Measurement of serum salicylate levels by solid-phase extraction and desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry

The applicability of the matrix-free laser desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry (DIOS-MS) to measuring serum drug levels was examined by analyzing serum salicylic acid. The optimized and simple solid-phase extraction (SPE) allowed good recovery, 88.9 +/- 5.8%, for 1.4 mM (200 mg/L) of salicylic acid in serum. The negative ion MS allowed measurements of deprotonated molecules without interference from other signals. Using a deuterium-labeled internal standard, good linearity was obtained in the 0.14 to 4.2 mM (20-600 mg/L) range, which was sufficient for monitoring the therapeutic anti-inflammatory dose. SPE followed by DIOS-MS is anticipated to be a method of measuring drug levels in blood and may allow high throughput analysis.     

Extraction—spectrophotometric determination of boron with 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid and 4-(4-diethyl-aminophenylazo)-n-methylpyridinium iodide,with application to steels

The sensitive and selective method reported is based on the reaction of boric acid with 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid in acidic aqueous solution to form a 1:2 complex anion which can be extracted into chloroform as an ion-pair with 4-(4-diethylaminophenylazo)-N-methylpyridinium ion. The ion-pair formed by the excess of reagents and co-extracted into chloroform, is removed by washing the organic phase with phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) and 0.025 M sulfuric acid solution. The absorbance of azo dye in chloroform is measured at 570 nm. Calibration graphs are linear in the range 0–1.5 × 10^-5 M of boron. The molar absorptivity is 6.6 × 10⁴ l mol^-1 cm^-1 and the absorbance of the reagent blank is 0.030. The method was applied to the determination of boron at the 0.001% level in steels.     

Discovery of a novel serine protease inhibitor utilizing a structure-based and experimental selection of fragments technique

We report a set of strategies to develop novel ligands (Structure Based and Experimental Selection of Fragments: SbE-SF). First, a docking simulation utilizing DOCK3.5 is performed in order to screen the fragment database, which was generated with the in-house program FRAGMENT++ specifically for docking simulation purposes. Although the affinity of these small molecules (fragments) is expected to be low, the affinity of fragments selected by computation is assayed by experiment to determine which ones can be potent inhibitors. After determining such key fragments, additional fragments are attached to the key ones in order to increase the binding affinity,taking into account the binding modes predicted by computation. This method has been applied to a thrombin inhibitor study, resulting in the discovery of a novel inhibitor exhibiting pIC₅₀ = 7.9.     

Model experiments on surugatoxin synthesis. an approach in the construction of the pentacyclic ring system

Synthesis of the ethyl ester 2a of the debromo-aglycone of surugatoxin 1 has been achieved in 10 steps starting from readily available ethyl 2-(2-oxo-3-indolenyl)-3-oxo-4-phthalimidobutyrate 3.     

Isotope effect of retention value between64Cu and66Cu in neutron-irradiated copper phthalocyanine

Copper phthalocyanine ( and forms) in neat solid or in dissolved state in conc. H₂SO₄ was neutron-irradiated, and retention values of⁶⁴Cu and⁶⁶Cu were estimated to study whether or not there is any isotope effect in retention between these two (n, )-produced radionuclides. The data show that there is an isotope effect expressed by the ratio of retention of⁶⁶Cu to that of⁶⁴Cu, ranged from 1.29±0.12 for form dissolved in conc. H₂SO₄ to 1.09±0.02 for form in neat solid irradiation. This result coincides with the tendency anticipated from the recoil energy spectra which were computed by a program using Monte-Carlo method.     

Simple and rapid identification of phosphorylated peptides from bovine brain myelin basic protein by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The phosphorylation sites of the myelin basic protein from bovine brain were determined after phosphorylation with a cyclic 3':5'-phosphate-dependent protein kinase from the same source. Three phosphorylated peptides were selectively and rapidly separated, before and after dephosphorylation, by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on a styrene 250 column under alkaline conditions. Partial sequencing of the peptides by automated Edman degradation revealed that the serine-115 residue located in the main encephalitogenic determinant of the protein was a phosphorylation site, in addition to the two phosphorylation sites established (threonine-34 and serine-55).     

