Metastable tert-butylcalix[6]arene with unusually large tunable free volume for non-threshold enclathration of volatiles

A metastable material with tunable free volume of molecular size, vapor sorption properties of a porous sorbent and variable thermal stability was prepared from tert-butylcalix[6]arene.     

Bovine serum albumin as a universal suppressor of non-specific peptide binding in vials prior to nano-chromatography coupled mass-spectrometry analysis

Non-specific binding (NSB) is a well-known problem for any application that deals with ultralow analyte quantities. The modern nano-flow chromatography coupled tandem mass-spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) works with the lowest conceivable analyte concentrations. However, while the NSB problem is widely accepted and investigated for metabolomics and single-peptide medicine-related assays, its impact is not studied for complex peptide mixtures in proteomic applications. In this work peptide NSB to a common plastic autosampler vial was studied for a model mixture of 46 synthetic peptides. A significant NSB level was demonstrated for total peptide concentrations of up to 1 mg mL⁻¹. Different agents were tried for NSB suppression and compatibility with nanoLC-MS/MS analysis: a chaotropic agent, an amino acid mixture, a peptide mixture and a protein solution. The first two were inefficacious. The peptide matrix blocked NSB, however, it also led to analyte ionization suppression in nanoLC-MS/MS. The protein solution (0.1% BSA) efficiently eliminated NSB, while a trap-elute nanoHPLC configuration together with a small-pore reverse-phased sorbent effectively and quantitatively extracted the model peptides and depleted protein material from the sample. Higher protein concentration partially impeded peptide extraction. Thus, the 0.1% BSA solution might be regarded as an effective non-interfering blockader of NSB for sample resuspension and storage in an autosampler prior to LC-MS/MS analysis.     

Self-Organization of Di- and Triglycine Oligopeptides in Thin Films on the Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Silicon Surface under Exposure to Organic Compounds Vapors

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - The influence of the substrate hydrophobicity degree and of the number of amino acid residues in the oligopeptide molecule on the self-assembly of...     

Thermochemistry of drugs: experimental and theoretical study of analgesics

Structural Chemistry - Acetanilides are broadly used in the pharmaceutical industry. Thermochemical data on vapor pressures, solid-gas, liquid-gas, and solid-liquid phase transitions, as well as on...     

Guest exchange in dimeric capsules of a tetraurea calix[4]arene in the solid state

A solid powder of hydrogen bonded dimers of a tetraurea calix[4]arene is able to exchange the encapsulated guest in contact with the vapor of a second guest. The molecules of a guest-free powder obtained from a polar solvent cannot rearrange in the solid phase to form new guest-filled capsules under these conditions.     

EPR of rare-earth ion clusters in mixed crystals Ba1−x La x F2+x doped with Yb3+ Ion

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of Yb³⁺ ions in the mixed crystals (BaF₂)_1−x X(LaF₃) _x withx≈0.01 have been investigated by the electron spin echo method at a frequency of 94.9 GHz and compared with the spectra obtained by the continuous-wave EPR at a frequency of 9.5 GHz. Some spectral lines were identified within the framework of the simple cluster model proposed in our previous work (L. K. Aminov, R. Yu. Abdulsabirov, M. R. Gafurov, S. L. Korableva, I. N. Kurkin, S. P. Kurzin, R. M. Rakhmatullin, A. G. Ziganshin: Appl. Magn. Reson. 28, 41–53, 2005). Clusters consist of trigonal dipoles La−F and Yb−F (a rare-earth ion with a charge compensator) and are formed beginning with small concentrationsx≈0.001. The lines identified in the present work were attributed to the clusters with configurations Yb−F−La−F and La−F−Yb−F−La−F.     

Solid-State Decarboxylation of Cyclophane Tetra(malonatemethylene) Derivative

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - Heat-induced solid-state decarboxylation of tetra(malonatemethylene) based cyclophane leads to its tetra(2-carboxyethyl) derivative in quantitative yield....     

Novel Peptide Chemistry in Terrestrial Animals: Natural Luciferin Analogues from the Bioluminescent Earthworm Fridericia heliota

We report isolation and structure elucidation of AsLn5, AsLn7, AsLn11 and AsLn12: novel luciferin analogs from the bioluminescent earthworm Fridericia heliota. They were found to be highly unusual modified peptides, comprising either of the two tyrosine‐derived chromophores, CompX or CompY and a set of amino acids, including threonine, gamma‐aminobutyric acid, homoarginine, and unsymmetrical N,N‐dimethylarginine. These natural compounds represent a unique peptide chemistry found in terrestrial animals and rise novel questions concerning their biosynthetic origin.     

Specific vapor sorption properties of phosphorus-containing dendrimers

Specific combination of guest sorption properties was observed for phosphorus-containing dendrimers, which distinguish them from ordinary polymers and clathrate-forming hosts. The sorption capacity for 30 volatile guests, binding reversibility, guest desorption kinetics and guest exchange, glass transition behavior and ability to be plasticized with guest were studied for phosphorus dendrimers of different generations (G(1)-G(4) and G(9)) using quartz crystal microbalance sensor, FTIR microspectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry combined with mass-spectrometry of evolved vapors. The dendrimers were found to have a different selectivity for different homological series of guests, high glass transition points without plasticization with guest even at high temperatures and saturation levels, moderate guest-binding irreversibility and ability both for effective guest exchange and independent guest sorption. These properties constitute an advantage of the studied dendrimers as receptor materials in various applications.