Study of process parameters for starch,gluten, and glycerol mixtures

This work involved a study of the effect of processing variables (temperature, water content, rotor speed, and time) on the mechanical properties of starch:gluten:glycerol mixtures in the weight ratio of 40:40:20. The properties of the materials were affected by the processing variables. The torque decreased with water content, indicating that water facilitates the plasticization of mixtures, whereas the increase in temperature accelerated the evaporation of water, thus increasing the torque. Ultimate tensile strength was achieved at the lowest temperature (110°C) and the highest water content (20%), whereas maximum elongation was achieved for the material processed at the highest temperature, 150°C, and the fastest rotor speed, 70 rpm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies of the oxovanadium-organophosphonate system: Hydrothermal synthesis and crystal structure of the mixed valence cluster [V5O9(PhPO3)3(PhPO3H)2]2− and a comparison to the structure of the fully oxidized parent cluster [V5O7(OCH3)2(PhPO3)5]1−

The room temperature reaction of (Bu₄N)₃V₅O₁₄ with PhPO₃H₂ in methanol yields the pentanuclear V(V) cluster (Bu₄N)[V₅O₇(OCH₃)₂(PhPO₃)₅]·CH₃OH (1·CH₃OH). In contrast, the hydrothermal reaction of (Ph₄P) [VO₂Cl₂], PhPO₃H₂ and (NH₄)H₂PO₄ at 125°C for 96 hr yields the mixed valence V(IV)/V(V) species (Ph₄P)₂[V₅O₉(PhPO₃)₃(PhPO₃H)₂] (3). While the anions of both 1 and 3 exhibit a pentanuclear core, the structural consequences of 1-electron reduction of the fully oxidized cluster of 1 to produce 3 are quite dramatic, including reduction in coordination numbers at two vanadium sites and protonation of two phosphonate oxygen sites with concomitant structural reorganization. Crystal data: 1, monoclinic P2₁/n,a=12.167(2) Å,b=23.348(5) Å,c=22.508(5) Å,β=98.49(2)°,V=6323.9(19) ų,Z=4,D _calc=1.558 g cm^?3; 3, triclinic, $P\bar 1$ ,a=13.478(3) Å,b=14.399(3) Å,c=23.638(5) Å,α=72.53(2)°,β=85.58(2)°,γ=69.88(4)°,V=4107.0(16) ų,Z=2, D_calc=1.479 g cm^?3.     

Can the presence of chemically inert species modify the face selectivity in asymmetric induction by cyclodextrins?

Reduction of-cyclodextrin (-CD) aromatic ketone (acetophenone and acetonaphthones) inclusion compounds were carried out in the presence of a large number of chemically inert species as potential co-guests. In several cases, it was observed that stoichiometric molar ratios of these compounds to ketone significantly modify the chiral induction yielding the inverted alcohol enantiomer and increasing the face selectivity. The results were found to depend strongly on the respective structure and shape of both the ketone and the additive, and on the molar ratio of-CD:ketone:third compound. These observations suggest the formation of a three-component inclusion complex in which the geometry of binding of the substrate and its mobility are changed with respect to the binary system.     

The Antiepileptic Lamotrigine and Its Analogues: Comparative Theoretical Electronic Properties

Electronic properties of lamotrigine (LTG) and two analogues (A1 and A2) are compared through MOPAC-AM1 calculations. Two stable conformers of LTG are calculated to exist in agreement with X-ray crystallography. In the three compounds and the two conformers for each of them, the more favorable protonation sites are N₂ and N₄; these should then be the sites appropriate for interaction with a receptor, and group valence reinforces the supposition. The molecular electrostatic potentials show that a region between the two chlorine atoms in LTG could be the site for an electrostatic interaction with a corresponding site in the receptor. The fluorine atom in A1 would play an equivalent role. A simple model for LTG-receptor interaction is proposed.     

New designs for inhibitors of the NF-κB: DNA binding

We present a series of new inhibitors of the association between nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B) and the corresponding B site in DNA. They were designed using the lead compound 15-deoxy-^12,14 -prostaglandin J₂ (PGJ2), which is a natural product with demonstrated inhibitory efficiency for this system. First, the binding mode of PGJ2 to NF-B was unraveled by GOLD docking calculation. Subsequently, substitutions were made to PGJ2 to optimize its association with NF-B. Care was taken not to strongly increase the reactivity of the new compounds, and to keep the overall shape, size and hydrophilicity of the lead compound, which should render them a similar bioavailability. Molecular mechanics calculations were performed to decide on the suitability of the substitutions, and to evaluate the energies of association with NF-B. Density functional theory calculations were performed also to study the overall reactivity of the substituted drugs towards NF-B. Important general conclusions were obtained, concerning the improvement of these natural inhibitors; namely, a set of rational methodologies were deduced to improve the association between the PGJ2 derivatives and NF-B, and their efficiency demonstrated by generating a set of substituted complexes, some of them with a very much increased affinity for NF-B, opening new doors to enlarge the therapeutic capabilities of this class of drugs.     

Development of an HPLC method with electrochemical detection of femtomoles of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine in the presence of uric acid

A selective method based on high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) was developed to enable simultaneous detection of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo), products of DNA oxidative damage, in the presence of uric acid (UA), a strong interferent in their electrochemical detection. The method developed consists of HPLC isocratic elution with amperometric detection on a glassy carbon electrode, enabling a detection limit for 8-oxoGua and 8-oxodGuo lower than 1 nM in standard mixtures. Detection of low concentrations up to 25 nM of 8-oxoGua and 8-oxodGuo in the presence of UA in a 10⁴-fold higher concentration was achieved after one-step solid phase extraction (SPE). The method was tested with urine samples and it was possible to detect and quantify the presence of 8-oxoGua, and to confirm that UA was eliminated after uricase degradation and SPE. The LOD found in urine samples was about 80 nM, a value higher than in standard mixtures, due to the increase of background current in the urine matrix. The results presented here contribute to the development of a methodological approach to simultaneous determination of 8-oxoGua and 8-oxodGuo in urine samples.     

13C NMR of indazoles

The carbon-13 chemical shifts and some selected coupling constants of 183 indazoles are reported. The main conclusions of the original references are briefly summarized.Published in Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1159–1179, September, 1995.