A comparative study of several HPLC methods for determining free amino acid profiles in honey

A study of the viability of three derivatizing reagents for obtaining amino acid profiles in honey through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is presented. A method using diode array detection based on a reaction with diethyl ethoxymethylene malonate (DEMM) and two other methods using fluorescence detection based on derivatization with fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl) and 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) have been developed. The three methods yield detection limits close to the ppb level, but vary in relation to other analytical characteristics. The use of methyl chloroformate derivatives allows the profile to be obtained with the greatest sensitivity within a short time frame. On applying such methods to honey samples of diverse botanical origin, we observe that the proline values obtained are always lower than those found using the official spectrophotometric method, thereby underlining the advisability of using HPLC methods to reduce uncertainty in these results.     

Asymmetric hetero Diels-Alder as an access to carbacephams.

A short and efficient asymmetric synthesis of the (6R,7S)-7-tert-butoxycarbonylamino-2-ketocarbacepham is described. The key step involves the hetero Diels-Alder reaction of the benzylimine derived from the enantiomer of Garner's aldehyde with Danishefsky's diene.     

Bis(μ‐acetato‐κ3O,O′:O′)bis[bis(acetato‐κ2O,O′)diaquadysprosium(III)] tetrahydrate

The title compound, [Dy₂(C₂H₃O₂)₆(H₂O)₄]·4H₂O, crystallizes in the form of dimeric units related by an inversion centre. Each cation is nine‐coordinate, binding to two water mol­ecules and three acetate groups, two of which are bidentate and the third tridentate. This last acetate group acts as a bridge between neighbouring metal atoms, leading to an intradimer Dy?Dy separation of 4.170 (1) Å.     

A novel microporous copper silicate: Na2Cu2Si4O11.2H2O

The synthesis and structural characterisation of a thermally stable novel three-dimensional microporous copper silicate open-framework are described; the material is capable of undergoing reversible zeolitic water removal without destruction of the framework.     

Mechanistic aspects of the Wolff-Kishner reaction. V. The cation effect on the reaction of benzophenone hydrazone in butyl carbitol and decyl alcohol

The rate of the Wolff-Kishner reaction of benzophenone hydrazone in butyl carbitol increases as the cation of the alkoxide base is varied in the order K>Na>Li>Mg. The replacement of butyl carbitol by 1-decanol also accelerates the reaction, and an additional increase is caused by the presence of crown ether. On the basis of changes in the activation parameters, it is concluded that the reactivity of the hydrazone anion increases as the contact ion pair becomes more fully solvated and dissociated.     

An Asymmetric Edge-Sharing Bioctahedral Complex: (η2-DAniF)MoIII(μ-DAniF)2(μ-O,Cl)MoVCl2 (DAniF=N,N′-di-p-anisylformamidinate)

A novel asymmetric, edge-sharing bioctahedral complex with formamidinato ligands ( ²-DAniF)Mo(-DAniF)₂(-O,Cl)MoCl₂, 1, (DAniF=N,N-di-p-anisylformamidinate) has been isolated as a byproduct from the preparation of the dimolybdenum(II,III) compound Mo₂(DAniF)₃Cl₂. An X-ray crystallographic study shows that the structure consists of edge-sharing bioctahedra, with the shared edge defined by the vector joining the: -O and -Cl ligands. Compound 1 is best formulated as a mixed-valent Mo^IIIMo^V compound, the Mo(V) ion being that with the two terminal Cl^– ligands. The cyclic voltammogram of 1 shows a reversible reduction at –0.472 V and a reversible oxidation at 1.028 V vs. the Ag/AgCl reference electrode, while the absorption spectrum of 1 reveals an intense low energy absorption at 523 nm ( _max=12 500) which is attributed to an intervalence charge transfer transition. Crystallographic data for 1 are as follows: a=13.387(1) Å, b=15.500(2) Å, c=21.855(2) Å, =98.786(2)°, V=4481.8(8) ų, P2₁/c, R1 (wR2)=0.082 (0.177).     

Synthetic erythropoietic proteins: tuning biological performance by site-specific polymer attachment

Chemical synthesis in combination with precision polymer modification allows the systematic exploration of the effect of protein properties, such as charge and hydrodynamic radius, on potency using defined, homogeneous conjugates. A series of polymer-modified synthetic erythropoiesis proteins were constructed that had a polypeptide chain similar to the amino acid sequence of human erythropoietin but differed significantly in the number and type of attached polymers. The analogs differed in charge from +5 to -26 at neutral pH and varied in molecular weight from 30 to 54 kDa. All were active in an in vitro cell proliferation assay. However, in vivo potency was found to be strongly dependent on overall charge and size. The trends observed in this study may serve as starting points for the construction of more potent synthetic EPO analogs in the future.     

Synthesis of [1,3]dithiole and spiro[1,3]dithiole thiopyran derivatives of the [1,2]dithiolo[1,4]thiazine ring system

We report the synthesis of some new polysulfur-nitrogen heterocycles by cycloaddition reactions to readily available tricyclic condensed 1,2-dithiole-3-thiones. Thus, treatment of bis[1,2]dithiolopyrrole ketothione 1 with diacyl acetylenes gave the bis-aducts 2a-d. On the other hand, cycloaddition of bis[1,2]dithiolo[1,4]thiazine ketothione 3 with 1 equiv of acyl or diacyl acetylenes gave [1,3]dithiolylidenyl[1,2]dithiolo[1,4]thiazines 4a-f in fair to high yields. Catalysis by scandium triflate was used in the reactions that implied the less reactive dipolarophiles. Treatment of 3 with 2 equiv of DBA gave the bis-aduct 5a, and reaction of 4c with DMAD gave the mixed bis-adduct 5b. Cyclic voltammetry of selected examples showed irreversible processes that were influenced by the electrochemical activity of peripheral groups bonded to the heterocyclic system.     

On the synthesis of 3(5)-carbomethoxy-4-hetarylpyrazoles

3(5)-Carbomethoxy-4-hetarylpyrazoles 3 can be obtained by the aromatization of the corresponding cis-3-benzamido-3-carbomethoxy-4-hetaryl-Δ¹-pyrazolines 2 obtained by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of diazo-methane with methyl Z-2-benzamido-3-hetarylpropenoates 1. An explanation, based on FMO theory, for the different reactivity of the dipolarophiles with diazomethane is given.     

Synthesis of non-agglomerated Ba<Subscript>0.77</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.23</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanopowders by a modified polymeric precursor method

In this work, we have studied the influence of the pH on the synthesis and structural properties of the Ba_0.77Ca_0.23TiO₃ nanopowders synthesized by a modified polymeric precursor method, in order to achieve non-agglomerated powders. Synthesis, morphology, thermal reactions, crystallite and average particle size of the synthesized powders were investigated through thermal analysis (DTA/TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and Infrared spectroscopy. In summary, Ba_0.77Ca_0.23TiO₃ nanopowders were synthesized for the first time at a relative low temperature (500 °C). It was also found that the alkalinity and acidity of the solution presented a great influence on the powder properties. The best results were obtained from solutions with pH = 8.5 and 11 whose nanopowders presented weakly agglomerate, with homogeneous particle size and a narrow size distribution (30–40 nm). This behavior could be explained based on the FT-IR results in which it was possible to see the increased of the chelation in higher pHs.