A new synthesis of α-amino acids—III: Amidoalkylation of active methylene compounds with glyoxylic acid derivatives

The synthesis of N-acyl derivatives of γ - keto - α - amino acids (3, 4, 5) by the amidoalkylation of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with glyoxylic acid-amide adducts (1, 2) is described. The γ - keto - α - amino acid derivatives (4, 5) were further converted to the corresponding butenolides (6, 7) and to pyrazolylglycine (12).     

BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE QUANTUM EFFICIENCY OF HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY MEMBRANES OF GREEN PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA*

Abstract— Photohydrogen production, 200-700 μmol H₂ h^?1 (mg bacteriochlorophyll a)^?1 has been obtained in a system containing unit membrane vesicles (Complex I) from the green photosynthetic bacterium Chiorobium limicola f. thiosulfatophilum, ascorbate, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylene-diamine, dithioerythritol, an oxygen scavenging mixture, either methyl viologen (MV) or clostridial ferredoxin (CPS Fd) as electron carrier, and either CPS hydrogenase or platinum asbestos as catalyst. All components are necessary for maximum activity, and spinach Fd cannot be substituted for CPS Fd. Higher rates of photohydrogen production are obtained using MV or CPS Fd with hydrogenase than with MV and Pt asbestos. The highest quantum efficiencies (7–10% at 0.2–0.9 mW absorbed light and over 20% at lower light) were obtained with CPS Fd, hydrogenase and non-saturating 812 nm light. With saturating white light, however, rates of photohydrogen production varied relatively little among the various combinations of electron carrier and catalyst tested. The reaction rate is unaffected by 0.03% Triton X-100, and is insensitive to treatment with antimycin a or m-chloro-carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone. This indicates that neither electron flow through an endogenous cyclic chain, nor maintenance of a proton gradient are involved in this process.     

p53 mutations in basal cell carcinomas arising in routine users of sunscreens

Sun exposure histories were obtained from a series of patients age 35 or younger following diagnosis and removal of a basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The DNA was extracted from tumor biopsy samples derived from BCC of 10 patients who reported that they did not use sunscreens during youth (age 18 or younger) and 10 patients who routinely employed sunscreens during this age period. Exons 5-9 of the p53 gene were then amplified in three fragments from these samples using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach and screened for mutations using an RNA heteroduplex assay. All PCR products displaying evidence of a mutation were sequenced. It was found that 6 of the 10 patients who were not routine sunscreen users displayed mutations in these p53 exons. All of the mutations were located at dipyrimidine sites, five of the six were C-->T transitions and one mutation was a tandem double mutation, consistent with a role for solar UVB in BCC formation. In contrast, only one p53 mutation was detected in the group of 10 patients who routinely employed sunscreens during childhood and adolescence. Hence, a significantly (P = 0.029) lower level of p53 mutations was detected in the BCC obtained from sunscreen users compared with tumors derived from nonusers. These findings suggest that the mechanisms involved in the etiology of skin carcinogenesis differ in sunscreen users compared with people who did not routinely employ sunscreens. These data are also indicative of a protective effect associated with sunscreen use against the formation of p53 mutations. It is possible that the patients who were diagnosed with BCC despite their use of sunscreens possessed a genetic susceptibility for skin cancer formation and developed BCC through a p53-independent pathway. Alternatively, solar UVA wavelengths, that were generally not blocked by the suncare products employed by the sunscreen users, may have played a significant role in BCC development through induction of a mutation(s) in an oncogene and/or a tumor suppressor gene, other than p53, for these patients.     

A quantitative method for dual‐pass electrostatic force microscopy phase measurements

Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) has become a powerful tool for investigating charges on surfaces. The use of phase measurement in EFM is a direct and fast way to detect electrostatic force gradients, but only qualitatively. With the dual‐pass scheme, the phase signal at lifted height is often assumed to exclude any influences from the topography, but it does not. We report the collection of both topography and phase data by EFM on charged, micron‐sized metal wires. In order to quantify the electrostatic force, a cone model and finite element analysis are provided to integrate the force gradient from the phase signal. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Peptide synthesis with benzisoxazolium salts—III : Utility of 7-hydroxy-2-ethylbenzisoxazolium fluoroborate in the synthesis of peptides

The scope and limitations of the 7-hydroxy-2-ethylbenzisoxazolium salt method of forming amide bonds are outlined through the synthesis of a variety of simple peptide derivatives containing all of the common amino acids with the exceptions of arginine and histidine. The 3-acyloxy-2-hydroxy-N-ethylbenzamides derived from C-terminal serine or threonine containing peptides are found to react with amines at anomalously slow rates and with the formation of transesterified byproducts; a mechanistic explanation is offered. The utility of the method for the synthesis of medium sized peptides is examined by synthesis of oligomers of Gly-L-Leu-Gly.     

