Determination of oil–water partition coefficients of polar compounds: silicone membrane equilibrator vs. SPME passive sampler

Experimental determination of oil-water partition coefficients often poses difficulties associated with emulsion formation. The aim of this work was to find an appropriate technique for determination of oil–water partition coefficients of polar, nonvolatile compounds. Two different methods were tested. The first method used a “silicone membrane equilibrator.” For the second method, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers with a polyacrylate (PA) coating were used as a passive sampler. With both methods, oil–water partition coefficients for 14 compounds with polar functional groups were determined at 37 °C with good repeatability (standard deviation 0.11 log units or lower). The partition coefficients determined with the silicone membrane equilibrator method ranged from 0.50 to 3.49 log units. The oil–water partition coefficients obtained with the PA-SPME passive sampling approach were significantly higher than those obtained with the silicone membrane equilibrator method for nine of 14 compounds. The differences were up to 0.39 log units (i.e., a factor of 2.5). Additional experiments suggested that this difference occurred because the sorption properties of the PA fibers used were influenced by the surrounding phase, e.g., through swelling of the polymer phase. Therefore, the SPME passive sampling method using PA fibers seems to be less reliable, whereas the silicone membrane equilibrator method was found to be a convenient technique for the determination of oil–water partitioning.     

Synthesis of novel 4′-C-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane pyrimidine nucleosides and evaluation of its anti-HIV-1 activity

The key glycosyl donor for the target molecule 12 was prepared by two-step sequences; (1) acetalization of tert-butyldimethylsilyloxyacetaldehyde with 3-bromopropanediol, (2) DBN-initiated β-elimination of the resulting 2-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)methyl-4-bromomethyl-1,3-dioxolane 11. Electrophilic glycosidation between 12 and silylated pyrimidine nucleobase proceeded efficiently to provide a mixture of β- and α-anomers of the respective glycosides 14 and 15. Tin radical-mediated reduction of the bromomethyl functional group of 14 and 15 gave protected 4′-C-methyl-dioxorane uracil- 16 and thymine nucleoside 17. The respective cytosine nucleoside 18 was synthesized from 16. De-silylation of 4′-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane pyrimidine nucleosides 16–18 gave the target molecules. Evaluation of the anti-HIV-1 activity of the β- and α-anomers of the novel 4′-C-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane nucleosides 22β,α–24β,α revealed that none of the nucleoside derivatives possess anti-viral activity against HIV-1 and show cytotoxicity against MT-4 cells at 100 μM.     

Visualizing Hepatic Copper Release in Long–Evans Cinnamon Rats Using Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography

The potential utility of an imaging agent for the detection of hepatic copper was investigated in a Wilson’s disease animal model. Solid-phase peptide synthesis was used to construct an imaging agent which consisted of a copper-binding moiety, taken from the prion protein, and a gamma ray-emitting indium radiolabel. Long–Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats were used for the Wilson’s disease animal model. Our evaluation methodology consisted of administering the indium-labeled agent to both LEC and genetically healthy Long–Evans (LE) cohorts via a tail vein injection and following the pharmacokinetics with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) over the course of an hour. The animals were then sacrificed and their livers necropsied. An additional control agent, lacking the copper-binding moiety, was used to gauge whether any change in the hepatic uptake might be caused by other physiological differences between the two animal models. LEC rats injected with the indium-labeled agent had roughly double the amount of hepatic radioactivity as compared to the healthy control animals. The control agent, without the copper-binding moiety, displayed a hepatic signal similar to that of the control LE animals. Additional intraperitoneal spiking with CuSO₄ in C57BL/6 mice also found that the pharmacokinetics of the indium-labeled, prion-based imaging agent is profoundly altered by exposure to in vivo pools of extracellular copper. The described SPECT application with this compound represented a significant improvement over a previous MRI application using the same base peptide sequence.     

Complexation of hydrazine with native cellulose in water and toluene

Adsorption–complexation of cellulose by hydrazine solutions in water and toluene was studied for native cellulose of varied crystallinity. Penetration of hydrazine into cellulose takes place more readily in hydrazine solution of higher concentration and with cellulose of lower crystallinity, but the equilibrium uptake was nearly independent of crystallinity. Complexation from toluene solution takes place at lower hydrazine concentration in toluene than in water, presumably because of the difference in hydrazine–solvent interaction. The adsorption isotherm of hydrazine in water is likely to be sigmoid, implying a cooperative sorption mechanism. It can presumably be ascribed to the disordered structure in the course of complexation.     

One-pot synthesis of tryptanthrin by the Dakin oxidation of indole-3-carbaldehyde

A one-pot approach to indolo[2,1-b]quinazolines from indole-3-carbaldehydes through the Dakin oxidation was developed. It was shown that the reaction proceeded through the condensation of indole-3-carbaldehydes with isatoic anhydrides, derived in situ from indole-3-carbaldehydes by the Dakin oxidation, and further oxidation/cyclization steps.     

Enantioresolution of 2-methoxy-2-(1-naphtyl)propionic acid using diastereomeric salt formation with chiral phenylethylamine

An enantioresolution of 2-methoxy-2-(1-naphtyl)propionic acid (MαNP acid) using the diastereomeric salt with chiral (R)-phenylethylamine was achieved to give enantiopure (R)-MαNP acid in 29% yield with >99% ee based on rac-MαNP acid. X-ray crystallographic analysis of diastereomeric salt revealed that (R)-MαNP acid was tightly arranged by four independent hydrogen bonds and one CH–π interaction with (R)-phenylethylamine.     

Radical reaction of chlorophyll derivatives triggered by AIBN

Radical reactions of a C3-vinylated chlorophyll derivative, methyl pyropheophorbide-a, which were induced by thiols and the conventional initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) were examined in vitro for the first time. Thiyl radicals attacked regioselectively at the sole C3-vinyl group, and the anti-Markovnikov sulfanyl adducts were obtained as major products. The other peripheral substituents, as well as the chlorin macrocycle, remained intact. The AIBN-induced radical reaction competed with co-oxidation that afforded the C3-formyl chlorin. This method can open new routes to derivatization of vinyl chlorins.     

Ultrasonic-Combined Plasma Bubbling for Adherent Bacteria Disinfection on Medical Equipment

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - Atmospheric low-temperature plasma has received attention for application in disinfection methods. In this study, we develop a plasma bubbling method as a...     

Interrogation of fiber-Bragg-grating temperature and strain sensors with a temperature-stabilized VCSEL

The interrogation of fiber-Bragg-grating (FBG) sensors using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is discussed. A long-wavelength (1.54 μm) VCSEL was used as a wavelength-tunable source by variation in the current. Temperature stabilization was performed with a thermoelectric device. Characteristics of temperature and strain sensing were investigated. FBGs with different reflectivities were compared. For temperature sensing, the root-mean-square error in the measurement was reduced to 1/3 that without temperature stabilization. The dependence of the measurement error on the reflectivities of the FBGs was investigated. The measurement error was larger for FBGs with lower reflectivities in both temperature and strain sensing. Improvement on the sensing with low-reflectivity FBGs is discussed.     

In vivo estimation of optical properties of rat liver using single-reflectance fiber probe during ischemia and reperfusion

Optical Review - To quantify the changes in optical properties of in vivo rat liver tissue, we applied diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) system using single-reflectance fiber probe during...