Koordinative Verankerung von Nickelkomplexen an Hectorit-Schichtsilicaten mit Hilfe langkettiger Diphenylphosphinogruppen

Coordinative Anchoring of Nickel Complexes on Hectorite-Layer Silicates through long-chain Diphenylphosphine Groups The treatment of sodium and calcium hectorites with 2-diphenylphosphinoethyltriethoxysilane leads, by condensation of free hydroxyl groups, to functionalized layer silicates with long-chain diphenylphosphine groups onto which nickel chloride can be coordinated. In these modified hectorites the fourth coordination site of the tetrahedrally coordinated nickel is occupied by a labile solvent molecule. On the other hand, the complex bis(2-diphenylphosphinoethyltriethoxysilane)nickel(II) chloride prepared beforehand also reacts with sodium hectorite under condensation; but the square-planar coordination of the four stable ligands (two chloride and two phosphor atoms) is maintained. This finds its expression in a significant activity decrease in catalytic reactions as compared to the aforementioned products.     

Electroactive ligands: the first metal complexes of tetrathiafulvenyl-acetylacetonate

The reaction of tris(alkylthio)tetrathiafulvalene thiolates with 3-chloro-2,4-pentanedione affords tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) moieties substituted by the acetylacetone function (TTFSacacH), precursors of novel redox-active ligands: the acetylacetonate ions (TTFSacac). These TTFSacacHs have been characterized by X-ray diffraction analyses, and similar trends have been observed, such as a TTF core almost planar and the acetylacetone substituent located in a plane almost perpendicular to the plane formed by the TTF core. Their chelating ability has been demonstrated by the formation of the corresponding M(TTFSacac)2(pyridine)2 complexes in the presence of M(II)(OAc)2.H2O (M = Ni2+, Zn2+). These complexes with TTFSacac moieties, Ni(TTFSacac)2(pyridine)2, 6b, and Zn(TTFSacac)2(pyridine)2, 7b, have been characterized by X-ray diffraction analyses, showing in all structures the metal(II) center chelated by two TTFacac units in the equatorial plane and the octahedral coordination geometry around the metal completed by two axial pyridine ligands. Cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible-near infrared spectroscopic measurements have evidenced a sizable interaction between the two electroactive ligands and the stabilization of a mixed-valence state in the one-electron oxidized complexes.     

Can the presence of chemically inert species modify the face selectivity in asymmetric induction by cyclodextrins?

Reduction of-cyclodextrin (-CD) aromatic ketone (acetophenone and acetonaphthones) inclusion compounds were carried out in the presence of a large number of chemically inert species as potential co-guests. In several cases, it was observed that stoichiometric molar ratios of these compounds to ketone significantly modify the chiral induction yielding the inverted alcohol enantiomer and increasing the face selectivity. The results were found to depend strongly on the respective structure and shape of both the ketone and the additive, and on the molar ratio of-CD:ketone:third compound. These observations suggest the formation of a three-component inclusion complex in which the geometry of binding of the substrate and its mobility are changed with respect to the binary system.     

Solid-phase extraction using C(18) bonded silica disks: interferences and analysis of chlorotriazines in seawater samples

The interferences in C(18) Empore extraction disks were obtained by processing 5 1. of HPLC water with average blanks of 1 ng/l. A C(19) alkane, plasticizers and the antioxidant Nonox A were identified in the blanks as possible interferences. The extraction of the components of the disks was carried out with methanol, acetonitrile and/or ethyl acetate with subsequent analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). The identification of interferences was a requirement for the determination of the chlorotriazine herbicides atrazine and simazine, and of a transformation product, de-ethylatrazine, at concentration levels varying between 2 and 140 ng/l. Seawater samples of 3-28 parts-per-thousand were pre-filtered through a 47-mm diameter of 0.7 mum and subsequently with 0.45 mum glass-fibre filters to trap particulate matter, followed by Empore extraction disks of 500 mg C(18) bonded silica. Water volumes of 5 1. could be processed within 150 min. The disks were extracted with methanol, the extract was blown down under nitrogen, and the analytes were quantified by GC with nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) with further confirmation using GCMS in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of the environmental levels of atrazine and simazine in seawater samples of varying salinity. The recovery of de-ethylatrazine was 10%, so the method was not appropriate for this compound. The concentration of the herbicides has been plotted against the salinity values, showing a decrease in the levels as the salinity increases, with two inflexion points that indicate a non-conservative mixing with loss of the herbicides in the mixing zone of the estuary.     

