Quantitative analysis of small pharmaceutical drugs using a high repetition rate laser matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization source

In this work, a high repetition rate laser matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source is studied on a quadrupole-time-of-flight (QqTOF) and a triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometer for rapid quantification of small pharmaceutical drugs. The high repetition rate laser allows an up to 100-fold higher pulse frequency as compared with regular MALDI lasers, resulting in much larger sample throughput and number of accumulated spectra. This increases the reproducibility of signal intensities considerably, with average values being around 5% relative standard deviation after taking into account the area ratio of the analyte to an internal standard. Experiments were conducted in MS/MS mode to circumvent the large chemical background due to MALDI matrix ions in the low mass range. The dynamic range of calibration curves on the QqTOF mass spectrometer extended over at least two orders of magnitude, whereas on the QqQ it extended over at least three orders of magnitude. Detection limits ranged from 60-400 pg/microL on the QqTOF and from 6-70 pg/microL on the QqQ for a series of benzodiazepines. The benzodiazepine content of commercial pill formulations was quantified, and less than 5% error was obtained between the present method and the manufacturer's certified values. Furthermore, a high sample throughput was achieved with this method, so that a single MALDI spot could be quantitatively scanned in as little as 15 s, and an entire 96-well MALDI plate in 24 min.     

Stereoselective Syntheses of Benz[f]isoindoline-Derivatives by Intramolecular Cycloadditions of Styrenes to Olefins

The N-allyl-N-cinnamyl amide 10 undergoes thermal cyclization to a 2:1-mixture of the trans- and cis-benz(f)isoindolines 11a and 12a . By comparison, the thermolysis of the corresponding bis-cinnamylamide 14 proceeds in a highly stereoselective manner to give the cis-fused[4+2]-adduct 16a . Similarly, the trans-fused stereoisomeric adducts 30a and 31a were obtained with high stereochemical control on heating the N-allyl-N-diphenylallyl amide 28 . The thermal transformations 4 → 5 + 6a and 17 → 18a + 20a show the competitive formation of [2+2]-adducts. An alternative approach to (substituted) benz[f]isoindolines 16 via the all-cis-isomer 24a has been developed. The described structures have been assigned on the basis of spectral evidence, chemical correlations and by X-ray-diffraction study of the isomer 16b . These results illustrate the utility of substituent interactions in order to direct intramolecular cyclo-additions at will towards either endo- or exo-products.     

Mutagenesis Mediated by Triple Helix–Forming Oligonucleotides Conjugated to Psoralen: Effects of Linker Arm Length and Sequence Context

Targeted mutagenesis and gene knock-out can be mediated by triple helix-forming oligonucleotides (TFO) linked to mutagenic agents, such as psoralen. However, this strategy is limited by the availability of homopurine/ homopyrimidine stretches at or near the target site because such sequences are required for high-affinity triplex formation. To overcome this limitation, we have tested TFO conjugated to psoralen via linker arms of lengths varying from 2 to 86 bonds, thereby designed to deliver the psoralen at varying distances from the third strand binding site present at the 3'end of the supFG1 mutation reporter gene. Following triplex formation and UVA irradiation, mutations were detected using an SV40-based shuttle vector assay in human cells. The frequency and distribution of mutations depended on the length of the linker arm. Precise targeting was observed only for linker arms of length 2 and 6, which also yielded the highest mutation frequencies (3 and 14%, respectively). Psoralen–TFO with longer tethers yielded mutations at multiple sites, with the maximum distance from the triplex site limited by the linker length but with the distribution within that range influenced by the propensity for psoralen intercalation at A:T base-pair-rich sites. Thus, gene modification can be extended beyond the site of third strand binding but with a decrease in the precision of the targeting.     

Chemical Constituents and Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Two Aglaia Species

In the course of searching bioactive natural products from the plant genus Aglaia, we selected two species, A. cordata and A. testicularis, for further chemical study. Totally twenty natural compounds were obtained and structurally elucidated with which eleven of them were discovered for the first time. Among these compounds, lignans, rocaglamides,aglains and bisamides were the main constituents of the two plant species. The results from a bioactive screening indicated that some of the lignans possess potent antibacterial and antifungal activity.     

A coupled two-compartment model for immobilized enzyme electrodes

The effect of stirring on the transient and pseudo steady-state behavior of potentiometric and amperometric immobilized enzyme electrodes is accurately modelled by a coupled two-compartment system of nonlinear differential equations. In the first compartment, the enzyme layer, the chemistry is governed by enzyme kinetics and diffusion. This is coupled to the second compartment, the bulk solution, which is controlled only by molecular diffusion. Several results of analytical significance can be obtained by using this model: for example, it is shown how the stirring rate can be used to increase the linear dynamic range.     

