Desorption behavior of carrier free tritium from the inner surface of a glass ampoule

The desorption behavior of tritium from the glass ampoule which originally contained 37 GBq of carrier free tritium gas was studied by etching the surface with a diluted hydrofluoric acid solution or by heating at the constant rate up to 800 degrees C. The total amount of tritium sorbed on the inner surface of the ampoule was found to be 3.9 +/- 0.7 GBq. This value corresponded to more than 10% of tritium contained in the ampoule. The release rate of tritiated water (HTO) was 2.3 kBq/cm2.min, and the amount of HTO desorbed was strongly depended on the atmosphere. Thus, special precaution should be paid to the processing of a vessel once containing such an amount of tritium.     

Effects of DNA topology, temperature and solvent viscosity on DNA retardation in slalom chromatography

Slalom chromatography is a unique size-fractionation method applicable to large DNA molecules [>5 kilobase pairs (kbp)]. The method was first developed by using columns packed with microbeads (diameter, <20 microm) used for high-performance liquid chromatography and by applying a relatively fast flow-rate (>0.3 ml/min). Previous studies suggested that the separation is attributed to a hydrodynamic rather than to an equilibrium phenomenon (J. Hirabayashi and K. Kasai, Anal. Biochem. 178 (1989) 336; J. Hirabayashi, N. Itoh, K. Noguchi and K. Kasai, Biochemistry, 29 (1990) 9515). In the present report, the results of a systematic study on the effects of DNA topology, temperature, and solvent viscosity on DNA retardation are described. Firstly, the behaviour of circular (super-coiled) and linearized forms of charomid DNAs (20-42 kbp) was studied. Circular-form DNA molecules were found to be fractionated size-dependently similarly to linear forms in a flow-rate dependent manner. However, the extent of retardation of the circular form DNA was apparently less than that of the corresponding linear forms. Circular DNAs showed almost the same retardation (e.g., 42 kbp) as DNA fragments (e.g., 20 kbp) having approximately half of the size of the former. This observation indicates that DNA retardation is basically related to physical length, not to mass. Secondly, to study the effect of temperature with special reference to solvent viscosity, we carried out chromatographic analysis at various temperatures ranging from 6 to 65 degrees C in both the absence and presence of sucrose (10 or 20%, w/v). The results showed that it is the solvent viscosity that determines the extent of retardation. Taken together, all of physicochemical parameters that define hydrodynamic properties, i.e., particle size, flow-rate and solvent viscosity, proved to be critical in slalom chromatography as well as the potential physical length of the DNA, thus supporting the concept that slalom chromatography is based on a hydrodynamic principle.     

Unsaturated selenacrown ethers: synthesis, structure, and formation of silver complexes

The unsaturated selenacrown ethers, (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-1,4,7,10,13-pentaselenacyclopentadeca-2,5,8,11,14-pentaene (15-US-5) (2), (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaselenacyclooctadeca-2,5,8,11,14,17-hexaene (18-US-6) (3), (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-1,4,7,10,13,16,19-heptaselenacycloheneicosa-2,5,8,11,14,17,20-heptaene (21-US-7) (4), (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22-octaselenacyclotetracosa-2,5,8,11,14,17,20,23-octaene (24-US-8) (5), and (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25-nonaselenacycloheptacosa-2,5,8,11,14,17,20,23,26-nonaene (27-US-9) (6), were obtained together with 1,4-diselenin (1) by reacting sodium selenide with cis-dichloroethene in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst. The crystal structures of 2-5 were determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The UV spectra of the selenacrown ethers showed absorption maximums in the range of 251-262 nm, which were assigned to n-->pi transitions. The cyclic voltammograms indicated that the large unsaturated selenacrown ethers were oxidized more easily than the small ones. The thermal reactions of the unsaturated selenacrown ethers afforded 1,4-diselenin (1) along with polymeric materials, whereas 1 was thermally stable even at 100 degrees C. The reactions of 1 or unsaturated selenacrown ethers 2-5 with silver ion yielded various novel silver complexes, Ag(C(4)H(4)Se(2))(CF(3)COO) (7), Ag(C(4)H(4)Se(2))(2)(CF(3)COO) (8), Ag(15-US-5)(CF(3)COO) (9), Ag(5)(18-US-6)(3)(CF(3)COO)(5) (10), Ag(7)(21-US-7)(CF(3)COO)(5) (11), Ag(24-US-8)(2)(CF(3)COO) (12), Ag(2)(24-US-8)(CF(3)COO)(2) (13), Ag(3)(24-US-8)(2)(CF(3)COO)(3) (14), Ag(15-US-5)NO(3) (15), and Ag(21-US-7)BF(4) (16). The stoichiometry for the complexation with silver trifluoroacetate in solution was examined by (1)H NMR measurement. The titration plots of 2 and 5 under the dilution conditions showed a distinct inflection point at the 1/1 metal/macrocycle ratio, whereas the plots of 1 and 3 showed gradual change.     

