Algorithms for the regularization of ill-conditioned least squares problems

Two regularization methods for ill-conditioned least squares problems are studied from the point of view of numerical efficiency. The regularization methods are formulated as quadratically constrained least squares problems, and it is shown that if they are transformed into a certain standard form, very efficient algorithms can be used for their solution. New algorithms are given, both for the transformation and for the regularization methods in standard form. A comparison to previous algorithms is made and it is shown that the overall efficiency (in terms of the number of arithmetic operations) of the new algorithms is better.     

The45Sc(3He,d)46Ti reaction. DWBA analysis of transitions to states between 7.6 and 11.0 MeV

Angular distributions of transitions to 29 states in⁴⁶Ti between 7.6 and 11.0 MeV excitation energy from the⁴⁵Sc (³He,d) reaction at 15 MeV have been compared with DWBA predictions. The results support previously suggestedT=2 states in⁴⁶Ti.     

Perturbation analysis for block downdating of a Cholesky decomposition

Summary. Let the Cholesky decomposition of be , where is upper triangular. The Cholesky block downdating problem is to determine such that , where is a block of rows from the data matrix . We analyze the sensitivity of this block downdating problem of the Cholesky factorization. A measure of conditioning for the Cholesky block downdating is presented and compared to the single row downdating case. Received September 15, 1993     

Comparison between electrochemistry/mass spectrometry and cytochrome P450 catalyzed oxidation reactions

The extent to which electrochemistry on-line with electrospray mass spectrometry can be used to mimic cytochrome P450 catalyzed oxidations has been investigated. Comparisons on the mechanistic level have been made for most reactions in an effort to explain why certain reactions can, and some cannot, be mimicked by electrochemical oxidations. The EC/MS/MS system used successfully mimics in cases where the P450 catalyzed reactions are supposed to proceed via a mechanism initiated by a one-electron oxidation, such as N-dealkylation, S-oxidation, P-oxidation, alcohol oxidation and dehydrogenation. The P450 catalyzed reactions initiated via direct hydrogen atom abstraction, such as O-dealkylation and hydroxylation of unsubstituted aromatic rings, generally had a too high oxidation potential to be electrochemically oxidized below the oxidation potential limit of water, and were not mimicked by the EC/MS/MS system. Even though the EC/MS/MS system is not able to mimic all oxidations performed by cytochrome P450, valuable information can be obtained concerning the sensitivity of the substrate towards oxidation and in which position of the molecule oxidations are likely to take place. For small-scale electrochemical synthesis of metabolites, starting from the drug, the EC/MS/MS system should be very useful for quick optimization of the electrochemical conditions. The simplicity of the system, and the ease and speed with which it can be applied to a large number of compounds, make it a useful tool in drug metabolism research.     

Comparison of the binding of cadmium(II), mercury(II), and arsenic(III) to the de novo designed peptides TRI L12C and TRI L16C

Designed alpha-helical peptides of the TRI family with a general sequence Ac-G(LKALEEK)(4)G-CONH(2) were used as model systems for the study of metal-protein interactions. Variants containing cysteine residues in positions 12 (TRI L12C) and 16 (TRI L16C) were used for the metal binding studies. Cd(II) binding was investigated, and the results were compared with previous and current work on Hg(II) and As(III) binding. The metal peptide assemblies were studied with the use of UV, CD, EXAFS, (113)Cd NMR, and (111m)Cd perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy. The metalated peptide aggregates exhibited pH-dependent behavior. At high pH values, Cd(II) was bound to the three sulfurs of the three-stranded alpha-helical coiled coils. A mixture of two species was observed, including Cd(II) in a trigonal planar geometry. The complexes have UV bands at 231 nm (20 600 M(-1) cm(-1)) for TRI L12C and 232 nm (22 600 M(-1) cm(-1)) for TRI L16C, an average Cd-S bond length of 2.49 A for both cases, and a (113)Cd NMR chemical shift at 619 ppm (Cd(II)(TRI L12C)(3)(-)) or 625 ppm (Cd(II)(TRI-L16C)(3)(-)). Nuclear quadrupole interactions show that two different Cd species are present for both peptides. One species with omega(0) = 0.45 rad/ns and low eta is attributed to a trigonal planar Cd-(Cys)(3) site. The other, with a smaller omega(0), is attributed to a four-coordinate Cd(Cys)(3)(H(2)O) species. At low pH, no metal binding was observed. Hg(II) binding to TRI L12C was also found to be pH dependent, and a 3:1 sulfur-to-mercury(II) species was observed at pH 9.4. These metal peptide complexes provide insight into heavy metal binding and metalloregulatory proteins such as MerR or CadC.     

