Synthesis of 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline-N-glycosides and their cytotoxic activity against human ceratinocytes (HaCaT)

N-glycosides of 6H-indolo[2,3-b]quinoxalines were prepared and structurally characterized. The synthesis relies on the cyclocondensation of isatine-N-glycosides with 1,2-diaminobenzenes. Some products exhibit weak cytotoxic activity against human ceratinocytes (HaCaT).     

Discovering novel targets for autoantibodies in dilated cardiomyopathy

There is increasing evidence that a large proportion of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases are mediated by autoimmune processes. Since DCM is a fatal disorder with rapid aggravation and is the leading cause of heart transplantation, further insights into disease pathogenesis are needed. Recent studies have separated the pathogenic capacity of autoantibodies and initial clinical trials removing such autoantibodies via immunoadsorption have been promising. In order to elucidate the full autoantibody repertoire involved in DCM, we applied an autoantibody screening test using ventricular and atrial proteomes as autoantigenic sources and subsequently tested the autoantibody-binding patterns of sera from dogs with spontaneous DCM. With this method, we detected five potentially DCM-related autoantigens which were identified by MS as being: myosin heavy chain cardiac muscle alpha isoform, alpha cardiac actin, mitochondrial aconitate hydratase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and brain glycogen phosphorylase (GPBB). The recovery of two known DCM autoantigens (myosin heavy chain and alpha cardiac actin) and the discovery of three novel autoantigens (mitochondrial aconitate hydratase, GADPH, and GPBB) underscore the efficacy of this experimental method and the significance of the spontaneous canine DCM model.     

Time- and frequency-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy with sub-25 fs laser pulses

In general, many different diagrams can contribute to the signal measured in broadband four-wave mixing experiments. Care must therefore be taken when designing an experiment to be sensitive to only the desired diagram by taking advantage of phase matching, pulse timing, sequence, and the wavelengths employed. We use sub-25 fs pulses to create and monitor vibrational wavepackets in gaseous iodine, bromine, and iodine bromide through time- and frequency-resolved femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy. We experimentally illustrate this using iodine, where the broad bandwidths of our pulses, and Boltzmann population in the lower three vibrational levels conspire to make a single diagram dominant in one spectral region of the signal spectrum. In another spectral region, however, the signal is the sum of two almost equally contributing diagrams, making it difficult to directly extract information about the molecular dynamics. We derive simple analytical expressions for the time- and frequency-resolved CARS signal to study the interplay of different diagrams. Expressions are given for all five diagrams which can contribute to the CARS signal in our case.     

The sharp weighted bound for the Riesz transforms

We establish the best possible bound on the norm of the Riesz transforms as operators in the weighted space for in terms of the classical characteristic of the weight.

     

Quantification of key red blood cell folates from subjects with defined MTHFR 677C>T genotypes using stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Red blood cell (RBC) folate levels are established at the time of erythropoiesis and therefore provide a surrogate biomarker for the average folate status of an individual over the preceding four months. Folates are present as folylpolyglutamates, highly polar molecules that cannot be secreted from the RBCs, and must be converted into their monoglutamate forms prior to analysis. This was accomplished using an individual's plasma pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase by lysing the RBCs in whole blood at pH 5 in the presence of ascorbic acid. Quantitative conversion of formylated tetrahydrofolate derivatives into the stable 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate (5,10-MTHF) form was conducted at pH 1.5 in the presence of [(13)C(5)]-5-formyltetrahydrofolate. The resulting [(13)C(5)]-5,10-MTHF was then used as an internal standard for the formylated forms of tetrahydrofolate that had been converted into 5,10-MTHF as well any 5,10-MTHF that had been present in the original sample. A stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring/mass spectrometry method was validated and then used for the accurate and precise quantification of RBC folic acid, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), tetrahydrofolate (THF), and 5,10-MTHF. The method was sensitive and robust and was used to assess the relationship between different methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T genotypes and RBC folate phenotypes. Four distinct RBC folate phenotypes could be identified. These were classified according to the relative amounts of individual RBC folates as type I (5-MTHF >95%; THF <5%; 5,10-MTHF <5%), type II (5-MTHF <95%; THF 5% to 20%; 5,10-MTHF <5%), type III (5-MTHF >55%; THF >20%; 5,10-MTHF >5%), and type IV (5-MTHF <55%; THF >20%; 5,10-MTHF >5%).     

A heterometallic, heterovalent Cu(I)/Sn(II/IV)/S cluster with an unprecedented Cu4Sn core and stannacyclopentane units

[(Ph3PCu(I))6{(CH2)4Sn(IV)S2}6Cu(I)4Sn(II)], a walnut-type, heterometallic, heterovalent cluster, as confirmed by density functional theory calculations, was obtained under reductive solvothermal conditions and features an unprecedented metalloid core within a metal sulfide shell and an organic surface.     

{[CuSn5Sb3]2−}2: A Dimer of Inhomogeneous Superatoms

Reaction of the binary Zintl anion (Sn₂Sb₂)^2? with the β‐diketiminato complex [LCu(NCMe)] (L=nacnac=[(N(C₆H₃ⁱPr₂‐2,6)C(Me))₂CH]^?) in ethylenediamine or DMF affords the ternary cluster dimer {[CuSn₅Sb₃]^2?}₂ ( 1 ) as its [K(crypt‐222)]⁺ salt. The chemical formulation of 1 is supported by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) and quantum chemical calculations. Each monomeric part of the dimer represents a trimetallic “[CuSn₅Sb₃]^2?” cluster, with an architecture in between a tricapped trigonal prism and a capped square antiprism. As shown by quantum chemical investigations, the presence of Sb atoms and, in particular, of Cu atoms in the cluster skeleton makes the monomeric unit behave like an inhomogeneous superatom, which clearly prefers to dimerize, thereby producing a relatively short, yet virtually non‐bonding Cu???Cu distance.     

Three Inter‐Alkali Metal Acetylides: KNaC2, KRbC2, and NaRbC2: Syntheses,Crystal Structures,and Structural Systematics

Three alkali metal acetylides, namely KNaC₂, KRbC₂, and NaRbC₂, were synthesized and characterized by means of X‐ray powder diffraction. KNaC₂ and KRbC₂ crystallize as a variant of the anti‐PbCl₂‐type structure (Pnma, Z = 4), whereas NaRbC₂ crystallizes as a variant of the anti‐PbFCl‐type structure (Pmmn, Z = 2). Based on a simple systematic approach developed by Sabrowsky et al. for inter‐alkali metal chalcogenides all known inter‐alkali metal acetylides can be classified into two classes: variants of the anti‐PbCl₂ type structure and variants of the anti‐PbFCl type structure. Acetylides with Q(ABC₂) ≤ 1.45 crystallize in the anti‐PbCl₂‐type structure, whereas for Q(ABC₂) > 1.45 the anti‐PbFCl‐type structure is found (Q(ABC₂) = V_m(A₂C₂)/V_m(B₂C₂) with V_m(A₂C₂) > V_m(B₂C₂); V_m: molar volume, A, B = alkali metals).