Modification of Arabinogalactan Isolated from Larix sibirica Ledeb. into Sulfated Derivatives with the Controlled Molecular Weights

The process of sulfation of arabinogalactan—a natural polysaccharide from Larix sibirica Ledeb.—with sulfamic acid in 1,4-dioxane using different activators has been studied for the first time. The dynamics of the molecular weight of sulfated arabinogalactan upon variation in the temperature and time of sulfation of arabinogalactan with sulfamic acid in 1,4-dioxane has been investigated. It has been found that, as the sulfation time increases from 10 to 90 min, the molecular weights of the reaction products grow due to the introduction of sulfate groups without significant destruction of the initial polymer and sulfation products. Sulfation at 95 °C for 20 min yields the products with a higher molecular weight than in the case of sulfation at 85 °C, which is related to an increase in the sulfation rate; however, during the further process occurring under these conditions, sulfation is accompanied by the destruction and the molecular weight of the sulfated polymer decreases. The numerical optimization of arabinogalactan sulfation process has been performed. It has been shown that the optimal parameters for obtaining a product with a high sulfur content are a sulfamic acid amount of 20 mmol per 1 g of arabinogalactan, a process temperature of 85 °C, and a process time of 2.5 h.     

Molecular structure and barriers to internal rotation of α-naphthalenesulfonyl chloride: a study by gas-phase electron diffraction and quantum chemical calculations

α-Naphthalenesulfonyl chloride, α-NaphSC, was studied by gas-phase electron diffraction (GED) and quantum chemical calculations (HF/6-311 + G**, HF/aug-cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/cc-pVTZ, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ, MP2/cc-pVDZ, and MP2/cc-pVTZ). The calculations predict the existence of two conformers with C ₁ (I) and C _s (II) symmetries. The most stable conformer I has an enantiomer. The experimental data of α-NaphSC obtained at 370(5) K could be best fitted by a C ₁ symmetry model indicating that only this form exists in the gas-phase. In this model the C_α–S–Cl plane deviates from the perpendicular orientation relative to the plane of the naphthalene skeleton. Under the applied experimental conditions, the mole fraction of a second less stable conformer II of α-NaphSC predicted by calculations is no more than 1 %. The following geometrical parameters of conformer I were obtained from the experiment (Å and °; uncertainties are in parentheses): r _h1(C–H) = 1.082(6), r _h1(C–C)_cp = 1.407(3), r _h1(C–S) = 1.764(5), r _h1(S–O)_av = 1.425(3), r _h1(S–Cl) = 2.051(5), ∠C–C_α–C = 122.5(1), ∠C_α–S–Cl = 101.5(10); C9–C1–S–Cl = 71.4(21). The calculated barriers to internal rotation of the sulfonyl chloride group exceed considerably the thermal energy values corresponding to the temperatures of the GED experiments. Natural bond orbitals analysis of the electron density distribution was carried out to explain the peculiarities of the molecular structure of the studied compound and the deviation from the structures of β-NaphSHal molecules and their benzene analogs.     

Absorption of ionic amphiphils by oppositely charged polyelectrolyte gels

Slightly cross-linked polyelectrolytes absorb oppositely charged surfactants in aqueous media. Transfer of amphiphilic ions from solution into the swollen network proceeds as a frontal heterogeneous cooperative reaction causing a collapse of the original polyelectrolyte gel. Small and wide angle X-ray diffraction data show that electrostatic complex formed as a result of the reaction consists of lamellar type surfactant micelles embedded in a polyelectrolyte network. It is also shown that such complexes contain equimolar amount of surfactant ions and ionized polyelectrolyte units paired with amphiphil head groups. In other words a charged network is not able to bind surplus oppositely charged surfactant ions. However, it is still able to solubilize a substantial amount of a nonionized surfactant. Chemical structure of surfactants strongly affect internal structure of lamellae and stability of the complexes.     

Fast screening of 88 pharmaceutical drugs and metabolites in whole blood by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Forensic investigations involving acute or lethal intoxication, drug-facilitated sexual assault, driving or workplace impairment frequently require the analysis of fresh or postmortem blood samples to check out a wide variety of pharmaceutical and illicit drugs, even after single-dose consumption. A sensitive and selective ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) screening method was developed for fast screening of 88 psychoactive drugs and metabolites in blood samples, including the ones most frequently involved in acute intoxications and forensic investigations in Italy. The new method allows short sample processing and analysis time (the whole procedure can be accomplished in less than 30 min) together with the simultaneous monitoring of a large number of pharmaceutical substances. These features represent crucial factors in the approach of acute intoxications, when the patient requires urgent and appropriate therapy. Blood sample treatment was limited to protein precipitation. Two UHPLC–MS/MS runs in positive and negative electrospray ionization modes were performed. The data were acquired at unit mass resolution in the selected reaction monitoring mode. According to international guidelines, linearity range, precision, trueness, detection and quantification limits, recovery, selectivity, specificity, carryover, and matrix effect phenomena were determined. Despite the limited sample purification and the inherent decreased chance of eliminating any potential interference, the present multiresidue screening method proved extremely effective and sensitive, allowing the detection of all tested drugs, even those belonging to structurally different classes of substances. Moreover, the developed method is easily susceptible to further expansion to encompass more drugs, either new or those becoming important for criminal investigation. This protocol was also applied to the analysis of authentic blood samples collected from victims of various crimes in routine casework, whose relevance in forensic investigations is presented in five cases.     

Highly Conjugated Bis(benzo[b]phosphole)-P-oxides: Synthesis and Electrochemical,Optical, and Computational Studies

The first examples of a π-conjugated benzo[b]phosphole P-oxide in which two phosphole P-oxide units are connected by a carbon-carbon double bond are described. The molecules are synthesized as E isomers with respect to the carbon-carbon double bond and exist as stable cis and trans isomers (chiral and meso one respectively) relatively to the two stereogenic P atoms. The optical and electrochemical properties of both isomers have been investigated by experiment and computations.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of acetone in blood and urine in the clinical diagnostic laboratory.

A method for the determination of acetone in plasma or urine by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed. Plasma specimens are deproteinized with acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) is added to the supernatant or to filtered urine samples, similarly treated with acetonitrile (2:1, v/v) to prevent crystallization of the synthesized phenylhydrazone. An aliquot (20 microliters) of the reaction mixture was subjected to HPLC at ambient temperature using a reversed-phase Pecosphere 3 x 3 C18 column with acetonitrile-water (45:55, v/v) as eluent at a flow-rate of 1 ml/min and detection at 365 nm. Hydroxyacetone and acetoacetate phenylhydrazone derivatives do not interfere. The identification of acetone by its retention time was confirmed by comparison with a laboratory-synthesized acetone DNPH derivative. The concentration of acetone, eluted within 3 min, was determined by the peak-height method. The detection limit was 0.034 mmol/l; the relative standard deviations were less than 5% within run (n = 20) and less than 10% between run (n = 20).