Production and certification of NIST Standard Reference Material 2372 Human DNA Quantitation Standard

Modern highly multiplexed short tandem repeat (STR) assays used by the forensic human-identity community require tight control of the initial amount of sample DNA amplified in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. This, in turn, requires the ability to reproducibly measure the concentration of human DNA, [DNA], in a sample extract. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) techniques can determine the number of intact stretches of DNA of specified nucleotide sequence in an extremely small sample; however, these assays must be calibrated with DNA extracts of well-characterized and stable composition. By 2004, studies coordinated by or reported to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicated that a well-characterized, stable human DNA quantitation certified reference material (CRM) could help the forensic community reduce within- and among-laboratory quantitation variability. To ensure that the stability of such a quantitation standard can be monitored and that, if and when required, equivalent replacement materials can be prepared, a measurement of some stable quantity directly related to [DNA] is required. Using a long-established conventional relationship linking optical density (properly designated as decadic attenuance) at 260 nm with [DNA] in aqueous solution, NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2372 Human DNA Quantitation Standard was issued in October 2007. This SRM consists of three quite different DNA extracts: a single-source male, a multiple-source female, and a mixture of male and female sources. All three SRM components have very similar optical densities, and thus very similar conventional [DNA]. The materials perform very similarly in several widely used gender-neutral assays, demonstrating that the combination of appropriate preparation methods and metrologically sound spectrophotometric measurements enables the preparation and certification of quantitation [DNA] standards that are both maintainable and of practical utility. Figure NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2372 Human Quantitation Standard     

Diffusion Studies on Polystyrene in 1,4-Dioxane

The diffusion behavior of polystyrene with narrow molecular weight distribution at 20℃ in 1, 4-dioxane was investigated by the photon correlation spectroscopy. The cumulant method was employed for the analysis of the intensity-intensity autocorrelation function measured over a wide range of the scattering vector. The diffusion coefficient D was determined as the function of concentration C in the molecular weight range of 3. 0×104-1. 20×106. In a low concentration range, D was found to be linearly dependent on C, which has been found for some other systems. The dependence of D on molecular weight at infinite dilution can be written as an empirical formula D0 = kDM-γ M, the exponent γ(0. 576 ±0. 01) is in good agreement with the result of the scaling theory.     

碳和硼的笼状原子簇及其关系

碳笼烯C_(60)的发现及碳笼烷C-(60)H_(60)的制备,激励人们去探索合成新的碳元素类似物和其它元素的类似物。本文利用碳和硼的笼型烷烃的化学键和几何特征,讨论碳和硼的笼状原子簇骨架的共轭关系,推导其中一些高对称化合物的原子数和几何结构,并讨论其稳定性。 1 碳和硼的笼状原子簇骨架的共轭关系     

Synthesis of Cyclopropyl‐Substituted Furans by Brønsted Acid Promoted Cascade Reactions

Chloroacetic acid promotes an efficient and diastereoselective intramolecular cascade reaction of electron‐deficient ynenones to deliver products featuring a 2,3,5‐trisubstituted furan bearing a fused cyclopropyl substituent at the 5‐position. Synthetically relevant polycyclic building blocks featuring rings of various sizes and heteroatoms have been synthesized in high yield using this mild acid‐catalyzed reaction.     

Reversible carboxamide-mediated internal activation at C(6) of 2-chloro-4-anilino-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines

A synthetic route to bisanilino-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines has been discovered, wherein the C(6)-chloride reactivity is necessarily enhanced via reversible acid-catalyzed internal activation of the pyrimidine ring by a C(1')-carboxamide moiety. Subsequent selective nucleophilic displacements at C(6) and C(1') constitute a one-pot tandem protocol for the rapid assembly of bisanilino-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines.     

Letters to the editor

Abstract

An X-ray topographic method for investigating migration of point defects is described as a summary of previous work carried out on self-interstitials in ice. Since the method presented is based on in situ observations of dislocation climb in a thick specimen, the advantages of synchrotron-radiation topography for this method is emphasized. It is shown that the diffusion coefficients of the point defects can be determined as functions of both temperature and pressure.     

Ion pair cooperative binding of potassium salts by new rhenium(I) bipyridine crown ether receptors

The new rhenium(I) bipyridine crown ether receptors 1-4 have been prepared and their ion pair recognition properties examined. The crystal structure of [1.KCl](2).2H(2)O demonstrates that potassium is coordinated by benzo-18-crown-6 and chloride is hydrogen bonded to the amide groups. Receptor 3 extracts solid KCl and KOAc into chloroform via ion pair complexation. NMR and emission titration studies with receptors 1-4 and KCl/KOAc show that cobound potassium enhances anion binding strength by electrostatic and conformational effects. Significant cooperative interactions are observed between the anion and cation sites for host 4 in CH(3)CN. This molecule coordinates potassium to form a 1:1 intramolecular sandwich complex, which preorganizes the host for acetate binding.     

Development of polyphosphate parameters for use with the AMBER force field

Accurate force fields are essential for reproducing the conformational and dynamic behavior of condensed-phase systems. The popular AMBER force field has parameters for monophosphates, but they do not extend well to polyphorylated molecules such as ADP and ATP. This work presents parameters for the partial charges, atom types, bond angles, and torsions in simple polyphosphorylated compounds. The parameters are based on molecular orbital calculations of methyldiphosphate and methyltriphosphate at the RHF/6-31+G* level. The new parameters were fit to the entire potential energy surface (not just minima) with an RMSD of 0.62 kcal/mol. This is exceptional agreement and a significant improvement over the current parameters that produce a potential surface with an RMSD of 7.8 kcal/mol to that of the ab initio calculations. Testing has shown that the parameters are transferable and capable of reproducing the gas-phase conformations of inorganic diphosphate and triphosphate. Also, the parameters are an improvement over existing parameters in the condensed phase as shown by minimizations of ATP bound in several proteins. These parameters are intended for use with the existing AMBER 94/99 force field, and they will permit users to apply AMBER to a wider variety of important enzymatic systems.