Deoxysugars via microbial reduction of 5-acyl-isoxazolines: application to the synthesis of 3-deoxy-D-fructose and derivatives

5-Acylisoxazolines 3a-d were obtained by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition from acetoxymethyl vinyl ketone and nitro precursors. Compounds 3a-d were biotransformed by Aspergillus niger into a 1:1 mixture of stereomers of 5-dihydroxyethyl isoxazolines (+)-4a-d (anti) and (-)-5a-d (syn). Both stereomers were obtained in good yields and with high optical purities. Carbonyl reduction by Aspergillus niger produces alcohols of R-configuration thus giving an access to D-sugar analogues: Compound (+)-4d was converted to 3-deoxy-D-erythro-hexulose and several protected derivatives. Total synthesis of 3-deoxy-D-fructose-6-phosphate was also achieved in two steps and 64% overall yield from (+)-4d.     

COSMO-RS: A novel view to physiological solvation and partition questions

Both, dielectric continuum solvation models as well as surface or group based methods using polarity and lipophilicity parameters have been proven to be useful tools for the analysis of solvation and partition questions. For the first time, COSMO-RS provides an integrated theory, which combines the aspects of continuum solvation and surface interactions, and which ends up with chemical potentials of molecules in almost arbitrary solvents and mixtures. Due to its sound theoretical basis, COSMO-RS does not only provide a new quantitative access to solvation and partition properties in well defined solvents, but it also opens a novel view and gives a better understanding of the general problem of solvation. Finally, this allows for a generalisation of COSMO-RS to sophisticatedphysiological partition problems involving as complex phases as blood, brain, or cell membranes. The use of COSMO-RS for drug discovery and design is demonstrated by applications to blood-brain partition coefficients, and water solubility.     

Analytical applications of infra-red spectroscopy : The behaviour of the oxinates of niobium,tantalum and associated elements

The behaviour of the oxinates of niobium, tantalum and associated metals in the infra-red region was studied and a method developed for the determination of niobium and tantalum. Vanadium caused no interference, but other heavy metals, such as molybdenum, manganese and cobalt, which interfered were removed by preliminary treatment when the method was applied to the determination of niobium and tantalum in steels.     

The direct determination of Brueckner orbitals with application to the H2 molecule

An iterative procedure is presented which allows for the direct determination of approximate Brueckner orbitals for small atomic and molecular systems. Starting from the Hartree-Fock determinant one first determines pair natural orbitals (PNOs) of independent electron pairs in the HF-field of the remaining electrons. The use of the generalized Brillouin-theorem then leads to an approximate Brueckner orbital for each electron pair. This procedure must be repeated up to self-consistency which is reached generally after 4–5 macroiterations. Applications to the ground state of H₂ show how important the use of Brueckner orbitals is to get good expectation values of one-electron operators and the correct asymptotic behaviour of the potential energy curve for large internuclear distances.

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Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Iterationsmethode beschrieben, die eine direkte Bestimmung genäherter Bruecknerorbitale für kleine atomare und molekulare Systeme gestattet. Ausgehend von der Hartree-Fock-Determinante bestimmt man zunächst Paar-NOs (PNOs) der unabhängigen Elektronenpaare im HF-Feld der übrigen Elektronen des Systems. Mit Hilfe des verallgemeinerten Brillouin-Theorems erhält man dann ein genähertes Bruecknerorbital für jedes Elektronenpaar. Dies Verfahren muß bis zur Selbstkonsistenz wiederholt werden, die man im allgemeinen nach 4–5 solcher Makroiterationen erreicht. Anwendung auf den Grundzustand des H₂-Moleküls zeigt, wie wichtig die Benutzung von Bruecknerorbitalen ist, wenn man gute Erwartungswerte von Einelektronenoperatoren und das richtige asymptotische Verhalten der Potentialkurve bei großen Abständen erhalten will.

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Résumé On propose un schéma itératif qui permet le calcul direct des orbitales de Brueckner approchées pour les atomes et les petites molécules. Partant du déterminant Hartree-Fock on calcule d'abord les PNO (pair natural orbitals) des paires indépendantes d'électrons dans le champ effectif des autres électrons dans l'approximation Hartree-Fock. Ensuite le théorème de Brillouin généralisé permet de calculer les orbitales de Brueckner approchées pour chaque paire d'electrons. On recommence le calcul des PNO, la self-consistance de cette méthode itérative s'établit en général au bout de 4 ou 5 macroitérations. Les applications à la molécule H₂ démontrent que l'utilisation d'orbitales de Brueckner s'impose si l'on s'intéresse à des bonnes valeurs moyennes d'opérateurs monoélectroniques ou au comportement asymptotique correct des courbes de potentiel aux grandes distances.

