Paired electrosynthesis of cyanoacetic acid

Cyanoacetic acid is formed by cathodic reduction of CO(2) and anodic oxidation of the tetraalkylammonium salt anion; the process is conduced in acetonitrile using a divided cell with a medium porosity glass-frit diaphragm. A mechanism for this paired electrochemical reaction is proposed.     

Characterization of a β-glucanase produced by Rhizopus microsporus var. microsporus, and its potential for application in the brewing industry

Background  

In the barley malting process, partial hydrolysis of β-glucans begins with seed germination. However, the endogenous 1,3-1,4-β-glucanases are heat inactivated, and the remaining high molecular weight β-glucans may cause severe problems such as increased brewer mash viscosity and turbidity. Increased viscosity impairs pumping and filtration, resulting in lower efficiency, reduced yields of extracts, and lower filtration rates, as well as the appearance of gelatinous precipitates in the finished beer. Therefore, the use of exogenous β-glucanases to reduce the β-glucans already present in the malt barley is highly desirable.     

Trapping tetramethoxyzincate and -cobaltate(II) between Mo24+ units

Two compounds of a new type, [Mo(2)](CH(3)O)(2)M(CH(3)O)(2)[Mo(2)] where [Mo(2)] is an abbreviation for Mo(2)[(p-MeOC(6)H(4))NCHN(p-MeOC(6)H(4))](3) and M = Zn (1) and Co (2), are reported. Discrete [M(OR)(4)](2-) ions, either as such or in the mu(2),eta(4) role, have not heretofore been described. In these compounds they have distorted tetrahedral structures and bridge two [Mo(2)] groups in much the same way as did SO(4)(2-), MoO(4)(2-), and WO(4)(2-) ions in other recently reported compounds (Cotton, F. A.; Donahue, J. P.; Murillo, C. A. Inorg. Chem. 2001, 40, 2229). The (1)H NMR spectrum of 1 and the visible spectrum and magnetic properties of 2 are consistent with these structures. The M(OCH(3))(4) bridges are moderately effective in coupling the two [Mo(2)] redox centers. Compounds 1 and 2 may also be viewed as having Zn(II) and Co(II) centers tetrahedrally coordinated by the bidentate ligand [Mo(2)[(p-MeOC(6)H(4))NCHN(p-MeOC(6)H(4))](3)(OMe)(2)](-). From that point of view they may be compared with Zn(DPM)(2) and Co(DPM)(2) (3), where DPM is the anion of dipivaloylmethane. For purposes of comparison, 3 has been fully characterized structurally, spectroscopically, and magnetically. Close analogies between 2 and 3 are shown to exist.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of sulfur inversion in bis(cyclopentadienyl)-molybdenum and -tungsten complexes with dithioethers

The metallocene thioether derivatives [Cp₂M(MeSCH₂CH₂SMe)][PF₆]₂ (1, M = MO; 2, M = W), [Cp₂Mo(SCH₂CH₂SMe)][PF₆] (3) and [Cp₂M(SCH₂CH₂S)] (4, M = Mo; 5, M = W) exhibit temperature-dependent fluxional behavior in solution, owing to the pyramidal sulfur inversion process. The activation energies for this process were determined from proton band-shape analysis in the cases of 1 (54.9 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹), 2 (51.2 ± 4.6 kJ mol⁻¹) and 3 (30.0 ± 3.1 kJ mol⁻¹). Extended Hückel calculations on related model complexes suggest that local inversion at the sulfur atoms, rather that an inversion of the complete S---C---C---S chain, is responsible for the observed fluxional behaviour.     

Nitric oxide photorelease from ruthenium salen complexes in aqueous and organic solutions

The complexes [Ru(salen)(NO)Cl] and [Ru(salen)(NO)(H(2)O)](+) were shown to release the nitrosyl ligand as nitric oxide upon exposure to visible light in organic and aqueous solutions respectively, by means of UV-visible, EPR, and FTIR spectroscopies. The former was prepared by a new synthetic route and had its structure determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A crystal of the dichloromethane solvate is orthorhombic, space group Fdd2 (No. 43) and formula C(16)H(14)ClN(3)O(3)Ru.CH(2)Cl(2), with Z = 16 and cell parameters a = 25.489(4), b = 33.435(4), and c = 9.3716(9) A. The electronic absorption spectra of the complexes were calculated using the INDO/S method. The water-soluble complex is a potential drug for antitumoral phototreatment.     

