Phenyl-type and C1 stationary phases for environmentally friendlier chromatography

C1 and phenyl-type stationary phases were assessed in terms of their environmental impact on separations using as test solutes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Methanol (MeOH) and acetonitrile (ACN) mobile-phase gradients were employed. These stationary phases were examined to determine if different physical and chemical properties possessed by these surfaces decreased the organic solvent consumption, and yet maintained peak capacity. The cumulative energy demand (CED) was used to gauge the environmental impact of the separations. The separation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon test mixture using current methodologies (i.e. a C18/ACN combination) had a CED of 1.13 MJ-eq, and a peak capacity of 27 peaks (resolving 7 of 12 peak pairs with R_s>1). In comparison, a butyl phenyl stationary phase with a methanol mobile phase had a peak capacity of 26, but with a CED of 0.670 MJ-eq. Monolithic columns containing C18 and C1 phases were also tested. A monolithic C18 column with MeOH had the lowest CED at 0.675 MJ-eq, a peak capacity of 28 peaks and good resolving power (resolving ten peak pairs with R_s>1), suggesting that this is a viable option with respect to reducing environmental impact for these types of analyses.     

Metal iodide mediated ring expansion of cyclopropanecarboxylic thioesters with imines

Metal iodide mediated three-component reactions of cyclopropanecarboxylic thioesters 1, aldehydes, and amines were developed. The initial products, pyrrolidines 2 were obtained in 39-73% yields, which could further be converted to lactams 4, via sequential reactions of a retro-aza-Michael addition and an intramolecular cyclization. This methodology provided facile access to analogs of both pyrrolidines 2 and lactams 4.     

Effective Debye length in closed nanoscopic systems: a competition between two length scales

The Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PBE) is widely employed in fields where the thermal motion of free ions is relevant, in particular in situations involving electrolytes in the vicinity of charged surfaces. The applications of this non-linear differential equation usually concern open systems (in osmotic equilibrium with an electrolyte reservoir, a semi-grand canonical ensemble), while solutions for closed systems (where the number of ions is fixed, a canonical ensemble) are either not appropriately distinguished from the former or are dismissed as a numerical calculation exercise. We consider herein the PBE for a confined, symmetric, univalent electrolyte and quantify how, in addition to the Debye length, its solution also depends on a second length scale, which embodies the contribution of ions by the surface (which may be significant in high surface-to-volume ratio micro- or nanofluidic capillaries). We thus establish that there are four distinct regimes for such systems, corresponding to the limits of the two parameters. We also show how the PBE in this case can be formulated in a familiar way by simply replacing the traditional Debye length by an effective Debye length, the value of which is obtained numerically from conservation conditions. But we also show that a simple expression for the value of the effective Debye length, obtained within a crude approximation, remains accurate even as the system size is reduced to nanoscopic dimensions, and well beyond the validity range typically associated with the solution of the PBE.     

Free-solution electrophoresis of DNA modified with drag-tags at both ends

In end-labeled free-solution electrophoresis (ELFSE), DNA molecules are labeled with a frictional modifier or "drag-tag", allowing their size-based electrophoretic separation in free solution. Among the interesting observations from early work with dsDNA using streptavidin as a drag-tag was that the drag induced by including a streptavidin label at both ends was significantly more than double that from a single streptavidin (Heller, C. et al.., J. Chromatogr. A 1998, 806, 113-121). This finding was assumed to be in error, and subsequent work focused on experiments in which only a single drag-tag is appended to one end of the DNA molecule. Recent theoretical work (McCormick, L. C., Slater, G. W., Electrophoresis 2005, 26, 1659-1667) has examined the contribution of end-effects to the free-solution electrophoretic mobility of charged-uncharged polymer conjugates, reopening the question of enhanced drag from placing a drag-tag at both ends. In this study, this effect is investigated experimentally, using custom-synthesized ssDNA oligonucleotides allowing the attachment of drag-tags to one or both ends, as well as dsDNA PCR products generated with primers appropriate for the attachment of drag-tags at one or both ends. A range of sizes of drag-tags are used, including synthetic polypeptoid drag-tags as well as genetically engineered protein polymer drag-tags. The enhanced drag arising from labeling both ends has been confirmed, with 6-9% additional drag for the ssDNA and 10-23% additional drag for the dsDNA arising from labeling both ends than would be expected from simply doubling the size of the drag-tag at one end. The experimental results for ssDNA labeled at both ends are compared to the predictions of the recent theory of end-effects, with reasonably good quantitative agreement. These experimental findings demonstrate the feasibility of enhancing ELFSE separations by labeling both ends of the DNA molecule, leading to greater resolving power and a wider range of applications for this technique.     

Long-range carbon-carbon connectivity via unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing of HSQC and HMBC NMR data

It was recently demonstrated that an IDR- (Inverted Direct Response) HSQC-TOCSY data set could be decomposed into a negatively phased direct response spectrum and a positively phased relayed response spectrum that could then be subjected to unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing for the removal of artifacts due to response overlap in the proton NMR spectrum of the molecule. Using experimentally discrete HSQC and HMBC data sets, it is shown that unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing of the pair of NMR spectra affords a presentation containing long-range carbon-carbon connectivity information. The method is demonstrated using strychnine as a model compound. The resulting data are largely free of artifacts although artifacts can arise due to proton response overlap, as previously reported.     

Java applets for viewing one- and two-dimensional NMR spectra

Two Java applets, which allow viewing and simple reprocessing operations of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectra from within a web page, are described. For the 1D viewer, phasing, integration, peak picking and referencing are supported. Bruker, Varian and JCAMP-DX processed data files can be opened. The 2D viewer allows f2 phasing and referencing, and can read native Bruker processed data. The compiled applets are available from the author on request.     

Pseudopolymorphism of aliphatic amine/4-tert-butylcalix[4]arene inclusion compounds: supramolecular stabilization as a route to polar clusters and layers

4-tert-Butylcalix[4]arene (4tBC4A) is a versatile host capable of forming a variety of 1:1 and 2:1 inclusion compounds typically stabilized through van der Waals interactions. Preliminary studies in our group have demonstrated that inclusion of n-butylamine in 4tBC4A results in a series of pseudopolymorphic inclusion compounds, including a new 3:1 inclusion motif. Using a combination of SCXRD, TGA, solid state NMR, and PXRD, we now elaborate upon the relationship between these pseudopolymorphs. We also demonstrate that larger amines demonstrate a similar degree of pseudopolymorphism, allowing for the production of customized materials using self-assembly guided by competing weak forces. Finally, we comment on the structural implications of the relative dominance such forces in the formation of calixarene-based supramolecular frameworks.     

High amplitude short time excitation: A method to form and detect low mass product ions in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer

Collision induced dissociation (CID) in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer using the conventional 30 ms activation time is compared with high amplitude short time excitation (HASTE) CID using 2 ms and 1 ms activation times. As a result of the shorter activation times, dissociation of the parent ions using the HASTE CID technique requires resonance excitation voltages greater than conventional CID. After activation, the rf trapping voltage is lowered to allow product ions below the low mass cut-off to be trapped. The HASTE CID spectra are notably different from those obtained using conventional CID and can include product ions below the low mass cut-off for the parent ions of interest. The MS/MS efficiencies of HASTE CID are not significantly different when compared with the conventional 30 ms CID. Similar results were obtained with a two-dimensional (linear) ion trap and a three-dimensional ion trap.