Synthesis and characterisation of bis(pentafluorophenyl)antimony(V) cations, [(C6F5)2SbL3]

Pentacoordinate complex cations of the general formula [(C₆F₅)₂SbL₃]³⁺ stabilized as solid salts in combination with tetraphenylborate (BPh₄), tetrafluorobroate (BF₄) anions, where L=DMSO, Ph₃AsO, PyO, DMF, α-, β- and γ-picoline have been isolated. The newly formed complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, solid-state IR and and NMR. From these results, a five-fold coordination around antimony was required.     

Some new organotin(IV), aluminium(III)-μ-oxoisopropoxides and their benzoylacetone derivatives

The first organotin(IV), aluminium(III)-μ-oxoisoprovides of the type [R₃SnOA](OⁱPr)₂] (R = Me or Ph) have been made by heating of trimethyl- or triphenyl-tin acetate with aluminium isopropoxide. The reactions of these μ-oxoisopropoxides with benzoylacetone in 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratios yielded the compounds of the type [R₃SnOAl(OⁱPr)(bzac)] and [R₃SnOAl(bzac)₂] (where R = Me or Ph and BZAC = deprotonated benzoylacetone), respectively.     

2,4,5-Tribromo-1H-imidazole in the egg masses of three muricid molluscs

From analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), the presence of either 2,4,5-tribromo-1H-imidazole (1) or 3,4,5-tribromo-1H-pyrazole (2) was tentatively identified in lipophilic extracts from the egg masses of three muricid molluscs. Synthesis of these compounds, followed by comparison of the GC retention times and fragmentation patterns from electron impact MS, with those of the natural products, indicated that it was 2,4,5-tribromo-1H-imidazole rather than the pyrazole. This imidazole is likely to be responsible for some of the antimicrobial activity observed in the egg extracts. This is the first report of this compound from a natural source.     

Anion mediated polytype selectivity among the basic salts of Co(II)

Basic salts of Co(II) crystallize in the rhombohedral structure. Two different polytypes, 3R₁ and 3R₂, with distinct stacking sequences of the metal hydroxide slabs, are possible within the rhombohedral structure. These polytypes are generated by simple translation of successive layers by (2/3, 1/3, z) or (1/3, 2/3, z). The symmetry of the anion and the mode of coordination influences polytype selection. Cobalt hydroxynitrate crystallizes in the structure of the 3R₂ polytype while the hydroxytartarate, hydroxychloride and α-cobalt hydroxide crystallize in the structure of the 3R₁ polytype. Cobalt hydroxysulfate is turbostratically disordered. The turbostratic disorder is a direct consequence of the mismatch between the crystallographically defined interlayer sites generated within the crystal and the tetrahedral symmetry of the SO₄²⁻ ions.     

On the analysis of mercuric nitrate in flue gas by GC-MS

Recent research has demonstrated that in a simulated flue gas stream containing NO(2) and SO(2) elemental mercury is initially captured on a carbon or manganese oxide sorbent. After approximately an hour, however, mercury breaks through relatively rapidly, and the volatile form of mercury emitted is an oxidized species. The volatile mercury species emitted from a granular MnO(2) sorbent was trapped in an impinger containing cold acetonitrile. Subsequent evaporation of 95% of the acetonitrile in a Kuderna-Danish apparatus and gas chromatography (GC) of the concentrate resulted in a single mercury-containing GC peak at 5.5 min; the retention time and mass spectrum of this compound matched exactly those of a standard mercury(II) nitrate hydrate, Hg(NO(3))(2).H(2)O dissolved in acetonitrile. The volatile mercury component analyzed from injection of this standard solution was shown to be a form of methylmercury that is produced in the GC column by reaction of the highly reactive mercury nitrate with the methylsiloxane GC phase. Because the on-column derivatization reaction seems to be unique to mercury nitrate, the GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic) analysis provides strong evidence for identification of the trapped oxidized mercury species as mercury nitrate although, because the nitrate becomes detached from the mercury atom in the on-column reaction, the identity is not proven.     

Oxidation of L-lysine by diperiodatocuprate (III) in aqueous alkaline medium by the stopped flow technique

The kinetics of oxidation of L-lysine by diperiodatocuprate (III) (DPC) in alkaline medium at a constant ionic strength of 0.15 mol/dm³ was studied spectrophotometrically. The reaction between DPC and L-lysine in an alkaline medium had a 1: 2 stoichiometry (L-lysine: DPC). The reaction was first order in [DPC] and less than first order in [L-lysine] and [alkali]. The addition of periodate had no effect on the rate of the reaction. The intervention of free radicals was observed in the reaction. The oxidation reaction in alkaline medium was shown to proceed via a DPC-L-lysine complex. The main products were identified by spot test and spectral studies. The reaction constants involved in different steps of the mechanism were calculated. The activation parameters with respect to the slow step of the mechanism were computed and discussed, and thermodynamic values were also determined. The article is published in the original.     