Controlling the retention in capillary LC with solvents, temperature, and electric fields

Once a suitable stationary phase and column dimensions have been selected, the retention in liquid chromatography (LC) is traditionally adjusted by controlling the mobile phase composition. Solvent gradients enable achievement of good separation selectivity while decreasing the separation time as compared to isocratic elution. Capillary columns allow use of other programming parameters, i.e. temperature and applied electric fields, in addition to solvent gradient elution. This paper presents a review of programmed separation techniques in miniaturized LC, including retention modeling and method transfer from the conventional to micro- and capillary scales. The impact of miniaturized instrumentation on retention and the limitations of capillary LC are discussed. Special attention is focused on the gradient dwell volume effects, which are more important in micro-LC techniques than in conventional analytical LC and may cause significant increase in the time of analysis, unless special instrumentation and (or) pre-column flow-splitting is used. The influence of temperature upon retention is also discussed, and applications where the temperature has been actively used for retention control in capillary LC are included together with the instrumentation utilized. Finally the possibilities of additional selectivity control by applying an electric field over a packed capillary LC column are discussed.     

On-line turbulent-flow chromatography-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for fast sample preparation and quantitation

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method has been developed for the simultaneous identification and quantitation of drug substances and metabolites in rat plasma. The method combines on-line turbulent-flow chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. This combination is considered to be a new approach suitable for fast bio-analysis in drug discovery. Dextromethorphan, and its two metabolites, dextrorphan and 3-methoxymorphinan served as model substances. The analytes present in plasma were collected on a Cyclone column using turbulent-flow chromatography and were subsequently transferred on-line to and focused on an X-Terra MS C8 column. The analytes were eluted by a linear gradient and detected by a fast scanning mass spectrometer. The detector response was quadratic and the dynamic range was estimated to be 0.5-100 ng/ml plasma or 12.5 pg to 2.50 ng injected into the system.     

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer based solid-phase extraction of local anaesthetics from human plasma

Molecular imprints selective for a homologous series of local anaesthetics, including bupivacaine, ropivacaine and mepivacaine, were prepared and the resultant polymers were used for solid-phase extraction of human plasma. The template was a structural analogue, pentycaine, which was imprinted in methacrylic acid-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate copolymers. Equilibrium ligand binding experiments using radiolabelled bupivacaine were performed to characterize the imprinted polymers, as well as to identify optimal conditions for selective extraction of plasma samples. Dilution of the plasma prior to extraction with citrate buffer pH 5.0 containing ethanol and Tween 20 was found optimal for selective imprint-analyte binding, and for reduction of non-specific adsorption of lipophilic contaminants to the hydrophobic MIP surface. Wash steps using 20% methanol in water followed by a solvent switch to 10% ethanol in acetonitrile removed contaminants and strengthened the selective imprint-analyte binding. Elution under basic conditions using triethylamine-water-acetonitrile mixtures recovered bupivacaine in 89% yield with superior selectivity over elution under acidic conditions. The final protocol extracted trace levels of ropivacaine and bupivacaine from human plasma and allowed determination of bupivacaine in the range of 3.9-500 nmol L⁻¹ and ropivacaine in the range of 7.8-500 nmol L⁻¹ with inter-assay accuracies of 94-99 and 95-104%, respectively. This present investigation provides an improved understanding of approaches available for optimization of protocols for molecular-imprint based solid-phase extraction of plasma samples.     

Enzyme reactors in unsegmented flow injection analysis

The design of immobilized-enzyme reactors for use in flow injection analysis is discussed. The reactors should be optimized for a short residence time and a very high (> 99.9%) conversion of substrate to products. Selection of carrier and immobilization method is important in order to increase the amount of active enzyme per unit volume. The effeciency of the reactor can be increased by decreasing the particle size in packed-bed reactors and the radius of open tubular reactors. The maximum inherent rate constant that can be obtained under optimal conditions is estimated for a number of enzymes of analytical interest; it is shown that with high rate constants and small particle diamters, residence times less than seconds can be obtained. Some applications of immobilized-enzyme reactors in flow systems are reviewed.     

Crystal Structure and Ionic Conductivity of Cesium Trifluoromethyl Sulfonate,CsSO3CF3

The crystal structures of the room and the high temperature modifications of cesium trifluoromethyl sulfonate were solved from high resolution X‐ray powder diffraction data. At room temperature, α‐CsSO₃CF₃ crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁ with lattice parameters a = 9.7406(2) Å, b = 6.1640(1) Å, c = 5.4798(1) Å, and β = 104.998(1)°; Z = 2. At temperatures above T = 380 K, a second order phase transformation towards a disordered C‐centered orthorhombic phase in space group Cmcm occurs with lattice parameters at T = 492 K of a = 5.5074(3) Å, b = 19.4346(14) Å, and c = 6.2978(4) Å; Z = 4. Within the crystal structures, the triflate anions are arranged in double layers with the apolar CF₃‐groups pointing towards each other. The cesium ions are located between the SO₃‐groups. CsSO₃CF₃ shows a specific ion conductivity ranging from σ = 1.06·10^?8 Scm^?1 at T = 393 K to σ = 5.18·10^?4 Scm^?1 at T = 519 K.