An investigation of heparinase immobilization

A systematic investigation of the parameters that affect the efficiency of immobilizing heparinase onto cyanogen bromide activated crosslinked 8% agarose beads was conducted. Two experimental measures, the “fraction bound” and the “fraction retained,” were used to monitor the coupling efficiency. The fraction bound is the portion of the total initial enzyme that is bound to the agarose gel. The fraction retained is the fraction of bound enzyme that is active. The product of the two measures indicates the coupling efficiency. The activity of the immobilized heparinase was measured under conditions free of both internal and external mass transfer limitations, and thus, the fraction retained represents the true immobilized enzyme activity. Increasing the degree of activation of the beads results in an increase in the fraction bound, the fraction retained, and consequently, the coupling efficiency. As the ratio of enzyme solution to gel volume increases from 1.5 to 2.2, the fraction bound remains constant but the fraction retained decreases (heparinase concentration; 0.15 mg/mL and degree of activation; 9.5 μmol of cyanate esters/g of gel). At volume ratios greater than 2.2, both the fraction bound and the fraction retained decline continuously. Changing the heparinase concentration in the coupling solution changes the coupling efficiency in a manner similar to that of the volume ratio change. When heparin is added during the coupling process, the fraction bound declines as the heparin concentration increases, whereas the fraction retained increases up to a heparin concentration of 12 mg/mL and decreases thereafter. When arginine, lysine, and glycine are used to block the unreacted cyanate ester groups after the coupling process, the immobilized heparinase shows different pH optima of 6.5, 6.9, and 7.2, respectively. Based upon these findings, a protocol to optimize heparinase immobilization is developed.     

5-Ethoxy-3-(trichloromethyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole

5-Ethoxy-3-(trichloromethyl)-1, 2, 4-oxadiazole (V) was synthesized to elucidate the chemistry involved in the preparation of the hitherto unreported alkoxy-1, 2, 4-oxadiazoles and to determine the effect of the isosteric replacement of sulfur by oxygen on antifungal activity. Heating the “amino-oxime” tautomer II of trichloroacetamidoxime with ethyl chloroformate furnished exclusively the O-acylated product III. The trans configuration of III accounts for its resistance to cyclize under a variety of conditions, in contrast to the general behaviour of acylated amidoximes. Pyrolysis of III at 160° yielded IV which exists in the keto form. Refluxing IV with ethyl iodide in the presence of silver oxide gave an isomeric mixture which was separated by v.p.c. to give V and VI. Compound V retained 60% of the overall activity of the corresponding sulfur analog.     

Crystal structure and pyroelectric coefficient of Co(IO3)2 and structural relationships among the anhydrous noncentrosymmetric 3d-transition metal lodates

Cobalt iodate, Co(IO₃)₂, is pyroelectric at room temperature and crystallizes in the trigonal space group P3 with four formulas in the unit cell. The pyroelectric coefficient p₃ = 5.1(5) × 10^?5 Cm^?2 K^?1, and the lattice constants at 298 K are a = 10.9597(1) and c = 5.0774(1)Å. The crystal structure was solved from the Patterson function and a consideration of the structural similarities among the anhydrous 3d-transition metal iodates. Refinement was by the method of least squares using 1825 observed reflections measured with a four-circle diffractometer. The final agreement factor R = 0.050. Two of the three independent octahedrally coordinated cobalt atoms are disordered. The absolute orientation of the polar axis was determined with respect to the crystal morphology. The iodine atoms in the trigonal pyramidal iodate ions point toward the morphologically undeveloped end of the crystals, as does the positive sense of the spontaneous polarization: It is this end that develops a positive polarization on heating. The spontaneous polarization is estimated at about 22 × 10^?2 Cm^?2. The iodate ion arrangement is very similar to that in α-LiIO₃. The anhydrous noncentrosymmetric 3d-iodates may be classified into three isomorphous sets, with space group P6₃ and corresponding maximal subgroups P3 and P2₁. All three sets are isostructural with α-LiIO₃ except for the cation distribution. The ability of the iodate ion framework to accept a range of cations of different valences is discussed in terms of the tricapped trigonal-prismatic environment about the iodine atoms.