Coordination Chemistry of Lipoic Acid and Related Compounds V [1]. New Heteroditopic Ligands Derived from Monoazacrown Ethers and Lipoic Acid

Summary.  Lipoyl imidazolide reacts with aza-15-crown-5 (1,4,7,10-tetraoxa-13-azacyclopentadecane) or aza-18-crown-6 (1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxa-16-azacyclooctadecane) to afford new N-lipoylated azacrown compounds in good yields. These compounds can be transformed into 1,3-dithiols and amines by reduction with complex hydrides of the disulfide and/or amide group of the lipoyl chain. The new pendant-arm macrocycles react as heteroditopic ligands by forming dithiolate and disulfide complexes with the ‘soft’ metal ions Ni²⁺ and Pd²⁺, respectively, and an amine complex with the ‘hard’ Li⁺ ion. Semiempirical and DFT calculations on the complexation of a lithium ion give a most favourable structure in which the azacrown and two solvent molecules are in contact with the metal but not the pendant arm. Received January 29, 2002; accepted (revised) March 25, 2002     

Investigation of ion-bombarded conducting polymer films by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to investigate the effect of ion bombardment on thin films of the conducting polymers poly[3-ethoxy-thiophene] (PEOT) and poly[ethylenedioxy-thiophene] (PEDT). Bombardment with Ar⁺-ions converts the topmost 30 nm thick layer to an essentially insulating material. SECM approach curves as well as two dimensional scans prove the existence of regions of different conductivity within the irradiated regions that did not show a significant dependence on ion dosage. PEDT layers patterned by ion bombardment through microscopic masks are investigated as prototypes of miniaturized printed circuit boards that can be formed by galvanic copper deposition onto conducting PEDT. Defects in conducting polymer patterns were analyzed by SECM imaging before any deposition of copper. Appropriate representations of SECM images for the evaluation of this technologically important question are discussed.     

Excess molar quantities of (a halogenated n-alkane + an n-alkane) A comparative study of mixtures containing either 1-chlorobutane or 1,4-dichlorobutane

Excess molar volumes V_m^E at 298.15 K were obtained, as a function of mole fraction x, for series I: {x1-C₄H₉Cl + (1 ? x)n-C_lH_{2l + 2}}, and II: {x1,4-C₄H₈Cl₂ + (1 ? x)n-C_lH_{2l + 2}}, for l = 7, 10, and 14. 10, and 14. The instrument used was a vibrating-tube densimeter. For the same mixtures at the same temperature, a Picker flow calorimeter was used to measure excess molar heat capacities C_{p, m}^E at constant pressure. V_m^E is positive for all mixtures in series I: at x = 0.5, V_m^E/(cm³ · mol^?1) is 0.277 for l = 7, 0.388 for l = 10, and 0.411 for l = 14. For series II, V_m^E of {x1,4-C₄H₈Cl₂ + (1 ? x)n-C₇H₁₆} is small and S-shaped, the maximum being situated at x_max = 0.178 with V_m^E(x_max)/(cm³ · mvl^?1) = 0.095, and the minimum is at x_min = 0.772 with V_m^E(x_min)/(cm³ · mol^?1) = ?0.087. The excess volumes of the other mixtures are all positive and fairly large: at x = 0.5, V_m^E/(cm³ · mol^?1) is 0.458 for l = 10, and 0.771 for l = 14. The C_{p, m}^Es of series I are all negative and |C_{p, m}^E| increases with increasing l: at x = 0.5, C_{p, m}^E/(J · K^?1 · mol^?1) is ?0.56 for l = 7, ?1.39 for l = 10, and ?3.12 for l = 14. Two minima are observed for C_{p, m}^E of {x1,4-C₄H₈Cl₂ + (1 ? x)n-C₇H₁₆}. The more prominent minimum is situated at x′_min = 0.184 with C_{p, m}^E(x′_min)/(J · K^?1 · mol^?1) = ?0.62, and the less prominent at x″_min = 0.703 with C_{p, m}^E(x″_min)/(J · K^?1 · mol^?1) = ?0.29. Each of the remaining two mixtures (l = 10 and 14) has a pronounced minimum at low mole fraction (x_min = 0.222 and 0.312, respectively) and a broad shoulder around x = 0.7.     

Sterospecific Syntheses and Spectroscopic Properties of Isomeric 2,4,6,8-Undecatetraenes. New Hydrocarbons from the Marine Brown Alga Giffordia mitchellae. Part IV.

Giffordene (=(2Z,4Z,6E,8Z)-2,4,6,8-undecatetraene; 9f ) and five steroisomers are new C₁₁H₁₆ hydrocarbons from the marine brown alga Giffordia mitchellae. Their synthesis is based on non-stereoselective Wittig reactions of (E)-2-alkenals with appropriate acetylenic phosphoranes and subsequent chromatographic separation of the resulting (E/Z)-pairs. The uniform enynes (>98% purity) are then stereospecifically reduced to (Z)-alkenes with Zn(Cu/Ag) in aq. MeOH at r.t. ¹³C- and ¹ H-NMR data of the new tetraenes are presented. Biosynthetically, giffordene ( 9f ) originates from dodeca-3,6,9-trienoic acid via an unstable (3Z,5Z,8Z)-1,3,5,8,-undecatetraene followed by a thermally allowed antarafacial 1,7-sigmatropic hydrogen shift to the (2Z,4Z,6E,8Z)-isomer 9f .     

