Electric parameters of photosystem II particles — electric light scattering study

Electric light scattering and microelectrophoresis were applied to investigate the electric moments (permanent dipole moment and electric polarizability and electrophoretic mobility of envelope-free chloroplasts and photosystem II (PS II particles. The effect of the removal of the extrinsic polypeptides (18, 24 and 33 kDa) on the electric moments was also studied. A significant difference was observed between the orientation behaviour of chloroplasts and PS II preparations. The data indicate that the permanent and induced dipole moments contribute to the orientation of the PS II particles, whereas chloroplasts possess induced dipole moment only.

NaCl and Tris treatments of PS II preparations influence both the transverse permanent dipole moment and the electric polarizability of PS II particles. The increase in the electrophoretic mobility of PS II particles on removal of the extrinsic proteins corresponds to an increase in the electric polarizability value, demonstrating its interfacial nature.     

Reactions of pyrrolidine enamines of cyclic and acyclic 3,4-dioxobutanoic acid Derivatives with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. A new case of atropoisomerism.

Reaction conditions and structure of the starting enamines (cyclic or open-chain) determine greatly the final products of the title reactions. Whereas in benzene and acetonitrile, DMAD and 1 give a mixture of the diastereoisomeric dienamines 5, in methanol they afford pirrolizine 3. Enaminofuranones 2 and 10 furnish the corresponding “Michael adducts” 7a,b,c and 11a,b,c but fail to yield pirrolizines. It has been demonstrated that above b and c adducts differ exclusively on the arrangement of groups around a chiral axis.     

The reaction of carbanions from 3-methyl-5-phenylisoxazole with electrophilic compounds

The reactivity of 3-methyl-5-phenylisoxazole against electrophilic compounds in the presence of different bases is studied. With n-BuLi, alkylated products at C-4 position and C-3 methyl group, and, in a few cases, dialkylated isoxazoles are obtained. When the reactions are carried out with LICA, the nature of the alkylated products depends on the alkyl halide used. By using LICA-TMEDA, as deprotonating system, regio-selective reaction at the C-3 methyl group is found.     

Flow-injection spectrofluorimetric determination of ethylenethiourea

A flow-injection configuration is proposed for the fluorimetric determination of ethylenethiourea. The procedure is based on the inhibitory effect of ethylenethiourea on the oxidation of thiamine to thiochrome by mercury(II). A linear calibration graph was obtained between 0.1 and 2.0 μg mL^–1, with a sampling rate of 40 samples per hour and a relative standard deviation of about 1.11%. The usefulness of the method was tested for the determination of ethylenethiourea residues in water, milk, potatoes, pear, grape and apple. Received: 26 January 1998 / Revised: 6 April 1998 / Accepted: 9 April 1998     

Trehalose-based cyclodextrin analogs: cyclotrehalans (CTs)

A new concept for the de novo synthesis of artificial glyconanocavities is presented. The use of alternating α,α′-trehalose building blocks and (thio)urea segments allows the efficient synthesis of a new family of cyclooligosaccharides, namely cyclotrehalans (CTs), featuring a convex-shaped cavity with an apolar environment. CTs are designed to exhibit molecular inclusion abilities similar to that of cyclodextrins (CDs). Contrary to CDs, CTs expose the monosaccharide β-face to the inner cavity, while the (thio)urea tethers provides some conformational adaptability. High-yielding syntheses of a series of CTs and a preliminary evaluation of their inclusion properties are reported.     

Three-component one-pot total syntheses of glyantrypine, fumiquinazoline F, and fiscalin B promoted by microwave irradiation

A microwave-promoted three-component one-pot reaction has been developed to provide access to the core pyrazino[2,1-b]quinazoline-3,6-dione (1) scaffold, which is common to several families of alkaloids with significant biological activities. By adapting this synthetic strategy through the use of selected Boc-amino acids and amino acid esters, we have accomplished highly efficient and concise total syntheses of glyantrypine (2), fumiquinazoline F (3), and fiscalin B (5), achieving overall yields of 55, 39, and 20%, respectively.     

Comparative analysis of local spin definitions

This work provides a survey of the definition of electron spin as a local property and its dependence on several parameters in actual calculations. We analyze one-determinant wave functions constructed from Hartree-Fock and, in particular, from Kohn-Sham orbitals within the collinear approach to electron spin. The scalar total spin operators S2 and Sz are partitioned by projection operators, as introduced by Clark and Davidson, in order to obtain local spin operators SASB and SzA, respectively. To complement the work of Davidson and co-workers, we analyze some features of local spins which have not yet been discussed in sufficient depth. The dependence of local spin on the choice of basis set, density functional, and projector is studied. We also discuss the results of Sz partitioning and show that SzA values depend less on these parameters than SASB values. Furthermore, we demonstrate that for small organic test molecules, a partitioning of Sz with preorthogonalized Lowdin projectors yields nearly the same results as one obtains using atoms-in-molecules projectors. In addition, the physical significance of nonzero SASB values for closed-shell molecules is investigated. It is shown that due to this problem, SASB values are useful for calculations of relative spin values, but not for absolute local spins, where SzA values appear to be better suited.     

A non local density functional calculation of the diamagnetic susceptibilities and other electronic properties of noble gases and closed-shell ions

The non local weighted-density approximation (WDA) to the exchange-correlation potentialV _xc (r) is used to compute electron densities, ionization potentials and electron affinities of several atoms and ions. Especial care is taken in calculating and discussing 〈r ²〉 in noble gas atoms. Good results are obtained for all those quantities, but it is critical that the WDA is applied in such a way that it preserves the correct larger behaviour ofV _xc (r). A comparison of the calculated electron density with that of the Hartree-Fock method shows the effects of coulomb correlation. The density rearrangements upon the introduction of correlation agree qualitatively with the results of Configuration-Interaction calculations     

Collection of selected reaction monitoring and full scan data on a time scale suitable for target compound quantitative analysis by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A hybrid linear ion trap/triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used to demonstrate the value of collecting full scan qualitative data during quantitative analysis of target compounds. We present examples of the additional information that can be obtained from plasma samples analyzed primarily for target compound concentrations. This information includes detection of circulating metabolites, dosing vehicle, interfering matrix components, and potential interfering drug conjugates. Additionally, the quantitative results from selected reaction monitoring (SRM) analysis and from combined full scan and SRM analysis (SRM/EMS) were compared. The quantitative data in both scan modes are acceptable in terms of sensitivity, accuracy and precision. One can conclude from this work that the hybrid linear ion trap/triple quadrupole mass analyzer can provide in a single analysis both useful qualitative data, and accurate and precise quantitative data from the samples routinely prepared and analyzed for target drug concentrations.     

Determination of fluoride in complex liquid matrices by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with in-furnace oxygen-assisted ashing

A new chemical method is reported for the determination of total fluoride in complex liquids and suspensions, such as fruit juices, urine, serum and blood. It is based on the formation of the A1F radical in a graphite furnace afterin situ oxygen-assisted ashing of the untreated sample. The absorbance of this radical is measured at 227.45 nm. The method is relatively easy to use and provides a low detection limit (14 ng/ml) and reasonable reproducibility (5–10%).