.the saturated calomel electrode） in a half-cell setup configuration for PANI electrode,suggesting its potential application in the electrode material for electrochemical capacitors.     

New reactivities of deltaline analogs: an efficient O-demethylation at C-1 and an unusual extrusion of the C-14 atom

O-Demethylation at C-1 in the C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloids is very challenging. In this paper, it was firstly observed that 10-OH group in deltaline (1) is a determining factor for the O-demethylation reaction. After removal of this hydroxyl group, 1-O-methyl group in the corresponding deltaline analogs can be readily removed by treatment with HBr–HOAc. Meanwhile, the C-14 atom in bromides 18 or 20 can be extruded under basic condition probably via a sequence, including Grob fragmentation, aerobic oxidation, deformylation, and S_N2 nucleophilic substitution, to give enone 21 (70%) and oxetane 22 (14%). The structure of compound 22 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis of its derivative 21.     

Why calcium inhibits magnesium-dependent enzyme phosphoserine phosphatase? A theoretical study

Mechanisms for the formation of the Schiff base from acetaldehyde and butylamine, glycine and phosphatidylethanolamine based on Dmol3/DFT calculations were realized. For the case of phosphatidylethanolamine, calculations were done under periodic boundary conditions, in an amine-phospholipid monolayer model with two molecules of phosphatidylethanolamine by cell. All models contained explicit aqueous solvent. In the three cases, a neutral amino group is used to model the nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl group of acetaldehyde, and water molecules form hydrogen bond networks. These networks were involved in the reactions by performing as proton-transfer carriers, important in some steps of reactions, and stabilizing reaction intermediates. In all the studied reactions, they take place in two steps, namely: (1) formation of a carbinolamine and (2) its dehydration to the Schiff base, being the dehydration the rate-determining step of the process, consistent with available experimental evidence for similar reactions. The main difference between the studied reactions is found in the value for relative free energy for the intermediates and transition states in the second step; these values are lower in the cases of glycine and phosphatidylethanolamine in comparison with butylamine, due the influence of their molecular environments. Based on the results, the aminophospholipid surface environment and carboxylic group of glycine may boost Schiff base formation via a neighboring catalyst effect.