Extractive fluorimetric determination of ultratraces of lead with cryptand 2.2.2 and eosin

A new speetrofluorimetric method for determination of ultratraces of lead is based on solvent extraction into chloroform of the ion-pair formed between the positively-charged cryptate of lead with cryptand 2.2.2 and the eosinate anion. The detection limit for lead is 1 ng ml , and the linear working range is from the detection limit to 250 ng ml . The relative standard deviation is 3.7% at the 100 ng ml level. The method is highly selective for the extraction and determination of lead in the presence of other cations, and has been tested for direct determination of lead contamination in soft drinks. Aggregation of the extracted ion-pair in the organic phase has been demonstrated in fundamental extraction studies.     

Liquid chromatographic and mass spectral analysis of 1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-3-butanamines, homologues of 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamines

The 1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-3-butanamines (HMDAs) are prepared via reductive amination of the corresponding ketone with a series of low molecular weight alkylamines. These amines are homologues of the N-substituted 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamines (MDAs). Compounds of the HMDA series have UV absorption properties similar to the MDAs because both series contain the same 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl chromophore. The HMDAs are separated via reversed-phase liquid chromatographic methods using a C18 stationary phase and an acidic aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase. The mass spectra of these potential designer drugs are very similar to the spectra of the MDA homologues having the same N-substituent.     

Conformational analysis and electronic structure of acetanilide

The calculations of the electronic structure and conformational analysis of the acetanilide were carried out using the CNDO/2 method. The results show that the endo form is 1.2 Kcal/mole more stable than the exo form. The most stable conformation of the exo isomer corresponds to the dihedral angle of 90 ° between the phenyl and acetamide plane, whereas the minimum energy conformation of the endo isomer corresponds to the dihedral angle 50 °–60 °. A comparison of the calculated and experimental dipole moments suggests also the dihedral angle of 50 °–60 °. A comparison with experiment indicates that this molecular orbital method is good for conformational analysis and gives electronic structure which is compatible with spectroscopic measurement. The calculated conformational analysis and electronic structure of the acetanilide are in excellent agreement with experiments.We thank Professor J. P. Green for helpful discussions. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH-17489-01).     

Synthesis of 2, 4, 6-trialkyl-3-hydroxypyridines

Summary A new method was proposed for the synthesis of 2,4,6-trialky1-3-hydroxypyridines by the reactions of 3,5-dialkyl-2-acylfurans with ammonia.     

Toward an accurate and efficient semiclassical surface hopping procedure for nonadiabatic problems

The derivation of a semiclassical surface hopping procedure from a formally exact solution of the Schrodinger equation is discussed. The fact that the derivation proceeds from an exact solution guarantees that all phase terms are completely and accurately included. Numerical evidence shows the method to be highly accurate. A Monte Carlo implementation of this method is considered, and recent work to significantly improve the statistical accuracy of the Monte Carlo approach is discussed.     

An activation mechanism for ATP cleavage in muscle.

Evidence for a proposed activation mechanism is summarized. The low rate of ATP cleavage in the resting state of muscle is considered to result from the formation of a stable ring structure involving the two essential sulfhydryl groups on each myosin head and MgATP. Activation is thought to occur by interaction of actin in the vicinity of one of the essential sulfhydryl groups. Thus opening the stable ring leading to rapid dissociation of split products. This idea is consistent with the kinetic scheme of ATP cleavage developed recently by other workers and allows a prediction of the shift in population of intermediate states with changes in solvent conditions. It is also supported by our recent studies on the spatial geometry of the ring. The possibility that other nucleophilic groups may replace the sulfhydryl groups in other contractile systems is considered. The relevance of the ring structure to the tension generating event is discussed on the basis of recent measurements of the rate of contraction of modified (SH1-blocked) actomyosin threads. Results indicate the ability to form the ring structure is an essential requirement of the contractile process in these systems, and, moreover, that single, modified heads of myosin can act independently to produce the same rate of contraction as native myosin. This latter finding suggests that the myosin duplex exhibits some type of negative cooperativity in the contractile process.     

Energy migration and transfer in poly(phenylacetylene)

Studies have been made of energy migration and transfer in dilute solutions of poly(phenylacetylene). In fluid media, “down-chain” energy migration is very efficient (being limited only by chain length in the system studied); however, in a rigid matrix, the energy migration rate is significantly lower. It is suggested that segmental rotation in a fluid environment brings neighbouring chain units into conformations suitable for resonance energy transfer and also breaks conjugated sequences functioning as exciton “traps”. The broad absorption spectrum (and relatively high extinction coefficients) coupled with the efficient transfer of the energy make these substances very efficient energy transfer additives in polymer systems.