Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of N2-(N-Acetyl-6-O-stearoyl-α-D-muramoyl)-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine

Title compound 1 was synthesized by a published route which had to be modified (seven steps from readily obtainable starting materials). Characterization of 1 was achieved by spectroscopic means (FAB-MS, ¹H-NMR, including 2D-COSY). Furthermore, commercially available reference material purchased for comparison, was unequivocally established to be 10 , i.e. incompletely deprotected 1 .     

Capacitive-discharge-heated anisotropic pyrolytic graphite furnace used for atomic absorption spectrometry Part 2. Experimental Verification of Temperature Distribution of the Furnace Surface and of the Gas Phase

The predictions of a theoretical model, embodied in a computer program, describing the heating characteristics of the furnace surface and the gas phase of an anisotropic pyrolytic graphite furnace heated by the capacitive discharge technique are compared with the experimental results obtained by optical pyrometry and by two-line atomic absorption spectrometry, respectively. The surface temperature gradient around the circumference of the type 1 furnace and along the optical axis of the type 3 furnace are calculated and compared with the measured temperatures. The weighted-average of the theoretically predicted gas temperature is in reasonable agreement with the effective vapour temperature measured by two-line atomic absorption method. The heating rate of the furnace does not have a significant effect on the temperature distribution of either the furnace surface or the gas phase. The effect of the difference in the temperature distribution of the type 1 and type 3 furnaces on the atomic absorption signals is also discussed.     

The UV absorption spectrum of the phenyl radical isolated in solid argon

Phenyl radicals have been generated by photodecomposition of nitrosobenzene isolated in solid argon at 12 K. In this medium the origin of the first UV absorption band of nitrosobenzene corresponding to theS ₀ S ₂ transition is found at 30260 cm^–1. Excitation with an excess energy of 2200 cm^–1 results in very efficient photodissociation. The fragments NO and phenyl are stable for many hours. Annealing of the sample above 35 K led to partial recombination and recovery of the absorption spectrum of nitrosobenzene. The UV spectrum of the phenyl radical was obtained in the wavenumber range 25000–45000 cm^–1, apparently without contamination by other species. It shows sharp lines at 25220, 33880, and 34820 cm^–1 and two broader maxima at 38360 and 41060 cm^–1. Of these only the line at 34820 cm^–1 had been assigned to the phenyl radical in earlier work. These data are compared to recent molecular orbital calculations.Dedicated to Prof. F. P. Schäfer on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

Two-photon spectroscopy of the low-lying singlet states of naphthalene and acenaphthene

Two-photon excitation spectra of naphthalene and acenaphthene have been measured up to 50000 cm^?1. In naphthalene. three two-photon allowed states are observed for which the symmetry assignment is confirmed by polarization. The corre- sponding transitions are also seen in acenaphthene. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions.     

NMR relaxation study of the protonated form of 1,8-Bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene in isotropic solution: anisotropic motion outside of extreme narrowing and ultrafast proton transfer

The protonated form of 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (DMANH(+)) consists of a rigid, aromatic framework, substituted by two amino groups that are connected by a strong, symmetric (on the NMR time-scale) hydrogen bond bridge. The reorientational motion of the molecule in dimethylformamide-d7 solution was characterized by T(1) and NOE measurements for aromatic (13)C nuclei. Treating the reorientation of DMANH(+) as anisotropic rotational diffusion of a rigid body, the diffusion tensor was determined with good accuracy. Measurements and interpretation of (15)N T(1) and NOE indicate that the proton transfer between potential minima in the hydrogen bond bridge is faster than the molecular reorientation.     

Secondary metabolites of the coelenterate echinopora lamellosa

The marine coelenterate Echinopora lamellosa (class Anthozoa, family Scleractinidae) was found to contain a number of unprecedented secondary metabolites which were isolated and identified as smilagenin (I), neodunol methyl ether (II), glycyrrhetic acid (III), 3β-acetoxyglycyrrhetic acid (IV), and 3β-acetoxy-11-deoxoglycyrrhetic acid (V). The structure of neodunol methyl ether was confirmed and its absolute configuration determined by the x-ray diffraction method.     

STRESS PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN MURINE TUMOR CELLS FOLLOWING PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY WITH BENZOPORPHYRIN DERIVATIVE

Abstract— Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been proven as a method of tumor eradication and is currently being used clinically to treat a wide variety of malignancies. Although it is understood that the interaction of light and sensitizer results in the production of potentially damaging oxygen species, the mechanism by which tumors are destroyed has yet to be defined fully. Using a new porphyrin sensitizer, benzoporphyrin derivative(BPD), we examined protein expression in murine tumor cells following treatment as an indication of molecular changes to target tissue concurrent with PDT-mediated damage. In order to assess the relevance of the results obtained using an in vitro PDT model, metabolic labeling of proteins synthesized subsequent to PDT was performed both in tumor cells grown and treated in tissue culture dishes and in cells explanted from PDT-treated solid tumors. We observed that the oxidative stress associated with PDT-resulted in the induction of a number or proteins corresponding to a set of heat-shock or stress proteins, and that the pattern of expression was similar when tumor cells were treated in vitro and in vivo . These results support the use of in vitro models in the dissection of the molecular erects of PDT and provide the foundation for future experiments that will examine the role of the immune system in tumor eradication by PDT.