Order-Unity 13C Nuclear Polarization of [1-13C]Pyruvate in Seconds and the Interplay of Water and SABRE Enhancement

Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange in SHield Enabled Alignment Transfer (SABRE-SHEATH) is investigated to achieve rapid hyperpolarization of ¹³C₁ spins of [1-¹³C]pyruvate, using parahydrogen as the source of nuclear spin order. Pyruvate exchange with an iridium polarization transfer complex can be modulated via a sensitive interplay between temperature and co-ligation of DMSO and H₂O. Order-unity ¹³C (>50 %) polarization of catalyst-bound [1-¹³C]pyruvate is achieved in less than 30 s by restricting the chemical exchange of [1-¹³C]pyruvate at lower temperatures. On the catalyst bound pyruvate, 39 % polarization is measured using a 1.4 T NMR spectrometer, and extrapolated to >50 % at the end of build-up in situ. The highest measured polarization of a 30-mM pyruvate sample, including free and bound pyruvate is 13 % when using 20 mM DMSO and 0.5 M water in CD₃OD. Efficient ¹³C polarization is also enabled by favorable relaxation dynamics in sub-microtesla magnetic fields, as indicated by fast polarization buildup rates compared to the T₁ spin-relaxation rates (e. g., ∼0.2 s⁻¹ versus ∼0.1 s⁻¹, respectively, for a 6 mM catalyst-[1-¹³C]pyruvate sample). Finally, the catalyst-bound hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate can be released rapidly by cycling the temperature and/or by optimizing the amount of water, paving the way to future biomedical applications of hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate produced via comparatively fast and simple SABRE-SHEATH-based approaches.     

General Method to Increase Carboxylic Acid Content on Nanodiamonds

Carboxylic acid is a commonly utilized functional group for covalent surface conjugation of carbon nanoparticles that is typically generated by acid oxidation. However, acid oxidation generates additional oxygen containing groups, including epoxides, ketones, aldehydes, lactones, and alcohols. We present a method to specifically enrich the carboxylic acid content on fluorescent nanodiamond (FND) surfaces. Lithium aluminum hydride is used to reduce oxygen containing surface groups to alcohols. The alcohols are then converted to carboxylic acids through a rhodium (II) acetate catalyzed carbene insertion reaction with tert–butyl diazoacetate and subsequent ester cleavage with trifluoroacetic acid. This carboxylic acid enrichment process significantly enhanced nanodiamond homogeneity and improved the efficiency of functionalizing the FND surface. Biotin functionalized fluorescent nanodiamonds were demonstrated to be robust and stable single-molecule fluorescence and optical trapping probes.     

Acid-base reactions of 1,3,4-thiadiazolines and thiocarbonyl ylides; 1,3,4-thiadiazoline-2-spiro-2′-adamantane

The surprising formation of C₂₂H₃₂N₂S₂ from the title compound 1 at 45°C involves the interaction of the basic adamantanethione S-methylide ($\text{2}$) with its acidic precursor $\text{1}$, in the course of which the anion $\text{6}$ undergoes electrocyclic ring opening; the acid and base functions offer the clue to a prolific chemistry of the thiadiazoline $\text{1}$ and the thiocarbonyl ylide $\text{2}$.     

Are any non-stereospecific 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions known? A revision

The cycloaddition of 1-benzylidenepyrazolid-3-one betaine to (E)-β-nitrostyrene, which has been claimed to furnish 15–30% non-stereospecific product, revealed stereospecificity up to 99.92% in a renewed study; (Z)-β-nitrostyrene stereoisomerizes under the influence of the 1,3-dipole.     

Über die Strukturaufklärung von (Hydroxy-oxo-cyclopentenyl)alkansäuren,den Aldolkondensationsprodukten von Dioxoencarbonsäuren aus Rinderleber

Structure Elucidation of (Hydroxy-oxo-cyclopentenyl)alkanoic Acids, the Aldol-Condensation Products of Dioxoene Acids from Cattle Liver During homogenization of cattle liver the highly instable dioxoene acids 13a , 13b , and 13c are formed. These acids cyclize in alkaline solution to yield pairs of stable (hydroxy-oxo-cyclopentenyl)alkanoic acids, which were isolated as methyl esters 4a / 5a , 4b / 5b , and 4c / 5c . The structures of these compounds were deduced from an enriched 3-mg mixture sample by microchemical reactions combined with a GC/MS analysis of the reaction products. Compound 13a was obtained as methyl ester by oxidation of the methyl ester of the corresponding F-acid with NaOCl. It was not possible to isolate 13a in pure form due to its high sensitivity. Instead of the methyl ester of 13a , 4a and 5a were isolated, of which the structures were established.     

Development of a chemical vapor sensor using piezoelectric quartz crystals with coated unusual lipids

Piezoelectric quartz crystal sensors were developed using lipids with various properties for highly sensitive detection of chemical vapors. Lipids with varying lengths of alkyl chains were coated onto 10 MHz AT-cut quartz crystal resonators and the response of these modified crystals to chemical vapors were measured. It was shown that hydrophilic compounds, such as ethanol and methanol, could be recognized efficiently by lipids having shorter alkyl chains, whereas lipids with longer alkyl chains showed affinity to more hydrophobic vapors, such as toluene, hexane and cyclohexane. Frequency changes caused by adsorption of alcohols could be enhanced when cholesterol was co-immobilized in the lipid layer. To confirm the assumption that the sensor-response might be affected by the properties of lipids derived from acyl chains, we have examined the effects of two types of newly synthesized unusual lipids on sensor response. When lipids having one triple bond each at different positions on their alkyl chains were coated onto quartz crystals separately, lower responses were observed compared to responses obtained for a sensor with immobilized, saturated phosphatidylcholine. Lipids containing -branched acyl chains, however, showed good affinity for organic vapors, and sensor responses improved 4–5-fold. Moreover, these sensors were shown to have sensitivity of the same order as the humans' sense of smell (10⁻⁵–10⁻⁶ w/w in liquid paraffin) when measured using standard odorants (isovaleric acid, skatole, etc.) for an olfactometry established in Japan.     

Efficient Entropy-Driven Inhibition of Dipeptidyl Peptidase III by Hydroxyethylene Transition-State Peptidomimetics

Dipeptidyl peptidase III (DPP3) is a ubiquitously expressed Zn-dependent protease, which plays an important role in regulating endogenous peptide hormones, such as enkephalins or angiotensins. In previous biophysical studies, it could be shown that substrate binding is driven by a large entropic contribution due to the release of water molecules from the closing binding cleft. Here, the design, synthesis and biophysical characterization of peptidomimetic inhibitors is reported, using for the first time an hydroxyethylene transition-state mimetic for a metalloprotease. Efficient routes for the synthesis of both stereoisomers of the pseudopeptide core were developed, which allowed the synthesis of peptidomimetic inhibitors mimicking the VVYPW-motif of tynorphin. The best inhibitors inhibit DPP3 in the low μM range. Biophysical characterization by means of ITC measurement and X-ray crystallography confirm the unusual entropy-driven mode of binding. Stability assays demonstrated the desired stability of these inhibitors, which efficiently inhibited DPP3 in mouse brain homogenate.