Field ionization mass spectrometry as a facile method for the study of the thermal formation of radicals

Electron impact spectra of thermolysis products of organic salts heated in the ion source of a mass spectrometer may give rise to organic ions corresponding to the cation of the salt. Field ionization mass spectrometry has been used as a facile method for detemining whether such an ion is due to ionization of the corresponding radical present in the gas phase, or to an electron impact induced fragmentation of a reaction product of higher mass. By comparison of the electron impact and field ionization spectra of a series of N-methyl pyridinium, tropylium and 1,2-dithiolylium salts it has been found possible to identify the radicals formed thermolytically, when present.     

Kinetics of heterogeneous cellulose reactions. I. Cyanoethylation of cotton cellulose

Sakurada's equation and fundamental kinetic laws were applied to the heterogeneous cyanoethylation of cellulose, performed by reacting fiber with liquid acrylonitrile, with sodium hydroxide as the catalyst. The data fit Sakurada's equation better at higher temperatures; deviation occurs at the initial stage, and the rate of reaction falls abruptly at a later stage. The degree of substitution at which the abrupt rate change occurred decreased as the temperature increased from 31 to 60°C. and also as the crystallinity of the fiber decreased. Diluting the reagent with different solvents decreased the rate of reaction and changed its transition points, but did not change the essential nature of the reaction, each segment of which fits Sakurada's equation very well. A uniform distribution of the catalyst (sodium hydroxide) throughout the fiber was attempted, and then the reaction was studied at 50°C. Diffractograms of the samples provided further evidence that the position of the rate change is associated with the change of cellulose (I) crystalline structure. Approximate energy of activation has been calculated, from the specific rate constants, between 31 and 40°C. as 10.6 kcal. and between 45 and 50°C. as 16.7 kcal. At other temperatures the determination was handicapped, due to temperature dependence of the order of reaction. An empirical relation between the constants of Sakurada's equation and the reaction temperature has been sought and correlated with the Arrhenius equation. Energies of activation, determined from this relationship, have been found to be very close to the above values. The change of order of reaction with temperature suggests that the reaction is affected by diffusion and the mechanism is interpreted as a diffusion-controlled reaction where hydrogen bonds play a significant role in diffusion.     

Macrocycle synthesis strategy based on step-wise “adding and reacting” three components enables screening of large combinatorial libraries

Macrocycles provide an attractive modality for drug development, but generating ligands for new targets is hampered by the limited availability of large macrocycle libraries. We have established a solution-phase macrocycle synthesis strategy in which three building blocks are coupled sequentially in efficient alkylation reactions that eliminate the need for product purification. We demonstrate the power of the approach by combinatorially reacting 15 bromoacetamide-activated tripeptides, 42 amines, and 6 bis-electrophile cyclization linkers to generate a 3780-compound library with minimal effort. Screening against thrombin yielded a potent and selective inhibitor (K_i = 4.2 ± 0.8 nM) that efficiently blocked blood coagulation in human plasma. Structure–activity relationship and X-ray crystallography analysis revealed that two of the three building blocks acted synergistically and underscored the importance of combinatorial screening in macrocycle development. The three-component library synthesis approach is general and offers a promising avenue to generate macrocycle ligands to other targets.

Combination of three efficient chemical reactions allows for solution-phase synthesis of 3780 macrocycles and identification of potent thrombin inhibitor.     

Electrothermal stirring for heterogeneous immunoassays

A technique is proposed to enhance microfluidic immuno-sensors, for example, immunoassays, in which a ligand immobilized on a microchannel wall specifically binds analyte flowing through the channel. These sensors can be limited in both response time and sensitivity by the diffusion of analyte to the sensing surface. In certain applications, the sensitivity and response of these heterogeneous immunoassays may be improved by using AC electrokinetically-driven microscale fluid motion to enhance antigen motion towards immobilized ligands. Specifically, the electrothermal effect is used to micro-stir analyte near the binding surface. Numerical simulations of antigen in a microchannel flow subjected to the electrothermal effect show that 6 V(rms) applied to electrodes near a binding region can increase binding in the first few minutes by a factor of seven. The effectiveness of electrothermal stirring is a strong function of the Damk?hler number. The greatest binding enhancement is possible for high Damk?hler numbers, where the reaction is limited by diffusion. Based on these results, the utility of this technique for diffusion-limited microfluidic sensor applications is demonstrated.     

Mass spectrometry in structural and stereochemical problems–CXCV: The structure of the [C6H6O]+˙ ion in the spectrum of phenyl alkyl ethers

The [C₆H₆O]⁺˙ ion from C₆H₅OC₄H₉ is structurally similar to the molecular ion from phenol as demonstrated by ¹³C labeling.     

ESCA: Elektronen-Spektroskopie für chemische Analyse

Eine Substanzprobe, auf die Röntgen-Strahlung einwirkt, emittiert Photo- und Auger-Elektronen. Die Energiespektren der emittierten Elektronen geben Informationen über die Elektronen-struktur in der Probe — und zwar von den innersten atomaren Niveaus und ihrer Abhängigkeit von der chemischen Umgebung bis hin zu den Molekülorbitalen der Valenzelektronen sowie der Bandstruktur bei Festkörpern. Solche Elektronenspektren können jetzt mit hochauflösenden Instrumenten registriert werden; ihre Analyse ergibt neue Aspekte für die Untersuchung der chemischen Bindung. Die zu diesem Zweck entwickelte und inzwischen zu einem hohen Grad von Vollkommenheit ausgebaute Methode der Elektronenspektroskopie wird im folgenden als ESCA (Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis) bezeichnet.     

An inequality between thep- and (p, 1)-summing norm of finite rank operators fromC(K)-spaces

We show, for any operatorT from aC(K)-space into a Banach space with rank (T)≤n, the inequality , whereC≤4.671 is a numerical constant. The factor (1+logn)^1−1/p is asymptotically correct. This inequality extends a result of Jameson top ≠ 2. Several applications are given — one is a positive solution of a conjecture of Rosenthal and Szarek: For 1≤p<q<2,      

Novel perturbation expansion for the Langevin equation

We discuss the randomly driven systemdx/dt= -W(x) +f(t), wheref(t) is a Gaussian random function or stirring force withf(t)f(t)=2(t–t), andW(x) is of the formgx ¹⁺². The parameter is a measure of the nonlinearity of the equation. We show how to obtain the correlation functionsx(t)f(t)···x(t( n)) _f as a power series in. We obtain three terms in the expansion and show how to use Padé approximants to analytically continue the answer in the variable. By using scaling relations, we show how to get a uniform approximation to the equal-time correlation functions valid for allg and.     

Aortic elastin fluorescence afterin vivo labeling with Congo red

Congo red (CR) is an azo dye which not only preferentially binds to elastin, an extracellular matrix protein found in the media of arterial vessel walls, but also fluoresces when it binds to this protein. Protein solubilization data following laser irradiation of elastin:CR suspensions determined that the amount of elastin solubilized by laser irradiation increased with the increase in CR. The saturation point of CR to elastin was attained when 400 g CR was added to 20 mg elastin suspension. When 20 ml of a 5% CR solution in 5% dextrose was administered intravenously, the CR was absorbed in levels sufficient to produce fluorescence of the main arteries in rabbits. Layers of tissue both in the media of the vessels and at the endothelial/intimal interface were clearly differentiated. Therefore, the elastin:CR complex appears to be an ideal system in which the elastin fluorescence could aid in distinguishing between normal and diseased tissue in certain pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis and some types of breast tumors.