A multi-residue cation-exchange clean up procedure for basic drugs in produce of animal origin

There is considerable interest in maximising the amount of information obtained from animal product analyses, when screening for the presence of veterinary drug residues. One of the barriers to effective multi-residue analysis to date has been a lack of effective clean up procedures to isolate a wide range of residues from the potential interferents, which may be present in both simple and complex (including processed) foods. A cation-exchange clean up has, therefore, been developed for use with acetonitrile extracts of foods, when analysing for several basic drug groups (sulfonamides, benzimidazoles, levamisole, nitroimidazoles, tranquillisers and fluroquinolones). The clean up procedure has also been shown to be effective using a modified extraction solvent for malachite green and leucomalachite green in fish.Several of the key parameters that influence analyte recovery have been investigated and in an optimised procedure, tissue/biofluid samples containing sulfonamides, benzimidazoles, levamisole, nitroimidazoles, tranquillisers and fluoroquinolones are first extracted with acetonitrile. The extract is then dried with sodium sulfate and acidified with glacial acetic acid before loading onto a Bond Elut, strong cation-exchange (SCX) solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. Extracts from fish containing malachite green and leucomalachite green can be cleaned up using the same SCX SPE procedure following extraction with citrate buffer/acetonitrile. Typical recoveries of drugs from low level fortified tissues using the optimised procedure lie in the range 53-104% with the exception of carazolol from pig kidney (31%), malachite green from trout (42-51%) and ciprofloxacin from chicken muscle (44%) and from egg (21%).     

Poly[tetrasodium(I)‐tetra‐μ2‐bis(butane‐1,4‐diyldioxy)borato‐μ2‐1,4‐butane­diol]

In the title compound, [Na₄(C₈H₁₆BO₄)₄(C₄H₁₀O₂)]_n, there are two coordination types for the four independent Na⁺ cations: two Na⁺ cations bond to six diolate O atoms [Na—O = 2.305 (2)–2.609 (2) Å], while the other two are five‐coordinate via one 1,4‐butane­diol [2.289 (2) and 2.349 (3) Å] and four diolate O atoms [2.295 (2)–2.408 (2) Å]. Corresponding to this, there are three‐ and four‐coordinate diolate O atoms, the latter bridging Na atoms. The 1,4‐butane­diol mol­ecules lie on inversion centres. The boron stereochemistry shows minor local perturbations from its usual tetrahedral state [B—O = 1.457 (4)–1.503 (4) Å]. The resulting polymer packs as sheets parallel to the (10) plane crosslinked by the butane­diol mol­ecules. The structure was solved using data from a multiple crystal.     

catena‐Poly[sodium(I)‐μ‐tetra­ethoxy­borato]

The title compound, [Na(C₈H₂₀BO₄)]_n, has twofold crystallographic symmetry, with the Na⁺ cations bound by four O atoms [Na—O = 2.251 (3) Å]. The tetra­ethoxy­borate anion acts as a bridging ligand to form one‐dimensional polymers running along the twofold crystal axis. The crystal was treated as a racemic twin.     

Development and validation of an analytical method for detection of estrogens in water

An analytical procedure enabling routine analysis of four environmental estrogens at concentrations below 1 ng L^–1 in estuarine water samples has been developed and validated. The method includes extraction of water samples using solid-phase extraction discs and detection by gas chromatography (GC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) in electron-impact (EI) mode. The targeted estrogens included 17- and 17-estradiol (aE2, bE2), estrone (E1), and 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2), all known environmental endocrine disruptors. Method performance characteristics, for example trueness, recovery, calibration, precision, accuracy, limit of quantification (LOQ), and the stability of the compounds are presented for each of the selected estrogens. Application of the procedure to water samples from the Scheldt estuary (Belgium – The Netherlands), a polluted estuary with reported incidences of environmental endocrine disruption, revealed that E1 was detected most frequently at concentrations up to 7 ng L^–1. aE2 was detected once only and concentrations of bE2 and EE2 were below the LOQ.Presented at the 9th FECS Conference on Chemistry and the Environment, Bordeaux, France, 29 August–1 September 2004     

Kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of the cobalt and manganese oxyhydroxide cores formed in horse spleen ferritin

