Interferences by transition metals and their elimination by cyanide as a complexing agent in the determination of arsenic using continuous flow HG-ICP-AES

The interfering effects of various foreign ions on the determination of arsenic were studied by hydride generation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (HG-ICP-AES). There were serious inhibiting interferences by Cu, Pb, Co, Au, Pd and Ni. However, by using cyanide as a complexing agent these interferences could be completely eliminated over a wide range of interferent concentration. The optimum chemical parameters for continuous arsine generation were studied. A major advantage of this technique is that it only needs low acid concentrations and produces less hazardous waste. Sensivity, selectivity and accuracy of the determination of arsenic by HG-ICP-AES were investigated. The detection limit (in 1 mol/l HCl medium) for arsenic(III) was 0.82 ng/ml. The relative standard deviation for ten determinations of a solution containing 50 ng/ml arsenic was 1.3%.     

Macrocycles in the construction of acyclic stereochemistry

The conformations of macrocyclic intermediates provide a useful medium through which distant chiral centers may control chemical reactions. In this paper, we show that macrocycles made by cyclization of simple acyclic starting materials with an auxiliary spacer may be used to prepare stereochemically complex acyclic products.     

Calcium oxalate monohydrate precipitation at membrane lipid rafts

The precipitation of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) was monitored at a Langmuir monolayer containing lipid raft domains. The raft-forming monolayer consists of a 2:1:1 mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/sphingomyelin/dihydrocholesterol, where the raft liquid ordered phase is enriched in sphingomyelin and the sterol. COM crystals, monitored by Brewster angle microscopy, appear at the phase boundary between the raft domains and the expanded phase.     

Analysis of Ginkgo biloba for the presence of ginkgotoxin and ginkgotoxin 5'-glucoside

Hot water extracts of Ginkgo biloba seeds were analyzed for the presence of ginkgotoxin (4'-O-methylpyridoxine) by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) using methanol-0.05M KH2PO4 (1 + 9, v/v) adjusted to pH 3 as mobile phase. Detection was by fluorescence (excitation 280 nm, emission 370 nm). A straight line calibration curve was obtained for the 10-100 ng injected. After addition of beta-glucosidase (37 degrees C/h), an earlier eluting peak disappeared and the ginkgotoxin peak increased. The identity of the ginkgotoxin was confirmed by LC/MS and LC/MS/MS. LC/MS/MS also confirmed the 5'-glucoside by comparison with the 3-glucoside. This is the first identification of a glucoside of ginkgotoxin in Ginkgo biloba. An unknown compound of MW 267 also observed in the Ginkgo biloba seed extract was shown not to be 3,5'-diacetylginkgotoxin by its different LC retention time. Extraction of ground Ginkgo biloba seeds with boiling water in a Soxhlet for 2 x 2 h yielded a total of 179 microg/g of free ginkgotoxin. The concentration in powder from Ginkgo biloba capsules was several times lower than this (17-64 microg/g) in 3 samples but higher in another (457 microg/g). Canned ginkgo seeds (white nuts) contained no detectable free ginkgotoxin but the glucoside was present. Different extraction times were studied: 0.5 h gave only 52 microg/g free ginkgotoxin in the ginkgo seeds. However, boiling an extract for 4 h showed about 15% loss of ginkgotoxin and its glucoside.     

The use of semiempirical energy partitioning terms in the study of through space (homoaromatic) interactions

MNDO and AMI calculations, including configuration interactions, were performed on cycloheptatriene (2), 1,6-methano[10]annulene (3), and the tautomeric elassovalenes (4), (5), and (6). The goal of this study is to examine these systems and assess indicators of the importance of through space (homoaromatic) interactions. It is established that the two-center energy partitioning terms are capable of detecting favorable (negative two-center term) through space interactions. In cases of cyclic conjugation (homoconjugation), it is also shown that the inclusion of CI is necessary.     

Proton spin-lattice relaxation studies. N-aryl-1-isoindolinones

Proton spin-lattice relaxation rates (R₁ values) have been measured, at 270 MHz, for a series of N-aryl isoindolinones. A normalization procedure has been used to enable comparison of R₁ values in different compounds by minimizing the effects on relaxation rates of changes in motional correlation times accompanying changes in substitution patterns. A substantial (4.3-fold) dynamic range of R₁ values has been observed, and individual values have been correlated with the molecular environments of the nuclei. There is evidence for an interring relaxation process.     

