A differential microcalorimetric study of whey proteins and their behaviour in oil-in-water emulsions

Oil-in-water emulsions (20% soya oil, 1% protein) have been prepared containing lysozyme or isolates of -lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin from whey protein. The structural characteristics of these proteins adsorbed at an oil/water interface were determined by following their thermal transitions using differential scanning microcalorimetry. Thermograms of the proteins in the adsorbed state differed markedly from the corresponding transitions seen for the proteins in solution. This suggests that the proteins underwent substantial changes in secondary and tertiary structure upon adsorption. In general, for all the proteins studied, a net decrease in the total energy absorbed during denaturation was found when the proteins were in an adsorbed state. Both lysozyme and -lactalbumin were in part “surface denatured”, and they showed a certain degree of reversibility between solution and the adsorbed state. β-Lactoglobulin showed the highest degree of denaturation upon adsorption and the conformational change was irreversible.     

Amphiphilic graft copolymers with poly(oxyethylene) side chains: Synthesis via activated ester intermediates—properties

Amphiphilic graft copolymers were synthesized via activated ester substitution of derivatives of fumaric acid with amino-functionalized methoxypoly (oxyethylene)s (MPEO-NH₂) of different molecular weights. The monomeric activated esters, isopropyl pentachlorophenyl fumarate (PCPFA) and isopropyl succinimido fumarate (SIFA), were copolymerized with styrene (St) or N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) at equimolar ratio. The polymeric-activated esters proved to be good precursors for grafting of definite amounts of MPEO-NH₂. The aminolysis of the succinimide esters and VP-containing copolymers proceeded with gel formation due to extensive hydrogen bonding. The hydrodynamic behavior, the emulsifying ability, the thermal properties, and crystallinity of the graft copolymers were studied as a function of their molecular characteristics. The length of the PEO grafts and the degree of grafting are the factors which affect the melting parameters and the crystallinity of the side chains. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Core-shell nanostructures from single poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) macromolecules: stabilization and visualization

Formation of core-shell poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) single-molecule nanostructures due to interaction of PVCL with metal ions was studied using transmission electron microscopy, 13C NMR, and light scattering. This study demonstrates that addition of CoCl2 to PVCL in its globular conformation yields unimolecular core-shell polymer particles with the core decorated with Co(II) ions. The crucial condition for formation of well-defined unimolecular nanostructures is the presence of stable globular aggregates in aqueous solution. Moreover, the metal ions should have a sufficiently high coordination number (higher than 2) to provide a cross-linking and stabilization of the core.     

Determination of pefloxacin in serum and pharmaceutical forms by derivative spectrophotometry

A method for the direct determination of pefloxacin in serum and pharmaceutical forms (tablets and ampoules) has been developed, based on the use of second-order derivative ultraviolet spectra. Spectrophotometric assay of pefloxacin in tablets and ampoules was carried out in 0.1 mol/L NaOH, while in serum it was performed in 0.1 mol/L NaOH with the addition of sodium dodecylsulfate, in 337–347 nm wavelength range. Linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentration ranges 2–30g/mL pefloxacin for tablets and ampoules and 0.12–5 g/ mL for serum samples. Relative error of determination, as criterion for accuracy, was less than 1%, while the precision was better than 4 ng/ml. The minimum detectable concentration of pefloxacin in serum was 15 ng/mL.     

Search of ligands for the amyloidogenic protein beta2-microglobulin by capillary electrophoresis and other techniques

Beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) is a small amyloidogenic protein normally present on the surface of most nucleated cells and responsible for dialysis-related amyloidosis, which represents a severe complication of long-term hemodialysis. A therapeutic approach for this amyloidosis could be based on the stabilization of beta2-m through the binding to a small molecule, and consequent inhibition of protein misfolding and amyloid fibril formation. A few compounds have been described to weakly bind beta2-m, including the drug suramin. The lack of a binding site for nonpolypeptidic ligands on the beta2-m structure makes it difficult for both the identification of functional groups responsible for the binding and the search of hits to be optimized. The characterization of the binding properties of suramin for beta2-m by using three different techniques (surface plasmon resonance, affinity CE (ACE), ultrafiltration) is here described and the results obtained are compared. The common features of the chemical structures of the compounds known to bind the protein led us to select 200 sulfonated/suramin-like molecules from a wider chemical library on the basis of similarity rules, so as to possibly single out some interesting hits and to gain more information on the functional groups involved in the binding. The development of screening methods to test the compounds by using ultrafiltration and ACE is described.     