Horse spleen ferritin (HoSF) containing 800-1500 cobalt or 250-1200 manganese atoms as Co(O)OH and Mn(O)OH mineral cores within the HoSF interior (Co-HoSF and Mn-HoSF) was synthesized, and the chemical reactivity, kinetics of reduction, and the reduction potentials were measured. Microcoulometric and chemical reduction of HoSF containing the M(O)OH mineral core (M = Co or Mn) was rapid and quantitative with a reduction stoichiometry of 1.05 +/- 0.10 e/M forming a stable M(OH)(2) mineral core. At pH 9.0, ascorbic acid (AH(2)), a two-electron reductant, effectively reduced the mineral cores; however, the reaction was incomplete and rapidly reached equilibrium. The addition of excess AH(2) shifted the reaction to completion with a M(3+)/AH(2) stoichiometry of 1.9-2.1, consistent with a single electron per metal atom reduction. The rate of reaction between M(O)OH and excess AH(2) was measured by monitoring the decrease in mineral core absorbance with time. The reaction was first order in each reactant with second-order rate constants of 0.53 and 4.74 M(-1) min(-1), respectively, for Co- and Mn-HoSF at pH 9.0. From the variation of absorbance with increasing AH(2) concentration, equilibrium constants at pH 9.0 of 5.0 +/- 1.9 for Co-HoSF and 2.9 +/- 0.9 for Mn-HoSF were calculated for 2M(O)OH + AH(2) = 2M(OH)(2) + D, where AH(2) and D are ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid, respectively. Consistent with these equilibrium constants, the standard potential for the reduction of Co(III)-HoSF is 42 mV more positive than that of the ascorbic acid reaction, while the standard potential of Mn(III)-HoSF is 27 mV positive relative to AH(2). Fe(2+) in solution with Co- and Mn-HoSF under anaerobic conditions was oxidized to form Fe(O)OH within the HoSF interior, resulting in partial displacement of the Co or Mn by iron.     

Cationic fullerenes are effective and selective antimicrobial photosensitizers

Fullerenes are soccer ball-shaped molecules composed of carbon atoms, and, when derivatized with functional groups, they become soluble and can act as photosensitizers. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy combines a nontoxic photosensitizer with harmless visible light to generate reactive oxygen species that kill microbial cells. We have compared the antimicrobial activity of six functionalized C(60) compounds with one, two, or three hydrophilic or cationic groups in combination with white light against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. After a 10 min incubation, the bis- and tris-cationic fullerenes were highly active in killing all tested microbes (4-6 logs) under conditions in which mammalian cells were comparatively unharmed. These compounds performed significantly better than a widely used antimicrobial photosensitizer, toluidine blue O. The high selectivity and efficacy exhibited by these photosensitizers encourage further testing for antimicrobial applications.     

Recent advances in microwave-assisted combinatorial synthesis and library generation

Progress and developments made in microwave-assisted combinatorial synthesis and library production since 2002 are reviewed. The use of microwave technology in both solution and solid phase synthesis is discussed with special reference to agrochemical applications where appropriate.     

O,N,N'-trialkylisoureas as mild activating reagents for N-acylsulfonamide anchors

[chemical reaction: see text]. Prior to detachment of compounds synthesized on sulfonamide based safety-catch linkers, the molecular anchor has to be activated. This is achieved by alkylation of the nitrogen atom of the N-acylsulfonamide using different established protocols. As an addition to the existing repertoire of activating reagents, we suggest the use of O,N,N'-trialkylisoureas. Besides the demonstration of the feasibility of these mild alkylating agents for this purpose, custom-tailored novel O,N,N'-trialkylisoureas prepared from electron-deficient alcohols are reported.     

Stationary conditions for mathematical programs with vanishing constraints using weak constraint qualifications

We consider a class of optimization problems that is called a mathematical program with vanishing constraints (MPVC for short). This class has some similarities to mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPECs for short), and typically violates standard constraint qualifications, hence the well-known Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions do not provide necessary optimality criteria. In order to obtain reasonable first order conditions under very weak assumptions, we introduce several MPVC-tailored constraint qualifications, discuss their relation, and prove an optimality condition which may be viewed as the counterpart of what is called M-stationarity in the MPEC-field.     

An oxo‐bridged centrosymmetric tetranuclear titanium compound

The title compound, octa‐tert‐butoxybis­[μ₃‐2,2′‐(N‐methyl­imino)­diethanolato]­di‐μ‐oxo‐tetratitanium(IV), [Ti₂O{(OCH₂CH₂)₂(NCH₃)}{(CH₃)₃CO}₄]₂ or [Ti₄(C₅H₁₁NO₂)₂(C₄H₉O)₈O₂], lies about an inversion centre, and displays the less usual zigzag configuration. One O atom of the N‐methyl­diethoxo­amine ligand bridges the symmetry‐related Ti atoms, while the other bridges the two independent Ti atoms, with the N atom binding to give a facial configuration. Four ^tBuO⁻ ligands and a bridging oxide complete the respective five‐ and sixfold coordination of the two Ti atoms. The Ti—O bond lengths range in a self‐consistent fashion from 1.7624 (17) to 2.0878 (18) Å, while the Ti—N bond length is 2.374 (2) Å.