Microchip-based liquid-liquid extraction for gas-chromatography analysis of amphetamine-type stimulants in urine

A microchip-based liquid-liquid extraction for the gas chromatography analysis of urine for amphetamine-type stimulants has been developed. Partially modified microchannels with the capillarity restricted modification (CARM) method were employed for stabilizing the interface consisting of 1-chlorobutane and alkalized urine. Reliability of the microchip-based extraction was evaluated with respect to linearity, trueness and precision. As a practical demonstration, methoxyphenamine hydrochloride (50 mg) was administered to three healthy volunteers, and the concentration of methoxyphenamine in their urine was determined by both methods for comparison. This study showed the potential of pressure-driven microfluidics to contribute to the rapid automation analysis in forensic toxicology.     

Olefin metathesis of the aligned assemblies of conjugated polymers constructed through supramolecular bundling

The ordered structures constructed from an aligner molecule 1o and conjugated polymers (CPs) were efficiently converted into the poly-pseudo-rotaxane structures by the template-assisted ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM) of olefinic groups at the peripheral positions of 1o. Moreover, the poly-pseudo-rotaxane structures permitted the separation of the crystalline ordered assemblies of CP by size exclusion chromatography and the preservation of the sheet morphologies after the treatment with trifluoroacetic acid. The morphologies and the periodicities of assemblies were also maintained after the retrieving treatments.     

Computational simulations of HIV-1 proteases--multi-drug resistance due to nonactive site mutation L90M

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is one of the proteins that currently available anti-HIV-1 drugs target. Inhibitors of HIV-1 PR have become available, and they have lowered the rate of mortality from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in advanced countries. However, the rate of emergence of drug-resistant HIV-1 variants is quite high because of their short retroviral life cycle and their high mutation rate. Serious drug-resistant mutations against HIV-1 PR inhibitors (PIs) frequently appear at the active site of PR. Exceptionally, some other mutations such as L90M cause drug resistance, although these appear at nonactive sites. The mechanism of resistance due to nonactive site mutations is difficult to explain. In this study, we carried out computational simulations of L90M PR in complex with each of three kinds of inhibitors and one typical substrate, and we clarified the mechanism of resistance. The L90M mutation causes changes in interaction between the side chain atoms of the 90th residue and the main chain atoms of the 25th residue, and a slight dislocation of the 25th residue causes rotation of the side chain at the 84th residue. The rotation of the 84th residue leads to displacement of the inhibitor from the appropriate binding location, resulting in a collision with the flap or loop region. The difference in levels of resistance to the three inhibitors has been explained from energetic and structural viewpoints, which provides the suggestion for promising drugs keeping its efficacy even for the L90M mutant.     

Synthesis of heterocyclic compounds via nucleophilic aroylation catalyzed by imidazolidenyl carbene

Xanthones and acridones were synthesized from 3,4-difluoronitrobenzene and 2-fluorobenzaldehydes in two or three steps. The key step was nucleophilic aroylation catalyzed by imidazolidenyl carbene. The nucleophilic aroylation of 3,4-difluoronitrobenzene afforded 2,2'-difluoro-4-nitrobenzophenones. The cyclization of the difluorobenzophenones with O-nucleophile and N-nucleophile yielded 3-nitroxanthones and 3-nitroacridones, respectively. Indazole, quinolino[2,3-b]quinoxaline, and thianaphtho[2,3-b]quinoxaline derivatives were also synthesized via nucleophilic aroylation of 2,3-dichloroquinoxaline followed by cyclization with nucleophiles.     

Regioselective alkylation of 2-alkyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3h-cycloheptimidazol-4-ones and 2-alkyl-3h-cycloheptimidazol-4-ones

Regioselective alkylation of 2-alkyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (1) and 2-alkyl-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (2) was investigated. 3-[2'-(1-tert-Butyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl]-2-propyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (6) was preferentially obtained under the conditions by using NaH in DMF or THF. On the other hand, 3-[2'-(1-tert-butyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl]-2-propyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (5), the synthetic intermediate compound of Pratosartan, was obtained selectively in the presence of n-Bu(4)NBr in toluene by using aqueous sodium hydroxide as a base. In this reaction, it was found that the concentration of the alkaline solution influences its regioselectivity. This selectivity was observed even for aldehyde and ester derivatives.     

