The temperature-dependent red-shift of the visible absorption spectra of crystal violet in alcohol solutions

The visible absorption spectrum of the triphenylmethane dye, crystal violet, in various alcohol solutions at several temperatures has been recorded and subsequently analyzed by computer fitting. The observed spectral changes do not sustain either the earlier temperature-dependent absorption results of Lewis and co-workers or the concept of two ground-state species in equilibrium.     

Nitration of dithieno[3,2-b:3′,2′-d]pyridine and dithieno[3,2-b:3′,4′-d]pyridine

Nitration of dithieno[3,2-b:3′,2′-d]pyridine ( 4 ) and dithieno[3,2-b:3′,4′-d]pyridine ( 5 ) has been studied. Nitration of 4 occurred in both positions of the C ring, while 5 was predominantly substituted on the 3,4-fused ring. The structures of the nitro derivatives were proven by extensive use of ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectroscopy.     

Heterocyclic fused tropylium ions VII. On the synthesis of 9H-dithieno[2,1 -b:4,5-c′]tropylium fluoborate and 4H-dithieno[1,2-b:4,5-c′]tropylium fluoborate

9H-Dithieno[2,1 -b:4,5-c′]tropylium ion (III) and 4ii-dithieno[1,2-b:4,5-c′]tropylium ion (IV) have been synthesized by ring-closure of 1-(4-carboxy-3-thienyl)-2-(3′-thienyl)ethane (IX) and 1-(4-carboxy-3-thienyl)-2-(2′-thienyl)ethane (XVI), respectively, followed by bromination-debrom-ination to 9H-cyclohepta[2,1-b:4,5-c′] dithiophen-9-one (XI) and 4H-cyclohepta[1,2-b:4,5-c′]-dithiophen-4-one (XVIII), and finally by reduction and hydride transfer. The tropylium ions III and IV were less stable than the [b,b′]-fused isomers previously studied.     

Heteroaromatic boron compounds. XV. Deuteriodeprotonation in some borazarothienopyridines and thienopyridines

Deuteriodeprotonation of some substituted 4,5-borazarothieno[2,3-c]pyridines (I) and 7,6-borazarothieno[3,2-c]pyridines (II) has been studied by the nmr technique. Exchange occurred predominantly in the 3-position, and the effect of methyl substitution on rate is discussed. The rates of exchange in some derivatives of I and II were compared with those of the isoelectronic thieno[2,3-c]pyridines (III) and thieno[3,2-c]pyridines (IV). Similar rates were obtained, confirming the aromatic nature of I and II. The deuteriodeprotonation of 4-methyl-4,5-borazaro-thieno[2,3-c]pyridine (Ie), 7-methyl-7,6-borazarothieno[3,2-c]pyridine (IIe), 4-methylthieno-[2,3-c]pyridine (IIIe), and 7-methylthieno[3,2-c]pyridine (IVe) were measured at different concentrations of deuteriosulfuric acid and different temperatures, showing that the protonated heterocycles are substrates in the deuteriodeprotonation reaction. Standard rates at p0 H and 100° were calculated for these systems.     

Migration behaviour and separation of tramadol metabolites and diastereomeric separation of tramadol glucuronides by capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis with UV detection was used to separate tramadol (TR), a centrally acting analgesic, and its five phase I (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5) and three phase II metabolites (glucuronides of M1, M4 and M5). Several factors were evaluated in optimisation of the separation: pH and composition of the background electrolyte and the influence of a micellar modifier, sodium dodecyl sulfate. Baseline separation of TR and all the analytes was obtained with use of 65 mM tetraborate electrolyte solution at pH 10.65. The lowest concentrations of the analytes that could be detected were below 1 microM for the O-methylated, below 2 microM for the phenolic and ca. 7 microM for the glucuronide metabolites. The suitability of the method for screening of real samples was tested with an authentic urine sample collected after a single oral dose (50 mg) of TR. After purification and five-fold concentration of the sample (solid-phase extraction with Oasis MCX cartridges), the parent drug TR and its metabolites M1, M1G, M5 and M5G were easily detected, in comparison with standards, in an interference-free area of the electropherogram. Diastereomeric separation of TR glucuronides in in vitro samples was achieved with 10 mM ammonium acetate-100 mM formic acid electrolyte solution at pH 2.75 and with basic micellar 25 mM tetraborate-70 mM SDS electrolyte solution at pH 10.45. Both separations showed that glucuronidation in vitro produces glucuronide diastereomers in different amounts. The authentic TR urine sample was also analysed by micellar method, but unambiguous identification of the glucuronide diastereomers was not achieved owing to many interferences.     

Comparative effects of UVA and UVB irradiation on the immune system of fish

Aquatic organisms can be harmed by the current levels of solar ultraviolet radiation. We have recently shown that exposure of fish to UVB irradiation alters the functioning of the fish immune system, but the effects of UVA radiation are unknown. The present study continues this work by characterizing UVA irradiation-induced immunological changes in fish. Roach, a cyprinid fish, were exposed to a single dose of either UVA (3.6 J/cm2) or UVB (0.5 J/cm2) irradiation. Both irradiations suppressed transiently mitogen-stimulated proliferation of blood lymphocytes. UVA, but not UVB, decreased hematocrit, plasma protein, and plasma immunoglobulin levels and increased the proportions of blood cells classified as unidentified leukocytes, possibly consisting of UVA-damaged lymphocytes. UVB, but not UVA, altered the functioning of head kidney and blood phagocytes, induced granulocytosis and lymphocytopenia in the blood and increased plasma cortisol concentration. These results imply that both UVA and UVB are potent modulators of the immune defence of fish.     

A One‐Pot Synthesis of N‐Aryl‐2‐Oxazolidinones and Cyclic Urethanes by the Lewis Base Catalyzed Fixation of Carbon Dioxide into Anilines and Bromoalkanes

The multicomponent assembly of pharmaceutically relevant N‐aryl‐oxazolidinones through the direct insertion of carbon dioxide into readily available anilines and dibromoalkanes is described. The addition of catalytic amounts of an organosuperbase such as Barton's base enables this transformation to proceed with high yields and exquisite substrate functional‐group tolerance under ambient CO₂ pressure and mild temperature. This report also provides the first proof‐of‐principle for the single‐operation synthesis of elusive seven‐membered ring cyclic urethanes.     

Simultaneous analysis of catechol‐O‐methyl transferase activity,S‐adenosylhomocysteine and adenosine

Novel HPLC method utilizing UV‐detection was developed to analyse catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) products, vanillic acid and isovanillic acid, S‐adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and adenosine formed from dihydroxybenzoic acid and S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine (SAM) by incubation of the rat tissues. Entacapone, a COMT inhibitor, prevented the formation of SAH only partially in the striatal homogenate whereas in the kidney homogenate the increase of SAH was prevented by entacapone. In conclusion, this method was reliable, rapid and simple. COMT seemed to be partially responsible on the SAM utilizing methylations in the striatal homogenates while in the high COMT activity tissue, COMT was the main SAH producing methyltransferase. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energetics and vibrational states for hydrogen on Pt(111)

We present a combination of theoretical calculations and experiments for the low-lying vibrational excitations of H and D atoms adsorbed on the Pt(111) surface. The vibrational band states are calculated based on the full three-dimensional adiabatic potential energy surface obtained from first-principles calculations. For coverages less than three quarters of a monolayer, the observed experimental high-resolution electron peaks at 31 and 68 meV are in excellent agreement with the theoretical transitions between selected bands. Our results convincingly demonstrate the need to go beyond the local harmonic oscillator picture to understand the dynamics of this system.