On-line strong cation exchange micro-HPLC-ESI-MS/MS for protein identification and process optimization

We have developed an on-line strong cation exchange (SCX)-ESI-MS/MS platform for the rapid identification of proteins contained in mixtures. This platform consists of a SCX precolumn followed by a nanoflow SCX column on-line with an electrospray ion trap mass spectrometer. We also used this platform to study the dynamics of peptide separation/extraction by SCX, in particular to understand the parameters affecting the performance of SCX in multidimensional chromatography. For example, we have demonstrated that the buffer typically used for tryptic digestion of protein mixtures can have a detrimental effect on the chromatographic behaviour of peptides during SCX separations, thereby affecting certain peptide quantitation approaches that rely on reproducible peptide fractionation. We have also demonstrated that band broadening results when a step (discontinuous) gradient approach is used to displace peptides from the SCX precolumn, reducing the separation power of SCX in multidimensional chromatography. In contrast, excellent chromatographic peak shapes are observed when a defined (continuous) gradient is used. Finally, using a tryptic digest of a protein extract derived from human K562 cells, we observed that larger molecular weight peptides are identified using this on-line SCX approach compared to the more conventional reverse phase (RP) LC/MS approach. Both methods used in tandem complement each other and can lead to a greater number of peptide identifications from a given sample.     

Numerical Study of Pore Sizes Distribution in Gels

We introduce a new numerical technique for the calculation of the pore size distribution in two-dimensional disordered systems. Our method is based on a triangulation technique which allows a closer measurement of pores surface without any morphological hypothesis.In this work, we focus our calculations in simulated gels. Such materials are modeled in two different conditions: by means of the Diffusion-Limited and Reaction-Limited Cluster-cluster Aggregation algorithms, DLCA and RLCA, respectively. In both situations, when the particles concentration decreases, the average pores size increases. The more compact cluster in RLCA, compared with DLCA, is consistent with the pore size distribution we have calculated. The simulated mean pore size is quantitatively in agreement with experimental data from literature.     

A beta-glucosidase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum: biochemical characterization and use in oligosaccharide synthesis

The filamentous fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, grown on a xylose medium, was found to excrete one beta-glucosidase (beta-glu x). The enzyme was purified to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, anion-exchange chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) gel filtration chromatography. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 130 kDa by HPLC gel filtration and 60 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting that beta-glu x may be a homodimer. For p-nitrophenyl beta-d-glucopyranoside hydrolysis, apparent Km and Vmax values were found to be 0.09 mM and 193 U/mg, respectively, while optimum temperature and pH were 55-60 degrees C and pH 5.0, respectively. beta-Glu x was strongly inhibited by Fe2+ and activated about 35% by Ca2+. beta-Glu x possesses strong transglucosylation activity in comparison with commercially available beta-glucosidases. The production rate of total glucooligosaccharides (GOSs) from 30% cellobiose at 50 degrees C and pH 5.0 for 6 h with 0.6 U/mL of enzyme preparation was 80 g/L. It reached 105 g/L under the same conditions when using cellobiose at 350 g/L (1.023 M). Finally, GOS structure was determined by mass spectrometry and 3C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.     

Determination of chloroquine in biological material by gas-liquid chromatography (author's transl)]

A method is developed for the gas chromatographic determination of chloroquine after extraction from biological material, using medazepam as the internal standard and a column filled with 3% OV-17 on Gas-Chrom Q. The detection limits are: 0.15 mug/ml of urine, 0.25 mug/ml of whole blood, and 1.50 mug/g of tissue. The technique can be applied in toxicological analysis and in monitoring drug levels.     

Simultaneous spectrofluorimetric determination of the rare earths with calcein

The reactivity of the fluorescent reagent calcein with the trivalent cations of the rare earths has been spectrofluorimetrically studied in aqueous solution. Optimum excitation and emission wavelengths were 492-497 and 519-522 nm, respectively. Optimum pH was in the range 6.0-9.2. The stoichiometry of the complexes was 1:1. A direct, rapid and sensitive method for the determination of rare earth mixtures has been proposed with a detection limit of 4.49x10(-8) M and a coefficient of variation of 0.82%.     

Improved straightforward chemical synthesis of dihydroxyacetone phosphate through enzymatic desymmetrization of 2,2-dimethoxypropane-1,3-diol

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) was synthesized in high purity and yield in four steps starting from dihydroxyacetone dimer (DHA) (47% overall yield). DHA was converted into 2,2-dimethoxypropane-1,3-diol, which was desymmetrized by acetylation with lipase AK. The alcohol function was phosphorylated to give dibenzyl phosphate ester 4. From 4, two routes were investigated for large-scale synthesis of DHAP. First, acetate hydrolysis was performed prior to hydrogenolysis of the phosphate protective groups. The acetal hydrolysis was finally catalyzed by the phosphate group itself. Second, acetate and acetal hydrolysis were performed in one single step after hydrogenolysis.