Interaction of oligopyrrole macrocycles with aromatic acids: spectroscopical, quantum chemical and chromatographic aspects

The study of the behavior of oligopyrrole macrocyclic compounds in solution and covalently bond on silica surface were carried out. For this purpose ultraviolet-visible titrations and chromatography measurements were employed. Interactions of porphyrin and sapphyrin with nitrobenzoic, aminobenzensulfonic, hydroxybenzoic and terephthalic acids were studied. The spectroscopic results were compared with quantum chemical calculations at semiempirical level and with the data obtained by HPLC measurements. Chromatographic data showed that interaction of the analytes with the metalled porphyrin and the sapphyrin core led to significant increase of retention factors of the aromatic acids and selectivity improvement of the separation.     

Investigating the spectrum of biological activity of ring-substituted salicylanilides and carbamoylphenylcarbamates

In this study, a series of twelve ring-substituted salicylanilides and carbamoylphenylcarbamates were prepared and characterized. The compounds were analyzed using RP-HPLC to determine lipophilicity. They were tested for their activity related to the inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport (PET) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. Moreover, their site of action in the photosynthetic apparatus was determined. Primary in vitro screening of the synthesized compounds was also performed against mycobacterial, bacterial and fungal strains. Several compounds showed biological activity comparable with or higher than the standards 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, isoniazid, penicillin G, ciprofloxacin or fluconazole. The most active compounds showed minimal anti-proliferative activity against human cells in culture, indicating they would have low cytotoxicity. For all compounds, the relationships between lipophilicity and the chemical structure are discussed.     

Testing of the influenza virus purification by CIEF

In virological practice, the pre‐concentration, purification and subsequent determination of the purity and concentration of the viruses from the cultural medium and/or from the real sample are required. The conventional techniques used today are equipment demanding, time‐consuming and laborious. In this study, the CIEF of influenza viruses with UV detection has been developed and subsequently used to test the purification of the virus from the biological samples. The equine and swine influenza viruses present in infected allantoic fluid of specific pathogen free embryonated chicken eggs were precipitated by using PEG 6000 and sodium chloride. The precipitated viruses were centrifuged at 14 000×g, and the impurities of different densities were removed by using the sucrose gradients. The efficiency of the virus purification technique was examined by the CIEF and compared to the results of real‐time PCR. The pIs of both influenza viruses were determined. Simultaneously, the CIEF was found to be a suitable method for the rapid testing of the efficiency of the virus purification.     

Chemical evaluation of seeded fruit biomass of oil pumpkin (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucurbita pepo</Emphasis> L. var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Styriaca</Emphasis>)

Oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca) is an economically important horticultural plant cultivated for oil production. After harvesting seeds, the residual biomass has a limited application and is usually left in the field. An experimental study was performed to evaluate the chemical composition of the seeded fruit oil pumpkin biomass (OP) dried by solvent-exchange using ethanol. The sugar composition of polysaccharides obtained by sequential extraction with water and dilute alkali indicated the prevalence of pectic polysaccharides. Hemicelulloses were released in higher amounts in the alkaline step. The chemical composition of OP and its individual tissues (peel, flesh and hairy flesh) was investigated and compared to the corresponding preparations of standard pumpkin (SP, Cucurbita pepo L.). The content of components (on oven-dry basis), calculated from the analysis data of the individual tissues, was estimated for OP: 7.9 % ash, 7.6 % Klason lignin, 19.3 % pectin (as uronic acids), 34.1 % neutral carbohydrates, and 27.4 % α-cellulose and for SP: 6.4 % ash, 4.0 % Klason lignin, 20.9% pectin (as uronic acids), 38.1% neutral carbohydrates, and 29.2 % α-cellulose, respectively. The OP biomass showed a higher proportion of hemicelluloses.     

Ethanol Production from Starch Hydrolyzates using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zymomonas mobilis</Emphasis> and Glucoamylase Entrapped in Polyvinylalcohol Hydrogel

The glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger, immobilized into poly(vinylalcohol) hydrogel lens-shaped capsules LentiKats®, was used for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with Zymomonas mobilis in free form. This system was stable in both the repeated batch and continuous mode of SSF. The microorganism was found to adsorb on the capsules with immobilized enzyme. This increased the ethanol productivity of the repeated batch system with 5% w/v of immobilized glucoamylase almost 2.1 times (7.2 g l^?1 h^?1) compared to free enzyme–free microorganism system (3.5 g l^?1 h^?1). The continuous SSF with the immobilized glucoamylase (11.5% w/v) tested for 15 days had productivity 10 g l^?1 h^?1, which is comparable to continuous experiments on semi-defined glucose medium (10 g l^?1 h^?1). These two systems were stable in both glucoamylase activity and microorganism productivity.     

Synthesis,biological and physicochemical properties of Zinc(II) salicylate and 5-chlorosalicylate complexes with theophylline and urea

New zinc(II) salicylate complex compounds of general formula (X-C₆H₃-2-(OH)COO)₂Zn · L_n · xH₂O (where X = H, 5-Cl; L = theophylline, urea; n = 2, 4; x = 1, 2, 4) were prepared and their thermal, spectral and biological properties were studied. It was found that the thermal decomposition of hydrated compounds starts with the release of water. During the thermal decomposition of anhydrous compounds, the release of salicylic acid, theophylline, urea, CO₂, H₂O and C₆H₅Cl takes place. Zinc oxide was found as the final product of the thermal decomposition heated up to 900 °C. The complexes were tested against bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi. The highest biological activity show 5-chlorosalicylate compounds.     

Hydrogenation of chloronitrobenzenes over Pd and Pt catalysts supported on cationic resins

Liquid phase hydrogenation of chloronitrobenzene isomers (x-CNB x = 2, 3, 4) to the corresponding chloroanilines (x-CAN) at mild reaction conditions (0.6 MPa, 25°C, diethyl ether-methanol as solvents) over palladium and platinum catalysts containing 1 mass % of metal on trimethylammonium functionalized poly{styrene-co-divinylbenzene} (Dowex-D) was studied. The average selectivities to x-CAN over Pd/D-Cl and Pd/D-OH catalysts were 72 % and 42 %, respectively, at the x-CNB conversion of about 80 %. The average selectivities of 81 % and 84 % were achieved using Pt/D-Cl and Pt/D-OH, respectively, at the x-CNB conversion of approximately 90 %, whereas the average starting reaction rates were 1.2 × 10^?3 mol g^?1 s^?1 and 2.6 × 10^?3 mol g^?1 s^?1 (hydrogen consumption rate per mass of platinum), respectively. Under similar reaction conditions, using palladium catalysts supported on a resin with anionic groups anchored to polymeric chains at the average reaction rate equal to 3.8 × 10^?3 mol g^?1 s^?1 (hydrogen consumption rate per mass of palladium), the selectivities from 85 % (2-CAN and 3-CAN) to 95 % (4-CAN) were achieved (Kratky et al., 2002).     

Polymerase Synthesis of Photocaged DNA Resistant against Cleavage by Restriction Endonucleases

5‐[(2‐Nitrobenzyl)oxymethyl]‐2′‐deoxyuridine 5′‐O‐triphosphate was used for polymerase (primer extension or PCR) synthesis of photocaged DNA that is resistant to the cleavage by restriction endonucleases. Photodeprotection of the caged DNA released 5‐hydroxymethyluracil‐modified nucleic acids, which were fully recognized and cleaved by restriction enzymes.