Synthesis and antispasmodic activity evaluation of bis-(papaverine) analogues

A new series of N-substituted bis-(tetrahydropapaverine) ring systems have been synthesised in expectation of better antispasmodic activity in comparison with papaverine. The synthesis of the targeted heterocycles is described along with a discussion of their structure activity relationship. The general synthetic methods of bis-(tetrahydropapaverine) analogues involve tetrahydropapaverine, various piperazines, diisocyanates and diisothiocyanates as starting materials. Pharmacological evaluation involves the in vitro antispasmodic activity on a freshly removed guinea pig ileum using a force displacement transducer amplifier connected to a physiograph. Among the analogues synthesized in the present study, N,N'-bis-[2-carbamoyl-1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolinyl]piperazine (22), was found to be the most potent muscle relaxant (IC(50): 0.31 microM).     

Investigating bidentate and tridentate carbamoylmethylphosphine oxide ligand interactions with rare-Earth elements using electrospray ionization quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization (ESI) quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry (QIT-MS) and collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) were used to evaluate the rare-earth binding properties of two hydrophobic carbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO) ligands, the normal bidentate variety, (t-BuC6H4)2P(O)CH2C(O)N(i-Bu)2 (A), a new potentially tridentate extractant, (t-BuC6H4)2P(O)CH[CH2C(O)N(i-Bu)2]C(O)N(i-Bu)2 (B), and tributyl phosphate. The mass spectral results obtained from analysis of 1% HNO3/methanol solution containing the ligands and dissolved lanthanide salts reveal that the favorable stoichiometries of the ligand/metal/nitrate complexes are 2:1:2 for the bidentate ligand A, 1:1:2 for the tridentate ligand B, and 3:1:2 for the monodentate tributyl phosphate. These observed stoichiometries correlate with the number of available binding sites on each ligand as well as with potential steric effects. Energy-variable collisionally activated dissociation experiments showed that for the 2:1:2 complexes involving ligand A or B, as the ionic radius of the bound metal decreased, the removal of nitric acid required less energy and resulted in less extensive spontaneous solvent coordination. This experimental trend suggests that, as the ionic radius of the lanthanide ion decreases, a pair of the carbamoylmethylphosphine ligands is able to more completely solvate the bound metal ion thereby weakening the nitrate-metal interaction.     

Dynamic capillary coatings with zwitterionic surfactants for capillary isoelectric focusing

The use of surfactants as additives was demonstrated for the first time in capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) to dynamically modify the surfaces of bare fused silica capillaries. These surfactants were zwitterionic sulfobetaines: dodecyldimethyl (3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (C12N3SO3), hexadecyldimethyl (3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (C16N3SO3) and coco (amidopropyl)hydroxyldimethylsulfobetaine (Rewoteric AM CAS U). They were added directly to the protein-ampholyte mixture, and remained in the capillary during isoelectric focusing and mobilization. The C16N3SO3 and CAS U coatings were shown effective in CEF. Separation of seven IEF protein standards was obtained, with significantly improved resolution compared to that from an uncoated silica capillary. The effect of these surfactants on the electroosmotic flow (EOF) in CIEF was determined. CAS U was effective in suppressing the EOF at neutral and alkaline pH conditions, C16N3SO3 was effective in suppressing EOF at acidic and neutral pH conditions. C12N3SO3 however had little effect on the EOF. The pH gradients formed inside these surfactant coated capillaries were recta-linear at pH 6 to 9 (R2 approximately equal to 0.99). Reproducibility of migration time and peak area was determined. For all three coatings, the migration time standard deviations were less than 1.6 min, and the relative standard deviations of area were below 10%. The protein recovery in the CAS U-modified capillary was quantitative or near-quantitative for five of the seven proteins studied.     

Natural products as scaffolds for chemical diversification: solution-phase parallel synthesis of a series of naringin analogues

The flavanone glycoside naringin hydrate is widely abundant in various citrus plants. As an ongoing effort toward the exploitation of natural products as scaffolds for chemical diversification at readily accessible positions, we have prepared a series of analogues of naringin in which the 6-hydroxyl group of the beta-d-glucopyranosyl subunit was converted to sulfonamides, amides, urethanes, and secondary and tertiary amines via the corresponding 6-amino derivative using a solution-phase parallel array protocol.