Effects of electrolytes used in roughening gold substrates by oxidation–reduction cycles on surface-enhanced Raman scattering

In this work, the effects of electrolytes used in roughening gold substrates by electrochemical methods on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) were first investigated. First, gold substrates were roughened by triangular-wave oxidation–reduction cycles (ORC) in aqueous solutions containing different kinds of 0.1 M electrolytes. Then Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as Raman probe to examine this effect of electrolytes used on the SERS observed. The result indicates that the highest intensity of SERS of R6G was obtained on the roughened Au substrate prepared in 0.1 M NaCl, which was less used in the literature. Meanwhile, it was also found that the rougher surface morphology observed, which is contributive to the higher SERS obtained, is corresponding to the smaller cathodic peak area shown in the cyclic voltammograms for roughening the Au substrate.     

Dinuclear iron(II)-cyanocarbonyl complexes linked by two/three bridging ethylthiolates: relevance to the active site of [Fe] hydrogenases

Dinuclear iron(II)-cyanocarbonyl complex [PPN](2)[Fe(CN)(2)(CO)(2)(mu-SEt)](2) (1) was prepared by the reaction of [PPN][FeBr(CN)(2)(CO)(3)] and [Na][SEt] in THF at ambient temperature. Reaction of complex 1 with [PPN][SEt] produced the triply thiolate-bridged dinuclear Fe(II) complex [PPN][(CN)(CO)(2)Fe(mu-SEt)(3)Fe(CO)(2)(CN)] (2) with the torsion angle of two CN(-) groups (C(5)N(2) and C(3)N(1)) being 126.9 degrees. The extrusion of two sigma-donor CN(-) ligands from Fe(II)Fe(II) centers of complex 1 as a result of the reaction of complex 1 and [PPN][SEt] reflects the electron-rich character of the dinuclear iron(II) when ligated by the third bridging ethylthiolate. The Fe-S distances (2.338(2) and 2.320(3) A for complexes 1 and 2, respectively) do not change significantly, but the Fe(II)-Fe(II) distance contracts from 3.505 A in complex 1 to 3.073 A in complex 2. The considerably longer Fe(II)-Fe(II) distance of 3.073 A in complex 2, compared to the reported Fe-Fe distances of 2.6/2.62 A in DdHase and CpHase, was attributed to the presence of the third bridging ethylthiolate, instead of pi-accepting CO-bridged ligand as observed in [Fe] hydrogenases. Additionally, in a compound of unusual composition ([Na.(5)/(2)H(2)O][(CN)(CO)(2)Fe(mu-SEt)(3)Fe(CO)(2)(CN)])(n)((1)/(2)O(Et)(2))(n) (3), the Na(+) cations and H(2)O molecules combining with dinuclear [(CN)(CO)(2)Fe(mu-SEt)(3)Fe(CO)(2)(CN)](-) anions create a polymeric framework wherein two CN(-) ligands are coordinated via CN(-)-Na(+)/CN(-)-(Na(+))(2) linkages, respectively.     

Synthetic approaches to 2-substituted 1-oxo- and 3-oxotetrahydroisoquinolines

2-Substituted homophthalimides 2a-c were reduced regioselectively with sodium borobydride to carbinol-lactam intermediates 3a-c , which were dehydrated, followed by hydrogenation, to give 1-oxo-tetrabydroisoquinolines or 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)ones 5a-c . The isomeric 3-oxo-tetrahydro-isoquinolines or 1,4-dihydroisoquinolin-3(2H)-ones 8a-i were obtained in satisfactory yields via heating 3-isochromanone ( 6 ) with the corresponding amines 7a-i in the presence of aluminum chloride.     

Determination of catecholamines in pheochromocytoma cell (PC-12) culture medium by microdialysis-microbore liquid chromatography

An in vitro microdialysis system was constructed for the measurement of catecholamines in pheochromocytoma cell culture medium. The novel microdialysis device is composed of a petri dish, a dialysis membrane and two transmission tubes. The dialysis membrane is located in the space of a petri dish such that it is immersed in the culture medium. Catecholamines contained in the culture medium diffused into a designed dialysis membrane with sufficient recovery (about 60%). Dialysates were collected by a sampling loop and introduced by an on-line injector to a microbore liquid chromatographic system for analysis of catecholamines. This assay yielded a detection limit of 0.2–0.5 pg/injection with acceptable intra- and inter-assay reproducibilities in 5 μl of dialysates. To evaluate the on-line microdialysis system, PC-12 cells were cultured in a petri dish within an incubator. The baseline concentration of dopamine in PC-12 cell culture medium was about 0.29 ng/ml which was elevated to 2.43 ng/ml after treatment with 0.5 mM potassium cyanide. In conclusion, the present microassay provides for the sensitive, direct measurement of catecholamines in culture medium while minimizing pretreatment procedures for sample preparation.     

A Study of Concentration Polarization on Ion Exchange Membrane Electrodialysis

The concentration polarization phenomena in ion exchange membrane electrodialysis have been studied with single exchange membrane cell. The limiting current densities of Asahi ion-permselective membranes CK-1 and CK-2, Selemion ion-exchange membranes CMV, AMV, DMV and ASV have been measured with Ag-AgCl reversible electrode in various electrolyte solutions under 25°C and constant flow rate. In sodium chloride solution, the cation exchange membrane is easier to occur concentration polarization than the anion exchange membrane. The limiting current density increases as the concentration of solution increases for the same kind of ion exchange membrane. The experimental limiting current densities of Selemion CMV and AMV in NaCl, KCl, MgCl₂, CaCl₂, BaCl₂, Na₂SO₄, NaOH and HCl aqueous solutions are measured. The results show that the limiting current density increases as the ion mobility and diffusivity increase, and is affected by the transference number of ion. For the mixture of electrolyte solution, there are linear relationship between limiting current density and equivalent fraction of electrolytes.     

