Evaluation of the enantiomeric selectivity in the chiral ligand-exchange chromatography of amino acids by a computational model

The chromatographic resolution of enantiomeric amino acids is accomplished on a reversed phase column using aqueous mobile phase containing the chiral reagent N,N-dimethyl-S-phenylalanine-Cu(II). The separation is a result of the whole interaction between the diastereomeric complex surface and the mixed stationary phase realized by the dynamic coating of the RP-18 carbon chains layer. The elution order seems to be related to the different water coordination capability on copper ion in the formation of the mixed ternary complexes.     

Amperometric detection of nitrite and nitrate at tetraruthenated porphyrin-modified electrodes in a continuous-flow assembly

The modification of a glassy carbon surface by coating with an electrostatically assembled film of tetraruthenated cobalt porphyrin/(meso-tetra(4-sulphonatephenyl)porphyrinate zinc(II) yields an indicator electrode that allows the determination of nitrite to be performed with a limit of detection of 0.1 μM in a flow injection configuration. The dynamic range extends up to 1000 μM and the repeatability of the measurements was evaluated to be 1.5% with a throughput of 50 samples per hour. The efficiency of the bilayered film to mediate the electron transfer allows the determinations to be performed at a less positive potential (+0.75 V) with enhanced sensitivity. The coating also prevents the surface poisoning and its stability is maintained over several weeks. The same detector was used for determination of nitrate after reduction to nitrite in a reductor column containing copperised cadmium. This method was used for the determination of nitrate and nitrite in mineral water, saliva and cured meats, the results being in agreement with certified values and those obtained by using recommended procedures.     

Cycloaddition reactions of 2,4-diphenyl-1,3-diazabuta-1,3-dienes with isocyanates and isothiocyanates

The cycloaddition reactions of 1-p-tolyl and 1-benzyl- 2,4-diphenyl-1,3-diazabuta-1,3-dienes with a variety of aryl and alkyl isocyanate and isothiocyanate are described. The reaction mechanism is also discussed.     

The reactivity, as electrogenerated bases, of chiral and achiral phenazine radical-anions, including application in asymmetric deprotonation

Radical-anions, electrochemically generated in aprotic solvent from C(2) symmetric homochiral phenazine derivatives, act as chiral electrogenerated bases (EGBs) in the desymmetrisation by selective deprotonation of a prochiral epoxide (3,4-epoxy-2,3,4,5-tetrahydrothiophene-1,1-dioxide); the anion produced is trapped by mesitoic anhydride. The phenazines may be recovered in high yield by air oxidation. Enantiomeric excesses are modest (8-34%) but this is to our knowledge the first demonstration of such stereoselective electrochemically-initiated deprotonation. The reactivity of phenazine radical-anions as EGBs has also been explored by measurements of the rates of proton transfer; the prochiral epoxide was found to have a kinetic acidity similar to that of the methyltriphenylphosphonium cation.     

Solid-state supramolecular organization, established directly from powder diffraction data, and photoluminescence efficiency of rigid-core oligothiophene-S,S-dioxides

The "rigid-core" material 3,5-dimethyl-2,3'-bis(3-methylthiophene)-dithieno[3,2-b:',3'-d]thiophene-4,4-dioxide (DTTOMe4) has the highest photoluminescence ever reported for thiophene-based molecules in the solid state. We report the structure of this material, determined directly from powder X-ray diffraction data using the Genetic Algorithm method for structure solution, followed by Rietveld refinement, and the structural properties are discussed in relation to the structures of the corresponding subsystems DTTO and DTTOMe. While the crystal structures of the latter compounds contain cofacial dimers, the crystal structure of DTTOMe4 comprises layers of molecules aligned in an antiparallel fashion. Intermediate neglect of differential overlap with single configuration interaction (INDO/SCI) calculations on the intermolecular interactions in the three crystal structures show that the different solid-state photoluminescence efficiencies of DTTOMe4, DTTOMe, and DTTO cannot be correlated with the different types of dipole-dipole alignment in the solid state. Instead, photoluminescence efficiencies correlate well with the rate of formation of nonradiatively decaying charge-transfer pairs upon photoexcitation. Because of larger intermolecular distances in DTTOMe4, the photoluminescence is less effectively quenched by charge-transfer processes than in DTTOMe and DTTO.     