An efficient synthesis of acetylide/trimetal/acetylide molecular wires

Efficient syntheses are reported for incorporating trimetal units of the type M(3)(dpa)(4)(2+) (M = Cr, Co, Ni, and dpa = 2,2'-dipyridylamide) into polyalkynyl assemblies to give the prototypical bis-phenylacetylide complexes M(3)(dpa)(4)(CCPh)(2). Reactions of M(3)(dpa)(4)Cl(2) with LiCCPh have led only to mixtures of products which cocrystallize forming materials of the composition M(3)(dpa)(4)(CCPh)(x)()Cl(2)(-)(x)(). Here we report that acetonitrile complexes [M(3)(dpa)(4)(NCCH(3))(2)](PF(6))(2) react cleanly with LiCCPh in MeCN to afford the desired target molecules in 40-60% yield and in excellent purity. Isolation of the mixed ligand complex [Co(3)(dpa)(4)(NCCH(3))(CCPh)]PF(6) has been accomplished, which suggests that these reactions are stepwise and that it will be possible to synthesize mixed acetylide complexes (i.e., M(3)(dpa)(4)(CCR)(CCR')) via this method.     

Development of a quality control method for the characterization of oligonucleotides by capillary zone electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry

A capillary zone electrophoresis-negative electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometric method was developed for the characterization of oligonucleotides after synthesis, using model compounds. The major difficulty is the adduction of metal cations to the polyanionic backbone of the oligonucleotide sample, resulting in complex spectra and decreased sensitivity. Several approaches were investigated to circumvent this problem. Separation was performed in an ammonium carbonate buffer. During separation, the interfering metal ions were exchanged for ammonium ions, which are less tightly bound to the oligonucleotide when ionized. The influence of the addition of piperidine and imidazole or trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA) to the running buffer for further reduction of cation adduction was investigated. Addition of CDTA to the buffer system resulted in a deconvoluted spectrum with very little adducts. On-line sample stacking proved vital to preconcentrate the samples. The pH and the concentration of the ammonium carbonate buffer as well as the electrophoresis voltage were optimized to achieve the best signal response for the oligonucleotides and a maximum reduction of the cation adducts as well as a short analysis time. Finally, the sheath liquid composition was examined for further improvement of the signal. The developed method was used to analyze different oligonucleotides (5000-9200 Da) in light of its use as a final quality control method for oligonucleotides in terms of purity and sequence homogeneity of the synthesized products. In all cases, very little adducts were observed in the deconvoluted spectra, and the relative errors of the measured molecular masses ranged from 3 to 35 ppm.     

Antioxidant Activity of Polyphenols,from Mauritia flexuosa (Aguaje), Based on Controlled Dehydration

Plant polyphenols offer several benefits for the prevention of diverse illnesses. Fruit’s edible and inedible parts (pulp, seeds, peels, stems, flowers) are important sources of polyphenols. Different industrial processes for fruit treatment and commercialization affect the total polyphenol content (TPC), and probably the biological activity. The purpose of the present work was to determine the TPC and antioxidant activity (by DPPH) of polyphenols extracted from the pulp and seeds of Mauritia flexuosa (aguaje), in fresh and dehydrated forms, in order to determine the possible connection with the quantity of polyphenols and their specific antioxidant activity. The highest phenolic content for M. flexuosa seeds in fresh form (non-dehydrated) was 270.75 mg GAE/100 g with a 96-h extraction. With respect to the dehydrated samples, the best yield was quantified in the 96-h dehydrated seed sample. For all pulp and seeds, dehydrated for 24, 48, and 96 h, TPC showed a slightly decreasing pattern. The DPPH results were the highest in the 96-h dehydrated samples and the differences among all dehydrated pulp and seed samples were minimal. More studies testing the presence of other antioxidant components could help in understanding the detailed antioxidant activity, and related more to the specific action, rather than only total polyphenol content.     

Quantum Information Entropies on Hyperbolic Single Potential Wells

In this work, we study the quantum information entropies for two different types of hyperbolic single potential wells. We first study the behaviors of the moving particle subject to two different hyperbolic potential wells through focusing on their wave functions. The shapes of these hyperbolic potentials are similar, but we notice that their momentum entropy densities change along with the width of each potential and the magnitude of position entropy density decreases when the momentum entropy magnitude increases. On the other hand, we illustrate the behaviors of their position and momentum entropy densities. Finally, we show the variation of position and momentum entropies Sx and Sp with the change of the potential well depth u and verify that their sum still satisfies the BBM inequality relation.