An ab initio study of the vibronic, spin-orbit, and magnetic hyperfine structure in the X2Pi electronic state of NCO

In the present study we give the results of the ab initio calculations on the vibronic, spin-orbit, and magnetic hyperfine structure in the X (2)Pi electronic state of the NCO radical. The calculations of the potential surfaces and the electronic mean values of the hyperfine coupling constants are carried out by means of the density functional theory approach (B3LYP functional combined with an atomic orbital basis set suitable for calculations of the hyperfine structure). The vibronic levels, spin-orbit splitting, and the vibronic mean values of the components of the hyperfine tensor in the vibronic species are calculated using a variational method. The results of the calculations are in good agreement with the available experimental data.     

Reaction of alkali-metal hypohalites with stereoisomeric 2-methyl-1-alkyl-2-methyl-4-ethynyldecahydro-4-quinolols

Isomeric 1-alkyl-2-methyl-4- (haloethynyl) decahydro-4-quinolols were synthesized by reaction of the individual stereoisomers of 1-alkyl-2-methyl-4-ethynyl-decahydro-4-quinolols with alkali solutions of potassium hypochlorite and hypobromite. 1-Chloro-2-methyl-4-ethynyl decahydro-4-quinolols are formed by the action of an alkaline solution of potassium hypochlorite on isomeric 2-methyl-4-ethynyldecahydro-4-quinolols. Hydrogenolysis of the carbon-halogen bond accompanied by hydrogenation of the CC bond was observed under conditions of catalytic hydrogenation of 1,2-dimethy1-4-(haloethynyl) decahydro-4-quinolols. Primarily hydrogenolysis of the nitrogen-halogen bond and subsequent reduction of the acetylenic bond occur in the hydrogenation of 1-chloro-2-methyl-4-ethynyldecahydro-4-quinolols. Replacement of chlorine by hydrogen and subsequent alkylation of the resulting secondary amine and formation of the hydrochlorides of the corresponding N-methyl-substituted acetylenic alcohols occur in the reaction of the chloramines with a mixture of formaldehyde and formic acid.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 98–103, January, 1976.     

Trinuclear pyrazine-bridged ruthenium complexes: syntheses, electrochemistry, NIR-Vis spectra, and their interpretation in terms of a 5-orbital-3-parameter model

A study of absorption spectra in the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (vis) regions of trinuclear Ru complexes containing pyrazine (pyz) as bridging ligand, trans-[(Ru(NH(3))(5)pyz)(2)Ru(NH(3))(4)](m+)(m = 6-9), is reported. The spectra were recorded on aqueous solutions containing the described species formed in situ by stoichiometric additions of a standard solution of Ce(SO(4))(2). They were interpreted in terms of a simple 5-orbital-3-parameter model which includes the effects of d-pi interaction and electronic correlation. The model is shown to account for the observed NIR-vis spectra of the complex ions. The 6+ parent species was synthesized by an improved literature method and fully characterized. The novel 8+ complex was also prepared and characterized. The 9+ ion was established to be slowly reduced by water, with dioxygen formation. Electrochemical (CV and DPV) studies were performed on the trinuclear 6+ complex, as well as on its constituent fragments [Ru(NH(3))(5)(pyz)](2+) and trans-[Ru(NH(3))(4)(pyz)(2)](2+).     

Isospecific Bulk Polymerization of Propylene with the Use of ansa-Metallocenes as a Mixture of rac and meso Isomers

The effects of various pathways of the formation of catalytic systems based on the rac-Me₂SiInd₂ZrCl₂ metallocene on the activity and properties of polypropylene prepared by the bulk polymerization of propylene were studied in detail. It was found that the conditions of formation of the catalytic system affect not only its activity and the character of kinetic curves but also the molecular weight of the synthesized polymer. Propylene polymerization was studied with the use of a number of bisindenyl derivatives of zirconium, which were mixtures of rac and meso forms that differ in the nature of substituents in the Si bridge or the indenyl ligand. The conclusion was drawn that, with the use of metallocenes as a mixture of rac and meso forms, high-molecular-weight isotactic polypropylene can be prepared with high stereoregularity at a very high rate; thereby, the stage of separation of a pure rac isomer can be excluded in the synthesis of the catalyst.