Selective monofluorination of diols using DFMBA

Selective monofluorination of 1,2- and 1,3-diols was achieved by reaction with DFMBA. The method is applicable for the synthesis of optically-active fluorohydrin derivatives.     

Additivity of electron correlation energy and the ab initio MO calculation of (0–0) S1←S0 transition energies: polychlorinated dibenzofurans

The energies of the S₀ and S₁ states of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were calculated using the Hartree–Fock (HF) and configuration interaction-singles (CIS) methods. We can obtain the (0–0) transition energies of PCDFs with good accuracy if the energies calculated using the HF and CIS methods are adjusted to take the electron correlation energy into account. The correlation energy of the S₀ state was calculated using the Møller–Plesset correlation correction truncated at the second order (MP2), and that of the S₁ state was determined using experimental data. The correlation energies for both S₀ and S₁ states were expressed as the sum of the contributions arising from dibenzofuran (DF) and substituted chlorine atoms. The energy of the ground state calculated using the additivity approximation was in good agreement with the energy given directly by the MP2 method. The (0–0) S₁←S₀ transition energies corrected for electron correlation energy agreed well with the available experimental data. The approach proposed in this paper may be useful for the estimation of the electronic transition energy for large aromatic molecules.     

High-pressure synthesis and structural characterization of three new polyphosphides, α-SrP3, BaP8, and LaP5

Three novel metal polyphosphides, α-SrP₃, BaP₈, and LaP₅, were prepared in BN crucibles by the reaction of the respective stoichiometric mixtures under a high pressure of 3 GPa at 950-1000°C. Their crystal structures were determined from single-crystal X-ray data (α-SrP₃: space group C2/m, a=9.199(6) Å, b=7.288(3) Å, c=5.690(3) Å, β=113.45(4)°, Z=4, R₁/wR₂=0.0684/0.1180 for 471 observed reflections and 22 variables; BaP₈: space group P−1, a=6.762(2) Å, b=7.233(2) Å, c=8.567(2) Å, α=86.32(2)°, β=84.31(2)°, γ=70.40(2)°, Z=2, R₁/wR₂=0.0476/0.1255 for 2702 observed reflections and 82 variables; LaP₅: space group P2₁/m, a=4.885(1) Å, b=9.673(3) Å, c=5.577(2) Å, β=105.32(2)°, Z=2, R₁/wR₂=0.0391/0.1034 for 1272 observed reflections and 31 variables). α-SrP₃ is isostructural with SrAs₃ and the crystal structure consists of two-dimensional puckered polyanionic layers _∞²[P₃]²⁻ that stack along the c-axis yielding channels occupied by Sr²⁺ counterions. BaP₈ crystallizes in a new structure type which contains a three-dimensional infinite polyanionic framework _∞³[P₃]²⁻, with large channels hosting the barium cations. LaP₅ is a layered compound containing _∞²[P₅]³⁻ polyanionic layers separated by La³⁺ ions. All three compounds exhibit expected diamagnetic behaviors.     

Convenient construction of a variety of glycosidic linkages using a universal glucosyl donor

This letter deals with the concept of constructing four types (cis-α, trans-α, cis-β, and trans-β) of glycosidic linkages using a universal glucosyl donor. The selectively protected universal glucosyl donor 8 was synthesized in 36% yield from d-glucose (eight steps). The donor 8 undergoes glycosidation with a primary carbohydrate alcohol 7 to give disaccharide 9 having a 1,2-cis-α-glycosidic linkage in 90% yield. The construction of the corresponding 1,2-trans-α-glycosidic linkage was performed in 68% yield (three steps) from 9. A similar glycosidation of the 2-O-(N-phenylcarbamoyl)-glucosyl donor 6 derived from 8 with 7 gave disaccharide 11 having a 1,2-trans-β-glycosidic linkage in 75% yield. The construction of the corresponding 1,2-cis-β-linkage was performed in 53% yield (three steps) from 11.