Standard enthalpy of formation of lanthanum oxybritholites

Lanthanum-bearing silicate-oxyapatites or britholites, Ca_10–xLax(PO₄)_6–x(SiO₄)_xO with 1≤x≤6, have been synthesized by solid state reaction at high temperature. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. Using two microcalorimeters, the heat of solution of these compounds have been measured at 298 K in a solution of nitric and hydrofluoric acid. A strained least squares method was applied to the experimental results to obtain the solution enthalpies at infinite dilution, and the mixing enthalpy in two steps. In the first step the mixing enthalpy obtained is referenced to the britholite monosubstituted and to the oxysilicate. The mixing enthalpy referenced to the oxyapatite and to the oxysilicate is then extrapolated. In order to determine the enthalpies of formation of all the terms of the solution, thermochemical cycles were proposed and complementary experiments were performed. The results obtained show a decrease of the enthalpy of formation with the amount of Si and La introduced in the lattice. This was explained by the difference in the bond energies of (Ca–O, P–O) and (La–O, Si–O).     

Computational strategies for evaluating barrier heights for gas-phase reactions of lithium enolates

Gas-phase activation energies were calculated for three lithium enolate reactions by using several different ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) methods to determine which levels of theory generate acceptable results. The reactions included an aldol-type addition of an enolate to an aldehyde, a proton transfer from an alcohol to a lithium enolate, and an S(N)2 reaction of an enolate with chloromethane. For each reaction, the calculations were performed for both the monomeric and dimeric forms of the lithium enolate. It was found that transition state geometry optimization with B3LYP followed by single point MP2 calculations generally provided acceptable results compared to higher level ab initio methods.     

Design and characterization of libraries of molecular fragments for use in NMR screening against protein targets

We have designed four generations of a low molecular weight fragment library for use in NMR-based screening against protein targets. The library initially contained 723 fragments which were selected manually from the Available Chemicals Directory. A series of in silico filters and property calculations were developed to automate the selection process, allowing a larger database of 1.79 M available compounds to be searched for a further 357 compounds that were added to the library. A kinase binding pharmacophore was then derived to select 174 kinase-focused fragments. Finally, an additional 61 fragments were selected to increase the number of different pharmacophores represented within the library. All of the fragments added to the library passed quality checks to ensure they were suitable for the screening protocol, with appropriate solubility, purity, chemical stability, and unambiguous NMR spectrum. The successive generations of libraries have been characterized through analysis of structural properties (molecular weight, lipophilicity, polar surface area, number of rotatable bonds, and hydrogen-bonding potential) and by analyzing their pharmacophoric complexity. These calculations have been used to compare the fragment libraries with a drug-like reference set of compounds and a set of molecules that bind to protein active sites. In addition, an analysis of the overall results of screening the library against the ATP binding site of two protein targets (HSP90 and CDK2) reveals different patterns of fragment binding, demonstrating that the approach can find selective compounds that discriminate between related binding sites.     

Synthesis of cationic dialkylgold(III) complexes: nature of the facile reductive elimination of alkane

A series of gold(III) cations of the type cis-[CH₃)₂AuL₂]⁺ X^? where L  Ph₃, PMePh₂, PMe₂Ph, PMe₃, AsPh₃, AsPh₃, SbPh₃, $\text{1}\text{2}$H₂NCH₂CH₂NH₂, $\text{1}\text{2}$ Ph₂PCH₂CH₂-PPh₂, $\text{1}\text{2}$ Ph₂AsCH₂CH₂AsPh₂, and $\text{1}\text{2}$o-C₆H₄(AsMe₂)₂ and X  BF₄^?, PF₆^?, ClO₄^?, and F₃CSO₃^? has been prepared. In addition, the cis complexes [(CH₃)(CD₃)-Au(PPh₃)₂]F₃CSO₃, [(C₂H₅)₂Au(PPh₃)₂]F₃CSO and [(n-C₄H₉)₂Au(PPh₃)₂]F₃-CSO₃ have been synthesized. All have been characterized by PMR, Raman and infrared spectroscopy. These [R₂AuL₂]X compounds yield only ethane, butane, or octane via reductive elimination, and no disproportionation is observed. The alkane eliminations have been studied in CHCl₃, CH₃Cl₂, and CH₃COCH₃ solution as a function of temperature, concentration of the complex, and concentration of added ligand L. Elimination is fastest when L is bulky (PPh₃ > PMePh₂ > PMe₂Ph > PMe₃), decreases in the sequence SbPh₃ > AsPh₃ > PPh₃, is slow with chelating ligands, is inhibited by excess ligand, and there is small anion effect as X is varied. As R is varied, the rate of elimination decreases Bu ? Et > Me. An intramolecular dissociative mechanism is proposed which involves rapid elimination of alkane from an electron deficient dialkylgold(III) complex with nonequivalent gold—carbon bonds and produces the corresponding [AuL₂]X complex.