Chelatometrie. VI

Zusammenfassung Mit 0,1 m Äthylendiamintetraessigsäure (EDTA) lassen sich in Lösungen, die viel Natriumacetat und Ammoniumrhodanid enthalten, bis zu 150 mg Kupfer(II)-Ionen gegen den Redoxindicator Variaminblau B-Base titrieren. Der optimale Arbeitsbereich liegt bei p_H 5,5. Eisen(III) stört nicht, wenn es mit Ammoniumfluorid getarnt wird. Nicht zu große Erdalkalikonzentrationen sind ohne Einfluß auf das Titrationsergebnis.Die inverse Titration von EDTA mit Kupfer(II)-chloridmaßlösung ermöglicht die indirekte Bestimmung einiger Metall-Ionen, die vorher bei p_H 4,5–6,0 mit überschüssiger EDTA umgesetzt werden.Ferner werden weitere Untersuchungsergebnisse zur Verwendung des Kupfer(II)/Kupfer(I)-Redoxsystems in der Chelatometrie mitgeteilt.Über direkte Titrationen von Zink- und Bleisalzlösungen mit EDTA, die in Gegenwart von etwas Kupfer(II)-rhodanid und von Variaminblau B-Base bei p_H 5,5 möglich sind, soll später berichtet werden.Mitteilung V dieser Reihe: diese Z. 140, 241 (1956).Herrn Prof. Dr. L. Erdey, Budapest, sei vielmals für die Überlassung von Variaminblau B-Base gedankt. Dem freundlichen Entgegenkommen der Badischen Anilin- & Sodafabrik A.G., Ludwigshafen a. Rhein, verdanke ich das Trilon BS. Herrn W. Johannsen, Leiter des Laboratoriums der Metallhütte Mark A. G., bin ich für das dieser Arbeit entgegengebrachte Interesse verpflichtet.     

Dimethylzinc-mediated additions of alkenylzirconocenes to aldimines. New methodologies for allylic amine and C-cyclopropylalkylamine syntheses

Hydrozirconation of alkynes with zirconocene hydrochloride followed by in situ transmetalation to dimethylzinc provides access to reactive alkenyl organometallic reagents from readily available precursors. Upon addition of imines, 1,2-attack leads to synthetically useful allylic amine building blocks. In the presence of CH(2)I(2) or CH(2)Cl(2), the N-metalated allylic amide intermediate is cyclopropanated and C-cyclopropylalkylamines are formed in high yield and excellent diastereoselectivities favoring the anti products. The use of enynes as starting materials for this domino reaction provides conjugated biscyclopropanes and thus allows the stereoselective formation of five new carbon-carbon bonds. A transition state that explains the need for both zirconocene complex and alkyl zinc in the cyclopropanation reaction is proposed.     

Photophysical and ab Initio Studies of Mononuclear Copper(I) Complexes

Described are the photophysical properties of the mononuclear copper(I) complexes CuL(4)(+) (L = pyridine (py), 4-methylpyridine, 4-phenylpyridine, or acetonitrile), Cu(lut)(3)(+) (lut = 2,6-lutidine), and Cu(lut)(2)(+). Each of these compounds as their solid PF(6)(-) salts display a relatively long-lived (>1 &mgr;s), visible range emission at both ambient temperature and at 77 K but not in fluid solutions. Also reported are the results for ab initio calculations at the restricted Hartree-Fock self-consistent field level to probe the natures of lower energy excited states of the hypothetical species CuL(n)()(+) (L = NH(3), CH(3)CN, or py; n = 1-4). These results point to an assignment of the lowest energy, luminactive excited states as being largely metal centered, d --> s in character for each of the above complexes with the possible exception of the CuL(4)(+) species where L is py or a substituted analogue. In the case of Cu(py)(4)(+) the ab initiocalculations indicate a metal-to-ligand charge transfer to be the lowest energy Franck-Condon state, although the similarities of emission band shapes, energies, and lifetimes among the various complexes suggest a common d --> s assignment.     

3-Chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes—Key Intermediates for the Commercial Production of Organofunctionalized Silanes and Polysiloxanes

Silicon and carbon may be looked upon as the two fundamental antipodes with respect to the naturally occurring forms of matter and life on earth: Silicon plays the key role in the “petrification” of inanimate matter, while carbon is the representative element for the “incarnation” of living organisms. If a scientist were to search for a highly efficient method of uniting inorganic and organic matter, he would, at a very early stage of attempting to solve this problem, combine these two natural principles of matter and think of “bireactive” molecules containing a silicon functionality for bonding to inorganic material on the one hand and a carbon functionality for anchoring to an organic counterpart on the other. The title compounds and their derivatives epitomize such molecules: they are wanderers between both (chemical) worlds. Owing to their bifunctionality they are capable of binding to inorganic (especially siliceous) systems as well as to organic polymers. Whether their commercial application concerns the strengthening of polyester resins with glass fibers for use in boatbuilding or the incorporation of silica as a filler in rubber mixtures for the manufacture of wear-resistant tires or even the immobilization of enzymes on glass spheres for carrying out reactions in enzyme reactors—in all cases organofunctionalized silanes guarantee a reliable and permanent union between two otherwise “incompatible” material systems.     

Chromium(III) complexes for photochemical nitric oxide generation from coordinated nitrite: synthesis and photochemistry of macrocyclic complexes with pendant chromophores, trans-[Cr(L)(ONO)(2)]BF(4)

Several new dinitritochromium(III) complexes of the type trans-[Cr(L)(ONO)(2)]BF(4), where L is a derivative of the macrocyclic ligand cyclam having pendant aromatic chromophores attached (L = 5,7-dimethyl-6-(substituted)-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane), have been prepared and characterized. Photoexcitation of aqueous solutions containing these complexes at wavelengths corresponding to the pendant chromophore absorption bands led to the generation of NO as detected by an electrochemical sensor. Photophysical data show that the expected fluorescence of the pendant chromophores is largely quenched when the macrocyclic ligand is coordinated to these Cr(III) centers, and this is interpreted in terms of fast energy transfer processes from the ligand-centered pipi states to the Cr(III)-centered ligand field states leading to subsequent cleavage of the Cr(III)-coordinated nitrito ligand. Thus, the chromophores tethered to the coordinated cyclam serve as light-gathering antennae for the intramolecular sensitization of the NO-generating photoreactions at the metal center.