Automatic assignment of 1H‐NMR spectra of small molecules

A novel data‐evaluation procedure for the automatic atom to peak or multiplet assignment of ¹H‐NMR spectra of small molecules has been developed using a fast and robust expert system. The applicability and reliability of the method are demonstrated by comparison of a manually assigned database of ¹H‐NMR spectra with the assignments produced by the automatic procedure. The results of this analysis show an excellent success ratio, indicating that this new algorithm can have a major impact as a time saving tool for the organic chemist. A new graphical feature used to illustrate both the stability and quality of the elementary assignments is also introduced. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Cobalt Pyrenylnitronylnitroxide Single‐Chain Magnet with High Coercivity and Record Blocking Temperature

Coordination of a [Co(hfac)₂] moiety (hfac=hexafluoroacetylacetonate) with a nitronylnitroxide radical linked to bulky, rigid pyrene (PyrNN) gives a helical 1:1 chain complex, in which both oxygen atoms of the radical NO^. groups are bonded to Co^II ions with strong antiferromagnetic exchange. The complex shows single‐chain magnet (SCM) behavior with frequency‐dependent magnetic susceptibility, field‐cooled and zero‐field‐cooled susceptibility divergence with a high blocking temperature of around 14 K (a record among SCMs), and hysteresis with a very large coercivity of 32 kOe at 8 K. The magnetic behavior is partly related to good chain isolation induced by the large pyrene units. Two magnetic relaxation processes have been observed, a slower one attributable to longer, and a faster one attributable to short chains. No evidence of magnetic ordering has been found.     

Ruthenium(II) complexes of hybrid 8‐hydroxyquinoline–thiosemicarbazone ligands: synthesis,characterization and catalytic applications

A series of new hexa‐coordinated ruthenium(II) hydroxyquinoline–thiosemicarbazone complexes of the type [Ru(CO)(EPh₃)(B)(L)] (E = P or As; B = PPh₃, AsPh₃ or Py; L = hydroxyquinoline–thiosemicarbazone) were synthesized by reacting ruthenium precursor complexes [RuHCl(CO)(EPh₃)₂(B)] (E = P or As; B = PPh₃, AsPh₃ or Py) with hydroxyquinoline–thiosemicarbazone ligands in ethanol. The new complexes were characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (FT‐IR, UV–visible, NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P) and fast atom bombardment (FAB)–mass spectrometric methods. Based on the spectral results, an octahedral geometry was assigned for all the complexes. The new complexes showed good catalytic activity for the conversion of aldehydes to amides in the presence of hydroxylamine hydrochloride–sodium bicarbonate and for the oxidation of alkanes into their corresponding alcohols and ketones in the presence of m‐chloroperbenzoic acid. The complexes also catalyzed the N‐alkylation of benzylamine in the presence of KOtBu in alcohol medium. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enzymatic determination of choline in milk using a FIA system with potentiometric detection

The development of a FIA system for the determination of total choline content in several types of milk is described. The samples were submitted to hydrochloric acid digestion before injection into the system and passed through an enzymatic reactor containing choline oxidase immobilised on glass beads. This enzymatic reaction releases hydrogen peroxide which then reacts with a solution of iodide. The decrease in the concentration of iodide ion is quantified using an iodide ion selective tubular electrode based on a homogeneous crystalline membrane. Validation of the results obtained with this system was performed by comparison with results from a method described in the literature and applied to the determination of total choline in milks. The relative deviation was always < 5%. The repeatability of the method developed was assessed by calculation of the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 12 consecutive injections of one sample. The RSD obtained was < 0.6%.     

Stable helical peptoids via covalent side chain to side chain cyclization

Peptoids are oligomeric N-substituted glycines with potential as biologically relevant compounds. Helical peptoids provide an attractive fold for the generation of protein-protein interaction inhibitors. The generation of helical peptoid folds in organic and aqueous media has been limited to strict design rules, as peptoid-folding is mainly directed via the steric direction of alpha-chiral side-chains. Here a new methodology is presented to induce helical folds in peptoids with the aid of side chain to side chain cyclization. Cyclic peptoids were generated via solid-phase synthesis and their folding was studied. The cyclization induces significant helicity in peptoids in organic media, aids the folding in aqueous media, and requires the incorporation of only relatively few chiral aromatic side chains.     

Activity coefficients at infinite dilution of organic solutes in the ionic liquid,methyl(trioctyl)ammonium thiosalicylate, [N1888][TS] by gas–liquid chromatography at T = (303.15, 313.15, and 323.15) K

In this work, activity coefficients at infinite dilution (${\gamma }_{13}^{\infty }$) have been obtained for 19 polar and non-polar organic solutes in the form of n-alkanes, cycloalkanes, 1-alkenes, 1-alkynes, aromatic compounds, and ketones in the ionic liquid methyl(trioctyl)ammonium thiosalicylate by gas–liquid chromatography at three different temperatures, i.e. T = (303.15, 313.15, and 323.15) K. Two columns with different phase loadings of the ionic liquid in the stationary phase (25% and 30%) were employed to obtain ${\gamma }_{13}^{\infty }$ values at each temperature investigated. Partial molar excess enthalpies at infinite dilution ($\mathrm{\Delta }{H}_1^{\text{E,}\infty }$) were calculated for each of the solutes from the temperature dependency of the ${\gamma }_{13}^{\infty }$ values for the temperature range in this study. Selectivity values at infinite dilution ($S_{\text{ij}}^{\infty }$) were computed from the ${\gamma }_{13}^{\infty }$ values to screen the potential candidacy of the ionic liquid for the separation of n-hexane/benzene mixtures. The results from this study have been compared to those available for several other classes of ionic liquids and commercial solvents employed in solvent-enhanced industrial separation processes.     

