A novel silver(i)-mediated DNA base pair

We have generated a novel silver(I)-mediated unnatural DNA base pair consisting of two 2,6-bis(ethylthiomethyl)pyridine nucleobases SPy. This metallo-base pair has a remarkably high pairing stability and selectivity which rivals that of the natural base pairs dA:dT and dC:dG. UV-melting experiments revealed that the dSPy:dSPy self-pair can replace natural base pairs at multiple sites and still form stable DNA duplexes.     

Reactions of a ruthenium(II) arene antitumor complex with cysteine and methionine

The Ru(II) organometallic antitumor complex [(eta(6)-biphenyl)RuCl(en)][PF(6)] (1) reacts slowly with the amino acid L-cysteine (L-CysH(2)) in aqueous solution at 310 K. Reactions were followed over periods of up to 48 h using HPLC, electronic absorption spectroscopy, LC-ESI-MS, and 1D or 2D (1)H and (15)N NMR spectroscopy. Reactions at a 1 mM/2 mM (Ru/L-CysH(2)) ratio were multiphasic in acidic solutions (pH 5.1) and appeared to involve aquation as the first step. Initially, 1:1 adducts involving substitution of Cl by S-bound or O-bound L-CysH(2), [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(S-L-CysH)(en)](+) (4a) and [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(O-L-CysH(2))(en)](2+) (4b) formed, followed by the cystine adduct [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(O-Cys(2)H(2))(en)](2+) (3), and two dinuclear complexes from which half or all of the chelated ethylenediamine had been displaced, [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(H(2)O)(microS,N-L-Cys)Ru(eta(6)-biphenyl)(en)](2+) (5) containing one bridging cysteine, and [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(O,N-L-Cys-S)(S-L-Cys-N)Ru(eta(6)-biphenyl)(H(2)O)] (6) containing two bridging cysteines. The unusual cluster species [(biphenyl)Ru](8) (7a) was also detected by MS and was more prevalent in reactions at higher L-CysH(2) concentrations. Complex 5 was the dominant product at pH 2-5, but overall, only ca. 50% of 1 reacted with L-CysH(2) in these conditions. The reaction between 1 and L-CysH(2) was suppressed in 50 mM triethylammonium acetate solution at pH > 5 or in 100 mM NaCl. Only 27% of complex 1 reacted with L-methionine (L-MetH) at an initial pH of 5.7 after 48 h at 310 K and gave rise to only one adduct [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Ru(S-L-MetH)(en)](2+) (8).     

Economics of food irradiation

The number of products being radiation processed worldwide is constantly increasing and today includes such diverse items as medical disposables, fruits and vegetables, spices, meats, seafoods and waste products. This range of products to be processed has resulted in a wide range of irradiator designs and capital and operating cost requirements.This paper discusses the economics of low dose food irradiation applications and the effects of various parameters on unit processing costs. It provides a model for calculating specific unit processing costs by correlating known capital costs with annual operating costs and annual throughputs. It is intended to provide the reader with a general knowledge of how unit processing costs are derived.     

MDGC–MS: A powerful tool for enantioselective flavor analysis

This paper reports the differentiation between the enantiomers of theaspiranes and theaspirones, potent flavor compounds widely used in the flavor industry. Optically pure reference compounds of isomeric theaspiranes were obtained by enantioselective synthesis. Enantiomerically pure reference theaspirones were isolated from quince fruit; their absolute stereochemistry was assigned by CD spectroscopy. For both types of compounds the order of elution was elucidated by using authentic reference compounds. These data enabled the determination of the enantiomeric distribution of both types of compounds in a variety of plant tissues. Because of the complexity of the natural flavor isolates, compounds were identified by mass spectrometry after multidimensional gas chromatography employing a Sichromat 2 double oven chromatograph. After separation of the target compounds on the first, achiral, column (DB-5), they were transferred to a chiral column (C-Dex B) for determination of the enantiomeric distribution. Multiple ion detection (MID) enabled the determination of the enantiomeric distribution even for complex mixtures containing the target compounds at extremely low levels.     

Some Tris[(triorganophosphine)gold(I)]-oxonium and -Organoimonium Tetrafluoroborates with Bulky Substituents

Tris{[tri(2-methylphenyl)phosphine]gold(I)}-, tris{[tri(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)phosphine]gold(I)}- and tris{[tri(cyclohexyl)phosphine]gold(I)}-oxonium tetra-fluoroborate ( 1?3 ) have been prepared from the corresponding (phosphine)gold(I) chlorides, silver oxide, and sodium tetrafluoroborate in acetone. These oxonium salts are excellent aurating agents for primary amines. Thus in the reaction with 1, t -butylamine ^tBuNH₂ and aniline PhNH₂ are readily converted into the tri nuclear imino complexes {[(2-MeC₆H₄)₃P]Au}₃N^tBu⁺BF₄^? ( 4 ) and {[(2-MeC₆H₄)₃P]Au}₃NPh⁺BF ( 5 ) in high yields. With 3 , both aniline and 8-amino-quinoline also give the tri nuclear complexes, i.e. {[(c-C₆H₁₁)₃P]Au}₃ NPh⁺BF ( 6 ) and {[(c-C₆H₁₁)₃P]Au}₃N(C₉H₆N)⁺BF ( 7 ). Auration of aniline with the most sterically hindered reagent 2 yields only the bi nuclear complex {[2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂)₃P] · Au}₂N(Ph)H⁺BF ( 8 ). The reagents 1?3 and the Products 4 – 8 have been characterized by analytical and NMR spectroscopic data, and the crystal structures of compounds 4 and 6 have been determined by single crystal x-ray diffraction. In the cations of 4 , a triangle of gold atoms with short Au — Au contacts [3.036(1), 3.107(1), and 3.214(1) Å] forms a steep pyramid with the nitrogen atom, in which the angles Au? N? Au are all much smaller than the tetrahedral standard of 109.7°: 94.8(4), 98.1(4), and 103.0(4)°. This triangular Au₃ unit is staggered relative to the three methyl groups of the ^tBu substituent at nitrogen. The results for 6 are similar [Au — Au: 3.037(1), 3.071(1), and 3.222(1) Å; Au? N? Au: 95.3(3), 96.5(3), and 103.6(3)°]. Variable temperature NMR studies of compounds 3 and 8 show hindered rotation of the mesityl groups about the P? C bonds of the ligands originating from the steric congestion within each tertiary phosphine.     

