A journey through quality control

The Euroanalysis VII conference in Vienna included a two-day session: Quality Assurance in Analytical Chemistry. The contributions comprised 15 lectures devoted to: intra-laboratory quality measures, inter-laboratory control, formal aspects and accreditation and implementation. The paper presents an overview of the main items developed by the contributors.A survey on the session on Quality Assurance in Analytical Chemistry of Euroanalysis VIIThe authors thank the organizers of EUROANALYSIS VII and in particular Dr. B. Griepink and Dr. E. Maier of the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) of the CEC for their support and considerable contributions.     

Formation of the unusual alkynyl carboxamide complex, C2H5N(H)C(O)CC[Co2(CO)6]CCo3(CO)9

The reaction of the cluster complex HCC[Co₂(CO)₆]CCo₃(CO)₉ with (or without) BrCCo₃(CO)₉ under Cadiot-Chodkiewicz coupling conditions gave the unusual alkynyl carboxamide complex C₂H₅N(H)C(O)CC[Co₂(CO)₆]CCo₃(CO)₉ rather than a coupled product containing two tricobalt cluster units. Steric demands imposed by the Co₃ cluster allow attack at the least hindered alkyne carbon and stabilise the formed ynamine, so allowing subsequent CO insertion. The product has been characterised by X-ray crystallography.     

Proton transfer reaction studies of multiply charged proteins in a high mass-to-charge ratio quadrupole mass spectrometer

Proton transfer reaction of multiply charged ions at high mass-to-charge ratios were explored with a low frequency quadrupole mass spectrometer. This instrument enabled a qualitative comparison of proton transfer reaction rates at low charge states for ions generated by electrospray ionization (ESI) from different solution conformations and for disulfide-linked versus disulfide-reduced protein ions. Proton transfer reactions that efficiently reduced the number of charges for ESI-generated ions to approximately the number of arginines in the polypeptide sequence were observed. No significant differences in gas-phase reaction rates were noted between different solution conformers. Differences in reaction rates between “native” and disulfide-reduced proteins were much smaller than those observed below m/z 2000 with lower proton affinity reagents or by using lower reagent concentrations. These smaller differences in reaction rates are thought to reflect the reduced electrostatic contributions from widely spaced charge sites and thus, the reduced sensitivity to an ion's three-dimensional structure or “compactness.”     

Cluster chemistry: XVI. Synthesis and crystal structure of AuFe3(μ3-HCNBut)(CO)9(PPh3), an AuFe3 butterfly cluster

The reaction between AuCl(PPh₃ and [Fe(μ₃-HCNBu^t)(CO)₉]^? gives AuFe₃(μ₃-HCNBu^t)(CO)₉(PPh₃), crystals of which are triclinic, space group P$\text{1}$, with a 12.815(3), b 16.265(4), c 19.106(3) Å, α 67.15(3), β 73.46(2), γ 73.12(2)° and Z = 4. The comlex contains an AuFe₃ “butterfly” cluster, the Fe₃ face of which is bridged by the HCNBu^t ligand bonded in the (2σ + π) mode on the side opposite to the Au(PPh₃) moiety, which, contrary to expectation based on the analogy with H, bridges the two Fe atoms σ-bonded to N, and π-bonded to the CN group. The AuFe₂/Fe₃ dihedral angles in the two independent molecules differ significantly, with values of 110.9 and 132.1°.     

Oxidation Kinetics of the Potent Insulin Mimetic Agent Bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BMOV) in Water and in Methanol