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Dedicated to the memory of Prof. K. H. Hansen.     

CZE separations of basic proteins at low pH in fused silica capillaries with surfaces modified by silane derivatization and/or adsorption of polar polymers

Mixtures of several basic proteins have been used to test CZE capillaries with surfaces modified by new pretreatment procedures; the performance obtained has been compared with that achieved using capillaries treated by procedures described in the literature. It has been shown that addition of non-ionic polyvinylalcohols (PVA) to CZE buffer solutions deactivates even bare, i.e. untreated, fused silica surfaces and renders them suitable for separations of basic proteins. The performance obtained from such surfaces was comparable with that of capillaries modified by the more elaborate procedures of etching, silanol derivatization, and/or adsorptive coating (again with polymers). A home-made device is described which enables derivatization and coating reactions to be performed on fused silica capillaries under an inert atmosphere, i.e. one free from oxygen and water.     

The utilization of chemical shift and spin-lattice (T1) relaxation time data for the discrimination of isomeric indenoisoxazoles

Treatment of 2-pivaloyl-1,3-indandione with hydroxylamine leads to the formation of a pair of isomeric indenoisoxazoles, the product formed dependent upon the cyclization conditions. Under acidic conditions, 8-t-butylindeno[1,2-c]isoxazol-7-one ( 5 ) is formed while under neutral or basic conditions, an oxime, 2 , is generated which may then be cyclized under acidic conditions to give 3-t-butylindeno[1,2-c]isoxazol-4-one ( 4 ). Although these isomeric indenoisoxazoles may be discriminated by chemical means, we were interested in developing an unequivocal method for distinguishing these and potentially other isomeric pairs by spectroscopic means. A ¹³C-nmr based method for the discrimination of these isomers which is based on the utilization of chemical shift arguments and spin-lattice relaxation data is thus presented.     

Indirect electrochemical methods of nitration: Novel nitroacetamidation of dienes

Solutions of nitronium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile prepared by anodic oxidation of nitrogen dioxide, efficiently nitrate aromatics, enolsilyethers, alkenes and conjugated dienes to afford respectively nitroaromatics, α-nitroketones, vicinal nitroamides and mixtures of nitroacetamides by 1,2- and 1,4-addition.     

Mass spectral fragmentation patterns of heterocycles. VI. Carbazole and 1,8-dideuteriocarbazole

The mass spectral fragmentation of carbazole was reinvestigated using metastable ion studies, exact mass measurements and 1,8-dideuteriocarbazole. 1,8-Dideuteriocarbazole was prepared by successive metalations and deuterations of carbazole. The ¹H- and ¹³C-nmr spectra of 1,8-dideuteriocarbazole confirmed earlier assignments for carbazole.     

Detection-dependent kinetics as a probe of folding landscape microstructure

The folding landscapes of polypeptides and proteins exhibit a hierarchy of local minima. The causes range from proline isomerization all the way down to microstructure in the free energy caused by residual frustration inherent in even the best 20 amino acid design. The corresponding time scales range from hours to submicroseconds. The smallest microstructures are difficult to detect. We have measured the folding/unfolding kinetics of the engineered trpzip2 peptide at different tryptophan fluorescence wavelengths, each yielding a different rate. Wavelength-dependent folding kinetics on 0.1-2 mus time scales show that different microstructures with a range of solvent exposure and local dynamics are populated. We estimate a lower limit for the roughness of the free energy surface based on the range of rates observed.     

Characterization of CNS disorders and evaluation of therapy using structural and functional MRI

Modern drug development requires technologies that allow rapid translation from the preclinical to the clinical stage. It is obvious that non-invasive imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will play a central role in this regard. This article reviews the use of structural and functional MRI readouts for characterization of central nervous system (CNS) disorders and evaluation of the efficacy of potential CNS drugs. Examples comprise dementia of Alzheimer's type, cerebral ischemia, and neuroinflammation covering both clinical and preclinical aspects. In these examples MRI has been used to obtain relevant structural information on brain atrophy, on the location and extent of ischemic brain areas, and on the number and distribution of demyelinated plaques. These structural data are complemented by readouts assessing the functional consequences associated with the pathomorphological changes. In the last decade, MRI has evolved into a standard tool for the development of CNS drugs. With regard to target-specific/molecular imaging applications MRI is limited by its inherently low sensitivity; complementary imaging modalities utilizing optical and radionuclear reporter systems will thus be required.