Application of polarity switching in the identification of the metabolites of RO9237

Polarity switching mass spectrometry is an efficient way to collect structural data on drug metabolites. The value of this approach is illustrated with the in vitro metabolism of RO9237. Metabolites are identified by positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI) full scan mass spectrometry, MS/MS and MS(3) using unlabelled and (14)C-radiolabelled versions of the drug. Comparison of the relative detectability of these metabolites by +ESI and -ESI shows that neither ESI mode is universal. It is advantageous to screen for metabolites using both positive and negative ionization modes. This is especially true for phase II metabolism which tends to make molecules more polar and often more acidic. Identification of phase II metabolites also benefits greatly from MS(3) experiments because the conjugating groups typically are cleaved in MS/MS and information on the core structure is only obtained in MS(3). A special case of phase II metabolism is the generation of glutathione (GSH) conjugates from reactive metabolites. The detection of GSH conjugates also benefits from generating both positive and negative ESI mass spectral data.     

Effect of agents modifying the membrane dipole potential on properties of syringomycin E channels

We evaluated the effect of agents modifying the membrane dipole potential: phloretin, 6-ketocholestanol and RH 421 on the properties of single channels formed by lipodepsipeptide syringomycin E (SRE) in planar lipid bilayers. SRE forms two conductive states in lipid bilayers: "small" and "large." Large SRE channels are clusters of several small ones, demonstrating synchronous openings and closures. The increase in the membrane dipole potential led to (i) an increase in SRE channel conductance, (ii) an increase in the channel's lifetime, and (iii) a decrease in a number of synchronously operating small channels in the clusters. Overall, the results support the model of the small SRE channel synchronization in the cluster as voltage-dependent orientation of the lipid dipoles associated with the channel pores.     

Solvent Mixture Optimization in the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities from Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Garlic is a health promoter that has important bioactive compounds. The bioactive extraction is an important step in the analysis of constituents present in plant preparations. The purpose of this study is to optimize the extraction with the best proportion of solvents to obtain total phenolic compounds (TPC) and thiosulfinates (TS) from dried garlic powder, and evaluate the antioxidant activities of the optimized extracts. A statistical mixture simplex axial design was used to evaluate the effect of solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone), as well as mixtures of these solvents, after two ultrasound extraction cycles of 15 min. Results showed that solvent mixtures with a high portion of water and pure water were efficient for TPC and TS recovery through this extraction procedure. According to the regression model computed, the most significant solvent mixtures to obtain high TPC and TS recovery from dried garlic powder are, respectively, the binary mixture with 75% water and 25% acetone and pure water. These optimized extracts presented oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Pure water was better for total antioxidant capacity, and the binary mixture of water–acetone (75:25) was better for DPPH scavenging activity. These optimized extracts can be used for industrial and research applications.     

Effect of the carbon filler on the curing kinetics of epoxycyanate cooligomer

The influence of carbon fibre on the curing kinetics of the prepolymer based on bisphenol A cyanurate and epoxy resin has been studied using infra‐red spectroscopy. It was found that curing process of prepolymer is very complicated. It is shown that in curing the prepolymer a number of the sequential transformations of ones cycle structure into others occurs. An introduction of the carbon fiber (CF) of two types, original CF and modified CF (MCF) containing phosphate groups, affect strongly the prepolymer curing. Both CF and MCF accelerate the conversion rate of epoxy groups. In the case of cyanate groups, the former does not practically affect their conversion whereas the latter decelerates strongly this process. In the paper the influence mechanism of CF is considered.     

The layered structure of poly­[[di‐μ‐chloro‐bis­[chloro(2‐ethyl­tetrazole‐κN4)copper(II)]]‐di‐μ‐2‐ethyl­tetrazole‐κ2N1:N4]

In the polymeric title complex, [CuCl₂(C₃H₆N₄)₂]_n, there are two ligands in the asymmetric unit. The Cu atom adopts an elongated octahedral geometry, with two 2‐ethyl­tetrazole ligands [Cu—N = 2.0037 (16) and 2.0136 (16) Å] and two Cl atoms [Cu—Cl = 2.2595 (6) and 2.2796 (6) Å] in equatorial positions. A Cl atom and a symmetry‐related 2‐ethyl­tetrazole mol­ecule [Cu—Cl = 2.8845 (8) Å and Cu—N = 2.851 (2) Å] lie in the axial positions of the octahedron. One of the two 2‐­ethyltetrazole ligands of the asymmetric unit exhibits bidentate binding to two Cu atoms through two N atoms of the tetrazole ring, whereas the other ligand is coordinated in a monodentate fashion via one tetrazole N atom. The Cu‐atom octahedra form dimer entities by sharing edges with equatorial and axial Cl atoms. The dimers are linked together through the 2‐ethyl­tetrazole ligands to form one‐dimensional polymeric zigzag chains extending along the b axis. The chains are connected into infinite layers parallel to the (10) plane via the 2‐ethyl­tetrazole ligands.     

2‐Nitr­imino‐1‐nitro­imidazolidine

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C₃H₅N₅O₄, has a planar geometry. Due to the presence of a second nitro group, the lengths of the two conjugated C—N bonds are different. Nevertheless, the conjugation of the nitr­imine group spreads to the nitr­amine group. Intermolecular N—H...O bonds connect mol­ecules into dimers in the crystal structure.     

1,2‐Dinitroguanidine

The title compound, CH₃N₅O₄, is almost planar, and the conformation is fixed by two intramolecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Owing to the delocalization of π‐electron density over the whole mol­ecule, there is through‐conjugation, with the C—N, N—N and N—O bond lengths having values intermediate between those typical for the corresponding single and double bonds.     

TNT-Based condensation monomers and polymers

New aromatic diamines were obtained on the basis of available and inexpensive 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (trotyl, TNT). Monomers obtained were used for the preparation of the new organo-soluble polyimides containing thiophenoxy and phenoxy side groups.     

High Solid Acrylic–Melamine Latexes with Tunable Crosslinking Capability

Miniemulsion polymerization is employed to produce high solid content (50%) acrylic/melamine latexes with varied crosslinking capability, for their potential application as waterborne crosslinkable coatings. This synthesis strategy allows the efficient incorporation of a hydrophobic crosslinker, iso‐butylated melamine (iBMF), into polymer particles, and to obtain latexes with different iBMF concentrations and acrylic polymer with varied content of hydroxylic groups (OH–). The involved crosslinking mechanisms and the physical transformations during film thermosetting of acrylic/iBMF nanocomposite are exhaustively investigated by combining thermal, spectroscopic, and thermo‐mechanical analyses. The influence of reactive groups concentration (iBMF and OH– content in the acrylic polymer) on the rate of curing, the crosslinking degree, and consequently onto the sensitive properties of cured films are discussed here.