Development of an ethanol-selective optode membrane based on a reversible chemical recognition process

Lipophilic trifluoroacetophenone derivatives incorporated in plasticized PVC membranes are able to selectively extract water and alcohols from the sample solution into the organic membrane phase, reversibly forming hydrates and hemi-acetals, respectively. Since this is accompanied by a change in the absorption spectrum of the acetophenone isologue, the chemical recognition process can directly be translated into an optical signal. With N-acetyl-N-dodecyl-4-trifluoroacetylaniline (ETH 6022) as the electrically neutral, lipophilized carrier ethanol can be determined from 0.5 to 35% (v/v) in aqueous solutions. The calibration curve for different ethanol-water mixtures shows a good correlation with the mathematically derived formalism and thus confirms the theoretically expected behavior. Besides high reproducibility of the optical signals, very short response times of less than 30 s were realized. The optode membrane presented exhibits a preference for ethanol compared to water by a factor greater than 11. The selectivities for several primary alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-n-butanol, are comparable, but isopropanol and tert.-butanol are rejected by a factor of about 10. The alcohol concentration in different beverages was determined to evaluate the reliability of the system. The values obtained for wine, beer and different spirits show an excellent correlation with those obtained by a conventional approach involving distillation and density measurements. A residual standard deviation of ± 0.27% (v/v) over the 0.7–40% (v/v) range was found.     

Phosphoramidites of Chiral (Rp)-and (Sp)-Configurated d(T[P-18O]-A): Synthesis,Configurational Assignment,and Use as Dimer Blocks in Oligonucleotide Synthesis

The N,N-diisopropylphosphoramidites 10a and 10b of appropriately protected chiral diastereoisomers of d(T[P-¹⁸O]-A) ( 8a and 8b , resp.), chiral by virtue of the isotope ¹⁸O at the P-atom, have been synthesized. The ¹⁸O-isotope was incorporated by oxidation of the phosphite triester 3 with H₂[¹⁸O]/I₂. Separation of the diastereoisomers was accomplished by flash chromatography of the O-3′-deprotected phosphate triesters 5a/b . The absolute configuration at the chiral P-atom was deduced from the methylation products of the fully deprotected diastereoisomers 8a and 8b . Phosphinylation of 5a and 5b yielded the configurationally pure phosphoramidites 10a and 10b , respectively, which were then employed in solid-phase synthesis to yield the self-complementary oligomers d(G-A-G-T-(R_p)-[P-¹⁸O]-A-C-T-C) ( 13 ) and d(G-A-G-T-(S_P)-[P-¹⁸O]-A-C-T-C) ( 14 ), respectively.     

Current role of LC-MS(/MS) in doping control

Liquid chromatography–(tandem) mass spectrometry [(LC-MS(/MS)] has become an integral part of modern sports drug testing as it offers unique capabilities complementing immunological and gas chromatography–(tandem) mass spectrometry [(GC-MS(/MS)]-based detection methods for prohibited compounds. The improved options of fast and sensitive targeted analysis as well as untargeted screening procedures utilizing high resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometry have considerably expanded the tools available to anti-doping laboratories for initial testing and confirmation methods. One approach is to focus on pre-selected target analytes that are measured with utmost specificity and sensitivity using diagnostic precursor–product ion pairs in low resolution tandem mass spectrometers. The other scenario is to measure and plot extracted ion chromatograms of protonated or deprotonated molecules as well as product ions as recorded in the full scan mode with high resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometry. Examples of recent applications of sports drug testing procedures published between 2007 and 2010 are presented and discussed, outlining the particular advantages of the selected approaches as well as their limitations in a short- and long-term perspective.     

Bridge-substituted calix[4]arenes: syntheses, conformations and application

The bridge-substituted calix[4]arene carboxylic acid, 5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,26,27,28-tetramethoxy-calix[4]arene-2-carboxylic acid (1), can be readily converted to various esters 2-4 and reduced to the alcohol 5, which reacts with methyl iodide to give the ether 6. The alcohol can be dansylated to give 7, the fluorescence of which is selectively quenched by Cu(II) in acetonitrile. An attempt to convert the acid 1 to an amide resulted unexpectedly in the formation of a lactone 8. The conformational characteristics of 1-8 have been studied in solution and, in the cases of 2 and 4, in the solid state by determination of their single-crystal X-ray structures. With the exception of 8, in all these compounds the bridge substituent adopts an equatorial (lateral) orientation.     

Determination of IGF-1 and IGF-2, their degradation products and synthetic analogues in urine by LC-MS/MS

Peptide analysis in doping controls by means of nano-UPLC coupled high resolution/high mass accuracy mass spectrometry provides the state-of-the-art technique in modern sports drug testing. The present study describes a recent application of this technique for the qualitative determination of different urinary insulin-like growth factor (IGF) related peptides. After simultaneous isolation by solid phase extraction and magnetic particle-based immunoaffinity purification, target analytes (IGF-1, IGF-2, Des1-3-IGF-1, R(3)-IGF-1 and longR(3)-IGF-1) were separated by nano-liquid chromatography prior to mass spectrometric detection. Endogenously produced IGF-1 and IGF-2, as well as the degradation product Des1-3-IGF-1, were frequently detected in urine samples from healthy volunteers in a concentration range of 20-400 pg mL(-1). The impact of IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), being also present in urine, was potentially estimated by an additional ultrafiltration step in the sample preparation procedure. The synthetic analogue longR(3)-IGF-1, which is assumed to be subject to misuse by cheating athletes, was also analysed and detected in fortified urine samples. Besides the intact molecule, an N-terminally truncated degradation product Des1-10-longR(3)-IGF-1 was identified as the more stable target for doping controls using urine samples. The method was validated for qualitative purposes considering the parameters specificity, limit of detection (20-50 pg mL(-1)), recovery (10-35%), precision (<20%), linearity, robustness and stability.