Pharmacokinetic study of free mangiferin in rats by microdialysis coupled with microbore high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

Mangiferin (2-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthen-9-one) has been isolated from the herbal root of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bung showing antioxidative, antiviral, and anticancer effect. An in vivo microdialysis sampling method coupled to microbore high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for continuous monitoring of free mangiferin in rat blood. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the jugular vein/right atrium and brain striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats, and mangiferin at doses of 10, 30 or 100 mg/kg were then administered via the femoral vein. Dialysates were collected every 10 min and injected directly into a microbore HPLC system. Mangiferin was separated by a reversed-phase C18 microbore column (150 x 1 mm) from dialysate within 10 min. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.05% phosphoric acid-tetrahydrofuran (10:75:15, v/v/v) with a flow-rate of 0.05 ml/min. The wavelength of the UV detector was set at 257 nm. The limit of quantification for mangiferin was 0.05 microg/ml and in vivo recovery of mangiferin at concentrations of 1, 5 and 10 microg/ml was in range of 37.7-39.8%. The results indicate that the pharmacokinetics of mangiferin at doses of 10-30 mg/kg reveals a linear relation, while doses of 30-100 mg/kg show a nonlinear pharmacokinetic phenomenon. Mangiferin was undetectable in brain dialysate. The proposed method provides a technique for rapid and sensitive analysis of free mangiferin in rat blood and further application in pharmacokinetic study. Furthermore, the metabolites of mangiferin in the rat bile were confirmed by LC electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS).     

Polyketide chain length control by chain length factor

Bacterial aromatic polyketides are pharmacologically important natural products. A critical parameter that dictates product structure is the carbon chain length of the polyketide backbone. Systematic manipulation of polyketide chain length represents a major unmet challenge in natural product biosynthesis. Polyketide chain elongation is catalyzed by a heterodimeric ketosynthase. In contrast to homodimeric ketosynthases found in fatty acid synthases, the active site cysteine is absent from the one subunit of this heterodimer. The precise role of this catalytically silent subunit has been debated over the past decade. We demonstrate here that this subunit is the primary determinant of polyketide chain length, thereby validating its designation as chain length factor. Using structure-based mutagenesis, we identified key residues in the chain length factor that could be manipulated to convert an octaketide synthase into a decaketide synthase and vice versa. These results should lead to novel strategies for the engineered biosynthesis of hitherto unidentified polyketide scaffolds.     

Synthesis and Mesogenic Properties of Liquid Crystals Containing Terminal Cyclohexylmethanol,Cyclopentylmethanol, Cyclobutylmethanol and Cyclopropylmethanol Moiety

Four series of compounds 11?50 containing terminal alicyclic rings such as cyclohexylmethyl, cyclopentylmethyl, cyclobutylmethyl, and cyclopropylmethyl rings were synthesized and their liquid crystal behavior studied. The ring size and the length of flexible alkoxy chain influence the phase formation in different ways. While the smaller ring and the shorter alkoxy chain tend to favor the formation of the N phase, the larger ring and the longer alkoxy chain tend to favor the formation of the SmC phase. All the compounds except 11 and 21 exhibit SmA phases. The widest temperature range of the N, SmA, and SmC phases are found in the compounds 41 , 46 , and 20 , respectively, which are 75 °C for 41 , 115 °C for 46 , and 100 °C for 20 .     

Simultaneous determination of cefazolin in rat blood and brain by microdialysis and microbore liquid chromatography

A sensitive microbore liquid chromatographic method combined with the minimally invasive technique of microdialysis was devised for simultaneously and continuously monitoring the levels of unbound blood and brain cefazolin in rats. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the jugular vein and brain striatum for blood and brain sampling, respectively. Chromatographic conditions consisted of a mobile phase of methanol-acetonitrile-100 mM monosodium phosphoric acid (20:10:70, v/v, pH 4.5) pumped through a microbore reversed-phase column at a flow rate of 0.05 mL/min. The ultraviolet detection wavelength was set at 270 nm. An on-line design allowed direct and continuous analysis of protein-free samples in the dialysate. Microdialysis probes, being home-made, were screened for acceptable in vivo recovery. Chromatographic resolution and detection were validated for response linearity as well as intra-day and inter-day variabilities. This method was then applied to pharmacokinetic profiling of protein unbound cefazolin in both the blood and brain following intravenous administration (10 mg/kg, i.v., n = 6). Rapid appearance of cefazolin in the rat brain striatal dialysate following drug injection suggested good blood-brain barrier penetration. According to a non-compartmental pharmacokinetics model, the area under the concentration (AUC) vs time ratio of cefazolin in rat brain and blood was 6%.     

Optical measurement of the deformation of giant lipid vesicles driven by a micropipet electrode

We investigate the deformation of giant lipid vesicles driven by a micropipet electrode by use of differential confocal microscopy. This optical technique provides nanometer depth resolution without mechanical contact and hence prevents large tension or perforation of the soft membrane. For dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) membranes in the gel phase, we observed deformations of several hundreds of nanometers when the driving voltage was about 0.1 V. The voltage and frequency responses of the vesicle deformation can be explained by the balance between the electroosmotic force inside the micropipet and the membrane tension. We also used DPPC:cholesterol vesicles to check the validity of this model. In the fluid phase, however, the deformation is independent of the modulation signal because micrometer-scale thermal fluctuations dominate the membrane motion.