Oligodeoxynucleotide analogues containing 3′-deoxy-3′-C-threo-hydroxymethylthymidine: Synthesis, hybridization properties and enzymatic stability

Novel Oligodeoxynucleotide analogues containing 3′-C-threo-methylene phosphodiester internucleoside linkages were synthesized on automated DNA-synthesizers using the phosphoramidite approach. The sugar modified phosphoramidite building block 5 was obtained by phosphitylation of 1-(2,3-dideoxy-5-O-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityl)-3-C-hydroxymethyl-β-D-threo-pentofuranosyl)thymine (4) which was synthesized in only three steps from 5′-O-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityl)thymidine (1). The hybridization properties and enzymatic stability of the oligonucleotide analogues were studied by UV experiments. 17-Mers having one or three modifications in the middle or two modifications in each end hybridized to DNA with moderate lowered affinity compared to unmodified 17-mers (ΔT_m 1–3°C per modification). Furthermore, the end-modified and all-modified oligonucleotides were stable towards snake venom phosphodiesterase.     

EFFECTS OF BOUND MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES ON THE DECAY OF THE PHOTOTRANSFORMATION INTERMEDIATES I1,21700 FROM NATIVE Avena PHYTOCHROME*

Abstract–Thc kinetics of the microsecond phototransformation intermediates of 124 kDa Avena phytochrome (1700^1,2) were studied in the prcsence of bound monoclonal antibodies at various temperatures. A global analysis was applied to the decays at all wavelengths at each temperature in order to derive the rate constants and the decay-associated spectra of the three decay components. Monoclonal antibodies bound to specific epitopes altered the Arrhenius parameters of both 1700^1,2 decay components. The strongest influence on these parameters was observed with OAT 8 (epitope between residues 624 and 686), which decreased by more than 50% the activation parameters of both components. This decrease is interpreted to result from an increased flexibility induced by this antibody in the ground state or in the transition state of bonds changing during the decay of both 1700 transients. Thus, the OAT 8 cpitope appears to be functionally important during the decay of the 1700^1,2 intermediates. For the case of 1100¹ bound OAT 23 and OAT 25 (epitopes between residues 1 and 66) reduced even further the relatively small flexibility of these bonds in the red light-absorbing form of phytochrome (P1) without antibodies, as reflected by the high preex-ponential factors for its decay. This resulted also in higher activation energies for this decay in the presence of the antibodies. Thus, the amino-terminus should act as a rigid spacer of the chromophore cavity without affecting it during the microsecond transformation, because the Arrhenius parameters for these decays are similar to those for small phytochrome. The possible implications of the influence of the various antibodies on the bleaching remaining after the decay of 1700^1,2 are discussed.     

Benefits of X-Ray Spectrum Simulation at low Energies

 There are particular benefits in spectrum simulation for the interpretation of characteristic X-ray peaks below about 2 keV in energy, where peak overlaps, a sloping background and changing detector efficiency make it difficult to measure true peak intensities. Despite these difficulties, we have shown that a useful accuracy of simulation is possible without major revision of the existing theory, allowing the electron microprobe user to compare on-line a measured spectrum with one synthesised from an assumed sample composition. As part of a wider study, we have used a database of X-ray spectra from 150 samples of known composition to confirm the accuracy of simulation over the energy range from 0.28–1.9 keV, finding an RMS error of better than 8%. The database included 181 Kα, Lα and Mα peaks from elements of atomic number 6–77, excited by beam voltages from 5–30 kV. Central to the method is the use of the ratio of (Peak Intensity)/(Total Background Intensity), which allows spectra to be compared from instruments of differing collection efficiency, thereby easing the collection of data over a wide range of conditions. Examples are given to illustrate the use of the simulator in helping to choose the best conditions for analysis, and as an aid in interpreting the spectra so obtained. Both modes of operation are iterative in nature and require a fast and accurate simulator that is easy to use. Further development will be guided by experience in its use.     

Characterization and quantification of metallothionein isoforms by capillary electrophoresis–inductively coupled plasma–isotope-dilution mass spectrometry

In a new approach to the characterization and quantification of metallothionein isoforms an on-line isotope-dilution method in combination with the coupling of capillary electrophoresis (CE) to an inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometer (ICP-SFMS) is reported. Metallothionein (MT) isoforms are separated by CE and the elements Cu, Zn, Cd, and S are detected simultaneously by use of ICP-SFMS in the medium resolution mode. On-line isotope dilution is performed by continuous introduction of an isotopically enriched, species-unspecific spike solution after the separation step. MT from rabbit liver and a further purified MT-1 isoform were quantified by determination of sulfur, and the stoichiometric compositions of the metalloprotein complexes are characterized by determination of their sulfur-to-metal ratios.