The kinetics of oxidation of bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV), BMOV or VO(ma)(2), by dioxygen have been studied by UV-vis spectroscopy in both MeOH and H(2)O media. The VO(ma)(2):O(2) stoichiometry was 4:1. In aqueous solution, the pH-dependent rate of the VO(ma)(2)/O(2) reaction to generate cis-[VO(2)(ma)(2)](-) is attributed to the deprotonation of coordinated H(2)O, the deprotonated species [VO(ma)(2)(OH)](-) being more easily oxidized (k(OH) = 0.39 M(-)(1) s(-)(1), 25 degrees C) than the neutral form VO(ma)(2)(H(2)O) (k(H)()2(O) = 0.08 M(-)(1) s(-)(1), 25 degrees C). The activation parameters for the two second-order reactions in aqueous solution were deduced from variable temperature kinetic measurements. In MeOH, VO(ma)(2) was oxidized by dioxygen to cis-VO(OMe)(ma)(2), whose structure was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction; the crystals were monoclinic, C2/c, with a = 28.103(1) ?, b = 7.721(2) ?, c = 13.443(2) ?, beta = 94.290(7) degrees, and Z = 8. The structure was solved by Patterson methods and was refined by full-matrix least-squares procedures to R = 0.043 for 1855 reflections with I >/= 3sigma(I). The kinetic results are consistent with a mechanism involving an attack of O(2) at the V(IV) center, followed by the formation of radicals and H(2)O(2) as transient intermediates.     

Simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS) analysis of cyanide and thiocyanate from swine plasma

An analytical procedure for the simultaneous determination of cyanide and thiocyanate in swine plasma was developed and validated. Cyanide and thiocyanate were simultaneously analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in negative ionization mode after rapid and simple sample preparation. Isotopically labeled internal standards, Na¹³C¹⁵N and NaS¹³C¹⁵N, were mixed with swine plasma (spiked and nonspiked), proteins were precipitated with acetone, the samples were centrifuged, and the supernatant was removed and dried. The dried samples were reconstituted in 10 mM ammonium formate. Cyanide was reacted with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde and taurine to form N-substituted 1-cyano[f]benzoisoindole, while thiocyanate was chemically modified with monobromobimane to form an SCN-bimane product. The method produced dynamic ranges of 0.1–50 and 0.2–50 μM for cyanide and thiocyanate, respectively, with limits of detection of 10 nM for cyanide and 50 nM for thiocyanate. For quality control standards, the precision, as measured by percent relative standard deviation, was below 8 %, and the accuracy was within ±10 % of the nominal concentration. Following validation, the analytical procedure successfully detected cyanide and thiocyanate simultaneously from the plasma of cyanide-exposed swine.     

Photopatternable thin films from silyl hydride containing silicone resins and photobase generators

The photopatternability of various silyl hydride containing organosilicone resins containing the photobase generators N‐methylnifedipine or O‐(2‐nitrobenzyl)‐N‐octyl carbamate have been examined, with the goal of identifying potential photopatternable compositions with high thermal stability after cure. Two different categories of silicone resins have been prepared from combinations of diphenylsiloxane and methyl and hydrogen silsesquioxane units and a combination of phenyl and hydrogen silsesquioxane monomer units. The photobase generators were incorporated into these resins at concentrations up to 10 weight percent. UV‐irradiation of micrometer thick silicone resin‐photobase films through a photomask, under an air atmosphere, yielded micrometer scale features after development. Photopatternable compositions have been identified with photosensitivities of less than 50 mJ/cm2. The photopatterning process is believed to proceed by base‐catalyzed reaction of resin‐based silanol groups with neighboring silyl hydride groups to yield thermally stable siloxane crosslinks. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一氧化二氮—乙炔火焰原子吸收法测定镍—镉浸渍液中硅

提出用一氧化二氮-乙炔火焰原子吸收法分析镍-镉浸渍液中硅.方法具有良好的灵敏度,干扰少,重现性好.硅量在5～50μg.ml~(-1)范围内与吸光度呈线性关系.测定样品中硅34.0μg.ml~(-1)(n=10)时,相对标准偏差为2.2%.标准加入回收率在98%～103%范围内,适用于镍-镉浸渍液中硅的分析.     

cis,cis-Spiro[4.4]nonane-1,6-diol: A new chiral auxiliary for the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

The use of a mono-pivalate mono-acrylate bis-ester of (+)-1S,5S,6S-spiro[4.4]nonane-1,6-diol in an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene (2 equiv. BCl₃, −85°C, CH₂Cl₂) provided the expected endo bicyclo adduct in >97% de. Iodolactonization of the bicyclo adduct provided the (+)-lactone (5) with a 1S,4S,6S,8R,9S configuration (97% ee). The de's obtained from using various types and amounts of Lewis acids, and both chiral and racemic bis-esters in the Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene are also reported.