Chiral separation of cathinone derivatives used as recreational drugs by cyclodextrin-modified capillary electrophoresis

In recent years, cathinone derivatives have entered the global drug market and caused serious social problems in many European countries. Modification of the basic structure of cathinone leads to a multitude of derivatives, including the most popular representative mephedrone. All those substances contain a stereogenic center and therefore two isoforms exist. As it is the case with many chiral active pharmaceutical ingredients, even the pharmacological effect of the enantiomers of those psychoactive compounds may differ. During this research, an easy-to-prepare chiral capillary zone electrophoresis method for the enantioseparation of a set of 19 cathinone derivatives was developed. Testing different types of cyclodextrin (CD), including native-β-CD, carboxymethyl-β-CD, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD, sulfated-β-CD, and native γ-CD, best results were obtained with the negatively charged sulfated-β-CD. The effect of the CD concentration, the temperature, and the addition of ACN to the BGE on the enantioseparation is shown by three model compounds. Under optimal conditions, using 20 mg/mL sulfated-β-CD in 50 mM ammonium acetate buffer pH?= 4.5 containing 10% v/v ACN at a cassette temperature of 40°C and with an applied voltage of 20 kV, all derivatives except methedrone were resolved in their enantiomers within 20 min.     

Metal Nanoparticles on Stainless Steel Surfaces as Novel Heterogeneous Catalysts

The goal of this work was the development of a novel type of heterogeneous catalyst, consisting of bare metal nanoparticles on stainless steel foils, which can be shaped to any kind of architecture and, if necessary, heated electrically. Solutions of pre-prepared, ligand protected and monodispersed gold, palladium, platinum and rhodium nanoparticles were sprayed onto stainless steel foils, followed by the careful removal of the ligand molecules by an oxygen plasma treatment. Due to this, bare particles become irreversibly fixed on the steel support. It could be shown that the original particle sizes do not change during the plasma treatment. Foils, densely coated with the nanoparticles, were used for gas phase catalyses in a self-made reactor at room temperature or at 60 °C. Hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene at 15 nm Pd and 2 nm Pt, CO oxidation at 16 nm, 8 nm and 1.4 nm gold and NO reduction with NH₃ at 2 nm Rh particles were performed, indicating that the novel catalysts might in principle be applicable in technical processes if the experimental conditions like form and temperature would be optimized. Dedicated to Professor Dieter Fenske on the occassion of his 65th birthday.     

Recent advances in chiral separation principles in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography

This review summarizes recent developments in chiral separation in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), electrokinetic chromatography (EKC), and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) covering literature published since the year 2000. New chiral selectors and innovative approaches for CE and CEC are introduced. Recent progress in column technology for CEC is highlighted and the development of new chiral stationary phases is discussed. This review is not dedicated to list applications but will focus on new developments.     

A fluorimetric assay for cortisol

A simple, rapid and sensitive fluorimetric assay for the quantitative determination of cortisol is reported. The assay is based on the formation of a fluorescent dye when cortisol is incubated with a mixture of sulfuric acid and acetic acid. The fluorescence spectrum recorded for the resulting dye shows a maximum extinction at 475 nm and a maximum emission at 525 nm. The solvent 2-methyl-4-pentanone was used for extraction and was found to act as a fluorescence amplifier. A limit of detection of 2.7 μM was achieved, making it possible to forego solvent evaporation. The assay suffers minor interference from 11-deoxycortisol which exhibits low fluorescence at λ _ex: 460 nm; λ _em: 505 nm. Typical standard deviations were below 4%. We validated the assay using a biotransformation with recombinant Schizosaccharomyces pombe which regioselectively hydroxylates 11-deoxycortisol to cortisol. The method described herein is suitable for preliminary screening of microorganisms capable of steroid hydroxylation.     

Physical and Chemical Consequences of Size-Reduction of Gold: Bioresponse and Biodistribution

The article is dealing with the dependency of physical and chemical properties on size and coating of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and their potential in medicine. Full-shell clusters of the type Au₅₅(PR₃)₁₂Cl₆ are in the focal point due to their special properties. They act as quantum dots at room temperature and their stability is based on the perfect cuboctahedral structure. The bioresponse of the 1.4 nm Au₅₅ clusters is, compared with smaller and larger Au NPs, very special, indicated by high cytotoxicity. It is caused by oxidative stress in cells accompanied by direct interactions with DNA. Biodistribution in Wistar–Kyoto rats differs also characteristically from larger Au NPs. Larger Au NPs, intravenously injected, assemble almost quantitatively in the liver, whereas Au₅₅ clusters distribute over numerous other organs. All comparisons have been carried out by Au species with identical ligand molecules in order to have the same conditions concerning surface behaviour.     

The Coordination Behaviour of CuI Photosensitizers Bearing Multidentate Ligands Investigated by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

A systematic series of four novel homo- and heteroleptic Cu^I photosensitizers based on tetradentate 1,10-phenanthroline ligands of the type X^N^N^X containing two additional donor moieties in the 2,9-position (X=SMe or OMe) were designed. Their solid-state structures were assessed by X-ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis absorption, emission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy were then used to determine their electrochemical, photophysical and structural features in solution. Following, time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy in the picosecond time scale, coupled with time-dependent density functional theory calculations, provided in-depth information on the excited state electron configurations. For the first time, a significant shortening of the Cu−X distance and a change in the coordination mode to a pentacoordinated geometry is shown in the excited states of the two homoleptic complexes. These findings are important with respect to a precise understanding of the excited state structures and a further stabilization of this type of photosensitizers.     