Biologically active glycosides from asteroidea, 42. Isolation and structure of a new biologically active ganglioside molecular species from the starfish Asterina pectinifera

A ganglioside molecular species GP-3 (1) has been obtained from the water-soluble lipid fraction of the chloroform/methanol extract of the starfish Asterina pectinifera. The structure of the ganglioside has been determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. Compound 1 represents new ganglioside molecular species possessing two moles of sialic acids at the inner part of the sugar moiety. Partial hydrolysis by hot water and an enzymatic hydrolysis by means of endoglycoceramidase (EGCase) have proved useful for structure elucidation of the complex oligosaccharide moiety. Moreover, 1 exhibits neuritogenic activity toward the rat pheochromocytoma cell line, PC-12 cells, in the presence of nerve growth factor (NGF).     

Electrical conducting bis(oxalato)platinate complex with direct connection of CuII ions

Reactions of K1.62[Pt(ox)2].2H2O and [Cu(bpy)(H2O)3](NO3)2 yielded partially oxidized one-dimensional (1D) bis(oxalato)platinates of [Cu(bpy)(H2O)n]6[Pt(ox)2]7.7H2O (n = 2, 3, or 4) (1) and [Cu(bpy)(H2O)n]8[Pt(ox)2]10.8H2O (n = 3 or 4) (2). The average oxidation numbers of the platinum ions in 1 and 2 are +2.29 and +2.40, respectively. Complexes 1 and 2 crystallize in the triclinic P and monoclinic C2/c space groups, respectively, and the [Pt(ox)2]n- anions are stacked along the crystallographic b axis with 7-fold periodicity for 1 and 10-fold periodicity for 2. In 1, an oxalato ligand in the platinum chain directly coordinates to a paramagnetic [Cu(bpy)(H2O)3]2+ ion, whereas no such direct coordination was observed for 2. The electrical conductivity of 2 at room temperature along the platinum chain is approximately 3 orders of magnitude smaller (sigma||= 1.3 x 10(-3) S cm(-1)) than that of 1 (sigma|| = 0.9-0.5 S cm(-1)), and the activation energies of 1 and 2 are 29 and 67 meV, respectively. The longest inter-platinum distances in 1 and 2 are 2.762 and 3.0082 A, respectively, and this is responsible for the lower electrical conductivity of 2. An X-ray oscillation photograph taken along the b axis of 1 reveals the 7-fold periodicity in the 1D chain, consistent with the period of the Peierls distortion estimated from the degree of partial oxidation. The semiconducting state of 1 can therefore be regarded as a commensurate Peierls state. The magnetoresistance of 1 at ambient pressure indicates no interaction between conduction electrons in the platinum chain and local spins of the paramagnetic CuII ions. Application of hydrostatic pressures of up to 3 GPa enhances electrical conduction, as is often seen as the usual pressure effect on the electrical conductivity, which is due to enhanced orbital (Pt-5dz2) overlap by pressure application.     

Synthesis of heterometal cluster complexes by the reaction of cobaltadichalcogenolato complexes with groups 6 and 8 metal carbonyls