Antiulcer activities of glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives in experimental gastric lesion models

Glycyrrhetinic acid (Ia) and eighteen related derivatives were examined for antiulcer activity using stress-induced gastric lesions (restraint plus water immersion at 25 degrees C) in mice and rats as screening tests. Among the compounds tested, dihemiphthalate derivatives of 18 alpha- or 18 beta-olean-12-ene-3 beta,30-diol (IV, IIId), 18 beta-olean-9(11)12-diene-3 beta,30-diol (VIc), and olean-11,13(18)-diene-3 beta,30-diol (VIIc) showed potent inhibition of gastric lesion formation at a dose of 12 or 25 mg/kg (p.o.); carbenoxolone sodium (Ib) significantly suppressed the lesion formation at a dose of 500 mg/kg (p.o.). Further evaluation of the antiulcer activity was carried out mainly for compound IIId. Compound IIId (p.o.) prevented the formation of indomethacin-induced or 0.6 N HCl-induced gastric lesions; the latter antiulcer effect was noted even in the combined treatment with indomethacin, suggesting that the effect occurs independently of endogenous prostaglandins. In contrast, compound IIId had no preventive effect against Shay rat ulcer when intragastrically (i.g.) administered; further, no antisecretory effect was seen by i.g. application in pylorus-ligated rats. Administration of compound IIId for 2 weeks accelerated the healing rate of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer in rats. No significant change in urine excretion was observed after its consecutive administration for 3 d. These results suggest that dihemiphthalate derivatives (IIId, IV, VIc, VIIc) may produce a strong antiulcer activity, probably by strengthening some gastric mucosal defensive mechanism.     

Systematic identification of N-acetylheparosan oligosaccharides by tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation

Recently, a useful procedure for the preparation of both even- and odd-numbered series of N-acetylheparosan (NAH) oligosaccharides was established. The present report describes findings when these NAH oligosaccharides were subjected to comparative mass spectrometry (MS)/MS fragmentation analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-LIFT-time-of-flight (TOF)/TOF-MS/MS, and electrospray ionization (ESI) collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS. The resultant fragment ions were systematically assigned to elucidate fragmentation characteristics. In the MALDI-LIFT-MS/MS experiments, all the NAH oligosaccharides underwent unique glycosidic cleavages that included B-Y ion cleavages (nomenclature system of Domon and Costello, Glycoconjugate J. 1988; 5: 397) at the C-1 side, and C-Z ion cleavages at the C-4 side, with respect to glucuronic acid (GlcA). In addition, (0,2)A and/or (0,2)X cross-ring cleavages were observed for relatively small oligosaccharides. The former observation clearly reflects the occurrence of a GlcA-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) alternating structure of NAH, while the latter feature implies the occurrence of the -beta-1-4-glucuronide linkage. Extensive glycosidic cleavages were also observed in the ESI-CID-MS/MS fragmentation, though cleavage specificity was less evident than in the case of MALDI-LIFT-TOF/TOF-MS/MS. The information obtained in this study should be valuable for understanding both biosynthetic and degradation processes of NAH and its derivatives including heparin and heparan sulfate, as well as artificially modified NAH oligosaccharides.     

Evaluation of concanavalin A-mannose interaction on the electrode covered with collagen film

An electrode covered with a lectin/collagen film was constructed to investigate whether the film was usable as a reaction field of binding between the lectin and sugar. The protein-sugar binding on cell surface plays an important role to various physiologic processes. The film is considered to be a cell surface, due to its biocompatibility. The immobilization of concanavalin A (Con A) which is one of proteins was attempted by an electrostatic interaction of the protonated functional groups of film to the negative charged Con A. The merit of this immobilization is that the interaction hardly causes any changes in the protein structure. Because Con A recognizes mannose moiety, the mannose was labeled with an electroactive compound. The binding was estimated from the changes of the electrode response based on the holding of electroactive moiety in the binding site of Con A to the mannose moiety. However, the electrode responses of glucose and galactose labeled with the same substance did not change. The result shows that Con A is immobilized on the film and combines with labeled mannose. Therefore, it is clear that the collagen film is suitable as the reaction field to evaluate the protein-sugar binding.     

Infrared spectra of the (H2O)n-SO2 complexes in argon matrices

The infrared spectra of the (H(2)O)n-SO(2) complexes trapped in argon matrices have been investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition to the 1:1 and 2:1 complexes, the first spectroscopic evidence for the 3:1 complex has been obtained from the spectra of the SO stretching and the OH stretching modes. The observed frequency shifts in the bonded OH stretching region indicate that the hydrogen bonds of the 2:1 and 3:1 complexes are strengthened compared to that of the 1:1 complex, which suggests the cyclic structure of the complexes.     

Formation and structures of mercury complexes of 18-membered unsaturated and saturated thiacrown ethers

The complexation of 18-membered unsaturated thiacrown ether, 18-UT-6, with 1 equiv of HgCl(2) in acetone afforded mercury complex Hg(II)(18-UT-6)Cl(2). The complexations of 18-membered saturated thiacrown ether, 18S6, with 1 equiv each of HgCl(2) and CdCl(2) in acetone afforded Hg(II)(18S6)Cl(2) and Cd(II)(18S6)Cl(2), respectively. The crystal structure of Hg(II)(18-UT-6)Cl(2) revealed that the mercury atom was inside the cavity of the macrocycle and the geometry around the mercury atom was an eight-coordinate hexagonal bipyramidal arrangement. ORTEP drawing of Hg(II)(18S6)Cl(2) revealed the existence of the mercury atom outside the cavity of the ring, as well as a polymeric chain structure. (1)H NMR study of Hg(II)(18-UT-6)Cl(2) in acetone-d(6) indicated that the interconversion between free 18-UT-6 and pure complex was slower than the NMR time scale. The titration experiment by (1)H NMR revealed that 18-UT-6 had inclusion selectivity for the number of mercury atoms. The electrochemical behavior of complexes Hg(II)(18-UT-6)Cl(2) and Hg(II)(18S6)Cl(2) was also examined.