Improved Synthesis of 1-Bromo-3-buten-2-one

A convenient procedure for the synthesis of 1-bromo-3-buten-2-one, 4, from commercially available 2-ethyl-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane, 1, is described. The procedure involves three reaction steps: (1) The acetal 1 is converted to 2-(1-bromoethyl)-2-bromomethyl-1,3-dioxolane, 2, by reacting 1 with elemental bromine in dichloromethane to yield 98% of 2. (2) Dehydrobromination of 2 with potassium tert-butoxide in tetrahydrofuran gives 2-bromomethyl-2-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane, 3, in 84–93% yield. (3) Removal of the acetal protection from 3 by formolysis for 6–10 h afforded 1-bromo-3-buten-2-one, 4, in 85–94% yield. A more rapid method is acid hydrolysis of 3 under microwave activation (100 °C, 8–10 min), by which 4 was obtained in 75% yield. Full experimental details are given.

Unexpected high ordering of a [60]Fullerene nitroxide in the nematic phase of 4-4′-azoxyanisole

A nitroxide [60]fullerene adduct containing a pyrrolidine-1-oxyl group has been synthesized. Its orientational order in the nematic phase of the liquid crystal solvent 4,4′-azoxyanisole (PAA) has been measured from the variation of the EPR spectral parameters on passing from the isotropic to the nematic phase. Highly resolved EPR lines allow for precise evaluation of the shifts of the g, a _N and a _H values. Since the g and the hyperfine tensors are known, the order matrix could be obtained. This is compared with the one calculated with a theoretical model based on short range solute-solvent interactions, which predicts a considerable degree of orientation of the molecular axes, despite the almost spherical shape of the molecule. The agreement with experimental findings is quite good and it is further improved if a bent structure of the pyrrolidine ring is taken into account.     

Design and Synthesis of a γ1β8‐Cyclodextrin Oligomer: A New Platform with Potential Application as a Dendrimeric Multicarrier

We report the synthesis and characterization of a water‐soluble, star‐shaped macromolecular platform consisting of eight β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) units anchored to the narrower rim of a γ‐CD core through bis(triazolyl)alkyl spacers. The efficient synthetic protocol is based on the microwave (MW)‐promoted Cu‐catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of CD monoazides to CD monoacetylenes. The ligand‐hosting capability of the construct has been assessed by relaxometric titration and nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) profiling, which showed it to be good, and this was supported by molecular dynamics simulations. To demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining supramolecular structures with high hosting ability, we designed a dimeric platform, formed by joining two nonamers through the γ‐CD cores through a bis(lithocholic acid) linker. With a view to the potential biological applications, cytotoxicity and extent of binding to human serum albumin were assessed. The properties of this dendrimeric multicarrier make it suitable for pharmaceutical and diagnostic purposes, ranging from targeted drug delivery to molecular imaging.     

Simultaneous determination of pharmaceuticals and some of their metabolites in wastewaters by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

The present work describes the development of a sensitive and reliable analytical method based on solid‐phase extraction followed by analysis using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of pharmaceuticals from antibiotics (fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, and their N⁴‐acetyl metabolites, and trimethoprim as sulfonamides synergist) and anthelmintics groups. SPE was optimized using different cartridges (Strata‐X, Oasis HLB, Strata C₁₈‐E, Isolute C₁₈, SampliQ C₈/Si‐SCX). The highest recovery was achieved using Strata X cartridge (>80%) with good reproducibility (RSDs < 5%) despite various physicochemical properties of the compounds. Investigated analytes were identified and quantitatively determined by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry using multiple reaction monitoring. The method was shown to be linear over the concentration range of 0.05–30 μg/L for febantel and albendazole, and 0.10–60 μg/L for all other pharmaceuticals. Correlation coefficients were >0.99 for all compounds except for sulfamethazine (0.98). In order to demonstrate the applicability of the developed method, wastewater from the veterinary industry was analyzed. Results evidenced the presence of febantel, praziquantel, albendazole, enrofloxacin, sulfamethazine, and sulfadiazine.     

Isometric artifacts from polymerase chain reaction-massively parallel sequencing analysis of short tandem repeat loci: An emerging issue from a new technology?