Metalladichalcogenolate cluster complexes [{CpCo(S2C6H4)}2Mo(CO)2] (Cp = eta(5)-C5H5) (3), [{CpCo(S2C6H4)}2W(CO)2] (4), [CpCo(S2C6H4)Fe(CO)3] (5), [CpCo(S2C6H4)Ru(CO)2(P(t)Bu3)] (6), [{CpCo(Se2C6H4)}2Mo(CO)2] (7), and [{CpCo(Se2C6H4)}(Se2C6H4)W(CO)2] (8) were synthesized by the reaction of [CpCo(E2C6H4)] (E = S, Se) with [M(CO)3(py)3] (M = Mo, W), [Fe(CO)5], or [Ru(CO)3(P(t)Bu3)2], and their crystal structures and physical properties were investigated. In the series of trinuclear group 6 metal-Co complexes, 3, 4, and 7 have similar structures, but the W-Se complex, 8, eliminates one cobalt atom and one cyclopentadienyl group from the sulfur analogue, 4, and does not satisfy the 18-electron rule. 1H NMR observation suggested that the CoW dinuclear complex 8 was generated via a trinuclear Co2W complex, with a structure comparable to 7. The trinuclear cluster complexes, 3, 4, and 7, undergo quasi-reversible two-step one-electron reduction, indicating the formation of mixed-valence complexes Co(III)M(0)Co(II) (M = Mo, W). The thermodynamic stability of the mixed-valence state increases in the order 4 < 3 < 7. In the dinuclear group 8 metal-Co complexes, 5 and 6, the CpCo(S2C6H4) moiety and the metal carbonyl moiety act as a Lewis acid character and a base character, respectively, as determined by their spectrochemical and redox properties. Complex 5 undergoes reversible two-step one-electron reduction, and an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study indicates the stepwise reduction process from Co(III)Fe(0) to form Co(III)Fe(-I) and Co(II)Fe(-I).     

Syntheses, structural determinations of [Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2](+/0) pairs, and kinetic analyses of thermal reactions involving transient trans-[Ru(iPrOCS2)2(PPh3)2] species (ROCS2(-) = ethyl- or isopropyldithiocarbonate and PPh3 = triphenylphosphine)

Controlled-potential electrochemical oxidation of cis-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2] (R = Et, iPr) yielded corresponding Ru(III) complexes, and the crystal structures of cis-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2] and trans-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2](PF6) were determined. Both pairs of complexes exhibited almost identical coordination structures. The Ru-P distances in trans-[Ru(III)(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2](PF6) [2.436(3)-2.443(3) A] were significantly longer than those in cis-[Ru(II)(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2] [2.306(1)-2.315(2) A]: the smaller ionic radius of Ru(III) than that of Ru(II) stabilizes the trans conformation for the Ru(III) complex due to the steric requirement of bulky phosphine ligands while mutual trans influence by the phosphine ligands induces significant elongation of the Ru(III)-P bonds. Cyclic voltammograms of the cis-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2] and trans-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2]+ complexes in dichloromethane solution exhibited typical dual redox signals corresponding to the cis-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2](+/0) (ca. +0.15 and +0.10 V vs ferrocenium/ferrocene couple for R = Et and iPr, respectively) and to trans-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2](+/0) (-0.05 and -0.15 V vs ferrocenium/ferrocene for R = Et and iPr, respectively) couples. Analyses on the basis of the Nicholson and Shain's method revealed that the thermal disappearance rate of transient trans-[Ru(ROCS2)2(PPh3)2] was dependent on the concentration of PPh3 in the bulk: the rate constant for the intramolecular isomerization reaction of trans-[Ru(iPrOCS2)2(PPh3)2] was determined as 0.338 +/- 0.004 s(-1) at 298.3 K (deltaH* = 41.8 +/- 1.5 kJ mol(-1) and deltaS* = -114 +/- 7 J mol(-1) K(-1)), while the dissociation rate constant of coordinated PPh3 from the trans-[Ru(iPrOCS2)2(PPh3)2] species was estimated as 0.113 +/- 0.008 s(-1) at 298.3 K (deltaH* = 97.6 +/- 0.8 kJ mol(-1) and deltaS* = 64 +/- 3 J mol(-1) K(-1)), by monitoring the EC reaction (electrode reaction followed by chemical processes) at different concentrations of PPh3 in the bulk. It was found that the trans to cis isomerization reaction takes place via the partial dissociation of iPrOCS2(-) from Ru(II), contrary to the previous claim that it takes place by the twist mechanism.