A Dual‐Color Far‐Red to Near‐Infrared Firefly Luciferin Analogue Designed for Multiparametric Bioluminescence Imaging

Red‐shifted bioluminescent emitters allow improved in vivo tissue penetration and signal quantification, and have led to the development of beetle luciferin analogues that elicit red‐shifted bioluminescence with firefly luciferase (Fluc). However, unlike natural luciferin, none have been shown to emit different colors with different luciferases. We have synthesized and tested the first dual‐color, far‐red to near‐infrared (nIR) emitting analogue of beetle luciferin, which, akin to natural luciferin, exhibits pH dependent fluorescence spectra and emits bioluminescence of different colors with different engineered Fluc enzymes. Our analogue produces different far‐red to nIR emission maxima up to λ_max=706 nm with different Fluc mutants. This emission is the most red‐shifted bioluminescence reported without using a resonance energy transfer acceptor. This improvement should allow tissues to be more effectively probed using multiparametric deep‐tissue bioluminescence imaging.     

Nature of the Arsonium-Ylide Ph3As=CH2 and a Uranium(IV) Arsonium–Carbene Complex

Treatment of [Ph₃EMe][I] with [Na{N(SiMe₃)₂}] affords the ylides [Ph₃E=CH₂] (E=As, 1As ; P, 1P ). For 1As this overcomes prior difficulties in the synthesis of this classical arsonium-ylide that have historically impeded its wider study. The structure of 1As has now been determined, 45 years after it was first convincingly isolated, and compared to 1P , confirming the long-proposed hypothesis of increasing pyramidalisation of the ylide-carbon, highlighting the increasing dominance of E⁺−C⁻ dipolar resonance form (sp³-C) over the E=C ene π-bonded form (sp²-C), as group 15 is descended. The uranium(IV)–cyclometallate complex [U{N(CH₂CH₂NSiPrⁱ₃)₂(CH₂CH₂SiPrⁱ₂CH(Me)CH₂)}] reacts with 1As and 1P by α-proton abstraction to give [U(Tren^TIPS)(CHEPh₃)] (Tren^TIPS=N(CH₂CH₂NSiPrⁱ₃)₃; E=As, 2As ; P, 2P ), where 2As is an unprecedented structurally characterised arsonium-carbene complex. The short U−C distances and obtuse U-C-E angles suggest significant U=C double bond character. A shorter U−C distance is found for 2As than 2P , consistent with increased uranium- and reduced pnictonium-stabilisation of the carbene as group 15 is descended, which is supported by quantum chemical calculations.     

Determination of anabolic androgenic steroids as imidazole carbamate derivatives in human urine using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Anabolic androgenic steroids are widely abused substances in sports doping. Their detection present limitations regarding the use of soft ion sources such as electrospray or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In the current study, a novel derivatization method was developed for the ionization enhancement of selected anabolic androgenic steroids. The proposed method aims at the introduction of an easily ionizable moiety into the steroid molecule by converting the hydroxyl groups into imidazole carbamates using 1,1′‐carbonyldiimidazole as derivatization reagent. The proposed method was applied to water and urine samples spiked with exogenous anabolic androgenic steroids in various concentration levels. Steroid imidazole carbamate derivatives have shown intensive [M+H]⁺ signals under electrospray ionization and common fragmentation patterns in tandem mass spectrometry mode with [M‐CO₂+H]⁺ and [M‐ΙmCO₂+H]⁺ as major ions with low collision energy. The obtained results showed that the majority of steroids were detectable at concentrations equal or lower to their minimum required performance level according to the World Anti‐Doping Agency technical document. The proposed method is sensitive with a preparation procedure that could be easily applied to the analysis of doping control samples.     

Xe对NO(X)微分截面和非弹性散射中的碰撞诱导旋转准直

本文对NO(X)-Xe碰撞系统在碰撞能量为519 cm^-1,测量了完全?-双峰分解的微分截面和碰撞引起的旋转准直力矩. 同时结合初始量子态选择,使用六极杆的非均质电场,借助量子态分辨的测量,利用(1+1'')共振增强的多光子电离和速度离子成像. 结果显示,微分截面以及偏振相关的微分截面均显示与从头算势能面上进行的量子力学散射计算[J. K?os etal. J. Chem. Phys. 137, 014312 (2012)]一致. 通过与准经典轨迹、硬壳势能的量子力学散射以及运动近端模型的比较,评估了势能对所测微分截面和碰撞引起的旋转准直力矩的影响.     

Development of a trace gas stable isotope capture system in a mobile laboratory for temporal and spatial sampling of field and laboratory experiments

We describe the development of a novel mobile field laboratory, purposely designed for the automated capture and subsequent stable isotopic analyses of multiple gas samples. The multiple capture system is integrated into a mobile laboratory that is fully capable of measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trace gases in a flow-through system connected to a gas chromatograph fitted with both electron capture and flame ionisation detectors. The capture of gases is achieved by routing samples through a series of 135 mL gas flasks that are sealed by micro-solenoid valves triggered by a timing system. Trace gas light stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry can then be carried out on gas samples collected by the system (NERC (15)N Stable Isotope Facility). The excitingly unique potential of the system to the ecological research field is that it will allow the collection of cyclical data for three different trace gases both in real-time and in situ. We present data arising from the validation of this mobile system as well as a preliminary experimental assessment of this technique. This technique was used to measure delta(13)C in CO(2) and CH(4) in soil gases released from waterlogged cores and delta(13)C-CH(4) values were significantly depleted in wet cores compared with dry ones (p < 0.001).     

Measurement of orientation distributions using chemical shift amplification

A new three-dimensional magic angle spinning (MAS) experiment is proposed, based on a combination of the two-dimensional rotor-synchronized MAS experiment of Spiess and co-workers and a new chemical shift anisotropy amplification method. The new experiment is demonstrated on a macroscopically ordered sample of ultra-high molecular weight poly(ethylene).