The recent introduction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technologies in forensics has changed the approach to allelic short tandem repeat (STR) typing because sequencing cloned PCR fragments enables alleles with identical molecular weights to be distinguished based on their nucleotide sequences. Therefore, because PCR fidelity mainly depends on template integrity, new technical issues could arise in the interpretation of the results obtained from the degraded samples. In this work, a set of DNA samples degraded in vitro was used to investigate whether PCR-MPS could generate “isometric drop-ins” (IDIs; i.e., molecular products having the same length as the original allele but with a different nucleotide sequence within the repeated units). The Precision ID GlobalFiler NGS STR panel kit was used to analyze 0.5 and 1 ng of mock samples in duplicate tests (for a total of 16 PCR-MPS analyses). As expected, several well-known PCR artifacts (such as allelic dropout, stutters above the threshold) were scored; 95 IDIs with an average occurrence of 5.9 IDIs per test (min: 1, max: 11) were scored as well. In total, IDIs represented one of the most frequent artifacts. The coverage of these IDIs reached up to 981 reads (median: 239 reads), and the ratios with the coverage of the original allele ranged from 0.069 to 7.285 (median: 0.221). In addition, approximately 5.2% of the IDIs showed coverage higher than that of the original allele. Molecular analysis of these artifacts showed that they were generated in 96.8% of cases through a single nucleotide change event, with the C > T transition being the most frequent (85.7%). Thus, in a forensic evaluation of evidence, IDIs may represent an actual issue, particularly when DNA mixtures need to be interpreted because they could mislead the operator regarding the number of contributors. Overall, the molecular features of the IDIs described in this work, as well as the performance of duplicate tests, may be useful tools for managing this new class of artifacts otherwise not detected by capillary electrophoresis technology.     

q value and parent energy optimization using a low-voltage ionization approach increases resolution in linear ion trap mass spectrometry

In this work, the isolation step in the linear ion trap was performed using different “q values” conditions at a low collision-induced dissociation (CID) energy leading to the parent ion resolution improvements, reasonably due to better ion energy distribution. According to the results, we obtained a greater resolution and mass accuracy operating in both traditional electrospray and low voltage ionization near the q value = 0.778 and with a CID energy of 10%. This effect was evaluated with low-molecular-mass compounds (skatole and arginine). The proposed optimization yielded a superior instrument performance without adding technological complexity to mass spectrometry analyses.     

Probing the Interactions of Porphyrins with Macromolecules Using NMR Spectroscopy Techniques

Porphyrinic compounds are widespread in nature and play key roles in biological processes such as oxygen transport in blood, enzymatic redox reactions or photosynthesis. In addition, both naturally derived as well as synthetic porphyrinic compounds are extensively explored for biomedical and technical applications such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) or photovoltaic systems, respectively. Their unique electronic structures and photophysical properties make this class of compounds so interesting for the multiple functions encountered. It is therefore not surprising that optical methods are typically the prevalent analytical tool applied in characterization and processes involving porphyrinic compounds. However, a wealth of complementary information can be obtained from NMR spectroscopic techniques. Based on the advantage of providing structural and dynamic information with atomic resolution simultaneously, NMR spectroscopy is a powerful method for studying molecular interactions between porphyrinic compounds and macromolecules. Such interactions are of special interest in medical applications of porphyrinic photosensitizers that are mostly combined with macromolecular carrier systems. The macromolecular surrounding typically stabilizes the encapsulated drug and may also modify its physical properties. Moreover, the interaction with macromolecular physiological components needs to be explored to understand and control mechanisms of action and therapeutic efficacy. This review focuses on such non-covalent interactions of porphyrinic drugs with synthetic polymers as well as with biomolecules such as phospholipids or proteins. A brief introduction into various NMR spectroscopic techniques is given including chemical shift perturbation methods, NOE enhancement spectroscopy, relaxation time measurements and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy. How these NMR tools are used to address porphyrin–macromolecule interactions with respect to their function in biomedical applications is the central point of the current review.     

Inorganic Elements in Mytilus galloprovincialis Shells: Geographic Traceability by Multivariate Analysis of ICP-MS Data

The international seafood trade is based on food safety, quality, sustainability, and traceability. Mussels are bio-accumulative sessile organisms that need regular control to guarantee their safe consumption. However, no well-established and validated methods exist to trace mussel origin, even if several attempts have been made over the years. Recently, an inorganic multi-elemental fingerprint coupled to multivariate statistics has increasingly been applied in food quality control. The mussel shell can be an excellent reservoir of foreign inorganic chemical species, allowing recording long-term environmental changes. The present work investigates the multi-elemental composition of mussel shells, including Al, Cu, Cr, Zn, Mn, Cd, Co, U, Ba, Ni, Pb, Mg, Sr, and Ca, determined by inductively-coupled plasma mass-spectrometry in Mytilus galloprovincialis collected along the Central Adriatic Coast (Marche Region, Italy) at 25 different sampling sites (18 farms and 7 natural banks) located in seven areas. The experimental data, coupled with chemometric approaches (principal components analysis and linear discriminant analysis), were used to create a statistical model able to discriminate samples as a function of their production site. The LDA model is suitable for achieving a correct assignment of >90% of individuals sampled to their respective harvesting locations and for being applied to counteract fraud.