Influence of buffer substances and urea on the beta-cyclodextrin-mediated chiral separation of dipeptides in CE

The influence of buffering substances and urea on the beta-CD-mediated chiral separations of the dipeptides Ala-Phe and Ala-Tyr was studied in the pH range of 2.5-3.8. Only minor effects of the buffer substances on the chiral separation selectivity alpha were observed at a beta-CD concentration of 15 mg/mL. In contrast, the selectivity improved at pH 2.5 but decreased at pH 3.8 upon the addition of 2 M urea. Complexation by beta-CD resulted in a shift of the pK(a) values toward higher values which was more pronounced for the DD-enantiomers of both dipeptides than for the LL-enantiomers. Addition of urea further increased the pK(a) shift. The consequence of this pK(a) shift is an increase of the fraction of the protonated, positively charged form of the peptides which explained the improved chiral separation at pH 2.5 and the reduced selectivity at pH 3.8. A pK(a) shift by the addition of urea was also observed for N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl phenylalanine (BOC-Phe) as a model compound that is strongly complexed by beta-CD. This effect was not stereospecific. Addition of urea resulted in a decrease of the apparent complexation constants between beta-CD and the BOC-Phe enantiomers to the same extent but this did not affect the separation selectivity alpha. For chiral separations that display strong pH dependence such as peptide enantioseparations close to the pK(a) values of the compounds, urea may not solely be regarded as a solubility enhancer for beta-CD but may also influence the separation.     

MW-assisted Er(OTf)3-catalyzed mild cleavage of isopropylidene acetals in Tricky substrates

Erbium(III) trifluoromethane sulfonate is proposed as a very gentle Lewis acid catalyst in a MW-assisted chemoselective method for the cleavage of isopropylidene acetals in awkward substrates by using pure water as the solvent.     

Polyelectrolyte entry and transport through an asymmetric alpha-hemolysin channel

We study the entry and transport of a polyelectrolyte, dextran sulfate (DS), through an asymmetric alpha-hemolysin protein channel inserted into a planar lipid bilayer. We compare the dynamics of the DS chains as they enter the channel at the opposite stem or vestibule sides. Experiments are performed at the single-molecule level by using an electrical method. The frequency of current blockades varies exponentially as a function of applied voltage. This frequency is smaller for the stem entrance than for the vestibule one, due to a smaller coupling with the electric field and a larger activation energy for entry. The value of the activation energy is quantitatively interpreted as an entropic effect of chain confinement. The translocation time decreases when the applied voltage increases and displays an exponential variation which is independent of the stem or vestibule sides.     

Improved analysis of melamine-formaldehyde resins by capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry using ion-trap and quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometers

An improved method based on capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) coupled to either ion-trap (IT) mass spectrometry (MS) or quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF) MS for the analysis of melamine-formaldehyde condensates is presented. Employing a formic acid-based electrolyte containing 50% acetonitrile (ACN) and MS detection up to 13 compounds could be determined in lab-made resins, synthesized by mixing formaldehyde and melamine in different ratios ranging from 1:1.5 to 1:4. The use of a Q-TOF-MS for detection allowed the assignment of molecular formulas for all 13 substances with high accuracy.     

Protein-matrix coupling/uncoupling in "dry" systems of photosynthetic reaction center embedded in trehalose/sucrose: the origin of trehalose peculiarity

Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide of glucose found in organisms, which can survive adverse conditions such as extreme drought and high temperatures. Furthermore, isolated structures, as enzymes or liposomes, embedded in trehalose are preserved against stressing conditions [see, e.g., Crowe, L. M. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A 2002, 131, 505-513]. Among other hypotheses, such protective effect has been suggested to stem, in the case of proteins, from the formation of a water-mediated, hydrogen bond network, which anchors the protein surface to the water-sugar matrix, thus coupling the internal degrees of freedom of the biomolecule to those of the surroundings [Giuffrida, S.; et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2003, 107, 13211-13217]. Analogous protective effect is also accomplished by other saccharides, although with a lower efficiency. Here, we studied the recombination kinetics of the primary, light-induced charge separated state (P(+)Q(A)(-)) and the thermal stability of the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides in trehalose-water and in sucrose-water matrixes of decreasing water content. Our data show that, in sucrose, at variance with trehalose, the system undergoes a "nanophase separation" when the water/sugar mole fraction is lower than the threshold level approximately 0.8. We rationalize this result assuming that the hydrogen bond network, which anchors the RC surface to its surrounding, is formed in trehalose but not in sucrose. We suggest that both the couplings, in the case of trehalose, and the nanophase separation, in the case of sucrose, start at low water content when the components of the system enter in competition for the residual water.     