Quantitative analysis of 2-furfural and 5-methylfurfural in different Italian vinegars by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using isotope dilution

A new method was developed for the determination of 2-furfural (2-F) and 5-methylfurfural (5-MF), two products of Maillard reaction in vinegar, with head-space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A divinylbenzene (DVB)/carboxen (CAR)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fibre was used and SPME conditions were optimised, studying ionic strength effect, temperature effect and adsorption time. Both analytes were determined by calibration established on 2-furfural-d4 (2-F-d4). The method showed good linearity in the range studied (from 16 to 0.12 mg/l), with a regression coefficient r2 of 0.9999. Inter-batch precision and accuracy were found between 14.9 and 6.0% and between -11.7 and 0.2%, respectively. Detection limit was 15 microg/l. The method is simple and accurate and it has been applied to a series of balsamic and non-balsamic vinegars.     

Quantum chemical evaluation of protein control over heme ligation: CO/O2 discrimination in myoglobin

Control of O2 versus CO binding in myoglobin (Mb) is tuned by a distal histidine residue through steric and H-bonding interactions. These interactions have been evaluated via Car-Parrinello DFT calculations, whose efficiency allows full quantum mechanical treatment of the 13 closest residues surrounding the heme. The small (8 degrees ) deviation of the Fe-C-O bond angle from linearity results from the steric influence of a distal valine residue and not the distal histidine. H-bond energies were evaluated by replacing the distal histidine with the non-H-bonding residue isoleucine. Binding energies for CO and O2 decreased by 0.8 and 4.1 kcal/mol for MbCO and MbO2, in good agreement with experimental H-bond estimates. Ligand discrimination is dominated by distal histidine H-bonding, which is also found to stabilize a metastable side-on isomer of MbO2 that may play a key role in MbO2 photodynamics.     

Preparation and self-assembly of chiral porphyrin diads on the gold electrodes of quartz crystal microbalances: a novel potential approach to the development of enantioselective chemical sensors

Porphyrin diad 1 was synthesized by reaction of the acyl chloride of porphyrin 2 and trans-1,2-dithiane-4,5-diol. The Co complex of this diad was studied as a potential enantioselective receptor for chiral recognition in solution and in the solid state. In solution both enantiomers of limonene induce significant changes in the visible and circular dichroism (CD) spectra of [Co2(1)], while a different behavior is observed in the case of the enantiomeric pair of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. A different efficiency of [Co2(1)] chiral recognition is obtained for these compounds, with a remarkable degree of enantiodiscrimination observed in the case of limonene. Self-assembled monolayers of [Co2(1)] were deposited onto the gold electrodes of quartz crystal microbalances to be used as sensing materials of nanogravimetric sensors operating in the gas phase. The enantiodiscrimination properties of these sensors towards the enantiomeric pairs of chiral analytes have been studied. While in the case of analytes bearing donor ligand atoms we did not observe a remarkable enantioselectivity, a significant degree of chiral discrimination was observed in the case of limonene; this result is particularly encouraging for the potential development of enantioselective chemical sensors for use in an array configuration.     

Synthese, 13C-NMR-Spektren und räumliche Struktur von ‘Push-Pull’-Diacetylenen

Synthesis, ¹³C-NMR Spectra, and X-Ray Investigation of ‘Push-Pull’ Diacetylenes Phenyl-substituted ‘push-pull’ diacetylenes 1f and 1g have been prepared by acetylation and benzoylation of the appropriate lithiodiynylamines 4 (Scheme 2). ¹³C-NMR spectra of diacetylenes 1a–g (Table 1) are discussed with respect to the expected polarisation of the diacetylene unit by ‘push’ and ‘pull’ substituents. X-Ray investigations of 1c , 1e , and 1f have been performed in view of the planned solid-state polymerisation of ‘push-pull’ diacetylenes. In the crystalline state, diacetylenes 1c and 1f are stacked, however, the stacking parameters do not allow a solid-state polymerisation.     

Molecular orbital analysis of the XPS spectra of PMDA-ODA polymide and its polyamic acid precursor

The calculated carbon 1s (C1s) core energy-level positions of PMDA-ODA polymide and of its polyamic acid precursor are compared with the level positions inferred from XPS measurements. For the polyamic acid, calculation and experiment both yield a difference of approximately 1 eV between the carboxylic acid and the amide carbonyl C1s level positions. The difference in shape between the main C1s XPS peaks of the polyamic acid and polyimide is shown to be related to the difference in C1s core energy-level shifts of the carbon atoms composing the benzene ring adjacent to the amide or imide group. The planar imide or PMDA structure apparently yields larger core level shifts for these atoms. We have previously designated these atoms as “imide carbon atoms” (C-Im) to distinguish them from the aromatic carbon atoms (C-C) of the ODA part of the polymeric repeat unit. Comparison of the carbonyl XPS band intensities with the main peak intensities for the polyamic acid, as well as for the polyimide, suggests that there is a carbonyl deficiency at the surface of both of these materials.