A practical synthesis of betulinic acid

A new synthetic route for the synthesis of betulinic acid from betulin has been developed. The main step of this procedure is the selective oxidation of the primary alcohol function of betulin without affecting the secondary hydroxyl group. Applying shorter reaction times and lower temperatures results in the exclusive formation of the corresponding aldehyde, betulinal.     

The melting behaviour of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by DSC. Reproducibility study

This work is concerned with the melting behaviour and accuracy of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analyses of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer completely biodegradable and biocompatible, and obtained from renewable resources. Melting parameters of PHB were determined for the first fusion event applying standard experimental procedures for thermal analysis, using heating rates ranging between 1 °C/min and 20 °C/min. The analyses of DSC energy flow scans showed a complex melting peak that may be resolved into three elementary peaks having different intensities at different melting temperatures. Peak temperatures depend on heating rate, while the total crystallinity detected was independent of the rate. A study of 24 DSC runs showed good temperature reproducibility (±0.5 °C), but poor reproducibility of mass crystallinity (±10%).     

The first N‐terminal unprotected (Gly‐Aib)n peptide: H‐Gly‐Aib‐Gly‐Aib‐OtBu

Glycine (Gly) is incorporated in roughly half of all known peptaibiotic (nonribosomally biosynthesized antibiotic peptides of fungal origin) sequences and is the residue with the greatest conformational flexibility. The conformational space of Aib (α‐aminoisobutyric acid) is severely restricted by the second methyl group attached to the C_α atom. Most of the crystal structures containing Aib are N‐terminal protected. Deprotection of the N‐ or C‐terminus of peptides may alter the hydrogen‐bonding scheme and/or the structure and may facilitate crystallization. The structure reported here for glycyl‐α‐aminoisobutyrylglycyl‐α‐aminoisobutyric acid tert‐butyl ester, C₁₆H₃₀N₄O₅, describes the first N‐terminal‐unprotected (Gly‐Aib)_n peptide. The achiral peptide could form an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the C=O group of Gly1 and the N—H group of Aib4. This hydrogen bond is found in all tetrapeptides and N‐terminal‐protected tripeptides containing Aib, apart from one exception. In the present work, this hydrogen bond is not observed (N...O = 5.88 Å). Instead, every molecule is hydrogen bonded to six other symmetry‐related molecules with a total of eight hydrogen bonds per molecule. The backbone conformation starts in the right‐handed helical region (and the left‐handed helical region for the inverted molecule) and reverses the screw sense in the last two residues.     

Modulating surface rheology by electrostatic protein/polysaccharide interactions

There is a large interest in mixed protein/polysaccharide layers at air-water and oil-water interfaces because of their ability to stabilize foams and emulsions. Mixed protein/polysaccharide adsorbed layers at air-water interfaces can be prepared either by adsorption of soluble protein/polysaccharide complexes or by sequential adsorption of complexes or polysaccharides to a previously formed protein layer. Even though the final protein and polysaccharide bulk concentrations are the same, the behavior of the adsorbed layers can be very different, depending on the method of preparation. The surface shear modulus of a sequentially formed beta-lactoglobulin/pectin layer can be up to a factor of 6 higher than that of a layer made by simultaneous adsorption. Furthermore, the surface dilatational modulus and surface shear modulus strongly (up to factors of 2 and 7, respectively) depend on the bulk -lactoglobulin/pectin mixing ratio. On the basis of the surface rheological behavior, a mechanistic understanding of how the structure of the adsorbed layers depends on the protein/polysaccharide interaction in bulk solution, mixing ratio, ionic strength, and order of adsorption to the interface (simultaneous or sequential) is derived. Insight into the effect of protein/polysaccharide interactions on the properties of adsorbed layers provides a solid basis to modulate surface rheological behavior.     

Isotachophoretic analysis of pharmaceutic formulations with different matrices: Determination of nicotinic acid in capsules,tablets, dragees,ointments and tinctures

The selectivity of isotachophoresis is investigated concerning the quantitative determination of an anionic agent in a variety of pharmaceutic application forms with different matrices. As a result, no interferences caused by matrix components were observed in any case. Therefore sample pretreatment can be neglected. The simultaneous quantitation of other anionic constituents, present in the formulations, is possible. The method is evaluated by other analytical characteristics besides selectivity, like precision, accuracy and time of analysis. The contributions of aliquotation and isotachophoretic measurement to the total error were determined by analysis of variance. Systematic errors, due to adsorption of the analyte on solid matrix material were examined by standard addition. The results of the analytical characteristics indicate the excellent applicability of isotachophoresis for the routine analysis of anionic analytes in pharmaceutic preparations     

Synthese neuer mono- und dihalogenierter Salicylsäurederivate

Syntheses of 3- and 4-monohalogenated (2a, b; 3a–c; 4a–e) and 3,4-dihalogenated (4f–l) ethyl 5-cyano-salicylates are described. Nitration of the ethyl 5-cyano-4-halo-salicylates3a, b leads to the ethyl 5-cyano-4-halo-3-nitro-salicylates5a, b. Hydrolysis of the ester and cyano group as well as reactions of various chloroformates, N,N-dimethylcarbamyl chloride and acetic anhydride with the hydroxyl group have been studied.