Isolation of an Organic Solvent-Tolerant Lipolytic Enzyme from Uncultivated Microorganism

Although the use of lipases as biocatalysts has frequently been proposed, it is yet scarcely being implemented in industrial processes. This is mainly due to the difficulties associated with the discovery and engineering of new enzymes and the lack of versatile screening methods. In this study, we screened the available strategy from a metagenomic pool for the organic solvent-tolerant lipase with enhanced performance for industrial processes. A novel lipase was identified through functional screening from a metagenomic library of activated sludge in an Escherichia coli system. The gene encoding the lipase from the metagenomic pool, metalip1, was sequenced and cloned by PCR. Metalip1 encoding a polypeptide of 316 amino acids had typical residues essential for lipase such as pentapeptide (GXSXGG) and catalytic triad sequences (Ser160, Asp260, and His291). The deduced amino acid sequence of metalip1 showed high similarity to a putative lipase from Pseudomonas sp. CL-61 (80 %, ABC25547). Metalip1 was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) with a his-tag and purified using a Ni-NTA chelating column and characterized. This enzyme showed high expression level and solubility in the heterologous E. coli host. This enzyme was active over broad organic solvents. Among organic solvents examined, dimethyl formamide was the best organic solvent for metalip1. We showed that function-based strategy is an effective method for fishing out an organic solvent-tolerant lipase from the metagenomic library. Also, it revealed high catalytic turnover rates, which make them a very interesting candidate for industrial application.     

Photolyse von 3-Methyl-2, 1-benzisoxazol (3-Methylanthranil) und 2-Azido-acetophenon in Gegenwart von Schwefelsäure und Benzolderivaten

Photolysis of 3-Methyl-2, 1-benzisoxazole (3-Methylanthranil) and 2-Azido-acetophenone in the Presence of Sulfuric Acid and Benzene Derivatives Irradiation of 3-methylanthranil ( 1 ) in acetonitrile in the presence of sulfuric acid and benzene, toluene, p-xylene, mesitylene or anisole with a mercury high-pressure lamp through a pyrex filter yields beside varying amounts of 2-amino-acetophenone ( 3 ) and 2-amino-5-hydroxy- ( 4a ) and 2-amino-3-hydroxy-acetophenone ( 4b ) the corresponding diphenylamine derivatives 5 (see Table 1). In the case of toluene and anisole mixtures of the corresponding ortho- and para-substituted isomers ( 5b, 5d or 5g, 5i respectively), but no meta-substituted isomers ( 5c or 5h ) are obtained. In addition to these products, the irradiation of 1 in the presence of anisole yields also 2-amino-5-(4′-methoxyphenyl)-acetophenone ( 7 ), 2-amino-3-(4′-methoxyphenyl)-acetophenone ( 8 ) and 2-methoxy-9-methyl-acridine ( 6 ; see Scheme 1). The latter product is also formed thermally by acid catalysis from the diphenylamine derivative 5i . Irradiation of 2-azido-acetophenone ( 2 ) in acetonitrile solution in the presence of sulfuric acid and benzene leads to the formation of 1, 3, 4a, 4b, 5a and 9 (see Table 2). Compounds 3, 4a, 4b and 5a are also obtained after acid catalyzed decomposition of 2 in the presence of benzene. Thus, it is concluded that irradiation of 1 or 2 in the presence of sulfuric acid yields 2-acetyl-phenylnitrenium ions 10 in the singlet ground state which will undergo electrophilic substitution of the aromatic compounds, perhaps via the π-complex 11 (see Scheme 2).     

Thermische Reaktionen mit 3-Phenyl-2H-azirinen; 1, 3-dipolare Cycloadditionen und En-Reaktionen

Benzonitrile p-nitrobenzylide ( 5 ) undergoes 1,3-dipolar cyclo-additions in the presence of 3-phenyl-2H-azirines ( 1 ), yielding in benzene at 0° 2-(p-nitrophenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1,3-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-enes ( 7 , scheme 2). Under the basic conditions of the reaction mixture, 7 a and 7 b are partially converted to 2-(p-nitrophenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1,6-dihydropyrimidines ( 8a, b ) which are dehydrogenated by oxygen to the corresponding pyrimidines 9a and 9b , respectively. 3-Phenyl-2H-azirines ( 1 ) form, on heating at 145° in xylene in the presence of the azalactone 32 (2,4-diphenyl-Δ²-oxazolin-5-one), 4-(aziridin-2′-yl)-2,4-diphenyl-Δ²-oxazolin-5-ones ( 33 , scheme 11). 33 arises from an ene reaction of the enol form of 32 with 1 . Similar ene reactions are observed with the azirines 1 and dimedone ( 37 , scheme 12). Under the ene reaction conditions (xylene, 145°), the non-isolated intermediate primary adducts ( 38a and 38b ) undergo rearrangements of the vinylcyclopane-cyclopentene type to give 6,6-dimethyl-4-oxo-1,3-diphenyl-4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahydroisoindole ( 40 ) and 6, 6-dimethyl-4-oxo-3-phenyl-4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahedroindole ( 42 ), respectively.     

NMR in metal cluster compounds compared to glasses

The field and temperature dependence of the³¹P nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate in the metal cluster compound Ru₅₅(P(t-Bu)₃)₁₂Cl₂₀ follows a power law: 1/T ₁ ∝T ⁿ B ^?m , withn=1.5±0.1 at 3.25 T andn=1.3±0.1 at 6.45 T;m ? 1.4. Such dependences have so far only been observed in inorganic glasses and been attributed to two level systems. The correspondence suggests that the relaxation rate is due to interaction of theP-nuclear moment with electronic spins of stochastically moving charge carriers, which are thought to be responsible for the electrical conductivity through hopping between neigboring cluster molecules.