Mechanistic Investigations of Oxidation of Some Dipeptides by Sodium N‐chloro‐p‐toluenesulfonamide in Alkaline Medium:A Kinetic Study

The kinetics of oxidation of five dipeptides (DPP) viz., glycylglycine (Gly-Gly), L-alanyl-L-alanine (Ala-Ala), L-valyl-L-valine (Val-Val), L-leucyl-L-leucine (Leu-Leu) and phenylglycyl-phenylglycine (Phg-Phg) by sodium N-chloro-p-toluenesulfonamide or chloramine-T (CAT) in NaOH medium was studied at 308 K. The reactions follow identical kinetics for all the dipeptides, being first-order dependence each on [CAT]_o, [DPP]_o and fractional-order on [OH^－]. Addition of p-toluenesulfonamide or halide ions (Cl^－ or Br^－) has no significant effect on the rate of reaction. The reaction rate was found to increase with increase in ionic strength of the medium. The solvent isotope effect was studied using D₂O. The activation parameters for the reaction were computed from Arrhenius plots. Equilibrium and decomposition constants were evaluated. The oxidation products of the dipeptides were identified as their corresponding aldehydes. An isokinetic relationship was observed with β＝352 K, indicating that enthalpy factors control the reaction rate. CH₃C₆H₄SO₂NCl^－ of the oxidant has been postulated as the reactive oxidizing species. Under comparable experimental conditions, the rate of oxidation of the dipeptides increases in the order: Phg-Phg＞Ala-Ala＞Val-Val＞Leu-Leu＞Gly-Gly. The kinetics of oxidation of the dipeptides have also been compared with those of their corresponding monomer amino acids. The observed results have been explained by a plausible mechanism and the related rate law has been deduced.     

Development and validation of a sensitive ELISA for quantitation of Grastim (rhG-CSF) in rat plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

Grastim is bacterially produced recombinant counterpart of human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). It has biological activity similar to that of endogenous G-CSF. In the present work a sensitive, accurate, precise and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantitation of G-CSF in rat plasma was developed and validated. The ELISA method employed a technique in which anti-human-G-CSF was adsorbed onto 96-well maxisorp plates and used to capture the G-CSF in rat plasma samples. The captured G-CSF was then detected using streptavidin-HRP amplification system. Absolute recovery was >90% from rat plasma. The validation includes assessments of method accuracy and precision, range of reliable response, lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ), storage stability (30 days) in rat plasma and assay specificity. The standard curve for G-CSF was linear (R2 > 0.996) in the concentration range 4.88-625 pg/mL. The LLOQ was established at 4.88 pg/mL. The inter- and intra-day precisions in the measurement of quality control (QC) samples, 15, 250 and 500 pg/mL, were in the range 3.00-8.66% relative standard deviation (RSD) and 1.03-4.69% RSD, respectively. Accuracy in the measurement of QC samples was in the range 87.28-110.79% of the nominal values. The assay shows dilutional linearity and specificity. Stability of G-CSF was established for 30 days at -80 degrees C and through three freeze-thaw cycles. The validated assay was successfully employed for the assessment of pharmacokinetic disposition of G-CSF in rats.     

Palladium acetate assisted synthesis of five-membered N-polyheterocycles

Abstract

The metal-assisted synthesis of heterocyclic compounds is known to be one of the extremely developing as well as significant concepts of organic chemistry. Because of their expensive, complex working of the instrument and difficult procedures, the methodologies used earlier for the heterocycle synthesis were less amicable to the researchers. The Pd(OAc)₂-mediated cyclic reactions have been recognized to be very effective for both the stereoselective as well as regioselective formation of the 5-membered N-bearing heterocyclic compounds. The different uses of palladium acetate, as a catalyst in the formation of 5-membered N-containing polyheterocycles, are covered in this review article.     

Lipase Production in Solid-State Fermentation Monitoring Biomass Growth of Aspergillus niger Using Digital Image Processing

The aim of this study was to monitor the biomass growth of Aspergillus niger in solid-state fermentation (SSF) for lipase production using digital image processing technique. The strain A. niger 11T53A14 was cultivated in SSF using wheat bran as support, which was enriched with 0.91% (m/v) of ammonium sulfate. The addition of several vegetable oils (castor, soybean, olive, corn, and palm oils) was investigated to enhance lipase production. The maximum lipase activity was obtained using 2% (m/m) castor oil. In these conditions, the growth was evaluated each 24 h for 5 days by the glycosamine content analysis and digital image processing. Lipase activity was also determined. The results indicated that the digital image process technique can be used to monitor biomass growth in a SSF process and to correlate biomass growth and enzyme activity. In addition, the immobilized esterification lipase activity was determined for the butyl oleate synthesis, with and without 50% v/v hexane, resulting in 650 and 120 U/g, respectively. The enzyme was also used for transesterification of soybean oil and ethanol with maximum yield of 2.4%, after 30 min of reaction.