The effects of cationic and zwitterionic micelles on the keto-enol interconversion of 2-phenylacetylfuran and 2-phenylacetylthiophene

The presence of micelles from cationic and zwitterionic surfactants increases the apparent acidity of either the keto and the enol forms of 2-phenylacetylfuran (2PAF) and 2-phenylacetylthiophene (2PAT). This effect can be attributed to the affinity of the surfactant micelles for the enolate of the two substrates. Although the equilibrium constants for keto-enol tautomerism of 2PAF and 2PAT, K_T=[enol]/[ketone]=pK_a^KH−pK_a^EH, do not change much, the presence of micelles provides an efficient method for producing appreciable quantities of the enolates under mild experimental conditions and in aqueous solutions. The obtained rate-profiles for the ketonisation reactions and the consistency of the kinetic rate constants over a wide range of ‘pH’ in several overlapping buffers indicate that the pH of the aqueous pseudophase (but not that at the micellar surface) can be controlled by buffers. Moreover, the increase of the acidity and the decrease of the ‘water’ rate of ketonisation of the enols of 2PAF and 2PAT upon addition of surfactants allow the uncovery of a metal ion catalysed pathway that cannot be observed in absence of surfactants.     

Binary and ternary chromium(III) complexes with cellular reductants and DNA components isolated from redox type systems. Part 1. Chromium(VI)–cysteine–adenine (adenosine,ATP)

The reduction of CrO₃ with an excess of L-cysteine and its interaction with DNA fragments (adenine, adenosine) and ATP nucleotide was studied by analysis of the isolated solid products. The precipitates were characterised by elemental analyses, FAB mass spectral data, spectroscopic methods (u.v.–vis., f.i.r., i.r.) and magnetic measurements. The Cr^III complexes obtained appear to be various Cr^III cysteinate and adenine or ATP (but not adenosine) ternary species of the addition type bound through the hydrogen bonding network.     

Site-selective labeling strategies for screening by NMR

NMR based screening has become an important tool in the pharmaceutical industry. Methods that provide information on the location of small molecule binding sites on the surface of a drug target (e. g. SAR-by-NMR and related techniques) are of particular interest. In order to extend the applicability of such techniques to drug targets of higher molecular weight, selective labeling strategies may be employed. Dual-amino acid selective labeling and site directed non-native amino acid replacement (SNAAR) allow for the selective detection of NMR resonances of a specific amino acid residue. This results in significantly reduced spectral complexity, which not only enables application to higher molecular weight systems, but also eliminates the need for sequential resonance assignment in order to identify the binding site. Regio-selective (or segmental) labeling of an entire protein domain of a multi domain protein may also be achieved. Labeling only a selected part of a multi domain protein (e. g. a catalytic or ligand binding domain) is an attractive way to simplify the spectral interpretation without disturbing the system under study.     

Solvent-free Mukaiyama aldol reaction of O-silyl dienolates catalyzed by benzoic acid

The vinylogous aldol reaction of O-silyl dienolates deriving from 2,2-dimethyl-[1,3]-dioxin-4-ones proceeds in moderate to excellent yields in the presence of catalytic amounts of PhCOOH under solvent-free conditions. Modest to good yields can be obtained by using silica gel or 3 Å molecular sieves as heterogeneous catalysts.     

Quantitative validation of different protein precipitation methods in proteome analysis of blood platelets

For the preparation of proteins for proteome analysis, precipitation is frequently used to concentrate proteins and to remove interfering compounds. Various methods for protein precipitation are applied, which rely on different chemical principles. This study compares the changes in the protein composition of human blood platelet extracts after precipitation with ethanol (EtOH) or trichloroacetic acid (TCA). Both methods yielded the same amount of proteins from the platelet preparations. However, the EtOH-precipitated samples had to be dialyzed because of the considerable salt content. To characterize single platelet proteins, samples were analyzed by two-dimensional fluorescence differential gel electrophoresis. More than 90% of all the spots were equally present in the EtOH- and TCA-precipitated samples. However, both precipitation methods showed a smaller correlation with nonprecipitated samples (EtOH 74.9%, TCA 79.2%). Several proteins were either reduced or relatively enriched in the precipitated samples. The proteins varied randomly in molecular weight and isoelectric point. This study shows that protein precipitation leads to specific changes in the protein composition of proteomics samples. This depends more on the specific structure of the protein than on the precipitating agent used in the experiment.     

Photometric titration of total iodine at trace levels in concetrated chloride solutions

The method is based on reduction of total iodine (10^?7?10^?5 M), to iodide with sulphite in acidic solution. The excess of sulphur dioxide is removed by bubbling with nitrogen, and the resulting solution is titrated spectrophotometrically with a standard solution of iodate, the absorbance being measured at 230 nm. Some Italian table salts, iodized or common, were analyzed for their iodide and total iodine content.     

Role of catechin on collagen type I stability upon oxidation: a NMR approach

Abstract

The study focuses on the understanding, at molecular level, the mechanism of interaction between protein and flavonoids. Collagen and catechin interactions were investigated by NMR in solution and solid state. The effect of catechin on the stability of collagen to oxidation was also explored. Collagen was treated with two concentrations of catechin solutions. Oxidation was carried out by incubation of collagen solution with three oxidation systems: Fe(II)/H₂O₂, Cu(II)/H₂O₂, and NaOCl/H₂O₂. The effects of oxidation systems were evaluated by high resolution 1?D and 2?D proton spectroscopy and solid state NMR (¹³C CP MAS) experiments. Interactions between collagen and catechin preferentially occur between catechin B ring and the amino acids Pro and Hyp of collagen. Results showed that both iron and copper oxidation systems were able to interact with collagen by site specific attack. Moreover, catechin protects collagen proline from oxidation by metal/H₂O₂ systems, preventing copper and iron approach to collagene molecule;this behaviour was more evident for the copper/H₂O₂ system.     

密胺-脲甲醛树脂合成工艺放大研究

以密胺－脲甲醛树脂合成的小试工艺条件为依据，完成了放大试验过程的工艺研究。研究结果与小试研究的工艺条件相吻合。     

Acceleration of the Passerini reaction in the presence of nucleophilic additives

An accelerating effect of nucleophilic additives was revealed for the Passerini multi-component reaction. The influence of aqueous solutions on the reaction rate was studied in detail and the direct involvement of water in the bond-making step was attributed as the basis of an accelerating effect. Other nucleophiles were tested as alternatives to water; as a result N-hydroxysuccinimide is proposed as an accelerant of the Passerini reaction.     

Production of antitumoral retamycin during fed-batch fermentations of Streptomyces olindensis

Fed-batch runs were performed in order to correlate the production of retamycin, an anthracycline antibiotic produced by Streptomyces olindensis in submerged cultures, with the specific growth rate. Maximum retamycin production was achieved with an exponential feed rate, controlling the specific growth rate at a low value (0.03 h-1, about 10% of the maximum specific growth rate). Control of the specific growth rate at higher values (0.10 and 0.17 h-1) caused a decrease in antibiotic production. Morphology, assessed by image analysis, was shown to be highly relevant in this process. Cell growth mainly in the form of clumps (90% clumps and 10% free filaments) led to better results than growth as clumps (75%) and free filaments (25%).