     

Conformational analysis of furanoid epsilon-sugar amino acid containing cyclic peptides by NMR spectroscopy,molecular dynamics simulation,and X-ray crystallography: evidence for a novel turn structure

Sugar amino acids (SAAs) are useful building blocks for the design of peptidomimetics and peptide scaffolds. The three-dimensional structures of cyclic hybrid molecules containing the furanoid epsilon-SAA III and several amino acids were elucidated to study the preferred conformation of such an epsilon-SAA and its conformational influence on the backbone of cyclic peptides. NMR-based molecular dynamics simulations and empirical calculations of the cyclic tetramer 1, consisting of two copies of the SAA residue and two amino acids, revealed that it is conformationally restrained. The two SAA residues adopt different conformations. One of them forms an unusual turn, stabilized by an intraresidue nine-member hydrogen bond. The methylene functionalities of the other SAA residue are positioned in such a way that an intraresidue H bond is not possible. The X-ray crystal structure of 1 strongly resembles the solution conformation. Molecular dynamics calculations in combination with NMR analysis were also performed for compounds 2 and 3, which contain the RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) consensus sequence and were previously shown to inhibit alpha(IIb)beta(3)-receptor-mediated platelet aggregation. The biologically most active compound 2 adopts a preferred conformation with the single SAA residue folded into the nine-member H bond-containing turn. Compound 3, containing an additional valine residue, as compared with compound 2, is conformational flexible. Our studies demonstrate that the furanoid epsilon-SAA III is able to introduce an unusual intraresidue hydrogen bond-stabilized beta-turn-like conformation in two of the three cyclic structures.     

F?llung und Bestimmung von Strontium als sekund?res Phosphat

Zusammenfassung Aus einer Lösung von Strontiumchlorid und primärem Kaliumphosphat kann bei Siedetemperatur mit Kalilauge gut kristallisiertes, sekundäres Strontiumphosphat niedergeschlagen werden. Die Fällung ist bei etwa P_H ⁶ quantitativ. Der Bodenkörper wird entweder nach dem Trocknen als SrHPO₄ oder nach dem Glühen als Sr₂P₂O₇ gewogen. Gegenüber der üblichen Bestimmung als Sulfat hat die Methode verschiedene Vorzüge. Es kann bereits nach 1 Std filtriert werden, während bei der Sulfatfällung über Nacht gewartet werden soll. Ferner ist der Niederschlag gut kristallisiert und filtriert daher ausgezeichnet, im Gegensatz zu SrSO₄, welches oft sehr langsam filtriert und gelegentlich auch durchs Filter läuft. Überdies muß bei der Bestimmung als Phosphat kein Alkohol zugesetzt werden. Wesentliche Nachteile der Phosphatmethode sind, daß alle anderen Ionen, die schwer lösliche Phosphate bilden, abgetrennt werden müssen und daß auch Alkali-Ionen höherer Konzentration stören.Herrn Prof. Dr. A. Kurtenacker zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Homocoenzyme B12 and bishomocoenzyme B12: covalent structural mimics for homolyzed, enzyme-bound coenzyme B12

Efficient electrochemical syntheses of "homocoenzyme B(12)" (2, Co(beta)-(5'-deoxy-5'-adenosyl-methyl)-cob(III)alamin) and "bishomocoenzyme B(12)" (3, Co(beta)-[2-(5'-deoxy-5'-adenosyl)-ethyl]-cob(III)alamin) are reported here. These syntheses have provided crystalline samples of 2 and 3 in 94 and 77 % yield, respectively. In addition, in-depth investigations of the structures of 2 and 3 in solution were carried out and a high-resolution crystal structure of 2 was obtained. The two homologues of coenzyme B(12) (2 and 3) are suggested to function as covalent structural mimics of the hypothetical enzyme-bound "activated" (that is, "stretched" or even homolytically cleaved) states of the B(12) cofactor. From crude molecular models, the crucial distances from the corrin-bound cobalt center to the C5' atom of the (homo)adenosine moieties in 2 and 3 were estimated to be about 3.0 and 4.4 A, respectively. These values are roughly the same as those found in the two "activated" forms of coenzyme B(12) in the crystal structure of glutamate mutase. Indeed, in the crystal structure of 2, the cobalt center was observed to be at a distance of 2.99 A from the C5' atom of the homoadenosine moiety and the latter was found to be present in the unusual syn conformation. In solution, the organometallic moieties of 2 and 3 were shown to be rather flexible and to be considerably more dynamic than the equivalent group in coenzyme B(12). The homoadenosine moiety of 2 was indicated to occur in both the syn and the anti conformations.