MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry,an efficient technique for in situ detection and characterization of actinomycins

An extensive study of actinomycins was performed using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS). Actinomycins represent a well‐known family of peptidolactone chromopeptides with potent cytostatic and antibiotic properties. Using five well‐characterized streptomycete strains, we introduced MALDI‐TOF MS as an efficient technique for rapid in situ detection of actinomycins in surface extracts of cells picked from agar plates. By this procedure, actinomycin complexes can be investigated with high sensitivity and accuracy in a minimum of time. These studies were complemented by mass spectrometric investigation of actinomycins obtained from culture filtrate extracts and purified by high‐performance liquid chromatography to detect yet unknown actinomycin species. By feeding experiments, C‐demethyl‐actinomycins from Streptomyces chrysomallus and Streptomyces parvulus as well as hemi‐actinomycins from Streptomyces antibioticus lacking one of the two pentapeptide lactone rings were isolated and characterized as novel variants for structure–activity relationship studies. Structural characterization of the investigated actinomycins was performed by post source decay MALDI‐TOF MS. The specific features of the fragmentation patterns of the protonated and cationized forms of selected actinomycins were investigated in detail. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified Activated Carbon as Solid Phase Extraction Adsorbent for the Preconcentration and Determination of Trace As(III) in Environmental Samples by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A simple and selective method was developed for the preconcentration, separation, and determination of trace amounts of As(III) in an aqueous solution by solid phase extraction combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Activated carbon (AC) was modified by sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (NaDDTC) and then used as a new, stable and easily prepared solid sorbent in a mini column for the extraction of As(III) in aqueous solution. Factors influencing the sorption and desorption of As(III), such as volume and concentration of eluent, sample pH, flow rate and effect of interfering ions on the recovery of As(III) have been systemically investigated. At pH 2.0 As(III) could be adsorbed quantitatively by NaDDTC‐AC, and then eluted completely with 2 mL of 3.0 mol·L^?1 HNO₃. The amount of eluted As(III) was measured using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The detection limit of As(III) was 0.04 ng·mL^?1 with enrichment factor of 100 and the relative standard deviation (RSD, n=8) was 1.58% at 10 ng·mL^?1 level.     

Development of an optical chemical sensor based on 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)phenol in Nafion for determination of nickel ion

An optical chemical sensor based on immobilization of 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)phenol (Br-PADAP) in Nafion membrane is described. The membranes were cast onto glass substrates and were used for the determination of nickel in aqueous solutions by spectrophotometry. The sensor system is highly transparent, mechanically stable and showed no evidence of reagent leaching. The influence of several parameters such as pH, ligand concentration, and type and concentration of regenerating solution were optimized. The sensor system showed good sensitivity in the range 0.5-20 μg ml⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.3 μg ml⁻¹ Ni(II). The sensor has been incorporated into a home-made flow-through cell for determination of nickel in flowing streams with improved sensitivity, precision and detection limit. The calibration curve in the flow system was linear in the range 0.1-16 μg ml⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.07 μg ml⁻¹. The sensor is easily regenerated by dilute nitric acid solution. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of nickel content in vegetable oil and chocolate samples and the results were compared with those obtained using atomic absorption spectrometry.     

An optical chemical sensor for mercury ion based on 2-mercaptopyrimidine in PVC membrane

An optical chemical sensor based on 2-mercaptopyrimidine (2-MP) in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane incorporating (N,N-diethyl-5-(octadecanoylimino)-5H benzo[a]phenoxazine-9-amine (ETH 5294) and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) for batch and flow-through determination of mercury ion is described. The response of the sensor is based on selective complexation of Hg²⁺ with 2-MP in the membrane phase, resulting in an ion exchange process between H⁺ in the membrane and Hg²⁺ in the sample solution. The influences of several experimental parameters, such as membrane composition, pH, and type and concentration of the regenerating reagent, were investigated. The sensor has a response range of 2.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 2.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ Hg²⁺ with a detection limit of 4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ and a response time of ≤45 s at optimum pH of 6.5 with high measurement repeatability and sensor-to-sensor reproducibility. It shows high selectivity for Hg²⁺ over several transition metal ions, including Ag⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, and common alkali and alkaline earth ions such as Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Pb²⁺. The sensor membrane can be easily regenerated with dilute acid solutions. The sensor has been used for the determination of mercury ion concentration in water samples.     

Heterocycle-bridged and Conformationally Constrained Retinoids: Synthesis of 4-(7,8,9,10-Tetrahydro-7,7,10,10-tetramethyl-4H-benzo[6,7]chromeno-[4,3-d]thiazole-2-yl)benzoic Acid

Retinoids are a class of synthetic and natural compounds structurally related to retinoic acid. In a search for discovery of a new class of heterocycle‐bridged and conformationally constrained retinoids, here we report the synthesis of 4‐(7,8,9,10‐tetrahydro‐7,7,10,10‐tetramethyl‐4H‐benzo[6,7]chromeno[4,3‐d]thiazole‐2‐yl)benzoic acid ( 10 ) starting from 5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐5,5,8,8‐tetramethylnaphthalen‐2‐ol ( 13 ). Several approaches was attempted to obtain target compound 10 . Structure elucidation of synthesized compounds has been made on the basis of elemental analysis and spectral data (¹H NMR, IR and MS).     

Module amenability of the second dual and module topological center of semigroup algebras

In this paper we define the module topological center of the second dual $\mathcal{A}^{**}$ of a Banach algebra $\mathcal{A}$ which is a Banach $\mathfrak{A}$ -module with compatible actions on another Banach algebra $\mathfrak{A}$ . We calculate the module topological center of ? ¹(S)^**, as an ? ¹(E)-module, for an inverse semigroup S with an upward directed set of idempotents E. We also prove that ? ¹(S)^** is ? ¹(E)-module amenable if and only if an appropriate group homomorphic image of S is finite.     

Ecowood Composites Made using Citric-Acidmodified Corn and Oil Palm Starches as the Binder

Mechanics of Composite Materials - The conventional wood-based composites contain an unreacted free formaldehyde, which causes a cancerous effect on humans. To overcome this problem,...     

Two polymorphs of a lead(II) complex with 8‐hydroxy‐2‐methylquinoline and thiocyanate

Two distinct polymorphs of bis(μ₂‐methylquinolin‐8‐olato)‐κ³N,O:O;κ³O:N,O‐bis[(isothiocyanato‐κN)lead(II)], [Pb₂(C₁₀H₈NO)₂(NCS)₂], (I), forming dinuclear complexes from a methanolic solution containing lead(II) nitrate, 2‐methylquinolin‐8‐ol (M‐Hq) and KSCN, crystallized concomitantly as colourless prisms [form (Ia)] and long thin colourless needles [form (Ib)]. In both cases, the complexes lie across a centre of inversion. The polymorphs differ substantially in their conformation and in their interactions, viz. Pb...S and π–π for form (Ia) and Pb...S, Pb...π and C—H...π for form (Ib).