Membrane-assisted solvent extraction of seven phenols combined with large volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometric detection

Membrane-assisted solvent extraction (MASE) was applied for the determination of seven phenols (phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol) with log Kow (octanol-water-partition-coefficient) between 1.46 (phenol) and 5.12 (pentachlorophenol) in water. The extraction solvents cyclohexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform were tested and ethyl acetate proved to be the best choice. The optimisation of extraction conditions showed the necessity of adding 5 g of sodium chloride to each aqueous sample to give a saturated solution (333 g/L). The pH-value of the sample was adjusted to 2 in order to convert all compounds into their neutral form. An extraction time of 60 min was found to be optimal. Under these conditions the recovery of phenol, the most polar compound, was 11%. The recoveries of the other analytes ranged between 42% (2-chlorophenol) and 98% (2,4-dichlorophenol). Calibration was performed using large volume injection (100 microL injection volume). At optimised conditions the limits of detection were between 0.01 and 0.6 microg/L and the relative standard deviation (n = 3) was on average about 10%. After the method optimisation with reagent water membrane-assisted solvent extraction was applied to two contaminated ground water samples from the region of Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The results demonstrate the good applicability of membrane-assisted solvent extraction for polar analytes like phenols, without the necessity of derivatisation or a difficult and time-consuming sample preparation.     

Quantification of the plant-derived hallucinogen Salvinorin A in conventional and non-conventional biological fluids by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry after Salvia divinorum smoking

A gas chromatography method with mass spectrometric detection is described for the determination of Salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of the hallucinogenic mint Salvia divinorum. The method was validated in plasma, urine, saliva and sweat using 17-alpha-methyltestosterone as internal standard. The analytes were extracted from biological matrices with chloroform/isopropanol (9:1, v/v). Chromatography was performed on a 5% phenyl methyl silicone capillary column and analytes were determined in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method was validated over the concentration range 0.015-5 microg/mL plasma, urine and saliva and 0.01-5 microg/patch in the case of sweat. Mean recoveries ranged between 77.1 and 92.7% for Salvinorin A in different biological matrices, with precision and accuracy always better than 15%. The method was applied to the analysis of urine, saliva and sweat from two consumers after smoking 75 mg plant leaves to verify the presence of the active ingredient of S. divinorum in human biological fluids as a biomarker of plant consumption. Salvinorin A was detected in urine (2.4 and 10.9 ng/mL) and saliva (11.1 and 25.0 ng/mL), but not in sweat patches from consumers.     

The clusters [Ma(ECp*)b] (M=Pd, Pt; E=Al, Ga, In): structures, fluxionality, and ligand exchange reactions

The synthesis and structural characterization of the novel homoleptic cluster complexes [Pd2(GaCp*)2(mu2-GaCp*)3] (1c), [Pd3(GaCp*)4(mu2-GaCp*)4] (2b) and [Pd3(AlCp*)2(mu2-AlCp*)2(mu3-AlCp*)2] (3) (Cp*=C5Me5) are presented. Furthermore, ligand exchange reactions of these cluster complexes are explored. In contrast to the electronically and sterically saturated complexes [M(ECp*)4] (M=Ni, Pd, Pt), the new unsaturated analogues [M(a)(ER)b] (E=Al, Ga, In) react with a variety of typical ligands (Cp*Al, CO, phosphines, isonitriles) to give new di- and tri-substituted compounds like [Pt2(GaCp*)2(mu2-AlCp*)3] (1d), [PdPt(GaCp*)(PPh3)(mu2-GaCp*)3] (4b), or [Pd3(PPh3)3(mu2-InCp*)(mu3-InCp*)2] (8). The trends of the reactivity of [M(a)(ER)b] as well as their fluxional behavior in solution has been elucidated by NMR spectroscopy, resulting in a mechanistic rationale for the ligand exchange reactions as well as the fluxional processes.